CHAPTER 3

Another blaster bolt hit the cave wall across from Do'gu and debris scattered across the tunnel. He pressed himself against the wall. For the first time since striking the guards in the mine, he felt nervous. Unsure. Almost...scared.

Another blast. Another cloud of debris.

Then it happened. The transparency, the feeling he couldn't ignore, the thing that decided to show up only when it wanted to. It was suddenly available to him. He closed his eyes. He could sense the guard. He couldn't see him, but somehow, he knew where he was. That was how this thing worked. You could feel the strings that held everything together. You could see without seeing.

Do'gu slid his finger into the trigger guard, took a breath, then rolled out into the tunnel.

He pulled the trigger. One shot. One hit. The guard went down.

And as quickly as the feeling had come it was gone.

Do'gu stood and approached the forcefield at the end of the tunnel. It was a powerful one, he could tell that even from a distance. He studied the emitters, but they were mostly hidden in the rock wall. From what he could tell, there was no way to get around. The guards had to have a way to disable it, however, or no one would be able to get in or out.

The nuknogs weren't allowed out of the mines. Nuknogs should never make it this far out of the mine, but if they did, it would make sense if the switch was only accessible -

From the outside.

He looked through the flickering forcefield, around the cave walls on the other side. He thought he was wrong for a moment, as nothing seemed to be shaped like a switch. Then he saw it. A simple keypad on the outside wall across from him. One simple keypad was his key to freedom and he couldn't reach it.

He sighed against the respirator. Closed his eyes. He tried to summon the feeling, tried to understand how to access it. The transparency could help him. He could push the buttons from this side. He could touch it without touching it. But the feeling didn't work like that. It came to him. He couldn't go to it.

That's when he heard a radio on the guard come alive.

"2-2-6 did you apprehend the suspect? Come in 2-2-6"

Of course, Do'gu thought, the guards in the mine had already reported me. They are looking for me…and if this guard doesn't answer…they'll be looking for him…

Do'gu looked back down the corridor. From the outside, anyone that walked up would see the two guards lying disabled. If they did, they might call for backup before coming in.

Think Do'gu…think. There has to be a way…

He needed them to open the gate. But what then? Fight his way out? What if these guards came in with more firepower? He was lucky to dispose of these two. The radio came alive again. Then a thought hit him…one that might be just crazy enough to work.

He ran to the other end of the corridor, where the first guard lay. Grabbing him under the shoulders, he drug the guard into the bend and away from the line of sight. Then, in the hallway, he started pulling the armor off of the guard and sliding it over his own clothes. The helmet wouldn't fit with the respirator, so he took it out and placed it in the mouth of the guard, then slid the helmet on.

He slid to the edge of the cave wall and peeked around. A group was gathering at the forcefield. Three guards and a droid. He slid back behind the wall just as he heard the forcefield dissipate.

"226 is disabled" he heard the first guard say.

"Looks like he was shot with a blaster. Alright everyone, weapons free" said one of the other guards.

When he heard them moving down the walkway, he stepped out from the bend and waved. "I have him here" Do'gu said, pointing his blaster rifle toward the body on the ground. "He's not going to cause any more trouble."

A knot formed in his stomach as he watched the group move toward him, weapons still raised. When they reached the bend, they looked down at the guard and back at him. "Good work 227. Let's get this cleaned up so we can get a report in."

The droid however, leaned forward. It looked to be scanning the guard. Do'gu looked over the droid's shoulder and saw that the forcefield was still open, and clear sky could be seen. He hadn't seen clear sky since he was a child.

"This humanoid does not resemble the prisoner...my scans show he is not a match" the droid said.

The knot in Do'gu's stomach started to rise. A cold sweat broke out on his brow. "That's strange" Do'gu said.

"Not the intruder?" One of the other guards asked. "Then who?'

The droid stood upright and spun toward Do'gu. "This humanoid is a match for trooper 227."

The guards looked at him, cocking their heads. "If this is 227…then who-"

There was no time to wait. Do'gu fired and took out the guard on his left but before he could lift the blaster again the droid spun and hit him with one of its arms. The force of the blow knocked the blaster from his hands and he fell backward, sliding across the cave floor. The guard on the right of the droid raised his rifle just as the third re-joined the group. "Freeze!"

Do'gu's heart was pounding so loud he could hear it in his ears. He was lying on his back and his blaster was lying on the other side of the walkway, out of reach. The droid began to move toward him as both guards trained their weapons.

"Surrender and you will be released back into your group" the droid said.

Then, at the exact moment he needed it, the transparency was back. He could feel the world around him. He could feel the two guards. He could feel the rifle. He looked back at it. If only he could find the right string to pull.

The droid was almost there. Do'gu closed his eyes and reached out. Then the rifle was in his hand and he was firing. Twice at the droid, who fell, then two shots toward the guards that both fell immediately.

He looked back toward the opening of the tunnel. The forcefield was still down.