Hello again! Here is the second part to my repost! Soon, probably next
weekend, as this one will be insane, I will try to post another
considerable chunk of the story. New scenes just keep appearing!!! Ahh!
Oh, well it will get done! Thanks to all who have stuck with me!
Yes, yes I know this galaxy far, far away does not belong to me. But it just looked so pretty up on that shelf I had to get it down and play with it a bit. I promise to put it back just a little worse for wear. I'm not making any money on this and I don't have any money anyway so suing me just wouldn't make sense.
******
"Corran," Luke said slowly," something doesn't feel right." he paused reaching out with the force "It's almost as if the ship doesn't exist, or." Luke's face had suddenly become drained of all color.
"What! What's the matter!" Exclaimed Corran
"That ship is absolutely covered with Ysalimari," said Luke dejectedly.
"That's why I can't feel it." He sighed, "either Isard has gotten paranoid, smart or we've got a very big problem on our hands. Well either way we have a problem, but do you think she suspects something? "
"You know," said Corran glancing up the huge ship they were rapidly approaching, "I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this."
"Yeah." Luke sighed, "me too."
* * *
Smiling widely at the man in front of him, Lieutenant John Trasten took the flimsi the Imperial Customs official offered him.
"And have a nice stay," the man hesitated glancing at John's papers.
"Mr. Sanos."
"Thank you! Sir! I'm here to enlist in the Navy." He gushed.
"Do you think they'll take me!"
The customs agent didn't even look up. "Oh! I'm sure they will." He said unenthusiastically. Turning away from the patriotic customs official John kept his smile screwed in place until he was far enough away from the pig to not turn around and wring his pompous neck. Yari appeared at his shoulder and put a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Easy Jerred," she said using his code name. He shook her off.
"Hello Sirl. Where're we going?"
"Nearest recruiting office. It's a good bet they're pretty desperate for recruits these days."
"Hmm," John grunted, "Let's hope so"
Neither of them saw the sun glint on the microbinoculars trained on their receding forms.
*******
General Sean Rillen of Imperial Intelligence watched the two rebels through narrowed eyes. He was really getting too old for fieldwork, but he had been too curious to stay away. Imagine! Such loyalty in rebels! Unthinkable!
He had to admit he had been dubious of Isard's plan from the very start if only because he had not believed the rebels would come through for their friend. He had been trained to think that the rebels were animals. But animals had little loyalty. Interesting. Bringing his attention back to the present he glanced down at the street.
The two down there were not the important ones, but they were worth watching. If anything Rillen had learned throughout the years was that what you didn't know was the most dangerous and stood for the most watching, because one never knew when the enemy had a Skifter in the deck.
* * *
Wedge's pain numbed mind was finally starting to clear when the lights suddenly came on in a blazing burst of brilliance. Very nearly causing Wedge to cry out as the too bright light hit his dilated pupils. He heard the click of boots on the metallic floor and his over abused eyes tried to track the face attached to the sound. He didn't even see the boot coming until it crashed into his ribs. The air in his lungs left him in a rush of oxygen.
"On your feet rebel scum. Director Isard wants to see you." Wedge rolled his eyes. Great! Painfully climbing to his feet Wedge was assisted out the cell door by a generous shove from the guard behind him.
A second guard waited outside the cell, neatly fielding Wedge he slammed him against the wall with dizzying force. Wrenching Wedge's arms behind him he cuffed them there. Leading the way ugly guard number one, as Wedge had dubbed him started off down the corridor. Following, Wedge stumbled after him aided by the guard behind him.
The cold impersonal hallways seemed to progress forever, marked by gleaming steel doors. Finally they stopped in front of a forbidding metal portal. Punching the lock the first guard stepped through, Wedge resignedly followed. The room they entered was dimly lit and depressingly familiar. He had seen many of them on board the Super Star Destroyer Lusankya, before the New Republic had dismantled them and he did not like what he saw.
The man form platform was vertical to the floor, but the controls on the side panel of the device showed it could be swung horizontally. The guard facing him spun Wedge around and uncuffed him. And in a dull bass monotone the guard said, "take off your flightsuit" as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Wedge nearly had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something smart, but he complied. He could do it himself or they could it for him. The door snapped open causing Wedge to jump.
"Ah, Iceheart come to join the party?" Asked Wedge giving her an insolent grin.
She barely glanced at him, "Put him in." She purred. Wedge was pushed back into the cold restraints and he inwardly winced as the guards snapped each one shut.
Bracing himself Wedge cocked an eyebrow at the Imperial as if to say ~Bring it on~. Surprisingly instead of ordering the interrogation techs to begin, she tapped a portable view screen thoughtfully.
"I wasn't sure whether to show you this now. Or to just surprise you with new company," she gave him a malicious smile. "I couldn't wait."
Flicking the screen on she shoved it toward him. Wedge was unusually good at keeping his emotions from his face. That was why he was such a good saabac player he reflected abstractly, but even he couldn't disguise his heart hitting his gut as he realized who was on the viewscreen. Corran Horn's heavily disguised, very oblivious face as he sat laughing with a very familiar blond haired farm-boy.
******
Still laughing Corran gestured shakily at Luke, "Hold on, hold on I've got another one." Surreptitiously pushing a piece of flimsi at Luke, Corran continued his joke. "So, so this guy walks into a bar."
Luke frowned perplexed letting the rest of Corran's joke wash over him he glanced at the note. Empty pockets in the force, all around us. Ysalimari. Eyes widening Luke reached out with the force and interrupted Corran's joke.
"No, wait you've told me that one before." He stood up, "Come on, you're so drunk you can't even see straight. Let's get you back to the hotel." Corran waved him off playing out his part. "No, no I'm fine." He attempted to get up, but fell back heavily into his seat. Grimacing Luke pulled him up and hoisted Corran's arm over his shoulder. "Come on. Up we go!" And they staggered awkwardly out of the cantina, Corran leaning heavily on Luke's shoulder.
Out on the street Corran dropped the act and Luke sent out his mental probes through the force. "There are five empty pockets, surrounding us. How much you do you wanna bet that they're stormies with ysalimari?" Asked Luke after a few tense seconds of silence.
"Probably a lot." remarked Corran. "Come on we've gotta get moving. There's a good chance that we've shadowed since we touched down on the planet. Which means Yari and John's cover is blown wide open. We've got to get Pash and warn them somehow or else we're going to have to rescue three people up there, instead of just one."
"Actually, Corran I believe that we've got a far more pressing problem on our hands at the moment." Said Luke scanning the street. "Oh, and what might that be?" Asked Corran not really wanting to know the answer.
"It appears as though our Imperial counterparts are not very pleased with our movements, because they are closing on our position now."
"Great, just great" Said Corran rolling his eyes.
Ducking into a side alley, they began to run.
*****
Pash Cracken turned away from the window and sighed. He hadn't felt like going to the cantina with Corran and Luke, but now he wished he had. The whole mission was weighing on him, something just didn't feel right. He had gone over all the details countless times, replaying in his head every possible scenario, and he still couldn't figure out what had been bothering him. He collapsed onto the room's small bed and sighed again, he knew what was bothering him. Everything.
The whole mission had gone just a little bit too smoothly for his tastes. Planet fall had been a piece of cake no one had asked any questions, or for that matter seemed very interested in just another cargo shuttle visiting this out of the way planet. No one had even hassled them at customs everything was just too easy. Too easy indeed.
******
"Milady, our quarry is aware and running." Reported Lieutenant first class Vincent Carapelli.
"Very well, thank you lieutenant." Cutting the comm transmission Isaard turned to Rillen.
"Well, it appears as though its time to begin bringing in our loose ends. Take the two already onboard, and send two teams down to the planet's surface." She turned back to the viewport. Nodding Rillen saluted and turned towards the door. "Yes Madame Director."
Still looking out the window Isard added "General," turning Rillen lifted an eyebrow. "Yes Ma'am?" She turned, "Bring the male prisoner to me. I have a few words to say to him."
"Yes Ma'am." Turning he walked out the door. Never voicing the questions that her comment had left in his mind
******
Lost in thought Yarielle tried in vain to turn her attention back to the front of the classroom. Joining up on planet had been easy, almost too easy. She could have easily attributed the ease to the fact that. she shook herself. She shouldn't be focusing on the negative, the hardest thing she and John had faced was pretending to be ignorant of drills and procedures on board a military ship and to "learn" the ins and outs of being in an armed service. Of course it was a little different aboard an Imp ship however as it was she and John were at the top of their class. Suddenly the doors at the back of the room snapped open and armed stormtroopers poured through. ~Not that they needed that many. She reflected abstractly to take just two people. ~
John Trasten's head snapped around as the classroom doors burst open, and before he even saw the glistening armor he knew that the jig was up. ~Not that there's anything I can do about it.~ Unarmed the stormtroopers would just peel him off of their armor, plus he was in a room of annoyingly imperialistic minded students. What can I do? The troopers headed straight for him and he saw five others move off to dispatch Yarielle.
Picking him up by his flight suit's lapel the trooper roughly slammed him to the floor, and cuffed his hands behind his back. Hauling him back upright the troopers rybet marched him out the door and into the hall. His mind still trying to adjust to his fast changing fortune, John had barely gotten his thoughts in order before he was thrust into Isard's office.
"Good afternoon lieutenant." Said Isard smiling knowingly. "I have been expecting you." It was then that all of John's nagging fears came to painful fulmination.
******
The echo of soft footsteps in the hallway brought Pash Cracken's head up with a jerk. His feeling of unease had been growing exponentially with every passing minute that Luke and Corran were not back, telling himself to relax he lay back down on the bed trying to convince his overactive imagination that stormtroopers were not in fact edging their way up to his door at this very moment.
The door to the room softly rattled as something brushed against it. Leaping out of the bed and diving for the drawer where he had put his weapon earlier, he swung smoothly around bringing his weapon to bear as he studied the unmoving portal. ~Get a grip Pash~ he warned himself it's probably just your imagination.
Slowly approaching the door his gun raised, Pash peered out of the small peephole into the hallway. Nothing moved. The corridor stretched in either direction empty. Shaking his head Pash threw his gun down on his bed cursing himself for an over imaginative fool. There was no immediate danger.
With a blinding flash a red bolt of light shattered the window in a crystalline spray of glass. The room was then illuminated by a serpentine flash of blue energy which coiled around Pash's writhing form as he fell to the sharply glittering floor. Behind his falling form the door burst open and the room was soon filled with the sound of softly clicking white body armor.
******
Corran and Luke raced down darkened streets extending their senses to encompass as much of the surrounding area as possible. They had left their pursuit far behind in a spurt of force enhanced speed, but now had to slow as they detected more and more of the telltale pockets of emptiness indicating ysalimari and stormtroopers as they neared their hotel. Luke abruptly stopped as he sensed movement ahead of them causing Corran, running a few steps behind, to nearly knock the elder jedi to ground. He gestured Corran back toward the way they'd come and they slipped into an ill lit alley.
"They have Pash." Said Luke breathing heavily. "There's no point in going back. We'd be walking into a trap."
Shaking his ahead as if trying to dispel a bad dream Corran exploded, "Son of a Sith!" Abruptly remembering who he was with Corran looked up embarrassed, "No offense to you."
Luke, despite himself grinned. "None taken." Corran went on, "We've been set up! This whole situation was a trap! I will not be her prisoner again!" Corran's voice nearly broke, "I can't."
Luke looked at him sympathetically "I'm afraid that's exactly what she wants. Unfortunately it looks like we've been playing right into her hands."
Corran nodded grimly, "And now she has Pash! As well as Wedge and I'm sure John and Yari aren't far behind. One of them will break. We need to get them out NOW!"
Luke sighed his shoulder's slumped "You're right, but first we need to contact Tycho and Airen. They need to know what's going on." Nodding Corran agreed. "The Imps have our transmitter, we need to get our hands on another, and that's not going to be easy on this backwater little dust ball."
Luke smiled. "Right well I have a few ideas as to where to start. I grew up on a backwater little dust ball you know."
Corran grinned, "Well then aren't we lucky?"
Slipping silently down the alley the two force users allowed the shadows of the alley to consume them and disappeared into the night.
* * *
Gulping nervously Lieutenant first class Vincent Carapelli waited for Director Isard's face to appear on his comm. unit. "Yes, Lieutenant?" Came her voice snapping impatiently.
"Madame Director," the young soldier began nervously. "There was a slight problem planet side. We were unable to capture two of the rebel operatives and they still remain at large, whereabouts unknown."
Isard was silent for a moment her mismatched eyes flashing dangerously. "I want them found Lieutenant." She finally bit out. "I want them found immediately. There will be severe consequences if they are not apprehended within the next two hours." Her tone cut like a knife and the Lieutenant had to restrain himself from taking a step back from her simulated image at the sheer fury in her too calm voice.
"Yes Ma'am immediately." He managed to squeak out.
"Do not fail me again lieutenant."
"No, Ma'am-" The connection cut out.
* * *
"Your men have failed General." The statement was full of menace. Isard turned away from the comm. unit and speared Rillen with a withering glare.
"Madame, if you will remember I did suggest that we bring them in as soon as they arrived on planet."
"Yes, but you also said that your men could handle any situation. I do not tolerate failure General. If this type of situation should come about in the future I will hold you completely responsible."
"I understand Madame Director." Said Rillen releasing a small sigh.
"However, fortunately for you and your troops I have already taken this possibility into account and am prepared for it. We need but sit back and wait, the rebels must still rescue their friends. We still hold the upper hand. Lighten the guard in the detention bloc."
"Excuse me, why-"
"You need not worry General I have a most delicious surprise for our rebel friends." The smile on her face could have plunged Tatooine into winter. Rillen could not help but repress a slight shudder. Isard seemed less and less stable everyday, but she commanded here for now. He saluted her and turned toward the door. For now.
******
Yes, yes I know this galaxy far, far away does not belong to me. But it just looked so pretty up on that shelf I had to get it down and play with it a bit. I promise to put it back just a little worse for wear. I'm not making any money on this and I don't have any money anyway so suing me just wouldn't make sense.
******
"Corran," Luke said slowly," something doesn't feel right." he paused reaching out with the force "It's almost as if the ship doesn't exist, or." Luke's face had suddenly become drained of all color.
"What! What's the matter!" Exclaimed Corran
"That ship is absolutely covered with Ysalimari," said Luke dejectedly.
"That's why I can't feel it." He sighed, "either Isard has gotten paranoid, smart or we've got a very big problem on our hands. Well either way we have a problem, but do you think she suspects something? "
"You know," said Corran glancing up the huge ship they were rapidly approaching, "I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this."
"Yeah." Luke sighed, "me too."
* * *
Smiling widely at the man in front of him, Lieutenant John Trasten took the flimsi the Imperial Customs official offered him.
"And have a nice stay," the man hesitated glancing at John's papers.
"Mr. Sanos."
"Thank you! Sir! I'm here to enlist in the Navy." He gushed.
"Do you think they'll take me!"
The customs agent didn't even look up. "Oh! I'm sure they will." He said unenthusiastically. Turning away from the patriotic customs official John kept his smile screwed in place until he was far enough away from the pig to not turn around and wring his pompous neck. Yari appeared at his shoulder and put a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Easy Jerred," she said using his code name. He shook her off.
"Hello Sirl. Where're we going?"
"Nearest recruiting office. It's a good bet they're pretty desperate for recruits these days."
"Hmm," John grunted, "Let's hope so"
Neither of them saw the sun glint on the microbinoculars trained on their receding forms.
*******
General Sean Rillen of Imperial Intelligence watched the two rebels through narrowed eyes. He was really getting too old for fieldwork, but he had been too curious to stay away. Imagine! Such loyalty in rebels! Unthinkable!
He had to admit he had been dubious of Isard's plan from the very start if only because he had not believed the rebels would come through for their friend. He had been trained to think that the rebels were animals. But animals had little loyalty. Interesting. Bringing his attention back to the present he glanced down at the street.
The two down there were not the important ones, but they were worth watching. If anything Rillen had learned throughout the years was that what you didn't know was the most dangerous and stood for the most watching, because one never knew when the enemy had a Skifter in the deck.
* * *
Wedge's pain numbed mind was finally starting to clear when the lights suddenly came on in a blazing burst of brilliance. Very nearly causing Wedge to cry out as the too bright light hit his dilated pupils. He heard the click of boots on the metallic floor and his over abused eyes tried to track the face attached to the sound. He didn't even see the boot coming until it crashed into his ribs. The air in his lungs left him in a rush of oxygen.
"On your feet rebel scum. Director Isard wants to see you." Wedge rolled his eyes. Great! Painfully climbing to his feet Wedge was assisted out the cell door by a generous shove from the guard behind him.
A second guard waited outside the cell, neatly fielding Wedge he slammed him against the wall with dizzying force. Wrenching Wedge's arms behind him he cuffed them there. Leading the way ugly guard number one, as Wedge had dubbed him started off down the corridor. Following, Wedge stumbled after him aided by the guard behind him.
The cold impersonal hallways seemed to progress forever, marked by gleaming steel doors. Finally they stopped in front of a forbidding metal portal. Punching the lock the first guard stepped through, Wedge resignedly followed. The room they entered was dimly lit and depressingly familiar. He had seen many of them on board the Super Star Destroyer Lusankya, before the New Republic had dismantled them and he did not like what he saw.
The man form platform was vertical to the floor, but the controls on the side panel of the device showed it could be swung horizontally. The guard facing him spun Wedge around and uncuffed him. And in a dull bass monotone the guard said, "take off your flightsuit" as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Wedge nearly had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something smart, but he complied. He could do it himself or they could it for him. The door snapped open causing Wedge to jump.
"Ah, Iceheart come to join the party?" Asked Wedge giving her an insolent grin.
She barely glanced at him, "Put him in." She purred. Wedge was pushed back into the cold restraints and he inwardly winced as the guards snapped each one shut.
Bracing himself Wedge cocked an eyebrow at the Imperial as if to say ~Bring it on~. Surprisingly instead of ordering the interrogation techs to begin, she tapped a portable view screen thoughtfully.
"I wasn't sure whether to show you this now. Or to just surprise you with new company," she gave him a malicious smile. "I couldn't wait."
Flicking the screen on she shoved it toward him. Wedge was unusually good at keeping his emotions from his face. That was why he was such a good saabac player he reflected abstractly, but even he couldn't disguise his heart hitting his gut as he realized who was on the viewscreen. Corran Horn's heavily disguised, very oblivious face as he sat laughing with a very familiar blond haired farm-boy.
******
Still laughing Corran gestured shakily at Luke, "Hold on, hold on I've got another one." Surreptitiously pushing a piece of flimsi at Luke, Corran continued his joke. "So, so this guy walks into a bar."
Luke frowned perplexed letting the rest of Corran's joke wash over him he glanced at the note. Empty pockets in the force, all around us. Ysalimari. Eyes widening Luke reached out with the force and interrupted Corran's joke.
"No, wait you've told me that one before." He stood up, "Come on, you're so drunk you can't even see straight. Let's get you back to the hotel." Corran waved him off playing out his part. "No, no I'm fine." He attempted to get up, but fell back heavily into his seat. Grimacing Luke pulled him up and hoisted Corran's arm over his shoulder. "Come on. Up we go!" And they staggered awkwardly out of the cantina, Corran leaning heavily on Luke's shoulder.
Out on the street Corran dropped the act and Luke sent out his mental probes through the force. "There are five empty pockets, surrounding us. How much you do you wanna bet that they're stormies with ysalimari?" Asked Luke after a few tense seconds of silence.
"Probably a lot." remarked Corran. "Come on we've gotta get moving. There's a good chance that we've shadowed since we touched down on the planet. Which means Yari and John's cover is blown wide open. We've got to get Pash and warn them somehow or else we're going to have to rescue three people up there, instead of just one."
"Actually, Corran I believe that we've got a far more pressing problem on our hands at the moment." Said Luke scanning the street. "Oh, and what might that be?" Asked Corran not really wanting to know the answer.
"It appears as though our Imperial counterparts are not very pleased with our movements, because they are closing on our position now."
"Great, just great" Said Corran rolling his eyes.
Ducking into a side alley, they began to run.
*****
Pash Cracken turned away from the window and sighed. He hadn't felt like going to the cantina with Corran and Luke, but now he wished he had. The whole mission was weighing on him, something just didn't feel right. He had gone over all the details countless times, replaying in his head every possible scenario, and he still couldn't figure out what had been bothering him. He collapsed onto the room's small bed and sighed again, he knew what was bothering him. Everything.
The whole mission had gone just a little bit too smoothly for his tastes. Planet fall had been a piece of cake no one had asked any questions, or for that matter seemed very interested in just another cargo shuttle visiting this out of the way planet. No one had even hassled them at customs everything was just too easy. Too easy indeed.
******
"Milady, our quarry is aware and running." Reported Lieutenant first class Vincent Carapelli.
"Very well, thank you lieutenant." Cutting the comm transmission Isaard turned to Rillen.
"Well, it appears as though its time to begin bringing in our loose ends. Take the two already onboard, and send two teams down to the planet's surface." She turned back to the viewport. Nodding Rillen saluted and turned towards the door. "Yes Madame Director."
Still looking out the window Isard added "General," turning Rillen lifted an eyebrow. "Yes Ma'am?" She turned, "Bring the male prisoner to me. I have a few words to say to him."
"Yes Ma'am." Turning he walked out the door. Never voicing the questions that her comment had left in his mind
******
Lost in thought Yarielle tried in vain to turn her attention back to the front of the classroom. Joining up on planet had been easy, almost too easy. She could have easily attributed the ease to the fact that. she shook herself. She shouldn't be focusing on the negative, the hardest thing she and John had faced was pretending to be ignorant of drills and procedures on board a military ship and to "learn" the ins and outs of being in an armed service. Of course it was a little different aboard an Imp ship however as it was she and John were at the top of their class. Suddenly the doors at the back of the room snapped open and armed stormtroopers poured through. ~Not that they needed that many. She reflected abstractly to take just two people. ~
John Trasten's head snapped around as the classroom doors burst open, and before he even saw the glistening armor he knew that the jig was up. ~Not that there's anything I can do about it.~ Unarmed the stormtroopers would just peel him off of their armor, plus he was in a room of annoyingly imperialistic minded students. What can I do? The troopers headed straight for him and he saw five others move off to dispatch Yarielle.
Picking him up by his flight suit's lapel the trooper roughly slammed him to the floor, and cuffed his hands behind his back. Hauling him back upright the troopers rybet marched him out the door and into the hall. His mind still trying to adjust to his fast changing fortune, John had barely gotten his thoughts in order before he was thrust into Isard's office.
"Good afternoon lieutenant." Said Isard smiling knowingly. "I have been expecting you." It was then that all of John's nagging fears came to painful fulmination.
******
The echo of soft footsteps in the hallway brought Pash Cracken's head up with a jerk. His feeling of unease had been growing exponentially with every passing minute that Luke and Corran were not back, telling himself to relax he lay back down on the bed trying to convince his overactive imagination that stormtroopers were not in fact edging their way up to his door at this very moment.
The door to the room softly rattled as something brushed against it. Leaping out of the bed and diving for the drawer where he had put his weapon earlier, he swung smoothly around bringing his weapon to bear as he studied the unmoving portal. ~Get a grip Pash~ he warned himself it's probably just your imagination.
Slowly approaching the door his gun raised, Pash peered out of the small peephole into the hallway. Nothing moved. The corridor stretched in either direction empty. Shaking his head Pash threw his gun down on his bed cursing himself for an over imaginative fool. There was no immediate danger.
With a blinding flash a red bolt of light shattered the window in a crystalline spray of glass. The room was then illuminated by a serpentine flash of blue energy which coiled around Pash's writhing form as he fell to the sharply glittering floor. Behind his falling form the door burst open and the room was soon filled with the sound of softly clicking white body armor.
******
Corran and Luke raced down darkened streets extending their senses to encompass as much of the surrounding area as possible. They had left their pursuit far behind in a spurt of force enhanced speed, but now had to slow as they detected more and more of the telltale pockets of emptiness indicating ysalimari and stormtroopers as they neared their hotel. Luke abruptly stopped as he sensed movement ahead of them causing Corran, running a few steps behind, to nearly knock the elder jedi to ground. He gestured Corran back toward the way they'd come and they slipped into an ill lit alley.
"They have Pash." Said Luke breathing heavily. "There's no point in going back. We'd be walking into a trap."
Shaking his ahead as if trying to dispel a bad dream Corran exploded, "Son of a Sith!" Abruptly remembering who he was with Corran looked up embarrassed, "No offense to you."
Luke, despite himself grinned. "None taken." Corran went on, "We've been set up! This whole situation was a trap! I will not be her prisoner again!" Corran's voice nearly broke, "I can't."
Luke looked at him sympathetically "I'm afraid that's exactly what she wants. Unfortunately it looks like we've been playing right into her hands."
Corran nodded grimly, "And now she has Pash! As well as Wedge and I'm sure John and Yari aren't far behind. One of them will break. We need to get them out NOW!"
Luke sighed his shoulder's slumped "You're right, but first we need to contact Tycho and Airen. They need to know what's going on." Nodding Corran agreed. "The Imps have our transmitter, we need to get our hands on another, and that's not going to be easy on this backwater little dust ball."
Luke smiled. "Right well I have a few ideas as to where to start. I grew up on a backwater little dust ball you know."
Corran grinned, "Well then aren't we lucky?"
Slipping silently down the alley the two force users allowed the shadows of the alley to consume them and disappeared into the night.
* * *
Gulping nervously Lieutenant first class Vincent Carapelli waited for Director Isard's face to appear on his comm. unit. "Yes, Lieutenant?" Came her voice snapping impatiently.
"Madame Director," the young soldier began nervously. "There was a slight problem planet side. We were unable to capture two of the rebel operatives and they still remain at large, whereabouts unknown."
Isard was silent for a moment her mismatched eyes flashing dangerously. "I want them found Lieutenant." She finally bit out. "I want them found immediately. There will be severe consequences if they are not apprehended within the next two hours." Her tone cut like a knife and the Lieutenant had to restrain himself from taking a step back from her simulated image at the sheer fury in her too calm voice.
"Yes Ma'am immediately." He managed to squeak out.
"Do not fail me again lieutenant."
"No, Ma'am-" The connection cut out.
* * *
"Your men have failed General." The statement was full of menace. Isard turned away from the comm. unit and speared Rillen with a withering glare.
"Madame, if you will remember I did suggest that we bring them in as soon as they arrived on planet."
"Yes, but you also said that your men could handle any situation. I do not tolerate failure General. If this type of situation should come about in the future I will hold you completely responsible."
"I understand Madame Director." Said Rillen releasing a small sigh.
"However, fortunately for you and your troops I have already taken this possibility into account and am prepared for it. We need but sit back and wait, the rebels must still rescue their friends. We still hold the upper hand. Lighten the guard in the detention bloc."
"Excuse me, why-"
"You need not worry General I have a most delicious surprise for our rebel friends." The smile on her face could have plunged Tatooine into winter. Rillen could not help but repress a slight shudder. Isard seemed less and less stable everyday, but she commanded here for now. He saluted her and turned toward the door. For now.
******
