The Mine Raid Pt. 2

"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Security Office

The imperial officer's body slumped to the ground as Setsuna pulled his sword out of the man's chest. The security office was fairly small, a bank of security monitors and control panel against one wall, along with a series of tall servers on the back wall. Security had been light reaching the security office, the monitors showing a large amount of security heading to his team's location. Plugging in the device Christina gave him, he called out to her through the comms, "Christina, get as many records as you can. I'll try to help out the team."

"Understood." He heard her knuckles crack, "This should only take a minute." Her voice was full of confidence, very much in her element.

"Keep me updated." Letting Christina get on her task, he studied the controls, trying to find the location of his team. He rotated through the various security cameras, no team in sight. There was the sounds of a fight occasionally, and he growled under his breath as he finally found the right camera.

They had made makeshift cover as the door in front of them was closed, a dozen stormtroopers coming from a large security door, his team having to keep their heads down. None of them looked seriously hurt, but they were picking the enemy off slowly, though they usually had a small window of opportunity to attack the imperials. Searching through the controls in front of him, he found a button to close the door behind the stormtroopers, checking to make sure there were no enemies behind the security door near the team before he opened that.

A half-grin came to his face as the door closed behind the imperials, a grenade exploding in their ranks. Lyle's voice came through the comms, "Good job! Destroy what you can, then rejoin us. We are getting back to the ship."

"Got it." The three rebels retreated down the hallway, leaving Setsuna alone in the room. Closing the other security door, he began to place the small amount of explosives he had on the security monitor and servers, ready to blow when he left. But a harsh, female voice echoed from the console.

"This is Captain Mannequin! What is going on?! Why are you helping the rebels?!"

Setsuna spoke evenly, "Your man is dead. You need better security."

A growl came from the other side, a cold anger in the woman's voice, "It seems I do." The voice cut out and Setsuna could tell that he would have trouble soon.

Calling up Christina, he made sure she knew that needed to get moving in his tone, "Christina, how close are you?"

Her voice was chipper, "Only need a few more seconds, Exia. Issues?"

"Their security knows I'm here." He looked to the door, waiting to hear the telltale sign of it opening. He pulled out his blaster pistol in one hand, vibrodagger in the other.

"And done!" Without any hesitation, Setsuna ripped the device out of the security console. Heading to the door, he pressed the button to open it, peeking into the hallway. The hallway he was exiting went to the right a short distance, before it turned ninety degrees. To the left was the way he came from, which unfortunately was blocked by an imperial officer and two stormtroopers, the officer holding a blaster pistol aimed at the security room doom, the stormtroopers doing the same with their blaster rifles. The young officer had striking red hair, a pointed chin and purple eyes that shone with arrogance. His officer uniform showed he was a lieutenant and it had very little awards on it. 'He must be just out of the academy.'

"Come out rebel scum. I, Patrick Colasour and my men are willing to take you in without hurting you too badly." He definitely sounded young, and his voice grated on Setsuna's nerves. A blaster bolt shot hit the frame of the door, and Setsuna took a deep breath. 'Great, an arrogant imperial officer. But there's only three of them. But they have the drop on me. What do I do?'

Focusing and closing his eyes, he centered himself. Feldt had said these powers were a part of himself, so now was as good a time as any to try it out. Focusing on that sensation of speed that he had used before, the force thrummed through him. He wanted to bask in it, but he needed to find his team, before he could be outnumbered.

Patrick, not hearing a response from the rebel, called out again, "Time's ticking rebel. I think I'll enjoy forcing you to-"

"Get out of the way." Setsuna's voice echoed in the hall as he shot out of the room, the world moving ever so slower. Blasters were raised and the blaster bolts left the stormtroopers rifles, but Setsuna found it easier to dodge them, his mind telling him a second before they would have hit him. The Kiffar make up the distance between him and the men in record time, charging at a stormtrooper on the left.

His knife found the exposed neck of the stormtrooper, the man throwing an elbow at Setsuna's head, which he dodged with relative ease, deflecting the swing with his knife arm. Dying gasps came from the man as he slumped in Setsuna's arms, Patrick's eyes wide with fear. The other trooper took aim at Setsuna, who positioned the dying man to take the next blaster bolt, the heat of the blast apparent even through another body.

Setsuna's blasters barked in response, hitting the man dead in the chest, a black mark where the bolt hit him. Another body slumped to the floor as he threw the now dead man in his arms at the officer, who wheeled back as the larger trooper feel down ontop of him, smacking Patrick right on the head. With the sound of a crack as the two men hit the floor, the officer's pistol clattering on the floor, Setsuna looked around for more threats.

He was immediately aware of something coming, his senses telling him a larger threat was coming, his force senses pinging. He took a deep breath, and a sense of fatigue rushed through him all at once. 'Using the force must be a drain on you. Guess I'll have to be careful about its use.'

The sounds of several boots heading towards the right turn he saw earlier filled his ears. Gathering his energy, he took off on the route to head back to the ship, hoping his team was alright, detonating the charges in the room behind him. 'Let's see what they think of that.'

Equipment Room

"Door is open! Get moving!" Tieria and Allelujah looked away from the dwindling stormtroopers at Lyle's voice, though more footsteps were heading from the southern door. And without a word, Tieria threw a smoke grenade, flooding the hallway with obscuring smoke, the inaccurate blaster fire cutting through it, lighting it red wherever it went through.

The three men dashed out of the room, Tieria providing covering fire before taking up the rear of the men. Tieria's blaster whirred, the volume of fire keeping enemy heads down, though a few blasts hit his armor, leaving scorch marks as it managed to absorb all of the energy. They weren't out of the woods yet, and they could hear voices coming from around them, footsteps and blaster fire coming from around them. The only benefit they had right now was resistance was disorganized, the men they were facing clearly not prepared for an attack like this.

Tieria yelled at the two, "We need a distraction!" Disorganized or not, they needed to keep the imperials off edge. 'There are too many potential enemies between us and our escape.'

Lyle looked to Allelujah, "Blow it!"

"Got it!" Allelujah clicked a button, and an explosion rocked the base, knocking the men off their feet as the entire structure shook. The room they were in was out of sight by this point, but none of them would want to be in their right now.

Choking smoke from the direction they came from began to drift through the hallways, adding to the chaos. The alarm was still blaring and voices were calling out; the cacophony of noise that worked to their advantage.

Lyle opened communications, "Feldt, is our way clear?"

The Miralukan responded in a nervous tone, "The way is clear, but enemy troop movements are unknown. The communications we have tapped into are a mix of orders and yelling. Get moving before they recover."

"Thank you. We'll be there soon."

Tieria glared at Lyle through his helmet, his voice full of restrained anger, "This is your fault. You just had to avoid being seen by the enemy and now we are in this shit."

Lyle's lips were a thin line as he narrowed his eyes at the heavily armed rebel, looking where Tieria's eyes were behind the helmet, "Now is not the time to deal with this. We need to get to the ship, unless you want all of us to die."

Tieria broke the staring content after a few seconds, walking ahead of the group, body tense, "Fine. But I will be sending this failure to rebel command." Lyle contemplated shooting him in the back, but as if Allelujah could sense his thoughts, the heterochromatic rebel grabbed his upper arm lightly and shook his head.

Taking a deep breath, Lyle realized he was thinking rashly. 'How I'm going to tolerate him for the next several months, I have no idea.' The three men then began that desperate rush through the halls, squads and groups coming from hallways and doors, and they were trying to get a grasp on the situation. Blaster fire echoed through the hallways, the imperials keeping their heads down as the rebels barreled through their defenses.

Hallways blended together, Feldt's voice guiding them down the proper route. It was hard to focus on anything, adrenaline pumping through all three rebels. Allelujah wondered where Setsuna was. 'Hope he was as good as Lyle seems to think he is.' He had been quiet for a while, and a soldier on his own in the middle of an imperial base generally meant a bad time for them,

Thankfully, they managed to get to their goal without too much damage to themselves, though Lyle could swear he would need bacta from the grazing blasts that had come his way. Tieria's armor was also battered, the purple-haired man grumbling every time he was hit. The same could not be said of the imperials, several bodies along the way showing proof that they were not ready for this. Allelujah grimly looked back at the body of one of the soldiers. 'Intel was definitely right that these men were not well-trained and disciplined.'

All three men eventually reached junction right before the one where the team split up, the path to the north the way Setsuna came from. It was fairly plain, no real cover or objects besides a few benches to sit and a desk in the middle of the room. Back in the rear again, Tieria smashed the control console on the other side, jumping through the closing door. The three men, finally able to catch their breath, took stock of their situation. They could hear no footsteps coming from the way Setsuna came from. There was a sliding door across them, the second-to-last door before they could enter the hallway to the hidden hangar.

Taking advantage of the break, Lyle called up Setsuna, "Setsuna, how close are you?"

Setsuna's voice was a bit rushed, fatigue in his voice, "Should be at the entrance to the hangar in a minute. Will keep you updated. The enemy behind has peeled off to put out the fire in the control room."

"Good. Stay alive." Relief filled his voice as he was happy to hear the young man in good condition. He had survived worse than this, but proof was always good.

"I don't intend to die yet." The line went dead as Lyle looked at the others, gesturing towards the door out. Allelujah nodded and as he approached the door, the sound of several footsteps approached it, in a calm and collected manner. The three men found what cover they could, knocking over the desk and benches to create makeshift cover. Tieria took cover behind the desk, the other two men behind benches. Guns were raised as they waited for the enemy to come through the door, wondering who the hell this could be.

But to their shock, the door wasn't opened like normal. With the sound of an explosion, the door broke apart and shot into the room, shooting over Tieria's head and hitting the sealed door, denting the metal. Smoke leaked into the room as smoke grenades went off. Several people entered the room, four of them sounding like the stormtroopers they had been facing before, but one was lighter. Forms began to appear as the imperials exited the smoke, four obvious stormtroopers, and one looked like a female officer.

She had a thinner form, officer hat on her head, no weapon in her hands. The woman was the first to step out of the smoke, an even look on her face. Her hair was white, neck uncovered as it sat under her officer cap. Her form was lithe with a modest bust, which was hidden under her uniform that marked her as imperial military intelligence. She was moderately curvy, and her yellow eyes looked into the room, not able to see Tieria, but could see the other two, Allelujah's eyes wide as he took her in. Two long strands of hair hung in her face, three horizontal bands of hair above her forehead.

Stormtroopers came up and formed behind her, her voice echoing with command, "Surrender rebels. I promise you will be treated better if you just give up now." She raised her arms, and the imperial troops raised their guns.

With a cheeky grin, Lyle responded, "Nuts! Not to some unarmed officer."

The woman just shook her head, "So be it." She looked at her troops, "Take them alive if possible, but don't hold back."

"Understood, ma'am." The squad spread out as the three men began to open fire, joined by the imperial troops. Lyle and Allelujah shot at the stormtroopers, shots going back and forth between the two groups, Lyle getting a lucky shot hitting one, but that was quickly replied by a bolt hitting his thigh, searing pain shooting through him as he grunted.

Tieria, meanwhile, line up his blaster on the officer, letting loose a barrage of fire as she kept a step ahead of him, gracefully running as a slight smirk crossed her face. Tieria narrowed his eyes, wondering who this woman was. She was nearly in melee reach of him within seconds, having jumped over the desk and behind him with a flip, so he swung his Z-6 at her, hoping the weight of the weapon would stun her for a second.

But she dodged under his attack with the grace of a dancer, kicking the gun from his hands with a solid kick to his hand, pain blooming where she hit, "You are going to have to try harder than that." Tieria growled, throwing a punch with his other fist, but she easily deflected that, bringing her knee to knock Tieria into the overturned desk, knocking the wind out of Tieria.

Lyle looked on with wonder and fear at this officer, and his eyes met Allelujah's, who seemed to show some recognition. Allelujah pointed towards the woman, ducking as a blaster bolt seared over his head, and Lyle got the silent message that he wanted to handle her. He nodded, taking out another trooper by nailing the imperial's arm with a shot as he began covering fire. 'As much as I enjoy Tieria getting pummeled, I still need him.'

Seeing the fire being drawn to Lyle, who was sweating from the attention, Allelujah dived towards the woman now standing over Tieria, taking her by surprise as he landed on top of her, Tieria now free to catch his breath and assist Lyle. Looking down at the woman who snarled at him, her hat having fallen off, showing a tight bun on the back of her head, he tried to grapple her, but she recovered in less than a second, a knee to Allelujah's guts as he was forced to let her go, the woman rolling away from him.

He stood up, glancing over the woman, memories rushing through his head. 'Marie?' She had the same face, eyes and hair as his old friend, but her stern glare and aggressive demeanor left him confused. 'Marie did say she had identical cousins.' Frustratingly, her neck was covered, leaving him more desperate to know.

The white-haired woman narrowed her eyes, "Rule number one: Don't get distracted." He wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself, but he didn't have long to think on it. She threw a punch, which Alle was barely able to dodge, returning with one of his own, clipping her shoulder as she dodged out of the way.

The two exchanged more blows, her smooth and dancer-like movements hiding how hard she really did hit, Allelujah feeling lucky his armor was able to keep his core protected. In contrast, Allelujah's attacks were more like a trained brawler, having been learned from years of survival, along with some muscle memory of fight training when he was a child and teenager. Kicks and punches from her were partially defected, Allelujah receiving the brunt of them, though he did get some solid hits in, the woman grunting in pain at each blow. In particular, the blows to his ribs were starting to add up.

Allelujah breathed hard, every breath bringing a hint of pain, his ribs definitely bruised by this point. She was better than him, and his straining body could not hold out for much longer. 'I need to use them. I have no…' A haunting laugh echoed in his mind, and any thoughts related to his previous notion fled. He couldn't, not now.

The woman was breathing a bit hard as well, but she definitely looked in better shape than he was. Her hair was messier, strands loose. The white-haired imperial blew some of the strands out of her face, looking at Allelujah with a hint of respect, "You're good, but you know you can't win. Surrender now and I won't break both of your legs."

Allelujah just sighed, "I can't. I have to get my team out of here, and as long as I can stand, I'll fight." The woman's eyes widened for a second at his words, but quickly went back to a narrowed look. Alle looked over to see Tieria gun down the last two stormtroopers from her squad, an angry glare on his face as his blaster pistol was drawn. Lyle was hunched over in pain, but he looked at the woman in front of him, "Let us go and I'll spare you."

"Never." She threw a punch at blinding speed, hitting Allelujah in the arm, knocking him to the ground as she was poised to grab him. Tieria was about to call out in anger at his teammates' stupid decision, aiming his gun at the woman, but he was beaten to the punch as she was thrown into a wall by an invisible force, a heavy smack as she hit a wall, knocked unconcious as she slumped against the wall. The three rebels looked to see Setsuna with his arm out, breathing heavy, his eyes closed.

Lyle looked at Setsuna with absolute shock, Tieria's eyes narrowed. Tieria's voice was harsh, "When were you going to tell us you had the force?"

Setsuna looked at the purple-haired man, "I will explain later. We need to get out of here now." He could see the officer slumped on the wall beginning to open her eyes, and the three men realized their time was short. Tieria grabbed his Z-6 blaster, happy to see no serious damage on it. He took aim at the downed officer, but Allelujah put a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to stop. Tieria glared at him, finger on the trigger, but both were distracted when Lyle called out to all of them, "Let's get moving. I'm sure we aren't clear just yet."

The Vagabond

Christina and Feldt were both shaken when a call came through the comms from Lyle, "Warm up the ship! We are leaving!" Both jumped to position, Feldt running to the engine room while the Zeltron began the startup sequence, flipping switches as the engine lights fully lit up.

Rapid footsteps echoed onto the ship as the men ran onto the bridge, Christina seeing some of them looked a bit roughed up, Allelujah noticeably missing. Her eyes widened with concern when she saw the limp Lyle walked with, a hand on his side, "Lyle, are you ok? And where's Allelujah?"

He waved her off, trying to look casual, but a wince undermined that, "I got some bacta. Just a minor blaster hit. And Allelujah needs more than me, so he's in the medbay." He grabbed the controls, "We good to launch?"

Christina called to the engine room, "Feldt, are we good?"

Feldt's voice echoed on the bridge, "All set! But the stealth system is being fiddly right now. Trying to get it running now."

Lyle responded to her, "Focus on that. Christina can keep tabs on our systems." He then turned to Setsuna and Tieria, "Get on the guns. Without stealth, we will have TIE fighters crawling up our ass."

Both men nodded, running to the back of the bridge. They grabbed the controls of the guns, their displays showing the visuals of each gun and a small radar display. And gunning the engines, Lyle shot out of the secret hanger, hugging an asteroid as he hoped to avoid the fighter defenses. He needed to get out of the asteroid field to use hyperdrive.

But unfortunately, Lyle could see four sensor blips as the infamous imperial TIE Fighters were headed to their location, their ion engines screaming. The Corellian breathed through his nose and pushed the Vagabond past the imperial fighters, the agile machines quickly following behind them.

The only advantage he had right now was the fact they were surrounded by asteroids, so the enemy couldn't fully surround them. But TIE Fighters were much more maneuverable than his girl, but he could definitely get them out of trouble. He began to pull hard turns around asteroids, everyone on the ship feeling the G's that Lyle was generating.

Tieria and Setsuna began to open fire, the enemy fighters dodging and weaving as the blaster fire blew chunks of rock of the asteroids. Buckled into to the seats, Lyle's hard maneuvers made it hard to aim at the enemy, Tieria swearing under his breath as he narrowly missed one of the TIE Fighters.

Shots impacted the ship, and Lyle could see the shields going down steadily as more and more hits impacted the hull, "Some kills would be nice!" Gripping the controls tightly, he pulled the ship into a barrel roll, pulling around an asteroid as the TIEs followed him. But one of them pulled too far to the right, hitting into the asteroid, sparking then exploding. 'Yes! One down, three to go.'

Christina shook her head at Lyle's usual antics, but concern once again filled her eyes as she saw him grunt in pain at the tight maneuver. 'Why is he always like this?' Feldt barely managed to hold on as the stealth drive continued to fail to activate.

And with a lucky burst, Setsuna, letting the force flow through him, nailed another one of the TIE Fighters, the machine crashing into another asteroid, narrowly avoiding his squadron mate. Lyle let out a sigh of relief, happy to have less pressure on him, though he still had two TIEs on his six.

Tieria yelled over comms, "Stop turning so wide! I need to get a shot!"

Lyle chuckled and responded, "Setsuna managed to get a kill. Why can't you?" Tieria growled in response, sending out a long burst that clipped one of the two remaining TIE Fighters, sheering off its wing as it flew off into space.

The Corellian kept his head, pulling a high reverse turn as he charged toward the TIE, focusing the shields to the front as he took the shots head on. He could feel the ship shake from the impact, but a lock on tone told him the concussion missiles had locked onto the TIE, two missiles streaking out of the Vagabond, hitting the wing and cockpit of the imperial fighter.

The wreck of the TIE hit the Vagabond, hitting the shield, but leaving it strong enough to block a few more hits. Lyle, taking a deep breath, called to the engine room, "How is the stealth drive looking?" He could see on long range sensors that another group of TIEs was heading their way.

Feldt's voice was strained and annoyed, "This system is being…" He heard a clunk then an activation noise, "Working…apparently. Turning it on now."

"Sounds like the girl." With the press of a button, the ship disappeared from sensors, Lyle pulling off the throttle. Moving away from the area to get some distance, he could see the TIEs approaching their old spot. 'You poor bastards.'

Reaching the open space, he punched the hyperdrive, giving the imperials one last middle finger before they disappeared from the system, happy they achieved some measure of success.

Author Note

And we end the big event of Act 1! We aren't done yet, but Act 2 will be entered soon, so I hope you guys are excited for that!

I'll see you guys next time, and please review and comment!