EPISODE I - SEVENTEEN: Inside the underground city

ZP-QA remained behind in control pod within the reclamation station. He attempted to traverse the narrow corridor leading into the rest of the facility, but it proved to be too much of a challenge for his squat body and widely positioned treads. He scooted out of the box from time to time and peered over the edge of the pool to watch the body of the dead officer sink into the slurry below. He knew it would be better if the remains were obliterated by the brown and green gunk before any unfriendlies passed through the section, though visitors seemed to be unlikely. 

Further ahead, Trickster Squadron and the Ansons made their way into an area where the passageway opened up into a larger room. Dom stepped to the security console and began scanning the camera feeds to the sections ahead of them. Dex and Pal took positions to cover him from the fore while Adria and Jai kept an eye on the direction from which they'd come. 

"I'm not seeing a whole lot of activity up ahead," commented Dom, barely audible over the noise of the fans and other machinery. "Okay, scratch that. There's a large chamber up ahead--multiple levels. Do we have that on our maps?"

Dex reached into his tactical belt pouch to retrieve the piece of paper on which the Ansons had drawn their version of the layout. Pulling out the small data screen from his vest pocket, he flipped through the schematics downloaded by Zip and compared the two.

Nodding with enthusiasm, Dex folded up the map and stowed it back in his pouch. "We've got a match," he said with a pleased smile. "It's practically an entire city down here. Dom, is there a way you can reset the cycle feeds on the cameras and get them to lock or loop the image so we can get past them and into that room without being detected?" 

Adria glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "Well, if he can't, I can do it."

"I can do it," Dom responded discontentedly. He looked at Dex and Paloame and reiterated his point. "I can do it!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know you can, buddy." Dex threw Adria a nasty look. "This isn't exactly the time to start planting seeds uncertainty in your teammates. Even if you're just messing with him." Adria rolled her eyes. 

Irie and Etler stood out of the way so Dex and his team could work. Dom continued to work around the security console, flipping switches and rerouting the video signals via the touchscreen. It flashed green every time he made a successful connection and he smiled at each one. There were only three more cameras that needed to be redirected, but they were going to be tough. There was a lot of activity in the areas they covered and he knew an empty screen would tip someone off that the cameras were either malfunctioning or had been tampered with. Browhar studied the images and was able to roll back and loop a section of the signal that had Stormtroopers marching past on two of the monitors. He had a little difficulty locating a suitable fragment of footage on the third due to a unique moment where an officer almost getting toppled by an MSE droid. Even if someone wasn't paying attention, that moment would certainly tip someone off. There didn't seem to be a whole lot going on in that area, so Dom ended up looping an empty frame.

"You get 'em all?" inquired Paloame.

"Yeah. I had a little trouble with that last one. I didn't have much of a choice--clumsy officer tripping on an MSE or zero activity. I picked the second." Dom checked the screens again, but it didn't matter as all of the monitors were running their new cycles.

Dex encouragingly patted him on the shoulder. "You did good." He scanned the room and called out positions before they proceeded forward. "Dom, you and Jai take up the rear positions. Pal, you stick to Irie and Etler. Adria, we're up front. Let's step quickly and lightly."

Drawing their weapons, they moved deeper into installment.

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A message from the Isolator, which required several relays, reached Benemer Strim's office. Strim wasn't sure what annoyed him more, the slight delay in the responses from the communications officer, the sketchy quality of the transmission, or the fact that his routine was being interrupted by Captain Tanga.

"I'll hold," he responded to Tanga's lackey. He felt the urge to fill the silence of the delay with words, but he knew it wouldn't matter. Neither did he have any interest in wasting his words on the First Order. He was promised a solid return on this investment and for his oversight on this operation and that's all he truly cared about. 

Tanga's voice crackled quietly through the desk speaker. Benemer scowled. This was taking too much effort and the clipped cadence and accent of Tanga's voice bothered him. "I can't hear you," he bellowed. "I... I don't know if you heard me, but I can't hear you." 

Strim activated the intercom to the outside office, hailing his afternoon assistant. "I need you to come in here. I don't understand why I can't hear Captain Tanga."

The pocket door hissed open and a young blonde-haired woman sporting a form-fitting skirted uniform strode in an sidled up to the desk. She gently shifted her weight from hip to hip as she poked at the buttons on Strim's desk.

"I'll try to clean up the signal for you," she purred. "They're in hyperspace, I think. There also appears to be a fluctuation in Aporoth's magnetic field and that's causing our orbital communication relays a little bit of trouble. That would explain the signal degradation issues we're having today. Oh...I see the problem--you're trying to listen through the desk speaker, too. We can get you a little more volume if you use the room speakers. I'll adjust for feedback." She ran her lithe fingers over the pad and rerouted the signal.

Tanga's voice immediately filled the room appropriately, but still coming through without the pristine quality to which Strim was accustomed. "...presently in hyperspace, en route to Aporoth."

A look of mild disgust crossed Benemer's face. He liked being in charge and not supervised. Bardet Tanga was certainly not someone he welcomed into the palace he built. "Hyperspace, is it? When's your expected arrival?"

"We are expecting to arrive in two days. Don't set up an official welcoming committee; this is merely a routine visit to view the progress. In brief, how are things proceeding?"

"We've dispatched several units into each region affected by the desert expansion. The transplanted natives are figuring out that whatever they think we're doing here is the cause of the kill off. We're keeping them isolated and cut off from the towns and cities so those living in the unaffected areas aren't aware of what's happening." That sounded rather directorial Strim presumed to himself.

Following the delay, the sound of Tanga clearing his throat broke the quietude. "Yes, it sounds like you have everything managed." There might've been some detectable skepticism in his voice if Strim were paying closer attention, which Tanga knew he wasn't. "I expect this visit will go well and we'll be back off-world to leave you to it."

"I'm looking forward to your visit. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the progress. I'll see you in two days." Strim ended the transmission and added for his own well-being, "and not a moment sooner, I kriffing hope."

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

"Up ahead--there," Adria motioned to the team. Even though the opening only allowed a small portion of the room up ahead to be seen, it was plainly clear that they had arrived at a particularly large chamber in the complex. 

Dex activated his datapad. "Yep. There it is and it's pretty huge. Either we'll be able to get through that undetected or they'll have plenty of opportunities to spot us and unloading their blasters on us." Putting the pad away, he grabbed his coded comlink and hailed ZP-QA. "Hey, Zip... how are things going back there?"

ZP beeped a relaxed series of tones that indicated a lack of activity in his zone. 

"Keep an eye on the route back from us to you in case we need to make a fast exit." Dex was about to reholster the comlink but decided to add one more thing to his request before doing so. "Not that I expect it, but if we do have to beat it back to the sewage mixer, I want you to keep your fingers on the controls of the doors in case we need to close 'em up behind us."

"Well, that diminishes my confidence in this plan," chided Paloame.

Balagon shook his head and gestured to the others to follow him through the door. Dom and Jai maintained their positions guarding their flank as the squad advanced along a catwalk that hugged the wall opposite a massive stack of cylindrical collection tank-like machines. Pipes crisscrossed the room from different points, starting or ending at the giant structure that loomed over most of the platforms across the way from them. It was relatively easy to gauge the size of the apparatus when squads of stormtroopers and workmen appeared like tiny parasites on a leaf beneath the enormous tree trunk of the cylinder.

"What the hell is that thing?" remarked Adria.

Elter took a couple steps forward and tapped her on the shoulder, "I believe that's one of the refinement vessels. We didn't work in this area, but the plasma collected in our area was sent outward to a number of points." He stopped to survey the architecture for a moment. "Yep, I do believe that's what it is."

Pal tapped Irie's arm with the back of her hand to get the Aporothi's attention. "What happens if we just blow that unit? Won't it start a chain reaction that'll take out the entire works?"

"I really don't know, dear," Irie replied sweetly.

Irie's casual and conversational tone annoyed Paloame. They weren't talking about quilting or cooking techniques. She wanted an answer. "What do you mean you don't know? You two worked in here. Don't you have some sort of idea of how this thing works?" Adria marched back to Pal and was about to give her a solid shove, but Dex came between the two of them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he interjected, trying to diffuse the tension. He glanced around at his team and their two Aporothi cohorts and asked, "Anyone here ever blow up a planetary energy... harvester... thing? If you have, raise your hands." He met each one in their eye, making sure they knew he was not going to put up with any infighting while they wandered around this First Order stronghold. Satisfied with the lack of responders he continued, "Great. I didn't think so. If you want to run around blowing things up without a plan, you can request a transfer to Black Squadron when we get back, but until then, you're in Trickster Squadron and we work as a connected and competent team. Got it?"

He didn't need to look at them to know his message was received. The seven little intruders continued to slip down the catwalk to the other end of the room undetected. Fortunately, those above or below them couldn't spot them from their vantage points and the rest were too far away to see them against the dark grey walls.

"We've passed a couple of the junction points I rigged on the monitors. I'm not sure if the other cameras are still up ahead or if they were in another part of this," Dom paused and examined their surroundings before finishing. "Really... huge... room."

Dex adjusted his stolen uniform. "I'm hoping this First Order garb will help get us past any unfriendlies we might run into."

Irie pointed at the tactical belt that betrayed Balagon's authenticity.

"But I like-- I need this," he whined.

"I know, but she's right," Adria was emphatic. "I can take it for you."

Dex grimaced. He looked at the rest of his squad, finally nodding at Adria. "Fine. But if we get split up, you're coming with me."

"How am I coming with you if we get split up?"

"I'm talking about the group in general. You're sticking with me. Got it?"

Almeida considered for a second about giving him grief, but this probably wasn't the time or place to waste time with nonsense. If their presence hadn't already been detected, milling about on the exposed walkway certainly wouldn't help them maintain their cover for long.