Qualt Zhu gently unpacked the personal ion cannon. The mission was simple. An Imperial shuttle would soon be returning to the Devastator battle group from Ukio. He was to shoot it down.
The case was about three feet long and a foot wide. Inside were five sections of pipe, each about a foot long, and a small handle. He stuck all the pipes together to form a cylinder, then jammed the handle into place. After giving it a cursory glance to make sure everything worked, he locked the case and sat down to wait.
About an hour later, he heard the distinctive whine of a Lambda shuttles engines. He rose to one knee and slung the device over his shoulder.
Judging by the intensity of the whine, he began to guess when the shuttle would come into view. When he reached one, he squeezed the trigger.
Just in time. Due to his position behind the rocky wall, he and the shuttle could not see each other. As it turned out, the shuttle passed only ten feet above his head.
The electronic bzzzew of the blast being ionized immediately preceded the brilliant violet bolt out of the tube. Easily shrugging off the resistance the air provided, the bolt struck the belly of the shuttle directly in the center.
The shuttle began sparking as the ions began to interfere with the workings of its engines. The ship fell, smashing into the path not fifty feet from where he stood.
Mission accomplished.
But there would be survivors aboard. Survivors who would have valuable information…
Qualt sat down and waited. The only survivors who would be able to survive the trip back to the base were the ones who were strong enough to get themselves out of the crash.
His patience was rewarded less than a minute later, when a hand came shooting out of a gap in the wreck. He drew his pistol and walked over to the gap-
To find an unarmed man clawing his way out of the hole.
He leveled the blaster, his mouth twisting into a sadistic grin. "Get up. And show me your hands afterwards."
The man hurriedly complied. Qualt stared at his face. He had seen him somewhere before…
Then it hit him. His prisoner was one General Twerst Nu.
Commander of all ground forces in the Devastator battle group.
Excellent.