EPISODE I - TWENTY-SEVEN: All good things...

Benemer Strim was right to be worried. Completely unconcerned about respecting anyone's personal space, Captain Tanga pushed up to Strim, causing him to retreat backward.

"This has gone far enough," Tanga spat. "You're useless and incompetent. You haven't managed one thing without involvement from the First Order."

Strim chaffed, "Without your involvement? I've been calling the shots here. I'm the one who made this entire operation a success."

"Indeed," Tanga sneered. "You were placed in charge of this facility as a figurehead. All the First Order wanted from you was your capital investments and your ties to other financial organizations to fund our military growth. As long as we stroked your ego, you would be in the First Order's pocket and that's exactly what happened. But I've had enough. You're careless and inept."

The building shook from nearby explosions--the deflector shields protecting the complex from immediate danger. It was hard to tell how long they would hold out, but this is where Tanga needed to be.

Benemer stopped and stood defiantly. He raised his chin to look down on Tanga. The bravado and delusion poured out of his mouth. "You're not so smart. I have this entire office wired to security cameras, recording this entire exchange. Soon Supreme Leader Snoke will know of your plot and your career will be over!"

A thin smile crossed Tanga's face. Soon Supreme Leader Snoke will know nothing, he thought. "I know. This is why I deactivated the security cameras when I put the station on alert. I also erased the recordings going back to before my arrival at your door."

"You won't succeed!"

"Overconfident to the very end." Tanga loosened his gloves and removed them. "The base is under attack and insurgents are wreaking havoc in and around it. My report will state that your life was lost at the hands of this enemy."

Strim felt his heart drop because he knew that this was likely to come to pass. He scrambled in a last-ditch effort to save himself. "You may be able to take my life, but you don't have access to my finances. You still need me!"

Bardet Tanga was done with this dance. He unholstered his pistol and held it at his side. "Unfortunately, your accounts were open when I made that announcement and I transferred all of your assets to a holding account. You have nothing. You've lost."

More explosions rocked the structure. Strim looked up at the ceiling as the lights flashed. He quickly looked back at Tanga who'd remained locked in his stance across the room.

"No--no! Please," he begged and whimpered.

A twisted smile appeared across Tanga's face as he powered up his pistol. He tightened his finger around the trigger and spoke almost apologetically, "It's a shame those insurgents got inside the base and killed you. I'll be sure to let General Hux know that you defended yourself and died with honor."

The blaster released two bolts of energy that struck him first in the chest and then in his neck. Strim fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, the contents of his bladder evacuating onto the shiny surface of the floor. Tanga, unmoved by the man's death, holstered his blaster and sauntered over to the body. He used the tip of his boot to rock Strim's head back and forth to make sure he was dead. The captain kicked the man's head like a ball, which snapped his neck with a loud crack. Satisfied with Benemer Strim's demise, Tanga positioned himself at the desk again and made certain that every last credit and piece of undeveloped property had been transferred to the First Order's holding account. He was pleased.

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Far below the executive tower, Dex and his crew had their hands full. They arrived safely at the entrance of the harvester control station only to find themselves pinned down by a squad of Stormtroopers.

Balagon shouted above the explosions and blaster fire. "Didn't I say I had an extremely bad feeling about this?"

"Yeah, you did, but you always have misgivings about our chances. That's what I like about you," she replied.

Adria still thought their odds looked pretty good. She kept firing ahead of them to clear out a path to the control center. Irie and Etler, situated between Adria and Dex, gripped their blasters but decided it was best to let the professionals do the shooting, for fear of hitting something they shouldn't. The foursome slowly crept to their destination.

Dex kept his eyes open along the way to find out where those troopers had entered into the hallway. There was no reason their commanders would keep that many of them stationed at the center's entryway. If there was a way for the Stormtroopers to get in, perhaps that same path would serve as an exit option for them.

The last three bucketheads were swiftly eliminated by Adria's expert shots. The crew proceeded forward, crouching to avoid blaster fire coming from behind them. Dex took up a position behind a wall column so he could cover everyone. Etler took apart the control pad for the door and Adria waited with anticipation and anxiety. An occasional energy bolt would strike a wall near them releasing a shower of sparks that rained down on them. Undeterred, Adria moved in and accidentally knocked Etler on his butt. 

"Sorry," she said. Almeida looked at the tangled mess of wires behind the panel. She began pulling them off after identifying the connections and started to twist them together. 

Dex took a quick glance behind him to see what was happening. "How are you guys doing back there?"

Irie yelled, "what?"

"I asked: how's it going back there?"

Adria focused on the wires. "I think I've just about got it!" she shouted.

She made a few more connections, which caused the panel to come back to life. It recalibrated itself and buzzed before opening the door. 

Etler got himself back onto his feet and pushed his bag into the room. Irie followed suit and both followed Adria inside to take cover. Dex looked back to the open door and again looked forward. He fired off a couple shots down the long hallway and ran into the control center. 

A rumble came from above. They paused to figure out what might've caused it. The rumble was followed by another and another, each one penetrating deeper--shaking the room. The lights flashed and readouts dimmed. A few of the stations lost power and that indicated to Dex that the game was about to change for them.