Republican base at Biem Hoa, prisoner's compound.
Night was falling and Bujac was beginning to find the time long. Jay had left last night and then this alert in the middle of the night which had been stopped after just one shot, then nothing...
Julius must have sensed it because he said to him:
"You look uncomfortable, Wolfgang…"
"It's about the major. I'm pretty sure she had something to do with the alert last night"
"You're wrong to be biting your own head off. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it"
Bujac fell silent and his interlocutor took it as an acquiescence. But the renegade Jedi thought the opposite was true. He thought:
"Damn it, of course I could do something about it! If I screwed up, I'll have to wear it in front of the others, but even worse, in front of myself"
A contraction slowly began to form a knot in the top of his stomach.
He was there when another sensation appeared. It was much more dangerous, but paradoxically it relaxed him, because he knew it perfectly well: the backwash of the dark side of the force.
"He's coming", he thought to himself. "And not alone..."
It wasn't time to use trickery. He was on his way to unmask himself when suddenly the whole base was shut down.
"Classic" he thought. "They always prefer darkness"
His eyesight had not yet adjusted, so he could not see anyone in the enclosure. There was a great confusion, however, and everyone was in a complete cacophony. He resigned himself to making his contribution:
"Yil, where are you? Yil, answer!"
Finally, he heard the voice of the convict:
"I'm here, representative! Right behind you!"
He motioned for him to come closer, and when they were within normal voice range, the ex-Jedi said to him:
"It's time to use your explosive dumpling! Blow me up this portal while it's not powered up!"
"Are you sure?"
"What's the point of hiding this stuff then?"
"I mean..."
Bujac took a deep breath and called upon the meditation sessions he had endured as a Padawan. He said:
"Give me that. And pass me one of the nails you sharpened too"
The convict handed him the requested items, and the defrocked Jedi ran to the gate, jostling a few prisoners here and there. There were a few protests, but Bujac was already on to his next victim when they were issued.
He finally arrived at the screened gate and crushed the explosive he had mixed up during his run over the lock box. He concentrated it tightly around the bolt and stuck the detonator in it.
"Twist the end well" he remembered. Just what is necessary, and especially not to bend the body. As long as they don't turn on now!
He moved away from the gate quickly, for he did not know the value of the delay, and indeed this precaution was not useless, for the dry detonation was emitted while he was still only ten yards away.
He rushed out into the pungent smoke to find with relief that the lock had disappeared. He pulled the casement and opened it wide, then addressed the prisoners in a loud voice:
"Soldiers! You may rejoin your comrades! Enjoy it!"
And he went out first.
Republican flagship RSV115 "Emancipator", elevator "Capricorn".
Jed and his companions had arrived a little out of breath in front of the elevator shaft. Like the soldier said, there was no access from that level.
"You have to go through the workshops" he said. "There's a freight elevator for every three rooms to bring in large rooms"
Jed replied: "Just a moment"
He looked at the walls of the cage. They were smooth, but he noticed two inspection hatches.
"Can we find tools to open these accesses?"
"Yes, sir" answered one of the soldiers.
He went to a workshop door and opened it.
Meanwhile, the lieutenant was listening, trying to detect the slightest noise. But there were too many sources, so he didn't hear anything significant.
The soldier returned with the tools, and began to dismantle the panel. Jed helped him by supporting the piece, while the fasteners were removed.
"Careful" he said, "You mustn't take it off right away"
He arranged his troop in two groups on either side of the hatch. The heavy blaster was put in battery just in front of one of the openings, and when this was done he turned off the corridor lights and took two grenades from the bag.
"This is what we are going to do. We're going to remove the panel. If there are any enemies, open fire immediately and I'll throw the grenades. If there's no one around, I'll head for inspection. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir" answered the improvised infantrymen in their hearts.
The last bindings were removed, and the lieutenant and the soldier put the sign down as quietly as possible.
The mouth was dark and silent. It was up to him.
He slowly stuck his head through the opening, looking upwards. He only saw the floor of the elevator cage.
"The lift cage is above us" he said in a whisper to his comrades. "They must have called him"
He added: "Remove the second panel quickly!"
The pilots and soldiers got busy. When this was done, Jed divided them into two groups in front of each opening, with their weapons facing upwards.
"As soon as the cage started moving, open fire through the floor. If the cage reaches our level, keep firing through the walls, and end up through the ceiling if it keeps going down. Is that clear?"
"Copy that" answered the troop.
He pushed his head back through the opening.
It was the lighting in the cabin that saved his life. He saw the halo of light on the wall in front of the frame, which made him stop his gesture. The flash passed less than ten centimetres from his head.
He hurriedly moved back.
"They opened the floor hatches! Fire at will!"
The soldiers opened fire. There was some return fire, but not very accurate. Jed shouted:
"Hold your fire!
He added: "As long as we don't get past their heads, they'll have a hard time hitting us"
"For now we're blocking them" Sven replied. To try to go down in these conditions would be a real carnage.
No sooner had he said that than the elevator shaft started up. Jed shouted again:
"Fire at will!"
Again, the blaster were unleashed
The cage was right above them when Jed understood and shouted:
"Hold your fire! Everybody back!"
The troop retreated. The cage came up to them, and they were all blown away.
The lieutenant got up, buzzing and ringing in his ears. Sven next to him did the same. He heard his distant voice:
"How did you guess? "
"There was no return fire"
The two men watched the rest of the group get up except one. Sven said as he approached him:
"It's one of my pilots!"
He turned him over. The man was dead.
"Another one" he thought as he grabbed his forehead. "Is this the squadron's last mission or what?"
"Go back to your posts!" Jed said. "This isn't over!"
The walls of the cage had flown in all directions. There was now a big one, and you could see ropes swinging in the air.
"Watch out! They're abseiling down! Fire at will!"
Once again the blasters emitted their deadly darts, but this time the response was abundant, and no one could get within two meters of the pit to adjust their fire.
All we have to do now is shoot them down at close range when they're at our level," said the lieutenant.
"Back off! He shouted. Everybody down!"
The silhouettes appeared suddenly, black and white.
"Death troopers!" Jed thought. Invulnerable to the individual blaster! He turned to the two soldiers serving the weapon on a tripod.
"Fire on the "blacks"!"
A white figure was hit, dropped the rope and disappeared. But already two Death trooper had set foot in the corridor. A discharge laid down the first, but the second retaliated instantly and killed the shooter and his servant.
Jed threw a grenade at the shooter, and the explosion sent him back to the elevator pit.
Everything stopped.
The lieutenant made the call again. He, Sven and Esan were the only ones left, plus two pilots and the soldier who had carried the grenades.
Jed asked, or rather shouted Jed to the soldier, because they were all half deaf.
"Where are the freight elevators?"
The soldier made a vague gesture towards one of the doors.
"Good" replied the lieutenant. "We'll open the door and put the heavy blaster in front of it. When the batteries are exhausted, we'll go to ours by the lift"
He approached the dead death trooper and took his weapon from him.
"If they're sending us "blacks", don't waste your ammunition. Only heavy weapons to shoot them down and grenades to shake them up a little"
The five men quickly got into position. In front of them, the ropes started moving again.
They were ready to open fire, but no one appeared. Suddenly, a volley of grenades was scattered. They went down headlong, and now they're overwhelming us at will!" thought Jed resignedly.
"Go back! Take the blaster!"
They all went to bed, and the workshop door was ripped off. The lieutenant got up at once, took the gun from the tripod and went through the frame to come face to face with a trooper.
He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The weapon must have been damaged. He wanted to use it as a mace, but his opponent had already reacted and fired. He felt the burn spread to his right side. He thought to himself before losing consciousness:
"No armor left..."