Chapter 6: Unrealistic Ideals

The hiss of the boarding ramp lowering pulled Elara’s attention away from the photo of her and her brother, Aleksei. One of the few personal belongings that she had kept with her, it had been taken when she graduated from the Imperial academy and her brother was still in school. Since she had defected to the Republic she hadn’t been able to contact him, and constantly hoped he was doing well. Tucking it away in her desk, she pushed back her chair and moved into the main area of the ship.

The lieutenant and M1-4X had been following a lead that had taken them to a Tusken Raider camp on the far side of the canyons. Destroying the Geonosian bomb factory had been a success, but unfortunately they still had no clear heading on where the main Imperial base was, which they hoped would be where they could find Fuse as well as the officer from the holocall. Elara nodded to Jorgen, who was leaning against the bulkhead, cleaning his blaster rifle. He returned the gesture, then they both focused on the sound of heavy boots thumping up the ramp, followed by the metallic clang of Forex’s tripedal frame.

Immediately upon entering the ship, Lacroix moved to the holotable, pulling up a map of the area. “We’ve got a probable location of the Imperial base, but we need to move now.” Several key taps on the console caused a green circle to pop into being, indicating a patch of desert a few klicks outside of the city. “Fuse sent the coordinates on an unencrypted channel and I haven’t been able to raise him. We have to assume the Imps know we’re coming, and that Fuse betrayed them. The longer we wait, the more likely he’s dead.”

That was all she needed to say. Before she had finished the sentence, Elara and Jorgen were already back in their quarters, gearing up in double time. Less than ninety seconds later the four of them descended back down the ramp and hopped into a speeder that the LT must have commandeered from some Imperial, judging by the insignia on the hood and the blaster marks on the door. Forex clambered up onto the back of the vehicle, which would have been amusing if any of them weren’t completely focused on the task at hand. The lieutenant slammed the throttle forward and they sped out of the hangar, kicking up sand as the repulsors worked overtime to maintain velocity.

It was fortunate that they all had headsets for their comlinks, as there would have been no way to hear normal conversation over the noise of the speeder as they tore through the desert. Elara’s earpiece crackled as Lacroix began to run through the plan of attack.

“On the way back to retrieve the two of you, I was able to obtain an overhead satellite image of the coordinates provided by Fuse. It appears to be an old homestead, similar to where the Geonosians were assembling the bombs.” Elara grabbed onto the overhead support rail as the speeder caught some significant airtime launching over a dune. “There are two main options that the Imperials may use to escape: a garage on the east side of the base, where the images showed several repulsor craft, and a hangar in the middle of the compound which has a pair of shuttles.

“The garage is accessible from the exterior, but unfortunately the hangar requires us to proceed through the compound itself. That will also give us ample opportunity to try to find Fuse and extract him if we can.”

Jorgen’s voice came over the channel. “I take it we’re splitting up, ma’am?”

“Affirmative. I’ll drop you and Forex off at the garage. I want you to disable the speeders and subdue any Imperial personnel attempting to escape. And yes, subdue means the potential of non-lethal. You are to offer them the chance to surrender, but only once.”

“Are you sure we should offer them even one chance, ma’am? It will make it impossible to set up an appropriate ambush if we are to reveal ourselves.” Elara had never worked closely with a war droid before, so it was still taking her some time to get used to how aggressively Forex approached combat situations. As far as the droid was concerned, the only good Imp was a dead Imp. She was fortunate that the droid didn’t question her loyalty at all.

“You don’t both need to reveal yourselves, Forex,” the lieutenant responded. There was a moment of silence as the wardroid processed the implications of the statement.

“Of course, ma’am. I understand now. I am ashamed I did not come to such a conclusion myself. I will update my logic protocols appropriately.”

Lacroix chuckled before continuing. “Dorne and myself will take a different entrance and make our way toward the hangar. With luck, we will find Fuse along the way.”

Squinting her eyes against the glare of the sun, Elara could see their destination on the horizon, growing steadily closer. She wrapped a hand around the grip of her pistol, straining to see if there were any enemies on the exterior that they would have to engage shortly. As they approached, she couldn’t spot any guards, which was not entirely surprising if the location was truly being abandoned. It did, however, add a sense of urgency to their plan: there was no telling how close their targets were to leaving, or if they had already left.

The speeder slowed, the lieutenant angling it to cut a path directly in front of the garage entrance. Elara saw Jorgen lean sideways, then leap out of the vehicle when it hit a sufficiently slow speed. A sudden lurch followed by a loud thud indicated Forex had also disembarked, so Lacroix nudged the throttle. Seconds later they arrived at another entrance and the speeder came to a halt. The two of them hopped over the sides and landed in the sand, granules kicking up behind them as they hurried to the door.

Through a stroke of luck, the door was unlocked, sliding open with a grinding hiss when the lieutenant tapped the control panel. Immediately they fell in line, Lacroix leading and checking the corners, Elara two steps behind her, keeping an eye on their six and focusing on whatever direction Lacroix wasn’t. A dull boom shook the walls as they made their way through the corridors, presumably from Jorgen and Forex disabling the Imperial speeders.

When another hallway was empty, Elara was beginning to wonder if they were too late. They approached an intersection, and a voice called out as the lieutenant poked her head out to scout.

“Lieutenant! Over here!”

Quickly, the two of them moved down the left hallway toward Fuse’s voice, which Elara recognized from their previous holocalls. The ex-Havoc Squad member was at the end of the hallway, in what looked like a prison cell. As they approached, Elara realized that’s precisely what it was. A shimmering red laser gate filled the doorway leading into the room Fuse was in, separating him from Elara and the lieutenant.

“Where are the controls for the laser gate?” Lacroix asked.

“There’s no time!” Fuse’s characteristically timid voice was strained. “Colonel Gorik is heading to the hangar and is going to trigger the base’s self-destruct sequence any second! You have to stop him from escaping!”

As if on cue, klaxons began wailing and the walls were bathed in circling red warning lights. The lieutenant swore, pulling up a glowing blue holomap of the facility from her gauntlet. It obviously didn’t have any of the specific rooms detailed out, but it had their location superimposed over the outline of the base itself, as well as two dots denoting Jorgen and Forex. The hangar wasn’t far from where they were currently standing, but it would still take time to get there. 

Time that they were dangerously low on.

“Does Gorik have the ability to cancel the self-destruct?”

Fuse shook his head. “You can only disable it from the main control center, which is the opposite direction of the hangar.” Fuse pointed at the map, though it was only so helpful given the laser wall between them. “You don’t have time to stop the sequence and reach Gorik. You have to … to leave me here. Go stop Gorik, otherwise countless lives will be lost!”

Elara looked at her commanding officer, trying to imagine what decision she’d come to. Their mission was technically to apprehend the rogue members of Havoc Squad, which meant Gorik was a secondary objective. A secondary objective with the capacity to kill a lot of people, many of them innocent.

“Fuse, what system security does this base run on?”

The ex-Havoc Squad member blinked, before stuttering out an answer. “A-Acklay Scythe, m-ma’am.”

Lacroix turned to Elara. “Do you have experience with that security system, Sergeant Dorne?”

Elara felt disappointment boil in her chest. Acklay Scythe wasn’t a typical security suite used by the Empire. She had extensive knowledge in most Imperial systems, but for whatever reason, this location had chosen something she had absolutely no experience with.

“No ma’am.”

“Then I’ll take care of the self-destruct sequence. Dorne, your new objective is to capture or eliminate Colonel Gorik.”

The disappointment that Elara had felt vanished, disappearing like light into a black hole. It was replaced with a mixture of disbelief and pride. Since she had defected to the Republic, she’d been given very few assignments that felt meaningful, and even when she had, she was always under observation by a higher ranking Republic officer, one who made sure she didn’t try anything. Since she’d been assigned to Havoc Squad, she’d become more optimistic about her future prospects, especially given how high profile their missions had been. Yet she’d never imagined that she had already earned enough trust from Lieutenant Lacroix that she would be confident in sending her after an elite Imperial target, alone. 

Snapping a sharp salute, she promised that she’d prove to Lacroix that the trust wasn’t misplaced. “You can count on me ma’am.”

“I know, Dorne. Now get moving.”

—

The sirens were beginning to give Elara a headache as she rounded the last corner on her way to the hangar. She still hadn’t run across any Imperials, though evidence of their presence was everywhere. Crates stamped with the spoked emblem of the Empire dotted the rooms and hallways, though many more had been removed, as shown by the empty squares on the floor devoid of sand.

The smell of engine exhaust tickled her nose, and as she entered the hangar Elara saw one remaining shuttle, engines on and idling. Outside the shuttle were two Imperial soldiers loading up one final crate and an Imperial in pilot fatigues talking to an officer, who she surmised was Colonel Gorik himself. Her mind raced as she figured out how to best approach the situation.

The pilot needed to be taken out of the equation first. While one of the others may be skilled in piloting, she’d have to bank on the hope that they wouldn’t immediately jump in to get the shuttle going if things went sideways. More than likely, based upon general Imperial training, they would attempt to deal with the threat before anything else, which in this case would be her. She needed to give them the opportunity to surrender, but she wasn’t going to let them get the drop on her either. If they went for a weapon, they had effectively become an active enemy combatant and would be treated as such.

Leveling her weapon at the pilot, Elara took several steps forward before calling out. “In the name of the Galactic Republic, I demand you lay down your weapons and surrender!” Four heads turned to look at her, and for the briefest of moments it looked like they were considering her demand. Then, almost simultaneously, each of the Imperials reached for their weapons. Not wasting a second, Elara pulled the trigger, a crimson laser bolt streaking from her pistol and punching through the pilot’s chest. Although she would have preferred to take another shot to confirm the kill, Elara did not have the luxury. Dashing toward an idle servoloader, she fired at the two soldiers who were still working to get their rifles in hand.

One of her hurried shots struck the left soldier in the shoulder, spinning him around and knocking him off balance. The right soldier finally brought his rifle to bear, sending several bolts in Elara’s direction, all of them going wide as she dove behind the servoloader. Her mind raced, spinning up options on how to emerge victorious given she was outnumbered. Best case was that her glancing shot removed the one soldier from the battle, but she wasn’t going to bet on it.

Another burst of blaster fire caused her to flinch, the servoloader shaking as it was struck. Glancing to her right, she saw a large rolling tool chest maybe ten meters away. It wasn’t ideal that it was on wheels, but it could still take a few blaster bolts without a problem. Taking a breath, Elara closed her eyes and listened, waiting for the next burst. As soon as it happened, she dove from cover, rolling onto her feet. As she sprinted the rest of the way to the tool chest, she pointed her pistol at where she’d heard the blaster fire come from, squeezing the trigger twice. She was rewarded with a shout and the visual of the other trooper dropping to the ground before she slid behind the chest. After a long second of no further blaster fire, she risked a peek over the top of her cover.

Luck had been on her side, for both troopers were still down. One, the one she’d just shot, was still, but the other was groaning and moving slightly. The pilot was still immobile, but she couldn’t see the Colonel. Fortunately, she had perfect line of sight on the boarding ramp, so there was no way he could sneak by her.

Slowly, she emerged from cover, keeping her pistol raised and level. A metallic clunk pulled her attention to the front of the shuttle, where she could see the toe of a boot peeking out. As she began to cautiously circle around the perimeter, Colonel Gorik suddenly stepped out of his hiding spot, hands raised. Elara nearly shot him, but caught herself at the last moment.

“Ah, Sergeant Dorne. You must be the stray that Havoc Squad picked up. Tavus said they had an Imperial defector on their team. A shame you’ve chosen the wrong side.”

Gritting her teeth, Elara took a step toward the Colonel. “Colonel Gorik, I am taking you in. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Gorik laughed, and began walking toward the shuttle’s boarding ramp. “Oh, I’ll keep my hands where you can see them, and you’ll see me close the boarding ramp and fly out of here while you try not to get killed in the self-destruct explosion.” Gorik increased his pace as Elara moved toward him. “See, Sergeant Dorne, this is why the Republic will never win. They cling to unrealistic ideals, and force their soldiers to follow them. No matter what I’ve done, you can’t shoot me, because I’m an unarmed-”

The crack of a blaster bolt interrupted the Colonel and his mouth dropped open. He looked down at the smoldering hole in his chest, then back up, staring blankly at Elara’s glare of defiance. “But … you …” he coughed, before toppling to the ground.

Elara lowered her pistol just as the wailing sirens stopped. Given that they weren’t followed by a deafening explosion, it looked as though the lieutenant had successfully stopped the self-destruct sequence. Pulling out a pair of binder cuffs, she walked over to the one surviving Imperial and bound his hands. Hopefully he’d be able to give them some information on where the other ex-Havoc Squad members may be, but even if he couldn’t, the mission had still been a success. Fuse had been retrieved, and Gorik wasn’t going to be building any more bombs.

And Elara had earned the trust of her lieutenant.