Star Wars: The Bad Batch
In Secret
by Gabrielle Lawson
Chapter Ten
Rex had Kyl repeat the first part again.
"Fourteen hundred and nine CCs," Kyl said. "But it's odd that only that and 'in two rotations' were unencrypted. Sev said everything is supposed to be encrypted with that base."
1409 CCs. 1409 was familiar. But that was CT-1409. Could the source of the call be trying to tell them something about Echo? That didn't make any sense. He was still with Hunter and Wrecker. "Thank you. I have an idea what might mean. Good work."
Rex retired to the communications computer. He called up Echo's encrypted channel. "I might have something." Then he waited. Echo might not be in the ship to take the call.
He didn't have to wait long. "Echo here. I've got Hunter and Wrecker here with me. What have you got?"
"One of our contacts inside Communications works with certain requisitions from a secret base. He doesn't know where the base is and can't record anything that comes through that channel. Three weeks ago, he found something odd. A request to move Crosshair's gear from Barton IV, his last post, to this secret base."
"Hemlock has Crosshair," Wrecker interjected.
"Exactly. I had a beacon inserted in that crate of gear. It passed out of a supply depot on Pantora. It seems to be headed for the Weyland system."
"You're sure?" Hunter asked. "Why wait to tell us?"
"Because we wanted to recon it first," Rex replied. "But something else came through that channel earlier today. The contact can't pass the information on until his shift ends, so this is fresh. Someone from that base called in a live call to add something to the previous requisition. Part of that live call was unencrypted."
"Unencrypted," Echo repeated. "What did they say?"
"1409 CCs of something in two rotations. Only the quantity and 'in two rotations' were unencrypted. Since you're safe wherever you are, Echo, I'm thinking this message is for you."
"1409 CCs in two rotations," Echo repeated. "That's my number. So this message was encrypted until the quantity was read, then encrypted again until 'in two rotations?'"
"Yes. What do you think it means?" Rex asked.
Echo started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Wrecker asked.
"It's not amusement," Echo said, still grinning. "It's relief. It has to be him!"
"How do you figure?" Rex questioned.
"And who?" Hunter asked.
Echo turned to face them. "I didn't want to get your hopes up until I had more proof. I left Eriadu convinced that Tech could have lived. That Hemlock took him."
"He said they only found the goggles," Wrecker said.
"Hemlock had reason to lie," Echo reminded him. "I saw broken branches from the tops of the trees down. I saw the branches scattered at the bottom where a tree grew between some rocks. I saw drops of blood on those rocks. I saw a bit more where he must have come to a stop. I saw footprints all over that area. They found him. I'm sure of it." He stopped grinning as he realized why Tech had sent his number. "He sent my number. Not yours. And not his. Mine. Because Hemlock has done something to him like what was done to me. He's in the computer. But he has access to the communications. Who else would have been able to decrypt it on the fly like that?"
Hunter fell into the neighboring seat. He'd gone white. "Tech's alive?" His voice was shaking.
"He's alive. And he wants our help. In two rotations," Echo told him.
"Then set a course," Rex told him, "for the Weyland system. And it's less than two rotations. That message came six hours before his shift ended. We should have more specific coordinates and intel soon. I'll be in touch. I'll meet you there."
"Right. We'll be there," Echo replied. That call closed and he called up AZI. "Meet us on the Marauder and bring Phee with you. Hurry."
"I will be there very quickly," the droid replied.
"Is this real?" Wrecker asked as Echo moved to the helm.
"It's real," he told them. "And if Tech is in their comms, he's probably in a lot more than that." He called up the Weyland system on the navicomputer
"What's going on, boys?" Phee asked.
"You're going to want to sit down," Hunter told her. Echo closed the hatch and lifted off, leaving that conversation to Hunter and Wrecker. He left upper Pabu and punched it. They'd be there in twenty-six hours.
Tech had set an alarm on the computer to wake him. He had to be alert for the foreseeable future if this was going to work. He contacted Omega and reminded her to not let Emerie eat breakfast today. Then he checked the cameras in the lab and let Hemlock know he was awake. Hemlock had been starting early the last week.
I need to consult with Nala Se over yesterday's experiment. I may have found an anomaly that caused CT-4568's death.
"Be quick about it," Hemlock said. "I feel we're on the brink of a breakthrough."
Hemlock stayed with CT-2846 who was immobilized on the next table over.
Nala Se came to the computer. Tech pulled up the data on Tack's death. We go today. I'll prepare the way from the lab to the hangar. You'll want to be on the southern-most shuttle. The equipment will be loaded.
I cannot go with you, she replied. "Interesting. I will run a simulation." CT-4568 died because Hemlock introduced DNA from the Zillo Beast in the lower lab. If you only poisoned the inhabitants, the work will remain for others to complete. I have access to the lower lab. I will release the Zillo once you are all clear.
Mother, he tried. You need to leave.
I need to do this, my son. Hemlock's project is to clone an invulnerable, force-sensitive being. It cannot be allowed to succeed.
Tech didn't like it. But then he'd called a Plan 99 himself. Maybe you can still get to the hangar. We'll come back for you.
She dipped her head. "I concur. The sample was contaminated." I will try, but you must go.
Tech reluctantly left her and the lab to his subconscious and focused on the cameras in the cell blocks. There were approximately eight guards per wing of twenty prisoners. He opened the cells of the prisoners closest to the guards in each wing. They didn't need to be told. The prisoners grabbed the guards, who were woefully unprepared in their current state. They were easily overcome. They swapped their clothes for the guard's armor. Crosshair had prepared them well.
One looked up at the camera. "What now?"
Tech opened a comm to the commlink in that armor. He used a voice synthesizer to speak to the prisoner. "I need eight of you in your wing to move everything from storeroom 8A onto the nearest shuttle. I will send orders for eight troopers to replace you and release eight more prisoners to take their place. Go to Beta wing. They will need to overtake Communications and Security. The others will release all the prisoners. The guards will be weak. Take their weapons and take this base."
"Understood."
He quickly sent the orders for the eight troopers stationed at that entrance to the hangar. Then he checked back on the lab. He couldn't let Hemlock catch him not paying attention.
Hemlock had him run some simulations, so he sent another message to Omega. I will need you and perhaps Emerie in the infirmary. Those prisoners need to be released.
And we have to get you. Have Scalder call her in.
See you soon. Tech put in a request under the other woman's authorization for Emerie to come quickly to relieve her.
Then he went back to the lab while he watched the cameras in the infirmary and Critical Care.
Crosshair was wired after he entered the infirmary. He had managed to scoop up one serving of the poisoned soup into a bowl for the woman keeping watch in the infirmary. The workers were barely able to stand. His guards weren't doing much better. He set the woman's plate down, and his guards returned him to the kitchen for his breakfast. He did take the time to eat it. He was going to busy soon.
When he entered Alpha wing to return to his cell, his guards were surprised. The cells were empty. Crosshair kicked one of them, knocking him back, and grabbed another's weapon. The trooper held on, but he was too weak to pull against Crosshair. Crosshair used it to shoot the third then smacked the butt of it into the guard's helmet. The guard dropped to his knees and let go of the gun. Crosshair then shot him and the first, who was just standing. He was free, and he was armed. He picked up the two guns from the floor. He also took a commlink and an access card from one of the corpses.
He first made sure the other wings were liberated, then he rallied the prisoners he found congregating there. He gave two of them weapons. "Follow me," he told them.
He found a lift and rode it up with seven others. He dropped the guards immediately outside, and then they were all armed. He watched the cameras ahead as Tech clued him in which way to go. They passed sick and unconscious people in the corridors. Some were vomiting and some were already dead. They checked the cells on the upper level and released whoever was in them. Crosshair told them to go to the hangar. Then they stacked up at the entrance to the lab.
Omega watched Emerie as she got ready. "What would you do if, I don't know, the prisoners revolted or my squad came and we took this base? Would you come with us? Hypothetically?"
"Hypothetically?" Emerie asked. "Well, both are impossible. The prisoners are far out-numbered by troopers, and there's no way for your squad to find this base."
"I know. But if it could happen, would you come with us?"
"I can't answer that right now. Scalder needs us."
Omega followed her into the corridor. Emerie stood stock still. "What's happened?"
"It's not hypothetical," Omega told her. She took a few steps back. "Will you go with us? Tech needs you."
"It's . . . not . . . possible," Emerie stated again, in shock. "What's wrong with them?"
Omega stepped back further. Emerie wouldn't be able to grab her if she said she wouldn't go. Emerie picked up her comms. "Security?"
Omega was prepared to run. She'd fight for Tech herself if she had to.
"What seems to be the problem, ma'am," was the reply from Security.
"Everyone is sick, down, they're very ill."
"We've checked the cameras, ma'am. Everything looks perfectly normal."
"I'm not imagining this!" Emerie stated.
"Tech needs you," Omega said again.
"What have you done?" Emerie asked her. "How have you done it?"
"All tell you everything on whatever ship carries us out of here," Omega promised her. "You're not sick. We made sure of it. Will you come?"
Then Emerie stood up straight and seemed to make a decision. "Tech needs us."
Omega smiled and grabbed her hand. They both ran toward the infirmary.
Hemlock looked up when the door opened and the guards were shot. He quickly turned on a security override. The door slammed shut. It was Crosshair and some other prisoners. He found Nala Se releasing CT-2846 and CT-4580. "What are you doing?" He asked her. But he backed away, thinking.
This wasn't possible. The door on the opposite side of the room suddenly opened and he ran through it. If someone could override his security lockdown, the other door would also open. But who could override it? How had the prisoners been released? He found himself in a corridor full of dead and dying people. And then he knew. It was CT-9902. He'd exceeded the access Hemlock had granted him. He picked up an energy staff from a fallen trooper and started for the infirmary.
Nala Se left the lab subjects to Crosshair and the prisoners. She had to get to the lower lab. She followed Hemlock out that door, and then another opened to her right. They kept opening until she was at the lift Hemlock had used when he took her to the lower lab.
Echo landed them midway up the mountain to avoid being seen. They left Phee and AZI in the Marauder. "Rex's intel said this was a heavily manned base. And there's more on the next mountain over. If they're alerted, we'll lose this fight."
Hunter looked to Wrecker.
"I can do quiet," Wrecker assured them.
"Then let's go."
Rex and his team had landed similarly on the other side of the mountain. They were going to infiltrate simultaneously on Echo's word. Thirty minutes later they were at a maintenance entrance to the lowest level of the base. Echo used his scomp to open the door and they slipped inside. They checked for another terminal and found it fifty meters in. Echo scomped in again. He found the base on lockdown. He looked to see if the prisoners were being held there. But what he found surprised him even more. "There's a Zillo Beast here!" he told the others. "No prisoners on this level. But I can't get above it. It must be on a separate network."
"Then we'll need to get you above it," Hunter told him. "Let's move. We need to find a way up."
"Rex," Echo called. "We're going to try the next level up. I was able to find some schematics. I'll send them to you when I scomp next."
"Understood. Standing by."
He led the others down another tube to another door. He opened it and they found themselves in a corridor full of very ill people.
Hunter went and checked one. "Dead," he said. The woman was wearing an Imperial uniform.
Echo found another, unconscious. Another was having some sort of seizure.
"Could Tech have done this?" Hunter asked him.
"I don't know," Echo said.
They found a lift and it opened in front of them. And Nala Se was in it. "It is good to see all of you well. They will need you in the levels above."
"Where are Omega, Crosshair, and Tech?" Hunter asked her.
"Tech is in Critical Care. Omega should be going to the infirmary. Both are one level up. I last saw Crosshair in Hemlock's lab two levels up."
She started to leave the lift and Wrecker put up a hand to stop her. "Did you escape?"
"Yes. I will now allow the Zillo Beast to escape. I will wait until you are all clear. Do you have an extra commlink?"
Hunter handed her his. "We can get you out, too. Our ship is halfway down the mountain on this side."
"It will take significant time to rouse the beast from statis. I have promised Tech I will try. That is all I can do. Go quickly, my sons."
Then she passed Wrecker and moved on down the corridor. "Up one level," Hunter said. Echo stepped in and pulled Wrecker with him. The lift began to move. It stopped again one level up.
They found a terminal in a room off the corridor. More bodies were here. But there was at least one guard who was conscious enough to fire at them. Hunter put him down quickly. "I'll watch the door."
Echo scomped and found a friend. Hello, Echo. You received my message.
Echo grinned. We missed you, he sent back. You've been busy.
Very. I have softened the enemy. If you see troopers that look healthy, they are prisoners. Do not shoot them.
Are you well? Is Omega safe?
I am not. She is.
Right. Nala Se had said he was in Critical Care. I need a blueprint and I need to send it to Rex. He's here, too.
He will find minimal resistance. Here is a the blueprint.
Echo saw it. It was certainly different working this way with Tech.
Do you have a datarod? Tech asked.
Yes, Echo answered. He pulled one from his pack and inserted it.
I will initiate a copy. Please remain with it until it is finished. I may not survive without it. Send the others.
Understood. Echo left his scomp in and turned to Wrecker. "You and Hunter go on. Tech's there. He wants me to copy data." He opened his comm to Rex. "Middle and upper levels, I'm sending you schematics. Tech says he's softened the enemy. I'm not sure how he did it, but it's true. Little to no resistance. If you find healthy troopers, they are prisoners in disguise. Don't shoot them."
"Copy that. We're going in."
A door opened to Tech's left. He'd thought the door was on his right. "You did this!"
Hemlock is here! Then there was a rush of electric shock through his head and it stopped his heart. He could feel electricity coursing through is body.
The electricity stopped. Tech tried to access the camera, but he couldn't access anything. The cable was ripped from temple, the barrier from his eyes. He still couldn't move. He heard a click and air moved into his lungs. His heart began to beat.
"Oh, you don't get away that easily," Hemlock said.
Tech watched him push an energy rod into the computer keeping him alive. If the paralytic didn't wear off very quickly, he was going to suffocate.
"Stop!" It sounded like Omega but deeper. And she was taller. Emerie. She pushed Hemlock off the computers. Someone moved under the bed. Emerie removed the breather from his mouth and nose then another was placed over them. The IVs were pulled. The bed began to move.
Then Hemlock tackled Emerie.
"I've got you," Omega whispered.
Tech tried to watch the room as he left it. It was getting blurry though, and Hemlock was dangerous.
Emerie went flying out of the room and Omega moved his bed over and went to a cabinet of some sort on his right. She opened and got something out. Then she may have hidden behind it. Hemlock was fuzzy but coming into focus. He had something else in his hand. It was long and skinny but not glowing. He slammed it down onto his chest, and Tech felt something crack. Then Hemlock screamed. He kicked at something. Omega!
She cried out. Then Hemlock grabbed Tech's left arm and leg and slid him off the table. He slammed into something and his vision began to swim. He heard blaster fire but it sounded like it was under water. His vision went black.
Hemlock ducked behind beds and escaped through another door, throwing a woman out at them.
Omega ran to where Tech's naked body was crumpled on the floor. Hunter saw she was safe and kept the woman covered. Wrecker went after Hemlock.
"Don't shoot her!" Omega said. "She's with us. She's a doctor."
Hunter holstered his blaster and ran to the woman. He picked her up and helped her over to Tech.
Omega handed her a scanner. "What's wrong with him?" she asked in a panic. "He won't wake up."
"He needs surgery."
"There's a mobile surgical unit on the shuttle. We have to go. Can he go?" she asked him.
Hunter heard her voice shake. She was crying. But he had to touch him. He reached out to Tech's arm. He was real! This was real! Tech was alive! But dying.
"We need to get him back on the bed," the woman said. "Oh no."
"What?"
"Hemlock must have removed the stabilizer." She ran a scanner over Tech's back. "His spinal cord is severed."
Hunter cursed under his breath. He felt his throat constrict as he lifted Tech from the floor. It was already severed. The damage was done. He placed him on the bed, and he could hear Tech's breath wheezing through the mobile breather on his face.
The woman started pushing the bed toward the exit. She was limping. The woman called out medicines, and Omega went to a cabinet and pulled them out. She put them in a bag and followed after them. "This way to the hangar," she told him. "You must be Hunter."
He nodded. "You can save him?"
"I will try."
"I need a comm," Hunter said. He'd given his to Nala Se. Omega found a fallen trooper and rolled him over. She found the comm.
"Crosshair, do you read?"
"Loud and clear."
"We've got Tech. Hemlock hurt him. He ran off. Wrecker went after him. He went through Critical Care."
"I'm on it. I want him!
Omega handed the commlink to Hunter. "AZI we need you in the hangar, mid-level."
"I am on my way," the droid responded.
"Medical droid," Hunter told the doctor. "He can help." He handed the comm back to Omega.
They opened a door and the hanger was before them. There were many prisoners standing about with unhelmeted troopers, all of them clones. Some of the shuttles were taking off.
"First one," Omega said told Hunter and the doctor. "The doctor is with us," she told the nearby trooper. "This is the man inside. Do whatever she tells you."
"Copy that," the trooper said. He called two more over.
"Open these crates. All of them," the woman ordered. She turned away to go through them.
Hunter saw a plate attached to Tech's temple. There was hole in the center, a port. This was how he was connected. "Can this be removed?" he asked.
"No," she replied. "It's threaded throughout his brain like a spider web."
"He can use it to contact us if he wakes up," Omega said. She handed Hunter a datapad. She pulled a long cable and attached it both to the pad and to the port.
"He's unconscious," the woman told her. "But keep it connected in case he wakes up." She pulled the datapad to herself and pressed some controls. "We can monitor his brain activity. If it increases, he wakes. If it goes dark.…"
Hunter nodded. Tears were filling his eyes. "Stay with us," he told Tech, placing his hand on his head.
The woman had the troopers—prisoners—escapees—helping her to set up some of the equipment.
Omega's comm chirped. Hunter heard Crosshair's voice. "He took a lift to the lower level. We're locked out."
"Come to the hangar," Hunter whispered, still holding Tech's arm and touching his head.
"Hangar, first shuttle," Omega told him.
"I am here to assist you." AZI's voice said from the rear of the shuttle. The doctor removed the mobile breather and hooked him up to another that had a tube going to a monitor and a box. Tech's breaths were still wheezing.
"Cracked ribs, sternum," the woman said.
AZI hovered over that area. "His left lung is collapsing."
The woman handed him a scalpel and tube. "Pardon me," AZI said.
Hunter let go of Tech's arm and stayed near his head. AZI used the scalpel to cut the side Tech's chest. He inserted the tube. The woman handed him a box.
"Collect it, there's blood here but we don't know how much we'll need." She put up a pole and a pouch of blood then handed the tube and needle to Omega.
Omega's hand was shaking, but she took a breath and steadied it. She put the needle into Tech's right arm.
Hunter was surprised to see Echo edge his way into the shuttle. "I copied the data. Nala Se left instructions on how to save him."
"He has new injuries," the woman told him. "But put it here." She pointed to a small computer. "Pull up the instructions."
She was putting on a suit with gloves and helmet. A trooper put up a clear curtain at the foot of the bed.
"I need everyone out," the doctor said. She placed a clear cover over Tech's body. "Except for myself, my patient, and the droid. We need to sterilize."
Hunter looked at the cable. It was long enough. "Stay alive, Brother," he whispered, then he moved past AZI and out past the curtain. He looked at the pad. Still active, no increase.
Omega slammed into him, and he held her as they both cried.
"I'll get the Marauder," Echo said. "I'll get Wrecker and Crosshair." He stepped out of the shuttle. "I can take about five of you with us."
Echo found Wrecker by the open door. Crosshair was with him.
Rex came to the shuttle. "Get him to the garage," he called in to Hunter. "Maybe we can help him." Then he ordered one of his men to the shuttle's cockpit.
"They're going without us?" Crosshair asked.
"They're trying to keep Tech alive," Echo told him. "Come with me to the Marauder. " Some of the other shuttles were taking off, and there was a line of prisoners going the other way, probably towards Rex's ships.
He pulled his comm. "Nala Se, the shuttles are leaving. I'll let know when we are clear."
"Understood. I will begin the process. Once it is started, it cannot be stopped until the creature is conscious."
Echo could hear alarms through her comm. Then the call closed. He called Phee to let her know what was going on.
"What have you done?" Hemlock screamed behind her. "You were all in on it!"
Nala Se turned to him. He was holding his left shoulder. He'd been shot. But he was also sweating profusely and turning a pale shade of green. "You do not look well, Doctor Hemlock."
"She stabbed me with something."
"Ah, then you do not have long to live," Nala Se informed him. "And this beast will destroy everything you've worked for."
Then he pulled a gun. "I'll take you down with me."
His hand was shaking. "There is no antidote to Methysergide poisoning. If she emptied the pouch, you have one quarter of a liter of it flowing through your body. We poisoned the others slowly over time."
"How?"
"He had full control over the upper two levels within rotations of you plugging him in." She felt pride in telling him that. "I created him, enhanced his already advanced intelligence. There was no encryption on your base he could not crack, no system he could not hack. Except here."
The fluid was half gone. The creature started to twitch. "You believed you were smarter," she told Hemlock. It really didn't matter if he shot her. She'd be her people. And it was likely better than a death by Zillo Beast.
She walked slowly toward the exit. "You may be feeling nauseous. Do you have a headache?"
He gasped and dropped the gun to grab his chest. He fell against a console. He punched a few buttons and all the doors closed. She would not be able to exit. Hemlock dropped to the floor and leaned against the wall.
"Cardiac arrest is a symptom of acute Methysergide poisoning. But I will assuage your curiosity while you die. Tech added the Methysergide to your requisitions. Omega slipped it to Crosshair who put it in the food your people ate over the last two cycles. Their symptoms were quietly treated so suspicion as to the cause remained low. I changed the formulation for the prisoners' rations. They became healthier as your people grew weaker. Your people received a much larger dose this morning." She sat down across from him. She pulled the gun to herself. The beast roared and began to thrash. "They never stood a chance."
Her comm chirped. "We are all clear," Echo informed her.
"I will not be able to join you, my sons. But rest assured, Hemlock dies with his lab." She closed the call and threw the commlink to the far end of the room.
Hemlock's breathing was fast and labored. "Shoot… me!"
"I do not think I will," she told him. She pointed the blaster upward toward her own face. The door holding the beast in opened. She kept her eyes on Hemlock. She was determined that he would die first.
He fell over. He wheezed and his face turned a shade of green-blue. He began to convulse.
The creature behind her was free. She heard it moving around behind her. She lowered the weapon, stood slowly, and went to the console Hemlock had used. She was unable to open the side doors, but there was a large door on the ceiling that led to the upper levels. She was able to open that. She looked at Hemlock. He was no longer breathing. His face and body were contorted. His eyes were open and glassy. The beast headed up. She tipped the gun upward again and fired.