Chapter 11
Tahiri felt her flow back in the nightly breeze. The air was cold, unpleasantly so. She fought the urge to curl her arms, as she stood over the two captured Bothans, both of whom were now in handcuffs and kneeling on the ground, face down. They would be taken for questioning in a more guarded facility, off world.
Coruscant had several internment facilities, in closed off sections of the city world. These facilities were blocked off from unwelcome public viewing, by restrictions on speeder travel within their coordinates. Any civilian, or worse member of the press who stumbled on these GAG run prisons would receive an automatic transmission, warning them to leave the area, or face imprisonment of a period not lower than ten years.
Now, that wasn't too much of a problem, well it might be soon. The GAG was probably moving to secure all facilities, the regular street police were on alert, and five thousand imperial stormtroopers were also on standby.
I need to go deal with the barracks...
She started to walk outside the satellite security office. Her comm beeped in her pocket, and she moved her left hand to grab it. Pulling it out of her pocket, she flipped it open and answered.
"Lieutenant Veila, this Ryzan, I've got a status update."
"Uh, well more than one status update, we've had similar disturbances in Internment Camps, 0234, 0237, and 0236".
That was not good at all.
"There is no way the internees are coordinating this, it must infiltrators from the Confederation!" Tahiri exclaimed.
"That is what we have concluded as well, you said you captured two Bothans? Well there are likely more of them here trying to stir up unrest." Ryzan responded over the comm.
"Are they trying to trigger some sort of antigovernment uprising?" Tahiri asked, as she made her way to the barracks. The facilities were open air, but thankfully no non-government traffic was allowed over them.
"We aren't sure, frankly this seems like a waste of Confederate intelligence personnel and time" Ryzan said, his voice cracking through the com.
"We'll figure out what their agenda is afterwards, I'm going to the barracks, Lieutenant Veila out."
"Roger that, Ryzan out".
With the last beep, Tahiri closed her comm and hurried across the open pavilion towards the barracks.
Why trigger a revolt now? There was no way the internees would be able to escape nor would they somehow take over the government facilities on Coruscant, even with the best of luck. What could the intent be?
The Barracks were now less than 30 meters away, and Tahiri unclipped her lightsaber from her belt.
I should have bought the GAG detachment in the main building with me. Then again, Caedus wouldn't be pleased to know I needed troops just to take on, some motley Corellian scum. She needed to deal with this herself.
The barracks were a long rectangular shaped building, which contrary to what one might have expected, did not house soldiers or security forces, but the internees. The door was reinforced duracrete, with at least three levels of electronic verification.
The Bothans likely hacked or cut their way in, so no need for ID, well I wouldn't really need ID, would I?
Tahiri approached the door quietly, and with a force enhanced kick, booted it open. The door opened with a screeching unpleasant sound, as it slammed into the wall on the inside of the building. Stepping softly in the nightly breeze, she entered the internee barracks.
The vestibule was dark, the lights above had been broken. Walking through the second door, Tahiri passed by the guard kiosk, it seemed intact, except for some flimspasts strewn around on the desk. Tahiri walked towards the kiosk, the lights still were not on.
Something isn't right, something isn't right.
Now Tahiri was just inches away from the plexiglass of the guard kiosk, straining her eyes, she looked in. There, there was a dead man inside. He was wearing a GAG uniform and had two blaster wounds in his throat.
A dead guard? Why leave him at his desk? The prisoners wouldn't have shot him from that direction. It must have been the Bo…oh what was that.
"buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz"
"buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz,"
"buzz, buzz, buzz, buzzzz, buzz, buzz"
Oh Sithspit
There's an explosive and I'm past the trigger range. Dammit. Breathe, girl, breathe, use a force shield.
Instinctively, Tahiri threw up a protective force shield around her body. Three second later, the dead guard and the kiosk exploded with Tahiri mere inches away. Holding her footing, she did not shake or tremble, as the explosion around her cleared, scarring the wall and blasting debris in all directions.
That was stupid, I should have known better. Stupid girl.
It was without light, except for what little came in from the outside, and Tahiri moved further inside the building. After passing through the lobby area and guard kiosk, she approached a door and opened it, to reveal a long hallway, with the first row of cells on both sides. The hallway was wider, wider than any normal prison corridor.
Something is off, about this, the prisoners ought to have ambushed me, or at least…I ought to have made some sort of contact. The prisoners…surely, they knew they could not defend this building? Not after they failed to take the main HQ facility here.
Exiting that corridor, Tahiri entered a small hallway before opening another door and then entered an adjacent cell block.
Tahiri breathed deeply before reaching out through the force again…there was not anything there. She ran through the corridor, her lightsaber ignited.
Something is not right…the prisoners…there is no way for them to escape.
Tahiri went through another small room, and then opened another door, and entered the cafeteria. Even with no light, Tahiri could tell that the room was open wide and more a square than rectangular in shape. Pulling out her, glowrod Tahiri flashed it around the room.
The tables were in their places, there was no sign they'd been knocked over, not even any sort of food or trash on the floor. Turning the glowrod to the corner on the left side from her direction was another door. With a lavatory sign.
Tahiri walked in its direction, her lightsaber still ignited and her glowrod in her other hand. The door was closed but did not appear to be locked. Tahiri opened the door and found the lavatory room, with a few small showers and relief areas. She pointed the glow rod on the ground near the shower area.
The floor ought to have been composed of standard duracrete tiles with a smooth top, the only problem was, there was no floor. Instead there was a large hole, roughly 3 meters in length, and 2 meters in width that descended downward into the sewer, and from there…Coruscant's sewer and waste system.
That was where the prisoners had gone! The Bothans had blown a hole in the bathroom and allowed them to escape.
Then…again if the Bothan operatives had access to that sort of tech…surely, they ought to have found a way to take the command building of the internment camp? They could have easily blown the building from below or sapped underneath it to infiltrate it.
Pulling out her comm device, Tahiri typed on it furiously before putting it adjacent to her ear.
"Ryzan, the prisoners weren't trying to take over Camp 0123, they escaped through Coruscant's sewage system."
Static
"Ryzan! Do you copy?"
Tahiri could hear deep breathing on the other side, as if they had nearly drowned.
"Uh, this is Jax Ryzan here, I copy."
"What happened? Why didn't you respond when I first called?"
"huhghhuhhghuuuh, I'm sorry I just picked up the comlink, there was a bombing, the office complex was destroyed a lot of people are wounded, or dead."
"What?!" Tahiri exclaimed.
"What happened?"
"Uh, I think it was a speeder, low lying civilian model, at least that's what security is telling us."
A suicide attack probably packed with explosives and flying at an increasing speed.
"You were saying the internees escaped through the sewage system?" Ryzan asked in a groaning and gargled voice.
"Yeah, seems like the prison uprising was a distraction, the Bothans must have used it as a way to divert our attention." Tahiri said in response, confident in her explanation.
"Not entirely a distraction." Ryzan responded simply.
"What exactly do you mean?" Tahiri asked, as she walked back through the barracks to the outside.
"Camps 2124 and 2127 have been overrun, and the damned Corellians have taken hostages as well, at least two dozen GFFA staff in each facility."
Kriffing Sithspit
"Not to mention, there is a crowd gathering at the senate, a lot of media too. GAG and Riot police are standing ready to break up the demonstration and will on your orders."
Ryzan said as Tahiri sprinted through the barrack cell blocks.
"What do they want?" Tahiri asked, as she began to accelerate faster and faster, using the force to increase her speed.
"Nothing coherent, they're just agitated."
Ryzan responded, his breathing beginning to stabilize.
"Agitated? About what?"
Tahiri asked in response just as she passed the kiosk where she had nearly been blown into pieces and then outside into the open space.
"There's some footage…on the holonet."
Ryzan said, in a slower and more nervous voice.
"What footage?
"Uh, I'm not sure what the exact context was, but apparently some GAG guards beat a few unruly citizens, with the butts of their blaster rifles. At least two of the citizens died of blunt trauma injuries, its all over the civilian holonet."
"This is happening at the same time as we have Corellians escaping their cells and Force knows how many bothans running around, I don't believe that for a minute."
Tahiri said in response as she hurriedly moved to the command building of the internment camp.
"GAG HQ doesn't either, we're looking into whether the citizens who were neutralized were Confederate agents or accomplices, were looking into their records now…"
"Alright, I need some transport to get back to HQ."
Tahiri said, as she waved at the remaining guard detachment in the building. Both her two handpicked men running up to meet her, alongside at least forty other GAG personnel weapons drawn just outside the building.
"We'll send you a speeder. Ryzan out!"
"No negative, I need a troop transport." Tahiri responded, looking at the black uniformed men in visors standing at attention in front of her outside the Camp Headquarters.
"Uh right, yes m'am, two *MAATs on the way, Ryzan out".
With that her comlink beeped and the screen went dark. Tahiri breathed in deeply before looking at the forty GAG personnel before her, their expressions hidden by their visors and helmets, though through the force Tahiri could sense their steeled resolve and unblinking professionalism. They did not speak, but merely stood silent.
Leading soldiers, possibly into battle, this is the test Caedus was talking about.
Tahiri breathed deeply before beginning to speak.
"Alright we're heading to the GAG HQ, we've got what looks like an incipient riot in progress."
What should I order them, lethal force, or is that not needed?
Thinking it over for a brief second, Tahiri continued,
"We're going to break it up, hopefully stun settings and sonic booms ought to dissuade the civvies".
The men nodded in response, without speaking, though some of them looked at her queerly, when she said the word dissuade.
They did not cheer or engage in crass banter like normal soldiers, maybe it was because they were just that disciplined and professional. Maybe they were just above that sort of thing.
Just as she began to step closer, Tahiri saw the two MAATs, hovering over the interment facility, and beginning to descend, with soft shrieking noises, coming from their engines, in a low rumbly sort of way.
One of the pilots signaled to her by hand, and she darted over to the craft, hovering less than three feet from above the ground.
"Situation at HQ and the Senate Plaza area has gotten worse, Coruscanti police have been attacked, at least two are dead, and the crowd is growing, there have been spurts of blaster fire from the crowd, though security haven't been able to triangulate who it was".
"Confederates" Tahiri said in response, as the forty men behind her walked in single file to the MAAT craft.
"Lieutenant Veila, should we land on the roof landing pad at HQ?"
The MAATs rose into the air, with the last GAG soldiers boarding as they flew into the Coruscanti night sky, the GAG personnel taking their seats behind her, as Tahiri crouched next to the pilot in the cockpit.
"No, land in the middle of the crowd".