Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
This one was a bit tougher to write. There was so much I felt I couldn't include Calvin in, because it had to be just Din and Mayfeld, and obviously I couldn't really include those parts.
Let's get to it.
Peter Hong Kong: Well, we saw the dark troopers were resistant to the whistling birds, so we'll see
Chapter 9- Infiltration
(June 20, 2024, Karthon)
Calvin turns the wrench one more time, finishing tightening the bolt. They had landed on Karthon only minutes earlier, and he had taken the time to do some routine checks on the internal mechanics of his SF-23s laser cannons while Cara went to get Mayfeld.
As Calvin returns the wrench to one of the nose compartments of the fighter, he glances over and sees Boba walking over. Boba had touched up his armor on the trip so that it looked less run down and beaten up.
Boba looks Calvin's SF-23 up and down. "She's a beauty," Boba says.
"Yup. She's served me well for 12 years, and she still handles like a dream. She's definitely been through some s***, but I take good care of her," Calvin says, running his hand along the nose.
"That much is obvious," Boba says.
Calvin then turns to Boba as he leans against the nose of his fighter. "You know, I don't get it, Fett. If you knew where your armor was, why didn't you take it back? And what's your end goal now here?" Calvin asks the bounty hunter.
"It's complicated," Boba responds simply.
"Gonna give me a more detailed answer than that?" Calvin asks.
"Nope," Boba responds and just walks back to Slave I. Calvin sighs in annoyance.
"TR4, how's the hyperdrive looking?" Calvin asks.
TR4 responds with a series of beeps. Calvin nods in response and says, "Okay. Sounds good."
Calvin then looks over his shoulder and sees Cara walking over with Mayfeld. Boba and Fennec walk out of the Slave I to meet them.
Mayfeld looks a bit relieved, then very nervous when Din comes walking out of the ship. Calvin starts walking over as Din walks up to Mayfeld.
"Mayfeld," Din says.
"Hey, Mando. Long time. What, you came here to kill me?" Mayfeld asks
"All you need to know is that I bent a lot of rules to bring you along," Cara says.
"Why am I so lucky?" Mayfeld asks.
"Because you're Imperial," Din says.
"Hey, that was a long time ago," Mayfeld says.
Calvin now speaks up and says, "Yeah, but you still know your protocols and clearances, and we need those for our mission, so you're coming with us."
Mayfeld looks over at Calvin and goes pale. He looks back at Din, points at Calvin, and asks, "What is Calvin Adams doing here?"
"Because I'm helping Mando here, and if you don't want me to break your legs, you're gonna help us," Calvin says.
"Alright, alright!" Calvin says, holding his hands up in surrender. He then follows all the others onto the Slave I while Calvin heads back to his fighter.
Boba powers up the Slave I, and Calvin powers up his Black Widow. The two lift their ships off at the same time and start the ascent to orbit. As they do, Calvin activates his commlink, projecting a hologram of him to the Slave I's passenger bay, and a hologram of the bay to him.
Din opens the conversation. "We need coordinates for Moff Gideon's cruiser," he says.
"Moff Gideon? Yeah forget that. Just take me back to the scrapyard. I'm not doin' that," Mayfeld says.
"They have his kid," Cara adds.
"The little green guy?" Mayfeld asks.
"Correct, Mayfeld," Calvin says.
"So…I help you guys get him back, you guys let me go?" Mayfeld asks.
"That's not how this works," Cara says firmly.
"Well, then what's in it for me?" Mayfeld asks.
"You get a better view and no broken legs," Calvin says simply.
Mayfeld sighs, then says, "All right, but here's the thing. I can't get those coordinates unless I have access to an internal Imperial terminal. I believe there's one on Morak."
"Morak? There's nothing on Morak," Din protests.
"It's a secret Imperial mining hub, okay? If you can get me in there, I can get you the coordinates," Mayfeld says.
Calvin quickly contacts Boba in the cockpit. "Fett, set course for Morak. We've got an Imperial base there we're gonna have to raid," he says.
"Copy that," Boba says. Calvin shuts down his transmissions, and then his SF-23 and Slave I jump to hyperspace.
(June 22, 2024)
Calvin glances out his canopy at the planet Morak up ahead before returning his attention to the hologram of the meeting going on inside the Slave I.
"I did a scan of the planet. This what you were talking about?" Boba asks Mayfeld as he brings up a hologram.
"Yeah, it's the refinery right there," Mayfeld says.
"Wonder what they're refining in there," Fennec wonders out loud.
"Looks like rhydonium. Highly volatile and explosive," Boba says.
"Yeah, kinda like this one, huh?" Mayfeld tries to joke about Din, but after several of them shoot him glances, he stays quiet.
Boba looks back at the hologram and says, "They have anti-aircraft cannons protecting it."
"And a platoon of security forces," Fennec says.
"I could take out the AA cannons no problem. Those cannons can't track and keep up with an SF-23 on afterburner. But it would let the rest of the facility know there's an attack," Calvin says.
"We can't afford that too soon. We go in quiet. Let's go get a closer look," Din says.
Calvin leads the way, his radar scanning the space ahead of them. Luckily, he detects no TIE fighters, and they fly down and land well away from the refinery along a road leading to the place.
Calvin climbs out of his fighter as the rest of the team disembarks from the Slave I, and all of them head to a cliff overlooking the road. As they reach the cliff, they saw an old Imperial Juggernaut driving along the road, righting right towards a tunnel.
After a moment, Mayfeld says, "I'm not gonna need long inside, so once I get the coordinates, you guys gotta get me the hell out of there."
"You get to the roof. I'll drop in and pull you out once Adams takes out those cannons," Boba says.
"All right. Mayfeld and I will swap out for the drivers in the tunnel," Cara says.
"As much as I'd like to take a trip with Rebel dropper here, that's not gonna work," Mayfeld says.
"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Cara asks
"Well, because these Remnant bases are set up and run by ex-ISB. If you get scanned and your genetic signature shows up on any New Republic register, you're gonna be detected and it's guns out," Mayfeld explains.
"You sure do know a lot about Imperial Remnants," Cara says, a bit of suspicion in her tone.
"Hey, if you wanna accuse me of something, then just say it," Mayfeld says.
"We don't have time for this. Fennec will go," Din says.
"No, I'm wanted by the ISB. I'll trip the alarm too," Fennec says.
"Fett?" Din asks.
"Let's just say they might recognize my face," Boba says.
"And I'm one probably on the list of Top 5 Enemies of the Empire," Calvin says.
"Great, so it's me going in alone," Mayfeld says in exasperation.
"No way. The minute he gets inside, he'll tip 'em off. He'll be a hero," Cara argues.
"Hey, this wasn't my idea. I'm doin' you guys a favor," Mayfeld protests.
"Deal's off. I'm taking him back," Cara says.
Suddenly, Din says, "I'll go."
"Hey, buddy, I might be good at fast-talking, but I don't think I can explain away a guy in a Mando suit to Imperial guards. So, unless you're gonna take off that helmet, it's gonna be me going in alone. Or say goodbye to your little green friend," Mayfeld says.
"You're not going in alone. I'm coming with you. But I won't be showing my face," Din says.
Din, Mayfeld, and Cara head down to infiltrate one of the Juggernauts. Fennec goes to the other side of the tunnel to set up a watch, while both Calvin and Boba head back to their ships.
Calvin opens up his main missile bay as he hears a bit of radio chatter from Fennec saying the plan is working. Calvin crouches underneath the fighter and starts inspecting all of the AMRAAMs in the weapons bay. He makes sure that all of the control cables for the missiles are properly connected and no parts are out of place. Once he's finished inspecting his AMRAAMs, he also inspects his one remaining Sidewinder.
Once he's finished inspecting his weapons, Calvin climbs into the cockpit and starts powering up some of the fighter's systems, getting it ready for a full power up and subsequent takeoff once the word comes through.
As Calvin sits there, he glances at his watch. It's been about 20 minutes since the plan started. Calvin then reaches into a pocket of his camo jacket and pulls out a picture.
Calvin smiles a bit to himself as he stares at the picture. The picture was of Riley and Grace at Grace's 6th birthday party last December, which he had thankfully been able to be present for. The picture shows Grace opening one of her presents, a plastic white lightsaber. It shows Grace waving it excitedly at the camera as Riley is sitting beside her, laughing and smiling.
Calvin just stares at the photo, smiling and thinking of his wife and daughter. His time away from them for the missions he's been assigned have been very difficult on him, especially since he and Riley have wanted to have a second child, and Grace is already six and a half years old. He secured a promise from the Joint Command that after he brought down Moff Gideon, he would be able to come home for at least a year before being sent on another mission.
Suddenly, he hears Fennec's voice over the commlink, "We're on! Start your runs!"
Calvin glances at his watch and sees he's been sitting here staring at the picture for 20 minutes. He quietly stows it away and replies over the commlink, "Copy," as he finishes powering up the engines and lifts the SF-23 off the ground and turns towards the refinery. He throttles up and streaks towards the refinery, just ahead of the Slave I.
As the refinery comes into view about a minute later, Calvin gets on the commlink and calls out, "I have the refinery in sight. Going to afterburners…now!"
Calvin shoves the throttles into afterburner. The Black Widow accelerates, quickly breaking Mach 1 and accelerating even further. He powers up his laser cannons as he streaks towards the refinery.
Calvin focuses completely on his attack run. The positions of the anti-aircraft cannons has been plotted already on his Helmet Mounted Display, as well as the gunsight of his laser cannons. Calvin holds the SF-23 steady as he approaches the refinery, now flying over Mach 1.5.
As soon as he's in range, Calvin squeezes the trigger, firing bursts from his laser cannons, shifting his nose slightly as each cannon is destroyed to focus his fire on the next target. By the time the SF-23 streak over the refinery, all of the cannons have been destroyed, and most of the stormtroopers on the roof have been killed.
Calvin streaks away from the refinery and start to loop around as Boba flies in with the Slave I, hovering just beside the roof. Din and Mayfeld sprint across the roof and leap onto the Slave I. Boba starts climbing as Calvin finishes his turn and streaks back towards the refinery. He starts to line up his laser cannons with the transports holding the rhydonium. However, before he can fire, Mayfeld fires a shot from the Slave I, detonating the rhydonium and setting off a series of explosions throughout the refinery.
Calvin banks slightly to the right to avoid the refinery. Then, as he starts to grin, he sees two TIE fighters streak over the refinery, heading towards the Slave I. Calvin immediately reverses his turn, pulling the stick as hard as he can to pursue the TIEs.
After completing his turn, Calvin pulls up into a climb in pursuit of the TIEs. However, as he does, he sees something falling backwards from the Slave I. Quickly recognizing what it is, he pops his speed brakes and pulls backwards to stop climbing, a second before the seismic charge explodes and destroys the two TIEs.
Calvin smirks a bit as he rolls his SF-23 into level flight and guides it down towards a landing spot. As he opens the canopy and cuts the engines down, the Slave I comes in and lands beside him.
Mayfeld and Din come walking out of the ship as Calvin climbs out of his SF-23. Calvin does a quick walk around, checking for any damage to his fighter from flying shrapnel from the explosions. After satisfying himself that his fighter is still in perfect shape, he turns towards where Din, Cara, and Mayfeld are standing. To his surprise, Din and Cara are looking at each other and completely avoiding looking at Mayfeld. Then, Mayfeld slowly walks away, and the other two just keep looking at each other as Mayfeld walks away.
Calvin chuckles to himself as he walks over to Din and Cara. As he gets close to them, Cara asks Din, "Did you get the coordinates for Moff Gideon?"
"Yeah," Din says.
"Well, what's the next move?" Calvin asks.
Din is quiet for a few moments before he says, "We have to find the doctor. Then, we go after the Moff."
And I'll end there. Hope this was overall good.
Obviously, I cut out a good chunk of the episode because I felt it best to leave it just between Din and Mayfeld.
Next chapter may take a few days. Until it's up, please leave a review and stay tuned!