"Because, R3 downloaded some schematics for Malefic's big project. Come, look." Dak waved a hand towards the astromech's holographic projector, which currently displayed a slowly rotating image of a TIE fighter.
"So this is the TIE Indomitable. The thing that managed to shoot us down." Wedge said, as he examined the display.
"Shot you down." Dak corrected.
"Excuse me?"
"The TIE shot you down. I only crashed trying to save your life. For the record."
Wedge bristled with anger, but only to hide his embarrassment.
"Fine. Whatever. But now we have the plans. How do we blow it up?"
"It's not gonna be that easy." Dak sighed. "I was afraid of this... the secret behind Indomitable, is cortosis."
"Never heard of it. I assume that's what they're mining here though? What's so bad about this 'cortosis'?"
"Its a very rare ore, only found on a handful of worlds in the entire galaxy. As far as I know only one other planet ever produced it in notable quantities."
"You've seen this stuff before? When?"
"I have. During the Clone Wars."
"Wait, hold on. Why was a smuggler like you fighting in the Clone Wars? You've never struck me as the ideological type."
"I didn't fight. Not exactly. But my services were available to the highest bidder."
So what, you helped transport this stuff to some arms dealer?"
"Wedge, you wound me with such baseless accusations." Dak began to feign protest, but he dropped his act as he saw the steely edge in Wedge's eye. "Ok, keep this quiet, it kinda hurts my reputation. I ran a few unofficial trading routes, bringing vital supplies, food and medicine, to communities on the front lines. At cost price, sometimes cheaper to be honest."
"How does being charitable harm your reputation?"
"Because 'nice' smugglers dont get far in this galaxy. Anyway, that's besides the point. I'd gotten into some trouble with some Republic authorities, long story, so I ended up having to supply transport for a Jedi and his clone squad. The whole thing was technically off the record, so they needed an unregistered ship."
"You're saying the Republic, and the Jedi, hired you for an unsanctioned mission."
"Is that so hard to believe? Would I lie to you?"
"Yes. To both questions." Wedge folded his arms sternly, but gave the older pilot a quick grin.
"Doubt me if you like." Dak shrugged, also grinning. "Anyway, some Seperatist general had found a seam of cortosis, on a planet called Chrifsal. By the time we landed our little infiltration squad, they'd already set up a droid foundry. Each day saw another few hundred cortosis weaved battle droids joining their ranks. Both the skeletal BD-1 model and the more advanced assault class. They'd even started producing armoured tank prototypes."
"So they were like these TIEs? Immune to energy blasts?"
"It was worse than that. Cortosis doesn't just absorb energy, it can channel and reflect it. Shooting at these droids just charged their energy cells. And it works on all energy weapons. Including lightsabers."
"It stops a lightsaber?!"
"Contact with cortosis shorts the blade's energy matrix. Renders it useless for a few minutes, at least."
"So none of you had any useable weaponry. How did you manage to stop them?"
"I didn't do much of anything. The Jedi saved the day. He and his clones figured out the one weakness of cortosis ore. Its unique properties make its structure quite brittle. Concussive blasts, thermal detonators, and even Force attacks were all quite effective. But it still wasn't enough to take on an entire army. In the end, we set detonators below the foundry. The explosive force ravaged the mines below, cracking the ground open for miles as the cortosis lost its integrity. The whole base was consumed by a geological catastrophe. It wasn't one of the Republic's finest hours. But, the secret of cortosis was lost with that facility."
"Until now." Wedge surmised. "Wether Malefic somehow found those old Seperatist plans, or happened to discover cortosis' properties by himself, is irrelevant. We're on the brink of a similar technology today. I can see why you wanted us to stay. Does R3 know how far reaching the Admiral's reach spreads?"
"Scanning through the data now." Dak replied focussed on the droid's output. "Several sites listed as potential factories, none have been selected yet. Some schematics for cortosis coated capital ships, thankfully those are provisional. Seems theres only one factory on record, listed as 'The Site', with no identifying markers."
"Malefic did say, the heart of his operation is below this base. An underground factory perhaps?"
"Logistically, it would be awkward, but it keeps his work private, and he doesn't need to risk pirates intercepting his shipments. All in all, quite likely."
"Then its settled." Wedge said resolutely. "Malefic's toys cannot be allowed to spread across the galaxy. We have a chance to take out his operations, now, while his efforts are focussed in one place."
"Are you sure? We could wait for backup. R3 did send out our transmission." Dak asked, calmly.
"You can't back out now old man, it was your idea. Besides, you know as well as I do that our backup will be minimal, even if Raddus does authorise it. And if by some miracle Raddus scrambles everything, they won't stand a chance against that Destroyer. This is our only opportunity."
"I know it is. But I want you to be sure before you commit. But whatever happens next, this colony is finished. Last time I faced this, we destroyed half a continent. Best case scenario, collateral damage is minimised, but the Empire abandons the mine as unprofitable. Either way, we're destroying the miners livelihoods."
Wedge stopped to consider Dak's point. Fighting the Empire always left collateral, he'd made his peace with that. Every vessel, every base destroyed, was partially crewed by civilain staff. People who worked for the Empire yes, but many who had no alternative, some needing credits, others security for their family. Occasionally, he even managed to sleep without seeing their faces in his nightmares.
But this was different. At least those who choice to work for the Empire had made a choice, however forced it was. But destroying an entire economy... could it be justified? Sloane was right, the Rebellion couldn't guarantee Andriss' security post Imperial rule. But then again, if he did not act, how many other worlds would suffer a similar fate. Was Andriss worth those other worlds?
"This is why I stick to piloting. It's far less ethically challenging." Wedge said, finally.
"You asked me once, why an old man stuck to piloting a Y-Wing. That's the reason."
"So are we going to do this?"
"We don't really have a choice."
***
By the time the trio exited the supply closet, the Imperials had widened their search to the wider facility boundaries, leaving the base interior on a skeleton crew. They made quick progress towards the nearest turbolift, easily avoiding the scant patrols along the corridors.
"Well, that looks promising." said Dak, as he observed the control panel. The lowest label's button was inactive.
"Private sub-floor." concurred Wedge. "R3, can you access it?"
The droid gave a quirky whistle, and activated the lift. They travelled in nervous silence, wondering what would await them below. Eventually, the lift began to slow, until it finally stopped with a resounding thunk.
"End of the line." Wedge murmured.
"Brace yourself. Anything could be waiting out there." Dak replied, as the doors slid open to reveal a small, carved out, chamber. The chamber was small, and apart from a number of crates, otherwise featureless. A narrow tunnel to the right of the lift extended deeper underground.
"What have we here?" Dak asked, as he strode over to open the nearest crate. Wedge followed behind, watching over the other pilot's shoulder.
"Detonation packs? Must have been left over from the miners early expeditions. Mining cortosis with explosives sounds like a bad idea."
"But helpful for us." Dak added. "Come on, let's go further in. We'll come back for these once we know where the factory is."
With that, the proceeded down the gloomy tunnel. It was periodically lit by glow lamps, evenly spaced along the runner's length, but the dim light mostly accentuated the shadows between them. The darkness stretched and contorted between them, their own twisted silhouettes looming over them. Once again, Wedge wished he was safely confined within the cockpit of his X-Wing.
After a time, the tunnel widened into a cavern, roughly dome shaped, with an approximate radius of five metres. The string of lights continued around its circumference and, by the tunnel's end, a wired comm station hung on the wall. Portable commlinks didn't have strong enough emitters to penetrate the dense rock around them, so all communications throughout the mine system has to be wired back to a central terminal above ground. Apart from these utilities, the cavern was empty.
"No..." Dak whispered.
"This can't be a dead end!" Wedge exclaimed.
"Yet, it is. But that doesn't make any sense."
Both men jumped as a shrill ringing tone came from the comm station mounted on the wall. Warily, Dak walked towards it and carefully lifted the receiver.
"Congratulations Rebels, you're even more foolish than I'd anticipated." boomed the smug voice of Grand Admiral Aegis Malefic.
"Oh, karabast." Dak swore, softly.
"When I was notified the turbo lifts had travelled to the locked floor, I couldn't believe it. What exactly were you hoping to find down there?"
"Your TIE factory." Dak replied, devoid of the energy to fight. Argis laughed heartily.
"Why? Oh... Oh! Is this because I said the beating heart of my project lay beneath the base? That was a metaphor, you fools. The cortosis ore is the heart of my operation. The factories are above us, safely installed on my personal Star Destroyer. That cave you're in was abandoned due to structural instability."
Dak and Wedge shot each other disapproving looks, each silently blaming the other for their mistake. As Aegis continued, the pilots continued their wordless bickering.
"Sordy to disappoint you both, but you've lost your window to escape, not that it would have worked either way. Unfortunately, despite your continued failures, you have proven that you know too much about my plans. Any information you could give me is outweighed by the danger you represent. This is goodbye, Rebels. I guess you've blown your chances for the last time."
The line went dead. After a moments hesitation, Dak replaced the receiver and looked sorrowfully at Wedge.
"So we were wrong, we can still force our way out." Wedge reasoned. "At worst we go down fighting." but he trailed off as he realised what Malefic had meant. Dak gave him a slow nod, as the ground shook beneath them.
"The detonators! He'll bring the whole place down!" Wedge cried out in alarm.
"Just this tunnel, but yeah. Complete cave-in, with us crushed inside." Dak yelled in reply.
"This is the last time I listen to one of your plans!"
"Then you're in luck kid!"
The roof above them was trembling now, as clouds of dust and debris rained down upon them. The rumbling grew stronger as the roar of a rippling, reflected explosion tore through the narrow cave. A burst of rock and flame shot from the tunnel opening, as the entire cavern crumbled into itself.
"Wedge!" Dak cried, reaching out an extended arm towards his friend, but they were too far apart, and there was no way out. With thunderous percussion, the cave finished its total collapse.
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