Chapter 22
The Harshplains
Bultar leapt over the buildings, using her agility to slip through the pipes that formed the nearest air tunnel. The flare had gone up not far from here, and she slid across one of the slippery roofs to peer through the closest vent. The southern side of town contained most of the housing complexes. Ressa's team had been tasked with securing this side of town, but they now lay dead, scattered across the ground and lying at odd angles. Ressa herself was leaning against a wall, staring across the courtyard as a blank spot on the stones. Her eyes were as empty as a skull's. The Jedi frowned as she studied the area through the vents. Carbon scorching littered the walls and dust-covered ground. There was no sign of anyone other than the Republic troops. Whoever had caused this either hadn't taken a hit, or they had moved their wounded with them.
Leaping over the wall into the next courtyard, she glanced around. Pulling a scanning fob from her braid, she studied the ground around her, letting the blue lights trace over the prints. She kept many tools in her braid. It was where no one thought to look. According to the fob, there were over a dozen different sets of soleprints. Clicking the button on the bottom of the device, she studied the data. About three or four were humanoid prints with traceable features the fob could use, and the others were unidentified. An unidentified print meant that it was an unusual shape or depth. In her experience, that probably they belonged a droid. There was one of those tracks that seemed to travel slightly off from the others. Most of the prints were heading towards the northern side of town, where they could use the large drain pipes to sneak through undetected and ambush the other team guarding the north. The lone droid was heading towards the tower she had just come from.
Quickly, she clicked her commlink. "Altinrose! You have a droid incoming. There's a group heading towards the northern team also. Tell me where I need to be!"
The comm was silent for a moment, then a sudden rustling crackled across the comm. A deep, growling voice spoke, but it wasn't Altinrose. They spoke in Sy Bisti, an Outer Rim language. "I'm afraid that your friend is unavailable at the moment. I will, however, guide you to where my men are. I would travel to the north end of town. There will be some fireworks soon. Good luck… Jedi scum."
The commlink flicked off, and the Jedi fumbled with the commlink settings. "Quinlan! You had better get to the north end of town right now! I'm needed back at the tower."
"What?", Quinlan crackled back over the comm, "We have only just found the speeders. What could you have done since I last saw you?"
"Just get there! If we lose any of the information from the tower, we are right back where we started.", Bultar slipped the device into her belt and took off towards the tower.
Blaster scorch marks lay around Hellu's cold body. The TR-7 heavy repeater was snapped in half, pieces scattered across the dusty road. Bultar knelt beside the body, feeling the thick skin for the tell-tale signs moisture that would indicate a steady heartbeat. However, the skin was dry as a bone. He had gone down, but not without a fight. The street was littered with scorch marks. She pulled her lightsabre to her hand and leapt through the door. Immediately, a beefy droid, which had been standing waiting for her, spun, bringing its arms up. Two heavy cannons began to fire from the droid's wrists, and she rolled to the side, lasers deflecting across the plasma blade in her grip. Slashing it across the droid's shell, she leapt over the melted husk and hurried up the steps. The room she had left just minutes before was now empty, except for the body of the Ithorian, Deron, lying on the floor. There was no sign of Altinrose at all. Not even a stay hair.
"I'm too late?", she asked herself, kneeling beside the body of the codebreaker. Somehow it seemed impossible, like this was more dream than reality. But this wasn't a dream.
Bee boo bee!
She straightened up, eyes scanning the room. Nearby was a blinking green light, nearly hidden by the tangle of lines below the table. Kneeling, she reached around the tangle and grabbed the device the light was connected to. It was a droid. A tiny BD unit. Turning it in her hand, she discovered that it had been shot through the head. Carbon scorching stuck to its rear housing, but the charging and information ports were still clear. Somehow, it's main processors were still active and the memory core and intact. This droid would still function. She remembered Deron talking to the droid earlier before she had left.
Placing it carefully on the table, she pulled the charging cable across the table and slid it into the droid's data port, "Let's see what you got, little one."
Another two chapters up today!