Star Wars: Imperial Elite

by LuchtT

Imperial Elite is the story of the teenager Eva Young and other loyalists who stand for the ideals of the Empire and have sworn their allegiance to the Emperor. No treason, no Rebel-sympathy, only allegiance and hardcore believers. It's a fresh perspective from the entirely other side of the Galactic Civil War. Crossposted from AO3

32. Rebel Scum Part I

Look. That's a fifth-class cleaning droid. Their shiny design might blink out, but their intelligence definitely doesn't.

She remembers the mischievous grin that formed on Eva's face. You're not going to do it, are you?

Of course I am. Come on.

As if it's captured on video, Peyton remembers crystal clear what they told each other. Together, they watched a cleaning droid from the catwalks high above the floor of The Well. They both enjoyed their mischievous act, fooling the simple processing unit of the droid by playing around with the lights. It's a moment that lingers to her, and as she looks out of the window in the speeder truck, Peyton remembers how much fun she had with Eva, playing around as if they were children before their time at the Academy. It was a fond memory Peyton recalls as the streets of the Capital flash before her eyes. The shops and the apartment buildings slowly turn into office buildings, warehouses, and manufacturing halls as they enter the Luminex Sector, one of the industrial areas of Vaulent Capital. Here, Eva's ping originates, and Peyton is determined to get her back, to liberate her from her Rebel captors, the scumbags that have done too much damage to her relationship with her former friend. Now, it's zero hour, and Peyton squeezes the handgrips of her E-10 blaster, ready to blast any enemy she comes across. No Rebel will be spared when Eva is still in their hands, and her teeth clench with determination.

The briefing was clear. Roslin and Ashara form one team, and Peyton and Ecklund form the other. Everyone of the squad will be supported by platoons of Stormtroopers, and when it gets really tough, they'll have the support of the Army's TIE Vulcan battalion. A shiver of frustration ran through her when Peyton got to hear from Roslin that she won't get to liberate Eva, and instead, she's tasked to attack the Rebel hide-out from the outside together with Ecklund. Peyton wanted to free Eva so badly, but she accepted her task. Good soldiers follow orders, as long as her effort helps Roslin and Ashara free Eva, and finally, her squad commander acts like one.

The entire operation falls under the guidance of the Imperial Security Bureau, and they decided not to use the ordinary ITT's to transport the squad and the troops to the Luminex Sector. It would betray their whereabouts and hinder the raid. At the sight of just a single ITT, the Rebels would raise the alarm and the element of surprise would be gone. To camouflage them, Peyton and the squad sit aboard an A-A5 Speeder Truck, meant for civilian purposes. It has no armor or armament whatsoever, but as a cargo truck, it blends in perfectly with what you'd expect from an industrial area such as the Luminex Sector.

As the concrete walls of the buildings flash before her eyes, Peyton shifts her head away from the window, and she glances over the heads of the rest of the girls. Ashara, Roslin, Ecklund, in all of their eyes, Peyton sees the determination. For Ashara and Ecklund, it's worry and friendship that fuels their determination, and in Roslin's eyes, Peyton sees it's simply duty that fuels it. Roslin was convinced enough to take the mission, but probably not enough to feel worried about Eva, at least not as worried as Peyton and the rest. That might change.

The speeder truck comes to a halt and emerges from the street into an alley. They've arrived at a checkpoint where they step off and continue to the Rebel hide-out on foot.

''We've arrived at the checkpoint,'' says a Stormtrooper commander, his orange pauldron sitting on his shoulder. ''Form up.''

Peyton grabs her metal-grey helmet from the steel bench in the truck's cabin, puts it on her head, and takes deep breaths as she stands up. She walks into line with the rest of her squad surrounding her. The shiny Stormtroopers all stand in the front. The hatch of the truck's cabin swings open and the Stormtroopers step off, and Peyton and her squad follows them.

Peyton jumps off, onto the tarmac of the alley. They all have to be as quiet as possible, making sure not to make too much noise. The alley is dimly lit by some streetlights, and the sun of the evening nears the horizon, turning the blue sky into a sea of shades of orange. An extraordinarily clear day in an otherwise cloudy autumn season.

The squad follows the platoon of Stormtroopers through the alley as Peyton catches up with Roslin.

''How close are we?'' Peyton asks, her boots thudding on the tarmac.

''It's on the other side of this building,'' Roslin answers, and she points at the wall on her right. It borders the whole alley, a walk of 50 meters Peyton estimates. At the end of the alley, she can see another street, and around the corner of the right wall is where the Rebels are.

''Ecklund, ladder,'' says Roslin, looking over her shoulder.

''Copy,'' Ecklund responds, and she steers away from the squad and climbs the ladder up the wall towards the roof. That is her vantage point from which she guns down the Rebel soldiers with her sniper rifle from afar

''Where are the others?'' Peyton asks.

''The other platoons have encircled the hide-out,'' Roslin replies. ''We've boxed them in.''

''Great,'' Peyton replies, and she lets out a soft chuckle. ''You know what Eva would say?''

''Well?''

''Let's kick their ass,'' Peyton chuckles.

Roslin softly chuckles, something Peyton didn't expect to hear from the professional Eva-hater, and as they walk on, approaching the end of the alley, a thin smile forms on her face, looking forward to hearing Eva's snarky tone again. She's missed it too much in the last five days of her absence.

A Stormtrooper commander shifts his bucket to Roslin as they near the end of the alley. It ends at the other street, empty and desolate.

''Verin, get your squad into position. The target is on our right.''

''Yes sir,'' Roslin acknowledges, and she turns around to Ashara and Peyton. ''Prepare to take your position, Ashara with me and you stay with the troopers and Ecklund.''

''Copy,'' says Peyton.

She clenches the grip of her blaster until it hurts to hold it.

The plan is clear. Peyton, Ecklund and the troopers lure out the Rebels, clean the front door so Ashara and Roslin can bust it to raid the Rebel hide-out. Ecklund and Peyton are the clean-up group and Ashara and Roslin are the rescue team.

The Stormtrooper commander holds his knife beyond the corner of the alley, the reflection telling him whether it's safe, and while the troopers scramble behind him, the commander turns back to his men.

''Coast is clear. Take positions.''

''Yes sir.''

While Peyton stands-by, the Stormtroopers hurdle out of the alley onto the road. It leads directly to the loading area of the manufacturing facility the Rebels reside at. The troopers run towards parked vehicles, dumpsters, containers, other alleys, any object that covers them. The commander gestures to Roslin with his hand. It's time to take positions. Roslin takes a quick glance at Ashara, nods, and they both run away from the alley, onto the loading area and take cover behind a container. Peyton looks around the edge, alone with the commander, and she quickly glances at him, her heart pounding with nervousness. This will be her second raid in a real-life scenario. Like before, this is not the Simulation Arena, this is not training. This is a true raid with risks and consequences, just like the raid on the Rebel hide-out that nearly cost her life because of a simple mistake someone else made. This situation is not different.

''Cadet,'' says the commander. ''Ready?''

Peyton nods, ready to face the dangers, all for Eva's safety. ''Yes sir.''

The Stormtrooper commander nods, and he turns around the corner and runs. Peyton follows him, hearing her boots thud on the tarmac as she runs onto the unloading area. She sees the vacant manufacturing facility at the end of the unloading area. The grey, durasteel walls serve as the stronghold's defensive walls, too thick to blast open with a thermal detonator. There are garage doors nearly as tall as the walls to fit in entire shipment containers and through some small windows next to the garage doors, she can see light coming out. The Rebels are here and so is Eva, and somewhere behind the stronghold's defensive walls, she's chained up and held as a prisoner. Peyton imagines the bruises and the wounds after the endless torture, and the anger starts rising in her chest, feeling more thirsty for a tense fight. She follows the commander to a grey shipcontainer. It's twice as tall as her and she lightly pounds her back against it, gasping for air to keep up with her racing lungs. The Stormtrooper holds his E-11 tightly in his hands and he moves his wristlink towards his chin to speak.

''Base, Storm One is in positions, ready for green light.''

Peyton looks at him with her heart pounding, waiting for the signal to proceed. Then, she hears the voice of Ecklund through the comm channel.

''TK-commander, there's activity at the front door,'' her voice crackles.

Even in a nervous situation before the rollercoaster like this, Ecklund's voice remains soft. The Stormtrooper glances around the edge of the container, looking at the front door next to the big garage doors. Light behind the small window above the door appears, and the door goes open, screeching as it slides into the wall. The Stormtrooper retracts his head and clenches the grip of his E-11, and as Peyton tries to be as silent as possible, she hears faint, unknown voices in the distance. Amidst the pounds of her heart, she listens with focused ears.

''Finally we can get back,'' Peyton hears a voice saying. ''It's been years since I've been on Home One.''

''Don't say that all too loudly,'' says another voice. ''Dream about it 'till you've got the stuff inside, now get working. Captain demands it.''

''What's the crap anyway?''

''Too valuable to not leave behind.''

The voices continue to talk but they become too intelligable to recognise the words they say, but the words she did recognise makes Peyton realise that the Rebels are not here for long. Home One is a name not many are familiar with, but having gone through the files of the Academy in her free time, Peyton saw the name appearing in many files surrounding the home fleet of the Rebel Alliance. Home One is the name given to the main ship of the Rebel fleet, a starship of Mon Calamari manufacture. If they leave Vaulent 6 as they just revealed, Peyton realises they would take their prisoners with them too. A shiver of fear runs through her as Peyton knows they're still holding Eva in captivity. She might be a cadet, but she holds valuable information about the inner workings of the Academy. She'd be tortured to get every bit of information out of her, or at least make her scared with relentless interrogations. After betraying the Empire, Eva would probably be indoctrinated enough to change her, to get her to support the Rebel cause. This raid has to happen now before Eva leaves Vaulent 6. She can't afford to see a good friend take-off aboard a shuttle to never be seen again, so she glances at the Stormtrooper commander with the urgency increasing rapidly.

''Sir, we have to act now,'' Peyton whispers, and steps closer towards him as he turns around to her. ''They're preparing to leave.''

The Stormtrooper remains silent as he glances around, looking at the other Stormtroopers, ready to fight.

''Base, do we have green light?'' he repeats.

Peyton's heart races in her chest as she glances behind her and sees Ashara and Roslin standing behind another container further away. They look at her, waiting for the green light as well. Suddenly, a voice crackles on the comm channel.

''Affirmative, green light.''

The go-signal.

''Copy that,'' he responds, and he clenches his E-11.

Peyton clenches her blaster too, waiting for the commander's signal to open fire. He moves towards the edge of the container and raises his blaster.

''Open fire!''

His blaster screeches as it flashes, unleashing the opening shot. She hears the startled scream of a man, the voices growing louder with surprise. The Stormtroopers raise their blasters and open fire at the few Rebels. Peyton moves towards the other end of the shipcontainer and looks around the edge, her heart pounding with nervousness. Four Rebels jump towards steel cargo containers, taking cover. One body lies on the ground. The fight is on, and as Peyton raises her blaster, she sees shadows moving in the lit hallway behind the front door. She aims her blaster at the door as Rebel insurgents emerge onto the area. Peyton pulls the trigger and shoots one Rebel down, his body crumpling to the floor. A Rebel notices her and shoots at her, the shots hitting the metal container. Peyton instantly moves away from the edge as the sparks fly off the container. As she takes cover, her eyes land on Ashara and Roslin, opening fire and taking cover behind the container next to her. They can only enter the building once it's drained enough of its Rebel guards. Peyton and her platoon of Stormtroopers have to lure them out more. If not, Roslin and Ashara will be trapped within the Rebel hide-out once they raid it, and they'd be stopped before they can find Eva.

While the screeches of the firefight echo through the sky, Eva can hear them through the roof of her prison block. Eva, still chained up in her chair, looks around relentlessly, her heart pounding in her chest with nervousness as she slowly realises they're here. Hours ago, she thought she'd have no chance of seeing the sky of Vaulent 6 again. Her muscles ache from the electricity that zapped through her. As a punishment for smuggling in a communication device and betraying their position, the Rebel Twi'lek tortured her with his electrobaton that continued for nearly an hour. It was a punishment for her bad behavior, an attempt at rehabilitation, but after the countless volts that zapped through her, the fury within her remains, and as the echoes of the blasters continue, it becomes brighter and brighter. She notices shadows moving past the little window of her prison door, and shifting her eyes, Eva sees Rebel soldiers running through the corridor towards the fight, a fight facing her people. She knows that the Rebels running past her prison door will not return alive. The unwavering force of the Empire is far greater than the weak firepower of the Rebels.

Suddenly, the door screeches into the wall and a Twi'lek and a fellow soldier walk into the prison block. Through the strings of her hair that hang over her eyes, she can see the anger, visible in the Twi'lek's eyes as his electrobaton sits in his belt holster and a blaster pistol in the other, and Eva can tell from the Rebel flame in his alien eyes that he's furious at what Eva has done. She is the reason the Empire is at their doorstep, ready to blast it open with force.

''This is the work of you, isn't it?'' he asks, but he knows the answer already.

Eva scoffs. What makes you think otherwise?

Suddenly, a thin smile forms on Eva's face, from ear to ear, a smile you'd only see on the face of someone who's mentally unstable, on the brink of breaking down. In the eyes of the other Rebel, a human male, she notices the fear in his eyes. He knows the dangers he and his Rebel companions are facing, and though he tries to cover it with his nearly emotionless face and his hands clenching his A280 blaster rifle tightly, Eva can see he's scared of what's to come. He knows the Empire is pinching them, and seeing his fear, Eva chuckles softly. Her throat feels sore, burning from within, but the fear she sees in the eyes of the Rebels makes Eva chuckle without control. Her soft laughs echo through the prison block as she shifts her eyes to the Twi'lek, the anger in his alien eyes increasing rapidly.

''What else do you think?'' Eva hisses, chuckling at their fear. ''You fear what I've brought upon you, don't you?''

The Twi'lek smirks. ''You'll face the true consequences of your actions, little child.''

''Better run before they catch you,'' Eva hisses, and the fury within her burns violently. ''The Empire is at your front door and I know my friends are there. They'll kill anyone here standing in their way.''

The Twi'lek approaches her with his heavy footsteps shivering the floor.

''When I'm free, you should really run.''

''We're not planning to run away. We have a shuttle not for nothing, and you're going with us, now.''

The thin smile vanishes as Eva realises her saviors might arrive too late. The Rebels are already going to take her away, and as the other Rebel holds the barrel of his blaster on her head, making her recall the moment she held the boy of the Rebel father hostage, Eva prays her friends will find her on time. If they're not and the firefight happening outside takes too long, they won't be able to find her and Eva will be lost. As the chains that bite into her skin loosen, Eva prays they're not too late.

Outside, Peyton desperately presses herself against the hard tarmac, the rain of blaster fire shrieking over her as she lies behind a concrete traffic barrier. They opened the garage doors, giving the Rebels more cover and making it easier for them to emerge and multiply in amount. They also pulled out the heavy caliber, an E-Web blaster cannon, an anti-personnel weapon primarily designed to mow down anyone in its path. The E-Web and the Rebels have pinned her down as they continue to pour out of their hide-out. She feels her heart aching with anxiety, gasping for air as she reaches out for the ground and pulls herself towards the edge of the traffic barrier, and her eyes land on the E-Web cannon, flashing red quickly like a furious lightning ball, firing its blaster shots through its smoking barrel. The flashes burn through the retina of her eyes, and as she moves away from the corner back to her cover and closes her eyes, she can still see the red flashes in the dark like a burning, red dot in her eyesight. She glances around the corner of the road barrier again and notices Roslin and Ashara ahead of her, hiding behind a stack of metal crates at the unloading area. They're taking cover on the right side of the building, just a couple of steps away from the front door, but Roslin and Ashara can't bust it. The Rebels have pinned them down too. Though they're not with many, the Rebels managed to create their own stronghold within the garage of the manufacturing facility, and with their E-Web cannon, it's a stronghold with concentrated firepower. It's a fortress they managed to create with just durasteel plates and shipment containers, unable to destroy with a firerate too constant to find a moment of silence to pull out the rocket launchers. On the roof are Rebels too, firing from above with great accuracy. Peyton notices a Stormtrooper in the corner of her eye, daring to make a run forwards, but the Rebels gun him down and with a single shot from the E-Web cannon, his head is blasted off of his body. Peyton's pupils grow as his helmet flies off of his body and crumples to the ground missing a head. Now she knows how big the firepower of a single E-Web cannon can be, powerful enough to blast the head off with a single shot of fire. If she wants Eva to be liberated, they have to take down that E-Web cannon. If they don't, Roslin and Ashara would be shot by that cannon before they can even take a step towards the door. They have to take down that E-Web cannon, it's the obstacle that's in the way. If that's gone, so is their defense.

Peyton moves her wristlink towards her mouth, her hand shivering with nervousness as she cycles through the comm channels.

''Roslin,'' she shouts. ''That E-Web is too powerful.''

''I know,'' Roslin replies, her voice crackling through her wristlink. ''I have a thermal detonator but I can't find a moment.''

''You're closer to him. Tell me, how does the ceiling look like?''

''Give me a moment,'' and glancing around the edge of the traffic barrier, Peyton sees Roslin sticking her head away from her cover and retracting immediately. ''Individual ceiling plates!''

That tells her enough. Damaging them could cause them to collapse onto the Rebel soldiers. It's an offense they probably won't expect to face. Peyton shifts her eyes to her blaster. The tip of the barrel is weathered from the shots it fired, but it's nowhere near torn down. She clenches the grips and takes a deep breath, and Peyton moves her blaster beyond the edge of the traffic barrier, aims at the ceiling and pulls the trigger. She fires at the ceilings, making loud thuds amidst the screeches of blasters and the shouts of soldiers around her. The ceilings of the garage crack, collapse, and as Peyton ceases firing, the plates fall down onto the Rebels. One hits the Rebel using the E-Web cannon, falling onto him and making him stumble down.

The sky suddenly feels silent with the E-Web cannon not firing anymore, and Peyton sees Roslin moving away from her cover, holding the thermal detonator in her hand and throwing it towards the garage. Peyton sees it crashing into the back wall of the garage and falling down, and then, it explodes. The Rebels scream as they're consumed by the fire, their bodies flying out of the garage and hitting the tarmac in flames. The E-Web cannon is devoured and its battery bursts open, exploding and shaking the ground for a second time. Now is their time to get to the door. Peyton gets up, sitting with her knees on the ground as she looks over the traffic barrier. Roslin and Ashara make a run for the front door, wide open like an invitation. Then, the Rebels from above open fire on the two girls and Peyton raises her blaster and fires, but she's too late. They nearly hit Ashara and she jumps away towards an electricity box, fearing she'd get hit. Roslin doesn't even look over her shoulder and continues to run. Ecklund from afar fires on one of the Rebels with her sniper rifle and takes down one of the insurgents. He lets out a scream and his body falls from the roof, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Roslin runs and enters the front door, disappearing in the void of the manufacturing facility, and from afar, Peyton can hear Ashara cursing with Pantoran curse words.

Peyton cycles to her comm channel. ''Ashara, go in!''

''No, no!'' Ashara shouts. ''I can't! Skorvit!''

Peyton then startles as a blaster bolt hits the traffic barrier and nearly hits her. The sparks fly off and hit her helmet as she drops herself towards the ground, bumping her stomach into the tarmac.

''Ecklund, do something!'' Peyton shouts. ''Shoot those Rebels on the roof down!''

''I can't. They got too much cover,'' Ecklund's voice crackles. ''I can't get a clear shot on them.''

Dank Ferrik. They've buried themselves in, They got trenches and we got nothing but the open fields. Ashara can't reach the front door, she won't be able to reach Eva. Blast it.

Suddenly, her attention is pulled to a wide alley next to the fiery garage of the manufacturing facility. She hears a loud rumble coming from the darkness, and a lightsource coming closer, making the darkness retreat, and in the corner of her eye, she sees Rebels emerging from the front door, the same one Roslin just ran through, but that's not what worries her the most. Something in the dark alley lights up its surroundings and she wonders what it is.

''Skorvit!'' Ashara curses. ''They got tanks!''

Her heart skips a beat, and then, Peyton sees a speeder truck emerging from the alley with additional durasteel plates welded to its hull and a heavy anti-tank cannon on its roof. It's an improvised tank, looking like a vehicle you can only find on Tatooine. It drives out of the alley, flanking the fiery garage, resembling like a garbage truck as its anti-tank cannon rotates towards her and the Stormtroopers. Peyton feels her bones shivering with fear.

''Ashara, you have to retreat,'' she shouts through her comm channel. ''I'll cover you.''

''Copy!'' Ashara screams.

Peyton raises her blaster over the traffic barrier and fires on the Rebels emerging from the front door. She unleashes a rain of fire, taking down some of the Rebels and giving Ashara a chance to retreat back to safety. The improvised tank is flanking the Rebel hide-out, making it impossible for Ashara to reach the door and follow Roslin to Eva's prison block. Ashara has to get away. She runs away from her cover as Peyton mows down the Rebel insurgents with her blaster. Ashara runs away, dashing past Peyton, and jumps towards a shipment container with Stormtroopers taking cover behind it.

The Stormtrooper commander with his orange pauldron glances around the edge of the container, giving her a nod, and Peyton nods too. She clenches her blaster and gets up from the ground, and as the commander raises his blaster and opens fire, Peyton runs away towards him. He covers her as Peyton runs away, hearing the blaster shots shrieking past her as the Rebels try to hit her, but before they can, Peyton reaches the container and steps into its cover. Her heart pounds with anxiety, her lungs aching as she sees Ashara standing against the container, her hands trembling. She wants to ask her if she's okay, but the commander interrupts her before she can ask.

''We're ordered to retreat,'' shouts the Stormtrooper above the blaster shots. ''They got improvised tanks, and the TIE Vulcans are on their way, and until they arrive, we better retreat. 288, how's '18?''

A Stormtrooper holds his colleague upright with left arm wrapped around his body and below his armpit. Peyton notices his colleague's been hit in the leg, the scorched shot mark on his leg armor revealing it.

''Can you make it out in time?'' the commander asks.

''Yes sir,'' the Stormtrooper shouts.

''Alright, TK-264, '25, '67, and '99, we cover them!''

''Yes sir.''

''Cadets, run out of the perimeter, I'll be behind you and if not, regroup with the other troopers ahead, they keep their ground and keep the fight concealed until the Vulcans arrive. Now go!''

Before she can acknowledge, Peyton shifts her head to the road, the direction she has to run to, and instantly, she and Ashara run away from the container, leaving their cover. The Stormtroopers behind her open fire and cover the two girls as they run over the tarmac in the open and leave the facility's unloading area. The screeches echo through the sky as Peyton sees in the distance other Stormtroopers regrouping. Then, she hears a repeating screech, louder than anything else. Running through the road towards safety, Peyton looks over her shoulder and sees the Rebel tank opening fire at the Stormtroopers like a machine gun. It releases a shrieking rain of fire, quicker than what Peyton expects from an anti-tank cannon, and she then realises it isn't such a cannon. It's an anti-air cannon, designed to take down enemy aircraft, hence its staggering fire rate. She sees one Stormtrooper being completely mowed down, his body parts being blasted off and flying away. His body is disintegrated by the anti-aircraft gun on top of the Rebel tank, and Peyton feels her bones shivering with anxiety, fearing it will be the same fate as her and Ashara. Seeing the Stormtrooper being disintegrated, Peyton instantly knows the Stormtrooper commander won't follow her. His last two words might be the last of his life.

Peyton and Ashara run into an alley, stumbling into ten Stormtroopers having retreated back to safety. The building bordering the alley gives them better cover than the containers at the perimeter of the Rebel stronghold and Peyton pounds her back against the wall, her breathing shivering with anxiety.

''When are those blasted Vulcans coming?'' Peyton shouts at the Stormtroopers.

''6 minutes,'' replies one of them, his blaster clenched in his hands.

6 minutes too late, Dank Ferrik.

Peyton is shaken by the attack as she tilts her head towards the ground, feeling Ashara bumping into her as she pounds her back into the wall too. She never expected the Rebel forces to be this fierce, this tough to defeat. They've built themselves in, converted civilian trucks into capable warmachines, something the briefing her superiors gave never mentioned. This is no ordinary raid even when it is. It feels like an all-out war in urban trenches. Peyton didn't make herself ready for this, but she knows there are people counting on her. Even when Ashara didn't manage to break through, Roslin did, and she and Eva are counting on Peyton. They need the Rebel base to be drained. They have to continue the fight, and she can't allow the Empire to lose from a band of Rebels on its own territory. It's a shame, a sin. Peyton clenches her blaster and shifts her head to Ashara next to her.

''Ashara, we have to do this,'' Peyton stammers.

Ashara shifts her head towards her, her grey helmet covering her watery eyes.

''We stay together and never let go of each other, okay?''

Ashara gasps for air as her hands tremble uncontrollably with anxiety. Peyton reaches out and grasps her shaking hands.

''We got people counting on us,'' she says. ''We do this for the Empire.''

Ashara shiveringly nods and takes a deep breath. ''For the Empire,'' she stammers. ''For Eva.''

Roslin runs through the corridors of the manufacturing facility, searching desperately for Eva. She looks at the little screen on her wristlink, telling her the last location of where the ping signal came from. It displays various rings and a white dot on a black screen, the dot telling her the direction of the ping signal. Looking up from her wristlink, Roslin keeps her blaster raised as she storms through the corridor. The overhead lights cast the corridor in a white hue and its walls are grey and weathered. Then, a Rebel soldier emerges from a door and Roslin opens fire and hits him before he can even see her. He lets out a scream of agony and falls onto the floor. She fires again and hits his shoulder. Another soldier emerges and fires on her. Roslin jumps into a doorway and takes cover as the sparks fly off the wall. When she's hit, Roslin knows she won't make it out. Ashara isn't with her, having broken off before Roslin knew it, but she can't return and get Ashara back. She's already in the building and has to continue her mission, with or without the medic. She'll carry Eva out of the building if she can't walk, and turning around the corner, Roslin fires at the Rebel. She hits his chest and he falls backwards onto the floor, and Roslin starts running through the corridor, following the dot on the screen of her wristlink. If it's accurate, she'll find Eva there, but Roslin knows she can be late too. She knows the Rebels were preparing to leave Vaulent 6 when they attacked, so Roslin knows time is not on her side. Time is running out quicker than she thinks.

Eva feels the chains entangling her arms lose its strength as the Twi'lek gets them off of her with his screwdriver. The barrel of the blaster is still held on her head as Eva shifts her eyes to the human holding it.

''You'll regret this,'' Eva hisses.

The man smacks the barrel of his blaster against her head and she feels a rush of pain, making her clench her teeth.

''Keep those words for yourself,'' he says.

Eva's fury burns, but she knows that time is running out and she risks keeping her words truly for herself to save her life at the Rebel fleet. As she feels the chains enclaving her legs lose their force, Eva fears her friends have arrived too late. The Twi'lek gets up from the floor and looks Eva directly in her eyes.

''If you try to get away, we'll shoot you in your ankles,'' says the Twi'lek. ''We'll get you to the fleet no matter how many of your people stand outside.''

Eva's teeth clench with anger. ''My friends aren't too late to stop you.''

The Twi'lek tilts his head and bends himself towards the girl. ''Are you sure about that?''

Eva shifts her eyes to the floor. She wants to believe they're on time, but Eva knows there's a serious possibility that they're not. They might truly be too late to save her. The Twi'lek then grasps his handcuffs and slams them onto Eva's arms. She clenches her teeth with a shock of pain, feeling the handcuffs bite into her arms as much as the metal chains, and a sudden shiver of fear runs through her bones as time runs out. The Twi'lek keeps his eyes on her.

''Now get up,'' he says.

Eva's lungs start to race with fear as she shifts her eyes to the Twi'lek, the flame in his alien, yellow eyes burning hotter than before as he sees her punishment coming closer.

''Their time to save you is over.''

Meanwhile, Roslin raises her blaster and guns down a Rebel officer after having entered a corridor that looked different from the rest. His body crumples to the floor as the barrel of her blaster smokes, having shot over a dozen Rebels in the last corridor alone. The SimArena taught her enough about fighting in tight corridors like these, and Roslin managed to shoot her way through deep into Rebel territory. She looks again at the screen of her wristlink, and the white dot is close. It's just another corridor away, and she might be running ahead of time that's quickly running out. Roslin lowers her blaster and starts running, turning around the corner at the end of the corridor and entering another. The dot on her screen is now directly ahead of her. Eva is close, but she knows there's likely an offset. No triangulation is perfectly accurate, and Roslin knows Eva might not be as close as indicated, but she hopes not.

She passes a doorway, and following her training, she aims her blaster into the room. A Rebel she accidentally overlooks is a grave mistake, one Roslin doesn't dare to make. She steps into the room and spins around and quickly sees it's empty except for some tables, chairs and a closet, but then her eyes land on something. She approaches the table and sees it's a wristlink, a military model, exactly the same as hers. It's white, sparklingly new, fresh from the Academy. It can belong to no other person than Eva, and it tells Roslin that she's close. She turns around and storms out of the room, running back into the corridor.

Then, she stumbles upon a steel door, wide open and robust enough to keep someone in prison. It's completely silent, but she can feel she's there. Eva must still be there, abandoned by the Rebels in their hurry. Roslin storms towards it, the door coming closer, and she nears the doorway. She turns around the corner, expecting to see Eva, but the girl isn't there. The prison block is completely empty, devoid of anything except for a metal chair. Time has run out and Eva is gone. She's taken away. Roslin curses under her breath, gasping for air to keep up with her lungs, and her eyes land on something hanging from the chair's backrest. Intrigued, Roslin approaches the chair and sees they are chains, hanging from the backrest, and grasping it with her free hand, they make a clanging sound, sharp and fiercely eerie. The clanging of the chains pierce through her bones and it makes them shiver with fear. For the first time, Roslin feels bad for Eva, and she starts worrying about her safety. Her breathing shivers and her heart pounds in her chest with fear, holding the chains that kept Eva imprisoned, taken hostage in a Rebel stronghold with perhaps no shimmer of hope to bright her up. Eva, my god.

While the chains in Roslin's hand clang, Eva's handcuffs bite into her wrists as she's escorted through the corridors of the Rebel's stronghold. Her muscles feel sore after the endless electrocution of the Twi'lek that's holding her arm, carrying her through the corridor with the other Rebel holding her other arm. Her eyelids feel heavy as some strings of her blond hair hang in front of her eyes, having gotten out of their bun. While she hears the muffled echoes of blasterfire, Rebel soldiers pass her in a hurry, running to the battlefield to defend their stronghold, and though Eva is convinced the ones that run past her won't come back, she has a feeling her rescue has come too late.

The two Rebels take her to the command center of the stronghold, a vast, repurposed storage room with a holotable in the middle and crates of unknown content lying around on shelves and on the concrete floor. A large group of at least twenty Rebels stand around the holotable, talking about Imperial forces having surrounded the stronghold. Most of them hold blaster rifles and wear forest-green, metal war helmets, ready to join the battle, but amidst the Rebels stands one demon that overshadows them all. As she's carried into the room, her eyes land on the black armour of Lu. Her Phase 1 Clone Trooper armour sucks in all the light of the overhead fluorescents, being darker than darkness. Her helmet lies on the holotable as Lu turns around and her eyes land on Eva. As soon as they make eye contact, Eva can feel the anger rising in her chest, looking at a trusted person who turned out to be her biggest enemy.

The two Rebels carry her towards Lu and let go of her arms. Eva trips over her feet and stumbles, hitting her knees on the ground. She slams her hands on the ground, preventing her head from hitting the concrete and she feels a shock of pain going through her arms as her muscles feel sore. The electricity that zapped through them weakened her, and Eva gasps for air, trying to keep her muscles awake with fresh oxygen. Eva slowly looks up at Lu, wanting to strike her down with the hatred and anger that boils within her, but she knows it's not a good decision. The handcuffs biting into her wrists make her unable to do much with her hands, and the Rebels surrounding are no fools and would shoot her down the second she makes a sudden movement. They are on their guard and Eva can sense their eyes burning on her skin. They know who she is and what she's capable of once her fury is liberated from her handcuffs.

Eva gazes at Lu, struggling to resist the urge to strike her down, but her eyes then land on Tal walking into the room and stopping next to Lu, her brown, friendly eyes landing on the girl. Eva can see the Rebel flame burning in Tal's eyes, but she notices it isn't as bright as the flames of the others. Tal still feels soft and friendly with the fighting spirit burning behind her Rebel eyes. Her friendly aura and knowing how well she treated her gets Eva to calm herself down, and she manages to cool down her furious flame. Despite the rage and the hatred boiling within her, Eva remains obedient to her captors.

Tal's eyes gaze at Eva as she sees the broken state the girl is in, and the woman shifts her attention to her Twi'lek boyfriend.

''Butan, what have you done to her?'' she asks, the worry in her soft voice.

The Twi'lek lets out a soft chuckle. ''Actions have consequences.''

Tal's pupils widen and she lets out a sigh of shock.

''You blasted idiot,'' Tal exclaims, walking towards the Twi'lek standing behind Eva. ''I told you not to harm her!''

Tal pushes her Twi'lek boyfriend away for a heated conversation, and Lu shifts her eyes to the girl as she lies with her knees on the ground in front of her. Eva can feel her eyes burning, looking down on a despicable Imp, and being powerless, she can feel the fear entangling her, biting her just like her handcuffs enclaving her wrists. With a shiver of fear, Eva clenches her teeth. She shifts her position, sitting on crouched legs.

''W-, what will you do to me?'' Eva asks, her throat aching.

Lu tilts her head up, letting out a cold sigh.

''This is what's going to happen,'' she starts. ''Until we have cleared the east corridor of the perimeter, you stay here with my guards. We then escort you out of the building and board the dropship and make it out of here. Should be clear enough to follow, right?''

Eva wants to chuckle at how stupid Lu thinks she is, as if she's a toddler needing an instruction for the third time and still not doing it correctly, but the sore muscles makes her unable to show any emotion except for anger and sorrow. Sitting crouched on the floor with enemies surrounding her, Eva's thoughts float away to her sister. She risked her life to see Eline's blue eyes after she wakes up, but her comatose state has made Eva unable to see them for over a hundred days, but Eva failed. She may have succeeded in the search, but the fight was her shatterpoint, and all Eva desires now is just being with sister. In the presence of demons, she misses Eline so much that her eyes water, just wanting to be alone with her whether she's still sleeping or not. All she wants is to feel Eline's warm hand.

''So, enjoy your last hour on Vaulent 6,'' Lu replies.

''But-, but Eline,'' Eva stammers, the tears starting to drop.

Lu lowers herself to the floor to look at her straight in the eyes.

''I'm sorry,'' she says. ''I'm sorry that it had to go this way.''

Her cold voice suddenly turns into a caring mother-voice, filled with empathy, but Eva's thoughts fill with sorrow, agonising enough to make her lungs race and her tears splash on the ground.

''I hoped you had given us more time to let us plan out Eline's rescue so you and your sister could go together,'' says Lu, ''but reality is just that, reality, an unpredictable universe ruled by the power of the celestials.''

Hearing her saying she'd take Eline to the Rebel fleet as well makes Eva's heart pound with anger, and she clenches her teeth tightly.

''Eline would never go with you,'' Eva hisses.

Lu nods. ''Maybe not, but the Force sometimes has a different view on fate than you.''

The Force or whatever the hell it is can suck my ass.

Then, as Eva feels the urge to strike her down increasing in her chest, the ground shakes and the ceiling lights flicker for a second. She hears the walls squeaking like wooden planks and dust fall off the ceiling, whirling down. A nearby explosion sent shockwaves through the ground, making clear the chaos that is happening outside. Eva breaks her stare at Lu and her eyes dart around, looking at the small cracks that have formed in the metal ceiling plates of the room, afraid that the ceiling might collapse, engulfing her in debris when another explosion shakes the ground.

As the shockwaves quickly subside, Lu stands up and turns to one of her Rebel officers.

''Is the data transfer finished?'' she asks.

Eva instantly shifts her eyes back to Lu, the handcuffs biting relentlessly in her wrists.

''Yes Captain,'' replies an officer, and he hands her a grey datacard.

''This is what the Rebel Alliance is built upon,'' Lu replies. ''Good work.''

''The files-,'' Eva stutters, her lungs racing for air.

Lu shifts her head to her.

''The-, the files-,'' she stammers, ''you stole them too?''

Peyton's datapad flashes in front of her eyes, held by the person she called the Spy, tapping relentlessly to download malware on the girl's toy she held dearly. Eva can't imagine Lu's face that was below the Spy's helmet. 600 files did he steal afterwards. Change of guard, naval installations, access codes, Academy blueprints, Army personnel. After she was detained by Lu, the military files that were stolen vanished from her thoughts, forgotten until now. All of those files that could lay bare the entire defense system of Vaulent 6 are on that grey, little datacard, the size of a hand and as flat as a ceiling plate. Her eyes stare at the fate of Vaulent 6 and one of the reasons Eva decided to risk her life, and her homeworld's fate now lies in the hand of a trusted person who betrayed her with a knife. Lu's eyes gaze at Eva as she holds the card tightly in her gloved hand.

''I think this answers your question,'' Lu replies.

Eva's lungs gasp as she clenches her teeth and narrows her eyes.

''You'll pay the price,'' Eva hisses.

The anger boils within her and Eva stands up from the ground, unable to resist the urge to strike Lu down, but the two Rebel guards behind her hold her back and force her to the ground. The hands on her shoulders push her down and she hits her legs on the ground and the soldier on her left smacks her in the head with the butt of his blaster. A shock of pain zaps through her and her head jerks sideways, clenching her teeth and gasping for air, the fury burning violently within her. She shifts her eyes to the soldier on her right with narrowed eyes, the hatred burning. I'll get you, Rebel scum.

Lu scoffs a little, amused by Eva's naivety, and she turns back to the Rebel officer.

''Is the U-Wing loaded?'' she asks.

''No, Captain,'' the officer responds. ''They're halfway done.''

Then, another shockwave shakes the floor. The lights flicker, the dust whirls from the ceilings, and the walls squeak like wood. Eva's head darts around, her eyes jumping from the walls to the ceiling, seeing the cracks forming and some ceiling plates falling on the floor elsewhere in the room. The echo of the blast subsides quickly and is followed by a voice over the intercom of the stronghold.

''Imperials have entered the base,'' a male voice responds.

Lu's eyes darted around too, and she shifts back to the officer.

''We have to defend the east section at all costs,'' Lu responds. ''If the corridor falls into Imperial hands, we're done.''

She turns around to the group of soldiers waiting to be deployed. ''Lieutenant Podest, I want your team with me to the east section. Rykarn, I want your team at the north section and keep the Imps away from the center.''

''Yes sir,'' say two soldiers.

Lu shifts her attention to the two Rebels guarding Eva.

''Butan, Torin, you stay with the girl,'' she commands. ''Don't let her move even an inch until I radio in, and shut her up if she talks too much, understood?''

''Yes sir,'' say the two men.

''Tal,'' says Lu.

The woman walks past Eva, her eyes focused on the girl with worry and shifting them to the Captain.

''I want you with me,'' she orders. ''Valen's team is retreating to the east section with wounded men.''

''Got it,'' Tal replies.

''Alright,'' says Lu, and she turns to the Rebel group in its entirety. ''We have to defend this stronghold for as long as possible. The Alliance and the people of the galaxy depend on our success. We are the flame of hope that will burn down the flag of the Empire, and tonight, in the wake of our escape, the Capital's financial district will burn to the ground.''

She holds the remote detonator of the bombs, planted at the skyscrapers of the city's financial district. The Rebel soldiers chant with courage as Eva watches, completely powerless and trapped in a ring of fire, burning violently as the Rebel soldiers stand around her.

''Long live the Rebellion, and may the Force be with us.''

They chant again, their courage echoing off the walls. The team leaders shout to their men, scrambling them together to deploy to war, ready to fight for the flame. Lu quickly glances at Eva, seeing the girl swallowed by the fire of rebellion. Eva makes eye contact, the fear in her watery eyes, and after a quick glance, Lu shifts around and grasps her black Clonetrooper helmet from the holotable and puts it on, her black, curly hair disappearing, and she vanishes with a team of soldiers behind her, leaving Eva behind with the two Rebel troopers keeping an eye on her. The words of the Rebel insurgents subside and all that is left are the sounds of her pounding heart, her gasps, and the echoes of blasterfire.

Each muffled echo of a blaster shot makes her heart pound with nervousness and anticipation, hoping that each echo gets the Imperial forces closer to her rescue, but she fears they are all too late. The massive fear in her heart makes her unable to say anything as her thoughts drift away to Eline. She misses her pretty face, her blue eyes, and her blond hair she was unable to tie in a bun whenever the wind picked up.

''Now you don't have much to say, huh?'' says the Rebel Twi'lek.

Eva shifts her eyes to her right, barely seeing a glimpse of the Twi'lek Rebel standing behind her, and her teeth clench with anger.

''Shut up, alien,'' she hisses.

Then, she's smacked by the butt of his blaster, her cheek aching with pain as her head jerks sideways, gasping for air. It feels like the pain is seeping to the rest of her head, spreading like a wildfire. She feels the urge to lash out, striking the two Rebels down with her bare hands, but she knows she can't. Those same hands are bitten relentlessly by her handcuffs and she's unable to break them, and as long as they're tied up, Eva has no hope. The handcuffs leave her powerless, unable to do anything, and the fury that burns within her, desiring for Rebel blood to wash over the ground, remains shaken with fear. Her watery eyes gaze at the concrete floor as the memories of Eline flash in front of her eyes, knowing the hospital was the last time she'll ever see her. Soon, the Rebels will take her to the fleet, away from her beloved sister, and knowing she'll have to leave her, her heart shatters and sinks in her chest. Her lungs fill with tears and her gasps shake with fear. The tears roll down her cheeks and splash on the floor as Eva starts to sob, mourning the loss as if Eline has died from her injuries, mourning her last day. Eva has lost. It's game over.

Then, Eva startles as two screeches pound in her ears. Her heart skips a beat, gasping for air.

''Blast it!'' she hears the Twi'lek exclaim.

The soldier on her left, the human Rebel, falls to the floor lifelessly. His eyes are open, staring dead ahead into oblivion as a shot wound is smoking on the back of his head. Several blaster shots continue to screech in her ears and Eva jerks her head back to where it all comes from. She sees the Twi'lek with his blaster raised, firing at an open doorway. Then, Eva sees a person peeking with an E-10 blaster rifle around the corner of the doorway, and her eyes land on her face and to her shock, she sees it's Roslin, having made her way through the Rebel stronghold. She made it just in time. The game isn't over yet.

Roslin quickly glances at Eva before she's forced to retreat back into her cover, and in the short moment, Eva's jaws fall open with shock and relief, never expecting Roslin to have come to the rescue.

The Twi'lek is hit in his shoulder. He groans and almost stumbles to the ground, but he keeps standing and raises his blaster, seemingly undamaged by the blaster shot. He opens fire and forces Roslin to stay back, unable to fire back while Eva sits on the ground, forced to watch with her hands stuck together. Her eyes shift from the doorway to the Twi'lek, and suddenly, a spark ignites her fury, and Eva looks down at her lap, her eyes landing on the handcuffs biting into her wrists, and she looks back at the Twi'lek. If she wants to see Eline ever again, she has to help Roslin and take him down.

Eva stands up from the ground, her legs trembling after having been electrocuted for eternity. They ache as Eva rises, her narrow eyes locked on the Twi'lek and she clenches her fists with rage. Her heart pounds relentlessly in her chest as Eva starts storming towards him. She jumps towards the Twi'lek's head, crashes into his back with her chest, and entangles her handcuffed hands around his throat. Her weight pulls the Twi'lek backwards, making him stumble and lower his blaster. Eva lets the handcuffs bite into the Twi'lek's throat, suffocating him with agony. Her metal handcuffs slice into his throat, letting his red blood seep out and spill over Eva's hands, finally seeing the blood of Rebel scum her fury has been desiring for so long. Roslin comes out of her cover, raises her blaster and fires. She hits his chest and after multiple shots, Eva can hear a last, shivering, rough gasp of air, coughing out some of his blood. The Twi'lek trips over his feet and falls backwards onto the floor, smacking Eva's back against the concrete. The oxygen is pushed out of her lungs, feeling the weight of the Twi'lek's lifeless body on her chest, but she pushes him on his side with much force and unlocks her handcuffs from his throat, freeing herself from the dead alien. Smudges of red blood are on her hands as she pushes herself from the ground, standing up. Eva's lungs ache, having been squeezed by the Twi'lek's weight. She gasps for air, never expecting these aliens to be so heavy.

Roslin speeds towards her with her blaster tightly in her hands.

''Eva,'' she says. ''Good to see you again, are you okay?''

Eva casts her eyes down. She wants to smile, but since it's Roslin that is standing in front of her, she doesn't know whether she should, not knowing how to feel. Roslin has been the most obnoxious person in her life, having given her a punch at the Academy and burned her down so many times after innocent losses.

''I'm okay,'' she replies, shifting her eyes up.

Roslin lets out a sigh of relief. ''That's good to hear. I'm happy you're still alive. I can't imagine the pain you went through.''

She puts her hand on Eva's shoulder, and suddenly, Eva notices something in the girl's eyes. No longer is there frustration or despise in her eyes, and instead, Roslin is filled with worry and empathy. Eva's pupils widen with disbelief. Does she kriffin' care about me? Did she change?

''You-, you care about me?'' Eva stammers.

Roslin nods, and a thin smile forms on her face.

''Took me a long time,'' she answers.

Dank Ferrik, she really changed!

Suddenly, her heart warms up and a strong smile forms on Eva's face, and she starts chuckling. She never expected Roslin to make such a turn, from an obnoxious person who despised her to someone who now genuinely cares about her, worried about the pain she has endured, and seeing Eva laughing with warmth, Roslin starts chuckling too, seeing where she went wrong at the Academy. They both forget the chaos that is ensuing outside by the warmth of their sudden friendship that has developed from two persons that totally despised each other.

''I never expected you to get a change of heart,'' says Eva, the smile on her face.

''I know. It took me too long,'' Roslin replies, smiling too. ''Hey, let me check your chains.''

Eva's chuckles subside and she raises her hands. Roslin grasps Eva's hands and inspects the handcuffs that bite into her wrists. The smudges of blood shine in the fluorescent light as Roslin looks up.

''Is this your blood?'' she asks.

''No, it's from that alien,'' Eva replies.

Roslin nods, and she continues inspecting Eva's handcuffs from all sides.

''Can you break it open?'' Eva asks.

''No, but I guess this will,'' she replies and raises her blaster.

Eva feels a faint shiver down her spine. They have no tool to unlock her handcuffs, so the only way to open it is blasting it off with a blaster, despite how dangerous it is. Roslin could accidentally blast off her hand, but Eva knows she has to face the risk. She has to break them, or else she's left powerless, unable to hold a blaster and defend herself from the demons roaming the stronghold. She holds her hands far away from her and moves them far apart from each other, leaving the metal chain in the middle for Roslin to shoot off. Roslin leans the blaster on her arm a little and Eva looks away, squeezing her eyes with fear. Then, Roslin pulls the trigger and blasts off the chain. Eva gasps for air and opens her eyes, and sees Roslin perfectly blasted off the chain that keeps her hands locked together. The metal rings of the handcuffs are still biting in her wrists, but that would be too dangerous to shoot those off as well. Besides, at least Eva is free. She twists her hands, finally being able to move them freely, and a smile forms on her face, happy that Roslin has freed her.

''Thanks,'' Eva responds, shifting her eyes to her. ''Where are the others?''

''Peyton, Ashara and Ecklund are outside,'' Roslin replies. ''They're waiting for you.''

She grasps Eva's hands. The only time Eva felt her hands was the punch in her cheek.

''Come on,'' she says, pulling her towards the door.

Eva takes a few steps but she stops in her tracks.

''Wait.''

She lets go of her hand and Roslin turns around to her with urgency in her eyes, wanting her soldier to return home, but Eva resists. There is still something to be done, a mission to be completed and a duty to be fulfilled.

''There's still something I have to do,'' says Eva.

Roslin steps towards her. ''No. Eva, you have nothing to do right now. Forget it, all I want you to do is get home.''

''Roslin, I'm sorry,'' says Eva. ''I have a mission to complete, and I can only get home once I've fulfilled my duty. I can only accept myself in the squad once I've done it.''

Roslin lets out a soft sigh, wanting her to forget her duty for a moment.

''Please, commander,'' says Eva. ''I've risked my life in the past week to find the Spy and I don't want the pain I've endured go for nothing.''

''But-, but why?'' Roslin stammers.

''Because I've done all of this for you, Peyton, the squad, and Eline. I can't waste the effort and the pain just for getting home.''

Roslin casts her eyes downward with a hint of sorrow in her brown pupils, and she nods. She holds her blaster across her chest and holds it towards Eva. She grasps the E-10 blaster, with her hand enclaving the handgrip and the other enclaving the black barrel, ready to take it from Roslin's hands, but as she pulls it towards her, Roslin resists. She isn't letting her take the blaster, so Eva looks up.

''When you're done, come back home, my little soldier.''

An adorable smile forms on Eva's face with a hint of shyness, her cheeks becoming softly red.

''Yes sir, I will,'' Eva replies.

Roslin lets go and Eva takes the blaster from her hands. She turns around and walks away, remembering the doorway Lu took towards the east corridor of Rebel stronghold. Leaving Roslin behind, Eva feels she's already missing her. From a despicable, obnoxious girl, Roslin has gone to a close, good friend, and it causes Eva to shed a tear. Holding her E-10 blaster in her hand, Eva reaches out to the strands of blond hair that hang over her eyes. She pushes them away, gently regrouping them with the rest of her hair hanging down towards her shoulders, and she wipes away some of the tears in her watery eyes. She clenches the handgrip, feeling the power of her fury whirling through her body like a powerful vortex taking everyone in its path.

Meanwhile, the fight outside the walls grows into a warzone. The improvised tanks the Rebels have pulled out of their garages defend their stronghold fiercely. The TIE Vulcans of the Army haven't arrived yet, and until they do, the Rebel forces have to remain concealed in a tight perimeter, spanning across four industry blocks. The stronghold is no longer a top priority. Holding them back and blocking their escape routes is the new focus point.

As a blast shudders the tarmac, Peyton smacks herself against the door of the wreckage of a speeder. The flames spit out of the windows as Ashara drops herself next to her, her breath shuddering with anxiety as they both pant relentlessly.

Stormtroopers around her stand their ground as Peyton clenches her blaster. She tries to relieve the nervousness through the cold steel of her E-10 blaster, but it's hard to get her heart to calm down.

As the blaster shots shriek past the wreckage, Peyton's wristlink suddenly lights up and amidst the chaos, and Roslin's voice crackles through the speakers.

''Peyton, you read me?''

She moves the wristlink to her mouth. ''Affirmative, commander.''

''Status report.''

''Rebel troops are defending the stronghold with improvised tanks. We retreated a few blocks away and set up a containment area to hold them in.''

Peyton glances next to her at Ashara. Her hands holding her E-10 blaster tremble, but through her visor, she can see her squad member is still at control of herself.

''We're standing our ground and so are they,'' Peyton adds. ''Did you find Eva?''

Roslin lets out a sigh on the other side of the line.

''I did,'' she responds. ''She's fine.''

A thin gush of relief rushes through her amidst the heat of the chaos. Ashara next to her lets out a big, shuddering breath of relief, hearing that she found Eva.

''But she has different things on her mind.''

''What do you mean?''

''She split off, said she had her own mission to complete.''

''She's not coming? Why?''

''They're targeting the skyline of Trustfall Center and it's about to blow. Eva knows who can detonate it and she's on her way to stop them.''

Peyton's heart suddenly skips a beat in her chest as Roslin's words sink in. Trustfall Center is one of the main financial and corporate districts of Vaulent Capital. It powers the financial engine of the Imperial world, and hearing it's about to fall sends shivers down Peyton's spine as she gazes ahead into oblivion with shock. When those towers crumble, so will most of Vaulent 6.

''Trustfall Center is now being evacuated and the Army has sent a team to locate and disarm the bombs.''

''Do they not know which towers are targeted?''

''I'm not sure.''

Peyton lets out a shuddering sigh of nervousness, tilting her head back and bumping into the metal door of the speeder wreck. She looks straight up as her mind blurs with thoughts racing through her. The twinkling stars in the dark-blue sky of the evening captivate her with urgency flooding her more than ever. Soon, the stars in the void will multiply with the souls of the dead that have fallen at Trustfall Center.

''What if they don't? What if they don't know which towers are about to blow? Those towers are massive and before they've skimmed out the first two, they're already reduced to nothing.''

Roslin sighs through the wristlink.

''You're right. You got a plan?''

Peyton looks straight ahead into oblivion, her mind cracking as she forms a plan. She knows they can't let the stars multiply with the souls of the dead. The night must not fall yet, and then a lightbulb lights up brightly behind her eyes.

''Maybe,'' she responds.

''Let's get working then. Signing off.''

As Roslin signs off, Peyton taps on her wristlink and switches from frequency channels.

''Ecklund, you copy?

Amidst the screeching blaster fire, Ecklund's voice pops up like a calm breeze in the eye of the hurricane, a candle amidst the blaze.

''Loud and clear,'' she replies.

''Ecklund, you got a radio tower for me?''

''A radio tower?'' Ecklund asks, confused. ''Well, alright.''

As Peyton waits for Ecklund's intel, Ashara bends a bit towards her with shivering hands.

''What are we going to do with a radio tower?'' she asks, her voice trembling.

Peyton shifts her head to Ashara, but before she can answer, Ecklund's voice crackles through the speakers.

''There's one outside the containment area, zero decimal nine southwest

I thought so.

Peyton signs off and picks her blaster from the tarmac. She looks up at the blue sky and sees the blazing sun is directly ahead of her, dropping below the buildings to vanish. Sun rises from the east and drops in the west. It's ahead of me, so I'm facing west. East is behind me. Looking from the east, the north is on my left shoulder. If west is ahead of me and south is on my right, southwest is directly in the middle.

She shifts her head to her right and her eyes land on an alley, blocked by Stormtroopers as they hold back the Rebels. Okay, got it.

''I know where we have to go,'' says Peyton, shifting her head back to Ashara. ''Come on.''

Peyton shifts her weight to her other foot, jumps up and dashes away from the speeder wreckage to the alley. Ashara follows her in a quick move. The blaster fire from the Rebels defending their stronghold shriek past them, hitting the speeder and erupting in sparks. They emerge from the street into the alley and Ashara catches up with her. Peyton glances at her and swallows to speak.

''Trustfall Center is half a city away from us,'' she starts. ''It's too far away to detonate the bombs without a direct connection or a signal amplifier. They'd need a location that's high enough to reach Trustfall Center from here and not out of the ordinary to hide the equipment to amplify the signal.''

Ashara and Peyton step to the side of the alley as a squad of Stormtroopers run past them with their E-11 blasters clenched in their hands.

''And then what?'' Ashara asks.

''There's a radio tower nearby,'' Peyton replies. ''I can slice into the amplifier and locate the bombs and identify which towers are in danger. There's no way the Army can scout all the towers, find the bombs and disarm them before the Rebels blow them up.''

Ashara tilts her head with confusion. ''I'm not sure if I'm following you.''

''Bombs that have the power to destabilise buildings always stay in contact with the detonating device,'' Peyton explains. ''The device constantly sends a signal from the amplifier at the radio tower to the bombs at Trustfall Center. This way, the Rebels know the bombs are working and active, and when they know they're active, they can ignite them at any time they want. If I'm correct - and I hope so, I can slice into the amplifier and intercept the signal. I can find out which towers receive the signal. If a tower receives the signal, it has bombs.''

''Can't you block the signal and prevent them from activating the bombs?''

Peyton shrugs as they walk into another alley, the blaster fire slowly subsiding a little.

''I'm afraid the bombs will blow when they lose the signal,'' Peyton replies. ''I'm not sure but I don't want to take the risk.''

Ashara nods. ''Got it.''

It's a daring, improvised side mission, but one that could decide the fate of the evening. Though she has full trust in Eva, Peyton knows that she takes a massive risk, one that doesn't need much for the entire evening to end horribly. A simple delay could hold off Eva long enough for the Rebels to detonate the bombs. Since they're already in a tight corner, Peyton assumes they won't blow them up until they're taking off. They want to appear as a smaller threat than they actually are, and blowing up the financial power of Vaulent 6 would get them much more attention from the military. It would make their defense harder to hold onto. Flying off and then detonating the bombs would take away most of the struggle they'd otherwise face.

After running the stretch of 0.9, Peyton and Ashara stop at the fences of a radio tower. The steel mast grows smaller the further it goes up and it's enclaved in blocks of storage buildings. As she peers up, Peyton notices a platform high in the radio tower with access to various boxes, hidden away behind the tower's steel truss beams. Peyton squeezes her E-10 and blasts off the lock from the gate. She swings it open and faces the concrete foundation of the radio tower with a ladder in the middle that goes up to the platform. Looking up, she figures one of those boxes is the signal amplifier.

''I'm going up,'' says Peyton, glancing quickly at Ashara. ''I'll slice my way through it.''

''What can I do?'' Ashara asks, shifting her head.

''Guard the place,'' Peyton replies. ''I'm in the open up there, so you're my best defense.''

Ashara nods, clenching the handgrips of her blaster. Peyton steps onto the ladder and looks up again. It's dazzlingly far up and it reminds her of her descent down The Well at the Academy, feeling the usual light sensation in her stomach. She starts climbing up to the top of the radio tower, her boots pounding on the metal bars of the ladder until she reaches the top. Climbing up the platform, the buildings around her have grown smaller and from afar, she can see the blasterfire shrieking through the streets and roads, and towards the horizon, she can see the towers of the city's financial district. The white lights behind the glass windows contrast the dark blue sky and the fiery orange horizon. Those towers might not be standing for long.

Peyton glances around. The radio equipment makes the platform narrow and doesn't leave much room to operate with, but she has to make do with what she has. She scans quickly around, looking for the signal amplifier. It's a box that is directly connected with the radio dish, and scanning the platform, her eyes land on a grey box that stands out amidst the other radio equipment. Its unique colour stands out from the rest and it seems randomly placed, put in position with weathered, old bolts. And to confirm what Peyton suspects, the box has a cable going to the radio dish mounted on the side of the radio tower, aiming at the blazing sun at the horizon. It tells Peyton enough that this is the signal amplifier, one the Rebels use as a station between them and the charges. Lowering herself to the floor, she puts her helmet on the floor, zips open her backpack, and grasps her datapad. Glancing over it, she feels happy the ISB gave it back to carry out this operation, and she's not going to waste it in front of their eagle eyes.

She grasps a screwdriver out of her backpack as well and bends herself towards the box. She unscrews the bolts that hold the side cover of the box in place, and as she unscrews the last bolt, it falls open, giving her access to the control panel within. There's a little screen, various switches with unknown functions and a dataspike socket. She connects the signal amplifier with her datapad and the screen flashes and loads in the program. No firewall to bypass or encryption to break open. As she expected, it's a simple signal amplifier, not anything fancy.

Now that she has the signal code displayed on her screen, Peyton maps out the next steps. Dank Ferrik, how did it go? Signal analysation first, identify receiving points second, and coordinate extraction third?

It's been a long time since she did something like this for the last time. Last time, she sliced into the signal antenna of her home to trick her abusive father and get him to pay for the curse words he shouted at her at point blank range. It was an accident, the cup became too hot to hold. It all spilled on the table and though it was just an accident, it was enough for her father to scold her, and it was enough for her to slice into the antenna array and pull out the plug when the Intergalactic Podrace had its seventh Grand Prix at Boonta Eve. Standing in the alley behind her apartment building, she could hear her father's voice shouting at the television with frustration through the walls. It was a bill he had to pay, and now, the Rebels are going to pay for their deeds.

Okay, analysation, identifying receiving points, and extraction of coordinates. Right.

Looking at the lines of code, she recognises the structures instantly as Binary, the language of computers. She's seen thousands of codes of Binary, structured exactly the same. It's like a child's game.

''Peyton,'' she hears Roslin's voice suddenly cracking through her wristlink.

She looks aside at her wristlink as it lights up.

''ISB at Battle Command is wondering what you're doing,'' her voice crackles.

She lets out a sigh, tinted with a hint of frustration. Don't they know I'm working?

''Of course they do,'' Peyton whispers to herself.

While the lines of code on her datapad wait to be examined, she taps on her wristlink and moves it towards her chin.

''I've found a way to locate the bombs at Trustfall Center,'' she says. ''I can find the coordinates in the code of a signal amplifier they use. I'll notify you when I got them.''

''Understood,'' says Roslin, and she signs off.

Peyton shifts her eyes back to her datapad and gets closer to the screen. She starts skimming through the Binary codes, looking for lines that pick up the signal from the bombs. If the signal amplifier sends out a signal, Peyton figures the bombs send it back to tell the Rebels they're active and ready to blow. Skimming through the code, Peyton's eyes land on three lines that start with the SEND- and RETRIEVE-command. The words indicate to her that these are the lines she's looking for. This is the code that sends and receives the signal back from the bombs. She's close. The coordinates for the positions of the bombs are almost in reach, so Peyton digs further, analysing the SEND- and RETRIEVE lines more cautiously. Her eyes read the codes digit by digit until they stop at a section at the end of the lines. It's a row of Binary digits, isolated with brackets from the rest of the line. Between the brackets of each line of code are 24 digits, divided into 6 groups. The way the 24 digits are structured tell Peyton enough. These are the coordinates of the charges, written in Binary. All she needs to do now is translate them to decimal numbers, and glancing over the 3 Binary coordinates with focus eyes, she knows it's not going to be easy. Translating Binary to decimal isn't a job that's done quickly, it's to be handled with delicacy.

Suddenly, Peyton hears a loud explosion in the distance. Her surroundings are briefly flooded in a blazing orange light. The boom echoes through the sky and crashes into the radio tower, making the metal platform shivering. Peyton feels the shockwave through her boots as she instantly turns around. Her eyes land on a fireball rising into the sky and fading out slowly as it turns into a cloud of smoke. On the ground, the lightpoles flicker and die, leaving the roads of the Luminex sector in darkness. The lights of the radio tower die too, and Peyton turns around to her datapad and sees a warning has popped on in the corner of her screen. She doesn't need to read it, the darkness the dead lightpoles have left behind tell her enough. The blast that just lit up her vicinity and shook the ground damaged the underground powergrid, leaving the sector without electricity to shine a light. As the conclusion hits her, Peyton's eyes are suddenly drawn to the lines of code that suddenly turn red and within a second, it all becomes blank. Her screen leaves her in darkness, and briefly, her heart plummets in her chest with panic. It shut down, the signal amplifier doesn't seem to work anymore. If it really doesn't, the bombs at the Trustfall Center will explode. No signal means danger. Peyton shifts her head and she gazes at the towers of Trustfall Center at the horizon, reaching for the faint starfield in the sky. Her heart races in her chest as a knot forms in her throat, unable to let her breathe. Her eyes are focused on the towers, imagining that the second after she blinks her eyes, they're gone, levelled to the ground by a wave of explosions, the result of the power outage.

''Peyton,'' Ashara's voice crackles, shivering with nervousness. ''What happened?''

She can't answer. The towers at the horizon hypnotise her, fearing that they'll fall any second.

''Peyton, you hear me?''

The steel beams around her creep in on her, ready to engulf Peyton in dread. But the horizon remains devoid of any disruption. No blasts, no fire, no collapse. Something happened that prevented the bombs from exploding.

''Peyton!''

Ashara shouts up with her voice. It pulls Peyton out of her stare at the horizon and it makes her mind race with thoughts. If the bombs didn't explode while the electricity is gone, the signal amplifier must have some sort of safety mechanism, a prevention system that comes into action when no energy is available. In an instant, Peyton moves herself to the signal amplifier and her eyes land on a red indicator light flickering, and a gush of relief rushes through her. The steel beams, ready to suffocate her, retreat and Peyton lets out a sigh of relief.

''Nothing happened,'' she says, her wristlink below her chin.

''I-, I thought they'd explode without electricity,'' says Ashara.

''I thought so too, but it has a safety mechanism that keeps it powered. Some sort of emergency power unit, but it only powers the most essential parts and not the one which I use to see the code.''

''Okay, what now?''

''Look if there's a power box. You should be able to reset the system.''

''Got it.''

She looks down and through the little gaps of the metal floor, she sees Ashara heading to a large, grey cabinet interrupting the fences.

Then, Peyton's eyes suddenly pick something up. Her eyes are drawn to an alley that lights up in a sudden. Her thoughts immediately drift away to Rebel scouts having made their way through the Imperial blockade. Her heart skips a beat and she quickly moves her wristlink to her chin.

''Ashara,'' says Peyton. ''Rebels are coming, take cover.''

''Skorvit,'' Ashara whispers.

Ashara presses herself against the power box below her as Peyton moves quietly away from the edges of the platform, trying to hide behind the steel beams of the radio tower. The light in the alley grows closer until the black shapes of a squad emerge. She can hear their voices growing louder as they speak to each other.

''Sir, I don't get it,'' says one voice.

Another lets out a sigh. ''Malex, you're a private aren't you? You got plans to promote?''

''Yes sir.''

''Private, listening to what we tell you is how to climb the ranks. I'm gonna tell you one last time.''

As Peyton listens with focused hears, hearing the screeches of blaster fire in the distance amidst their words, she feels her foot aching from the pressure she's putting on. It starts tingling, feeling like the static noise of a grainy vidscreen. If she remains sitting in this position, she will no longer feel her feet for a moment, and a limb she can't feel won't be felt when it's blasted off.

''They're all too focused on breaching the defense of the stronghold, private. None of them is expecting an attack from behind.''

''With just the six of us?''

The static in her feet is becoming worse, growing in intensity. Her eyes dart from her feet to the flashlights of the Rebel soldiers, meandering slowly outside the fence of the radio tower, unknowingly passing Ashara hiding behind the power box. The static in her feet feels too uncomfortable and she feels urged to change her position. Glancing at the Rebels, she sees they're not facing her.

''Yes, with the six of us. Private, you're not a soldier for nothing. This is what it takes to get our freedom back from those Imps, and right now, we have to do anything to buy us time.''

She doesn't care what they say. Her focus is all aimed towards the static sensation in her feet, losing its senses. As she sees they've turned their backs towards her, Peyton lifts up her feet, shifting her weight to her other feet and putting her hand on the floor to keep herself stable. The senses return to her foot and the static sensation subsides. Good, it's no longer static.

She puts her foot back on the floor, repositioning it slightly to lower the pressure, but she steps onto her screwdriver on accident and it shoots away from under her boot. Peyton is startled by the screwdriver's sudden movement and her heart skips a beat. It rolls towards the edge of the platform, Peyton reaches out, but it slips out of her reach and she sees the screwdriver toppling over the edge and falling off. Heart plummets as it vanishes into the abyss, and a second later, she hears a metallic thud below her.

''What was that?''

They raise their blasters and shine their flashlights on the base of the radio tower. Peyton clenched her fists with frustration.

''Dank Ferrik,'' Peyton whispers, cursing under her breath.

Her heart pounds relentlessly in her chest, fearing that she betrayed her and Ashara's presence. She bites on her lips with nervousness.

''Sir, do you see the gate?''

''Yes, I do.''

A Rebel soldier steps towards the gate and slides it open with ease. Peyton starts fearing they've been discovered as the gate slides open with the Rebel standing in front of it. He steps towards the lock of the gate and seems to touch it with his hand, sliding over it.

''Look, sir, the lock is blasted off.''

Dank Ferrik.

''You're kidding me?''

The Rebels instantly draw their blasters. They've discovered them, and the dead lock of the gate betrayed their presence. Peyton curses under her breath as the Rebels step through the open gate with their blasters raised. Her eyes dart to Ashara. She's hiding behind the power box as the Rebels start pouring into the perimeter of the radio tower, surrounded by the fences. Ashara dashes towards the side of the power box as the Rebels step towards the radio tower. If she remained where she was, they would've seen her in an instant.

Peyton clenches the grips of her blaster in her hands, seeing the Rebels inspecting the site of the radio tower. Below her, they split up to widen their coverage. All she can see is a pack of hounds, sensing a trail she and Ashara left behind. They long for the blood of Imperials to spill. If that's what is necessary to take back their freedom, they're willing to slice their throats. Peyton's grip on her blaster tightens and she clenches her teeth. She shifts her feet and raises her blaster, aiming down. Her gunsight lands on the head of a Rebel soldier. She pulls the trigger and fires. A sudden screech deafens her ears and she hits the Rebel. He crumples to the ground and the rest of the hound startle.

''Watch out!'' screams one. ''Blast them!''

The Rebels aim up and Peyton moves away from the edge. They fire and the blaster fire shrieks past her, hitting the steel beams of the tower. The sparks rain on her as she takes cover.

Ashara on the ground takes a step away from the powerbox and fires on them as well, hitting a Rebel in his back. A firefight breaks out between Ashara and Peyton and the Rebel soldiers. Peyton hits another one in his leg. He screams and falls to the ground. Ashara finishes him off and hits him in the shoulder. Peyton aims her blaster on the remaining three Rebels but they take cover behind crates outside the fences. She can't get a clear shot as she holds her blaster tightly in her hands.

''Dank Ferrik,'' Peyton curses. ''I can't get a clear shot.''

''I'll take care of them,'' says Ashara through the comm channel, her voice shivering. ''You focus on the coordinates!''

''Will do.''

As a blaster shot of a Rebel shrieks past her, barely missing her head, Peyton drops herself to the floor to escape their line of sight. She grasps her datapad and holds it in her hand, but the power to feed the necessary systems is still not there. She lets out sigh of frustration, having forgotten she needs Ashara to push the switch to get the electricity back.

''Ashara, the power,'' Peyton shouts through her wristlink.

''On it, cover me.''

Peyton grasps her blaster from the floor and moves back to the edge, aiming down at the Rebels. She no longer cares whether they are accurate. All Ashara needs is a rain of fire pouring down onto them. While Peyton covers her, Ashara peeks around the corner of the powerbox but one Rebel, fiercely facing Peyton's rain of fire, shoots at her, hitting the powerbox and letting sparks rain on the ground. Her hands tremble with nervousness and her heart aches, but she knows she has to bite through it. She can't let Peyton down in such a crucial moment of their mission.

Clenching her blaster, Ashara aims at the lock that guards the hatch of the powerbox. She hits it, letting out a screech and a deafening, metallic thud. The lock flies off, glowing red as the hatch slowly swings open. Ashara steps away and kicks the hatch with her feet, jerking it open with violence. It blocks the view of the Rebels, giving her more cover. She steps towards the control panel within the powerbox as the sparks fly off the hatch, making metallic thud. Each one makes her heart ache all the more. It makes her struggle to see what's in front of her as her eyes dart over the control panel. There are switches and buttons, orderly placed, and little screens with graphs. She tries looking for the reset switch, but she can't find it. She scans the control panel for a third, a fourth, and a fifth time, but it's nowhere. Her heart pounds as she shifts her wristlink to her chin.

''I can't find it!'' she shouts.

''Reset switch!'' Peyton shouts. ''Read the signs above them.''

Ashara's eyes dart to the signs that are placed above the switches, indicating their purpose. Scanning them, her eyes land on the reset switch and she lets out a shivering sigh.

''I'm so blind,'' she sighs, and she pushes the switch. ''Power's back.''

''Okay, keep them busy!''

While Ashara opens fire on the Rebels hiding behind their cover, Peyton lowers her blaster. The tip of the barrel glows red as she drops it on the floor and grasps her datapad. The screen lights up and as she resets the system, Peyton gets back full access. She scans the lines of code that reappear on her screen and she recognises the SEND- and RETRIEVE commands. Her eyes return to the coordinates pasted to the end of the lines of Binary, isolated from the rest. Since they're written in Binary, she first has to translate them to decimal. If that's done, the coordinates are right in front of her nose, the rescue of Trustfall's skyline. As the blaster shots shriek below her, Peyton deciphers the coordinates digit by digit. With success, she deciphers the first two coordinates. Only one remains.

Then, a shrieking blastershot penetrates the metal floor and hits her knee. A shock pierces through her bones and Peyton lets out a scream of agony. She drops her datapad and falls onto the floor. Her knee burns with pain as she clenches her teeth and gasps for air, trying to cool the fire. She tries to get up but the pain is unbearable, but she can't let it take her out of service. She can't let it waste the night. With clenched teeth, Peyton bites through the agony in her knee and grasps her datapad. She shoves it over the floor towards herself and moves herself to sit up right. Her eyes dart to the calculations on her datapad and she starts deciphering the last coordinates, digit by digit. And then, the puzzle pieces click together. The last digit of the last coordinate has been deciphered, and it's glowing like gold in front of her, lighting up her face as she stares at it with a smile forming on her face. The deciphering is done. The coordinates are found, and the locations of the bombs have been laid bare in front of her. A gush of relief rushes through her and no longer does she feel the agony in her knee. She relays the coordinates to Battle Command to notify the bomb clearance teams, and after she exchanges the last coordinate digit by digit, Peyton gazes away from her wristlink and her eyes land on the skyline of Trustfall Center. The towers at the horizon reach for the starfield beyond the atmosphere as the sun nears its vanishing point. Thanks to her, those towers will remain at the horizon, and thanks to Eva, the skyline will be saved. No one will die at their desks. No one will if it's up to her and Eva. With her blaster clenches in her hands, Peyton feels determined to mow them all down. For the skyline of Trustfall Center. For Eva.