EPISODE I - NINETEEN: From the top and heading down

It wasn't long before the word of the infiltrators reached the administrative office of Benemer Strim. What wasn't entirely clear was whether this was a revolt orchestrated by the native workers, Aporothi from the outside or offworlders striking against the First Order. The question being: if these were offworlders, why would they have even known the First Order had any operations on this planet? It didn't matter at this point. The report said that this band of intruders was small and that it was unlikely that they posed any threat against the facility or the troops patrolling it. 

Even so, it seemed that two of their recently minted TIE/sf craft had been stolen by another group of insurgents. The gatekeepers in orbit around Aporoth were caught off-guard and didn't launch a squad to fighters to intercept them before they jumped to hyperspace. There was no telling where these ships were headed, but Strim was certain that Snoke would not be pleased to learn of this failing. Furthermore, he didn't relish the thought of Captain Tanga paying him a visit if word of the incident reached him. 

It was best that he squashed this breach as quickly as possible before more Stormtroopers or ships were lost.

Benemer Strim drummed his fingers on the surface of his desk, debating how he wanted to handle this. He was a businessman and not educated on commanding soldiers. He knew that his indecision would likely lead to more losses, so he eventually committed to pressing the button that connected him to his central command dispatch.

"Dispatch? This is Benemer Strim. Do you know the current location of the troublemakers?"

The desk operator paused for a moment, stifling a laugh brought on by Strim's use of the word "troublemakers" for the group of invaders. "Yes, sir. We believe that they are heading toward the compression station. We haven't identified them as of yet, but it appears one of them has assumed the identity of one of our officers."

"What do you suggest? A couple groups of Stormtroopers to intercept them?"

Again, Strim's awkward lack of military knowledge made him shake his head. "Yes, we can send a couple of squads down to that sector. We should be able to halt their progress--whatever their intent might be--at that junction."

"Okay. Good." Strim suddenly appeared to be cognizant of his verbal inelegance and fumbled for words. "Then... fine. Send them down. Thank you."

The dispatch agent rolled his eyes and shook his head. Was the First Order really hurting for competent leadership that this buffoon was installed at their facility? It wasn't his job to ask these questions. Instead, he opened a channel to the units closest to the reported activity.

"Attention, Sergeants Drey and Katsar. Do you copy?"

"This is Katsar."

"Drey here."

"I just got a call down from Strim's office. Could you send your squads down to the area surrounding the compression station? We believe the local insurgents may be heading in that direction and it would be best if we intercepted them before they cause any further issues for us."

"We're on our way down," Drey responded. "We'll take the eastern perimeter, Katsar, and maybe we can box them in before they head deeper into the works."

Katsar motioned to his troops. "We copy that, Drey. We'll catch up with you down below."

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The last hour or so had felt uncomfortably quiet for Dex. Despite passing an occasional pair of Stormtroopers on patrol from time to time and having to duck into dark recesses in the passageways, there was no exchange of blasterfire. He was getting that vibe again; the one that told him trouble was probably lurking up ahead. The Ansons were doing an admirable job holding their own and keeping their composure. Adria kept her eyes open, but also kept watch over their Aporothi guides. Both of them had quickly grown fond of the old couple and they felt somewhat guilty about dragging them into this mission. Still, if they weren't game, they could've told Narvo to find someone else to put in harm's way.

Dex stopped and backed up against a wall. He didn't have time to retrieve the datapad to figure out where they were and where they needed to go. "Etler... which way?"

Etler looked down the corridor to get his bearings. Unfortunately, the walls of the facility all looked similar. He shook his head and turned to Irie. "Does any of this look familiar to you?"

Irie peered past Dex. "I think we are going to need to turn right up ahead. I'm not overly familiar with this section of the works." She took another look down the long hallway. "I think we are nearing the compression units. I was only down here once with my friend when we were sent on an errand for our supervisor."

"What do the compression units do?" queried Adria.

"Irie probably knows better than I do, but I think this is where they prepare the product for their transport containers."

"He's correct," Irie confirmed. "We might want to be careful about where we shoot--if we have to shoot at the soldiers. One shot to the wrong spot and we might all go up."

Dex's eyes widened and the corners of his mouth turned down. He nodded his head. "That sounds like a wise decision. We do want to halt the harvest, but I think I'd rather make sure all of us made it out of here in one piece."

Adria gave the Ansons a gentle and almost motherly look. "I agree."

Etler smiled. "We should go?"

"We should go," Dex answered. "Let's proceed. With caution... up ahead and to the right."