Chapter Three
It didn't take them long to find what they were searching for. The Imperial base stood out in the forest like a sore thumb. Enough of the environment had been cleared away for the structure which was impressive considering the planet they were on. The layout and events of the base were currently indeterminable as it was surrounded by high walls and tall gates that were guarded by both stormtroopers and turrents as well as a large, round spotlight on a tower towards the back.
The group arrived just over an hour after storming the slaver camp and now the tall, grey walls taunted them. Being the smallest, Murata moved to the front of the group, wanting a better look at what they were up against. At first glance, her heart sank, knowing that some Imperial bases were heavily guarded and entering or leaving one undetected was virtually impossible. But an indistinct smile crept onto Murata's face as she knew that, despite appearances, some weren't infallible.
"You need to let me check out the surroundings," said Murata, still looking at the bastion.
"What?" snarled Karra. "Why would we allow that?"
At seeing Enacca was about to speak, Murata raised her hand to stop her. She would argue her own point and defend herself. "Because I am the smallest here," said Murata firmly. "And Imperial bases aren't foreign to me. I've been around and I know of a way to get in. But you're gonna have to trust me." At seeing the look on Karra's face hardened, Murata added more. "I'm on your side and I want to help. Please."
A small growl rumbled at the back of Karra's throat and Murata nodded once. Without any verbal objections, she got to her feet and started to move away before Enacca's voice stopped her. "How will we know when to move?"
"Oh, you'll know," assured Murata with a small smile.
Murata didn't wait for anything else to be said and she moved away, barely making a sound as she did so. Not wanting to be seen, she followed the tree line and scouted all sides of the Imperial base. On the opposite side of the Wookiees, she noticed that in a blind spot there was a vent. At spotting it, Murata's heart skipped a beat with happiness as she had found a way inside.
Suddenly, the spotlight rained over her position, making her crouch down fast behind a bush that was just big enough to hide her completely. The blazing white light hovered momentarily before it swung around to check out another spot. Murata waited until it was on the opposite side before she moved and she raced out from the tree line and pressed her back flatly against the wall. After another glance around she set the work.
The cover was magnetically locked into place, requiring only strength to lift it off. Murata gritted her teeth and gripped the sides of the vent cover, pulling as hard as she could, needing it off as quickly as possible. The metal on the side groaned once before a definite pop was heard and the cover sprang free. The noise caused Murata to be still for a moment, to listen and see if she had been heard. But when nothing happened, she placed the cover on the ground, hiding it in the grass and she squeezed into the vent.
Murata let out a harsh breath of air as she pulled herself in the entire way. It was a little cramped and the cold surface of the vent walls clung to her shoulders when she slid past. At the first junction, she paused and looked straight ahead and down the vent on her right. Without knowing the layout in depth, it was hard to judge which way to go. But Murata figured that going straight might take her towards the front of the base which was not where she wanted to be, so she turned right.
Halfway down, Murata stopped as a crowd of voices reached her ears. Murata breathed inaudibly and listened, all the while staring at the steel blue walls that enclosed her. All the words were garbled and sounded like nonsense but nonetheless, she remained still, determined not to be caught until she had achieved her goal. The voices soon dispersed and she continued moving through the vent until she reached the end.
Another vent cover was in the way but before she pushed against, she pressed her face as close to it as possible to see whether or not there was someone around although after a few seconds, it was clear that she wasn't going to be sure until she opened it. Not waiting any longer, Murata pushed against it and jumped slightly when the magnets lifted and the cover came loose. The cold metal slipped from her grasp and crashed against the floor and Murata hopped out and replaced the cover before bounding down the hallway she was in, eager to get away before troops came to inspect the noise.
Once around the nearest corner, Murata breathed a sigh of relief and concentrated on what she had to do now. As quickly as possible she needed to find a console, preferably one where she could create havoc and confusion. On the way down, she passed a room in the middle which she ignored as the door was closed and she figured it to be nothing but a refresher or storage room. On nearing the junction, she slowed and looked down both sides of the hallway. It seemed she had another decision to make and the wrong one could be detrimental.
But before she could make it, a thunder of in unison footsteps grabbed her attention to the right. There were stormtroopers approaching her position and Murata looked around wildly for someone to hide until they passed. Glancing behind, her eyes spotted the closed door and she rushed to it, opening it without incident and hopped inside. The door closed automatically and Murata listened for the footsteps.
They came closer and Murata moved further into the room. On hitting something solid, she spun on her heel and saw a large, wide table taking up much of the space. On top were numerous plants and flowers, some she knew of and some she had never seen before. Crouching down, she slid in underneath the table and waited for the footsteps to vanish and once they did, she stood up again and looked over the contents on the table.
Despite having experiences in Imperial bases and on Imperial ships, she was confused on to why all these plants and flowers were here. It was a few moments before Murata realised the footsteps were gone and she opened the door and headed out into the hallway, deciding to go in the opposite direction of the stormtroopers, thinking that whatever was down there might not need so many soldiers guarding it.
The hallway soon veered off in different directions again, making her choose between going straight and turning left again. Without giving it much thought she chose to go straight ahead. The door opened as easily as the last and she cautiously stepped inside, laying her hand on her blaster, ready to fire it if she needed to.
"Hey, you there!"
The blaster was pulled from her holster and fired before she blinked once. The shot hit the stormtrooper in the shoulder and he instantly went down with a heavy thud. Murata raced towards him and kicked the other weapon away from them both. Murata stood over the stormtrooper and waited for him to move or say something but he didn't. Vigilantly, Murata lifted her weapon and re-holstered it.
On inspection of the room, Murata found a large console sitting against the back wall and a vague smile tugged at her mouth. This was better than what she had originally been looking for. With all her skills at the ready, she sliced into the computer and located exactly what she's looking within a few minutes. The camera system soon appears on screen before her and she quickly deactivates all of them.
With that done, Murata searches through more systems, looking to create a few explosions somehow. A faint frown soon appeared between her brows as she continued searching. But when she managed to slice into the system that controlled the turrents, the frown disappeared. From past experience, she guessed there would be fuel canisters near the front and if she could turn the turrents around, it would create a good diversion.
Within a few seconds of changing the commands, she heard several explosions around her and a full smile graced her face. With a little more expertise, she sliced into the lock system and opened the main gate and the prison doors. Once done, Murata stepped away from the console and grabbed her blaster again, shooting at it. The console exploded in an outburst of sparks and fire and she fled from the room and headed towards the front of the base.
A Wookiee war cry echoed loudly and Murata sped up a little more, wanting to help them more. At reaching the main door, Murata skidded to a halt and jumped back with a surprised yelp as a stormtrooper collapsed to the ground, a large gash from a war blade across his torso. Enacca and Karra came into view and Murata gave a laugh that almost sounded like a sigh. They had stormed in and arrived a little quicker than she was expecting.
"You did well, child," praised Karra. "Where is the prison?"
Murata smiled a little wider, unable to contain her pride and she pointed down the hallway, the opposite way she had come from. "Down there," she said confidently. "I unlocked the doors but they're unarmed and there are bound to be heaps of troops and officers nearby."
"Let's go and give them a friendly greeting then," said Karra.
Karra, Enacca and a couple others led the charge and Murata went with them, managing to keep up and tail behind. A couple of times on the way, Murata found they were being shot at from behind and she turned around and shot back while continuing to run backwards. After going down a couple more hallways, they found the prison and Karra opened the heavy door with the help of one of the others that went with them.
Inside the prison they saw a large group of Wookiees. Enacca stepped forward and dropped weapons in front of them. "We're all getting out of here," she declared. "Grab a weapon and follow us. Do not squish this human. She is with us," she added indicating towards Murata.
Murata gave a tiny wave and weak smile. Nothing more was said as the imprisoned Wookiees stepped forward and each grabbed a weapon. One of the last Wookiees out of the prison was a female with short, light brown hair and round, black eyes. She moved with a little less urgency than the others as she approached Karra, ignoring the weapons for the moment.
"Satakk..."
Murata stepped to the side and watched as Satakk drew closer to him and placed a hand just under Karra's shoulder. "You came for me."
"Of course," said Karra, pressing his forehead to hers.
"We need to get out of here," said Enacca, slightly impatient. "Save the reunion for when we're safe."
The now large group headed back towards the exit and this time, the journey was much shorter and the ground was littered with bodies of deceased or injured stormtroopers. Though there were still stormtroopers that approached their positions, attempting to stop them from leaving. Murata put her blaster away and reached around for the big gun slung over her back. As troops raced from behind them, Murata took care of them, letting a spray of lasers stream free.
On reaching the exit they found the base was crawling with Wookiees and spreading fire that Murata had created. A hail of lasers rained down on their position and Murata, along with most of the Wookiees, took cover, not daring to step out just yet. A powerful roar echoed across the grounds and Murata couldn't hold back her curiosity and she poked her head out to see. A group of four Wookiees had seen what was happening and they took out the officers that had started shooting at them. The lasers stopped and only shrieks of pain were heard from their direction.
Taking their chance, they raced through the front gate and it wasn't long before the rest of the Wookiees followed suit. A couple more explosions shook the base, sending sparks and flames of fire high into the air. At reaching the tree line again, Murata turned around quickly and watched as the chaos persisted. Despite the number of Wookiees that had helped, there were still troopers and officers alive who were trying to save what they could.
Once the last of the Wookiees joined them, they all fled into the woods, ignoring the angry calls and sounds that went on behind them. As they ran, Murata could feel her heart beating extremely fast as fear and traces of slight panic rushed through her. But she still couldn't resist the urge to look behind her at the chaos she had created. In a way, it was absolutely beautiful.
It wasn't long before the fire engulfed the entire base and screams of agony were heard but the prisoners and rescuers had already vanished into the cover of darkness that the thick woods provided.