Something was dripping onto the very center of his forehead just above his eyes. He couldn't figure out where it was coming from. He'd been lying here on his back looking for the source for what seemed to be hours; the incessant drip was driving him to madness. 'It's a dream, you twit, open your eyes,' he told himself.
Took-eek was standing beside his pillow tapping his forehead with his long index finger. "You wake now; Corso say so."
"Stop that!" He pushed the spidery hand away and rubbed the spot Took had been tapping. "Tell Corso he's a big boy and whatever it is, he can handle it."
"Corso asking why Oorphan in kolto and Dalokk handcuffed." Took explained. "Me curious too."
"Ask C2 or Bowdaar, or better yet Ms Zeitzo, especially that woman."
"Okay." Took hopped off the bed and scampered out.
Billy sat up and dropped his head in his hands. He had a raging headache, and not from Took's method of waking him. He thought about a sonic shower, but decided that would probably just make it worse. He could use a real hot/cold-water shower right now.
He stood, stretched, and rolled his shoulders and head. He felt his neck pop and sighed. He grabbed his clothes from where he had dropped them and dressed. After stomping into his boots, he headed for the lounge.
"Is Master rested?" C2 asked cheerily.
"No, Master is not rested. What is there to eat?" He sagged into a chair and watched Dalokk and Bowdaar.
"Take these things off me, you giant fur ball," Dalokk ordered.
"Aahrg, huh, mwah." Bowdaar shook his head emphatically.
Dalokk's shoulders slumped. "Very well, I promise on my mother's grave that I won't take a swing at you and if I break that promise, I grant you permission to rip my arms off."
"M-m-m-m-m," Bowdaar considered the promise then reached over and unlocked the cuffs.
"C2, is Oorphan still in the kolto tank?" Billy called out.
"No, Lieutenant, I'm right here." Oorphan walked in with Anya. His hair was still wet from the kolto fluid. "And none the worse for wear."
"Don't call me that, I'm Billy, just Billy."
"Yes, lieutenant."
"Good morning, Ms Zeitzo," Billy greeted.
"Good morning, if it is morning. I suppose somewhere on some planet it's morning; but I'm in space and I don't know how you can tell if its morning or midnight on a ship in deep space."
"Someone got up on the wrong side of her bed," Corso muttered putting distance between himself and the surly woman.
"Still angry? Have you decided what it is you're angry about or are you still claiming it's because I hijacked your plan?" Billy asked. "By the way, if you want to do it your way, fine; you'll do it without me. Personally, I want to hedge my bets to be as much in favor of surviving as possible. I am sorry if I don't see those favorable odds in your raw plan. We'll drop you at Point Nowhere. I'm sure you lot can find another smuggler to get you onto Balmorra from there. I have business I can conduct."
The ensuing silence was very tense. Oorphan finally broke it. "Sergeant Zeitzo, you laid the foundation and brought us together. We each have talents to contribute to the successful outcome of this project. As I see it, both you and the lieutenant are vital to making this all happen." He looked around at the group. "I for one am not willing to go forward if all four of us are not in this together." He took a plate of food from C2 and began eating.
Anya looked over at Dalokk.
"We lose Billy, and we lose having a Wookie fight on our side. I'm sorry Anya, he's right about your plan. It was good but incomplete. It's complete now. I agree with Oorphan."
"I busted you two out of Shadow Town. Doesn't that count for any loyalty?" She demanded.
"For which we are both extremely grateful," Oorphan said. "Come on, swallow your pride and admit the changes the lieutenant proposed will make this work."
"All right, all right. I came up with a stupid plan and Billy's is perfect. Do it his way. I'll just sit over there and be a silent compliant female." She stormed to the other side of the room and sat with arms and legs crossed. She glowered at the men across from her.
"That's not what we meant," Dalokk grit out between clenched teeth.
"Uh, mwar," Bowaar rocked Dalokk with a slap on the shoulder. "Huh, unkh, rrff."
It was almost as if the blow knocked something loose in Dalokk; he suddenly relaxed. "Yeah, Bowdaar, you and me, we'll fight side by side with honor."
Billy dared to cross the room and approach her. "You brought us all together. You picked each of us for some skill we can contribute to the whole. You didn't pick me simply because I can provide the ride; I hope."
"Yeah," Dalokk picked up the thread, "Took-eek can get a computer to do anything and man do we need forged documents. Oorphan's tactical training makes him good in combat. No one knew Warthas as well as I. And Billy? He not only has the ride, he has uniforms, covert experience, connections, and knowledge on how to sidestep the system."
"You did that," Billy told her, "and your basic plan was good. What plan did I have until you came along?"
She was starting to unwind. Billy held out his hand. "Come have something to eat. It's going to be a long day and Imperial rations for you and me once we hit Point Nowhere."
The corner of her mouth fought curling into a smile. Her hand began to snake out of the knot she had made, then she seemed to make a decision. She took Billy's hand and let him pull her to her feet.
After eating, Billy pulled up an up-to-date holo-map of Balmorra. "Courtesy of the Republic senate." He pointed out the Balmorran Arms Factory freighter docks, Sobrik and the Gorinth and Sundari Outposts. He showed them where the abandoned speeder pad was.
"I still think the caves would be better," Anya said. "Sensors can't penetrate them."
"After Darth Lachris took over the Imperial governorship, she set about flushing everyone out of those caves between Sobrik and the factory. They could still be crawling with Imperial troops despite the in-roads the resistance and Republic have made," Billy explained.
"Why not have the rendezvous point between the factory and Bug Town. It's closer to resistance-held territory, like right here?" Dalokk asked pointing to a high plain in the mountains north of the factory.
"There's no access except by air drop," Oorphan said. "However, there's a path leading from the Narrows up to this small valley. There would be no reason for it to be occupied. It is neither high enough to watch for incoming craft nor does it have a view of what would be traversing the Narrows. The angles of the ridges around it would make it very difficult for a successful airstrike. The path leading up is little more than a game trail and would be very easy to defend, if you are having a clandestine meeting." He zoomed in on the valley studying the terrain.
"It looks perfect. It's just big enough for a Jedi to land a shuttle. It might be days before anyone went there to look for Warthas," Anya agreed.
"Why wouldn't Shan just meet the resistance leader at his base?" Dalokk asked.
"He doesn't have a base," Billy explained. "Even with the Republic stepping up its support, the Empire has moles everywhere and so the leaders never stop moving. A Jedi master's arrival into any occupied area would be seen coming. She would come in cloaked and land in a remote area."
"Jedis have cloaking?" Dalokk asked amazed.
"It's not cloaking per se. As I understand it, it's more a Jedi deception trick," Billy explained.
"Looking at this closely," Oorphan was still studying the map, "I can see where a small shuttle might land. Dalokk and I can dress in Imperial armor and pretend to be your back up team, Lieutenant. Do you know how our alleged targets might travel?"
"Satele has a padawan and I think a guard. The general has a Force user and two guards," Billy explained.
"How do you know so much?" Anya asked.
"I have spent several tours on Balmorra," he explained. "I have gotten to know some of the principal players from both sides of that war. Go on Oorphan."
"Bowdaar will have to be the bait to draw Darth Warthas into the clearing, since we won't actually have Shan and Reen." When the Wookie expressed his displeasure, Oorphan explained. "Stand well clear of where the path enters this clearing and look like you're waiting for a shuttle to arrive. When Darth Warthas enters the clearing, Dalokk and I will move wide right and you and Anya will move wide left. Lieutenant, you will give the signal when to open fire."
They synchronized their chronometers so that they would all arrive at the mountain meadow at the correct time. Except for an extreme emergency to abort the mission, they would not contact each other after debarking at the space station.