Chapter 5 – Foiled Plans
Aach's expression quickly changed from accommodating taxi pilot to calculating operative the second his last fare was dropped off. Princess Leia had been delivered to her shuttle nearly an hour earlier, but it had been necessary for him to assume a full shift for the hapless owner of the taxi in order to maintain appearances for as long as possible. In fact, Aach had been piloting this taxi for two days now while the rightful driver was kept blissfully semi-conscious feeding his illicit drug habit in one of the less reputable establishments of this part of the city. Tomorrow morning that driver would come down off his high to find his taxi just as he had left it and would hopefully write the whole episode off as just another party gone too far. If not, it wouldn't matter much. By then the Corvette would be well on its way and he and Winter safely back with the Rebel underground.
He now drove the taxi back to the tapcafe district from which it had been purloined and eased it into a dim lit parking area close enough to its original position for the hungover owner to find it easily. Leaving the outer coat and hat of the taxi uniform behind, he casually exited the vehicle to blend quickly into the seedy crowd congesting the already cramped and littered walkways. His relatively small stature and the overall lack of concern of the crowd allowed him to surreptitiously discard bits and pieces of his disguise unnoticed as he meandered slowly through the assortment of drunk and drugged sentients. By the time he emerged on the other side of the district, his appearance was different enough to fool a casual observer.
Walking with just a bit of a weave added to his stride, he made his way to a nondescript hovercar and fumbled a minute with the door and controls before successfully heading out in the direction of low rent housing. There was safe house hidden among those residences, and upon arriving he wasted no time in changing into more formal attire and heading back out in yet another, if somewhat fancier, hovercar. Though conscious of the seeming incongruity of his now posh appearance among the dilapidated surroundings, he was unconcerned. To these residents he was likely considered just another sleazy politician taking advantage of the number of accommodating bedriders and other entertainments available in the area.
Misperaries was not far from the safe house, and Aach found himself there a bit earlier than expected. Looking briefly at his chrono, he spared a moment to consider what the Princess Leia's progress might be. It had now been over two hours since he had dropped her off, and there had been no communication from her on the comlink he had provided. From this he concluded that she must be safely on-board the Corvette, which by this time should be preparing to undock. If everything continued as smoothly as it had been, she would be in hyperspace within the hour. It was time now to work on getting Winter out from under the Imperials' reach.
He gracefully exited the hovercover and handed the valet the access key along with a sizable tip. "Park her close, if you would," he requested with a gracious smile.
"Of course, sir," the appreciative valet responded.
Drawing himself into his most elegant posture, Aach proceeded into the restaurant and greeted the host with a confident and pleasant smile. "I have reservations for two under the name Perick. My companion is likely already here."
The host reacted with a hesitant look and turned to review his registry. "I'm checking, sir, but the registry indicates that reservation was cancelled earlier today."
"Oh, surely not," Aach responded with feigned surprise. "She would never have cancelled a reservation here."
The host put on his most apologetic façade and confirmed, "I'm sorry, sir, but the reservation has indeed been cancelled by someone."
"That spiteful woman," Aach now frowned in consternation. "Try to apologize and look what I get for my efforts. Just like her to embarrass me like this."
The host was obviously uncomfortable with Aach's elaboration. "Perhaps you would like to make another reservation for tomorrow night, or next week," he offered.
"No, no. If this is how she's going to be, I'll not be bringing her back here. Why, I bet that little vixen is here watching this just to get a laugh," Aach scoffed then let a knowing smirk cross his face. "In fact, I know she must be. Why don't you let me have a look see?"
"Oh no, sir. That would hardly be appropriate," the host replied with appalled shock.
"Oh come now, give a guy a break," Aach said with his most charming smile as he delivered a exceedingly generous sum to the host. "I promise to be a gentleman."
The host regarded him dubiously but slowly pocketed the credits, the large sum apparently smoothing his offended sense of propriety. "You may look, quickly and quietly," he emphasized.
"But of course," Aach winked in reply and quickly entered the dining area before the host had a chance to change his mind. He walked down the circular path separating the more exclusive tables by the transparisteel from those in the interior of the restaurant and made just enough of a show to attract the momentary attention of the diners as he passed them. One of the diners who graced him with a curious glance was Winter, who had up to that point appeared to be engrossed in reviewing her datapad over an after-dinner cafe. He slyly made their signal to communicate all was going as planned and completed his circuit around the restaurant to return to the host's station.
"Guess she's really through with me this time. Oh well, there's plenty more where she came from," Aach remarked smugly as he departed.
"Indeed sir," the host muttered in obvious relief at having avoided a scene.
**
Winter thanked her taxi driver as she turned to enter the main lobby of Leia's apartment building. She had been quite relieved to see Aach appear on schedule at the restaurant to inform her that Leia's extraction had gone smoothly. Now Winter had only to convince the Imperials that the Princess was turning in for the night before seeing to her own safety.
"Good evening, Senator," the doorman greeted her with the title considered more prestigious in this political environment. "I believe there is a package for you in the building administrative office."
"Thank you. I'll see to it," Winter acknowledged with a polite nod and gentle smile. Inside her own thoughts she mentally checked off yet one more item crucial to the successful completion of this mission, for hidden in that package were the means for her escape.
Giving of her new surroundings and the guards at the building entrance only a cursory scan to avoid raising suspicion, Winter headed directly for the administrator's station. When she arrived there without incident, Winter courteously addressed the clerk behind the desk, "I understand you have a package for me."
"Ah, yes. Senator Leia Organa, correct?"
Winter nodded in affirmation.
The clerk checked her log and verified, "Yes, it arrived earlier this evening while you were out. Just a moment, it's in the back," she said and rose from her desk to enter the office behind her station.
Winter used the opportunity to cast a casual but this time assessing glance back in the direction of the guards and out through the transparasteel by the building entrance. She was concerned that the increased surveillance Leia had been under since Balitar might have resulted in the package being confiscated and subjected to Imperial scrutiny. A standard scan would pick up nothing but some clothing and delicacy food items thanks to the return signal decoys imbedded in the package lining, but if the package had been opened… Well, that was part of the reason Aach was supposed to be outside waiting for her.
But there was nothing in the guards' stance to suggest that they were at all interested in the proceedings, and she again noted no unusual activity outside. When the clerk emerged without delay cradling a largish rectangular package in her arms, Winter turned her attention to back to her and made a quick inspection of package exterior as clerk continued her approached. Winter was relieved to see the subtle tamper indicators sealing the seams plainly showed it had not been opened and greeted the clerk again with a slight smile.
"Here it is. It's a little heavy though. Would you like some help with it?" the clerk offered helpfully as she set the package on the desk.
"No, thank you. I can manage it," Winter replied kindly as she placed her hand on the registry and allowed her overlayed fingerprints to be scanned to sign for the package.
"Have a good night then, Senator," the clerk said after verifying the identification, quite satisfied her responsibility was complete.
Winter picked up the package and completed the short trek to the private turbolifts without incident. Once inside, she keyed the code for the level shared by Leia's and several other apartments. More spacious and private accommodations were prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain on Coruscant, even for an Imperial Senator. Leia's added status as royalty from a prominent and prestigious Imperial system improved her priority only enough to secure a corner apartment with a private balcony. These conditions would now work to Winter's advantage.
The number of apartments on each floor and the private access available to some made it difficult for anyone to thoroughly track every being entering and leaving the building. It should therefore come as no surprise to the doorman and guards below to see an unknown glamorously dressed woman exit the building unescorted late at night. All of the building's employees were well experienced in overlooking the discreet visitors of the wealthier residents. Winter need only gain access to another apartment and appear to depart as a guest for that resident.
To accomplish this task she had been provided an ascension gun, a camouflaged body suit with a utility belt, a datapad with a lock slicing program, a small hold-out blaster and a suitable dress. The residence chosen for her intrusion belonged to a moderately wealthy computer programmer who led a quiet and by all appearances moral life in the apartment immediately above Leia's. He was known to work very late into the evening and so should not be home when Winter entered. If he was home, she would likely have to employ the blaster, on stun setting of course, to allow her the time to change into the dress and quietly exit the building. Winter regretted the possibility of having to add such complications to the man's life. However, his situation was perfect for her purposes and no permanent harm would be done.
The turbolift doors opened to admit Winter into the small foyer and narrow hallway serving as an internal passageway to the apartments. She casually made her way Leia's apartment and juggled the package somewhat awkwardly to key the entry code and gain access.
"Lights, standard level," she called to the computerized controls as she turned to close and lock the door behind her.
No longer concerned with visual surveillance, Winter immediately set the package down on the café table in the living area and ran her index finger over the interface panel to open it. She still had several hours to prepare before she would need to use the contents, but she was eager to verify her supplies and regain contact capability with Aach via the comlink inside. A light on the panel winked on in acceptance, and the locking mechanism released with a quiet click. The package top unfolded itself to reveal the contents arranged just as she expected. Smiling in satisfied relief, she reached for the comlink and turned it on.
" …erails blockading the main entrance. Get out of there! Now!" Aach was exclaiming in hushed tones. "Do you copy? Get out of there!"
Winter's blood ran stone cold at the instant realization of her new situation. She immediately looked to the transparasteel balcony entrance for a possible escape but was forced to reject the idea just as quickly at the sight of two Imperial Intelligence hovercars approaching the landing area. Even at this distance she could recognize the thick black hair with streaming white forelocks framing the face of Ysanne Isard. That the director of the Imperial Intelligence Agency was personally participating in this raid hinted at the possibility that their entire operation was already compromised. If so, Aach would have his own difficulties to deal with.
"I copy. Get loose yourself. You can't help me." Winter grimly replied to Aach.
Still far from panic, Winter quickly grabbed up the ascension gun, blaster and the utility belt and ran to Leia's bedroom. There was a window there on the other outside wall of the apartment. With any luck the Imperials would not have thought to guard it due to the elevation of the apartment and lack of escape routes on that side of the building, but perhaps with use of the ascension gun she might surprise them.
Throwing the window open she leaned herself out into the night air and craned her head around in search of any ledge or outcropping on which the ascension gun could take hold. There were just a few decorative shelves sparsely located both above and below her that served only to accentuate the main sculpture protruding from the center of the building's exterior. None appeared to offer a site of easy access off of or back into the building. With the Imps now battering away at both the balcony and main entrances, she had little time to give a detailed assessment to the dismal options before her. Bracing herself to blindly pick one in what would likely end up in a futile effort, she suddenly caught a glimpse of another alternative.
Several floors below her, at the base of the sculpture was a landing platform for a service entrance. At this time of night it was practically deserted save for one speeder bike, the owner of which seemed to be resting casually against it and absently staring in the opposite direction from her. Here was her way out, if she could reach it. The platform was at least fifty meters below her and a similar distance to her right. To try that jump would be considered suicide under normal circumstances, but to Winter that risk was preferable to facing Imperial interrogation.
Quickly discarding the decorative belt of Leia's senatorial gown, she replaced it with the utility belt and situated the blaster in the holster. Leaning back out the window she mentally traced the arc she would have to travel to reach the platform and then calculated the point on the sculpture from which it would have to be centered. Taking careful aim, she steadied her grip on the ascension gun and fired.
The grappling module sped silently away into the night and found its purchase on the sculpture just slightly above her position in the window. Winter locked the cord reel in place and secured the gun to the utility belt to provide additional support for her body during the flight to come. Twining the cord around her right arm and gripping it tightly with both hands, she said a silent prayer for luck and jumped just as she heard the balcony entrance give way to the Imperials.
Time seemed to slow down as she fell freely through the first few meters, the tension on the cord growing gradually as she started the swing of a pendulum. She worked to drag her feet across the building exterior, trying anything to increase friction and reduce the forward velocity at which she would be traveling near the arc's bottom. There she would have to release the grappling module and fall to the landing platform with hope that she simply wouldn't skip across the surface to fall off the other side.
As if sent to assist her efforts, a strong thermal gust whipped up and around the corner of the building to rage against her flight and add to the windstorm already tearing her hair free from the circular braids that contained it. Squinting her eyes against the wind's assault, she focused her concentration on the approaching platform. Deciding to aim for the absolute nearest point, she cut loose from the grapple fixture just before her path brought her over the surface.
She had the barest fraction of second to prepare for the jarring impact as her body was driven hard onto the duracrete. When she hit, she let her legs give way into a roll and used her arms to shelter her head as she began to tumble haphazardly across the surface. Surprised not to feel bones breaking at the initial impact, she was equally surprised when she slammed into a stack of crates and was knocked briefly senseless.
The first thing Winter's muddled brain realized was that she had managed stop safely and with relatively few injuries. The second thing that registered was a darkly dressed form leaning over her and grabbing tightly onto her left arm.
"Stang! Are you alright?" said a voice in impressed amazement.
Winter focused briefly into the intense blue eyes of the kid now trying to help her out the heap of ruined crates and accepted his assistance to upright herself and get free of the cord tangled around her. She had just regained her footing when the sound a distant explosion echoed up between the buildings. Winter immediately attributed it to Aach's attempt at escape and did not allow it to divert her attention. However, the kid turned his head curiously toward the direction from which the sound seemed to originate. Winter used the moment of distraction to break free of his grasp and quickly draw the blaster to point at his chest.
"Now I'll just need that speeder bike of yours," she said coldly in response to his shocked expression.
"Whoa! Hey, whatever lady. It's yours. Key card's in it," the kid conceded, raising his arms as he quickly backed away toward the service entrance.
"You don't mind staying right there while I verify that, do you?" she threatened as she limped slowly toward the speeder bike, always keeping the blaster trained on him.
The kid didn't reply but simply gestured toward the bike. When she was next to it, she glanced down and noted that the key was indeed inserted into the ignition panel.
"Nice to see there's still some honesty on Imperial Center," Winter acknowledged as she waved him away.
The kid had no chance to respond as a volley of laser fire from Leia's window tore into the platform between them. Winter lost all concern about him as she turned and hopped onto the bike while ducking the blasts. Hitting the ignition switch and accelerator almost simultaneously, she was gratified when the speeder roared to life and sped off at her command with no complaint.
She headed immediately around the opposite corner of the building to get out of range of Isard's agents and then dived for the surface, keeping her eyes sharp to search for additional Imperials as she began to weave between buildings. When no pursuit was immediately apparent, Winter re-holstered the blaster and reached for the comlink.
"I'm clear of the area," she reported to Aach.
**
Aach felt some relief when Winter finally acknowledged his warning about the Imperials entering the building, but his concern spiked again when her terse voice reported there was nothing he could do to help her. He had been prepared to fight his way through the Imps to reach Leia's landing platform or any other exit point Winter managed to find. That she had waved him off suggested the situation was even grimmer than it appeared from his vantage point in an alley on the other side of the street.
He carefully studied his own surroundings for any sign that he too was in trouble. If the Imps were on to him it would mean Princess Leia was in danger as well, and he would need to send out the appropriate distress call while he still could. But there was no sign of any threatening activity in his vicinity and no indication that he was under surveillance. Refusing to be comforted in that, he nevertheless set his mind to not abandon Winter here. He would wait as long as possible on the chance that an opportunity might arise for him to help her.
Aach focused on the military hovercars parked by the building and the few stormtroopers standing guard at the entrance and keeping all pedestrian traffic away. The small anti-personnel detonators he was carrying would easily destroy the hovercars and create quite a distraction for the guards in the process. The streets were still crowded enough that he was confident in his ability to lose any subsequent pursuit the stormies could muster, especially if he left them with no immediate transport available. Satisfied he had a workable plan of action, Aach settled back to wait for the moment when it would benefit Winter the most.
He'd only waited a few minutes when one the stormtroopers seemed to acknowledge a transmission and signaled to his companions. As three began to move toward the hovercars, Aach gunned his accelerator and sent his own hovercar speeding recklessly into the street. All the guards turned in his direction but had no time to react further before he neatly lobbed a pair of detonators in their direction.
The first one he threw missed the rear vehicle and instead skidded to halt in the midst of the stormtroopers. The second found its intended target, landing perfectly in the pilot's seat of the roofless craft. Both exploded within a second of landing, disabling or destroying both hovercars and killing all of the guards either directly through the small blasts or by the flying shrapnel they created.
Aach was unaware of the full effectiveness of his attack as he sped away, but noted with deep satisfaction that no immediate pursuit ensued. He made several quick turns intending to first work his way toward busier thoroughfares to get lost in the traffic and then toward more private areas where he could ditch the hovercar sure to have been captured on surveillance video. He had just succeeded in blending in with the late night traffic when his comlink squawked.
"I'm clear of the area." He heard Winter say over the roar of what sounded like a souped up speeder bike.
"All is well here. Do you need assistance?" Aach quickly offered.
"Negative, all is quiet. But we may have a busted vac suit," she responded, referring the possibility that their cover might have blown to the point that Leia was in danger.
Aach considered this again, but quickly convinced himself that if that were the case the Imps would surely have been shadowing him as well and shown themselves by now. Their intent must have been just to arrest Leia, but they had been too late. Now there was nothing they could do track her even if they did manage to piece together the details of the operation. There was no need to warn Leia off at Toprawa.
"I'm breathing just fine here," he replied. "Let's turn in for the evening," he added by way of instructing her to proceed to the prearranged safe house.
**
Isard cursed in frustrated disbelief as shot after shot missed her target on the landing platform below. Her aim was usually dead on, but tonight she had an uncontrollable twitch just as she pulled the trigger. Yet another item to add to the list of disasters plaguing her this night.
The first mishap had been the lack of response from the team tracking the taxi driver when she had made the call to move in. She had attributed it to a malfunctioning comlink at the time and focused on her primary target, the woman who had so boldly posed as the Princess.
After bursting into the apartment and discovering the contents of the mystery package the woman had picked up, Isard had quickly surmised the Rebel agent's plans. She had called for backup to cover the building's exterior and dispersed the agents accompanying her through the building's interior in case the woman had already managed to gain access to another apartment. The sound of the explosion and subsequent lack of response from the detail at the building entrance heralded the occurrence of the second disaster and clarified the true the meaning of the first.
Still convinced that she had the woman trapped in the building somewhere, Isard hadn't recalled any agents to the hovercars on the landing platform until after discovering the Rebel had somehow made to the service platform below. Isard had intended to kill the woman herself or to at least hold her off from the speeder bike long enough for the agents to reach her, but her aim had failed her. She held no illusion that the agents would react in time to catch the woman now speeding away into the night.
"Damn!" she muttered vehemently under her breath, cursing the Rebel's luck. Isard had thought her use of limited resources would eliminate the possible leak of the raid through the spies that infested her office. The events of this evening strongly implied the Rebels were better positioned than she had estimated, and now the lack of alerted resources meant the scum would likely escape unhindered.
"Lose something?" a voice quietly mocked her from behind.
Isard spun around in raging fury at the imbecile who would dare to address her so. Expecting to confront a straggling agent and blast him into oblivion, she was taken aback by the unassuming, shrouded figure that held its ground before her. It took only a microsecond for realization to hit her.
"You're the Emperor's other agent," she sneered in accusation as she tried unsuccessfully to get a clear view of her competitor's face.
"And the one who just saved you from yourself," he taunted in reply.
"YOU!" she screamed in uncontrolled hatred, fully intending to fire her blaster and rid the Empire of this abhorrent traitor.
But the figure's gloved hand whipped quickly out from the cloak surrounding him to knock the blaster forcefully from her grip with the power of his thought. She had no time to completely grasp the significance of that action before the hand dropped down in a tightly clenched fist and forced her down to her belly in seeming response to the motion. The first bit of scornful fear began emerging in Isard's mind as she realized she was entirely at the mercy of this manipulative, Force-using menace.
"You were ordered to stay clear of this Rebel operation," he hissed at her.
"I was told only to allow Princess Organa to leave. No restrictions were made on her cohorts," Isard spitefully defended herself.
"You risked everything just to prove yourself against these worthless pawns," he continued his accusations, unaffected by her argument.
"I risked nothing! I waited until the Princess was in hyperspace. There was no way for them to warn her."
"So sure of the Rebel's capabilities, are you? They seem to have proven themselves quite resourceful against you in the past," he mocked her again.
Isard seethed in growing anger at his allusion to the failure at Darkknell and banished all fear from her mind. If he had intended to kill her, he would have done so already. No, this he was doing simply to humiliate her, perhaps in a power play for the Emperor's favor. She would not gratify him with her fear or any acknowledgment of failure on her part.
Arkus noted the shift in Isard's emotions. He truly wished he could kill her, but the Emperor seemed infatuated with her, another bauble to add to his collection perhaps. Arkus would not risk his master's wrath over this pathetic creature, but he also would not allow her to ruin the plans he had for the Princess.
Had Isard just wanted the woman, it would have been acceptable, but moving in on the other would have tipped the Rebel's that their operation had been compromised from the start. Arkus had prevented that blunder by disposing of the agents following that man back in the vile tap café district the Rebel had walked through. Providing assistance here to the woman had not been strictly necessary, but Arkus had taken great pleasure in demonstrating his power to Isard. That she had been watching the Princess over his shoulder had infuriated him, and now he wanted to make it clear to her that he would not tolerate any further meddling just so she could attempt to impress the Emperor.
Knowing his objectives had been satisfactorily met, Arkus released Isard from his hold and drew back into the shadows.
"I suggest you work on an explanation for the Emperor," he advised. "Perhaps with your talent, you can turn this to your advantage after all." Arkus then left her to stew with that final taunt.
****
Leia's tension did not release as the Corvette entered hyperspace. She was reminded of her recent departure from Balitar. Arkus had not really let her go then, and she couldn't believe he had now.
There was no evidence they had been discovered. Her portion of the operation had run perfectly. Aach had stopped to pick up supposedly drunken starship crewmembers screaming that they would miss their shuttle as they scrambled into the taxi. Leia had slipped out of her hiding place in the confusion and done her best to join in their shouts. During the brief exposures of the shuttle trip and boarding the Corvette, her new companions had taken care to always keep her surrounded to prevent any on-lookers from getting a close look at her. But nobody had appeared interested. There had apparently been no difficulty in obtaining clearance to launch either.
Leia absently rubbed her bruised arm where she had been inadvertently kicked as she pondered the ease of her escape. Everything had simply gone too smoothly.
The soft warble of an R2 unit broke the silence.
"Well, it looks like we'll be together for a while," she responded to the droid and his humanoid mechanical companion sharing her new quarters.
R2-D2 and C-3PO had been in her father's service in one capacity or another for as long as she could remember. Now, according to the instructions on the datacard that Aach had given her, R2 would be needed to decrypt the Death Star plans that would be transmitted to this ship as they flew by Toprawa. C-3PO was just along as the other droid's interpreter.
"Oh, Mistress Leia, is this space travel really necessary?" Threepio whined. "I really do function much better on firm ground."
"Everything will be fine, Threepio," Leia sighed. She had almost forgotten how trying this droid could be. This could prove to be a long trip indeed.
A chime at her door rescued Leia from additional complaints.
"Come in," she responded thankfully and rose to greet her visitor.
The door slid open and admitted the Corvette's captain.
"Please forgive my intrusion, Your Highness. I thought it best to introduce myself in person," the young Corellian began, standing at military attention. "I am Captain Ifrim Dosha, commander of this vessel. It is my pleasure to present the Dawning Sun and her 53 crewmembers to you as a representative of the Rebel Alliance. We will proudly serve under your direction."
Leia was as surprised by his statement as she was by his military formality. The datacard had said nothing to suggest that this vessel and crew were new defectors. She had simply assumed they were veterans. Leia had plenty of experience enticing and receiving new support from planetary diplomats, but accepting new military recruits was something new. She hardly felt regal in this worn work uniform, but perhaps this was the true face of the Rebellion.
Leia extended her hand. "It is my honor to accept your service in this mission. I'm sure you will receive official commissions when we reach our final destination."
Dosha accepted her handshake as willingly as her reluctance to reveal the details of their mission. He was a firm believer in "need to know", and all he needed right now was a course heading.
"We have made the jump to hyperspace along a heading consistent with our planned return to Corellia, but I had been given instructions to expect a course change. Do you have any orders at this time?" he asked.
Leia winced as his words reminded her of her paranoia. "You are sure we have left Coruscant undetected?"
"There are no indications we are being followed or tracked in any way. We ran a thorough scan before launch," Dosha stated confidently.
Leia sighed, still disturbed but uncertain what else she could do. "Then revert from hyperspace at the first opportunity, and set course for Toprawa at top speed. We have a transmission to receive."