Finally, after listening to the ongoing battle for nearly a minute,
she managed to get her arms to move, and the world to focus a bit more.
Still not sitting up, she managed to pry the spent powerpacks from her
blaster, and slip new ones in their place. By then, she could move her
legs, but she couldn't feel much in her right one. Deciding to worry about
that later, she struggled to her knees, and peered out at the bay from her
vantage point near the landing ramp of the ship.
Garbag was nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't hear him either. Kaybin's DX-97x was still singing its song of death, but she couldn't see the fighting taking place between him and whoever remained of the Black Sun group. She knew she had to help him; if she could come at the enemy from behind, she and her partner just might survive this ambush and live to run guns another day. She stood and started around the ramp toward the firefight.
Movement to her left made her turn, and she caught a glimpse of a thick, stubby arm swinging toward her. She caught the blow across the face and was sent sprawling on her back, both blasters skittering away from her already shaky hands.
"Out of my way!" Garbag roared as he slithered past her with all the speed he could muster.
Saeryn rolled for her guns, but after taking two hits, she knew she wasn't going to be fast enough. Even as she brought one DX-97 up to track the Hutt's path, the slug was already slipping out of the bay and up the access corridor. Her single shot went wide and hit the wall behind him. Cursing, she started to her feet to give chase, but the sounds of booted feet nearby made her attend to more immediate concerns.
Four of the Black Sun thugs were bearing down on her, running like mad and yelling various oaths and curses. Kaybin charged close behind them, yelling like a mad Togorian and blazing away with his rapid-fire gun. One of the two Rodians and a Human took bolts in the back and sprawled on their faces, unmoving. A Weequay spun completely around as he took one of Saeryn's shots in the shoulder, then dropped in his tracks as a second bolt went through his chest. The second Rodian bulled right into the Human woman, and Saeryn yelled in dismay as she was knocked down yet again.
As Kaybin stopped to help his partner, the other alien made good his escape, and darted out of the landing bay as fast as his legs could carry him.
Saeryn groaned as Kaybin offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked, his fur ruffling in apparent concern as he looked her over. "What happened to you? I thought I was supposed to be the one to get shot up. I was the bait after all."
Saeryn blinked as her partner, the landing bay, and everything in it threatened to loose focus again. She gripped the Bothan's shoulder tightly, trying to stop herself from swaying on her feet. "I couldn't let you take away all the glory," she tried to say cheerfully, but it came out as more of a gasp. "I'll be fine."
Kaybin didn't look too certain, but nodded. "All right. Hey, we've got to get those guns out of here. The Imperials are sure to show up any second; there's no way they're going to ignore the kind of firepower we were playing around with in here."
"How?" Saeryn returned. "We've got no way to transport them back to the Lady Rebel, and like you said, not enough time. We'd have to hire at least a pair of cargo speeder, and by the time we got them loaded, the Imps would be swarming over this place."
Kaybin hissed and muttered something in Bothan. "Fine. But I at least want to get a look at them before they go to join the Imperial arsenal. I didn't come all this way just to turn around now and leave, without even seeing them."
His partner couldn't help but chuckle at that, though it hurt to do so. "Whatever. I guess I might as well come with you. Let's make it fast."
Leaning heavily on Kaybin's shoulder, Saeryn started up the ramp of the ship. Both of them kept their weapons drawn, just in case any of the less courageous thugs still remained in hiding aboard. But as they walked through the corridors, no attackers presented themselves. As they passed the access hatch to the cockpit, Saeryn could see that her Rodian opponent was still in his chair, slumped to one side. The entire canopy of the cockpit had been burned away in the hail of energy, and even now, several fires were starting to burn hungrily in the remains of the control consoles.
A minute later, they reached the main cargo bay of the freighter. Stacked in low, neat rows were about two dozen large crates made of black metal. There was no sign of any guards, so the two smugglers stepped inside.
"What was the access code our suppliers gave us?" Kaybin asked as he left Saeryn leaning against one wall and moved toward one of the boxes.
"Seven-two-seven-one-beta-nine," Saeryn replied. "But we're not supposed to use it, just give it to the Rebels. I guess they didn't want us seeing exactly what we were running for them."
Kaybin just looked at her, the classic "oh please" look on his face. "Come on," he said, "what's the harm in taking a quick peek now? It's not like the Rebels are ever going to see these guns anyway. Not now." He punched the code into the access pad on the crate, and with a hiss of released pressure, the upper panel broke its seal and popped upward half an inch. Kaybin took hold of the lid and pulled it away, revealing a row of heavy blaster carbines sitting atop a bundle of packing foam. He gave a low whistle. "Wouldn't mind having a few of these myself," he said. "I guess the Rebels are serious about taking on the Empire. Too bad a few guns won't do them much good. It'd be interesting to see how they ran things once they took care of Palpatine."
"Yeah, well, that's not our problem now," Saeryn replied. "Come on, we've got to get out of here. We've wasted too much time already."
Kaybin started toward her, but stopped as a low-pitched beeping started to echo around the bay. "What's that?"
The beeping continued, gradually increasing in both tempo and pitch.
Saeryn swallowed as the horrible realization hit her.
"Sounds like a detonator," Kaybin breathed, echoing her thought.
"Sithspawn!" Saeryn shouted. "Garbag's rigged the guns! We've got to go, now!"
She started hobbling down the corridor as fast as she could. Kaybin was right behind her, grabbing her under one arm and all but dragging her through the ship. They half stumbled, half fell down the landing ramp, barely staying on their feet to keep running. They made their way across docking bay 92 and started up the access corridor; without breaking their stride, they plowed into the busy thoroughfare beyond, pushing their way through the crowds as fast as they could.
They were less than a dozen yards down the tunnel when the freighter exploded behind them.
It started as a low rumble that quickly built into an ear-shattering crescendo, shaking the spaceport complex so hard that dust and pebbles rained down from the ceilings of the tunnels. The stone docking bay easily withstood the blast, but the solid walls acted as a channel for the fire and debris from the ship. Most of it went skyward in a plume of flame, metal, and smoke, while the rest shrieked up the access corridor and spilled out into the main tunnel. Several of the pedestrians were blown off their feet and thrown across the crowd like dust motes. They were slow in getting up, as the crowd was more concerned about getting as far from away from the scene as possible before the authorities arrived rather than helping someone else.
In the chaos that broke loose, no one noticed the soot-covered Bothan and the battered Human that slipped quickly through the crowds and deeper into the warren of Mos Eisley.
Garbag was nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't hear him either. Kaybin's DX-97x was still singing its song of death, but she couldn't see the fighting taking place between him and whoever remained of the Black Sun group. She knew she had to help him; if she could come at the enemy from behind, she and her partner just might survive this ambush and live to run guns another day. She stood and started around the ramp toward the firefight.
Movement to her left made her turn, and she caught a glimpse of a thick, stubby arm swinging toward her. She caught the blow across the face and was sent sprawling on her back, both blasters skittering away from her already shaky hands.
"Out of my way!" Garbag roared as he slithered past her with all the speed he could muster.
Saeryn rolled for her guns, but after taking two hits, she knew she wasn't going to be fast enough. Even as she brought one DX-97 up to track the Hutt's path, the slug was already slipping out of the bay and up the access corridor. Her single shot went wide and hit the wall behind him. Cursing, she started to her feet to give chase, but the sounds of booted feet nearby made her attend to more immediate concerns.
Four of the Black Sun thugs were bearing down on her, running like mad and yelling various oaths and curses. Kaybin charged close behind them, yelling like a mad Togorian and blazing away with his rapid-fire gun. One of the two Rodians and a Human took bolts in the back and sprawled on their faces, unmoving. A Weequay spun completely around as he took one of Saeryn's shots in the shoulder, then dropped in his tracks as a second bolt went through his chest. The second Rodian bulled right into the Human woman, and Saeryn yelled in dismay as she was knocked down yet again.
As Kaybin stopped to help his partner, the other alien made good his escape, and darted out of the landing bay as fast as his legs could carry him.
Saeryn groaned as Kaybin offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked, his fur ruffling in apparent concern as he looked her over. "What happened to you? I thought I was supposed to be the one to get shot up. I was the bait after all."
Saeryn blinked as her partner, the landing bay, and everything in it threatened to loose focus again. She gripped the Bothan's shoulder tightly, trying to stop herself from swaying on her feet. "I couldn't let you take away all the glory," she tried to say cheerfully, but it came out as more of a gasp. "I'll be fine."
Kaybin didn't look too certain, but nodded. "All right. Hey, we've got to get those guns out of here. The Imperials are sure to show up any second; there's no way they're going to ignore the kind of firepower we were playing around with in here."
"How?" Saeryn returned. "We've got no way to transport them back to the Lady Rebel, and like you said, not enough time. We'd have to hire at least a pair of cargo speeder, and by the time we got them loaded, the Imps would be swarming over this place."
Kaybin hissed and muttered something in Bothan. "Fine. But I at least want to get a look at them before they go to join the Imperial arsenal. I didn't come all this way just to turn around now and leave, without even seeing them."
His partner couldn't help but chuckle at that, though it hurt to do so. "Whatever. I guess I might as well come with you. Let's make it fast."
Leaning heavily on Kaybin's shoulder, Saeryn started up the ramp of the ship. Both of them kept their weapons drawn, just in case any of the less courageous thugs still remained in hiding aboard. But as they walked through the corridors, no attackers presented themselves. As they passed the access hatch to the cockpit, Saeryn could see that her Rodian opponent was still in his chair, slumped to one side. The entire canopy of the cockpit had been burned away in the hail of energy, and even now, several fires were starting to burn hungrily in the remains of the control consoles.
A minute later, they reached the main cargo bay of the freighter. Stacked in low, neat rows were about two dozen large crates made of black metal. There was no sign of any guards, so the two smugglers stepped inside.
"What was the access code our suppliers gave us?" Kaybin asked as he left Saeryn leaning against one wall and moved toward one of the boxes.
"Seven-two-seven-one-beta-nine," Saeryn replied. "But we're not supposed to use it, just give it to the Rebels. I guess they didn't want us seeing exactly what we were running for them."
Kaybin just looked at her, the classic "oh please" look on his face. "Come on," he said, "what's the harm in taking a quick peek now? It's not like the Rebels are ever going to see these guns anyway. Not now." He punched the code into the access pad on the crate, and with a hiss of released pressure, the upper panel broke its seal and popped upward half an inch. Kaybin took hold of the lid and pulled it away, revealing a row of heavy blaster carbines sitting atop a bundle of packing foam. He gave a low whistle. "Wouldn't mind having a few of these myself," he said. "I guess the Rebels are serious about taking on the Empire. Too bad a few guns won't do them much good. It'd be interesting to see how they ran things once they took care of Palpatine."
"Yeah, well, that's not our problem now," Saeryn replied. "Come on, we've got to get out of here. We've wasted too much time already."
Kaybin started toward her, but stopped as a low-pitched beeping started to echo around the bay. "What's that?"
The beeping continued, gradually increasing in both tempo and pitch.
Saeryn swallowed as the horrible realization hit her.
"Sounds like a detonator," Kaybin breathed, echoing her thought.
"Sithspawn!" Saeryn shouted. "Garbag's rigged the guns! We've got to go, now!"
She started hobbling down the corridor as fast as she could. Kaybin was right behind her, grabbing her under one arm and all but dragging her through the ship. They half stumbled, half fell down the landing ramp, barely staying on their feet to keep running. They made their way across docking bay 92 and started up the access corridor; without breaking their stride, they plowed into the busy thoroughfare beyond, pushing their way through the crowds as fast as they could.
They were less than a dozen yards down the tunnel when the freighter exploded behind them.
It started as a low rumble that quickly built into an ear-shattering crescendo, shaking the spaceport complex so hard that dust and pebbles rained down from the ceilings of the tunnels. The stone docking bay easily withstood the blast, but the solid walls acted as a channel for the fire and debris from the ship. Most of it went skyward in a plume of flame, metal, and smoke, while the rest shrieked up the access corridor and spilled out into the main tunnel. Several of the pedestrians were blown off their feet and thrown across the crowd like dust motes. They were slow in getting up, as the crowd was more concerned about getting as far from away from the scene as possible before the authorities arrived rather than helping someone else.
In the chaos that broke loose, no one noticed the soot-covered Bothan and the battered Human that slipped quickly through the crowds and deeper into the warren of Mos Eisley.