EPISODE I - THIRTEEN: Across the tarmac
It rained the following morning and the skies were heavy with cloud cover. There were dense layers of fog that blotted out the sun even further and made it seem like it was still nighttime. There were moments along the journey where it seemed the route was impassible due to the low-hanging vines and branches that were pregnant with rain, coupled with the rushing waters that headed away from the slopes to meet the river.
Silara accompanied the team to the halfway point between the camp and the compound.
"I'm heading back to K'owan," she announced. Balagon looked puzzled. His lips parted as though he was about to say something. "I've got a few things to take care of back in town and I've already skulked around the base enough that I might be recognized."
Dex delivered a half-nod. "Yeah, that makes sense... I guess. So, we just head in this direction for another, what--hour?"
"Give or take. It's hard to say what the fog and the rain are gonna do in terms of your progress, but Irie and Etler know where they're going."
Irie smiled. "Thank you for helping us, dear Silara."
If it hadn't been so dark, someone might've noticed Silara blushing as she turned back toward K'owan. "Don't get into trouble, Tricksters," she said, walking away. "And don't let anything happen to my boy Etler!"
Paloame didn't have good feelings about Silara leaving to attend to whatever it was she was off to back in town. She kept her eyes on their informant until she was out of view. Jai caught Paloame giving Sil a distrusting side-eye and though he'd only felt a little doubt in her actions, Paloame pushed him just a little more in that direction.
Silara accompanied the team to the halfway point between the camp and the compound.
"I'm heading back to K'owan," she announced. Balagon looked puzzled. His lips parted as though he was about to say something. "I've got a few things to take care of back in town and I've already skulked around the base enough that I might be recognized."
Dex delivered a half-nod. "Yeah, that makes sense... I guess. So, we just head in this direction for another, what--hour?"
"Give or take. It's hard to say what the fog and the rain are gonna do in terms of your progress, but Irie and Etler know where they're going."
Irie smiled. "Thank you for helping us, dear Silara."
If it hadn't been so dark, someone might've noticed Silara blushing as she turned back toward K'owan. "Don't get into trouble, Tricksters," she said, walking away. "And don't let anything happen to my boy Etler!"
Paloame didn't have good feelings about Silara leaving to attend to whatever it was she was off to back in town. She kept her eyes on their informant until she was out of view. Jai caught Paloame giving Sil a distrusting side-eye and though he'd only felt a little doubt in her actions, Paloame pushed him just a little more in that direction.
Having two elderly members in their group made the trek a slow go, but everyone was keenly aware that Irie and Etler were integral to the success of this mission. It had taken them four hours to arrive at the outskirts of the First Order encampment and the sun still failed to poke through the clouds. At least the darkness and the inclement weather would help to obscure their approach.
Ahead of them lay one of the smaller buildings. It was only smaller in contrast to the other ones at this installation and it would provide them with a relatively easy entrance to the inner city surrounding the energy harvesting core. The biggest obstacle that lay ahead of them was traversing the expansive tarmac between the perimeter wall and the entrance of the complex. Scattered across the flat ground appeared to be cargo crates of all sizes, storage bunkers and several large pods with conduits running to and from them.
Dex donned his best "Commander Balagon" voice to set the mission into play. "Alright, team--we're going to split into two groups. Irie, Jai, Pal and I will proceed two rows over. Adria, you take Dom and Etler straight ahead along this row. I want to make sure one of the groups arrives at the point of entry. We'll provide cover for each other as needed. Oh--and I'm putting you in charge of Zip."
Everyone nodded after the gameplan was delivered. Etler looked over to Irie with a concerned expression on his face. The thought that one of the two groups wouldn't make it would shake anyone, but the old couple wasn't trained for this. Neither had they ever put themselves in the line of fire where one might perish and even a fresh soldier who signed up to the Resistance would probably blanch at the thought. "Battle-hardened" was certainly not a label you could put on them.
The rain seemed to fall even harder, now that they needed a clear line of sight to their destination. They split into their respective groups started across the swath of duracrete and refining equipment. Adria gestured to her team to ready their blasters. She then motioned in the direction the next mark where they would stop before proceeding further in.
"Now remember, Etler," Adria spoke reassuringly. "It's just like I showed you last night. The safety is off. Keep both hands on your weapon and make sure it's pointed away from you or any friendlies with the muzzle toward the ground."
The old man nodded nervously but did as he was instructed. He followed the same path as Dom and eventually caught up to him. Dom smiled and gave Etler the thumbs up before he gave Adria the all clear to proceed.
Adria found the crossing to be more challenging than she had expected. Her mud caked soles slid on the swampy duracrete, causing her to almost go down once.
Meanwhile, not far away, Dex was navigating a similar course. Not having ZP-QA along should've helped him expedite his campaign across the compound, but having four people on his team put him at an even pace with Adria. From time to time they would catch movement from across the field and they had to keep checking to make sure it was the other team and not a patrol of Stormtroopers heading back to the blockhouse.
On the third time, Dex began to feel a painful twisting in his left scapula. At first, it was an annoyance, but as Jai followed behind Irie, the sensation began to knock the wind out of Dex. When Irie reached the next mark, she turned to look for Jai. As she did, she could see an intense grimace cross Dex's features. He slammed his back up against the side of the transfer pod two times, hoping to relieve the cramp, and then he started to cross to the spot where the other three were waiting. His steps appeared unsure as he tried to keep his balance without dropping the gear strapped to his back. He grunted softly under the strain of discomfort. Irie could see he was struggling and she gasped. Dex struggled to breathe normally when he arrived at the group.
"What was that about?" Irie demanded in a low voice.
Dex shook his head and attempted to dismiss it, but Irie wasn't about to entertain that notion.
"I saw you," she said in a stern manner. Dex shook his head again. "I saw you in some sort of physical distress. What's going on?"
Jai and Paloame looked at each other and gave Dex a disapproving look.
"It wasn't anything. It's fine," he insisted.
Still unconvinced, Irie grabbed Dex's hand firmly. "I know it's not fine. I could see it wasn't fine. If for nothing else, you're supposed to be keeping an eye on me. How are you supposed to do that when you're clearly having a physical issue?"
Dex lowered his eyes. "I'm fine now," he insisted. "Can we please talk about this later?"
Unsatisfied, but willing to continue forward, Irie harrumphed and gave a dissatisfied nod. Jai and Pal exchanged knowing glances before proceeding to the next mark.
Both teams got most of the way across the field to where they could clearly see the entrance to the large brutalist looking building. Adria and her group were close enough that they could even see the lights flashing on the keypad next to the doorway. She poked her head out from the gathering of pipes and conduits that concealed them from view. Dex also made himself visible to Adria and cued her to proceed to the slightly sunken entrance.
Zip scooted behind Adria until he hit the ramp. He accelerated himself to the interface that was located below the keypad. He extended his scomp link and plugged himself into the port. Adria gestured to Dom to send Etler across the gap while they covered his passage.
Etler had only taken a few steps when he caught sight of something moving to his left. He paused momentarily, eyes wide with panic. He had a good reason, too--First Order Stormtroopers!
Irie gasped. Dex popped up and wound his way between the obstacles standing between him and Etler. He readied his blaster in case he needed to start firing. The rain and fog were so heavy that Dex hoped the troopers were far enough away that they didn't see Etler.
Dom emerged from behind the transfer unit and aimed his GLIE-44 in the direction of the two troopers. Adria swung around to check Zip's progress on slicing the lock. It was all hands on deck.
Dex grabbed Etler by the crook of his arm and practically dragged him to the entranceway. Irie breathed a sigh of relief. Pal and Jai couldn't risk another chance of being spotted out on the tarmac so they followed suit and ushered Irie to the ramp.
Browhar watched the two troopers march out of view before he too made a play for the entrance.
It was a close call--almost too close, but the Force was obviously with them. They stood hunkered down in the pit while ZP-QA made a few final turns with his link.
Zip beeped reassuringly and the door slid open with no one waiting on the other side.
"Good call scanning the security feeds before cracking that hatch, Zip," said Dex, patting his droid on his dome. He looked at the old couple to cue them as to which way they needed to go now that they were inside.
Etler shakily pointed down the left corridor and Irie nodded in agreement. Dex locked eyes with each member of the Trickster Squadron and silently commanded them to proceed with caution.
"Zip," he whispered. "Put the codes back the way you found them and seal the door behind us. You can catch up with us down the hallway. We won't be too far ahead of you."
The droid gently rocked his body in acknowledgment and swiveled to face the port on the inside of the door to complete his work.
Everyone nodded after the gameplan was delivered. Etler looked over to Irie with a concerned expression on his face. The thought that one of the two groups wouldn't make it would shake anyone, but the old couple wasn't trained for this. Neither had they ever put themselves in the line of fire where one might perish and even a fresh soldier who signed up to the Resistance would probably blanch at the thought. "Battle-hardened" was certainly not a label you could put on them.
The rain seemed to fall even harder, now that they needed a clear line of sight to their destination. They split into their respective groups started across the swath of duracrete and refining equipment. Adria gestured to her team to ready their blasters. She then motioned in the direction the next mark where they would stop before proceeding further in.
"Now remember, Etler," Adria spoke reassuringly. "It's just like I showed you last night. The safety is off. Keep both hands on your weapon and make sure it's pointed away from you or any friendlies with the muzzle toward the ground."
The old man nodded nervously but did as he was instructed. He followed the same path as Dom and eventually caught up to him. Dom smiled and gave Etler the thumbs up before he gave Adria the all clear to proceed.
Adria found the crossing to be more challenging than she had expected. Her mud caked soles slid on the swampy duracrete, causing her to almost go down once.
Meanwhile, not far away, Dex was navigating a similar course. Not having ZP-QA along should've helped him expedite his campaign across the compound, but having four people on his team put him at an even pace with Adria. From time to time they would catch movement from across the field and they had to keep checking to make sure it was the other team and not a patrol of Stormtroopers heading back to the blockhouse.
On the third time, Dex began to feel a painful twisting in his left scapula. At first, it was an annoyance, but as Jai followed behind Irie, the sensation began to knock the wind out of Dex. When Irie reached the next mark, she turned to look for Jai. As she did, she could see an intense grimace cross Dex's features. He slammed his back up against the side of the transfer pod two times, hoping to relieve the cramp, and then he started to cross to the spot where the other three were waiting. His steps appeared unsure as he tried to keep his balance without dropping the gear strapped to his back. He grunted softly under the strain of discomfort. Irie could see he was struggling and she gasped. Dex struggled to breathe normally when he arrived at the group.
"What was that about?" Irie demanded in a low voice.
Dex shook his head and attempted to dismiss it, but Irie wasn't about to entertain that notion.
"I saw you," she said in a stern manner. Dex shook his head again. "I saw you in some sort of physical distress. What's going on?"
Jai and Paloame looked at each other and gave Dex a disapproving look.
"It wasn't anything. It's fine," he insisted.
Still unconvinced, Irie grabbed Dex's hand firmly. "I know it's not fine. I could see it wasn't fine. If for nothing else, you're supposed to be keeping an eye on me. How are you supposed to do that when you're clearly having a physical issue?"
Dex lowered his eyes. "I'm fine now," he insisted. "Can we please talk about this later?"
Unsatisfied, but willing to continue forward, Irie harrumphed and gave a dissatisfied nod. Jai and Pal exchanged knowing glances before proceeding to the next mark.
Both teams got most of the way across the field to where they could clearly see the entrance to the large brutalist looking building. Adria and her group were close enough that they could even see the lights flashing on the keypad next to the doorway. She poked her head out from the gathering of pipes and conduits that concealed them from view. Dex also made himself visible to Adria and cued her to proceed to the slightly sunken entrance.
Zip scooted behind Adria until he hit the ramp. He accelerated himself to the interface that was located below the keypad. He extended his scomp link and plugged himself into the port. Adria gestured to Dom to send Etler across the gap while they covered his passage.
Etler had only taken a few steps when he caught sight of something moving to his left. He paused momentarily, eyes wide with panic. He had a good reason, too--First Order Stormtroopers!
Irie gasped. Dex popped up and wound his way between the obstacles standing between him and Etler. He readied his blaster in case he needed to start firing. The rain and fog were so heavy that Dex hoped the troopers were far enough away that they didn't see Etler.
Dom emerged from behind the transfer unit and aimed his GLIE-44 in the direction of the two troopers. Adria swung around to check Zip's progress on slicing the lock. It was all hands on deck.
Dex grabbed Etler by the crook of his arm and practically dragged him to the entranceway. Irie breathed a sigh of relief. Pal and Jai couldn't risk another chance of being spotted out on the tarmac so they followed suit and ushered Irie to the ramp.
Browhar watched the two troopers march out of view before he too made a play for the entrance.
It was a close call--almost too close, but the Force was obviously with them. They stood hunkered down in the pit while ZP-QA made a few final turns with his link.
Zip beeped reassuringly and the door slid open with no one waiting on the other side.
"Good call scanning the security feeds before cracking that hatch, Zip," said Dex, patting his droid on his dome. He looked at the old couple to cue them as to which way they needed to go now that they were inside.
Etler shakily pointed down the left corridor and Irie nodded in agreement. Dex locked eyes with each member of the Trickster Squadron and silently commanded them to proceed with caution.
"Zip," he whispered. "Put the codes back the way you found them and seal the door behind us. You can catch up with us down the hallway. We won't be too far ahead of you."
The droid gently rocked his body in acknowledgment and swiveled to face the port on the inside of the door to complete his work.
