Chapter 49: Mad Mai
"Two suns… No wonder she likes it here."
Ty Lee stood at the edge of an alien desert, greater than anything she had ever seen before. It had been a long time coming, arriving on the desert planet Tatooine, wishing she could have done so long ago. But she had been tasked with overseeing colonization efforts of the small number of people evacuated from Earth, and had been busy there when the base on Hoth fell and the short-lived mission back home ended in disaster. Now that those earthlings had mostly integrated into the society of the planet they were on, Ty Lee had wanted to get back to work fighting the good fight.
"It's going to be hard to convince her to leave."
Mai was right beside her best friend, though before this mission it had been months since they had last seen each other. Given her knack for being unobserved in a room, Mai had been well-suited for being a spy, traveling from planet to planet gathering information for the rebellion. The bothans she worked with were appreciative of her efforts, even after it was discovered that their spy network had been compromised. Unfortunately the work had gotten a bit too dangerous as of late, so Mai volunteered for this mission the moment she found out about it.
"She has made quite the little kingdom here, hasn't she?"
C-3PO was escorting the two ladies into Mos Eisley, for it was assumed that his services as a protocol droid might be required. In turn he had brought R2-D2 along, for if there was going to be danger to droids he wasn't going to endure it alone. That fear appeared to be excessive on his part, for this city was no longer the cesspool of crime and violence it once was. A series of beeps and whistles from R2-D2 mocked C-3PO on that, and he would respond by bringing up their earlier visits, while Ty Lee and Mai would ignore them.
"Do you think anyone will believe that we know her?" Ty Lee wondered aloud.
"Does it matter?" Mai asked back. "If they don't we'll just fight our way through to her. It's what Azula would expect from us."
Having once been just a rundown spaceport and slums in an insignificant corner of the planet, Mos Eisley had come a long way since being inhabited by the scum of the galaxy. It had been rebuilt into the heart of one young woman's personal nation, a grand metropolis that no one expected to find on a desert planet. Azula ruled this world with an iron fist, having established her superiority with firebending. She had been a master firebender long before arriving on this planet, and her abilities were enhanced even further by the twin suns in the sky.
Azula had built a grand fortress out of the old spaceport, and rebuilt the city in the image of the Fire Nation capital. This fortress was surrounded by the city, with the edges of the desert sands as the city limits of her new capital. From here she commanded a growing army that had taken control of Tatooine, eliminating every threat that came across her path. Rumor had it she was planning to expand to other planets, once her hold on this planet was absolute and she accumulated the resources necessary to support a multi-planet operation.
Halfway through the city, they came across a military style checkpoint, with a large man in uniform stood in their path. "State your names and business."
"Excuse me, I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations." The droid stepped ahead of the others and gestured to each in turn. "This is R2-D2, Mai, and Ty Lee. We are here on an urgent mission and seek an audience with the Queen of Tatooine."
"Sure you are," the large man said. There were more guards lining up behind him. "Move along and stop wasting my time."
"Look, I didn't want to do this out in the open," Mai said. She stepped forward, held out her arm, and when she opened her hand a flame burst from her palm. "I would think Azula left standing orders to inform her of any firebenders on her planet. Now please let her know that we are here."
"Yes… yes of course," the large man said, quickly convinced by the display of supernatural power. "Right away, ma'am. You there, send a message already."
That little trick was something Mai had wanted to avoid doing out in the open, where all sorts of rumors were sure to start and spread faster than wildfire. On a world where firebending was enhanced, whatever dormant bending she had was amped up enough for her to use it, though only at the level of a normal firebender. Mai didn't want to rely on it, lacking the proper training to wield fire effectively, but had a decent grasp of the basics. It was enough to light her hidden knives and blades on fire, which she considered a pleasant bonus in a fight.
Mai closed her hand and the flame went out. "I trust you will let us pass."
The large man stepped aside, while a messenger went ahead. "Go ahead ma'am, sorry about the inconvenience."
"Just don't let it happen again," Mai said.
The girls and droids walked through the checkpoint, continuing on their way through the city. On this side the city looked even better, with people going about their lives while armed men and women kept the peace. Along the way C-3PO glanced at where a tavern used to be, one that he and R2-D2 had been refused service in, and was glad to see it had been torn down and replaced with a more respectable establishment. They didn't get a chance to check it out though, continuing on their way through a few more checkpoints before reaching their destination.
By the time they arrived at the fortress word of their arrival reached the guards here, and one of them nodded as the group approached. "She is expecting you. Go on in."
Upon entering the fortress, Ty Lee marveled at the expansive atrium before them. "Whoa… I see who decided to splurge a bit."
It reminded her of the Fire Nation palace, only brand new and with barely hidden turrets tucked away in dark corners. There were tapestries hanging on the walls, depicting Azula in a variety of backgrounds, clearly meant to be a tale of how she took control of the planet, no doubt exaggerated to make her appear perfect to visitors. The story told by the tapestries followed the path through the fortress to Azula's throne room, which lay at the very heart of the building. This was easily the most secure place on the planet, able with withstand anything short of orbital bombardment.
Well aware that she had guests coming, Azula was sitting in an ornate throne with her legs crossed and hands together. "How long has it been? A year? Two? I lose track sometimes."
"It doesn't matter," Mai said. For once she was actually smiling, something she rarely did. "We've finally gotten the old team back together."
Ty Lee was already running over to Azula. "We've missed you so much!"
Azula leaped up from her throne and gave Ty Lee a big sisterly hug, dropping the stoic façade and letting Mai see her bright smile. "I've missed you too. Things just aren't the same without you two around."
After sharing the hug for a moment, Ty Lee held out a hand to Mai. "Come on, get in here."
"Oh fine," Mai said. She walked over to share in the moment. "Just don't tell anyone."
"Ah-hem," C-3PO said, standing at the doorway with R2-D2. "I would hate to interrupt, but we did come here for more than just this little reunion."
"Yes, yes," Azula said, only half interested in what the droid had to say. The group hug was ended, though she stayed close to her long lost friends. "So what brings you here? I know it wasn't just to visit my little kingdom."
"R2, play her the message," C-3PO insisted.
The shorter droid turned its dome head to aim a projector forward, and a hologram of a rebel leader appeared before everyone. "Greetings Azula, I am Leia of the Rebellion.
"I am sure you are aware of the turmoil throughout the galaxy. The Empire is in chaos and opportunities are presenting themselves. I humbly request your assistance in fighting this war against a mutual enemy".
"As a token of good faith, I am officially transferring these two capable women into your command. They tell me they have served you well in the past, and are eager to serve you in the future. These two droids are also for you to use as you see fit, until our business is complete."
"Oh dear," C-3PO said. "No one told me about that part of the deal."
The hologram ignored that remark. "This droid is carrying the frequency to contact me so that we can discuss further details. I look forward to hearing from you."
Azula watched the hologram disappear, and she had a crafty smile. "Well… I was hoping to wait it out until the Empire was at its weakest, but maybe we can work something out."
"Great!" Ty Lee. "Let's get started!"
"Hang on," Mai said. She turned back toward Azula. "When you say work something out, what do you have in mind?"
"There's still one big holdout of Hutts on this planet," Azula said. "They've been tenacious and difficult to root out. Once they're gone I can start expanding without needing to stay on guard here at all times."
"Sounds simple enough," Mai said. She smiled and held out her hand, flames igniting in her palm. "I don't suppose you can give me a few pointers on the way there?"
"Sure," Azula said with a laugh. "We've got a long ride to the Hutts' last stand. My current intel says they're holed up at some giant pit out in the Dune Sea."
"Do you need us to come along?" C-3PO asked. "It sounds like a very dangerous place for droids."
"Eh, I might need a mechanical shield," Azula said. "Your leader wanted you involved, so you're coming along whether you like it or not."
The five of them left this fortress and boarded Azula's personal transport, which happened to be a hovering sand barge taken from a previous encounter with insurgents. The Hutt that once owned it had the barge filled with luxuries of every variety, many of them depraved beyond comprehension. Azula had it all removed and replaced with a personal armory, and now she had it filled with troops armed to the teeth. The hovering barge departed from Mos Eisley late in the evening, and it would take all night for it to reach the destination.
During the trip Mai and Ty Lee caught up with Azula, each sharing their own experiences from the time spent apart. As promised Azula gave Mai some instruction in firebending, shoring her up on the basics and teaching some combat techniques, enough to make her somewhat competent if she needed to rely on firebending. Ty Lee was happy to watch and complement them, just having a good time enjoying their company. The droids largely kept out of it, having no knowledge to contribute and not wanting to be used for target practice.
As the first sun was setting, Azula had a basic test ready for her friend. "Alright, let's see just how much you've learned."
Mai was standing on the middle of the top deck of the barge, and she nodded to Azula. "I'm ready."
Azula held up a single finger, and a tiny blue flame ignited from her nail. "All you have to do is make sure nothing gets burned."
She pointed at Mai and shot a tiny blue fireball at her, and Mai punched a normal fireball to intercept it, both flames mixing before going out. Azula changed targets and fired again, Mai adjusted her aim and intercepted the fireball, mixing harmlessly again. The tiny blue fireballs were shot faster and faster, scattered across the deck of the barge, requiring Mai to turn in all directions to hit them all. It was like throwing her knives at moving targets, only a lot hotter. But then Azula took aim at Ty Lee, shooting several small blue fireballs at her next.
"Whoa!" Ty Lee yelled, ducking for cover behind a mounted turret. "Not supposed to be part of this!"
Azula didn't care about the complaint, for using live targets always made better motivation. Mai simply needed to be good enough to keep up, and she certainly managed to maintain the pace. The droids were targeted next, their complaints naturally ignored, but Mai intercepted the fireballs shot at them too. Azula kept it up until the first sun had completely set, and finally ended her little test. She looked around, saw that nothing had caught fire. That was a perfect score in Azula's opinion, but she would not have accepted anything less.
"Excellent," Azula said, walking over to where Mai was standing. "I see your aim is as good as ever."
"I get plenty of practice," Mai said. "I take it I passed your test."
"Of course," Azula said. "Makes me wish you could always firebend."
"But then I'd be nearly as powerful as you right now," Mai said. "And we can't have that now, can we?"
"No we cannot," Azula said with a laugh.
On that note, it was time for them to get some rest. They were going to have a big day tomorrow, and a skeleton crew could man the hovering barge well into the night. Halfway through the night the barge was joined by several others of smaller sizes, brought in from elsewhere across the planetwide desert that was Tatooine. The barges traveled in formation across the desert, navigating by the stars instead of satellite networks, not wanting any intercepted signals tipping off their foes. The droids kept an eye on the skeleton crew operating the barge, keeping it on course while the soldiers and officers slept.
The light of first sunrise was the time for everyone to awaken, and Azula was among the first ones to rise with the dawn. She had left orders for everyone to be ready to strike by second sunrise, and the final preparations were being made in the last few minutes. Weapons were primed and ready, soldiers were armed and standing at the ready, and each of the hovering barges were in position. Azula and her friends stood at the bow of the barge, watching the sand dunes go by as the fleet approached the destination.
"Alright, there's the target," Azula said, watching the enemy position appear over the horizon. "And they're all grouped together nicely."
A smaller collection of hovering barges was positioned around a giant pit in the desert, as if trying to take cover behind the massive dunes in several directions. These barges were in much poorer condition than Azula's, with misshapen repair work done to various degrees on every one of them. Apparently, a few barges had crashed here and had been taken apart to build sentry towers, though how they managed to stay upright in the sand Azula couldn't tell. They were going to collapse soon enough anyway, she would see to that.
Approaching from the east with the twin suns to her back, Azula raised one hand. "Attack."
The barges passed over the final dune as the second sunrise shined light across the desert, blinding any eyes that happened to be looking to the east. Forward facing turrets opened fire on the Hutt encampment, shooting powerful blaster bolts at everything in sight. The first volley inflicted considerable damage, both on enemy barges and sentry towers. But then alarms were sounded and the enemy began their counterattack, with turrets firing back at the incoming barges, but with far worse aim than Azula's forces.
"And you needed help for this… why?" Mai asked.
"Just wait," Azula said. "These guys have always had something up their slimy sleeves."
Standing away from everyone else on the barge, C-3PO and R2-D2 observed the start of the battle. "You know, last time I was here I only got a glimpse of what this woman can do."
R2-D2 beeped something that sounded like a complaint.
"Oh, you didn't even get that much," C-3PO said. "Well then we are both in for a treat. I can hardly imagine what it looks like for her to cut loose."
Most of the barges were over the dune now, barreling down on the pit ahead, taking minor damage relative to their enemy counterparts. Two of the enemy barges had fallen out of the air and crashed into the sand, now sliding backward and down into the pit. One of Azula's was listing to the right but still in the air, fires burning from several holes but still able to fight. Right now a sentry tower was falling over in two pieces, and half of it disappeared into the pit with one of the barges. That seemed to trigger a quake in the desert, with ripples passing through the sand, though it wasn't clear why.
Ty Lee seemed to be the only one paying attention to the ripples in the sand, and there was more going on than the quake. "Um… Azula, Mai… there's something down there."
Azula looked over the side, her gaze narrowing. "I see…"
With a wave of her arm she unleashed a massive arc of blue flames upon the desert, striking the surface with enough heat to turn a swath of sand into glass. Azula heard the distinctive sound of many creatures screaming in agony, but now was not the time to take pleasure in it. The entire dune exploded into a shower of sand, with hundreds of robed figures emerging from cover, instantly surrounding Azula's fleet. They were wielding a variety of handheld blasters, all aimed at the barges and opened fire.
"Ambush!" Ty Lee shouted.
"Raiders," Azula said, recognizing the distinctive howl of the sand people, though never in such large numbers. "Looks like I get to wipe them out too."
"They're kind of everywhere," Mai commented. The barge shook beneath their feet. "Is there always this many of them?"
"Usually a few dozen at most," Azula said. She threw large plumes of blue fire at the sand people below. "I guess the Hutt convinced all of them to work together."
"That is quite the accomplishment," C-3PO commented. "Tusken raiders are known to fight each other just as much as outsiders. The different tribes rarely cooperate on anything."
An explosion rocked one of the other barges, and it started to fall toward the sand. Ty Lee watched it fall away before turning back toward Azula. "We need to do something!"
Soldiers started jumping over the sides of the barge, tethered with ropes to control their descent, firing blasters down at the raiders. Then Azula jumped over the edge, not bothering with a tether, instead firebending from her feet to ride the blue flames down. Not to let themselves be shown up, Mai and Ty Lee grabbed unused tethers and followed Azula off the barge. She came down on top of the largest cluster of raiders, incinerating them all and melting the sand into glass. Her soldiers were shooting at the raiders all the way down, and they landed all around Azula to provide cover fire.
On the way down Mai drew some sharp knives, set them on fire, and threw them at a group of raiders. Each of her blades struck a target, piercing the clothes and searing into flesh, bringing each one down instantly. Ty Lee landed behind another group and got to work, weaving in between them as they tried to shoot at her, striking at vulnerable points to bring them down. A few of the pressure points didn't seem to work, but some still had the desired effect. She brought down the group of raiders and moved onto the next one, running across the sands and dodging blaster bolts left and right.
That was when one of Azula's barges crashed into the desert, and it slid down into the pit with all the debris. It seemed to trigger another quake, and much of the sand came loose and slid downhill. It was followed by a rather disconcerting roar, though what made the roar they couldn't see from here. Azula and the others were focusing on the raiders, wiping them out by the dozen, clearing out the land directly beneath the barges. Both sides were still shooting at each other, but now they were roughly even, after the raiders had softened up the underbellies.
"Enough playing around," Azula said. She made sure both of her friends were nearby. "Cover me."
With Mai throwing burning knives at targets, and Ty Lee striking those that got to close, Azula could spend the time she needed. With two fingers of each hand extended, she moved her arms in circular motions, and electricity charged around her fingertips. She spent half a minute charging a colossal bolt of lightning, and then unleashed it upon her enemies, targeting the largest enemy barge she could see. The massive bolt struck the barge and surged through the hull, overloading the advanced electronics inside, resulting in many small explosions before the barge fell into the pit.
That barge crashed with a much harder impact, and the resulting quake dislodged all the sand around the pit. Everyone lost their footing, so they pulled on their tethers to be brought back up to the barges. Azula leapt into the air on pillars of flame, leaving a mass of glass beneath her. That was when she saw massive tentacles sticking out of the sand, reaching for anything that got too close to the bottom of the pit. There was a monstrous scream when one tentacle was scorched by Azula's flames, and her gaze was drawn to the source of the sound.
"Huh…" Azula muttered, staring at the open maw below. "Never killed something that big before…"
She threw a plume of blue fire at the maw, sending flames right down this underground creature's throat. It belched up a ton of smoke, but seemed no worse for wear. A large beak with a thick tongue stuck out of the maw, along with several more tentacles, all of them reaching up at Azula. A barrage of blaster bolts were flying past her, raining down on the monster below, though many of the shots hit sand instead. The creature screamed in pain from the blasters and the burns, yet it still tried to snare and consume anything within reach.
Azula felt something wrap around her ankle. "Uh-Oh."
She was yanked out of the air by a scorched tentacle, her plumes of flame going out as she fell. She swiped a hand at the tentacle, bathing in flames that burned it further, until the charred remains broke apart. Casting aside the remnants of the tentacle, Azula took flight again, and avoided other tentacles trying to grab her. She charged another bolt of lightning, making it as big as she possibly could, and the resulting thunder was akin to that of a storm. The monster's beak opened wide to swallow something, and Azula fired her massive lightning bolt right down its throat.
The resulting scream was mesmerizing.
Electricity surged throughout the entire monster, going deep into the underground body as well as going up every tentacle. Its scream shook the sand for miles around, until the entire monster went disturbingly silent. The charred remains were quickly buried by the pit collapsing on top of it, and the crashed barges were left half buried in sand. The pit was soon erased from the surface of the desert, leaving only a shallow depression in the sand, like the creature buried here had never existed in the first place.
Meanwhile Mai and Ty Lee had returned to Azula's personal barge, and they had taken it ahead of the others to close in on the enemy. There was one enemy barge remaining, heavily damaged from blaster fire, and trying to flee after this little gambit had failed. However, the barge they rode on was damaged too, and its weapons weren't working anymore. Soldiers were firing blasters at the fleeing barge, but the handheld weapons weren't powerful enough to do any real damage. Mai knew the answer to this, though she knew Azula wouldn't be happy with it.
Mai turned to the nearest officer. "Ram them."
R2-D2 rolled for cover, squealing something desperate.
"Right behind you," C-3PO said, walking after the smaller droid. "Hold onto something!"
Given Mai's position as a friend of their ruler, the officer didn't object to the order to ram the enemy vessel. He relayed the order to the crew, and all the soldiers prepared for a hard impact. The engines flared to maximum burn, and the barge closed the distance to the enemy vessel. It tried to swerve to the side, but it was already too late to avoid a collision. The barge slammed into the other with a glancing blow, knocking out part of the engines and leaving a long gash in the hull. But the attacking barge took damage as well, the bow crumpled by the impact, and both vessels fell out of the air.
During the impact Mai and Ty Lee leapt from one barge to another, having removed their tethers so they wouldn't be yanked away when the barges crashed. Together they stormed the deck of the vessel, fighting through a mismatched collection of bounty hunters and opportunistic scavengers and everything in between, everyone the last Hutt on Tatooine could scrounge together. Everyone aboard had lost their footing during the impact, and the women struck down everyone in their path before they knew what was going on.
Then the barge crashed into the desert, which sent Mai and Ty Lee tumbling down stairs that led inside. Ty Lee recovered first of course, being the natural acrobat, and she helped Mai get back on her feet after the crash. Then they resumed their assault through bounty hunters and scavengers, clearing a path through the barge and marking it with fallen bodies. Resistance intensified the further down they went, both from their enemies recovering with time, and from encountering better trained mercenaries the closer they got to the Hutt in charge.
Their advance was finally stopped when a dozen mercenaries stood in formation and opened fire, filling a corridor with blaster bolts, forcing Mai to pull her friend back behind cover. "Yeah no, we're not getting any further than this."
Watching the barrage of blaster bolts whizzing by, Ty Lee nodded and stayed behind cover. "Well we cleared a path. Azula should get here any-"
The sound of a blazing inferno interrupted her.
"Ah, there she is," Mai noted.
The entire corridor was filled with blue light, and the temperature shot up drastically, before the blue inferno came through the barge. Mai and Ty Lee ducked into the only shelter they could find, which was the equivalent of a broom closet, closing the door just in time. They heard the flames pass by, and saw the metal door begin to glow red, and for a moment they worried about getting cooked alive. There were many screams that were quickly silenced, the blasters stopped firing, and then a single set of footsteps passed by.
Mai carefully opened the door, taking care not to burn her hand, and stepped outside the tiny room. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the corridor were charred and slightly melted in places, unrecognizable from just a minute ago. And they saw Azula walking around the corner, heading for that part of the barge Mai and Ty Lee couldn't reach, its defenders reduced to charred heaps of ash and bone. It was a relief to not get caught up in the blaze, but still disturbing to see the results firsthand, as well as Azula's delight in obliterating her enemies.
"A little warning would be nice," Mai complained.
"You know how I like to work," Azula said. She stopped at the door to the Hutt's private chambers, annoyed that she had overdone her attack and semi-melted the door shut. "Cover me while I get this open. I'm sure there's still a few of them out there."
"Must have been in a hurry," Ty Lee whispered.
Mai nodded, and then found a defensive position to wait for enemy reinforcements. "We'll make sure they don't try to hit you from behind."
"Maybe they'll realize just how screwed they are and give up?" Ty Lee wondered.
"I doubt it," Mai answered.
Azula held out two fingers and ignited a small but intense blue flame, and she stuck it into the edge of the semi-melted door to burn through it. Hot molten slag dripped out from where she cut through the metal, clear to anyone on the other side that she would be getting through, even if it would take a little bit of time. She could hear panicked orders being barked around inside, as well as rushed footsteps from people getting into formation, waiting for the moment the door would come crashing down and let her inside.
There were footsteps from the other half of the corridor, the side that hadn't been scorched by Azula's arrival. A handful of bounty hunters were still alive, and they sorely needed the paycheck the Hutt had promised, otherwise they would have jumped ship like those that were less desperate. Mai threw several burning knives at those bounty hunters, which made them stagger back in pain, long enough for Ty Lee to close in and strike. They kept the bounty hunters at bay while Azula worked, and soon they heard the heavy slam as the door fell inward.
Casually throwing blue flames into the room, Azula disposed of guards that had hoped to ambush her, and she walked past the freshly charred corpses. "Your forces put up a better fight than I expected. That thing you had in the desert? Now that was a nice touch."
At the back of the room was the Hutt in charge here, the only one of his kind still active on Tatooine. This slug-like alien filled the ten-foot mat it sat on, with flabs of fat that seemed to fold in on each other, and covered in a thin layer of clear slime. Those big eyes were staring at Azula, filled with fear of being incinerated like all the other Hutts that dared to replace Jabba. There was a protocol droid next to him, the restraining bolt on its chest being the only thing keeping it from fleeing. This Hutt made a hasty plea in its language, which the protocol droid translated.
"The… humble… Gorga wishes to discuss terms of surrender."
"Noted," Azula said. She cupped her hands together, her smirk terrifying the Hutt more than the ball of blue fire in her hands. "And ignored."
She thrust her hands forward, concentrating her firebending to make the blue flames burn even hotter, becoming a plume of blue plasma that shot from her hands. It struck the Hutt and the droid together, incinerating the first and melting the latter, and then melting through the metal wall behind them. Azula kept the attack going longer than she knew she should have, relishing in the act of killing off yet another rival, and burning through the barge all the way through. After going through several bulkheads the beam of blue plasma hit the desert sands, melting a wide path of sand into glass.
Once the task was complete Azula walked back out into the corridor, spotting her friends finishing off the remaining bounty hunters. "We're done here. Let's get going."
Not wanting to see the carnage, smelling it being more than enough, Mai nodded and started following Azula out of here. Ty Lee took a glance, barely stopped herself from throwing up, and followed right behind Azula and Mai. They took the unscorched path through the barge, did mercy killings on those that had fallen and were already dying, and surfaced to find the top of the barge completely deserted. It seemed that any survivors of the battle had fled, and one could hear a variety of tiny hovering vehicles speeding off in the distance.
The battle out here had come to an end as well, though at a heavy cost. Only two of Azula's barges were still in the air, and they had taken considerable damage. The entire enemy fleet was reduced to wreckage, to the point where there was very little to salvage. The crashed flagship was already being stripped for parts, already half buried in sand and declared a lost cause. Everything was being loaded onto another barge, the one in better condition, and everyone that couldn't work on the salvage was transferred over.
The droids were waiting on the barge, and C-3PO watched the girls return. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
R2-D2 beeped something to the effect of saving this event to a hard drive.
"Oh yes, definitely," C-3PO said. "I won't be deleting this anytime soon."
Azula had flown over on pillars of blue flames, landing in time to hear the droid's remark. "Just don't forget it in the first place."
Once all the salvage was collected and necessary field repairs complete, what remained of Azula's fleet made the journey back to Mos Eisley. But given the heavy loads and significant damage, the barges flew at a slow pace, taking the rest of the day and the following night to cross the desert. Further repairs were made during the trip, working on the nonessential systems, things that could be shut down while the barges were in motion. The barges weren't looking pretty by any measurement, but they wouldn't be falling out of the air halfway home.
Upon their arrival in Mos Eisley there was a celebration throughout the city, as there usually was whenever Azula returned to the capital of her growing domain. The people under her rule were reveling in her victory over the Hutts, eager for the spoils to be shared amongst them. Azula did the usual victory lap around the city, with demonstrations of her power for all to see, a reminder of what she could do to those that crossed her. Mai and Ty Lee got to share the spotlight with her, getting to see the adoration the people here had for Azula.
At noon the next day, Azula gathered her friends and the droids at the top of her fortress. "Alright, let's get back to other business. Your message mentioned that you could contact your superiors."
"That is correct," C-3PO said. "Does this mean you will help the rebellion?"
"If it is within my means, we shall see," Azula said. She turned toward the astromech droid. "Can you make contact from here?"
An antenna extended from R2-D2's domed head, spinning around for a few seconds before finding the right position, and the droid was beeping something while establishing the signal.
"It may take a moment," C-3PO said. "We left a satellite in orbit on the way here, and then there are all the relays we have to bounce the signal through to reach the fleet without being detected."
R2-D2 beeped a confirmation, and projected a live hologram of Leia.
The hologram was life-sized, with Leia sitting in a chair, and some static from the long-distance call. "You must be Azula. I have heard a lot of stories about you."
"Then you have me at a disadvantage," Azula said. "I don't know much about you."
"Surely Mai and Ty Lee have told you the basics," Leia said.
"We may have skipped over that," Ty Lee admitted.
Leia sighed but continued on anyway. "I have been fighting in this war for the galaxy since the rebellion was formed. And if current trends continue, we have a very real chance at victory very soon."
"Please, enlighten me," Azula said. "Surely you understand that what I hear is mostly hearsay and gossip that is hardly reliable."
"The Empire is fighting on multiple fronts," Leia described. "Not just from us, but from a fracture in their own forces, as well as the usual criminal underbelly of galactic society. It is that last part where you can provide assistance."
"Ah, so you need underhanded tactics so that you can keep your hands clean," Azula said. "I can understand that. What do you need done?"
"Our spies have reported a new player on Coruscant," Leia said. "I'm sure you understand that if the Empire can't keep the criminal activity under control on the capital, they have serious problems that we can exploit."
"I'll look into it," Azula said. "You realize this could turn out to be nothing and a waste of time?"
"Possibly," Leia admitted. She gave a crafty smile. "But I have a feeling this is the break we need."
The hologram vanished, R2-D2 beeped a short phrase, and C-3PO translated. "Details are being downloaded now. All we will need now is transport."
"Can't we just use the ship we came in?" Ty Lee asked.
"The imperials would identify it as a rebel ship immediately," C-3PO answered.
"So we need something that won't be recognized," Mai said.
"I know a guy," Azula said, having something in mind to suit their needs. "My people do some trade with organizations in other systems. There are plenty of middlemen and go-betweens. One in particular has smuggled goods in and out of Coruscant before and should be willing to help us."
"If we pay him enough, I presume," Mai said.
"Of course," Azula said. "And he knows better than to get on my bad side."