The characters you know are owned by George Lucas, all others are property of the Author. Do not replicate or post elsewhere without expressed written consent from the author.

Part 10

Wes hung around aimlessly as the security team did their work, performing their duties with all the efficiency and alacrity he would expect with a commander like Heshen in charge. One of them took a brief statement from him of his part in the "incident." Then they told him to go back inside the security lobby, and ignored him.

Fidgeting just inside the door, the pilot watched as the drivers were all loaded into the security transport and taken away toward the warehouses, as the droids made their last few trips, simply shoving the remaining boxes into the nearest end of the hallway and retreating. There was a brief discussion between Colonel Heshen and one of his officers about what to do with them, and then the colonel stalked toward the lobby while the officer raised a comlink and started speaking.

Heshen strode through the door, addressing Wes without preamble. "So, Major Janson," he said, planting himself squarely in front of the junior officer, "Would you care to explain to me why you took it upon yourself to allow a small fleet of transports to unload cargo here, when your clearly assigned duty was to watch a personnel entrance?"

The colonel's superior, sarcastic tone goaded Wes's temper. "I didn't invite them to stop here, sir. The driver in charge, Aruul Navik, took it upon himself to do that. Major Frantloo authorized the unloading. It was not my idea, Colonel Heshen, believe me." Wes tried to keep his tone even, but some of his ire came out in the force of his words.

"Major Frantloo takes too much upon himself. He has no better idea than you do about how to handle these thugs. He has been fortunate enough so far not to be on duty during one of these attacks, but he should know better than to take such luck for granted." The colonel looked to the side, responding to a question from one of his officers. "Call in Aachet and Yer'el. Debrief at Control G6. I'll be there shortly."

Taken by surprise, Wes stood in silence as the implications of the colonel's words sunk in. "You mean to tell me that those mynock-droppings have done this before? And nobody told me there were swoop gangs operating in the area?"

Colonel Heshen turned back to him with a growl. "Mind your language, Major, and don't be insolent. If you had followed protocol, you would have had no need to trouble yourself about swoopers in the area. Twice now they have been reckless enough to break past the outer checkpoints and make runs at the warehouses. We have increased security at those areas in order to protect waiting transports. Your ineptitude, Major Janson, and Major Frantloo's impatience put these drivers in danger here."

With an effort, Wes bit down on his fury, resisting the temptation to pick up the slight man and punt him back out his precious personnel entrance. "I beg your pardon, sir, but it was the swoop gang who put the drivers in danger. And if I may say so, an extra patrol of guards at this location would have helped to drive them off before they could shoot up the trucks."

Heshen cocked an eyebrow again. "You are forgetting about the speeder patrol, Major? I believe they were the ones who chased the swoop gang out." Sticking an accusatory finger in Wes's face, he pressed on, giving him no chance to respond. "Until you are apprised of the entire security situation on this level, please don't assume that you understand my responsibilities better than I do. I shifted the speeder unit assignments so that they could cover this door as well as the warehouse section. My officers will secure the area and investigate what happened here. And now that this ill-advised unloading operation is finished, this door will be locked down, and it will not be reopened again until morning, under my authorization. Do my arrangements meet with your satisfaction, Major Janson?"

Wes returned the colonel's angry stare without flinching, but the man's clipped words and no-nonsense tone brooked no argument. "Yes, sir."

"Good." The colonel strode around Wes and stalked to the desk. The pilot drew a deep breath of the cool night air, trying to force calmness. He watched as the small cluster of droids lined up to board a larger transport, presumably to be ferried down to the warehouses -- and then the door abruptly whooshed down, blocking his view.

Wes turned to the desk, where the colonel was briskly keying commands into the terminal. He finished in a few moments and straightened. "The door is sealed, Major, and my people are on station outside. No more insistent delivery boys will be gaining entrance here tonight. Which is just as well for you, as it appears you have a lot of work to do." With an expression of grim, smug amusement, the colonel came out from behind the desk, turning his back on Wes and heading into the hallway.

Huh? "Wait a minute, Colonel Heshen -- what do you mean, I have work to do? You've just locked down my post. No one can get in. What's left for me to do here?"

"What is left, Major?" The colonel turned halfway around to look back at Wes, his face showing mild surprise, but a definite glint of malicious humor resting in his eyes. "Why, you have not even begun." He gestured at the last few pallets of boxes, lined up haphazardly against the wall where the droids had dropped them.

"Not even ... sir, what --"

"If you knew something about protocols in the Supplies sector of the base, Major, you would know that no Supplies watch officer is allowed to leave his post until all of the goods delivered under his period of duty have been stowed in the warehouses." He let this sink in for a moment, watching as Wes's eyes widened, his jaw dropping slightly as he absorbed the colonel's intention. "Since you have taken it upon yourself to carry out the duties of Supply as well as Security, you have also taken it upon yourself to make sure that these goods are moved into the warehouse." The man smiled thinly. "However, I must also inform you that all Security officers under my command are expected to leave their posts in the same condition in which they first arrived. You have until 0600 to clear this hallway, or I will have a formal reprimand placed on your record, with appropriate punishment duty forthcoming. I leave you to it, Major Janson." Nodding almost pleasantly, Colonel Heshen turned on his heel and walked away. Keying open the first door into the warehouse, he stepped through, leaving behind six trucks' worth of cafeteria supplies and one very flabbergasted pilot.

Continued in Part 11...