A Life Without Meaning

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕦𝕖 (𝕀𝕀)

The group met on board the Slave I to hash out their plan. They crowded around the halo-table in the main hull. The Imperial scientist, still shackled, sat with them quietly.

Bo brought up the schematics of Gideon's ship from the information that they had collected from the Imperial database.

"This is Moff Gideon's Imperial flight cruiser." she introduced to the small crowd standing around her. "In the old days, it would carry a crew of several hundred. Now it operates with a tiny fraction of that."

"Your assessment is misleading." a small voice suddenly piped up.

Everyone looked over their shoulders in surprise, finding that the Imperial Scientist, his back straight in fear, had been the one that interrupted.

"Oh great an objective opinion." Cara muttered sarcastically.

"This isn't subterfuge, I assure you." he replied.

Ellia tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Let him speak." Bo finally decreed.

His hands fiddled nervously in his lap as he took another breath,

"There is a garrison of Dark Troopers on board." he finally explained. "They're the ones who abducted the child."

"How many troopers do they have armed in those suits?" Ellia asked quickly.

"These are third-generation designs. They are no longer suits." the scientist answered. "The human inside was the final weakness to be solved...they're droids."

Ellia's lips parted in surprise, and for some reason, the healing wound on her side seemed to throb ominously at his words. She looked to her right, exchanging wide-eyed glances with Din and Cara.

"Where are they bivouacked?" Fennec demanded.

The scientist hesitantly rose from his seat. Bo followed him, watching him carefully as he approached the holo-table, hands still bound.

"They're held in cold storage in this cargo bay-" he explained, hitting a few buttons on the map to zoom in on a certain part at the center of the cruiser. The image depicted a line of stalls, all blinking a bright red color. "They draw too much power to be kept at ready."

"How long to power up?" Fennec asked.

"A few minutes, perhaps."

"Where is the child being held?" Din asked quickly.

The scientist moved the map to another area of the ship,

"This is the brig." he said, focusing on one cell in particular. "He's being held here under armed guard."

Everyone took a moment to digest the information.

"Very well." Bo-Katan finally said, "We split into two parties."

"I go alone." Din said boldly.

Ellia turned towards him in surprise, but any plea for him to change his mind was drowned out by Bo, who was obviously itching to continue on.

"Fine." she barked, "Phase one: Lambda shuttle issues a distress call. Two, we come in hot, emergency land at the mouth of the fighter launch tube, cutting off any potential interceptors." the experienced soldier explained, dancing around the map for visual clarifications. "Koska, Fennec, Amnes, Dune, and myself disembark with maximum initiative. Once we've neutralized the launch bay, we make our way through these tandem decks in a penetration maneuver."

She brought up an image of said decks onto the screen.

"And me?" Din asked.

"We'll be misdirection." Bo replied, "Once we draw a crowd, you slip through the shadows, get the kid."