Chapter 16 – Well, That's One Way To Do It

[AN: Okay, so if you've read this far, you know that I have a bad, BAD habit of ending my chapters in… ah… a particular manner that some people might find frustrating. Hopefully it won't be another four or five months until the next chapter, but just in case… you may not want to read all the way through. Just saying – you've been warned! *g* ]

"You should be able to see the warehouse up ahead anytime now. Maybe once we get to the top of another one'a these sand-hills." Corso's voice was thin and scratchy through the helmet's speaker.

Dunes, Riggs. They're dunes, not hills.But Vacy's own small (yet stylish!) leather cap didn't cover her face, and so she kept her mouth closed against the stinging sand and merely nodded. And sure enough, when they crested the next one, there was a squat one-story building about half-a-klick ahead. Vacy paused, letting the speeder idle while the sand that swirled around their vehicle re-settled on the ground.

"Looks like there's an outcropping just past it where we can stash the speeder; then we won't have so far to walk. Plus that way we'll have some idea where it is once we're done," she said, gesturing a bit to the east. She adjusted the range and focus on her goggles, squinting a bit against the glare. "I can't see an entrance from here. I figure we split up to scout the perimteter, keeping in touch on comm, and then once we meet up we can figure the best way to get the people out safely."

"You're the Captain," came his not-too-certain reply. "I'm more of the 'charge in with guns blazing' sort, but then I guess that doesn't work too well in a rescue mission."

Vacy could hear the grin in his voice, and shook her head with a wry chuckle as she gave the speeder more power and headed them toward the rock formation. She gave the warehouse a wide berth, swinging around to stay well out of the interest range of anyone who might happen to be looking in their direction.

"Here's to the boys of Ord Mantell! Eat like rontos, fight like hell!"

Ears plugged against outside noise, Vacy nodded to let Corso know that she could hear him through the earpiece, her ponytail bobbling with the motion. "Sounds great, Farm Boy, but I gotta admit, those aren't the lyrics I'm familiar with," she replied wryly.

"Oh – uh – you've heard that one?!" His face quickly turned a bright shade of red, and he began double and triple-checking the fit of his armor. "Yeah, uh, well, at least I was mostly on key?" He peeked up a moment later, grinning cheekily, and gave her a thumbs-up as well.

She laughed quietly, rolling her eyes. "Didn't know it actually had a key," she retorted, and reached up to poke the little button in the center of the metal band on his forehead. There was a blue flicker around his head as the shield on his helmet shut off. Vacy reached up, grabbing the collar of his armor, and stretched toward him as she pulled him closer, pressing her lips to his impulsively. She let go a moment later, eyes alight, cheeks flushed. "Don't forget about me in the next five minutes, Farm Boy," she said, and flicked the switch to her stealth generator. There was a humming buzz of static as its field wrapped around her. "I'll take the south and east walls, and we'll meet up at the northeast corner?"

Corso's grin was even broader. "Ain't likely to happen," he replied. A moment later he shimmered out of sight as well. "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you on the far side, Captain."

Coming in from the southwest, the area just about looked deserted. As she made her way along the south wall, Vacy shuffled her feet cautiously. The stealth field smoothed out her footprints, but she always tried to be extra-careful on soft terrain. "How's it going over that way, Riggs?" she asked quietly.

"Just peachy," came the tinny reply. "Did a bit of extra sweating while a patrol passed by, but they didn't seem to react at all. Take it slow – they should be headed your way. You seen anything interesting yet?"

There hadn't been anything but sand, sand, and more sand, but Vacy turned to look behind her. Sure enough, there came the patrol, just like Corso had said. "Nothin' yet," she replied. A moment later she frowned. "Hang on, I can hear something up ahead," she added, scurrying around the corner.

This was clearly the operating end of the warehouse. A large mechanical door had been raised, and a group of roped captives were being led out and around the northeast corner of the building. Slavers stood around in clusters – it was easy to pick them out, since they were the ones holding the weapons. They didn't seem particularly worried, and Vacy guessed that based on the way the prisoners trudged forward, they had been drugged.

She quickly filled Corso in on what she'd seen, turning around to check on the progress of the patrol as well. "Yeah, they're loadin' everybody up into a transport," came the grim reply. "Good thing we got here when we did."

"You're darn right about that. How big is the transport? Blast it – they're gonna come right by me! Hang on, Imma hafta hold still for a bit here." Vacy muttered a few more choice curses under her breath, then fell silent, watching the patrol move closer. If she stayed flat against the building, they'd pass within a few meters, but wouldn't actually trip over her invisible form.

She concentrated on the thin sound of Corso's voice through her earpiece. "It's a freight skiff. There's probably twenty or thirty prisoners on there… maybe a dozen slavers? About half the crew. I figure three dozen total, tops. We hitch onto that speeder, let it get a good ways off, and we can pick off those slavers, free the cargo, take a coupla minutes…"

One of the trio of slavers approaching waved at someone past her, but Vacy didn't dare move. Corso's plan sounded pretty good, she reflected as she felt herself begin to relax. Everything was going to be just fine. As she closed her eyes, she felt more comfortable than she had in a good long while.

"I don't see any more slaves bein' packed in, and it looks like they're gettin' ready to move out," Corso muttered. He looked around, but there hadn't been another patrol since the first one that had passed by. "You set to head after 'em, Captain?"

He waited, but there was no reply. Of course, she might just be waiting for that patrol to get past her before she answered. So he shifted his weight, crouching down and checking around him again. The freighter's engine chuffed to life, and he cupped a hand around his earpiece, just in case she had to whisper or something.

Still nothing.

"Captain?"

He wasn't worried – because of course there wasn't any reason to beworried – but this didn't seem like a particularly good time for one of her pranks.

"Vacy?"

Just then, up ahead, he heard some shouting. One of the slavers fired off a series of shots, running toward the vehicle and waving an arm. He pointed back behind him, and Corso looked to see that the first slaver was followed by another. The second one was carrying a limp figure slung over his shoulder.

And with each step he took, her ponytail bobbled in the hot, dry air.