Republican base of "Biem Hoa", central core.
There were seven of them: Bujac, Blom, Yil, Shi, Yegor, Julius and Jay. They were carpeted in a nook between two bungalows just inside the inner core of the base.
Yil and Yegor kept watch while the rest of the gang discussed how to proceed.
Julius began:
"We've got to get out of this mousetrap. As soon as the power's back on, the Reps will criss-cross the area and we'll be taken back"
"To go where?" answered Blom. "We can't hide on this damn planet"
"We can try our luck at the space base" said Shi.
Jay came out of his torpor:
"I had to be transferred to the Angel of Mercy. At least that's what one of the guards told me before he died"
"So a shuttle may be approaching..." note Shi.
"We need weapons" Julius said. "We can't board a ship with three sharpened nails"
Yil heard everything and got into the conversation:
"Maybe it can be arranged. As I went out for chores, I memorized the plan of the base, and we're not far from the armory"
"You're thinking of attacking the armory with a rusty nail?" Replied Blom. "I didn't know you were so brave!"
"That won't be necessary. They must be under a bit of pressure"
He turned to Jay.
"Major, I see they gave you a uniform jacket. Can you lend it to me?"
"Of course"
She took the jacket off and handed it to the convict. He put it on. Yil wasn't a big guy, so the jacket was almost his size.
"A little while ago" he threw to the cantonade as he walked out into the dark alley.
Everyone looked at each other in amazement, Bujac included.
"Does he know what your friend is doing?" asked Shi.
"Yes" Julius answered. "This guy was a crook in a previous life"
"We just have to wait for him" added Blom. "I hope he'll be back before the light..."
The conversation ceased. An apparent calm reigned on the base, disturbed from time to time by calls from patrols along the fence in the central area. Jay approached Bujac and whispered to him:
"I was on my way to the space zone when my escort was attacked. It wasn't human. Well, I don't really know..."
She's describing it to him. Bujac answered her immediately in the dark.
"He's a teraplite. Genetic manipulation, polyorganic transplants, enhanced metabolism, these are being used as a smart weapon by high-ranking sith officials"
"Just why was he unarmed?"
"He must have been ordered to neutralize without noise"
"It was a bit of a dud. The soldiers had time to fire before they were killed"
"His master probably wanted to have a little fun with your two guards..."
"That's not very smart"
"They're not always, fortunately"
There was silence and then Jay said:
"Why didn't he catch me?"
"He got hung up by a patrol. He had to flee on orders and that wasted his time"
"Can he spot us?"
"No, he can't. But his master is able to do it"
Jay then told him about his last conversation with the voice.
"Ergon!" said the former Jedi, restraining himself from whistling.
He added:
"You must be worth it, Major! He's one of the worst Sith masters!"
"It's crazy; everyone wish good for me now" replied Jay.
Bujac didn't answer. In the darkness of the lane where they were hiding, Jay couldn't see his face. But if the light had come back just then, she would have had the mask of fear in front of her.
And courage too.
Yil came back ten minutes later, loaded as a mule. He announced proudly:
"Santa Claus is back!"
"But how did you do it?" asked Blom puzzled.
"I told them a tale about how I was sent by the commander to get weapons for protect the hospital"
"And they bought that?"
"I explained to them that the nurses were in danger of being thrown to the imperial bullies, and at the end, I had to turn down extra ammunition! "
The convicts burst out laughing.
"Well done" admitted Bujac, laughing in unison.
Yil continued with a wink: "I've got an extra one for you, Major".
He handed her a sniper blaster.
"I saw it on the rack and had it brought to me. Unfortunately, there are only two batteries, this model not being common to both sides..."
Jay recognized the weapon and her spirit soared.
"Yil, I have to kiss you!"
"Wait till you're remade up for it" the convict replied. "I want to take full advantage of this promise!"
Bujac then took the floor.
"Well, on the way to the tracks. If it goes wrong, we'll have to continue on and go to the maintenance depot which is right after. We can stay there for a day or two. We will then advise"
Weapons were spread out and they set off.
Republican flagship RSV115 "Emancipator", port side castle.
The ascent had begun and Jed closed the march. He played the role of the broom wagon, pushing some, guiding the others, in order to prevent the column from stretching too much.
An easy section appeared before him. He slightly increased the pressure of his suit to give himself a boost.
He was sleepy.
"Another hundred... no, a hundred and sixty yards" he thought to himself as he stared at the airlocks, which seemed small, small...
He stared at them like an exhausted mountaineer focuses on the edge of a peak. He recalls from his youthful excursions: "The last fifty yards are always the hardest".
He yawned, and suddenly all his senses went out of whack. He was motionless and he fell, he straightened up collapsing, he was looking up and all he could see was his feet...
He didn't even feel his magnets coming off the wall.
In front of him, the column was moving slowly, trying not to stop, as if gravity still existed and threatened to roll them down the metal cliff at the slightest mistake. No one had noticed anything.
At that moment, Diane grabbed the edge of a hood that was encroaching on her path with her validating hand, and in took the opportunity to turn around to see if everyone was following. What she saw then took her breath away.
Jed was drifting away, making slow, disorderly gestures, as if he wanted to mime a drowning. He wasn't too far from the ship yet, but she saw that his erratic movements were in danger of making the situation worse by the second.
She got back down to him as fast as she could. She reached the place where he stalled but he had already gone away, and she could no longer reach him.
There she was, looking at him fifteen yards from her, so close and already almost lost, when she felt a touch on her back. It was one of the injured who approached her and gestured to her with a valid arm. At first, she did not understand.
Her companion showed her his feet. In the end, he bent down, gently grabbed Diane's right ankle, unhooked the magnetic sole and then repeated the same operation on the left. Without letting go of her, he began to raise her gently above his head. Then she understood that he wanted to bring her closer to the drifting soldier.
But that wasn't enough, because by then Jed had come another yard.
A second wounded man then came to take the first one's ankles, then another and another...
The show was totally surreal. A kind of giant, deformed, giant caterpillar, with a lot of grotesque tentacles rising from the vessel in an attempt to snatch its taunting prey. Diane saw his target approaching, but suddenly she did not move forward. She turned her head towards the ship, and saw that all the wounded who could participate in this chain were mobilized. Do were the blind and the armless man, who had stayed where they had left off.
It was still two yards short. Diane motioned to the wounded man holding her ankles to let her go, which he refused to do. She almost gave him a kick, but she controlled herself in extremis.
She looked at Jed again, hoping for a miracle.
At that moment, the lieutenant made another big gesture, but instead of moving him away, he slipped the blaster he was carrying on his shoulder and sent it to Diane.
She recovered it by the barrel. Without really thinking about it, she unhooked a ring from the strap, and holding the end of it, sent the weapon back to the lieutenant.
The blaster hit the helmet, bounced off the arm, and, purely instinctive or military training, Jed grabbed the weapon and never let go.
Diane thought she was going to pass out, but from that moment on she was just a hand gripping a strap.
The caterpillar crawled into its lair.
The wounded man brought her back to the wall, and she felt the clacking of her soles on the metal surface. She then pulled the shoulder strap, and Jed came to put his boots on the ship. Diane saw through his visor that he had become himself again, and that reassured her. He picked up his blaster, hung up the strap, and walked back to the airlocks.
They arrived there five minutes later. Jed typed the codes, and everyone saw with relief the panels sliding.
Unlike the turrets, the airlock was quite spacious and they could all enter it without problem.
The outer doors closed, and the pumps started to restore the pressure. Finally, a green light came on and they could take off their helmets. At first there was a moment of silence, finally broken by the lieutenant:
"We don't really know how far the imperials got. You will press yourself against the walls when the doors are opened"
Diane removed the protective cap from her syringe with her teeth. This done, she said:
"Don't make jokes like you did before, Lieutenant, or my first injection will be for you! "
"I'll earn it, Sergeant" replied Jed. "I don't know what came over me..."
"He's taken it from you that you're only a man and not a battle droid!"
Jed swept the congregation away.
"Thank you guys" he said. "I couldn't have done it alone"
"Too bad the blind man didn't see that and the unarmed man couldn't take a picture!" replied the wounded man in the belly.
The whole crowd laughed, which at the same time ripped a few grins of pain from some of them.
Jed stood up, took the safety off his blaster and came to the door. Diana stood in front of the opening keyboard while the rest of the group spread out against the walls.
Jed stood up, removed the security from his blaster and came to stand outside the door. Diane stood in front of the opening keyboard while the rest of the group spread out against the walls.
He nodded, the sergeant drummed on the keyboard, and the panels started to move.