Republican flagship RSV115 "Emancipator", artillery service platform.
Jed had already passed "Capricorn" and arrived at the next elevator shaft named "Betelgeuse".
According to his plan he had passed through the holds and then climbed the metal ladders to access the upper level of the lifts. This floor was deserted and as for the corridor, the lights were off. He thought a bit eased:
"They must not have enough people to cover the conquered terrain"
"Betelgeuse" appeared before him in the middle of the aisle. He took a transverse corridor in order to be sure not to be surprised, but soon realized that there was no soul alive.
"It's strange", he said to himself. "It must be slamming down hard, but here everything is only calm". He dared not add "and sweetness" at the end of his thought.
He approached the cage and saw that the control panel had been dismantled.
"They've done a hell of a job" he thought. "They may even have opened airlocks remotely without us even noticing it".
The doors had been left open, so he looked down after he had switched off his lamp. Everything was dark and silent.
"Well, that means they're already past that point. Not good news for us"
All that remained was to move on to the last elevator, the one closest to the castle, called "Atlantis".
He was getting tired. He hadn't eaten or drunk in about ten hours, and the loss of blood from his wound was weakening him. He walked more and more slowly and had to sit down several times before finally reaching the last shaft which was in an area that was still lit.
Attracted by the light, he really wanted to end it and go straight to it, but he still found the will to force himself to redo his observation approach.
Like the two previous ones, everything was calm, but he saw that the control panel was still in place, which against all logic gave him hope.
He was going to approach the cage doors as he had done previously when the control panel lights came on. The numbers began to scroll and Jed realized that the elevator was going up. He hurriedly backed away and took refuge in a corner between two electrical cabinets with his dagger in his fist.
The engines stopped and he heard the doors opening. There were footsteps, strangely slow and dragging, then the door closed and the drive started again.
"They've sent the lift back" thought Jed. But why did they do that? They might as well have left it upstairs.
He heard a conversation, followed by the fluttering of the soles on the metal floor.
Jed thought: "They're deploying. I'm too late"
He concentrated as he leaned against the wall. The troopers were closing in on his lair.
The sound came closer and then a shadow passed in front of him. He was about to pounce to punch his enemy in the kidneys when he saw at the last moment that his supposed opponent was a woman in Republican uniform.
The stupor paralyzed him for a fraction of a second and then he banged the handle of his dagger against the wall and cried out:
"What are you doing here? "
The woman was startled and suddenly turned around. He saw that his left arm was immobilized by a splint.
"Sergeant Diane Rajai, bombardier in the No. 52 Squadron"
"You didn't answer!"
"I was in the hospital when the Imperials invaded and took us prisoner"
"You escaped?"
"They formed us into small groups to isolate us at the back of the hangar. We managed to neutralise our guards and figured the best way to get back to our lines was to get up to artillery level"
"How did you do for the guards?"
He couldn't imagine a bunch of cripples attacking stormtroopers.
Diane smiled and slowly opened her right hand. Jed saw a small syringe.
"There's enough in there to knock out a Wampa or two," she said. I think they must still be dreaming by now..."
Jed's smiling back. This sergeant was starting to please him. Diane asked him:
"And who are you?"
"Lieutenant Jed Koïnsky, LRSS. I tried to stop them at "Capricorn", but I was wounded, left for dead and had the same idea as you"
Diane nodded. Jed continued:
"Why did you send the lift back?"
"I don't know. We haven't thought about it. Maybe so they wouldn't make the link with the level..."
Knowing that there were only two floors in the hangar, Jed told himself that the imperials would not take long to understand.
"They won't be long in coming back. How many of you are there?"
"Twelve, me include. Some can barely move"
"We'll have to go to the turrets and to recover the combinations"
"That's what I was going to do when you surprised me"
She looked at the dagger.
"Would you have killed me?"
"Yes" replied the lieutenant after a few seconds of reflection.
They were in a hurry. It wasn't as simple as it looked.
They had to get into the technical sections of the firing pits, open the airlocks when they were unlocked, reach the suit locker, check that the suits were intact and that the air supply was full... Jed found several suits that were running out of air or battery, which made him grumble.
"Looks like they lack training on this ship..."
Finally, he put together five combinations that he brought back to the elevator doors. Diane had brought four, and another injured man brought five.
To his surprise, he also saw that Diane had also picked up an E-11 blaster.
"Where did you find it?"
"It was placed in the hallway behind the elevator shaft. It may be out of order"
Jed examined the weapon. The battery was at seventy percent, indicating the gun had already been fired. He aimed his gun at a wall and instantly understood why it had been left behind.
"The sight is HS" he said. "A shock or shrapnel shattered the optics"
"But it's still functional" he thought.
"I'm keeping it. In the event of a skirmish at close range, I'll shoot at judge"
They checked all the combinations again and two were discarded. At last the count was there, each one had his own. All that remained was to put them on.
Jed looked around the assembly. There was one belly-wounded man who was curled up carrying his pocket; others wore splints on his arms, legs, or both. One head wounded man was completely blinded by his bandages and was guided by his neighbour's voice.
"A nice bunch of winners" said the lieutenant to himself. "If I take all this back to the castle, it will be a great feat"
He helped the most affected to get dressed, which for some was quite laborious and pulled off a few grimace of pain. Finally it was his turn.
Diane saw the rough, stiff bandage of clotted blood he was wearing on his right side.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
"Not yet"
He locked the helmet. Now he had to go out through a turret. Port or Starboard? He hesitated for a few moments and chose Port. He signalled to the troop to follow him and they all went into the nearest turret.
The airlock being small, they had to pass two by two or even alone for the most bulky wounded. Finally it was Jed's turn to close the march.
Just as the airlock doors were closing, he heard the elevator engines start up.
"Just in time!" He couldn't help but think.
The wounded were in the turret. The suits had strange shapes; the empty sleeves had swollen like balloons and were grotesquely gushing out of the torsos. There was something to laugh about, no matter how serious the situation.
He walked towards the escape hatches. There was one on either side of the turbolasers. He chose the one on the port side, opened it and signaled the others to move forward.
They went out and walked to the surface of the ship.
Fortunately, they had exited through the turret closest to the castle, which reduced the distance. However, they had to climb up along it to reach the upper airlocks near the command post where they would be safe.
"As long as they hadn't locked all the exits" he thought. "That will doom us all"
They weren't there yet. We had to go up, and despite the magnetic soles, it wouldn't be a health ride.
Destroyer Imperial II, ESV262 "Destiny Blade", Main Lift.
The stand-alone terminal started squealing, startled Crebs and a few soldiers. He pressed the receive button to hear:
"You're good to go"
"Copy that. We're moving out"
Everyone was ready. A soldier triggered the suction pumps to create a vacuum in the airlock, and the suits inflated imperceptibly.
A Death Trooper signalled the crew to follow him. Everything was done by gesture, with no radio transmission allowed.
The outer airlock opened. The troop exited in single file and headed for the Republican ship just above them. When they came in contact with the ship's wall, the troopers used their magnetic soles and began to climb the destroyer from the rear, between the main thrusters.
The soldiers only looked at the back of the one in front of them. The radiation from the thrusters was intense, although both ships were almost at a standstill. Everyone was sweating profusely in their light suits. Crebs thought:
"It's a good thing they're not at full power. We would have been instantly fried"
He couldn't help but add for himself: "Although we'd better get into a med chamber after this. We need to take a hell of a dose"
The nozzles were now below them. They started climbing up the starboard side of the castle between the pipes and the heat exchangers. Near-zero gravity reduced muscle power but required great concentration in movement.
The Death Troopers in the lead set a hell of a pace, and the regulars could barely keep up. Crebs was getting tired, too. He thought with a hint of bitterness:
"Too old for this silly job"
He saw Isse before him, frolicking as if that was all he had done all his life.
"Quite a fellow anyway", he thought to himself. "The subtlety of a beam, but when you have to pay the price there is nothing to add"
Isse was really raised from the rank, which was very rare in the imperial army where the officers formed a caste apart. He had earned all his stripes on the battlefield and aroused much resentment and jealousy among the other ranks.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was given this mission to bring him to a glorious end", concluded the former Jedi.
Finally, everyone stopped. Crebs looked up and saw the airlock door and the countermeasures specialist who had already taken down the access panel and plugged in his devices to force the system. He thought:
"It's the moment of truth. Either these diabolical devices work, or we're all dead"
Indeed, the oxygen reserves of the suits were not sufficient for the return trip.
For a moment they all thought it was too long, then the specialist raised his thumb and the airlock began to open.