Rod68: Wait no longer! I hope you've accomplished all of your tasks and errands, because here is your restitution. Enjoy, my friend!
Guest: I think my biggest influences in writing this one are Michael Crichton and James Wesley Rawles, with a little Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down) thrown in, especially in the battle sequences. Like Rawles and Bowden, I do tend to get a little technical and descriptive with weaponry, tactics and setting when I write combat scenes. Since this is kind of a war drama sort of thing though, it kinda works. As long as you readers aren't falling asleep reading it!
PM'er: Yes, I said a circus sideshow. Society is too damned dull, and people are too critical and serious these days. Somebody has to do something to show all the wannabe secular puritans out there that life can be fun and amazing. Someone has to remind everyone that the power of letting go and the human imagination are the keys to fulfillment, and life can be whatever we fancy it to be. "The noblest art is that of making others happy."
Fun quiz: Anyone know who said that?
As much as I enjoy our conversation, enough jibber-jabber. Now on to the next installment, submitted as always for your reading pleasure. So enjoy, my dear readers.
The three rebel prisoners sat in their small cell. The tallest of them, a man with brown hair and hazel eyes tended to one of the others. His companion had endured an hour of electrical and chemical horrors designed to extract information from the scouting team. Despite what the cruel Imperial interrogator had visited on the man, he had endured it without breaking. Now, as they waited tensely for the next one of them to be taken to interrogation, they could only nurse the wounds of their comrade and plan for the worst.
Without warning, a strange figure appeared at the grated door. The three men in the cell looked up to see a humanoid being wearing a brown mask with a respirator. His body was mostly hidden by a well-worn grey cloak, the hood over its head. A pair of black boots were visible below the hem of the robe. They were somewhat startled to see the being there, as from its appearance alone, they could deduce that it was no Imperial. The stranger looked at them a moment, then keyed in a code on the control panel of the cell door. With a clang, the locking mechanism disengaged, and the robed figure threw open the door.
"You three." The man spoke. "This is a rescue, and there isn't much time."
"Is this some kind of trick?" The younger rebel of the trio asked angrily. "Because it's not going to…"
"You men want to stay in there until you rot…" The stranger interjected, "…then be my guest. I risked enough coming here to do this, so if you don't want…"
"Wait." The tall man, the leader of the trio spoke. "It's only natural to be suspicious. We'll take our chances with you, pal." Their rescuer nodded.
"I thought so. There's a ship waiting at these coordinates." The masked and robed figure said, handing a slip of paper to the rebel. "It will only be there another four hours, and it's an eight-kilometer trek, so you three had better get started." The figure led the three prisoners out of the cell and to an intersection at the end of the hall. He halted them with an upraised hand and looked down both corridors. From his robe, he drew out two small blaster pistols, and handed them to two of the rebels.
"Here. We liberated these off of a couple of guards. Use them only if you must. You attract attention, you'll have the entire garrison after you, understand? Disappear."
"Who are you?" The injured rebel asked.
"Someone whom you'll be helping a great deal if you get off this rock and tell your people what you've seen here."
"Then you're a friend of the alliance." The taller, brown-haired rebel asked.
"I am only doing what I have to…trying to pull off a good deed. That is all." The mysterious rescuer stated vaguely. He opened the hatchway leading to the outside of the building and drew his own blaster. The masked man leaned out and gazed out in all directions a moment. "Alright. It's clear. Go. Get to that ship."
"Thank you." The leader of the trio of rebels said, pausing as his comrades jogged toward the dense forest. "Whoever you are, we owe you." With that, the prisoner ran off after his companions, disappearing into the trees. The figure stepped back into the hall. He closed the door and practically tore off the mask and helmet. Commander Tharcourt let out an angry grunt.
"I hate this damned game." He muttered, taking off the long robe. He carried the bundle of costuming to a drawer in the wall, and crammed it all in, sending the garments into a large canister that would be incinerated with the other refuse inside. He drew a commlink from his belt.
"Ekks, where are we?" He spoke.
"In position, sir." The Corellian trooper responded.
"Good." Tharcourt stated. "Package en route."
"Understood." Ekks simply stated. With that, Commander Tharcourt strode down the hall, glancing up at a security camera and nodding, a signal to Daraay who had no doubt spliced into the feed by now. He left the small detention block, passed through the chow hall and rec area, and made his way back into the barracks pod. There, he sat calmly in a chair at the main control and communication panel for this part of the small base. If the prisoners managed to evade Imperial patrols, they would likely make it to the ship in a little over two hours. There was no going back now. He rubbed his forehead, and turned in the chair to see Felian and Gallen standing nearby, both seeming to be awaiting him to speak.
"It's almost time." He said. The two men nodded.
"We're with you, sir." The scout sergeant replied.
"Yeah, commander…" Gallen added. "In it this far. In it all the way."
"Mets and Coleth still with Dall on making themselves scarce?" Tharcourt asked. Felian nodded.
"Yes sir. They want to see this done, but they're scared spitless to be active in it. They asked if they can do anything to help without…actually helping."
"I think so." Tharcourt answered. "We'll send them out to…look for the prisoners…let them tab off into the forest while this thing is happening."
"Good call." Gallen remarked as Daraay entered the room, her helmet under her arm.
"Sir. Security feeds have been fixed." She stated. "It now looks like the cameras were deactivated by an EMP, with the last of the footage being just before the escape. A small device is inside the prison cell."
"Good job, sergeant." Tharcourt stated. "Glad you're on our side." He checked the time. "She'll be going to interrogate the prisoners again any minute now. Ugh…I don't look forward to the ending of this damned farce, but this part might be amusing." He lit a cigarra and sat back in the chair, one leg crossed over the other.
"So…" He began thoughtfully. "What would you three be doing right now, if you weren't soldiers?"
"I don't know, sir." Felian answered. "Probably hunting big game somewhere. What I did before I joined. My father taught me to track, and I thought I'd end up as a hunting guide in the outer rim maybe. That's before I joined up." Tharcourt nodded, and looked at his sniper.
"Eh. I shoot things, usually a long way off. If I weren't here, I'd probably be shooting for credits anyway. I dunno. Bounty hunter? Competition shooter maybe?"
"You know who you are Gallen, that's for damned sure." The commander said with a grin. He looked at Daraay next. "Well?" He pressed. She looked about the room uncertainly.
"I can't see myself as anything else, commander." She stated.
"Oh come on now," Drakken insisted. "If you were just Meeka Daraay, imperial citizen, what would you do with your life?" She sighed.
"I never thought about it." She admitted. "I think I enjoy working on blasters…it's relaxing."
"That's good, Daraay." Tharcourt commented. "A weaponsmith then. I can see it." She smiled a little.
"What about you, commander?" Gallen asked. "Let me guess, you'd be a writer…no, I kind of see you as a big bossman somewhere. Maybe a mining firm."
"I honestly think if I hadn't joined the Empire, I'd probably have become a mercenary." Tharcourt admitted. "Been fighting since I was a kid. Is it bad that I kind of like it?"
"Fighting, sir?" Felian questioned.
"Not the killing part…especially not like…this…" Drakken muttered. "I do love a good honest fight though. Having to be prepared for your opponent keeps you on your toes…drives you to be better. I guess that's what I see in it." Gallen nodded politely.
"You're a thinking man, sir." Felian commented. "That's why you're an officer."
"Maybe." Tharcourt returned. "Either that, or I'm just unlucky…" As if on cue, Captain Rallis burst into the room in a manic fit.
"Commander!" She cried out. "The prisoners are gone!" Tharcourt later reflected on what happened next, and decided that his alternate career choice should have been that of an award-winning holonet actor.
"What do you mean they're gone?!" He blurted out in shock and anger, springing up out of his chair. "We just checked on them twenty minutes ago!" He turned and switched the screen over to the security camera feed of the cellblock. Sure enough, it showed the cell door open and the rebel prisoners absent.
"They have escaped!" Raliss fumed. "I just had to report to Lord Vader that our prisoners were gone, and he was…ugh. Oh, this is your fault…all your fault, commander. You know if they escape, and Lord Vader hears of it…"
"Hold your wad, captain!" Tharcourt interrupted in a loud voice, pointing a finger at the woman. "They're your damned bloody prisoners, and your responsibility! If those rebels make if off-world, he'll have both of our heads welded to the prow of The Accuser!" That seemed to have taken some of the wind out of the captain. She huffed and stared at the screen. The door to the room opened, and Drier walked in meekly, followed by an even more scared-looking Freya.
"Well, aren't you going to do something then?" She growled.
"I was thinking about it." Drakken said snidely. "Sergeant Daraay, bring up the footage from the detention cells from the past three-zero minutes. Sergeant Felian, go to the cell and see if you can't track their movements from there or find any evidence. Gallen, go inform Dall that I need him, Ekks, Lago, Mets and Coleth to gear up and go try to find those prisoners, on the double!" The three troopers quickly left the room to follow Tharcourt's "orders", leaving the commander alone in the room with Raliss and her subordinates.
"Commander…" The captain began. "We must find those men."
"I'm on it." Tharcourt said back in an irritated tone. He was in fact half acting, but already growing tired of the foul captain's presence.
"I can't imagine how they escaped." She muttered, watching Felian on the screen as he scanned the cell, getting down on the floor to examine the room for the faintest of clues. "Thorne!"
"Yes ma'am!" Freya barked.
"Are you certain the door was locked?" Raliss asked accusingly.
"Y…yes ma'am." Thorne answered. "I'm sure I saw you lock it." Raliss muttered something under her breath.
"If you had anything to do with this, girl…you'll find yourself in the chair by morning." Raliss threatened. Tharcourt narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sure your people had nothing to do with the rebels getting free, captain." Tharcourt offered. "Nobody has been in that cell block since you left except for me and Sergeant Daraay."
"Then it had to be one of your people." Captain Raliss stated. "Drier is a bumbling oaf, and Thorne is a juvenile barbarian, but they would not have turned those rebels loose. Perhaps your men are not as loyal as you thought."
"My troopers are the best the Empire has to offer." Drakken shot back. "I would trust any one of them over even you."
"You had best not forget yourself, commander." Raliss growled angrily. "That tongue of yours may just get you in trouble you can't shoot your way out of." Tharcourt sighed and rubbed his face.
"How about we worry about getting those prisoners back, then you can entertain yourself with charging me with 'conduct unbecoming'." Tharcourt said calmly. "You know, when we're not both court-marshaled for letting three terrorists walk out the door?!"
"You're right." Raliss hissed. "I may not like you very much, commander, but we have to work together if we are going to fix this debacle. Though I have means of getting any smut on my name erased over this, it will do no good if Vader murders me before I can do anything."
"Don't worry." Drakken said reassuringly. "I have this situation under control."
"Sir." Felian called, reentering the room. "It looks like the rebels had hidden a small electromagnetic charge on them when they were captured. I found the remnants." He held out what was left of a burned and exploded spherical metal object.
"A droid popper. Haven't seen one of those in a minute." The commander remarked. "They used it to short out the cell's lock long enough to jimmy it open I assume."
"Yes sir, that's what it looks like." The scout replied.
"Commander, I beg to report." Daraay stated as she entered the room.
"What do you have?" Tharcourt queried.
"The cameras in the cell block were knocked offline for a little over two minutes starting at about ten minutes ago." The death trooper said.
"The droid popper." Tharcourt sighed.
"Sir, that's not all." Felian added. "It appears that they busted into a small weapons locker in the wall of the cell block. Two EC-17 blasters were taken."
"Great…they're armed." The commander groused. "Know where they went?"
"West, sir." The scout sergeant stated.
"Alright. Send Ekks and Lago out to the north. I want Dall, Mets and Coleth to go south. The rest of us will head due west on their trail. Listen, it's low vis out there in that forest, and I want the other two groups to swing out, and then move in from their sides and front. I want us to be able to catch them from three sides in a pincer, understand?"
"Yes sir." Felian said with a salute, and left the room.
"With any luck, this damned mess should be over in an hour or two." Tharcourt mumbled to himself, his mind on what was about to come.
"I hope so." Captain Raliss said, believing that he was referring to the fugitives. "You are the soldier here. What do you intend to do?"
"Well, I've dispatched two teams into the wilderness to track the escaped prisoners." Tharcourt advised. "I'm preparing to take the remainder of my unit out on a hunter/killer. If you and your lieutenant could join us, it would help shore up our numbers. Can't be too cautious."
"Worried about three rebels with two blasters, commander?" Raliss asked snidely.
"No captain, just trying to get those escapees back before we all have to pay the piper for their escape." Tharcourt reasoned.
"Oh, very well." The captain sighed. "Drier, grab your blaster and come on. Thorne, you stay here and try not to burn the base down." Raliss clicked her tongue and turned back to the commander. "You and your men will assist in the capture, but remember…the prisoners are mine. I will not hear any jurisdictional nonsense on this one."
"Of course not…" Tharcourt said defensively. "We're just here for muscle, captain."
"Good." She spoke. "Then let us begin immediately. Your two teams are already out?"
"They should be tracking the escapees presently."
"Good. I hope you people are as skilled as you're made out to be." Raliss stated arrogantly.
"Then let us see." Commander Tharcourt shot back. He motioned with his head, and opened the door leading outside. His team rushed out, followed by Raliss and Drier. He paused a short moment to meet eyes with Freya. Hers showed worry, no doubt for herself and for her friend. Completely in the dark about the plan, she was no doubt shaken from being stuck in the middle of a prisoner escape. Looking into the eyes of his dearest friend, Tharcourt reminded himself what all of this was for. He nodded a silent promise to return, and left the building.
Can you feel it? Coming in the air tonight? What is going to happen? Can Drakken do the deed? I must leave you with this cliffhanger of a chapter for now. Another will be up in a couple of days, and it...is...a...doozie. Until then, leave your comments and send me whatever questions and comments you wish. Till then loyal readers, Cheerio!