Chapter 8:
I lay on the bed until the sounds from the control room died down, and the Alliance had started to go to sleep. After I decided it was quiet enough I opened my door to look out into the main room. It was dark and quiet, only a few Alliance staff remained at their computer terminals on constant vigil. An R2 droid mutedly whirred and beeped at the door to the stairs. The door opened and the small droid rolled out. Using the shadows, and obfuscation with the Force, I stalked to the interrogation room where the four Imperials and Nes were being kept. A guard was posted outside the locked door. I was able to size up his sleep-deprived mind. He was weak and willing to obey. I approached him from the shadows, already exerting the power of the Force over his mind. His eyes glossed over, as if his soul fell into the recesses of his mind and primed for suggestion.
"You have been ordered to accompany me in to see the prisoners. I have questions for them." The enthralled Alliance soldier did as I commanded without hesitation; he opened the door to the interrogation room and closed it as we entered, locking it. The five Imperials woke as the door slid shut, and the lock tumblers clicked into place. Still bound to the platforms and chairs and their mouths gagged, they looked at me in confusion, except for the smuggler. Nes was the only one to realize why I had come back. I ripped the adhesive strips from Nes' and the officer's mouth leaving them pink, and raw, and hairless. I would have laughed if I weren't intent on killing.
"So ya come for revenge then, huh?" Nes said as casually as he could.
"I've come to make you a deal." I looked to the officer, not Nes as I spoke. Nes looked confused, even more so when I spun around, and knocked the Alliance guard out with a backhand to his jaw. The naïve, young Alliance guard hit the door, and crumpled to the floor. I looked to Nes, and grabbed him by his collar and tightened his shirt around his throat with a twist. "Translate what I say, or I'll rip your head from your body right here."
Nes hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. To my satisfaction I finally felt fear in him. Again looking to the Imperial officer, I spoke.
"I will help you escape, and I can assist you as a spy." The officer looked at me coldly as he heard Nes' translation. The officer's eyes darted from Nes to me, unsure of whom to address, like he was appalled to be speaking to one of the enslaved races.
"In exchange for what?" The officer finally asked deciding to keep his eyes on Nes.
"In exchange for free passage. I will gather information useful to you. I will help you stop these rebels, and I'll be able to settle my own grievances at the same time. I want to help the Empire in return for my freedom."
The officer's eyes widened the instant Nes translated, and then he squinted at me in scrutiny. His mind was full of doubts and disgust I could hear it. He wrestled with the idea of being saved by someone he saw as inferior, and with his own freedom and possible commendation for capturing Alliance soldiers.
"What sort of scores to settle?" he asked. I took the blaster from the unconscious guard on the floor, and jabbed it into Nes' chest. The smuggler's eyes went wide in desperation.
"Whoa, wait a minute. I know you want revenge, Makaashyya, but I can help you." Nes talked hurriedly, like an auctioneer, and droplets of sweat started forming on his brow. He sniveled and whined as I hoped he would with indecipherable pleas. His mind weaved the tale of his sad, criminal, and petty life looking for a solution to his survival, but found none.
"You'll help me best by dying," I said. The mercy had been bled from me when I had killed my own people. Nes barely had a chance to breathe a normal, final breath before I sent a laser bolt through his heart, bursting it like an overripe piece of fruit. His body shuddered and convulsed as he gasped. His heart disintegrated, the blood poured freely from the wound, every cell in his body screamed for oxygen. His head lulled to the side to rest on his shoulder and his mind ceased to exist.
I took a step to Nes' lifeless body and released him from the platform, allowing him to fall to the floor; his head cracked as he toppled over. I then released the three Stormtroopers and their officer from their binders.
The officer rubbed his wrists, and didn't even look at the body, and neither did any of his minions.
"I will contact you later if we make it out of here." the officer said through squinted, measuring eyes. He nodded to me, and one of his subordinates stripped the rifle from the Alliance guard. I unlocked the door for them. Officer and Stormtroopers went to the door and through it as it opened and then closed behind them. I stood there looking at Nes' lifeless body. A sense of fullness came to me that I hadn't felt since the day of the assault on Dathomir. I then looked to the Alliance guard on the floor. I made up my mind that in order to avoid further confusion to my story I had to provide to Echobe, I fired a bolt into the head of the young guard, splattering the wall with blood and pink viscera.
I then pulled the lightsaber from my waist and with a gentle embrace of the pressure pad the blade cracked to life in my hand. I cut the blaster in half, and threw it to the floor. I shut the saber off, took a deep breath, and then rammed the hilt into my jaw twice, causing blood to well up in my mouth and ooze out, and a swell to grow on my chin. Moment's later blaster fire reverberated in the control room. I stepped out of the bloodied interrogation room to witness the chaos I had caused. The Imperials had managed to wound or kill several Alliance members, and claim blasters from the fallen. They shot their way out to the stairs. The poor R2 droid on patrol was savagely kicked out of the way and slammed into the wall. The control room came to life with people hurrying to the conflict. Amidst the fighting I saw Echobe ducking, and pushing towards the firefight with blaster and blade in hand.
The blaster fire was heavy for a few moments, and then it died away as the Imperials slipped one by one out of the door to the anteroom with Alliance in pursuit. Minutes later, the Alliance came back from the stairway in retreat, Echobe behind them. The Imperials had made their way to the tavern and into the open, effectively destroying the underground Alliance base.
"It's too late they're gone." Echobe declared to those under his command, trying to be heard over the havoc, the dying and the distressed, humanoid and droid alike. "Start the evac, and tend to the wounded. We have to be out of here before they bring down hell on the tavern owner. You can bet that the Empire will be on their way soon." Echobe looked around the room and found me standing at the door to the interrogation room. He came to me with anger in his eyes, but he sheathed his blaster and sword.
"What are you doing here, Makaashyya? What happened?" Unapologetically, I told him my story walling up my mind against any prying he may have been capable of.
"I went to get my revenge on Nes, but they had freed themselves and attacked me and the guard as we entered. The guard managed to kill Nes, but was killed himself in the process, robbing me of my revenge. The Stormtroopers then jumped me, and I blacked out when they took my lightsaber and hit me with it."
I knew that trying to exert my power over Echobe was pointless. His mind, though full of doubt, was anything but simple. He accepted my story with skepticism. With the base in the process of a hasty evacuation, several wounded and dead, Echobe was forced to conclude the matter and attend to his command, and to give me an ultimatum.
Echobe shook his head clearly disappointed.
"It's decision time, Makaashyya. We have to evacuate. You either want to come with us, or you will be on your way. I can give you some assistance to wherever you need to go, and some resources to help. So which is it?" he said sternly.
"I'll remain with you for now," I said, trying to blow him off.
"Makaashyya, I know you wanted revenge, but you can't endanger others or our mission to get it. If you are here just to settle personal vendettas, then don't stay."
"I chose to stay. I will help as I can. Don't you need more people?" I looked around gesturing to the fallen Alliance members being put onto stretchers. Echobe nodded in reluctant agreement. Though I knew he hated to admit it, his forces had been depleted.
"Yes, we do."
**********
Echobe split people into groups and ordered them out in the remaining hour or so of the night. Whatever equipment that was too large to carry was damaged beyond repair. Databanks were backed up to portable devices, and then destroyed. We used robes and blankets as disguises; dress common among the people of the desert. Echobe and I and five others were the last group to leave. The Imperials ended up commandeering a citizen's landspeeder and escaped Anchorhead.
"I'd figured we would have Imperials breathing down our necks by now." Echobe spoke idly to me as we left Anchorhead. "We won't be traveling in a straight route, so it'll take a while longer than usual to get there" The five Alliance members each nodded, as they watched the sands passing beneath their feet, their hearts demoralized with the death of comrades and upheaval of their stability. I tried watching Echobe out of the corner of my eye as I listened to his subordinate's minds. A few moments passed before I realized I was staring at him with longing. I broke my concentration and shifted my eyes to the sands as everyone else.
"There's another base out here?" I asked to break the silence. Echobe looked to me. I kept my eyes on the ground. I could sense his eyes upon me for several moments while he tried to decide whether or not to give me any more vital information.
"We have many bases everywhere, and we rarely stay for one place for too long." He stuttered just as he was about to add to his original thought, but then said something different. "The place we are going is more of a hideout than anything. A cave. Oh, I forgot to mention, don't be frightened by what you will see when we arrive. He's with me."
"With you? Who's with you?" Echobe did not elaborate on what that meant, which made me incredibly curious. I didn't press the matter.
**********
The night faded into hues of orange and purple as the twin suns started to rise into the sky to scorch the planet for another day. Several uneventful hours of dunes, sand, rocks, and the occasional wailing of a creature passed. We walked serpentine through the desert, taking a different path than each one of the other groups had taken, as Echobe said we would, making the trip far more tiring than I had expected with the little sleep I had gotten. We skirted around hills, through passes in between mountains until we finally reached a cave hidden away within the folds of the overlapping mountain ranges. Badlands. The cave was well hidden in the folded blanket of the mountains, shielded from the heat and light. It must have stretched over a mile into the mountain, but a ship flying overhead would have easily missed it. There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that would alert someone aerially that it was anything more than desert. That was until I noticed the fresh crater in the shadow of the mountain, right beside the entrance to the cave, and the clogs of dirt that were being thrown up and out of it in huge, clumsy, globs like a mud geyser.
"You're tunneling around here too?" I asked Echobe
"Well, not really. That's what I mentioned earlier." Echobe smiled. The other Alliance members barely paid any attention to the subterranean anomaly. The digging stopped as we approached. What stepped out of the hole stunned me beyond all reasoning. Two dark, scaly-skinned hands with four clawed fingers grasped the edge of the hole and lifted its body out. A rancor, a baby it seemed, compared to the ones I had seen on Dathomir, but no less fearsome. It had a black, and dark green hide. Saliva dripped from its mouth. It ran right towards us on all fours. I reached for my lightsaber and activated the blade with a sharp crack ready to kill. The Alliance members in our group stepped away. The Rancor ignored me and went straight for Echobe. I was ready to lunge for the monster when it stopped right in front of Echobe, wagging its stubby tail, pawing at the ground like some excited pet. It was almost hilarious to see. Unbelievable if not for what I had already learned of rancors on Dathomir.
"I warned you. He's with me, there's nothing to fear. He's harmless to friends of mine." Echobe petted the snout of the beast affectionately. I was amazed to learn that the Nightsisters were not the only ones who were capable of taming such unruly creatures. The bond Echobe seemed to share with the animal further amazed me. The rancor behaved almost giddy. I deactivated my lightsaber, and put it back in its place.
"How did you come upon a rancor for a pet?" I asked. Echobe stopped doting on the rancor and looked to me curiously.
"So you know what he is, huh? More secrets, Makaashyya?" I scoffed at him, still expecting an answer.
"It's a long story for another time. We should be getting inside."
A few of the other groups of Alliance had already arrived before us, and a few arrived shortly after. The dead were buried the wounded were tended to. I helped to unpack and carry the wounded from the previous night's firefight. I then went outside and slumped against the rock of the cave entrance, almost too tired to keep my eyes open. The twin suns of Tatooine were in mid-sky. The heat could be seen rolling up from the tops of the mountains and back from where it came, but the shadow cast by the peaks did keep the cave and the area surrounding for hundreds of meters shielded from any flight overhead.
Echobe's rancor was still digging in his hole. I figured it was the creature's bed. The rancor would occasionally peek his head over the side and look at me in the most bizarre way with those black, beady eyes, as if he was going to open his mouth and introduce himself, but he kept silent and then went back to his digging. I closed my eyes and listened to his mind. He was intelligent, much like the ones on Dathomir, but he didn't have the simple, instinct-driven repetition of thought like a trained animal. It was more random, more thoughtful. Thoughts came into his mind about Echobe. The rancor's thoughts were also about me, and about the people he had been around over the years. Within him was a wealth of Alliance information. He was aware of what he was involved in, at least to some degree, but it was impossible for me to tell how deeply at such a quick glance. He was very curious about me most especially, and very suspicious as he should have been. A wiser creature than I ever imagined.
Digging seemed to give the rancor great joy as he scooped handful after handful and flung it out of his hole to wallow in the moist dirt. Fleetingly, I was also amazed to see the possibility of water on such a place as Tatooine. He liked the moisture, but he also was aware of the tactical use it could have for the Alliance as well. In his mind, he was serving a valuable purpose, and he was aware of it. The creature offered me a quick glimpse into his mind and some of the time he had spent with Echobe and the Alliance. He was proud of what he had done, and he was fiercely loyal to the Wookiee.
I had never dreamed of seeing such thoughts from one of the beasts from Dathomir. The Nightsisters' pets were afraid to disobey. Those rancors did what they did for fear of retribution. Bilebelch did it because…it cared?
No, no, that's not right. I told myself. I shook my head to dispel the conclusion. Then Echobe walked up behind me, and startled me out of the rancor's mind.
"He really is harmless. He's like family to me, the only family I ever had really. Well, besides my parents, but they were killed some time ago."
It angered me that I felt a twinge of guilt and compassion for him, but like a breeze it came and went, and I was glad.
"So now what?" I asked impatiently. I was hesitant to pry too deeply into Alliance business after what I had caused just the night before.
"For now, we will keep an eye on Anchorhead. We'll have to send a few scouts in for supplies and to gather information later, but that's about it. We are on hold until we know it's safe. I can't risk any more lives needlessly."
"What about your pet here?" I began, but Echobe interrupted me with his name.
"Bilebelch. His name is Bilebelch." That was actually the closest translation to basic for a Shyriiwook word meaning bad breath.
With furrowed brow I continued.
"Bilebelch? Kind of an unusual name don't you think?"
"Not so unusual." Echobe said with a half-grin. "His breath tends to get a little out of hand. He's an omnivore, and when I say omnivore I mean omnivore with a capital everything. He's even gotten a hold of a few unfortunate Imperials before." That thought brought a smile to my face, and with some exertion of will, I held back a giggle. I kept the matter serious.
"How do you keep him in line?"
Echobe looked at me offended.
"He's not some mindless, ravenous beast, Makaashyya. He's saved the lives of many people, including my own. Rancors, along with many other creatures are very misunderstood. They have thoughts, feelings, and they feel pain just like all of us."
As Echobe explained he unknowingly opened his mind to me, exposing his passions. For the first time I received some glimpse of who he was, but it was not the cowardly, traitorous, betrayer of Wookiee-kind I had expected and hoped he would be in order to satiate my own guilt. Echobe was brave, honest, and cared deeply for his people, and for me. I cast that thought aside. Instead I tried searching deeper while he was occupied in reverie, for some secret I could use to influence the Imperial I was waiting to meet. I hoped for something useful to the Empire to befriend them, but then I sensed something else entirely. It hit me like a jolt of electricity. It was the unmistakable feeling of the power of the Force coursing through him. It was faint and untrained. Wild, but it was there. The more I learned about the Wookiee the more I grew attached to him, and the closer I wanted to be to him. Then the thoughts of the Wookiees at the Dathomir prison overshadowed my feelings again, drowning them out in hate. I tore their throats out. I broke necks. They were traitors, cowards, all of them. I would show them all the mistakes they had made. I came back to myself, and with my heart hardened. I pushed the fleeting feelings I had for Echobe away, burying them in the darkness. I stepped away from him and spoke over my shoulder as I left.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to be on the team to go to Anchorhead." He didn't say anything in reply, he didn't even make a sound to acknowledge or deny my request, and so I left him and went into the cave to help finish setting up equipment, and to learn what I could.
**********
It was late in the afternoon by the time the headquarters had been rearranged, and everyone settled in when Echobe approached me again.
"Seems you'll get your request sooner than you thought."
"How so?" I asked while helping to move beds around in the barracks, not wanting to face him any more than necessary.
"One of the groups hasn't arrived and they have failed to report. I fear the worst. I am assigning three groups. Two groups will take different courses to backtrack along possible routes from Anchorhead, and the final group, you, Scious and Rikot, will go to Anchorhead."
"When do we leave?" I asked. Echobe stepped in front of me and kneeled to look at me.
"You leave at nightfall. Get whatever gear you might need, but keep it light. I'd offer you some transportation, but the sands play hell on engines even if we had any. Scious is team leader; you'll be with him and Rikot. Remember, you are free to come and go as you please, but while you remain with the Alliance, you will follow orders, understand?" Echobe eyed me sternly as he would a subordinate under his command. I nodded.
"Oh, and I wouldn't be flashing that lightsaber around. It's bad enough how nervous it has made my people here. That's a beacon for Imperials."
"I understand. Where do I meet the rest of my team?" I was becoming too anxious, and Echobe always tried looking into my eyes when we talked. I avoided eye contact as best as I could, but I could feel him looking for them, but I couldn't stand how he looked at me.
"They will meet you at the entrance. Be subtle, and report anything unusual. We are still expecting Imps to show up at Anchorhead looking for us after your mishap." Echobe said pointedly.
"You had to add that in didn't you?" Echobe was purposely trying my patience, testing me, trying to get a rise. I held back.
"Just try to be more careful, we lost six people in that engagement and you could have been a seventh. I am tired of seeing people killed." The concern in his voice was palpable, but I couldn't decipher for whom it was mean, for me or for his personnel, or both. He stood and walked away, saying no more. I know he had his doubts about my explanation about how the Imperials escaped, but he seemed more convinced about my story, or less troubled by the details, again I couldn't tell. Echobe was difficult to figure out, and it became a constant strain on my firm belief that Wookiees were betrayers in waiting. With every bit of insight Echobe gave, his doubt-filled, and weary, worrisome mind took it away.
**********
Evening came, and I went out to meet with my team and the other two teams that were gathered at the entrance to the cave. We all wore basic robes, and showed no signs of being anything more than nomads. Rikot had a small radio he concealed on a belt pouch along with a scout blaster. Scious carried the same type. I had only my robe and my lightsaber. After a quick mission briefing by Scious, and the distribution of rations into backpacks we all carried, we went our separate ways. One team backtracked through the path Echobe and I had arrived at the cave through. The other team started climbing the mountain to search the badlands, and Rikot, Scious, and I started for Anchorhead along the quickest path.
We were well into the night and had received routine reports from the other two teams on a coded, passive radio band. No trace had been found, and the night was quickly wearing on. We reached the outskirts of Anchorhead close to dawn. About a mile outside of town we surveyed the area and noticed no Imperial presence, so we headed into town to play out our roles as nomads while we searched for any trace of the missing Alliance people.
The town was quiet, and no one was out. The suns were just beginning to dawn over the sands by the time we arrived. Anchorhead, a regular stop for desert wanderers, so the tavern was open most times except during the most potent of sandstorms. The tavern mirrored the silent town. We attracted some quick glances from two of the patrons, but they seemed unconcerned. We ordered some water, and sat at a table. The tavern owner, Jaffron, was nowhere to be found, but there was no sign of disturbance. Any trace of our passing was well covered.
"Little strange that Imperials haven't put this town under lockdown. Something must be up. Jaffron's missing." Scious whispered to us after downing his drink. "We need to split up. Don't ask too many questions. Be discreet. I am going to try and get downstairs. If things look right, I'll get back to you."
Scious looked at Rikot.
"Scour the town, ask a few questions of any friendlies. Makaashyya, stay here, and keep your eyes open. Listen for chatter. Leave one at a time." Scious nodded. Rikot stood and left first. A few minutes later Scious nodded to me, and he headed to the back of the tavern towards the door to the anteroom. I waited a few minutes. I looked around the bar, and no one seemed to be paying me the slightest attention. I drank the last of my water and got up from the table. I then saw out of the corner of my eye someone in the far, darkened corner of the bar who I had not noticed before. He wore typical earth-tone robes and a wide brim hat. He nodded to me. I peeked into his mind for an instant to make sure, and discovered he was the one sent to contact me. For a moment, I thought it wasn't going to happen, that I had foolishly put my faith in an Imperial in a desperate situation, or that I wouldn't be taken seriously. I was strangely elated to know they were interested in my proposal. I got up and went to the Imperial's table and sat down.
"You were supposed to be alone when I contacted you." The Imperial said from under his hat, harshly.
"I was never given any guidelines," I said flatly. He continued, ignoring me.
"I have been given authority to make a decision on the behalf of my commanding officer. Depending, of course, on the value of the information you provide." The Imperial's mind was difficult to read, but as far as I could tell, he was being truthful. At the very least, I reasoned I would have to kill him should it have been a trap.
"You know there was an Alliance base here, correct?" I asked. He nodded. "I know of their new location. Plus the name of the officer in charge."
"And you want to help the Empire?" he asked skeptically.
"I want to help myself by helping the Empire."
"What do you expect to gain from this?" He looked up at me, as if to probe my thoughts through my eyes. I kept my eyes on the table in front of us, ignoring his look, as if engaged in a bland conversation with him.
"I expect to gain my freedom." In a round and about way that was the truth. In whole, I wanted to gain the freedom to get my revenge upon my traitorous people, upon a murderous Empire, and using a foolish rebellion, and the bloated, galaxy-spanning totalitarian power to do so. The original desires Gethzerion aspired for me had been completely forgotten, and so was she.
"Your success in this operation and your future in the Empire coincide." The Imperial finally said after a few moments of silent contemplation. "It is highly irregular for an alien to serve in the Empire, much less a Wookiee." He shot me a sharp look, like he disgusted by my presence.
"Firstly, your two companions will have to be eliminated, and you will need to be thought captured so your rebel friends will get word. It will be a vital test of your intentions." He dipped his hat lower over his face, stood up from the table, and downed the last of his drink. I saw a quick flash of a blaster under his robe. "I will deal with the one out there. You will deal with the one downstairs. Afterwards, come back to this table and wait so we can stage an arrest." He wasted no more words and left. It was a grave risk trusting the Imperial to hold to his word, but I had set my course. I decided to let the Force guide me. I stood, and walked to the back of the bar towards the door that led downstairs.
I looked at no one, and made no sound. I half expected Scious to come out of the shadows to ambush me, but I made it to the door and down the stairway. The old base was deathly quiet. Scattered bits of junk and a disabled droid that looked as if it had been in disrepair for years were scattered about. Dust drifted on the still air. It even smelled old and stale. The door to the control room was open, and it was the same. I heard Scious' footsteps on the far side of the dilapidated base opposite the entrance. I carefully made my way towards him, avoiding any bit of scrap that may alert him, concealing myself in the shadows and with the Force. Scious had a flashlight in hand and was surveying the room looking for any disturbance in how they left it. Then the overwhelming compulsion came over me. I wanted Scious to see me before he died. The evil part of me, born from the darkside, desired to see the crushing realization of betrayal in his eyes. I felt the beginning of my revenge was at hand and I wanted to savior it.
With the flip of my wrist and a firm grip on the pressure-sensitive pad on the hilt, the crimson lightsaber blade cracked to life in my hand. Scious immediately spun around reaching for his blaster, but then saw me standing before him.
"Makaashyya, what are you doing? Did you find something?" He sensed something amiss, or saw the look in my reddened, unnatural eyes. The fear within him took form on his face. A bead of sweat formed on his brow, and his hand, resting at his side, was once again reaching for his blaster. I gave him no time to react, only to process. Before his hand had a chance to reach the grip on his blaster, I swung the lightsaber in a wade arc. The beam of unyielding light burned through him, not pilling a drop of blood. His arms fell to the ground beside him. He stood there for a moment with a widened look of horror on his face. Then his body fell to the ground into two pieces, cut at mid chest. His eyes blinked erratically, his mouth opened and closed, trying to gasp for air, then he ceased to move. The accusation of betrayal imprinted on his face in a voiceless scream. I turned from him and went for the stairwell, and out the door. When I stepped back into the bar, I saw the Imperial standing there, still in his nomadic clothing. He nodded to me.
"Is it done?" asked the Imperial.
I nodded.
"Your friends will be reported dead, we will both be arrested and we can go from there. Follow me outside."
I followed him, trusting my fate to the Force, but made ready to strike out with my lightsaber. I figured that at least I would get my revenge upon that one if it turned out to be a trap. As we stepped out into the suns' light a shuttled dropped down out of the sky blotting it out. It circled the small town of Anchorhead, and then landed in the square in front of us, sandblasting everything around it. The back-end of the ship opened and dropped down forming a platform for a small squad of Stormtroopers that began filing out with E-11 blasters in hand. The few onlookers that were on the street scattered for shelter, no desire to become enmeshed in Imperial business.
The Stormtroopers marched straight for us, blasters held low at their side. The Imperial next to me raised his hands in mock surrender. I mimicked him. The group of Stormtroopers leveled their blasters at us.
"You two are under arrest for conspiring with the Rebellion," one proclaimed formally for anyone to hear. They fastened binders loosely to our wrists and walked us away to the shuttle with surprising delicacy. They didn't search me for weapons. When we got on the shuttle with the rest of the Stormtroopers the platform raised, sealing off the shuttle and we lifted off.
"Simple and clean. Sergeant, remove the binders," said the disguised Imperial officer to the Stormtrooper squad leader who then removed our binders and sat back down.
Obedient as a rancor, I thought.
"You have to understand," the Imperial commander spoke as he threw off his dusty robe and hat, "that your involvement with the Empire must remain concealed. The regional governor is unaware of your cooperation, and it will remain that way. However, as long as the information you provide to us is useful, my commanding officer and I will accept you as a contractor."
"What guarantee do I have that you will not simply throw me into a camp once you have spent my assistance," I asked
He chuckled.
"You will lead the mission. You will also be given a field commission of Lieutenant as a show of good will between us." He stopped to straighten his uniform and put his Imperial issue hat on, and then continued. "The one you spoke of, the rebel commander, he is a valuable prisoner. We need him alive."
"Echobe." I said flatly, successful in masking any compassion I held for the Wookiee.
"Yes. He breached our security, and disrupted our operations here and abroad. The information he has could be very damaging to an important operation. He's been a rather vexing obstacle. With your help, we can thwart this terrorist," he said triumphantly.
"Very well." I didn't care what the Imperial called Echobe, or what he intended to do to him. I buried any feelings I had for Echobe into the yawning chasm that was becoming my soul. I took the fateful step and accepted the deal.
An Imperial Colonel named Banthsas Mur debriefed me once we reached the Imperial Base in Mos Eisley. The Imperial officer who was arrested with me, Deevers, was there as well. I told them the information I had, leaving out the precise location of the base tucked away in the mountains, and of the rancor. I finished my story, and sat there with the two officers before me. I braced myself for them to either betray me, or to hold to their part of the deal. They leaned into each other and whispered, nodded, and occasionally looked in my direction. They spoke a language I did not know. Their minds were curious, but apprehensive about employing a Wookiee. A caveat easily reconciled by Imperial scheming. They leaned away from each other and faced me. I knew what was going to be said before they said it.
"The information you have provided us will be of great service to the Empire. However, the Empire does not normally accept alien races into its ranks. I am making an exception in this case." The Imperial layered his intentions with formality. "You know the position the Empire has on the Wookiee race, I assume. I do not hold similar views." I was a little shocked when he said that, but I didn't have the time to think on it, or anything else save for the coming mission I was promised to spearhead. The revenge consumed my being, the thoughts of my home world, or any façade of helping my people, or attacking the Emperor's interests slipped further beneath.
"I understand and I will not fail the Empire." You have to betray to destroy betrayers, I wanted to say aloud, but didn't. It was easy justification for me then to become allies with the very thing that had caused me so much pain.
**********
"It was a means to an end," I said to myself, and again after I was assigned an assault squad of dutiful and loyal Stormtroopers who had no open qualms of following the orders of a Wookiee, because they were, by extension, following the orders of the Imperial officer above me.
Capture prisoners, gather data, and kill any escapees, I was commanded. I was eager to indulge my lust for bloodshed. However, the reality of the mission itself was another story. I did not delight in knowing that I would be facing Echobe, no longer as an ally, but I never was his ally, and I think he knew that, he just never admitted it to himself. It would cost him. Though the Wookiee had brought out feelings in me I thought I had left behind on Dathomir with the death of Syymbacca, I readied myself for killing.
"After this day he will no longer be a problem," I said aloud. No one under my command took notice.
**********
We circled the cave from the cover of the blinding suns, well out of reach of eyes and out of the range of the aged, passive radar system I knew they employed. The co-pilot verified signs of life within to ensure that the Alliance had not abandoned the cave-base. They either had not expected foul play in my capture, and the other Alliance's death, or the news had not yet reached them.
"Ma'am," said the Stormtrooper Sergeant across from me. "We are descending upon the coordinates now. On your command we will deploy." Being called ma'am by an Imperial was a bizarre experience. Once a slave to build a prison to house more slaves, finding myself in that shuttle surrounded by Stormtroopers ready to do my bidding even unto their death was surreal and unnerving, but I would find great pleasure in it.
The pilot sent us into a blurring decent from the white, sun-blurred sky, and then landed us on the ground several meters from the cave entrance. The jet-wash blew the sand in all directions sending a blinding vortex of dust into the cave. It all happened so fast, I ordered the Stormtroopers to engage, and the Alliance had little if any time to react. The platform to the shuttle dropped down, allowing my Stormtroopers to pour out in an unstoppable wave. I was last out. The blaster fire poured from each side. The Alliance unleashed a barrage in desperation from the cave. None of my Stormtroopers fell to the Alliance's uncalculated defense they manage to muster, but I could hear the screams of Alliance members from within the cave dying from precise return fire from my Stormtroopers.
The Alliance fought with the desperation, which made me then realize that there was no rancor coming in to attack. The hole that remained from earlier was empty. I found it hard to believe that Echobe would abandon his people, so I focused my mind on blocking out the fighting around me to search for Echobe and his rancor. In a few moments I felt his presence far beyond the cave. I separated from my command, and ordered two Stormtroopers to go with me to seek Echobe out.
We crept our way over the crest of the hill that housed the cave, and I found that Echobe wisely didn't trust me as much as he allowed me to believe. I saw a large freighter, its platform lowered, being loaded with equipment and people from a hidden escape tunnel that undoubtedly extended from the cave, surrounded by overhanging cliffs Echobe was shouting orders and directing people with hand gestures. His creature was with him as well, standing guard over the line of people flowing from the escape route.
Echobe then noticed us. I pulled the lightsaber from my waist, activated the blade, and ran towards him. The Stormtroopers at my side had their blasters at their hips, and ran after me, flanking me, and firing at the stream of Alliance escapees. I yelled for the Stormtroopers beside me to disable the freighter's engines and to take prisoners, but that the Wookiee was mine.
Echobe, seeing me charging him with lightsaber raised for attack, pulled his Ryyk Blade from his waist in a blinding flash just as I reached him. Our weapons clashed, but his Ryyk Blade didn't cut or melt as I expected it to. I also didn't expect Echobe to meet me blow for blow with incredible speed. Before that moment, I had never witnessed the Wookiee's prowess with the ancient sword, nor was I prepared for him to be my better.
One of the Stormtroopers started shooting at the freighter's engines. The Alliance seemed to be in a panic and didn't return fire. Echobe yelled for everyone to get on the ship as we locked blades again and again. The chemical lasers exploded against the hull of the freighter showering the area in sparks that landed on both Echobe and me. I was too engaged in the fight to care, the bloodlust was evident in my eyes as was the hatred fueled by the darkside. Then the rancor let out an ear-shattering roar. With an effortless swing of his clawed hand, Bilebelch swiped at the two Stormtroopers, sending a spray of red mist into the air. The Stormtroopers flew and landed several meters away, blood flowing, their white armor rent. The rancor's razor claws were covered in blood. Then the rancor came for me, ignoring the battle Echobe and I fought against each other. I took a wide swing at the rancor as Echobe left me an opening. The rancor tried to grab me, but the lightsaber's blade seared his thick hide, inflicting a superficial wound that he easily ignored. He swiped at me again, missing as I ducked, but allowing for Echobe to break off the fight. As I stood back up, the rancor's back swing knocked my legs out from under me sending me sprawling into the sand and making me drop the lightsaber.
"Bilebelch, let's go!" I heard Echobe shout as I coughed up sand. I got back to my feet as quickly as I could, my eyes blurred. I chased behind the rancor taking a swing with all my strength at his leg, cutting into it. Bilebelch gave out a roar of pain and stumbled, slowing him enough for me to get past him and make my way to Echobe who saw my strike at the rancor. I leapt towards Echobe with the Force, and we locked weapons once again. His skill with the Ryyk Blade, again, matched mine with the lightsaber. With teeth bared, he met each of my strikes and was quickly forcing me back towards Bilebelch. I became so focused on the blinding swings of Echobe's blade that I dismissed his beast, until I felt its terribly strong hand engulf me and throw me back like a rag doll into one of the rock faces and knocking me out of my senses. I struggled to get to my feet, and grabbed my lightsaber just in time to see the rancor and Echobe enter the freighter, and then a few moments later, the blast of sand as they took off.
I coughed up some blood and spat it onto the sands as I tried to clear my dizzied head.
"I will see you again." I said aloud as I deactivated the lightsaber and walked back to the cave entrance. A Stormtrooper was walking towards me as I came down from the hill to meet back up with my squad. Only one other Stormtrooper had fallen in the melee. The rebels that had been left behind were bound and gathered up into the shuttle. I ordered my subordinates to collect the bodies of the fallen just as the communicator on my wrist sounded. The Imperial officer, my superior, spoke.
"Makaashyya, what is your status? Has the rebel threat been suppressed?"
"Yes. However some have escaped on a freighter, Echobe with them, but our losses were minor. Please advise." After a few brief moments Banthsas replied.
"Report back to base with any prisoners and data you have acquired. Out."
I turned off the communicator. I ordered the hasty gathering of any viable data from the abandoned equipment, and then for the base to be detonated. We ascended back into the sky just as the explosives I had set turned the cave to rubble.
*********
Echobe's escape burned in my mind. I hated him for evading me, for matching me in a fight, but Banthsas was wholly pleased with my performance in the raid despite the escapees, and he agreed to allow me to continue working for the Empire on a classified basis. In time, I discovered that Banthsas Mur was far more sympathetic to Wookiees than he was ever willing to openly admit in such a bigoted environment. He came to favor me over all others.
The time I spent as a classified asset further drove me into the well of hate, further eroding any sense of what I thought my revenge was, what I had once believed in, and what I had been. I continued my training in the Force alone during that time. I let the darkside guide me in my twisted conquest, as my ambitions grew bolder. I toiled as a willing slave to the Empire. I weeded out what I came to believe to be traitors and enemies, and eliminated them as I was directed. Some time passed after our very brief confrontation before I was to see Echobe again.