CHAPTER 15 – A Pivotal Choice

After turning over the murder suspects, the rest of the crew headed back to the Crescent Dancer to reconvene and discuss the situation with Nis's relatives being forced into indentured service to the Empire while in dangerous conditions.

Everyone got together in the crew lounge for another meeting. Wazhay waited until everyone was seated and began the discussion. "Alright. I have filled Ruu in on what we heard about Nis's aunt and uncle. Nis, understandably, has considerable interest in trying to do something and I'm not going to stand in his way. This will be a volunteer only op. This operation is different. This isn't the same as the Empire possibly suspecting we aided a fugitive, this is likely going to put us on the radar for high crimes, insurrection and more."

She saw Trest open his mouth and she cut him off with a gesture. "Wait. Just listen for now. I do not want anyone to answer based on your emotions right now. Emotions are fine, but we can't be ruled by them. Helping people is noble, but heroes usually end up dying. You need to take some time to process the ramifications of what you decide. Take an hour, sit in your bunk or wherever you can to find some solace and then everyone will let us know who will go on this mission to the Imperial mine facility and rescue Jin'tak and any others there that are being held against their will. This will be the most dangerous mission we have ever done, by a wide margin. We're not going up against criminals and thugs, we will be facing well trained soldiers, some of them will be combat veterans. Do not take this lightly, because our lives are going to be a lot more difficult and being a member of this crew will be in much greater danger going forward if we somehow pull this off. There will be no hard feelings to those who do not volunteer, or decide to leave the crew. You didn't sign up for this, so I will not hold anything against you if you choose to resign your position. Again, don't pledge yourself until the hour is up then we will discuss our plan of action for the volunteers. That includes Puhl and you Ruu, you don't have to be involved either. I can fly the ship, so don't feel obligated. Anyone leaving the crew will get paid transport fees off-world, and anyone staying out of the op will have local hotel's charges paid. Alright, see you in an hour."

An hour later on the dot, the crew made their way back to the lounge and stood around. Everyone watched each other trying to decipher who was going and who was not. It was a solemn moment as the weight of this turning point in their status will be forever changed.

The Twi'lek captain stood in the middle of the room and announced. "Alright. We'll begin by starting with the newest crewmembers and work our way back to the oldest. As I am responsible for my crew, I will join in this op, even if it's just me and Nis. Even though he is very new, by bringing him in and pledging to support him as he supports me in the missions I choose. I would do this for any of you as well."

She turned to Nis, and before she could even ask, he blurted out his vote with fervor, "Let's go! I owe a great debt to all of those who are risking their lives to help me and my family."

Next up was Ayala. "I do not like what the Empire is doing to the people of this galaxy. Rescuing people from a dire situation and taking down some Imperials in the process may not make much of a scratch to them, but it will mean something worthwhile to me personally. We are taking a stand against tyranny."

Trest stepped forward next. "Our captain has put her trust in me. I always knew I might end up dying in the life of a smuggler or mercenary. It was bound to happen, but because of Wazhay and in part Nis as well, I have a purpose. I trust Wazhay because she does the right thing. If I die following my conviction, so be it. I'd rather go out doing the right thing than just existing and living in the shadows while others are suffering."

Puhl rubbed his bald head and took a deep breath. "I know that I was against the Empire finding us. That's still a concern and our lives are going to be affected by this. I am sure about that. But Wazhay has been a great leader and friend. I will not abandon her or the others in this crew. I can't say I like risking our necks like this, but if I were in Nis's boots, I'd be wishing my crewmates would do the same to help me." He sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I'm in."

Ruu was the last one. "I too, know that Wazhay has done much for me and I agree she is a very good leader. The best I've ever known. When she heard I had a bounty, she didn't even care the reason because she trusted in me that I was in the right for what happened. She never questioned me about it and stuck by me. I am sticking by her and all of you. Were in this together now. Come storms or fair weather, we're going to stick together as a team, an extended family."

The Bith bowed his head to the others. "Words are too insignificant to express my gratitude. I'm honored to have joined such an amazing group of people."

The Twi'lek was speechless as she met all of their eyes, and wiped away her tears and smiled to them. "Thank you all. I couldn't ask for a better crew." She added with a chuckle, "Even with Trest's grumbling."

The others all let out a few laughs and chuckles, and it lightened the mood. Even Nis flashed a smile, despite the circumstances.

The captain continued. "Well. Now that that's settled. Time to plan the rescue of our lives." She muttered under her breath facetiously, "no pressure."

Wazhay pulled up an image of a holoprojector near the bulkhead beside the corridor to the cockpit in the lounge compartment. It showed the bubbled city where they were in. She moved her hands and turned the holo-image of the city around. "Our first problem, and it's a big one, is we have no idea where these mines are. We don't even know if they are even in the same place each time."

Puhl interjected. "I believe that we can get a tracker for Nis's uncle. He can toss it on the side of the ship that is taking them to the mines. They might be able to find the tracker once they get there, but they won't know who put it there and we will have a signal we can trace and find the mining complex. I can't think of any other way to do this. We could possibly spy on Aunt Jharri's house, and follow the ship. Although based on the traffic patterns they do not allow travel along certain corridors through the city. The transports likely will not have to follow traffic flow and us following them would be detected and would be reported to the Imperial's air patrols around the city."

Wazhay had no objections. "I can't think of anything else, either. Does anyone have a better solution."

Nis's forehead creased as he tried to think of something better. His head turned from side to side and sighed. "I don't like this idea of waiting until Uncle Jin'tak comes back. He is already at risk. But you are both correct. Unfortunately, I don't see any other option. I will just have to say a prayer to the Great Spirit for my uncle to stay alive."

Ayala chimed in. "It's a very simple plan, and the easiest plans are the best at succeeding. Less room for error. The only danger is that Uncle Jin'tak needs to be clandestine when he attaches the bug."

The Twi'lek captain faced the others one by one and nobody spoke up. "Unless someone has an objection this will be our plan. Prepare yourselves. The mining complex will probably have blaster cannons or worse. Though if they have a ton of mines to protect, they likely won't go with full on turbo lasers for them all. We can handle anything else. If we do detect heavy weaponry, we can set down and take the speeder truck in. They will likely have a comm array. That will be our first target so they can't get out a call for help from the star destroyers."

The Bith stood up. "Very good. I like the plan. I would only suggest one thing. The toxic fog is thickest near the surface, so we need to stay as low as possible to avoid any Imperial patrols. We will have to travel slower as we won't be able to see or detect ground obstacles until the last few seconds. But with a tracker in place, speed is not critical."

The Twi'lek responded. "Good point, Nis. Ruu, it's up to you how fast you can go safely through the toxic fog. Now we need to get Auntie Jharri the tracker device and find out when the uncle returns from the mines next."

Nis grabbed his comm and called his aunt to inform her of their plan of action. "Aunt Jharri suggested if we have a scanner available, Uncle Jin'tak has a bracelet that tracks his movement. If you have something to scan the frequency of that device. You can jam it or we'll have to figure out a way to get it off without hurting the miners. We can also track him with it."

Puhl got to his feet. "I'll get a frequency scanner and bring it with us."

"No," Nis said holding up a hand. "It would be better that I go alone. One Bith traveling to visit family would be less conspicuous than bringing a bunch of off-worlders again. The Empire has spies and informants everywhere. Just show me how to operate the scanner and I'll get the info needed when my uncle returns. With your permission, I'd like to leave as soon as Puhl gives me the directions for the device."

"Of course, Nis. Good luck. Call us as soon as you get the data and hurry back."