Tugging at the black poly-fibre strap, Aric cinched the blaster rifle slung over his shoulder tighter to his chest and studied the narrow power conduit that ran between the rooftop of the abandoned factory, where he stood, and the Black Suns base that stood across void that separated them.
"Explain to me again how risking death up here is supposed to be fun?" he griped aloud, but Solasta was already too far ahead to hear his question.
Hopping on the ledge and edging himself onto the conduit he peered down the wide chasm between the buildings, squinting and trying to focus his view to gauge how deep it ran. Level after level the lights and landing platforms shrank and faded to grey before disappearing completely into inky black darkness below. Swallowing down around the tightness in his throat he thought, at least we'll lose consciousness before we find bottom- or painfully become a red smear if we find a taxi pad first, as he took his first steps off the rooftop and looked ahead at Solasta to watch her technique.
Hunkering down on all fours, Solasta flattened her body to minimize her center of gravity as she crawled along. Even though she had a cathar's strength and agility in her favor, and the cannon strapped to her back was made of ultra-light materials, it still weighed enough that her balance would be dangerously compromised if it unexpectedly shifted or a if a sudden gust of air were to hit her. The conduit, a reinforced durasteel pipe she guessed, was too wide for their hands to grip around completely but the pads on their hands and feet gave them better traction on the smooth metal than the military boots and gloves they discarded along with their helmets. At roughly three-quarters across the conduit she paused to take in the view. In the distance, above and below them, shuttles and transports streamed past but none had ventured near enough to be any concern, and the air around her was still and heavy. In fact, there hadn't been any air movement since she started across and the stark silence surrounding her only magnified her awareness of the sound of her own blood pounding in her ears.
"What's wrong, El-Tee?" Aric called out when he noticed Solasta had stopped advancing.
After a few seconds he saw the cannon strapped to Solasta's back adjust position and she drew her knees in to bring herself to a standing position. Before he could call out, he watched in horror has she executed four front walkovers, hands-to-feet along the conduit she tumbled with the grace of gymnast until she slipped and disappeared over the ledge onto the roof of the Black Sun's base with nothing but a "yip" escaping her lips.
In a display of ancestral quadrupedal agility Aric bounded across the conduit on all fours until he reached the Black Suns rooftop and peered over the ledge. Looking up at him from the ferrocrete and polished desh-metal rooftop, Solasta laid across the cannon still strapped to her back and had both hands clapped over her mouth to stifle her trills of laughter. At seeing the expression on Aric's face, she shuddered and laughed even harder.
Dropping down beside Solasta, he scanned the rooftop until he was satisfied security droids weren't rushing to their position before offering his hand and pulling her into a sitting position, her trills of laughter interrupted and replaced by a dull groan. "Have you lost your kriffing mind?" growled Aric, fighting to keep his voice low, "Just what KARK did you think you were doing? Do you really have a deathwish, El-Tee?"
"I'm sure there's going to be bruise on my back the size of a small moon where I landed on my cannon," she said, and looking up at Aric's face she snorted and struggled to speak between renewed trills of laughter, "You should... you should have seen... I wish I could have... gotten a picture of your face, Sergeant."
Aric chuffed at her and growled, "I swear, if you had been even a half-meter short to this building, I would never been able to forget the look on your face!"
"Okay, I'm sorry Aric. Let's get moving- you got the plan, right?"
"We get inside, climb down the service lift, and stay in the shadows until we neutralize the Trivoris. Once that's done, we bug out the same way we came in and weapons only go hot if we don't have any other choice. It's uncomplicated and loose on specific tactical details, so what could possibly go wrong. Right, Lieutenant?"
"No shred of proof to support rumours of defections in the SpecForces. Those were your exact words the last time we spoke, were they not, General Garza?" asked the ghostly-blue holo image of the balding stern-faced official.
Garza had dealt with countless senators and dignitaries during her years in command of the Republic's Special Forces and she was not about to be baited into any sort of admission by another blithering, self-important, blowhard. The sharp expression on her face didn't yield to the softening tone in her voice as she said, "Senator Arnus, the last time we spoke I hadn't had the opportunity to be debriefed by Havoc Squad's new Commanding Officer. Since then, I have, and it does now appear that some members of SpecForces have joined the Imperials."
"General Garza, you will forward that debriefing report to my office immediately and don't even think about redacting a single word! Next, you will have Havoc's new commander report to hearing room Lamba-Forty-One within the hour for an interview with me and my team."
"You will have to tell your team that Havoc Squad's Cee-Oh is currently in the field and unavailable for- "
The ghostly visage pressed in close to the camera, a sudden storm raging on the man's face. "The Republic Senate orders you- I order you- to recall Havoc Squad and have Lieutenant Dinn report to me immediately!"
Garza wasn't intimidated by the outburst. Any senator who could be given to anger so easily was either unstable emotionally or suffered insecurities with their position of political power. She was, however, mildly impressed that he was able to uncover Solasta's name and rank, and made a mental note to root out and deal with whoever leaked that information once her call was done. Holding firmly to her calm and steady tone, she explained, "Havoc is currently running dark on this mission but I will have the Lieutenant report to you once we regain communication with them."
"See that she does. If there are any delays, the next interview will be with you to discuss your role as Commander of the Republic's Special Forces," barked Senator Arnus before his image abruptly blinked and disappeared.
Keying at her terminal, Garza opened a query into who had recently been accessing Havoc's personnel files, muttering, "Go suck on a turbolaser you pompous ass."
Sergeant Jaxo had monitored Havoc's progress up until their personal locators blinked out, disappearing from her display once they had passed over the perimeter into the Black Sun's signal jammed region. Be safe and come back soon, she thought before turning her attention to the field agents she had scheduled to pass back and forth between the comm-suppressed area as an intelligence relay to share any news.
Waiting patiently for the first two hours, then steadily declining to restless fidgeting with her hair in the third hour, Jaxo was anxious for any sign they had completed their mission. An unsettling concern that things had gone terribly wrong steadily crept into the back of her mind when the reports that came in at regular intervals from her agents didn't include anything of interest or unusual; there hadn't been any unscheduled or urgent messages to report unusual Black Sun's activity that might hint that Havoc had been discovered, and any overt action by her team would raise the Sun's suspicions. Leaning back in her chair and rubbing her temples she was startled by the priority message tone from her terminal and immediately sat prone, punching at the keypad, to open and read it.
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Spinning in her seat to look at the display mapping the sector, Jaxo confirmed the two gold dots that reappeared onscreen matched Solasta and Aric's secure-ident beacons, and she let out a sigh of relief while putting her headset on. Dialing Havoc's frequency and waiting, she raised an eyebrow when there wasn't any response to any of her four attempts to contact them, so all she could do was watch the gold dots as they steadily approached her location. Nearly half an hour passed as Jaxo fiercely monitoring their progress and she was relieved when the building's exterior security cameras let her visually confirm that Havoc had returned, offered an explanation to why they had not responded to her repeated calls, and raised a few new questions.
"They look filthy and where are their helmets... and boots and gloves? wondered Jaxo as she released the door lock.
Solasta and Aric returned to the storefront with the flashing droid repair sign that hung outside, again the door slid open before they could press the call button, and inside they found Sergeant Jaxo standing at her array of data terminals. As they approached, she looked up from the the terminal she had been studying, the expression on her face appeared light and relieved, and her brown eyes softened warmly.
"Hey, you're back. Was the op a success?" said Jaxo, as nonchalantly as though they had just come back from lunch. The growing soup of pheromones in the air telling the two cathar otherwise.
"Mission complete," said Solasta, scowling as she handed the datapad they used to record the readings of the canisters after injecting the neutralizing agent to her.
"I wouldn't have expected anything less from the Republic's finest," said Jaxo as she synchronized the datapad with her terminal and examined the data to confirm that the Trivoris was rendered completely inert. "Looks like we're through here, then. Garza wants you to contact her immediately- it sounded urgent. Anyhow, Lieutenant, it's been a blast. I hope we get to run together again sometime soon."
"I'll be sure to put your name forward the next time we need backup," Solasta answered dryly.
"Sounds good to me. Keep in touch, Havoc."
Walking back through the workshop to the entrance, Solasta stopped short of the door, pulled out her holo communicator, and dialed the secure frequency to General Garza's office. Within seconds the blue image of Garza materialized and immediately spoke.
"Lieutenant, a situation has developed with the senate and you need to return immediately. Despite my best efforts, the Senate Defense Committee have learned about Havoc Squad's defection and want to know specifics. It's an informal inquiry for the time being, but you can bet it won't end there. I hate politics."
"The Senate represent the people of the Republic and it's our duty to aid them."
"That's all well and good, Lieutenant, but every moment we waste on questions is a moment Tavus and his traitors have to prepare for us. There are three senators waiting to speak with you at the Senate tower and I'm barred from attending, so as not to influence your testimony, but I will remind you that the more information that becomes public, the harder our job becomes."
"Are you suggesting that I lie to the Senate, General?"
"I never meant to imply you should lie, Lieutenant. That would be illegal. I have merely reminded you of a relevant fact. The senators are already waiting for you so go there immediately and try to get this over with quickly."
"General, the sergeant and I are both covered in dirt and grease, and need to hit the refresher in the barracks first."
Garza frowned, pausing for a moment before saying, "Fine. I will send a shuttle to extract you and take you back to base, then directly to the Senate. Garza, out."
Showered and wearing in their crisp formal dress uniforms, the colour of their fur making a striking contrast against the white material, Solasta and Aric strode through the opulent great hall of the Senate tower and headed up the lift to the interview rooms on the fourth level.
"You didn't get her holo frequency, Sergeant," said Solasta once the doors of the lift closed and they were alone.
"Sir?"
"Jaxo. You didn't get her frequency to keep in touch."
"Nah, not interested. I have a good feeling about that trooper from the cantina last night," said Aric as the doors opened.
Turning down several hallways, they found room Lamba-Forty-One and walked purposefully through the doorway without hesitation. The hearing room was much larger than Solasta had expected; she wasn't sure why, but a small military interrogation room was what she pictured in her mind and this was anything but that. Walking up the center aisle they passed through a public gallery with seating for twenty or more spectators on either side. Two large tables laid beyond the gallery, one on either side of the aisle, that reminded her of the room where the Magistrate on Ord Mantell would hold trials. A table for the defendants, one for the prosecutors, and where the Magistrates bench should have been was a raised platform where three Senators sat on upon impressive looking high-back chairs and waited for their arrival.
"Welcome Lieutenant Dinn," said the older, balding human male with a heavily greying beard, "I am Senator Arnus, and on behalf of the Senate of the Galactic Republic, I want to thank you for appearing on such short notice for this informal inquiry. I assure you, we will not hold you from your duties any longer than necessary." With a motion of his hand, he invited them to be seated at the table on their left.
In unison, Solasta and Aric both stood prone and saluted. "I'm at your service, Senator," said Solasta as they relaxed and took their seats.
Motioning with his hand to the Senator on his left, then to the one on his right, they both stood. "This is Senator Vorall," said Arnus, turning slightly to his left to introduce the pleasantly round-faced petite and green skinned Mirialan female with dark black hair bobbed and braided, "And this is Senator Krasul," shifting to his right and introducing the older Cathar with light tan coloured fur, bright orange eyes, and a large well groomed chestnut mane of hair on his head.
Senator Voralla stepped forward and spoke. "The purpose of this tribunal is to conduct a preliminary inquiry regarding the defection of several members of Republic Army Special Forces unit Three-Two-Six, code named Havoc Squad, to the Sith Empire."
"Now, you recently served in Havoc Squad on Ordinance Depot Mantell, Lieutenant. Is that correct?" asked Senator Arnus.
"Yes, sir. That is correct, Senator Arnus," said Solasta, her answer a model of military discipline and efficiency.
"It has come to the Defense Committee's attention that, while serving on Mantell, all of the members of Havoc Squad, excluding yourself, defected to the Sith Empire. Is that also correct?" continued Arnus.
"Yes Senator Arnus, that is correct. My entire squad defected right in front of me."
"Now, did Commander Tavus or any other members of Havoc Squad show signs of, say... instability? Anger? Frustration?"
"I'm afraid I don't know the people you're referring to all that closely, sir." answered Solasta.
Senator Krasul's fists tightened into a ball and he spoke for the first time, his tone accusatory and carrying a subtle growl that only Solasta and Aric would recognize for what it was and not a lingering catharese accent. "Lieutenant! You are a soldier of the Republic Army, sworn to obey the commands of the Senate of the Galactic Republic, and you sit there lying to us?"
Politely motioning with her hand, Senator Voralla interrupted Krasul from ranting any further, and said, "Please, Lieutenant. No one wants this to turn into a full-blown investigation. If you just answer honestly now, we can avoid all that."
"Respectfully, Senators. I was on Ord Mantell less than a standard week during which time Commander Tavus and the rest of Havoc Squad actively distanced themselves from me, only engaged in mission oriented conversations, and made no attempt to socialize. I simply do not have enough experience with my former team to determine what any of their mental states were."
"Lieutenant, let us speak hypothetically: Do you believe that anyone serving on Mantell should have seen this situation coming?" asked Arnus.
"At no time did Havoc Squad give any indications they were anything but on mission. So, no sir, I don't think anyone could have seen this coming."
Arnus rubbed his chin and contemplated Solasta's answer for a few seconds. "Commander Tavus and the others must have been quite subtle indeed. I have one final question, Lieutenant. What connection, if any, exists between the events that occurred on Ando Prime and Havoc Squad's decision to defect to- "
"Senator Arnus!" Senator Voralla's interruption, abrupt and lacking her earlier tact, "I would remind you that the circumstances of Ando Prime are classified and occurred before the lieutenant's involvement with Havoc Squad." Turning her attention to Solasta, Voralla gave a slight nod and said, "You may ignore that question, Lieutenant."
"As you wish, Senator."
"Your part in this inquiry is concluded. You may return to your duties now," growled Senator Krasul, lips curled to bare his fangs.