Chapter 18: Lir Sey'les
Coruscant
"Those are… Shots fired shots fired!" Wulf yelled, taking cover behind an unburnt scrapheap.
Purple streaks flew overhead. The colour of tracer rounds on Export Model Bothan Boola Carbines. The sound of the shots was so familiar—Sey'les knew it they were lethal slug rounds. Her mouth went dry. She was afraid to say it.
"They are armed with Bothan weapons!" Tarkin whispered angrily, crouching down by Sey'les.
"RETURN FIRE!" Sey'les mumble-yelled in her transpirator. She leaned over an old street sign and squeezed two shots out of her blaster pistol before taking cover.
"We'll cover you Wulf!" Dub yelled. "Charge!"
"BELAY THAT!" Sey'les snarled. "STOP!"
"STAY IN COVER LIEUTENANT!" Tarkin yelled furiously, but it was too late.
The four Clones were all standing out of cover at the top of the highest scrapheap blasting away at the Lurmen on and around the other scrap heaps. Bursts of purple streaks returned through the darkness, flying all around the Clones.
Knot screamed in pain as a round cut through his armour, a vicious ball of purple fire sprouting from a hole in his chest.
"TAKE COVER!" Sey'les snarled. "KRIFFING HUMANS! TAKE COVER! WULF COVER THEM!"
The Ardennian held up two blaster pistols over the scrapheap he was kneeling behind and fired rapidly at the Lurmen.
Sey'les snarled angrily as she pulled Dub down, letting him roll and tumble down the scrapheap into cover. She grabbed Knot, who was seated at the top of the scrapheap, under both of his armpits and began pulling him down.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LIEUTENANT?" Tarkin screamed at Lieutenant Dub, on the verge of rage.
"Well sir, I thought it best to order an offensive—"
"—the kriffing Clones need training Governor," Sey'les growled more calmly, but still completely furious as she strained pulling Knot down the scrapheap. Purple streaks narrowly missed the two.
Fojo ran onto the scrapheap and grabbed Knot's legs, helping Sey'les to bring him to the bottom.
"Knot must be hit in two places at least!" Sey'les said in a near-panic. "These are Bothan Boola Carbines."
The purple fire had gone out but the crater in his chest-plate was still steaming. Knot continued moaning.
"We need to get him back to the LAAT," Fojo said. "He might not make it if—"
"—Well in that case, it will be the fault of the Clones," Tarkin said coldly. "Ensign, do your best to stabilise him." Tarkin spoke into his wrist comm. "Captain Seegers! Where are you?" he demanded.
"Governor, we are nearing the sounds of the firefight, they don't see us yet."
"Good," Tarkin said in a muffled voice. "We should have brought night vision," he said in a muffled voice. "Captain Sey'les—"
"—I have a plan of attack sir!" Sey'les mumbled enthusiastically.
"I imagine so," Tarkin said. "We will do mine though. Sey'les you will meet up with Wulf for—AHHHH!" he screamed as a purple streak ignited his assault pack.
Fojo and Dub quickly grabbed Tarkin to prevent him from falling straight to the ground, then pulled his flaming assault pack off.
"They're behind us! Return fire," Sey'les yelled. She could see purple streaks coming from Lurmen seated on a pipe shooting down at them. "How are they back there? The LAAT…" Sey'les gasped.
"Tarkin is bleeding!" Fojo yelled. "The shots went through his backpack into his armour."
"They are on the pipes!" Sey'les snarled as she began shooting at them. She shot the nearest Lurmen in the head and his body fell out of the pipes onto a scrapheap below.
Grath began firing rapidly up at the Lurmen screaming in rage.
"They are charging from my side!" Wulf yelled. "Suppressing fire!"
"Grath! Dubs! Help Wulf," Sey'les ordered, "AND STAY IN COVER!"
"Yes ma'am," they said.
Sey'les crouched over Tarkin, continuing to shoot her pistol up at the Lurmen in the pipes. Dub started firing his rifle in that direction too.
Seeger's voice started coming from Tarkin's comm. "Governor, we are under fire! Dozens of Lekku Ultras are firing on our position. We are in cover."
Tarkin gasped and started coughing, "I am down Seegers, we have three down, counting myself."
Sey'les gasped as a net fell from the vents above, barely missing her. She began firing into the vents. "Lekku Ultras are in the vents too! Fojo, Dub, pull Tarkin and Knot below Wulf's position, I'll cover you."
Fojo began pulling Tarkin but could not get the human to budge. The Rodian groaned in frustration, sweat beading on his forehead.
"FOJO!" Sey'les snarled. "Fine cover me!" she said, pushing the Rodian out of the way and grabbing Tarkin herself.
In front of Sey'les, Wulf, Grath, and Dubs continued firing from their elevated position behind cover, preventing the Lurmen from overrunning their position.
Behind Sey'les, Fojo aimed his blaster pistol up at the pipes and shot at the Lurmen. The Lurmen crouched low along the pipe for cover.
Tarkin screamed in pain as a sharp piece of rubbish tore his pants as Sey'les dragged him along.
"Sorry Governor," Sey'les winced. Kriff that was bad!
"Captain," Tarkin sputtered in a pained voice. "If I find the Bothans who dared arm these Lurmen, they will be obliterated. Those Bothans will be obliterated."
"Governor, we can't know for sure it was my people—"
"They will be obliterated!" Tarkin yelled.
"Yes Governor," Sey'les groaned, continuing to reluctantly pull Tarkin towards Wulf's position. She had a sudden urge to leave Tarkin to die after his blatant threats to her people, but he was right. Those Bothans who armed these Lurmen had indirectly attacked her entire team.
Fojo continued following Sey'les who was dragging Tarkin. The Rodain walked backwards shooting up at the Lurmen. Purple streaks came the other way from the Lurmen in front of Wulf, Dubs, and Grath.
Dub returned after dropping off Knot.
"Take Tarkin!" Sey'les yelled to Dub.
"Yes ma'am!" Dub yelled.
Sey'les let go of Tarkin as if he were a hot potato. Before she could back away from him, the crazed human reached up and grabbed her collar above her armour vest and tugged her face down to his. "Those Bothans will be obliterated Captain! Can I count on you?"
Sey'les stared down at the transpirator-clad human and tried to pull away once more. "Yes sir," she groaned, straining with effort.
"I need to hear it from you!" Tarkin screamed.
"I think he's delirious ma'am! He is losing blood!" Dub yelled trying to pull Tarkin's hand away from Sey'les's neck.
"SEY'LES!" Tarkin screamed.
"The Bothans who armed the Lurmen will be obliterated Governor. You can count on me," she growled nervously.
"Good," Tarkin sighed and let go.
Sey'les fell back onto her buttocks, garbage crunching under her. "We need fire-support," she snarled, regaining her bearings. She picked up her wrist comm. "This is Muun Leader requesting fire support on the pipes—"
"—We can't fit, that's why we had to land—"
"—You don't have to fly all the way here!" Sey'les snarled. "Just fire on the pipes once you see purple streaks. We don't have time for this pilot! We are being outflanked."
Tarkin coughed into his wrist comm. "Belay that order Skyhawk 1. We don't know what is in the pipes, it could blow up the whole level."
"Be advised sir, the Coruscant Guard has received your distress call. I see them landing right now."
Tarkin sighed in relief. "Seegers," he said in a pained voice, "hold your position, we have reinforcements incoming." He unstrapped his helmet and ripped off his transpirator.
"Copy that," Seegers replied.
Sey'les unstrapped her helmet and ripped off her own transpirator, copying Tarkin. This is stupid, we could be shot. Still, being able to move her snout freely was a relief. She breathed in the smoky air. "Fojo, come back here!" Sey'les yelled, running to Fojo's position to fire back on the Lurmen.
Fojo crouched out of the way, allowing her to take his place.
As she focused fire on the Lurmen, Tarkin contacted the platoon leader of the Coruscant Guard unit advancing on their position and explained the disposition and whereabouts of the Ranger Teams. A few minutes later, a firefight erupted down the hallway out of sight. Sey'les could hear the Lurmen yelling in their panicked Mygeeto accents. Several fell down from the vents, mowed down by blasterfire.
"Friendlies!" Sey'les yelled holding her blaster up once the Clones arrived at her position.
"I almost shot you!" the nearest one huffed. "You look like a Lurmen."
"Maybe you should get your kriffing eyes checked Corporal," Sey'les growled.
"Sorry ma'am," he said apologetically.
Twenty Clones—children in adult bodies—advanced past Sey'les and quickly climbed the massive scrapheap. They stood at the top, some crouching in a tactical position, but none behind cover. Sey'les winced and scowled as one, then another, then several more fell, purple Bothan tracer rounds burning them viciously, slugs punching through their armour.
"There is nothing you can do for them Captain," Tarkin said coldly. "Whoever trained them this poorly has doomed them already. They will prevail over the Lurmen thanks to their numbers."
Sey'les suspected that Tarkin was trying to sound consoling, but he was so unempathetic. She sighed and looked the other way as more and more screams, Lurmen and Clone alike, erupted from the hill.
Itoll Oc'nel
"Now we are putting our helmets on," Oc'nel said as the Clones followed him onto the LAAT. He pocketed his patrol cap and grabbed his green helmet off the rack.
"Welcome back sir!" the pilot said enthusiastically.
"Thank you," Oc'nel replied. "Is the Phalanx in your database? We need to go to the Phalanx along the Q Bisect."
"Yes, it is, sir. A few thousand levels down though; it looks wide enough to fit an LAAT, but it may be tight."
"All right, take us there pilot," Oc'nel said. "So, we are going to be making an arrest. We have an exigent circumstance," the Bothan said, turning back to the Clones at the back of the LAAT.
"An exigent what?!" Arch asked.
"It means that we have reason to believe a suspect is going to either pose an imminent threat to someone else, or in this case, that a suspect is going to escape or destroy evidence. Dropping Credit Chips is hardly an imminent threat, but I have a photo of Galbin Kow dropping chips, a crime, and he is at large," Oc'nel said.
The LAAT carefully lifted from Oc'nel's landing pad and took the lower traffic lanes towards the Central District Underworld Portal, on the opposite side of the district from the B'ankor Refuge.
"But sir," Fudge objected, "how do we know he is going to escape or destroy evidence? It seems sir, that you are assuming he will remain in his apartment for us to arrest him. Your assumption is that he won't try to escape. If I may—"
"—No, you may not Fudge," Oc'nel interrupted sternly. "It's me up to me, a reasonable thinking being, leading military personnel on a law enforcement mission. I believe Galbin Kow is going to destroy evidence, and that's enough." The Bothan smiled at the Clones with a cocky toothy grin. "That's my exigent circumstance."
"Well sir," Cat said darkly, "that sounds like you have the power to justify almost anything."
"I suppose I do, within reason of course," Oc'nel equivocated.
"Sir?" Arch said nervously.
"What is it sergeant?" he snarled. "I am getting tired of arguing. We are arresting Kow because he will destroy evidence soon. That's final."
"No sir, it's not about that. You have chocolate all over your snout sir."
Oc'nel let go of the hand grip, licked his lips, and began rubbing them furiously. His fur swirled with embarrassment. The Clones remained silent.
"I am getting reports that shots have been fired on level 1762 and there are casualties. Oc'nel, your commanding officer is being medevac'd."
"Sey'les?! Is she all right?" Oc'nel gasped.
"She's not the casualty sir, Commander Tarkin is."
"Oh," Oc'nel said in a much less shocked and worried tone. "Well, is Commander Tarkin all right?"
"They didn't tell me sir. I could ask if you like."
"No pilot, that won't be necessary," Oc'nel sighed. "Let's keep our wits about us though. Heads on a swivel. Things are dicey on level 1762, that's almost 1,500 levels down from here but there is the possibility of danger here too."
"Yes sir," all of the Clones chanted.
In the dim light, the LAAT rattled slightly as a Coruscant police speeder swooped by, flying ahead of them in roughly the same direction, but then turned right at Q Bisect. The LAAT turned left. As the pilot predicted, Q Bisect was narrow—really only built for speeder traffic. The wings of the LAAT were less than a meter from the walls on either side.
"So, I think, during the breach, I'll be… Corporal, what the hell is that?" Oc'nel asked.
"Sir, it's our breaching ram," Tyze explained holding this giant heavy cylinder.
"I think we'll be using my demagnetiser instead," Oc'nel said, holding out a tiny disk-shaped metallic device. "Who normally takes point during a breach?"
"This is our first breach sir," Nines said. "We have done many on the simulator before though and are trained to be the best of the best."
Oc'nel held back a scoff. "Alrighty then. I'll take point."
"You sir?!" Arch exclaimed, sounding like he was also holding back a scoff.
"Yep, me," Oc'nel grimaced. "I don't like it either."
A few minutes went by before the LAAT hovered near the Phalanx. It was a small two-story building constructed on what used to be a large landing platform, jutting out over the abyss. At this point, Q Bisect did not reach the surface of Coruscant, but went down deep through over a thousand levels into the deepest reaches of the Underworld.
"Room 17 should be on the ground floor, but you never know with these old buildings that were built pre-standard," Oc'nel explained as the LAAT door opened. He hopped out and started jogging briskly towards the building's entrance. The Clones followed.
Standing in front of the main entrance, Oc'nel began to worry. If he used the demagnetiser here, it may set off a building-wide alarm, assuming the building's construction was up to date.
He looked helplessly around for a moment, then suddenly, a Lurmen opened the door on her way out.
"Thank you," Oc'nel said with a toothy grin and grabbed the door.
She stared at him and the armoured Clones in astonishment as they passed her.
"These Lurmen are a little bit vertically-challenged, in case you didn't notice. I don't want any of you accidentally stepping on them. You humans need to watch your steps carefully."
"Copy that," Arch said. "You know, you're a little bit vertically-challenged yourself sir."
"Sergeant, I am actually tall for a Bothan," Oc'nel growled cautiously.
As they passed by an old hotel reception desk that looked like it had not been used in decades, Oc'nel realised this building must have once been an Underworld hotel. Walking further down the hall, he looked curiously to the right into a communal kitchen. A few Lurmen inside were washing dishes.
Oc'nel gave the Judicial sign for rally on me with his right hand. The Clones looked at him curiously. He then gave the Spacer sign for come over to my position. The Clones still looked on in confusion. The Bothan swore angrily under his breath.
"Rally on me," Oc'nel whispered impatiently, holding out the demagnetiser. Once all of the Clones huddled up behind, Oc'nel stuck the demagnetiser to the door. It hissed quietly, then the seal on the door popped.
After pressing open on the terminal, Oc'nel burst into the room turning quickly to the right. "Down on the ground!" he yelled at a Lurmen reading a datapad.
"Freeze!" Arch yelled at another Lurmen seated on the couch.
Oc'nel sighed in exasperation as the Clones rushed forth into the room without checking their corners. At least I checked the righthand corner. "Get the other Lurmen over here!"
The apartment was dingy. It was the size of a hotel room with a bed, a bathroom, and a tiny cushioned chair that two Lurmen could fit on, but probably only one human. A single dusty lamp illuminated the room. Boxes of credit chips sat everywhere.
Arch roughly dragged the other Lurmen, a grey female, over to Oc'nel and plopped her down. Both of the Lurmens looked up at Oc'nel and the Clones nervously.
Oc'nel pulled out his datapad, zoomed on the photo and started comparing their faces to the ones in is photo. "Galbin Kow, you are under arrest for distributing counterfeit credits."
"Who?" asked the Lurmen, who had the same brown fur, and exact same colouration pattern on his snout as Galbin Kow's image. "My name is—"
"—What about the other one sir?"
"Eh, we'll grab her as an accessory for now. She isn't on the image though," Oc'nel admitted.
"Accessory to what, sir?!" Fudge asked
Oc'nel waved his hand dismissively and sighed. He clicked out of his photo scroll to his dial button calling Divo.
"This is Lieutenant-Inspector—"
"—Sir, this is Ensign Oc'nel and I was wondering if you could send some Underworld cops over to secure evidence."
"Secure evidence?! Bothan, are you doing my job?"
"Well, kind of sir," Oc'nel said confidently. "I've taken two Lurmen into military custody in the Phalanx, Level 3214, room 17."
"You've taken Lurmen into custody?" Divo asked in his drawl. "Military custody?"
"There are lots of credit chips here—"
"—I am not taking a bribe from you, Bothan!"
Oc'nel sighed in exaspiration. "That is not what I am suggesting. Sir, since you police have your whole credit chip database, I was thinking it would be best if you secured the physical evidence, and I took the Lurmen."
"You think it's best?" he asked crossly. "This is not your jurisdiction Bothan."
"Exigent circumstances required—"
"—What exigent circumstances?!"
"I don't have time for this, human!" Oc'nel snarled. "If you don't get down here soon, I am taking the evidence with me back to the Federal District. This is a courtesy call, sir."
"All right, well Bothan, I will be lodging a formal complaint to get those Lurmen into Coruscant police custody—"
"—You do that!" Oc'nel growled impatiently. "Be my guest. Personally, I don't care where these Lurmen end up, only that I get credit for bringing them in!"
From their body movements, even under their armour, Oc'nel could tell the Clones were uncomfortable with this exchange.
"Okay Bothan, I understand exactly where you're coming from—"
"—Oh, I bet you do," Oc'nel snarled, the fur on his neck poking up in rage.
Divo laughed heartily into the line.
"Sir!" Arch yelled frustratedly. "If you are done having your—"
"—Bothan hissy fit!" Divo yelled into the line so loudly that it interrupted Arch.
Oc'nel scowled.
"If you are done having your… Bothan hissy fit sir," Arch said carefully, "we really must be going. Our LAAT is exposed and—"
"—You're right. Divo, we are locking the door behind us. I am sure that won't be a problem for you," Oc'nel hung up. "Why aren't the Lurmen in handcuffs yet?"
Fudge and Nines stepped forward with handcuffs.
"As I said before," Oc'nel said, his calm returning, "you are under arrest for—"
"—To make you look good, you crooked Bothan!" the female Lurmen said angrily. "We are under arrest just to make you look good."
"Your dwelling," Oc'nel pointed to all the boxes, "is full of illicit credit chips! These are counterfeit! I'll convince my superiors not to charge either of you with treason if—"
"—My wife has got nothin' to do with it!" yelled the brown one Oc'nel suspected was Galbin Kow.
"She sat here not reporting this," Oc'nel growled frustratedly. "You sat in your dwelling and did not report it to the police when your husband brought out boxes of credit chips! If you are both cooperative and help us get to the bottom of this, I am sure the Republic will be lenient. Come on!"
The tiny handcuffed Lurmen walked nervously between the Clones with Oc'nel at the lead. A few Lurmen in the hallways gazed at the group, most with a look of fear in their yellow eyes.
Once they arrived at the LAAT, Oc'nel ordered the Lurmen to take seats and pulled the crash restraints over them.
The unpleasantness of speaking with Divo began to wear off and Oc'nel's usual optimistic mood returned. As the LAAT flew down Q Bisect, Oc'nel opened his snout, "you Lurmen are lucky I arrested you."
"Lucky?!" the female yelled angrily.
"What's your name?" Oc'nel asked her calmly.
"Zadie," she said coldly.
"That's a nice name. Mine's Itoll," Oc'nel said. He continued talking, grabbing onto the handgrip with one hand. "You two are lucky I arrested you because all of you Lurmen are getting yourselves into some deep shtak. You have no idea how scared and angry some very powerful humans are. The longer you are loose dropping Credit Chips, the more likely it is you'll get killed. The more of you are loose doing this, the more likely it is the Republic will send down the Coruscant Guard to attack, and they will be led by someone who doesn't like Lurmen, unlike me. Some of you will get killed. Even innocent Lurmen might die."
"Attack us?" Galbin scoffed. "Over some credits?"
"Yep," Oc'nel said in a prophetic tone. "It's already happening on level 1762 apparently, and what's worse? Some of you Lurmen are shooting back."