Chapter 50: Behind Enemy Lines
Leaving the desert planet Tatooine, an armored freighter was carrying the most precious cargo it would ever know. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a standard imperial freighter, with its slanted-boxy frame and narrow wings that housed secondary engines. But the inside had been substantially modified, both to double its cargo capacity and disable redundant safety features. At over a hundred fifty feet long and capable of carrying over five thousand tons of cargo, much of it hidden from sensors and in-person examination, the Pirate's Price was the perfect smuggling vessel.
Of course, the imperials didn't know this ship by that name, as all smuggler ships had multiple identifications codes they used depending on where they travelled. The captain of this ship liked to keep his options open, and he also liked to be on the good side of a crime boss on the rise. He may have been a middle-aged weequay, with hair already white from decades of stressful living, but the brown-skinned alien could always tell when someone had limitless potential. He saw that and more in the young woman that ruled Tatooine, secretly wishing she had appeared about three decades earlier.
Though why Azula wanted to go to Coruscant, that was something Hondo Ohnaka didn't want to understand.
"Coordinates set, ready for hyperspace jump," Hondo said, sitting in the pilot's seat. He looked at the young woman standing in the cockpit. "I'm surprised your boss doesn't want to see this herself."
Ty Lee smiled at him, which could put anyone at ease. "Oh, she has her reasons."
Meanwhile Azula and Mai were in the small private quarters given to the passengers, and they didn't need to have a window to know when the ship made the jump to hyperspace. One moment both of them felt their firebending ripped away from them, though it was worse for Azula than it was for Mai. For Mai it was simply going back to normal, losing a gift that she knew she shouldn't have had in the first place. Azula felt the massive pit in her stomach grow ever deeper, going from her most powerful to less than nothing in an instant, hence why only Mai was allowed to be witness it.
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Azula wondered aloud.
"Probably," Mai answered. She had a datapad in hand, reviewing the intel provided by the rebellion. "If it helps, we're going to a planet with a typical sun. Firebending should be normal there."
"Yeah, normal," Azula grumbled. She laid down on the small bed and turned away from Mai. "That will take some getting used to…"
Mai figured she should leave Azula alone for now, so she left the small room and closed the door behind her. She walked down the short corridor to reach the cockpit, passing by some crewmen going the other way to check in on the cargo. Inside the cockpit Mai saw some of the crew working the consoles, along with their gracious host Hondo at the helm, with Ty Lee standing nearby. Mai looked at the windshields front and center, currently with a view of the void of hyperspace, which gave the interior of the cockpit a pale blue glow.
"How long until we arrive?" Mai asked.
Leaving the ship on autopilot, Hondo stood up and faced her. "A couple of days in hyperspace, then a few hours on approach in normal space. After that it depends on how thorough the official inspection is, and I'm sure there will be a queue for landing berths where we need to make port."
There was one part of that itinerary that had Mai concerned. "This official inspection, do you have a backup plan in case they find us?"
"They won't find you," Hondo assured. He could see that Mai wasn't convinced. "I have expendable contraband ready for them to 'find' in case they look deeper than usual. They'll be more than satisfied with the bribe long before they come across you ladies."
"Won't you get in trouble over your stuff?" Ty Lee asked.
"I can afford the fines," Hondo said. "Even if they've been getting jacked up lately…"
The smuggler's financial concerns were not Mai's problem. "Very well, I do hope you're as good as Azula claims. Her faith had better not be misplaced, for your sake."
"I have always been honest with her," Hondo said, understanding the veiled threat. "Given what she can do, I have every reason to make sure she doesn't use me for target practice."
There was no point in staying here, so Mai went back to the quarters for some rest. She found Azula already asleep, really the only thing she could do while in hyperspace. There wasn't much to provide entertainment aboard this ship, aside from a card came Hondo liked but Mai wasn't willing to put in the time to learn the rules. The few days it took to make the journey were spent on food, sleep, and discussing plans for when they would arrive. It was long enough to get acclimated to the lack of firebending, though it was still a relief to get it back when they emerged from hyperspace.
Standing up in the room immediately after arrival, Azula held up one hand and a blue flame ignited in her palm. "About time. Let's get into position."
As Azula and Mai walked out of the room they saw the droids coming down the corridor, and C-3PO slowed his pace to walk beside them. "Ah, good I was hoping to see you before we arrived."
"Do you have something to report?" Azula asked.
"Yes," C-3PO answered. "R2 has just transmitted a progress report to Leia. But I must inform you that it is the last transmission we will be able to make from this point on."
"I assume the problem is on our end," Mai said.
"It's just too risky now," C-3PO said. "Anything we send from Coruscant or anywhere near the planet will be intercepted. We'd have stormtroopers descending upon us immediately."
"We can't have that," Azula said. "We'll just have to hold onto everything we learn until we leave."
R2-D2 made a brief series of beeps and whistles.
"Yes, assuming we make it out at all," C-3PO said.
That prompted a cynical thought in Mai. "What if we're screwed anyway and need to something out?"
"Once we're on the surface we would need a far more powerful transmitter to break through the security field," C-3PO said. "There is a jamming field that blocks unauthorized signals. We don't have anything that can get a signal through."
"We just won't mess this up then," Azula said. "Come on, we need to get into position."
The Pirate's Price had emerged from hyperspace at the regulated distance from Coruscant, where the imperial fleet could track all incoming ships heading for the capital. So from the cockpit the view was filled with Star Destroyers, three of them directly ahead with several more on patrol further out. There were other ships flying through the regulated flight paths to Coruscant, all required to dock with one of the parked Star Destroyers for inspection. The Pirate's Price got in line for its turn to dock, being assigned an airlock on the ventral side of a Star Destroyer.
During the approach Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee went to a hidden compartment deep in the ship, behind several other hidden compartments that the imperials were supposed to find. The door was closed and sealed behind them, and a false wall put in place over the outer side, for all intents and purposes looking like a normal bulkhead. They just needed to keep quiet during the inspection, even though they were told the compartment was soundproof. For good measure the droids were powered down, so that they wouldn't show up on any scans for power signatures.
The entire ship shook when it docked with a Star Destroyer, and several imperial officers accompanied by stormtroopers came aboard. Hondo let them go wherever they pleased, and they immediately went to the cargo bay to inspect his goods. The inspectors were speedy and efficient in their work, clearly wanting to get the job done and over with so they could move on with their lives. Hondo deliberately let them discover some would-be smuggled goods, the kind that could be surrendered to the inspectors as a bribe and benefit everyone involved.
Soon enough the ship got moving again, and the hidden compartment was opened, with Hondo greeting the passengers on this side of the imperial inspection. "See, everything went according to plan, so far."
Azula scolded at that. "You just had to add that caveat."
"Is there anything else we need to be worried about?" Mai asked.
"If the imperials try to come aboard again we'll have plenty of time to get you back in here," Hondo said. "But I thought you might want to see Coruscant from space. It is quite the view and something you don't want to miss."
"Sure, let's see it," Ty Lee said.
They made their way over to the cockpit, just in time to see the approach to Coruscant. The planet was floating in the void directly ahead, glittering like the universe's largest diamond. The sheer volume of lights from a global city made the entire planet visible, no difference between day and night. Surrounding the planet were dozens of Star Destroyers, along with a few of the super variant, most parked in orbit while some were on patrol further out. Soon the planet filled the entire view, and one could make out distinct parts of the global cityscape.
"So that's Coruscant," Azula said. "For a place that's the heart of corruption in the galaxy, it sure is pretty to look at."
"It only looks that good from orbit," Hondo said. "Once you get down there it gets very dirty really fast. If it weren't for the exorbitant cost of doing business here, I could call it home away from home."
"We'll get to see that soon enough I imagine," Mai said.
"Let's just find this underground group and get out as soon as possible," Ty Lee said.
"That's the idea," Azula said.
The ship continued on its way to Coruscant, slowing down just before it hit atmosphere. The airspace was filled with ships flying in both directions, and the amount of traffic increased as they descended. There was thin cloud cover today, and once the ship passed through it they could see the city up close, the true scale of the massive buildings becoming clear. Crossing the city were more airborne vessels than one could count, travelling every which way across this world, the people in them living out their lives in the shadow of the Empire.
In one of the slightly less dense parts of the worldwide city was one of many spaceports, which the Pirate's Price flew in for a landing once it had been given a berth. The place was crawling with imperial defenses and stormtroopers, ensuring maximum security as ships moved cargo in and out. During the descent Azula and her friends got ready for landing, putting on civilian clothes to look like members of the crew, which would not be noticed in a spaceport. When ground inspectors came to confirm the cargo, no one thought anything about the three young women walking away from the ship.
Hondo was escorting them through the spaceport, along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, having reactivated them shortly after landing. "This is about as far as I can go with you. It would look suspicious if I go where you need to look."
Still a little miffed over being turned off for part of the trip, C-3PO didn't mind the idea of leaving this smuggler behind. "Where exactly were we supposed to go? We have very little information on this group we are here for."
"I was wondering about that myself," Mai admitted.
"An associate of mine will be waiting at the usual place," Hondo said. "Your astromech already has the location. Once you're there keep an eye out for a bounty hunter. You won't be able to mistake him."
"Got it," Azula said.
"Thanks for setting this up," Ty Lee said.
"Your welcome," Hondo said. "Assuming you don't get caught, and you get off-planet some other way, if you need my services again feel free to ask."
The smuggler turned around to return to his ship, while Azula and the others left the spaceport. Before going their separate ways Hondo had given them a map of the planet on a datapad, which was essential for them to navigate the city. They also had a small fortune in imperial credits, the money acquired from Azula's operation on Tatooine, converted into the proper currency before entering imperial space. Aside from looking like a bunch of tourists, they would be able to move about the city without anyone getting in their way, aside from the areas the Empire deemed restricted.
They rented a skycar and had C-3PO operate it, being the only one among them that knew how to drive. With it they flew through the cityscape, glad that they didn't have to traverse it on foot. Yet while the buildings flew by there was no end to the urban sprawl, and the full scope of this planet sank in. It was clear that one wanted to be as high as possible here, for the lower levels were where the poverty-stricken masses resided. Even here, at the heart of an Empire that spanned the galaxy with all of its resources, government still couldn't ensure prosperity for all of its people.
Riding in the comfortable passenger seat, Azula saw opportunity everywhere she looked. "This is a lot bigger than I imagined. It might take a while to find this group your princess wants."
Mai was sitting right behind her, and she was eyeing the imperial patrol cars passing by every few minutes. "I doubt they'd be anywhere stormtroopers might find them."
R2-D2 beeped something to interrupt.
"Yes, our destination should be up ahead," C-3PO said, hands on the wheel and eyes looking forward. "Right down there, if I am not mistaken."
"Is that it?" Ty Lee said, leaning out the window driver-side window and pointing down. "Bright sign, some letters not working right, covered in shadows even at noon, seems shady enough."
Mai looked at the place, surprised by the actual name on the sign. "Huh… it actually is the usual place."
Looking at the neon sign saying The Usual Place, Azula turned to the droid and nodded. "Take us in."
"Right away ma'am," C-3PO said. He was already slowing down the skycar and starting to turn. "If you don't mind, I would prefer if R2 and I stayed with the car in case something goes wrong."
C-3PO brought the skycar down to the lower levels, finding a parking spot close to the entrance of the Usual Place. The other cars parked here told much about the clientele of this tavern, being in various states of scruff and rust, with some mismatched parts due to repairs. There was a distinct absence of imperial patrol vehicles, both in the lot and in the airspace nearby, like they were only patrolling the higher levels in this part of the city. The three ladies climbed out of the skycar and left the droids behind, going into this tavern through a pair of large swinging doors.
They were greeted with fast-paced music and multicolored lights changing with the beat, and saw crowds of people either dancing on the floor or having drinks at a bar. Most of them appeared to be human, though many kept their faces hidden, and some various aliens were mixed in with them. No one noticed three new arrivals to this little party, allowing the ladies to mingle with the crowd. It was a simple matter to weave through the crowds to get to the bar, though they put some distance between each other to not seem like a tight-knit group.
Azula found a spot near a corner of the room, where she could sit with her right side facing the bar and her back toward a wall. "Get me the hottest drink you have."
One of several service droids were behind the bar, the closest one currently serving a drink to someone else. "One double blue giant shot, coming right up."
As the droid got to work mixing the drink Azula eyed the crowd, getting a sense of the clientele. Most were simply here to have a good time, taking a much needed break from their miserable lives. Plenty of people were dancing to the music, while others were having idle conversations, often speaking in hushed tones and coded words in case of eavesdroppers. Amongst them were people conversing about business matters, using the noise as cover and pretending to look like simple friends. Azula couldn't overhear anything from the bar, but could see Mai and Ty Lee weaving through the crowd.
Mai found a spot to watch nearby, standing with her back to a wall, but there was one person that still noticed her there. "Go away."
The strange man with the antennae didn't comply, and for a moment Mai wondered if that was because he didn't have ears. "Now what brings a fine-looking lady like you to a place like this?"
"None of your business," Mai answered. She waved a hand as if to brush away a pest. "Now get lost."
"Come on, don't be like that," the bug-like stranger said, putting a hand on the wall to lean on it. "You look like you could use a little pick-me-up. Why, I happen to have some high-quality death sticks-"
A knife at the stranger's throat cut him off, and Mai noted other people seeing it but doing nothing to dissuade her. "I really don't want a mess to clean up. It would take all day to scrub the blood out."
Getting the hint, the stranger backed away and nodded. "Got it. Going home now."
Watching the exchange from the bar, Azula let her see a smile. "Don't ever change…"
By then the service droid returned with a shot glass filled with a deep red fluid. "Here you are ma'am. Enjoy."
Azula picked up the glass and swirled the drink a little, taking a moment to enjoy the foreign aroma. But then she glanced back at someone behind her. "And what do you want?"
A tall man in green armor was standing there, holding a helmet under one arm. "You're in my seat."
"It wasn't taken," Azula said, refusing to move. She tilted her head a little and then back, and she saw Mai nod back. "And I happen to like it here."
The stranger walked around Azula and leaned on the counter, letting her get a good look at that chiseled face and short brown hair. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Gee, what gave that away?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes. She reached forward and casually put one finger on the stranger's chest. "I bet you see foreigners all the time."
"I see all sorts of people all the time," the stranger said. "But I think I would have remembered one like you. Most people know better than to get in my way."
Azula smirked and pressed with her finger, subtly heating up the stranger's chest-plate with firebending. "Funny, I make sure of it."
Feeling the heat searing through his armor, the stranger couldn't help but take a step back. "That's quite the trick there. I thought the Empire had exclusive access to your kind."
By then Mai had gotten behind this stranger, with a knife pointed at his back. "Now what would you know about that?"
The stranger smiled, evidently impressed by threats from in front and behind him. "I know you must be here for a good reason."
"And you look like someone with connections," Azula said. "You wouldn't happen to know a certain… entrepreneur of the discreet variety?"
"If by that you mean a smuggler, perhaps," the stranger said. "And I really hope you're the lady I was told to find. Because I'm being paid a lot for an escort job."
Azula smiled at him. "Then I believe we are both in the right place."
Slowly taking a seat next to Azula, eyeing Mai as he did so, the stranger rested one elbow on the counter. "Boba Fett, at your service."
Although she didn't know that name, Azula pretended that it meant something. "We're told there's a new player somewhere on this rock. You wouldn't happen to know who that is, do you?"
"Oh yeah," Boba said, keeping a laugh low key. "The big wigs upstairs are not happy about that. Officially they say this new gang doesn't exist, for obvious reasons. But they're there, and they're slowly absorbing the old underground into their forces."
"But I take it you haven't joined up," Azula guessed. "You seem like too much of the independent type."
"I've done an odd job here and there, all contract work," Boba said. "Never met the leaders though, there was always a go between."
"Can't be too careful," Azula said. She realized her glass was still there, and she downed it in one swig. "Let's get going then."
"What about her?" Mai said, pointing away from the bar.
Azula looked over at a crowd of people, though only one was of concern. "Of course…"
There was a dance floor not too far away, and in the middle of it was Ty Lee. She was dancing with all the other people there, showing off how flexible she could be and her acrobatic skill. She seemed to be having an honest good time, even if she was also looking out for any disguised threats present. But then she noticed the others waiting for her, and she had to say goodbye to the quick friends she had made here. Ty Lee made her way off the dance floor and returned to Azula and Mai, smiling when she saw the stranger with them.
"Hi there," Ty Lee said.
"Are you done having fun?" Azula asked.
"Yeah, I am," Ty Lee said.
"Good, then let's go," Azula said.
The four of them were heading out of the Usual Place, but at the entrance Boba Fett stopped. "I trust you brought your own ride."
"We did," Mai confirm.
"Excellent, it would look suspicious if we travelled together," Boba said. He discreetly handed over a small chip to Azula. "We'll take different routes to that location. Make sure you're not followed."
"Naturally," Azula said.
With that understanding made, the three women walked away from the bounty hunter. They made a point to leave at different times, so that it wouldn't look like they had met up here to anyone watching the place. The girls headed back to their skycar, giving the appearance of a group of friends done with partying for the day. Boba Fett would be leaving shortly afterward, having his own skycar parked somewhere else. Meanwhile the droids were waiting for them inside the car, having passed the time with a holographic board game.
Judging by the positions of the monster pieces R2-D2 was winning this game, but was still a few turns away from securing victory. However, when C-3PO saw the group returning he was more than happy to end the game now and call it a draw, much to R2-D2's annoyance. He returned to the driver's seat and started the engine, and the skycar was ready to go when everyone was inside. Although he didn't know where they would be going next he got the skycar going again, just to make it look like he was chauffeuring the ladies home.
"You look like you've had a successful outing," C-3PO said. "Did you find something useful?"
"We found a middle-man," Azula said. She inserted the chip into R2-D2, letting the droid access the information on it. "Now we will see if he was being honest with us."
R2-D2 beeped in affirmation, and then connected to the skycar's computer. There was a small display in the dashboard, and a map appeared on it, centered around their current location. A route appeared on the map, leading to another part of the city, further from the spaceport and far from imperial power centers. C-3PO wasn't keen on following this route exactly, for it led through some clearly dangerous areas, given the warnings on the map advising against stopping in such places. But it was their only way forward, and Azula insisted on following through on this.
C-3PO changed course and followed the route laid out in the computer, now that he knew where to go. At first there was plenty of traffic along the route, but as the skycar went east and down the traffic thinned out quickly. The surroundings were certainly discouraging, being in varying states of disrepair, from simple rust to broken windows and eventually hollowed out shells of buildings. The poor conditions followed the extent of the shadows cast by the cityscape, as the darker it got the less people cared about the appearance of the city.
Soon theirs was the only skycar flying through the airspace, far removed from the thicker traffic high above them. There was no sign of imperial presence anywhere down here, with all symbols of the regime thoroughly covered with graffiti. Instead there were many turrets mounted on the walls of every building, seemingly made out of scrap materials, their aim following the skycar as it passed by. The turrets were manned by various criminal groups, and many of their numbers were aiming blasters through boarded up windows, though they weren't going to fire until given a reason.
"Quite the neighborhood here," Mai commented.
C-3PO glanced at the map. "Our destination should be right up ahead."
There was an empty lot nestled between a pair of tall buildings, just barely above ground level. C-3PO parked the skycar in the center and kept the engine running, facing the way they came in from in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Azula set foot outside and looked around, seeing the various sniping points offered by the buildings, and there were a few snipers in plain view. She waved at one of them, acknowledging that she knew they were there, and the fact that they weren't shooting yet meant that they were simply being watched for now.
Mai got out of the skycar next, spotting the snipers too. "Do you think that guy knows these people?"
"I sure hope so," Ty Lee said, getting out last and seeing the possible danger. "Cause if they aren't, we might end up with a mess on our hands."
Azula heard the engine of another skycar approaching, and she saw it coming around the corner. "At least he didn't delay in getting here."
The second skycar landed nearby, and Boba Fett emerged from it. "I trust you didn't have any trouble getting here."
"Should we have?" Mai asked.
"A few months ago, yeah," Boba said. "It used to take all day to avoid stormtrooper pursuit. Now they don't even bother with the lower levels."
"We've heard that they've been stretched thin," Azula said. She spotted movement nearby, though she didn't react to it. "That's part of why were here. As far as we know, this new organization is partially responsible for it."
"Not that they'll ever take credit for it," Boba said. "From what I've heard, one of the leaders insists on that. That's a bit too humble for my taste."
"Yeah, humble," Azula said. She held one hand behind her back, a blue flame appearing in her palm. "Just one second. There's something that needs taking care of."
She whipped out that hand and shot blue flames at the corner of one building, and saw a bunch of scrawny people scatter for cover. But there was little to be had here, and they were forced into the open instead. They appeared to be a bunch of lowlife thugs, drawn here by the arrival of two fancy looking skycars, hoping to steal and sell them on the black market. But they weren't expecting one of the women to shoot blue fire at them, and that was not something they were willing to deal with, and they fled for their lives as soon as they could.
"Ah, you really are one of those," Boba said, watching the firebending display. "I was hoping I'd get to see that someday."
"Hardly worth the trouble," Azula said, watching all the targets scatter and flee. "Now can we get on with this? Where do we go from here?"
"Down," Boba said.
"Down?" Ty Lee repeated.
The metal floor fell out from under them, dropping the four of them into an abyss, leaving the droids and the skycars behind. Azula reacted immediately, igniting blue flames from her feet, though here that would only slow her descent. Boba had been prepared for this, wearing a jetpack that was now burning and carrying him down. But he hadn't expected Ty Lee to grab his ankles and hold on, while Mai was holding onto Ty Lee. So the four them descended at a slow pace, taking several minutes to reach the bottom.
It seemed they didn't need to slow their fall, for at the bottom was a deep pile of soft sand, which would have caught them safely. Azula's flames melted some of the sand into glass, which was going to be a pain to get rid off later. All of them set foot on sand or glass or metal floor, and once Azula's flames and Boba's jetpack were extinguished they were shrouded in darkness. Boba turned on some lights mounted on his helmet, while Azula lit a blue flame in her palm, casting light into a deep tunnel ahead of them.
They weren't alone in here.
Facing them from the tunnel were an assembled squad of mismatched men and women, in a variety of salvaged armor from a variety of armies. Most were armed with standard imperial blasters, though modified to some degree, while others had to make do with weapons cobbled together from spare parts. But they didn't appear hostile, just cautious regarding strangers, and even a little mesmerized by the blue flames. One by one they lowered their weapons, and the person in charge of this group walked ahead of everyone else.
This man was in a roughed up imperial officer uniform, like he had deserted at some point but never bothered to get rid of the clothes. "I see you brought some friends, bounty hunter."
"And I'm sure you can see why," Boba said. He pointed a thumb at Azula. "Your bosses will want to see her. I'm sure of that."
The squad leader's bald head was shimmering in the blue light, and he nodded to the women before gesturing for them to follow. "Right this way. And I do apologize for the security. You never know what the imperials are going to try next."
"Of course," Azula said. "We are in their capital after all."
As the squad leader led the group, Boba glanced at Azula. "Maybe now I'll actually get to meet guys in charge down here."
They were brought down the tunnel quite a way, and after a while they lost track of how far they had walked. Eventually the tunnel opened up into a broad cavern, mostly rock and earthen walls, but with the foundations of imperial buildings poking through in places. Bright lights filled the cavern, illuminating the variety of small structures assembled here, from shabby huts to crude command centers and everything in between. In the center there was a gathering space, any many different people were gathered there, most of them normal people with some aliens mixed in.
Azula's group was led into the gathering space, and the crowd parted to let them pass. Once in the center they stood and waited, though they did not have to wait long. The other side of the crowd parted as well, allowing two robed figures to approach from a command center. At first all one could tell was that they were short, but the proportions told that was because these two were young and still not fully grown. They both walked on bare dirt like they owned it, though only one of them was barefoot.
"Wait a second…" Azula muttered, spotting the faces beneath the hoods. "You have got to be kidding me. You two are in charge here?"
A mechanical hand pulled back a hood, and although this teenage boy's head had inches of dark brown hair, the tip of an arrow tattoo on the forehead was unmistakable. "Azula, it's been what, two years? Three? I've kind of lost track."
"Longer than I care to count," Azula admitted.
"You know him?" Boba asked.
Azula ignored him and glanced at the other robed figure, noting the bare feet just barely visible. "Toph, I presume. Who else would under that robe?"
The blind teenage girl pulled back the hood, showing off the shoulder-length hair she had grown back. "Please… who else could you possibly mistake for me?"
"Sorry about the whole dramatic reveal thing," Aang said. "When we heard that a firebender was looking for us, we couldn't be certain of why you were here."
"We still haven't told you that," Mai pointed out.
"Yeah, but I can tell you're not here to fight us," Toph said. Her toes were tapping the dirt over and over. "If you were, I'm sure you'd be shooting lighting right now."
"True," Azula said. "Let's just say we're doing contract work. The rebellion needed someone that could get onto this planet and see who's been hitting the Empire from underground. I'm sure they will be quite surprised when they learn it's you two."
"We would have told them sooner," Aang said. He and Toph were walking up to Azula, though remaining at arm's length away. "But we haven't been able to get word out. The Empire controls all communications going off planet."
"We figured that much," Azula said. "I'm sure our droids could get something through."
"They got left behind with the car," Mai said.
"Oh," Azula said. "Yeah, someone should go get them."
"We've already sent someone to retrieve them," Aang said. "Until they get here, we might as well show you around the place."
"Sounds good," Ty Lee said.
Aang and Toph led Azula and her friends around the cavern, showing off what they had managed to build in the last few months. Earthbending had come quite in handy on this planet, for it had allowed them to carve out this entire cavern right underneath the imperial capital. The small buildings down here had been constructed by disgruntled citizens of the Empire, all having felt powerless until Aang and Toph had given them a means of fighting back. So far their efforts were limited to the underground, both literally and figuratively, for they were still establishing this foothold deep in imperial territory.
As they were walking Ty Lee kept looking at Aang's crude mechanical right hand. "So what happened to you? Since when was your hand made of metal?"
Wincing at the mention of his hand, Aang grabbed his wrist where the arrow tattoo along his arm abruptly ended. "I got hurt really bad before coming here."
"We found a guy that does replacement body parts," Toph added. She waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "He claimed he could give me robot eyes, but I'm glad I turned that down. Aang's new hand has been causing problems ever since he got it."
Mai noticed a twitch in Aang's mechanical fingers, and if she was not mistaken there were tiny wisps of flame shooting from the fingertips. "Can you use your bending with that thing?"
"Kind of…" Aang muttered. He smacked the mechanical hand with his organic one, and the twitching stopped. "The doctor we have thinks it's… sin-app-tick… something or other in my head. I'm not sure, it sounded all science and stuff. Sokka might have understood it."
"Speaking of your friends, are any more of them here?" Ty Lee asked.
"It's just the two of us," Aang said. "Someone I thought could be a friend brought us here, but she was playing us all along."
"Sounds like you want to get some payback," Azula said.
"Maybe," Aang admitted.
By then some people approached the group, escorting C-3PO and R2-D2 into the cavern. "Ah, so this is where you all ended up. Whatever happened to the bounty hunter?"
Azula looked around, only now realizing that Boba Fett wasn't with them anymore. "He must have gone off to do his own thing."
C-3PO looked at Aang and Toph, recognizing the former from rebellion files about Earth. "You must be Aang. Am I to assume you are in charge here?"
"I am," Aang said. "We could really use some help from the Rebellion."
"Then we will need to send them a message," C-3PO said. "Which I am afraid we cannot do from here. We will need to get off planet and far enough away to safely send a transmission."
"That may be a problem," Toph said. "The Empire is letting ships in, but they aren't letting anyone leave. You're not getting out the way you came in."
"Do you know why they are keeping ships here?" C-3PO asked.
Aang clenched his mechanical fist. "I believe the Emperor has gotten even more paranoid. Something's got him spooked. And it's not us, I can tell that much."
"What could possibly frighten someone that rules over the known galaxy?" Ty Lee asked.
"We're not entirely sure," Toph admitted. "Well, we have a pretty good idea, but it's too much to hope for. It would mean things are going our way for once, and that never happens."
"Still, we have to get the word out that you guys are in charge down here," Mai said. "There's got to be a way to do that."
"If our stuff isn't good enough, let's take something better," Azula suggested. "The imperials can send messages across the galaxy. Let's just take their equipment and use that."
"You would have to seize an imperial communications facility," C-3PO said.
"Then let's do that," Azula said. She turned to Aang. "Surely you've been scouting the area and have found one by now."
"A few, actually," Aang said. "We could be ready to hit it in a few days."
"Excellent," Azula said. "Now then, I'd like to inspect the people under your command. It simply wouldn't do to charge into battle unaware of what our side is capable of."
"Of course," Toph said. "They're not the best I've seen, but we aren't going to get much better here."