25
As they made their way through the crowd towards the monument, Heblon furtively scanned the faces on either side of him. He spotted some individuals here and there that he recognized from his contacts with the underground.
He looked over at the base of the monument, in the direction that they were heading, and his gaze locked with that of a woman. She was beautiful, with a head of red curls and incredible green eyes. He recognized her immediately from the descriptions Wedge had given him.
The woman looked straight at him as he walked by, and he gave her a slight nod. Her eyes shifted from Heblon, focusing on the prisoner, and for the briefest of seconds her expression softened. But then it was replaced by a look of dangerous intent. Her hand rose to her mouth and he knew that she was speaking into a comlink.
No wonder Antilles remembered her. A woman like that would be hard to forget.
Kell and Face, on either side of Wedge, had reached the top of five steps that led up to Wedge's X-wing. Two members of the six stormtrooper escort stepped forward to help get their prisoner into position.
Moff Tchlinda's voice rose over the speakers again, echoing off into the distance as the Wraiths prepared to make their move. "General Antilles will be sealed in the cockpit of his X-wing, where we'll all have the pleasure of watching his life end, slowly. He'll remain there as a reminder that those who challenge the Empire will pay for their treasonous conduct."
Smiling coldly, she raised her hand to signal the men to place Wedge in his ship.
And at that moment, all hell broke loose.
A series of tremendous explosions shattered the morning's celebration as the small incendiary bombs Kell had placed in and around the plaza and garrison went off with spectacular results. The sounds of the blasts were deafening, and for a split second there was stunned disbelief on the faces in the crowd. Then the plaza became a scene of frenzied chaos. The assembled stormtroopers broke ranks and moved to find defensive positions, unsure where the attack was coming from. The civilians, who only wanted to get out of the way, scattered for cover or fled the plaza altogether.
The two stormtroopers who had come forward to help Kell and Face pitched backward almost simultaneously, smoking holes where their chest plates met their shoulder armor. Kell yanked off his helmet and threw it aside while blasting another then another of the six troopers.
Face took out the other two in rapid succession and then removed his own helmet. He knew that taking off his helmet was the only way that the rebel forces in the plaza would know not to shoot him.
A suddenly mobile Wedge Antilles dove for cover under the S-foil of his X-wing, snagging the blaster carbine from one of the fallen troopers as he did. He was joined a second later by Heblon and the two Wraiths as they took cover behind the port landing strut.
"You remember how to use that thing?" Heblon asked him.
Wedge ducked as a bolt of energy smacked into the metal in front of him, spraying molten fragments over both of them. "It'll come back to me." He aimed and snapped off two shots. A trooper who was moving into position to flank them clattered to the ferrocrete. "Told ya," he said, smiling at the Lieutenant.
"Sithspawn!" Heblon shook his head and brought up his own blaster.
At the first explosion, Lathel Tchlinda stared incredulously at the scene before her and watched all of her carefully laid plans dissolve before her eyes. People ran screaming for cover as blaster fire cris-crossed the plaza. Everywhere she looked, armed civilians were attacking Imperial troopers.
She turned to see Turpa speaking into his comlink at the back of the balcony. He finished his conversation, tucked the communication device back into his belt, and moved towards Tchlinda. He had to shout over the noise from the plaza to make himself heard. "The Retribution has arrived and reports that she's under attack by a Star Destroyer and two Mon Calamari cruisers. Cright managed to deploy our fighters, but we have lost communication with the Querulous. The Retribution has launched her four squadrons." He hesitated, knowing that she would not be happy with the next piece of information. "Retribution reports that Rogue Squadron has just arrived."
Tchlinda turned from him, and her fingers held tightly to the railing of the balcony. She searched through the confusion in front of her and spotted an apparently much recovered Wedge Antilles as he ducked for cover. She smiled when she saw Lieutenant Heblon following the man, and waited for the officer to shoot the Rebel pilot. But instead of being the instrument of her revenge, the Lieutenant was actually helping the man. Two of his stormtroopers were blasting away at her troops, dropping them one after another.
A murderous and unreasoning rage filled her as she watched the four men firing at the other troopers near them. She started towards the steps that led down to the plaza, but was stopped short by Turpa.
"Lathel, this way. My shuttle is still on the landing pad at the palace. We have to get back to the Querulous."
"No! I must kill Antilles first." She struggled to free her arm from his grip.
"Don't be insane. We need to leave, now, or we may lose everything. Forget this obsession with Antilles!"
"I said no!" She turned on him and the look he saw in her eyes caused him to release his grip on her arm. "I will see Antilles dead, no matter the cost! Contact the Retribution and have them send some of their fighters to begin strafing the plaza. Have the ST-AT's open fire on the crowd. Get your shuttle ready, and I will join you shortly."
Turning to her personal stormtrooper guards, she motioned to them. "Give me a weapon, and come with me." One of the troopers handed her a blaster and she turned and moved down the steps.