CHAPTER ELEVEN
--Coruscant, present day--
"Kasra, if I told you once, I've told you a thousand times," muttered Heol Girdun, director of Galactic Alliance Intelligence, as he stepped out into the broad daylight that graced the ever-busy Galactic City. "I don't want anymore intel on the Imperial Remnant. They're not even remotely a threat to us."
"But General Loran said--"
"I don't care what Loran said," Girdun snapped. He scanned the parking lot for his personal airspeeder. He saw his pilot wave to him and he made his way towards the inexpensive silver and blue SoroSuub speeder. "Just stop sending me useless information. Is that clear?"
"But-"
"Is that clear, captain?"
"Yes, sir," Kasra replied.
"Good. It would pain me to let go of another operative." After ending the call, Girdun got into the speeder and sat next to the pilot. He didn't quite recognize the young human male, but given his youthful appearance, Girdun figured him to be a new hire.
"What's your name, son?" Girdun asked as he bucked himself in.
"Officer Tomm Windraker, sir."
Windraker. Sounds like another Tatooine farmboy. "This your first day on the job?"
"As your pilot? Yes, sir."
"You've had other jobs prior to this?"
"Yes, sir. As a taxi driver, sir."
Girdun held back a derisive snort. "So this is still your first day as an Alliance pilot, then."
Windraker looked confused. "Is there a difference, sir?"
"Only if you've never flown people of significance before." Girdun raised an eyebrow at the pilot. "Have you?"
The boy's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Uh, no, sir. Sorry, sir. It's been a long day, sir."
Girdun waved dismissively. "Forget it. You know how to get to the Galaxies Opera House, Windraker?"
The boy nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Take me there."
* * *
"The rancor is in the cage. Repeat: the rancor is in the cage."
As soon as Myri's voice had come over the comlink, Wallen was already leaving the hotel room he had been waiting in with the Wraiths Drikall Bessarah and Wran Narcassan.
"Copy that, Gambler Girl," Wallen responded. "Moving into position now." He then looked to the other two. "You guys ready?"
They both nodded.
"Then let's do this."
* * *
The speeder hadn't gotten far from its original location when it unexpectedly started to slow down upon hitting the speed limit.
Girdun glanced at Windraker, who didn't seem to notice it at all. Clearing his throat, he said, "Er, officer, you seem to be slowing down."
"Am I?" The boy glanced at the speedometer before applying his foot to the pedal, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I tend to get a bit overly cautious whenever I have people of importance in my vehicle."
Girdun chortled. "Ah, think nothing of it."
The speeder started to accelerate and Girdun leaned back in his seat... until a thought crossed his mind. He turned to the pilot and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Wait," he said gruffly. "I thought you said you've never flown anyone significant before."
The boy simply stared at him and Girdun's suspicion started to grow. Before he could say anything else however, a dart shot from above and went into his neck. As the director of intelligence slumped unconscious, Tomm Windraker blew out a sigh of relief.
"Boring conversation anyway," he muttered to himself, before making a hard left towards the rendezvous.
* * *
"This is Gun Boy and Drug Boy. The rancor has been tranquilized. Repeat: the rancor is down."
"Roger that," Bhindi Drayson responded, waiting at the spaceport with the other Wraiths. Turning to her teammates, she said, "Remember, everyone: stay in character. If anyone notices us carrying an unconscious Girdun, you know your lines."
"Hey, Turman is the actor," said Trey Courser, fixing his paramedic uniform. "I thought we were all just extras."
"Even extras have to follow directions," Sharr Latt commented, scanning the traffic through his macrobinoculars.
Eventually, Turman's speeder came dashing into the spaceport, coming to a short stop before the awaiting Wraiths. The disguised Clawdite got out of the speeder and, with Trey's help, lifted up the unconscious Girdun.
Once the two men had given Girdun to the Wookiee Huhunna, who took him onto their Baleen-class freighter transport, Sharr approached Turman. "Did security suspect anything when they let you into the spaceport?"
"I told them he was a heavy drinker," Turman said. "They seemed to buy it."
"Is it just me, or does this seem to easy?" Trey asked. "I mean, surely the guards would have recognized Girdun and pressed you for more info."
"I say we just be glad for miracles and get on with the mission," Bhindi said. "Once Wallen and the others get here, we'll be in the--"
Sharr saw it before anyone else; a gleam of sunlight bouncing off a chrome-coated sniper rifle. He only had time to cry out when the green plasma bolt pierced through the air and struck Bhindi square in the chest. As her body crumpled to the ground, as Sharr rushed over to her side, Trey drew his blaster and fired it at the sniper, yelling a string of curses. Immediately, at least a dozen figures dressed in obscuring black uniforms emerged from the corners of the spaceport and started firing upon the Wraiths.
Hearing the chaos, Huhunna came rushing down the ramp, bowcaster in her hands, with Thaymes Fodrick and Doc right behind her. While the Wookiee and the Corellian provided supporting fire for Trey and Turman, Doc rushed over to the injured Bhindi.
"You have to save her, Doc," Sharr said urgently as the medic examined her wound. "Please... you have to."
"Sharr." He looked down at her just as she raised a hand to his face, touching it gently. "Just... go. The mission... the mission comes...."
She started to cough violently. He gripped her hand tightly, doing his best to control his emotions. "I'm not leaving you," he said firmly.
"Sharr... you have to go. This... this is too important... for you to risk jeopardizing. Please... go."
Sharr opened his mouth to protest but a blaster bolt zipping over his head and hitting the ship's hull forced him to concede. Squeezing her hand, he gazed into his old friend's eyes.
"I won't let you down."
With no time to waste, he got to his feet and called out to the other Wraiths. "Get onto the ship! Quickly!"
"What about Wallen and the others?" Trey asked, shooting down one of the several assailants. "They should be here any minute."
"We don't have time," Sharr said. "We'll have to regroup with them later. Now let's go."
Relucantly, the Wraiths followed the command and hurried after Sharr onto the ship. Some of the shooters tried to take pursuit but were held back by a barely alive Bhindi, who held a pistol loosely in her hands. The last to reach the ship, Huhunna swiftly picked her up and brought her on board, closing the hatch behind her.
Fishing out his comlink, Sharr said, "Get us out of here, Solo."
"And here I was about to join the fun."
In seconds, the engines of the ship roared to life and they were lifting off.
* * *
"Well, there goes our ride," Wallen muttered as he, Xemer, Wran, and Drikall watched the freighter that was the Wraiths' transportation take off. The four of them had been prevented from entering the spaceport due to a sudden lockdown, forcing a number of speeders to wait at the entrance.
"I'm sure they had a good reason," Xemer said. "Given who we were kidnapping, things were bound to go south."
"So what now?" Wran asked. "Do we find another way off Coruscant or wait for them to get back to us?"
"They probably won't allow any ships to leave for at least the next forty-eight hours. We'll just have to go back to the hideout and wait."
Wallen frowned as he watched the ship grow smaller in Coruscant's sky. "Will they even be able to leave?"
"Considering who's piloting, I'm sure they'll manage."
Wallen looked at Xemer. "Who's piloting them?"
"Why, only the best pilot in the galaxy, of course."
Wallen thought for a moment. "Wedge Antilles?"
"Er, no. The other Corellian."
"Baron Soontir Fel?"
Xemer sighed. "Okay, now you're just trying to be funny."
No comments:
Post a Comment