Caeben stole nearer to the gate, stealthily fingering the comlink clipped to his lapel. Jae was on the other end, ready to back him up at a moment's notice. The boy was sitting in the cockpit right now, keeping an eye on things and resting while he could.
The Imperial prison on the backwater little planet wasn't much more than minimum security, but it was enough to make the Sylelian pilot sweat. The back gate he was heading for was programmed to set off the alarm if a faulty code was used on it. He would have to be careful not to touch the numpad as he opened the little panel in the control box with the help of a small laser blade.
Caeben finally reached the gate carefully went through that first step, using the laser blade to cut through the panel, then lifting it off. He let out a breath in relief as the pasta-plate of wires under the panel was exposed. So far, so good.
The pilot successfully located one of the wires he needed and detached one end with delicate care. However, he couldn't find the other wire.
"Jae," he whispered. The response was immediate.
"Problem?" Jae was slightly muffled through the com, but there was no mistaking that warm young voice.
"I can't find the second wire."
"Too dangerous to pull at random. You'll set off the alarm. Use the viscam to let me get a look at the wires."
Caeben carefully transferred the homemade cam from his pocket to his hand and held it over the wires, switching it on as he did so. For a few moments the only sound on the com was Jae's rapid breathing.
"The yellow one across the bottom," the boy said at last. "Detach the end on the right and connect it to the wire you already found."
With a surgeon's delicacy Caeben obeyed. The gate unlocked with a muffled clank.
"Thanks, Jae."
"Don't mention it. Just make for that cell, and remember what to do in case of guard droids."
The pilot acknowledged his young friend's advice and slipped silently through the gate. He gently placed the cam in his pocket and slithered to his right along the fence, keeping in the shadows. The Crenellian moon shone through a haze above him, illuminating the manicured lawn between the fence and the garrison wall.
Jae sat back in his chair and tried to relax. There was no reason his plan should not work. The Empire had made a compromising mistake in placing Arra and Kyell in a window cell on the first floor, and they were about to find that out. And Caeben was carrying everything he could possibly need.
Still Jae could not dismiss the small, nagging doubt. What was he missing?
Caeben reached the portion of the wall across from the targeted window without difficulty. He glanced this way and that and shook his head in disbelief. Incredibly arrogant and sure of their security, the Imps hadn't even posted patrols on the grounds inside the fence.
The pilot looked in the direction Jae had told him to and spotted the security holocam above the window the targeted cell, slowly sweeping back and forth. While it was turned away from him, he bolted across the grass and knelt next to the opaque window, exultation rising within him. The plan was working beautifully! Before long Arra would be free! And Kyell Tallen too, of course.
Caeben drew the laser blade and was about to cut those ugly prison bars when he noticed tiny, almost invisible crimson threads criss-crossing the window in a diagonal diamond pattern. They covered the glass, about five centimeters high, three wide. The threads led to a small gray box.
The Sylelian held the viscam up to the box and whispered into the comlink. "Jae, is this what I think it is?"
"Bren fuses! An alarm!" came the fierce reply. "Space around us! So that's what I forgot! I should have known. Fusion reactor core!"
Despite the situation, Caeben could not help but be amused by the boy's unique brand of swearing. "Calm down, kid. Just tell me how to get around it."
"You can't." Jae's voice was intense and forceful. "You'll just have to cut through and get them out of there quick. I'll have the Wind ready for launch by the time you get here."
The pilot gulped, his excitement suddenly gone. But this was it, and there was no way he was backing out now. He replaced the viscam and raised the laser blade, bracing himself for the klaxon of the alarm.