Chapter 19

Pantora - Fortress

Nexros Mall was one of the most centralised places in Fortress. It was a huge flat marketplace, taking up five blocks in the financial district. In the centre of the market was a huge fountain, with a large sculpture of an equestrian creature on top. People crowded the streets normally, but now it was manic. The aftermath of the Republic frigate's crashing had left the people scrambling for supplies. The Republic had set up five small dome tents around the fountain to distribute what medicine had survived.

Telle stared out at the dozens of people lined up at each station. She had been put in control of security for the supply tent here. She knew that her father would be transporting a majority of the major cases to the Mel Hullt medical station, but there were more than a thousand minorly injured civilians in each city sector. The Republic troops had set up a dozen supply distribution centres scattered across the city to help those few who had to stay behind.

She tugged uncomfortably at the black jacket she wore over her clothes. It made her feel tiny, dwarfing her in its vastness. She had borrowed it from Mark earlier. It was from his days as a convoy pilot-for-hire, and had a short-range, line-of-sight radio stitched into the collar. The bench she was sitting on gave her a view of the majority of the buildings surrounding the square, and the other areas not in her line of sight were being patrolled by the other members of her team. There were three of them in total. Tutter, a large Didynon trooper who was as loyal as they came, was manning a broken-down speeder. He had been fiddling under the hood for a little while, but he was now sitting on a folding chair, eating a sandwich. Anyone who passed would think he was just having lunch. She saw a glint of reflection from the corner of one of the lower buildings. That was where Ithgath, her best sniper, was perched, her rifle sweeping around the market. She had placed Runn, one of their newest recruits and the only Talpini she knew who was addicted to heavy cannons, to guard the eagle-eyed girl. The final member of her team was the one she was beginning to regret the most. Moss, an eager man who wanted to be promoted quickly. However, his enthusiasm to please his superior was far from ideal.

Her commlink buzzed again, and she groaned quietly, "What is it, Moss?"

"My section is still quiet, ma'am.", he reported, and she rolled her eyes.

"Then you don't have to report it.", she hissed, leaning into her jacket so her words were clear through the secluded commlink hidden in the folds, "Only report if you see something, or if I ask. Now stop calling. I look suspicious talking to my jacket every three minutes."

She heard a brief sound of disappointment before he clicked off the commlink. She settled back to watch around her again, adopting a relaxed position, when her mind did the exact opposite, staying alert for even the slightest sound or feeling that was out of place. A shadow fell over her and a heavy hand grasped her shoulder. The thin blade of a knife pressed into her throat.

"You were right.", a rasp echoed over her shoulder, "You did look a little crazy. Thanks for letting me know that you are really an undercover soldier, missy. Now how many others are out there, and where are they?"

Telle let out a quiet frustrated curse, something Roberta would be shocked to hear coming out of her mouth. "I'm going to kill Moss the next time I see him."

"Oh, do not blame him, madame.", the voice whispered, it's accent thick and lilted, "I just want to fight for my cause. I'm thinking you might help us get those Republic dogs off us, eh?"

"Sure thing.", Telle grinned. She focussed her anger. "But first, I think you might be needing some help with another matter."

Telle usually kept her anger supressed. She held it deep in her stomach, holding in every mistake, every reprimand, every curse she would normally give. But now she let it out, as controlled and focussed as a precision laser dart. A rush of adrenaline flooded her system. A twitch flickered across her skin, and her spine extended from her skin. They had gotten longer since the battle of Malastare Narrows, almost able to be seen through the skin. Every day, she practised control, using her species' meditation techniques to hone her control. Slipping her spines between the man's belt buckle and his pants, she twisted violently, snapping the metal clasp in two. Her attacker loosened his grip, and she spun away to find him struggling to hold up his pants. She rolled her eyes, releasing a roundhouse kick into the man's solar plexus. The oxygen expelled through the man's throat, and she slammed her elbow into his head. He collapsed to the floor, stunned.

The moment over, she took a deep breath and let the spines shrink back beneath the skin. Checking around her, she was relieved to find that her scuffle hadn't been noticed by the surrounding pedestrians. She flicked the thin leather hood over her head, her blond braid falling comfortably over her shoulder. Her hand drifted to the DC-14t pistol on her hip. It was a military weapon, slightly more powerfully than the normal DC-17, with an additional guard that stretched from the base of the grip to the barrel. The man who had attacked her had mentioned keeping her team off 'our backs', which meant there were more men around the market. She clicked the button on her sleeve to activate the hidden comm and instructed the other members of her team to be on the lookout. Then she turned and feigned casualty, blending into the crowd as she walked towards the tents.

The RK-9 sniper rifle was a heavy weapon, outlawed by most of the galaxy. It was a weapon only used by mercenary's because unlike modern military weapons, it had no ID card, and couldn't be tracked through any systems. Tarrok peered through the scope of his rifle, painted with the dappled patterns of grey and green to blend in with the forests of his homeworld. Now though, he was as far from the forests of Ryloth as one could get.

He shook his head in amusement as he watched his soldier fall to the floor. The men under his command were definitely less talented than he had been told. He hoped that his employer would hurry up and develop a droid that could blend in with civilians. Kyle was sprawled out on the cobblestones like a bruised cut of meat. He turned his attention to the three other men he had in his employ. Two were huddled behind the supply tents on the north of the fountain, the other near a statue of some high and mighty Pantoran ambassador. He didn't know which one. If it wasn't related to his target, he wouldn't know them. Each of his men was planting a high yield explosives onto the nearest crates of supplies stored at each location.

"Better hurry, boys.", he spoke into his commlink, "They will be looking for us now."

A loud knock came from the doorway, and he spun around, pulling a slim BK-2 pistol from his thigh. He levelled it at the door. "Enter."

The door slid open, and a lanky droid walked in, a D3O-series droid. Tarrok dropped the blaster and growled out a hateful expression in Tholothi. "What is it, droid? I thought you were going back to speak with his Excellency."

"Unfortunately, I have been given new orders.", the droid clacked an answer from its vocabulator. "His Excellency wants to be certain these attacks take place. For that. I am now required to stand guard. Please do not resist."

"Fine.", the Tholothian growled, shrugging. The droid gave him the creeps, "You can watch. But do not get in my way."

"Sir!", the commlink squawked in his ear, and he quickly picked it up. His new Lieutenant was Soll Ament, one of the few remaining Kage warriors at his disposal. Heron Durge had been beside him for years, and finding someone to fill his shoes was difficult. With the leader of the Nomads still alive, it would had fallen to a chain of command, but right now, they were leaderless.

"What is it, Sol?", he asked, turning away from the droid.

"We can't get to the last tent.", Sol hissed, clearly trying to keep his voice down. "Can you send us a distraction of some kind?"

"Understood, Soll.", Tarrok pressed a button on his gauntlet. "Sending droids now."

The tents were flimsy, and rustled loudly in the wind. Telle rounded the corner of the tent, using her tracking fob that had been modified to find the helox power core's signal. Each officer had been given the ability to track the cores, as they were one of the few parts that gave off an energy signature during their deployment. There were currently two different signals, and she hurried to the closest one. Heavy boots slammed against the cobblestones behind her, and she peeked over her shoulder. A Twi'lek was following her, and she pulled her blaster from its holster. There were no side streets nearby, and the street was free of clutter. Nowhere to hold a defensive line. She spun, jogging backwards as she levelled the blaster at the woman.

"Who are you?"

"Aayla Secura.", the Twi'lek answered, easily outpacing her. She wore the garb of a mechanic, but there was something more about her. An aura of power. "What's the situation?"

"Possible bomb threat.", she answered instinctively, then thought better of it, "Possible reinforcements incoming. There is a lot of things possible at the moment."

"Seems legit.", Aayla frowned, grabbing a lightsabre from a hidden sleeve in her boot.

"Why do you say that?", Telle asked, "The Force or the imminent danger?"

"Neither.", Aayla frowned. She pointed to the end of the street, "That did."

The Calacran turned back to face forward, and her eyes narrowed. There were five lanky B1 battle droids marching down the street, each with an E-5 blaster clasped in their hand. Two droidekas followed them, unrolling and readying their blasters.

"Yeah.", she frowned, "That would do it."

The droids opened fire, sending red bolts of energy flying through the air. Aayla immediately ignited her weapon's blade, the blue plasma flicking bolts aside. She leapt forward, slashing through the droids. The droidekas were more of a problem, but the Jedi seemed to have things handled. Telle frowned at them. The droids had to be a distraction, but for what?

She scanned the area. Most of the civilians were panicked; screaming, running in circles, trying to hide. But there were three men who were running towards them, or more accurately, at one of the tents around the fountain. She hurried after them, firing her blaster at them. Two of the men went down, but the third blended into the crowd, who were screaming at the shots fired, milling about in confusion. She growled in frustration. Leaping into the shallow water of the fountain, she saw athe man near one of the tents, fiddling with a device.

"No!", a cry call from above, and a blur of blue light flashed past her head, slashing into the man's chest. He fell, dead. The light spun through the air, cleaving the device in two. It flew back past her shoulder, and she turned to see Aayla disengaging her blade.

The Twi'lek smiled at her, "Anything else? Or is that enough drama for now?"