Star Wars: Old Wounds (11)

It was unusual for an Admiral of the Imperial fleet to maintain an office away from their command ship. It was even more unusual that said office would be tucked away on a backwater mining world. Admiral Aegis Malefic prided himself on his ability to stand apart from the rank and file of the galaxy, however. His genius was, in his eyes, unparalleled. Project Indomitable was his latest creation, a TIE superior to any Rebel fighter, potentially even capable of taking on a cruiser without damage. A project he hoped would finally earn him the Emperor's favour, and a position among the elite on Coruscant. The secrecy of his research was the reason for he kept a semi-permanent presence on the base. Any of his underlings competent enough to manage the operation risked stealing Malefic's efforts as their own, and so he had to fill the role himself. 

The decor of the office matched that of its owner: impeccably kept, vaguely austere and draped only in materials worthy of his perceived station. His desk was large and imposing, made from real timber, not common sudowood, imported at great expense. Several paintings of wildly differing styles hung lavishly upon the walls. An Umbarran abstract painted in ultraviolet pigments, a six hundred year old portrait of a Naboo royal, a DuFhle Brothers original and more, all clashed with each other, their only connecting factor was their rarity. These were not the objects of an obsessive collector or the proud displays of an aficionado, but mere symbols of  elite status to a man like Aegis. 

Dak and Wedge were forced into the office by a pair of stormtroopers. With a sharp stabbing kick to the back of his knee, Dak was forced downwards into a subservient kneeling position, followed by Wedge. Their arms were bound behind their backs with sturdy, if tarnished, cuffs. Only afterwards did Admiral Malefic stride into the office, casting a sneering downward glance at the Rebels bound at his feet. He slowly moved past them and half leaned, half sat, on his desk, facing the pair.

"So, about those commendations..." Dak began, though was quickly silenced with the butt of a Stormtrooper's blaster.

"Humor is the weapon of fools and cowards." Aegis said, with a smirk.

"Pity. I've always wanted a commendation." sighed Wedge.

"Enough!" Malefic replied, sternly. "I have had quite enough of your antics. Obviously you won't leave here alive, but perhaps if you cooperate, the manner of your execution will be swift."

"You've never tried to sell a third-hand landspeeder on some Outer Rim mudball, have you?" Wedge asked earnestly, to which Malefic responded with bemused silence. "Because your bartering is terrible." As Dak failed to suppress a snort of derision, both pilots were again struck by their guards.

"Your attempts at comedy do not change your situation." Malefic crouched down and sharply turned Wedge's chin. "Besides, I only need one of you alive." With a slight raise of his hand, one of the Stormtroopers placed his rifle against the back of Wedge's head. Malefic flashed him a satisfied grin as he stood back. "Now, why are you here?"

"Because we crashed! We needed a way off this dust bowl." Dak said, urgency creeping into his voice. Malefic savoured his next breath.

"See how quickly the facade falls away? You concern for your friend is almost touching, truly." He stepped towards Dak. "But I meant, why are you on Andriss? Why attack my supply lines? How much do you know about Indomitable?"

"What?! I have no idea what an Indomitable is. We only chose Andriss because it was convenient. It's one of a thousand tiny outposts in this sector."

"I spoke too soon, it seems. You expect we to believe you're here by pure chance? "

"Pretty much, though you could say it was the will of the Force." interjected Wedge sardonically. "After all, we did stumble on your little TIE project".

"Oh, so that's what Indomitable means!" Dak exclaimed, with mock surprise.

"There is nothing 'little' about my masterwork. Indomitable will spell the end for your group of insurgents!" Malefic had risen to the taunt. "Beneath this facility lies the beating heart of Project Indomitable, and you expect me to believe you found it by accident? No, I don't think so. There must be a leak, a mole in the organisation, something! You will tell me everything you know, the work is too near completion to fail now!" The admiral paused, realising he'd lost control. He cleared his throat while taking a moment to compose himself. He brushed a stray lock of hair back into place with his off-hand, before continuing. "I will ask for the final time..."

He was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a nervous and out of breath officer. The officer stared aghast at the Rebel prisoners, as he realised what he had intruded upon. Malefic glared silently at the officer, his angled features would say enough. "Sorry for the interruption Grand Admiral, but we've detected an unsanctioned outgoing transmission. From the Imperial network."

"Contents?" Malefic queried.

"Unknown sir. The message was encrypted. And it can't be traced. The sender pinged it through an array of hyperspace buoys."

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. The Rebels were not acting alone after all. His mind raced, already computing the possibilities. A third Rebel? Some Y-Wings did have a co-pilot, but analysis of the fighter wreckage seemed to rule that out. A Rebel sympathiser among the miners? Unlikely to be able to access the Imperial comm centre, much less have security codes. A droid perhaps? Certainly possible. Most of the droids servicing the base were sourced locally, and lacked the regulation black and grey paintwork. It would be too easy for a saboteur to slip in. Nor could he rule out an Imperial turncoat. 

"Lockdown the base." he ordered. "No person or droid is allowed in or out of the mining complex. Check every ID code and operating number. If anyone is here who shouldn't be, I want them found. Troopers, take these two to the detention centre. I need to ruminate on these matters." 

***

R3-T3 trundled nervously through the seemingly endlessly winding Imperial corridors. He logged his ocular components as requiring repairs; This facility definitely didn't appear to be as big from the outside. The astromech liked to self diagnose in stressful situations, it distracted his processor from his current predicament. As he rounded the next corner, his vocorder gave an involuntary melancholy warbler. At the far end of the hallway, two stormtroopers were marching with purpose toward the droid.  No, he corrected, not towards him. They didn't even seem to be aware of R3's presence, instead they were escorting two prisoners. His photosensor widened in alarm, it was Masters Dogba and Antilles! Not that R3 was surprised by their capture. He'd never liked this plan. If he had lungs, the little astromech would have sighed. Once again, he had to rescue his Master. 

R3 veered away from his current path, to a point directly in from of the lead trooper.

"Move it, rust bucket." said the trooper, not breaking his stride. R3 beeped frantically. Behind the Stormtrooper, Dak gave his droid a sly wink, and waited for the opportune moment.

"I don't have time for this..." the trooper muttered. He raised a fist to halt his partner and their prisoners. "What are you trying to say droid?"

Despite have the processing power to perform thousands of complex calculations a second, R3 struggled to think on his feet. He considered over two hundred potential lies, but none passed his probabilistic algorithms with any certainty. He had no choice but to pick one, and hope the Stormtrooper was too preoccupied to think it through. He continued his insistent utterances.

"What's the holdup? These two need to be in lockup, or the Admiral will be furious." called the rear trooper.

"Its this droid. He says there's some unrest outside. Some of the miners are causing a scene, and we should go intervene before it kicks off." said the first trooper.

"Tell him to find someone else. We're busy." 

"I dunno, he sounds pretty concerned. Might be serious."

"Leave it. I'm not drawing the ire of the Admiral just because you're itching for a fight. If you want to blow off steam, head to the firing range after your shift." 

Between the bickering troopers, Dak turned to face Wedge and grinned. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he revealed his binders had become unfastened. "Old smuggling trick." he whispered. With a quick nod, both jumped into action. Dak sidestepped, allowing the still bound Wedge to tackle the leading trooper from behind. The trooper's white helmet cracked off of R3's verdant dome, while Dak swung a wide punch at the other. Within seconds, it was over. Both troopers were out cold, and the pilots were free. 

Dak leaned down towards his droid, patting it's dome fondly. "Thanks buddy. I owe you one." R3 gave a harsh burst of static. "Fine, I owe you two."

"We don't have long. We should go and steal the shuttle before we're discovered." said Wedge, interrupting.

"Wait. R3 needs to show us something. Come on, help me drag these two into that storage room. Then, we can take stock of where we stand."