Prison Break

"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Space Near Cloud City

An imperial shuttle smoothly exited hyperspace, the triangular form gliding through empty space. On sensors was a small, plain looking station, a larger landing station. It was a wider square shape, similar to the Cardan-class space station. It tapered to a point at the bottom, and the walls sloped up to a flat top. Not as big, but if one wasn't looking, they might have missed the listening post. Lyle, dressed in an officer uniform, wore an eyepatch to help his disguise, his hair gelled down to try to avoid any attention.

He looked at the security camera to see Christina awkwardly sitting there in storm trooper armor, clearly mumbling under her breath as she looked at the door to the cockpit. Lyle wanted to chuckle, the Zeltron having already said it smelled, but they had to have her along, so it wasn't like any of them had a choice. Marie and Allelujah were looking down at the ground, ready to go. The plan was not their favorite, but they would have to go along with it.

Lyle's voice echoed in the back, "Time to get shackled up. Can't have them suspect something is up." Christina stood up, and began to put binds on the two Jedi, heavy shackles on their hands as they rested behind them. The upper half of their palms were free, and Christina gave both an apologetic look, which both of them just nodded at. Marie jiggled her wrists, seeing how tight they were.

Their mouths were bound, and Christina made sure it was tight enough to fool the enemy, but not enough to hurt. Marie sank into the force, focusing as she tried to scan for her father. Her mind reached out, but the vastness of space was seemingly too much as she couldn't find him. Finding a force sensitive person was hard enough, and her father was far from that.

Christina opened the door to the cockpit, holding her helmet in one hand, "They are all good." Her voice shook with nervousness, the Zeltron swallowing heavily as she could see Lyle's confidence.

"Good. Our codes have been approved, though I'm pretty sure they are going to greet us." Christina bit her lip, and Lyle grinned, "Now get that helmet on and give Setsuna the signal." Christina nodded and put on the helmet, sighing as she gagged a bit putting it on. She moved to the back door, knocking on it three times. Two knocks were the response, and she smiled for the first time in a while. 'We can do this. We can do this!'

The shuttle began to slow down, and the wings rose as Lyle guided them into the hanger of the small station. There wasn't a lot of room for them, only a squadron of TIE Fighters ready to be launched. A few cargo containers filled the room, and just as he suspected, there was an imperial officer with two stormtroopers behind them. The shuttle landed with a hiss, and Lyle gave one last command, "Time to act natural!"

He stood up and exited the cockpit, grabbing Allelujah's cuffs while Christina grabbed Marie's. They nodded their heads like they were woozy, groans leaving them as they were brought down the boarding ramp. Lyle confidently led them down the ramp as the older officer looked at them, eyes wide as he looked at Marie, "You caught the traitor already?"

Lyle just grinned, "Yes. Wasn't easy, but gas can really get to them." Allelujah coughed hard, falling forward a little until Christina caught him. The man looked a bit star struck for a second and gestured for them to get off the ramp and for the stormtroopers to relax.

"I just need to check your IDs." Both easily let him do that, and the scan reported their fake names. He looked at Lyle, "Ian Bar'soom. A bit far from your assignment."

"My superior told me to bring the prisoners here, as we didn't have any holding facilities there. He recommended this place as a very secure spot." The officer just smiled for a second and then a stern expression came back as he looked at them. Lyle wanted to smirk. 'Imperials are too easy to butter up.'

"Well, if he recommended me, then why should I say no?" He gestured to the two bound Jedi, "Men, bring them to be processed. And Ian, you need to tell me how you did this."

Lyle chuckled and spoke the story he had practiced. He and a team of twelve men had found them at an old factory. The owner of it had long since been lost, but after a few men had died, they gassed them out, knocking them out after the pair had been locked in a vault. A few more men had been injured in that attack, but they were recovering. Lyle could only hope they bought the story, and he added a bit more to the sugar of this trap, "And I am happy to give you a cut of the bounty."

The officer's eyes lit up, and the Jedi could sense the rising greed flowing from the man. Marie let out a silent huff and wanted to roll her eyes. 'This is why people like me exist. The shamelessness.' This was a pattern repeated more than she could say, and yet more greedy men and women took places of power, even if they were incompetent. The hallways were the same, plain colors and standard construction. That oppressive design echoed through the place, and the rebels could swear they were being watched.

Yet the man ate the story up, and the group quickly made their way through the hallways leading to the cellblock. The hallways were bare of men, and Marie had to guess there were no more than a dozen men here based on the size and location. She counted on her hands, hoping Christina or Lyle would catch that. She couldn't look behind her, so she just had to trust her instincts.

Lyle was also keeping his eyes out and had to suppress a chuckle as Christina copied the other stormtroopers as best she could. She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. If she couldn't be a good soldier, there was no reason to make anyone question her. Lyle's conversation continued, and as they neared the turbolift, the rebels saw a sign that pointed to the security room, which also said authorized personnel only.

Lyle kept a silent tab on that and as they reached the turbolift, the officer stopped them, "We can take it from here. You are free to stay here for a while. Just don't go anywhere you aren't authorized."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Lyle pulled out a small device and handed it to the man, "This will unlock their cuffs." The man took it and the two Jedi fake glared at them, getting tugged roughly by the two stormtroopers. The door closed, and Marie could feel the officer's eyes on her. 'Not only greedy, but a pig too.' She just stayed silent as the elevator hummed.

Allelujah looked at them and shivered. Memories of being caught and imprisoned echoed through his mind, but he closed his eyes and let the force flow through him. The Jedi Code repeated through his mind, the instinctive habit soothing his fears. 'There is no emotion, there is peace.' The lack of a sidearm or lightsaber left him feeling naked, but they just had to bide their time. If there was one thing he knew, it was that they had a plan.

The floor read Cell Block A, and Marie could sense someone in the cells as they were shoved forward. The officer slammed his blaster into the back of Allelujah's head, and he grimaced as he resisted the pain, "Get moving, Jedi scum!"

The pair walked down the hallway, passing by a checkpoint who waved them through. A bored looking woman sat in a booth, reading something on a pad. Her eyes followed the Jedi as they passed by, and the Echani just noted to keep track of her. Those eyes shined with intelligence, and Marie looked to see if there was any way in, and it looked like there was a door behind her. It also looked like she could close the shutters like a barrier.

A complication, but one they could deal with. And their target was finally in sight as they were shoved into a room with a row of cells, and behind a force cage was Sergei. He was bruised and covered in dust, wearing a prisoner jumpsuit, "Well Admiral, it seems we caught your little daughter. It seems she wanted to join you."

His taunting voice reached the older man, who growled, "Marie, I was trying to save you. You shouldn't have come!" Marie just narrowed her eyes and tapped the cuffs three times with her foot. Allelujah looked impressed at her flexibility, and blushed slightly, and after a few seconds, both of their cuffs fell to the ground.

Marie removed her gag, and with pursed lips, she ripped off her gag, "Oh I'm not the one trapped here." With a tensing of her muscles, she was on the first man as she shoulder-checked him into the ground, aiming an elbow at his neck. He choked as the wind was knocked out of him, and the other stormtrooper was thrown onto him, a leg hitting his head. The other man tried to raise his gun, but Marie kicked it away, Allelujah grabbing it and shooting the officer in the chest.

He crumpled to the ground, and the alarm started to blare. The sound of shutters echoed through the halls as the force cage was cut out. Allelujah looked at Marie, "I'll keep an eye on the hallway. You see how good your father is!" He moved to the corner, blaster at the ready as the Echani rushed over to her adoptive father.

"Are you alright?"

Sergei coughed, and stood up, "I'm fine. But you shouldn't have rescued me. I would have died to keep you safe."

"Well, I won't let you do that. If I had been captured, you would do the same!" Emotion welled in her chest, and she hugged him as he let out a light grunt of pain. She let go, and saw purple on his collarbone, "We need to get you out of here."

"Who is we?"

Marie could hear the clatter of boots, and she moved forward, throwing him a gun, "You know those rebels that I was hunting? It turns out they are willing to help for you defecting or at least giving intel."

Sergei was about to respond, when blaster bolts hit the wall, coming from the direction of the hallway. Allelujah peaked around the corner and saw a squad of stormtroopers at the end of it. Peeking out, he took aim, barely missing one of them, "Good news and bad news. The hallways are narrow so we can easily cover it. Bad news? I don't think there is another way out of here."

Sergei looked at the burn marks, and saw the rifle was full, "I'll follow you, but I assume they have backup for you?"

Marie nodded, "Yes. And I think that the security booth has a way up. We need to hold them off so we can get in." More blaster bolts were exchanged as Sergei took cover, Marie using the officer's pistol to join them. Sounds echoed through the hallway, adding to the blaring alarm. The room was red due to the flashing lights, and the Jedi let the force guide them when they should poke out and fire.

Sergei could see the booth had a bulkhead slide over it, and groaned, "Unless either of you have explosives, I don't think we are getting through that."

"Then we are waiting for backup then!" Allelujah sniped one of the men, but he swore another soldier just took his place.

Administration Level

As the two Jedi were brought to the cells, Lyle and Christina headed in the direction of the security office. He hoped that they were allowed, otherwise they would be in trouble. He stood straight and walked with a confident gait, hoping it would get them past anyone who tried to challenge them. This whole station was strangely empty, and if Marie was correct, there couldn't be much more than a dozen men here.

Good for them, but also meant it was harder to just blend in. Christina spoke quietly, "When we get to the door, I need you to cover me. This armor means it's just that much harder for me to get in." With the seeming acceptance of their cover, she could relax a bit, "You think he would give you any of that bounty?"

Their boots clacked as they got closer to the security door, "Probably not, but who expects imperial officers to ever act nice to each other." He smiled as the sliding door was in front of them, closed. There was a pad on the outside, with numbers one through nine on it. Christina nodded and pulled a device out of one of the pouches on her belt, plugging it into the device.

Lyle spotted a camera at the end of the hall, and placed himself in front of her, hiding her as he spoke quietly, "Make it quick."

"Why don't you hack the door?" Christina grunted under her breath, and Lyle whistled as he waited for their tech expert to break through. Christina scanned the device, breaking through security as he narrowed her focus. It was a hard lock, but not hard enough to be impossible. The camera rotated between an L shaped connection, Lyle playing with the loop that held his holster in place.

'This is where it could mess up. Where it could go wrong.' A few minutes passed, and there was a ding, "Got it!" Christina nodded at him, and pressed the device, opening the door. Lyle slid into the room, blaster raised as he saw two imperial engineers, who turned to see him. One was a pale young man, while the other was an older woman. They raised their arms, "What is going on?"

"You are both hostages of the Rebel Alliance." He shifted his gun between both the soldiers, Christina aiming unsteadily to keep up the image. She closed the door behind them, and looked at the security station, with feeds from several cameras. The older woman was at a smaller station, working at some report before she was stopped. The room was overall small, a bit cramped, though it was comfortable.

The woman looked between the two of them, "Don't shoot us. We will cooperate." The two exchanged a look, and Lyle gestured with his gun, "You are going to put down the force barriers in the cells. And jam all communications." He could see on security that Marie and Allelujah had been brought to the cells, and he made sure to keep an eye on that.

Christina added on, "You also will delete any interrogation records."

The young man looked at that them, "But…that is against protocol!"

Lyle grinned, "Being held hostage by rebels also is probably against protocol. Or giving into our demands. But it's either that or your life." He tightened his finger on the trigger, and the young man nodded. The older woman began to work as Lyle turned his attention to her. The rebels watched them work, the pair of imperials occasionally looking at each other. Lyle looked suspiciously between the two of them, keeping his trigger finger ready. The cell was shut down, but the alarm blared as someone clearly set off the alarm.

In this chaos, the young man jumped out of his seat and charged at Christina, him only feet away. The older woman tried to go for Lyle's gun, but he took a step back and aimed a shot, a stun blast hitting them in the chest. Christina was frozen, but the young man was hit as well. Both imperial slumped to the ground, and the Corellian shook his head, "They are lucky that I was feeling merciful. Chris, get on security."

Christina nodded and jumped onto the mainframe station. She grimaced as a small squadron of TIE Fighters had been called for support and rooted through the computer for records. It wasn't hard to find as the woman had stayed logged in, and she scanned through it. Nena's agent was easy to find, and the data was still uncracked. She bit her lip, and then popped in a device to copy the data. 'No one will know, and at the very least Alliance command will know.' Nena could die for all she cared, but at the very least it would look like it was deleted.

She began to clear the files of everything, wiping any data she could find. And she made sure it couldn't be recovered, infecting the data to make it basically useless. She smiled at that and took control of the elevator. She gave a thumbs up to Lyle, "Send him in."

Lyle just activated comms, "Get going Exia!" He looked at Christina, "So do we need to stay here, or can we make a break for the ship?" He looked at the security feed and saw all the soldiers were focused on the cell block.

"Yes. Reinforcements should be here any minute and you need to get the ship prepped." Christina stood up and began to move towards the door, deleting any security footage. Lyle followed behind, trying to ignore the security alarm as they ran back to the ship.

Cell Block

While the alarm blared, the two Jedi and imperial officer had managed to get another soldier. Yet a few more had joined them, and no opening had been made. No grenades had been thrown, and Marie had been waiting for that. She didn't know if it could break the bulkhead, but it would be better than nothing.

She took careful aim and was about to shoot when there was a groaning sound echoing from the security booth. A few inches of a blade were poking through, and it buckled as the blade with a blue go formed a circle. Allelujah couldn't help but smile, "It's Exia!" And with a clang as it hit the wall, the force user looked at them, he nodded, "Get moving, I'll be right behind."

Grabbing the metal, he hovered it in the air, glancing down the hall to throw it into the group of soldiers. The stormtroopers moved out of the way as Setsuna used the chaos to step into the hallway, blade posed in front of him as he charged them, everyone moving in slow motion. He tossed the handle of the lightsaber to Allelujah, who caught it on instinct.

Seeing this, Sergei nodded, "Let's go!" He had no idea who this was, but that was an opening. The three of them dove through the hole, Allelujah seeing the door open with stairs leading up. He heard slicing and cries below, but he trusted the younger man to win this.

Setsuna sliced through the first man as he raised his gun, cutting through his chest like butter. The next man was sent flying into the wall with the crack of armor, and Setsuna looked at the next target, a calmness in his eyes, the trooper taking a few steps back.

Author Note

Our prisoner is rescued, and a plan mostly went to plan. Ignoring an alarm or two. Sergei might make it, and it's fun to see our team really succeed at something. They still have Ribbons to go, but our team still needs to escape, and we'll see next time! Please review and comment, and I'll see you guys' next time!