Chapter 4:
The ship came to a stop as it hit the wall of the hangar, the tip of the ship buckled, the engines sputtered and failed. Burmar jumped out and ran past the human with the light-sticks, and to a surprisingly indifferent hangar foreman who was just standing there watching the entire scene. Burmar exchanged quick words with the Foreman and motioned for me as he ran towards a flight of stairs along the wall of the hangar that led to a small windowless room. I struggled to get Heth from the cargo compartment as he kicked his legs at me. The R2 droid dropped out of its compartment, and when I finally had Heth on my shoulder, we followed Burmar into the room he indicated. The R2 had some trouble negotiated the stairs so I grabbed it by its leg and carried it to the room upside down. Heth and the droid protested in unison.
It must have been some kind of storage room. Metal shelves lined the walls with assorted bits of junk on them. Burmar stood at the door waiting for us, and ushered us inside looking back out into the hangar to see if we had been pursued only to see the confused traffic controller still standing there. Burmar then entered the room and locked the door behind him.
Burmar turned from the door holding his hurt mouth. A trickle of blood ran down his chin. The R2 started blasting water out of its circuits creating a disgusting puddle of brown foulness on the floor. I set Heth down into a chair. Burmar plopped down onto the ground holding his head in his hands, gasping for breath, or gasping in desperation, I wasn't sure which. The Imp was covered in grime, he had received a few minor wounds on his face and arms, and the binders had dug into his wrists and ankles making the skin underneath raw and bleeding. I did what I could to clean the droid and myself off with a rag that I picked up off the floor while also trying calm myself. After a few moments Burmar spoke while still breathing heavily.
"This was supposed to be our way out of here after making it back to the safe house. I didn't have a choice," Burmar continued, talking more to himself than to me, "I had to do something, I hope they can forgive me," he said with a stuttering voice, and still holding his head in his hands. I remained silent for a few moments, but when I finally thought of something to say to ease Burmar, he looked at me.
"There was supposed to be a ship waiting for us that we were going to use to make it off planet when things had cooled down a little. The Foreman is an ally, we just have to time it right and wait for things to cool down a little." Burmar was incredibly shaken by the loss of his friends. I decided not to say anything.
Just then there was a knock at the door. Burmar jumped up with blaster in hand and opened the door slightly. The Foreman was standing on the other side. They whispered to each other, and then the Foreman left. Burmar closed the door.
"He's going to get us some towels and some food. We'll be staying here a day or two until we can secure a ship." Burmar then went to Heth. The Imperial looked up at Burmar in disgust and with overwhelming arrogance, a look that seemed to be hardwired into Imps. Burmar grabbed some wire sitting on one of the shelves and roughly tied the Imperial to the chair
Burmar's Foreman friend came back with food, drinks, towels and water to clean ourselves off with. After getting cleaned up as best we could, Burmar quickly ate. I took my time and munched while cleaning the crevices on the droid from the gunk it picked up in the tunnels. Burmar went to Heth and started questioning him. He remained silent, meeting Burmar's questions with all the responsiveness of a stuffed bantha. The Foreman brought us back a box full of preserved food packets, and some more towels and water and he took the dirty towels. I tried cleaning the Imperial off after I had finished with the droid, but he only fought against me so I gave up. I am not sure why I tried to help him. He didn't deserve the kindness.
**********
About a day passed while we waited hiding inside that small closet space. Burmar's friend the Foreman, with his unsettlingly quiet and calm manner, did what he could do to make us comfortable and gave us regular updates on Imperial movement in the city, but we all, droid included, started to get frustrated being trapped in our little space. I thought Burmar was about ready to tear the head off the droid as it was always beeping and whistling anxiously, like it was trying to entertain or distract itself. But before that was about to happen, Burmar's friend, the Foreman, came back to the door that night. Burmar opened it hurriedly and they whispered something to each other and the Foreman left. Burmar left the door cracked open. Stagnant joints creaked and popped when I stood.
Burmar turned to face me after taking a look out.
"It must have been a huge embarrassment losing a commander like that, they may want to keep it quiet. The Imperial patrols have died down, and there is a perfect vessel sitting in the hangar. I think this could be our best chance to get out of here," said Burmar, with an unusually large smile on his face.
"Where can we go where the Empire isn't already?" I asked, and tried to brush my fur off. I looked like a blockage pulled from a drainpipe, not too far from the truth I realized. Burmar wasn't even concerned about how filthy he was, he was happy to finally be away.
"We have bases all over, but getting away from here is going to be the hard part. I won't say anymore while in his presence." Burmar jerked his head at Heth. "When we get to the base he will be debriefed."
"You think he will give you the information we need?"
"We'll get it one way or another," said Burmar, eyeing Heth dubiously.
"What do you mean by that?" I could tell from Burmar's glare that what he had in mind wasn't a pleasant chat.
"Look, we have to do whatever it is we have to do. It may be wrong, but I am willing to do it."
"How can you justify something like that? What kind of Alliance is this?"
"Do you have any better ideas? This officer knows of your parents, wouldn't you do what you had to do to find out what happened to them? He won't give the information willingly I assure you, Echobe."
The question ran through my mind as I looked at the Imp. He knew what Burmar had in mind as well, and didn't seem pleased by it.
My parents were taken from me, and this Imperial quite possibly knows where. Is it right to hurt someone like that? How could I justify such a thing? The thoughts raced until Burmar broke me from them.
"It's not even for us to decide Echobe, it's for command to decide. Let's just get there. We can argue about this if we even escape."
I agreed just so we could stop arguing.
Burmar went to Heth and stood him up. He then went into a quick explanation of the ship the Foreman had waiting for us.
"There is a smuggler that is docked here. The Foreman says he frequents Coruscant, and he leaves his ship in this hangar. The paperwork will be mixed up with a different hangar, and he'll be made to think it has been taken by Imperials."
Burmar tugged on Heth's bonds to make sure they were tight. I was just relieved to have an opportunity to get off of planet and far away from Imperial control, or at the very least to be blown up in space and be free from that tiny room and from all our worries all together.
The about-to-be-stolen ship sat in the hangar resting over the very skid marks we created on our unannounced entry. Burmar peaked out of the door first while I put a sack over Heth's head and lifted him onto my shoulder. I shook him to stop his struggling. Burmar turned, nodded to me, and then stepped out. I followed with the R2 rolling behind me. When we stepped out into the open hangar the elation that the free-flowing air brought to me was pleasant, but brief. I forgotten and replaced with unbridled curiosity when I saw it.
It was a beautiful, shiny, new ship. A celestial creature with grayish-white segmented skin that grasped every bit of light the environment had to offer, refusing to let it go, it framed the colors reflecting from it like a painting. It was a freighter of the YT series. A brand new YT-1930. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was somewhat similar to other YT models. Though the cockpit was centered in the middle of the forward hull. The ship had a similar circular design as other YT's, but was shaped more like a triangle.
'Gorgeous,' is the best word I could think to say when I saw it.
"Must be a rich smuggler, these things aren't cheap," said Burmar in passing, looking all around for any disturbance outside the hangar while walking towards the ship. I, not knowing what it was at the time, was full of questions about the spectacular thing. Like it was a new creature to befriend.
"How do you know that? What kind of ship is it?" I asked as we walked towards it. The Imperial on my shoulder still struggled to be free. I ignored him.
"It's a YT-1930. Supposed to be the best of the series," Burmar paused for a moment to look again at the traffic outside and then he continued, "And that smuggler is not likely to be happy to find out it's missing, but at least he won't lose his cargo."
"Is this how we get by, by stealing and torturing? We seem a little bit too much like terrorists to me." I managed to ask after tearing my eyes away from the YT to look at the flowing traffic outside.
Burmar didn't answer me, just shook his head. My constant questions and doubts were obviously wearing on him. Fortunately for Burmar, I was too fixated on the ship to press him for any meaningful answer just then. Though in the back of my mind was festering the trouble of sorting out and coming to terms with what we had done, and what may happen. For that moment though, I willingly ignored my doubts and focused on making it out alive from Coruscant, in between that and looking at the YT of course.
Burmar lowered the rear platform. When we entered, I noticed the plaque just inside the platform showing the ship's designation as Starscream. The inside of the Starscream was as equally immaculate as the outside. Burmar went straight for the controls. A ship was a ship to him. He wasn't nearly as impressed as I was.
I sat Heth down in one of the four chairs in the cockpit, he mumbled and tried to blurt out what I am sure were expletives. The R2 was busy connecting to the ship's computer, beeping and whistling merrily as if making a new friend and circumventing the YT's security. The lights in the cockpit winked on as the droid lifted the security. And like a cloud fading from the sky to reveal the stars, the cockpit lit up, reflecting on the smoky-colored cockpit glass.
Burmar brought the thrusters online. Burmar's friend, the hangar foreman, stood before the Starscream waving at us as lazily and as calm as if nothing had ever happened the past day. Burmar activated the repulsor-lifts, and the Starscream floated like it was on a calm sea. Burmar backed us out of the hangar. He then gunned the ship's thrusters and sent us into the heavy traffic. Burmar put some distance between the hangar and us in the hopes of avoiding getting the Foreman into even more danger than we had already. After a few miles, Burmar sent us up into the atmosphere above the din of traffic, beyond the reach of the skyscrapers and into the atmosphere.
The clouds of Coruscant engulfed the Starscream until we reached the upper atmosphere, then the clouds dissipated, and we passed beyond the limits of the planet's gravity. Lines of Imperial ships skirted around the planet much like the same blockade around Kashyyyk, only more numerous. There were Star Destroyers and TIE fighters everywhere. It was the heart of the Empire. I sat back and watched the ships float through space like insects in the distance, becoming larger as we sped towards them. Burmar ordered me to jettison into an escape pod with our prisoner should anything go wrong, and to meet the Foreman back at the hangar. I nodded to Burmar, but I had no intention of obeying. I didn't even want to consider leaving anyone else behind to die. I held the hilt of the Ryyk Blade, gripping it tensely to ease myself.
The Imperial officer saw my nervousness and laughed despite the covering on his mouth. I had gotten used to the demeanor of his type. I just sat and listened to him, and watched him, if nothing else but to take my mind off the barrier between freedom and us. It was all I could do to keep myself from losing it over not knowing what Burmar had in mind for us to escape. Burmar continued for the line.
The radio sounded. It was a captain from a Star Destroyer, (an Interdictor to be exact), directly ahead of us. Burmar responded with a clearance code and submitted to a security scan. Luckily the spice was left in the dock, so, as far as we knew the ship was clean. I looked back and forth between the Star Destroyer hovering before us like a gray island in space, and the radio, half-expecting to hear orders for our surrender. There was an uneasy silence as the scan commenced. Burmar fingered the controls, ready to get us away as fast as possible should the order come. Heth laughed muffled again.
The Captain then came back over the radio.
"Ship Starscream, what is your cargo and destination?" he demanded. Burmar stuttered and shrugged trying to come up with something to say. The Captain started to repeat his question when we heard faint radio chatter in the background on the Captain's end. We listened in close and overheard it. They were receiving reports of a disturbance. Strangely enough it was from the hangar we had just left. We both smiled and looked at each other. The Captain then spoke to us over radio, "Move along ship Starscream," and the radio cut off. I smiled at Heth. His smile disappeared. Burmar hit the throttle and we flew past the line of Imperial ships and further into open space and then into hyperspace.
"We will have to zigzag on our way to the base. Once they get word of this ship being stolen they'll probably be after us." I released my grip on the Blade, clenching my hand to get the blood flowing again.
"Good, maybe you can take a few moments and teach me how to fly this thing." I nudged Burmar in the ribs. He coughed from the blow.
"I know you have been looking at this thing like it was a Wookiee girl," he said, rubbing at his side, and looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
I rolled my eyes.
"I've just never seen anything like it, it's beautiful. I may have to steal it back from the Rebellion," I said with a chuckle, trying to see how Burmar would react to the idea. He didn't.
"Well, for starters, this is the control stick," started Burmar, tapping the lever with his finger.
Burmar hurriedly explained the basic functions of random instruments while he zigzagged us through hyperspace, occasionally stopping for new coordinates, not making a straight path to the Alliance station. He quickly explained the basic functions of the nav-computer, and the reason for our zigzagging pattern.
"It's an old hunting move where we hyperspace a short distance and hyperspace back right over it and then hyperspace again in a different location to throw off our path enough to hopefully confuse anyone who would follow us," explained Burmar.
It was all very confusing, and Burmar hardly had the patience of a teacher as he quickly explained what he was doing and how. Randomly he would break off his instruction to tell a short story from his days in the Senate as he changed coordinates. I really didn't learn too much.
His stories did offer scant details about my Mother and Father that made it worthwhile though. Burmar explained how he had voted against my parents many times, as he alluded to before. Burmar told me that my parents cared not for businesses, capitalism and such, but for the well being of the people above all, and the preservation of the Republic, and that they strongly opposed the vote to give Emperor Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the so-called Jedi threat. They hated war, Burmar told me. They spoke out vehemently against it all, which Burmar figured was why they were taken away, as were many others.
Burmar told me how much he was sorry for not seeing the signs, for not listening to those who didn't agree with the Emperor, but he had always been dubious of Jedi influence as many in the Senate had been after the Clone Wars. Burmar thought of them as a corrupt shadow government. That was until the Jedi purge and the dissolution of the Senate, when all of his fears were confirmed. Burmar went into hiding shortly before the Senate was dissolved. A once respected member, and ally to Palpatine, he was now a wanted man for joining with Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis shortly after the formation of the Alliance. So Burmar's story went, what he told me of it anyways.
After Burmar's story telling, and our safe distancing from Coruscant, I was the first to use the shower.
**********
"Well, we're almost there, deep in the Dalonbian Sector. Not the friendliest of places, but good for hiding." The radio signaled with a computer generated, unintelligible howl like some kind of interference. Burmar then entered in some code only known to him and transmitted it. A few seconds later, a group of X-Wings emerged from the gaseous cloud engulfing the sector. Burmar put us into formation with them, and we followed. I couldn't tell where we were going.
The radio came on, a pilot on one of the X-wing's spoke.
"Ship Starscream, you are clear to proceed to bay four."
"Acknowledged," replied Burmar, and he upped the throttle as the X-wings peeled off and vanished back into the cloud. Just as they did, the Alliance space station emerged directly in front of us. Not surprisingly, the station look beat up, carbon scored, and badly in need of preventative maintenance, as did most Alliance equipment. The door to our landing bay opened and Burmar landed us, expertly, on the deck, and shut down the Starscream.
I turned to the Heth. The R2 unit was sitting right next to him beeping almost tauntingly.
"Well, time to get you on your feet," I said, as I stood him up. The strip covering his mouth slipped off as I moved him, just enough for him to speak out of the corner of his mouth.
"You may have made it this far Wookiee, but you will not…" Before the Imp could get fully into his dogma I cut him off by stuffing the strip into his mouth, and then lifted him onto my shoulder. The R2 whirred past me, beeping, glad to be nearer to allies, and dry. We went to the rear of the ship, and Burmar pressed a button on the nearby console next to the mirror-finished hydraulic arm, and the platform extended and landed with a sure thud on the deck. The R2 unit whistled curiously and rolled out. The Imp on my shoulder wiggled irritably. I shook him again to get him to stop.
When I stepped out into the open I was amazed at the vastness of the operation going on in just that one station. There was hundreds of Alliance going this way and that, and half as many droids. The hangar seemed to hum with energy. The walls echoed the noise of people, droids, engines, and welders. There were X-wings, Y-wings, and even some captured TIE fighters lined up and ready for instant take off, and some secluded away from the functioning ones to be repaired.
"Burmar!" A human male yelled from across the hangar with a raspy voice, like he had rocks rattling around in his lungs. He was wearing a thick, leather jacket, a faded, orange jumpsuit underneath, with the Alliance symbol on the left shoulder. A blaster hung lazily, also on his left side, at his hip. The man was dark-skinned, blonde-haired with a thin beard and grizzled face, like he had seen too much sun. His face was scarred and lined from age. He walked towards us with a warm smile on his face that didn't compliment his features.
"I'm amazed to see you, friend. I see you got the package we asked for," the human said with a big smile, and reached out his hand and shook Burmar's. "And I see you brought back my R2 as well!" The man knelt at the R2 droid and patted it like a pet. The R2 turned its head back and forth and whistled. The man then looked up the empty ramp to the Starscream and then looked to Burmar. "The others?" he asked with concern. Burmar just shook his head. Then the man, his smile replaced with a cold certainty, looked at me. He seemed clear about everything except for my presence.
"I see you picked up a stow away," said Burmar's friend, looking back and forth from me to Burmar, his eyes asking for an explanation, and making me feel a bit uncomfortable at the same time.
Burmar put his hand on the arm of the man, his friend, and said, "We have to talk, but let's get rid of the prisoner first." Two Alliance guards walked towards me at Burmar's signal. They looked up at me uneasily. I took Heth off my shoulder and stood him up in front of them.
"There you go," I said foolishly, realizing just then that they probably didn't understand a thing I had said, but they took Heth away regardless.
"Echobe," Burmar started saying, and gesturing to me. "We have some talking to do." Burmar's friend had already turned and started walking away.
I followed Burmar, his friend, and the droid to a back room away from the hangar, taking one last longing look at the amazing ship I had become infatuated with. I sighed in spite of myself and wished I had some time to learn to fly it.
Burmar's friend closed the door behind me as we entered what I assumed was his office. A large metal table with several chairs arranged around it sat in the middle of the room, a computer terminal at the head, maps were strewn everywhere, and a holo image of the Alliance station spun slowly in the center of the table. Burmar's friend went to the table and sat down, and so did we. The droid rolled up alongside the man.
"So," began the man, "start from the top."
Burmar took a breath and began.
"I went to Kashyyyk to get Ulchewbuk safely off-world. The Imperials had just bombed the place. When I got there I found Echobe," Burmar gestured towards me, "there instead. The Wookiee Elder was dead. Someone killed him with his own Ryyk Blade. Echobe now carries it." I felt a bit awkward being spoken about in the third person, and about possessing the weapon that was used to murder The Elder, but I kept my eyes on the man, and remained silent. Burmar continued.
"Echobe was ready to kill me as I approached, thinking I was The Elder's killer, but I explained who I was. When Echobe told me his name, I needed no further explanation. The Elder had told me all about him. Echobe is the son of Elyya and Obechukk.
When Burmar's friend heard those words, his expressionless face twisted as if stung. He crossed his fingers in a pyramid in contemplation.
"I see, go on," he said after a moment.
"I explained to Echobe what I was there for, and who I was, and offered that he join me, join the Alliance. Eventually, reluctantly, he agreed." Burmar nodded to me. "We left Kashyyyk, but were pursued by ships from the blockade on our way, and we had to make a crash landing on Coruscant and ahead of schedule. We made the rendezvous with the Alliance soldiers at the safe house and went through with the mission. We were able to get the Imperial officer out, but we lost Buiddo, Gwileck, and Drom in the firefight. Echobe, the R2, and me made it back to the safe house, but had to abandon the original plan. We met, again, ahead of schedule with our contact at the hangar where we found the ship." Burmar thumbed towards the landing bay over his shoulder. "We waited a day, and were able to use the security clearance to get off planet. However, I fear that our passage has already been detected. There was a disturbance in the hangar as we left, and I believe that was the only reason why we were allowed to leave. I'm sorry for the losses of your men, Desco."
I felt a bit more comfortable after learning the man's name, and having him hear the explanation of how I became involved. Desco's expression lightened.
"They were your friends as well, Burmar. The mission was understood by all, save for you." Desco stood and extended his hand to me. I stood as well, hitting my head on the light fixture, the undersized chair still stuck to my butt. We shook hands and sat back down. Desco and Burmar both had smiles on their faces.
"We owe you our thanks, Echobe. The mission may have very well failed if not for your unexpected help. You have safe refuge here, and hopefully you will decide to continue to help the Alliance." I cleared my throat and looked to Burmar. I was about to speak when Desco beat me to it.
"Speak freely, Echobe. I can understand you."
I paused for a moment in surprise and then continued.
"Actually, I want to be there when the officer Heth is questioned. I want to know what has happened to my parents from his mouth. Desco arched an eyebrow when I called the Imp by his name. Desco then looked to Burmar and they both nodded.
"Very well. Follow me, Echobe.
Desco led Burmar and me from his office, after I detached the chair, and to an elevator in the hangar, and we descended to the lower levels of the station. Desco led us to the interrogation room where guards stood around Heth who was bound and sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. All of the guards saluted Desco and Burmar as we entered.
"Are we ready to begin?" asked Desco.
"How do you plan on getting the information out of him?" I asked.
"We'll start first by asking." Desco said and knelt beside the Imperial. "Tell us where the prisoners were taken." Desco asked Heth, simply and calmly. Heth faced forward and didn't say anything. Desco grabbed Heth by the cheeks and forced the Imperial to look him in the eyes. "Tell me where and this won't have to get difficult." Desco then shoved Heth's face violently away.
Desco stood slowly looking away from Heth, his mouth was pursed, anger filled his eyes, and then without warning Desco hit Heth across the face, sending blood from his mouth to splatter across the floor. Heth groaned in pain and hung his head, but recovered quickly and straightened himself, and faced forward again. I jerked, and took a step forward, unsure of what to do. Desco grabbed the Imperial by the face again.
"Tell me what you know, and this won't have to get worse." Desco spoke, completely indifferent to the Imperial's pain. Heth remained silent, the look of righteous indignation steeled in his face.
Desco hit Heth again. More blood splattered on the floor, he groaned again, and was slower in recovering. This process was repeated for about an hour. I felt sick with what was happening, and with myself for not stopping it. Heth was covered in blood, he gasped and coughed, and had spit out several teeth. His face was bruised and had swollen grotesquely. The light glistened off his sweat-soaked, bulbous face.
"That's enough, get the droid in here!" yelled Desco, finally losing his patience, his fist was red and swollen. A few moments later, a ball-like droid hovered into the room. It was covered in prongs and diodes and other instruments I had no idea as to their use. Desco ordered the Guards out, Burmar and I remained.
"What are you going to do?" I asked, moving myself between the droid and Heth.
"What I have to," Desco said flatly, "please move."
"But you can't. It's just as bad as they are. That's what they do to prisoners, that's how they treat Wookiees, you can't have your New Republic be like this!"
Heth hung his head, still gasping.
"You will soon learn what needs to be done, Echobe. Guards! Escort the Wookiee out!" Two Alliance guards came back in and gestured for me to follow them, they had blaster rifles in hand. I let them usher me out, all the while wrestling with thoughts of overpowering the guards and taking their rifles to rescue the Imp, but that was insanity, but so was leaving Heth there to be tortured.
I stood in the hallway outside the door walking back and forth with my arms crossed, the beeping and whirring of the torture droid was drowned out by Heth's muffled groans and screams. Images of Kashyyyk came back to me as I let my mind wander in an attempt to shut myself away. That Wookiee girl dying in my arms while her family smoldered in the wreckage of her house came back into my mind, how I wished then that I could forget. Her skin crumbling like a dried flower under my touch as she breathed her last breaths on me, looking to me to fix things. It brought it all back and I hated it. I closed my eyes and tried to shut it out, but it penetrated the darkness. Heth's screaming echoed in the hall a while longer, and then all went silent. The Imperial stopped screaming. Burmar stepped out, quickly glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and went walking down the hallway with a lowered head. Desco came out next, looking me straight in the eye.
"We have the information. Follow me, I will discuss it with you and Burmar," and Desco turned from me and walked back to his office. Several guards reentered the room and took up positions around the Imp.
I peaked my head in the door. The interrogation droid hovered silently in a corner behind Heth. His head hung low, blood and spit oozed from his mouth. He looked up and into my eyes. He was pale, he had darkened circles around his eyes, and his faded skin glistened with sweat. He just smiled at me with that same arrogance, and then looked back to the floor like he had won somehow. I felt sick and disgusted with myself for having done nothing to stop it, but they did get the information we needed, that I needed. I left the room and went to Desco's office, wanting to be far away from that place. Burmar did not look away from Desco when I entered, but Desco looked at me without remorse as if he had forgotten what had just happened. He just started talking.
"The Imp gave up the location of an Imperial station in deep space, right here." Desco pointed to a spot on the holo map in the Unknown Regions in Chiss space, on the outskirts. "He says he did not know why the Senators, and staff, and others were taken, but that he was only assigned to round them up and send them there under secrecy. The Imp says that he held them on Coruscant for a team of special ops who took them to this location in Chiss space."
Desco pushed a button on the control pad of the holo-projector bringing the Csilla system into closer view, and then he continued.
"He claimed to have no further intel on this installation, but it would be safe to assume that it is well guarded, and not easily accessible. Our objective is to retrieve the prisoners, and destroy, or disable the station if possible. We will first send a recon team to inspect the area and pinpoint the exact location, and if they return with good news, we will send a strike team to infiltrate the base." The holo-projector intuitively conveyed Desco's words in diagrams and schematics as he spoke. I sat there with my arms crossed glaring at Desco.
"Alright. Now what of my parents?" I asked when Desco had finished.
"You two will be the primary strike team." Desco pointed to us both. "Burmar knows the faces of many of the prisoners that may be there. Echobe, despite your feelings for me, I think that you have a place on this mission. This is the most likely place for your Mother and Father to be found." He jabbed his finger at me, commandingly, almost condemningly.
"You think they're still alive?" I asked, uncrossing my arms and leaning forward, I was nearly as tall as Desco while sitting down, and since his torturing of the Imperial, the thought of beating the small human down occurred to me more than once. Desco then took on a more solemn look after noticing the way I was looking at him, but I had to remind myself that he wasn't my enemy, as perhaps he was also reminding himself at that very moment.
"I hope they are, Echobe. I knew them, they were friends of mine," Desco said, as if reminiscing. He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped himself and looked away from me and to the table. Burmar remained silent, not looking at me. I stopped glaring at either of them, though still struggling over how to feel about the whole situation. I did gain new understanding of Desco's motives, which only made me question my own, my resolve, and myself. I wondered if I was really willing to do whatever it took to save the innocent, if I would have done whatever it took to save my family, to have saved Ulchewbuk.
"It could be a while for the recon team to gather necessary information and report back," continued Desco, breaking the silence. "We are in a holding pattern until then. In the meantime, if you wish Echobe, we can give you a training crash-course." Desco smiled at me, trying to be as congenial as possible, alluding to my newfound love for the ship that Burmar and me had borrowed from that unfortunate smuggler. I guess you could call it an extended loan by now.
**********
A recon team of four X-wing fighters, two B-wings, and a small cruiser left the next day. As I watched the pilots make the final preparations and say goodbye to friends, or relatives, or lovers, it became illuminatingly clear to me how the Alliance treated all missions. There were prayer services that I could not begin to understand, describe or explain. Every Rebel prepared for a mission by preparing to die. It made me brutally aware how desperate the Alliance was then. Friends, and perhaps lovers exchanged hugs, kisses, handshakes, and pats-on-the-back. There were no tears. Instead there were straightened spines and lifted chins, handshakes, and hugging. The recon team got into their crafts, and one by one they were ushered out of the landing bay by flight controllers and into space, and for all they knew, to their deaths.
After watching the Alliance recon team depart, I went to see Heth Finissum who had been moved to a cell alone. His face was battered, bruised and welted from the beating he received the day before. His color was not as pale, but he still looked horrible. When I walked up to his cell he was sitting up in his bed, his head hanging low as if he was praying. He looked up at me as I stood there, the same damn steely expression of arrogance, like it was branded into the flesh of his face. He scoffed and lowered his head.
For a brief moment I regretted wanting to stop his torture, and felt almost stupid for checking on him to see if he was all right. I just shrugged his pathetic attitude off. Ulchewbuk taught me better than that. I wanted to hate the Imp, I wanted to put the Ryyk Blade into his heart, but I knew it was wrong, I knew I could be better than that, but I also knew then that it was foolish to have wanted to rescue him from the beating he received. That Imperial would have betrayed me no matter what I did, no matter how right I thought I was. Because I am a Wookiee, he would have sent me away to that station in the middle of the unknown to rot as he had so many others.
I walked away.
**********
I had about two weeks worth of training during the painful wait for the recon team to return. Desco later explained to me the procedure, and the reason of the length of their mission when he saw me pacing around the inactive landing bay. After the first day had passed I decided to take full advantage of Desco's offer.
I trained some with blasters, which I was not completely inept with being somewhat used to a bowcaster back home. The Ryyk Blade I was already pretty well versed in thanks to The Elder, and there wasn't a droid or a Rebel on the base that could stand against me in a blade fight, to which I quickly earned a reputation for. Burmar, after a few days of strained silence between us, approached me for my flight training. My true interest was learning to fly. I had truly fallen in love with that huge, beautiful ship.
Burmar helped me learn the basic ins and outs as much as he could during the short time. I hardly spent any time within the temporary quarters I was given. Instead I spent nearly all the time within the ship Starscream. I was actually getting pretty good at using the stock laser cannon emplacement during target practice on the rocks drifting outside of the base. It took awhile though to get used to power consumption as I was constantly overheating the coils.
I crawled my way through every passageway I could find like a spelunker. I admit I became obsessed with it. It gave me something to do with my time. I knew it wasn't mine, but on the inside I was devising a way to take it for my own, even the evil thoughts of stealing it from the Alliance came into my mind, which I tried hard to ignore. I cleaned the ship, and kept it immaculate, and I even slept in it when I wasn't training. People started to look at me a bit strangely, and much to my satisfaction some even referred to it as my ship, or when the name Starscream was mentioned, my name soon followed.
Burmar was pleased with my progress, and Desco was as well. To make the ship more prepared for combat, Desco had extra weapons added to the ship. Two main guns were added to the forward cockpit area, and a missile launcher as well, turning the ship into something far more useful for our coming mission. I was there for each addition, and learned what I could about the mechanics the whole time, which wasn't a whole lot. But Burmar was amazed with how quickly I had begun to learn the inner workings of the ship while it was being refitted. The two weeks passed by far more quickly once I became involved instead of just pacing the hangar. I became a quick study and got a firm grasp upon the basics, and on even more advanced mechanisms of the ship. I even successfully replaced a malfunctioning circuit board in a control unit a day before the recon team returned.
**********
There were cheers and hoots of joy when the recon team arrived in its entirety, unscathed and undetected. The squad of X-wings and B-wings slowly banked into the landing bay by twos, the cruiser merely docked with the station. Desco waited a few moments for the recon team rejoice with family and friends, but then, at Desco's orders, they followed him into his office for debriefing. Burmar motioned to me and I followed.
"Welcome back, now let's get right down to it," said Desco, not wanting to waste any time. The leader of the recon team began his report. The name read as 'Yaminul' on his orange colored jumpsuit. He still held his helmet underneath his arm, his sweat-laden, blond hair stood on end. He cleared his throat, and spoke in an accent I never could place, Galactic Basic did not seem to be is native language.
"After a sensor sweep while keeping hidden, we were able locate and surveil the Imperial station. It is located in gas cloud far from Csilla. There are convoys, but seems unguarded, civilian transport."
"Transporting prisoners to be less noticeable I'd bet," said Desco.
"We assume the same. It looks like this where at least some prisoners are being sent. The information from Imperial captive seems to be valid. But it's quiet for Imperial station. No markings, no designations. The radio transmissions in and out are encrypted. There is something going on, and they are doing the best to keep it secret," concluded Yaminul.
Desco folded his arms across his chest and reassumed his usual grim expression.
"The only thing that makes this more unusual is the fact that the Empire is shipping prisoners there. Making a new weapon perhaps? Slave labor?" Those words rung in my head, and I once again questioned why I had been kind to someone like Heth Finissum.
"We thought at first, but seems far too small of complex. There are no hangers, no room for large construction, no asteroids anywhere close that could house another station," Yaminul said, then set his helmet on the desk and rubbed his reddened knuckles, wincing slightly as he did so.
"How many transports arrived, how many gun placements are there, any large energy fields in the area?" Desco asked in rapid succession.
"There are six turrets that we counted. We cannot be sure that there are no ships in the area cloaked and waiting, but no large energy sources but the station. All sensor sweeps were passive and effective, but the cloud did disrupt the scan, we may have missed something. We remained in gas cloud to avoid detection, but also made it impossible to confirm the bases defenses. Just about everything tactical we identified was visual."
"Very well," started Desco, nodding to Yaminul. "Echobe, Burmar. You will attempt to take over one of the transports. The problem will be cutting their radio chatter so they can't warn the base. Burmar will lead a small strike team onto the transport, and Echobe will fly the Starscream with a secondary team. When Burmar has successfully infiltrated the base, Echobe will drop off his team inside, and he will proceed destroy the gun emplacements and board the base."
I suddenly got a twinge of anxiety, like all the hairs on my body has just been electrocuted. It made me quite happy to know I would be piloting the Starscream, and I think Burmar had something to do with that, but the realization that it was actually going to happen had hit me, and the two weeks of waiting felt like they had passed too quickly. I had no time to vent my concerns, or ask any questions.
"Gather your teams and equipment, you leave at 1000 hours tomorrow, hopefully we have not drawn attention to ourselves. Dismissed." Desco then turned away from us and sat at his desk to pour over a stack of paperwork. The recon team piled out first, and started taking off their flight harnesses as they walked to their barracks. I followed Burmar out.
"Well, you're in the thick of it now, Echobe." He said to me with a pat on my back.
"I know, and I can't wait. I feel like I am finally going to be doing something useful to my people," I said nervously, more to build up my own confidence.
"I'll pick the teams if that's alright, I am familiar with almost everyone here."
"I would like to be there when you do, though"
"I expected as much." Burmar briefly halted. "Oh! I forgot. You have been given a field rank of 1st Lieutenant. Desco asked that I tell you." Burmar nodded to me in approval, and continued his walk to the barracks. I lagged behind him overtaken with a moment of pride, and not unable to suppress the huge smile growing across my face, that is, until someone passing by looking at me, and then recoiled after seeing my bared teeth, as if I was going to eat them. I turned my head away from them and caught up with Burmar. We went to the barracks where many of the ones that had just returned from the recon mission were. They were busy putting their equipment away into their individual lockers.
Burmar stepped into the room first, and one of the soldiers immediately hollered, "officer on the deck!" and they all stood at attention with pride, chests puffed out.
"At ease," ordered Burmar. "There is a mission that Lieutenant Echobe and myself have been tasked with. I cannot give specifics to you all, only to the teams, so I am looking for volunteers. We need two groups of six each. Who's game?" Burmar put his hands behind his back, his pudgy stomach stuck out noticeable, and he had a reassuring smile on his face. I stood there just behind him, crouching as I came in the door to the barracks, frustrated with the fact that Alliance construction was not intended for a Wookiee.
Maybe I can get them to cut an arch in all of the entrances.
I stood before the brave Alliance who were a combination of soldier and pilot, and found a new respect for them and what they put themselves through for the belief in building a New Republic from the shattered remains of the old. One by one, twelve stepped forward, including the still tired looking, but showered Yaminul. Several of those as well as Yaminul who volunteered had only just arrived from the recon mission.
"Very well," Burmar nodded to each one of them, "meet us inside the Starscream for a meeting in twenty minutes." Burmar said and walked away. I followed him, nodding to the volunteers who then saluted me. I found the whole experience to be uplifting, and somehow amusing that I was being saluted. I didn't laugh though as much as I wanted to at the absurdity, I only went back to the Starscream, alone, to wait for the meeting.
**********
While I waited back at the ship I reviewed some of the functions in the Starscream's cockpit to pass the time. It felt a bit strange having a rank in the Alliance, and having people under my command that I felt I had no business leading. I felt trusted at least to some degree by Desco and the other Alliance, but maybe Desco just felt guilty. Either way, it was a good feeling, but the doubts in myself were strong. I was worried about what I really knew about leading people. I feared that I would fail them, and fail Burmar, and Desco, the Alliance, and my parents, as I felt I had failed my foster parents, The Elder, and my people. I wondered how much longer I could rely on the luck I had survived on, and when it would run out and kill those around me. Just for the sake of breaking my self-doubt-filled thoughts, I was more than glad when the volunteers finally arrived.