EPISODE I - FIFTEEN: Down in the depths
Etler looked around the cavernous room, scouting out a safe spot for the group to hunker down. Dex didn't see a lot of options as it seemed to be a long, dimly lit room--longer than an empty hangar bay on a starcruiser.
"This should be good," Etler stated, pointing to the far side of the chamber. "Nothing much happens down here as long as things keep running smoothly. I've never heard too many stories of maintenance crews coming down here to fix things and those white bucketheads certainly don't come down here for anything."
"What is this place?" asked Jaimos.
"This place? Oh... well, it's a piece of the environmental control sector."
Paloame threw Etler a dubious look. She could tell he was holding back.
"Well, it..."
Irie, not one to mince words, was flustered by Etler's attempt to be delicate. "It's one of the sewage reclamation and processing units for the base, is what it is!"
Dex shrugged off the explanation because it didn't really matter what the place was. If they were able to set themselves up behind some of the pumps and filters, they could establish a command point and there wouldn't be much risk of them getting found out. Still, Dom was less than excited about the specifics of this location.
"That would certainly explain the exotic scent in the air down here."
"That's enough, Dom. I seriously don't give roach-rat's ass where we are as long as we are relatively safe and have access to a computer terminal." Balagon scanned the area by the processing units on the end of the room nearest to them. Noticing the data port on the exterior of the control pod, he motioned Zip to check it out. Scooting across the catwalk, Zip audibly squawked a series of disagreeable sounds, annoyed by the amount of grunt work he'd been directed to do since arriving at the station.
"What did he say?" asked Irie.
Balagon sighed. "Well... first he called me a--"
"Dex!" Adria interrupted him so he didn't offend anyone.
"What?"
"Let's not use that kind of language around our new friends."
"I really think..." he began. He looked at his audience and resumed with a sly grin. "I really think Irie could handle it, but I guess I should be a little more sensitive to your... new boyfriend there."
Irie let out a belly laugh. Etler was less amused by the insinuation and Adria just blushed. It was true. She had developed a soft spot for the old guy even though they'd only known each other for less than a day. Truth be known, all of them had quickly grown quite fond of the old couple. They really didn't have much interaction with people who weren't a part of the Resistance and it was even less likely that they'd collaborate with folks at this advanced age. It was far less probable that they'd all be sharing a laugh deep within the literal bowels of a First Order stronghold. And for a moment, it was another place and time, one in which they all wished they could live. The reality of the here and now presented itself when Zip whistled over to the group, wondering what was taking them so long to join him by the control pod.
Dex rolled his eyes. "Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I get it, but I'm serious and I think I'd like a little more privacy than this space has to offer."
Etler tapped Zip's dome. The little droid pulled up the sector's layout on the screen and flashed the location of the closest refresher. "Thank you, Zip. I can take you there, Dex. It's not far and I don't anticipate trouble, but safety in numbers. And no one ever comes down this way."
The rest of the group nodded approval with Dex and Etler's excursion. "OK. Etler and I will be back quickly. Does... anyone else need to come along?" They all shook their heads excusing themselves from the offer.
Tanga ordered The Isolator back into hyperspace in order to avoid any further disapproval from Hux. Crawling to Aporoth only belabored the point that he was completely dispassionate about his role as Strim's secret overseer. Regrettably, he had to manage the issues that were cropping up around the project. After all, there were only so many people who could go missing for asking questions about the scopious desert that was rapidly engulfing the planet, before other people started to ask other questions.
He could think it and speak it time again, that there was no other reason for Benemer Strim's association to this project other than his ample ties to credits. The First Order was still endeavoring to build their fleets, their arsenal and to fund the final phase of construction on a classified project in the Unknown Regions.
Nonetheless, he'd love the opportunity to take him out--if the situation ever presented itself.
"What did he say?" asked Irie.
Balagon sighed. "Well... first he called me a--"
"Dex!" Adria interrupted him so he didn't offend anyone.
"What?"
"Let's not use that kind of language around our new friends."
"I really think..." he began. He looked at his audience and resumed with a sly grin. "I really think Irie could handle it, but I guess I should be a little more sensitive to your... new boyfriend there."
Irie let out a belly laugh. Etler was less amused by the insinuation and Adria just blushed. It was true. She had developed a soft spot for the old guy even though they'd only known each other for less than a day. Truth be known, all of them had quickly grown quite fond of the old couple. They really didn't have much interaction with people who weren't a part of the Resistance and it was even less likely that they'd collaborate with folks at this advanced age. It was far less probable that they'd all be sharing a laugh deep within the literal bowels of a First Order stronghold. And for a moment, it was another place and time, one in which they all wished they could live. The reality of the here and now presented itself when Zip whistled over to the group, wondering what was taking them so long to join him by the control pod.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Dex had tucked himself into a corner behind one of the less foul-smelling filtering units. It was late in the evening and his fatigue had really caught up with him. Truth be told, he hadn't been feeling great for a couple weeks. He'd been fighting something minor but felt like something more serious due to the lowered functioning of immune system. He suddenly jolted awake by a cramp in his gut and the sound of excited chatter coming from the control pod.
He got up and staggered over to the box, still coming out of his sleep. "Hey... hey... did I miss something?" Paloame grabbed his arm and pulled him into the station and pointed at the monitor.
Jaimos patted Zip on the head and smiled. "While you were taking your party nap, your droid managed to download and recode the layout of this entire place. Irie and Etler identified locations that would be safe for us to hunker down and marked the best route to get us where we need to go. The only thing we'll need to do is have Zip plug into their system for any security updates, but I think we've got all of it."
"For some reason, your droid has a fixation on that scrubber unit over there," Adria mentioned with mild annoyance in her tone. "He's only mentioned it a dozen times while he was going through the schematics of the base."
"For some reason, your droid has a fixation on that scrubber unit over there," Adria mentioned with mild annoyance in her tone. "He's only mentioned it a dozen times while he was going through the schematics of the base."
"Hmph," acknowledged Dex. "Well, thank you guys for doing all of that while was down."
"That's why we're a team, commander," Jaimos confirmed. He lowered his voice a little, "how are you doing anyway?"
"I'm definitely feeling better after that nap. But...when you guys were looking at the layout, did you happen to notice where the nearest 'fresher was located?"
Dom, overhearing the conversation, stepped out onto the walkway and turned around with a big smile gracing his face and throwing his arms akimbo like a holonet presenter revealing a prize.
Dex rolled his eyes. "Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I get it, but I'm serious and I think I'd like a little more privacy than this space has to offer."
Etler tapped Zip's dome. The little droid pulled up the sector's layout on the screen and flashed the location of the closest refresher. "Thank you, Zip. I can take you there, Dex. It's not far and I don't anticipate trouble, but safety in numbers. And no one ever comes down this way."
The rest of the group nodded approval with Dex and Etler's excursion. "OK. Etler and I will be back quickly. Does... anyone else need to come along?" They all shook their heads excusing themselves from the offer.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tanga ordered The Isolator back into hyperspace in order to avoid any further disapproval from Hux. Crawling to Aporoth only belabored the point that he was completely dispassionate about his role as Strim's secret overseer. Regrettably, he had to manage the issues that were cropping up around the project. After all, there were only so many people who could go missing for asking questions about the scopious desert that was rapidly engulfing the planet, before other people started to ask other questions.
He could think it and speak it time again, that there was no other reason for Benemer Strim's association to this project other than his ample ties to credits. The First Order was still endeavoring to build their fleets, their arsenal and to fund the final phase of construction on a classified project in the Unknown Regions.
Nonetheless, he'd love the opportunity to take him out--if the situation ever presented itself.
