Setting the Stage

(First, thank you guys for all the support. My back is starting to get better. I don't have to lay down every day when I get home from work. I've been so exhausted from physical therapy and chiropractics 2 times a week each that I can only sleep on the weekends. However, I do plan on slowly ramping back up to at least 3 chapters a week like I used to.

Some good news, I'm almost done with the planning phase for my new project. I'm putting a fuck ton of work into it all and hope that you guys can help me make something of it. If there's enough interest, maybe I'll even post the prologue. There is no cover yet though so no proper chapters will come out until that happens. Other than that, Happy Halloween!

Comment on this paragraph with the most embarrassing costume you've ever worn. For me, I was wearing a Pikachu onesie and my ex-boyfriend was Ash.)

"Huh?"

Three? Three holocrons? Wait, doesn't that mean there's three tiers of rewards? That would mean that there were three objectives.

I already knew two of them. Despite them not being mentioned, they were pretty obvious. But what was the third?

All I could do was think back to the briefing that my master had given me while we were en route to Kashyyyk. Maybe it had something to do with the missing Wookiees? It could also be finding the reason for strange scanner behavior.

Regardless, I needed those three holocrons. Owning a guild is expensive. As long as it doesn't cost me my life, I'd look into it.

While remaining crouched, I peaked around the corner of the storage container I was hiding behind. The facility was void of any movement. They must have all been taking care of whatever charged through the fence.

It took me all but a few seconds to identify some targets. I started moving towards the cluster of landing pads that I had noticed from the trees. There were ten of them and six were currently occupied.

*Ting* *BiiiiiIIP*

Each time one of my thermal detonators smacked the hull of a freighter, a dull clap of metal on metal sounded out. Accompanying it was the all too familiar beep of the detonator being armed. One can not truly claim they have experienced Star Wars without knowing the discerning sound of a thermal detonator sticking to a surface

*Ting* *BiiiiiIIP*

*Ting* *BiiiiiIIP*

*Ting* *BiiiiiIIP*

*Ting* *BiiiiiIIP*

*Ting* *BiiiiiIIP*

I continued tossing detonators at the freighters until I had attended to each of them. I couldn't play favorites now, could I?

Upon planting the last detonator and giving the shuttle a kiss goodnight before its eternal slumber, I turned around and my eyes lit up. This… This would set off some BIG fireworks.

This apple of my eye was the facility's fuel array. Based upon the piping that was coming out of it, I had to guess that it connected to a few dispensers and hoses used to fuel ships and vehicles around the base.

Just a small spark on this baby and the whole base will be uprooted! Unfortunately, well not for me, it would be a whole lot more than a spark. I cradled a detonator and gently placed it onto the large tank. As I turned to leave, I couldn't help but turn around.

I tilted my head, blinking once as I gazed upon the detonator. "Ahhhh, you need a friend, don't you? Teamwork makes the dream work!"

Thus, I gently placed another detonator a few inches away. "You two have fun!"

Am I crazy? Bahhh, no I'm not. Who the fuck doesn't like big explosions?! As long as you are at a safe distance of course… Yeah! Exactly! What could go wrong?

I continued attempting to convince myself I hadn't gone mad as I walked away from the fuel array. Only a few containers made it past me before I stopped and rushed to hide.

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*

Patrol droid?

*Clank* *Clank*

Only one set of footsteps. This should be simple enough. I turned around and jumped about a foot off the ground. My hands clamped around the edge of the container before I pulled myself up.

I struggled to keep my mouth shut with the pain from my stomach shooting through my nerves. Clenching my teeth, I pressed off and then pulled myself up on top of the container.

*Clank* *Clank*

The sound of the metal feet hitting the ground grew louder. The droid was getting closer.

I carefully peaked my head up, pushing down the urge to curl up into a ball and cry from the pain. The droid was mere meters away at this point. Conveniently, it would pass quite close to the container I was lying upon.

Tilting my body slightly, I reached to my chest and pulled out my combat knife. It would be best to not put on a light show to take down one measly droid.

*Clank* *Clank*

I whispered to myself. "Three…"

*CLank* *CLAnk*

"Two…"

*CLANk* *CLANK*

"One… go."

I pressed off the ground with my arms and planted both of my feet on the container. Then, I shot forwards off the edge of the container, only nuts, bolts, and pavement beneath me now.

As I traveled through the air, I reached out with my left hand, grabbing the head of the droid. Before it could even react, I swung my right hand, knife too, burying it into the exposed neck joint.

*Ptsst*

The red eyes flickered to black as the droid's heartbeat of electricity drained from its components. With no power to support itself, the droid's frame crumbled to the ground, contorting in unnatural ways as if it had just folded itself like laundry.

With that obstacle out of the way, I pushed forth. To help with the pain, I removed a bacta injector from my belt and gently pressed it into my abdomen. A wave of cooling bliss drowned the pain. While only temporary, it would definitely help.

I snaked through many more containers, making my way through the huge facility. There was another destination I had in mind. While observing the facility from the trees, I noticed that there were a few buildings that were giving off an abnormal amount of heat.

As I reached one of them, I quickly understood what it was. With the amount of cabling and the transformer outside, it had to be some sort of data bank or a powerful computer terminal. This facility was getting more and more suspicious as the seconds ticked by.

I approached the door and found that it was locked. Closing my eyes, I slowly waved my hand, rinsing the lock with waves of the force and feeling through every nook and cranny. With a flick of my finger, the locking mechanism was disengaged and the door became unlocked without even a click.

Upon slowly pushing the door open, a wave of heat escaped the building, washing over me and causing a bead of sweat to roll down my forehead. Kashyyyk was already a tropical planet, the nights barely granting reprieve. This heat pushed my body past the limit to where I began to sweat.

Opening the door fully, it suddenly squeaked. "Shit."

It was all I could say as the Imperial I had discovered sitting in the small building turned to look at me. He quickly sprung up in a panic and reached for the desk before him. There was a blaster.

I immediately bent my knees and sprung forwards as I unclipped one of my lightsabers. Before I had even ignited the blade, I had my right elbow bent, ready to strike with a piercing stab.

We made eye contact as he gripped the blaster and aimed it towards me. At this point, I was just inches from being in range. Only one of us could live at this point.

*BSSHHhhh* *PSshhhhhh* *Shwip*

It all happened so fast. With a flash of purple, his insides were singed and his body had gone limp. Already holding his shoulder, I reached around and held him tight as I slowly lowered him to the ground. He was merely a foot soldier on the wrong side, at least from my point of view, of a conflict. He didn't live as a coward, nor did he deserve a coward's death. Thus, I laid him to rest with a modicum of respect.

Taking a deep breath, I clipped my lightsaber back onto my belt before looking around. The small building was almost entirely filled with large server cabinets. There must have been a LOT of data in here. The only free space was the walking area and the desk. Upon the desk was a terminal and a comm station.

I was nearly tempted to make use of the comm station but I held myself back. I had no doubt that a communications array such as this one was closely monitored. The last thing I needed was to be discovered in a facility with hundreds of Imperials.

Reaching into one of my pockets, I pulled out what I could only describe as a thumb drive. During the officer training course, I experienced a memory in which an enemy database had to be accessed. The device used to accomplish this was a thumb drive such as this one.

I plugged the thumb drive into a port next to the terminal and then plugged my comm link into another. I pressed the button on it, opening the channel I had with Ezio. "Hey, scrap heap, I need you to do something."

A robotic, yet somehow irritated, voice came from the other side. "Oh, well well well. If it isn't the heap of slowly rotting flesh. How may this humble collection of metal help you?"

I rolled my eyes. "I just patched into a database. Comb it for me and take anything useful. Also, open a masked channel and call for help. There's a diarrhea storm brewing."

Ezio replied quite quickly. "Take it all. Got it. Wait, isn't the expression your biologicals use shit storm?"

I scoffed. "Yeah, shit storm would be an understatement. Now get on it."

Ezio would probably be rolling his eyes if he had a pair. "Fine. Masking a channel might take a while but I can do it. Can I get back to my recreational activities now?"

I didn't even bother replying as I took a quick glance through the database. One collection of files stuck out to me. The folder was titled Operation Recursion and a lot of the documents I saw were labeled with that name. The plot was truly thickening.

Before leaving the databank, I tossed another few thermal detonators. I wanted this thing gone as soon as we got what we needed.

Upon exiting the door on the opposite side of the small building, the largest structure in the facility was straight ahead. While not close, about a klik out, it was directly in my line of sight. It was all but inviting me to break in!

(I forget if I explained this, but a "klik" is a kilometer. Yes, it is spelled k-l-i-k and it is used by military personnel.)

I made haste with a brisk jog, taking care to not run head first into any patrols. After moving about half a klik, I had to stop and catch my breath. This was also a good chance to check on my wound.

After sitting down, I leaned against a storage container and untucked my tunic. Taking care to not scratch the wound, I pulled up the tunic, revealing my stomach. Let me tell you, it did not look pretty. An area of skin about 4 cm across was completely singed and the surrounding skin looked warped and glossy.

Fuck, I really hope that it will go away. I mean, the players that respawned after getting crushed by trees a few weeks ago didn't have permanently crushed heads, right? Eh, it's just cosmetic anyways. I could just claim that I was stabbed with a lightsaber but lived!

Poking at it gently, the pain flared up for but a moment. This was actually good news as it meant that there was little to no nerve damage. It would heal nicely from there on.

Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a voice coming over a comm link from the other side of the container I was leaning on.

The voice sounded quite authoritative. "The big one is running away again. I need everyone on clean up duty so we can get back to work."

Some shuffling came from the same spot. "Ughhh, the commander is fucking annoying. I'm on break right now."

Another voice responded. "Well, he did say 'everyone'. That includes those on break. Just finish your break after you help out."

"Fair enough."

Their footsteps faded as they left the area. As they left, I was sweating. My time was almost up. I had to move quickly if I wanted to figure out the third objective. No matter what, I had a feeling that I would find it in the large building up ahead.