In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 25

"WE HAVE TO GO BACK FOR HER!"

"Rex, I understand you're upset, but we don't even know where to start." Hunter tried to calm his friend, but Rex was having none of it, slamming his fist into the wall of the Marauder. Wrecker stepped past to place Rex's removed armor in a storage bin, including the helmet that they'd managed to find in one of the corridors, and Echo tried to wrap a bacta patch on the captain's shoulder injury from the Inquisitor's lightsaber. Rex's rage seemed to do more to dull the pain than the injection they'd given him once they returned to the ship.

"There has to be a way. I won't abandon her."

Hunter met his eyes and saw the fear and pain in them. He was sympathetic but truly at a loss as to where to start. They had just managed to get the Marauder off the ground before the Scrapper Guild had discovered the ship. There were new burn marks in the side of the hull from their blasters, but Tech didn't think anything critical had been damaged. Now, they hung in deep space once more as Rex paced in the rear of the ship.

"We should go back and re-group with Organa and his people. They may have information," Hunter suggested.

"You know damn well we don't have time for that. He's going to kill her."

Echo stepped up behind his friend, gently resting his hand on his uninjured shoulder. "Rex, I know you want to go after her, but we have nowhere to even start looking," he said quietly. Rex whirled on him, and he could see the frustration in his movements and the desperation in his mind. "We want to find her too, but we have to have a starting point. Otherwise, we'll just be running all over the galaxy."

"I may be able to help with that," Tech said, walking up from the cockpit. "I was able to track the trajectory of the Inquisitor's shuttle as it left Bracca. We were fortunate in our timing returning to the Marauder. I can chart a predicted trajectory."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Rex demanded.

"Because...I wasn't sure if I'd gotten the scanner up in time. I noticed the shuttle leaving just as we reached the Marauder, and that's why I rushed inside, to see if I could catch it jumping to hyperspace. I didn't want to give you hope unless I was absolutely sure."

"But that's just a predicted trajectory," Hunter stated. "They could stop at any point along that line and we'd have no way of knowing."

"Actually, I may be able to help with that too," Tech said, pushing his goggles further up his nose. "Senna was carrying some of my tools with her when she was captured. I put a low-grade tracker on those months ago when Wrecker was losing them in various places."

"Oh come on, it was just one time," Wrecker huffed.

"It was several times, and I lost my favorite welder because of you," Tech muttered. "Anyway, if I can boost the signal strength, we should be able to get ourselves within the general vicinity of Senna's current whereabouts as long as the tools are still with her."

Rex felt some of the tension leaving his shoulders and he was able to breathe again. "Alright, let's get to it then."

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Several hours later, the Marauder dropped out of hyperspace near a deep space Imperial outpost. Rex was pacing again in the back of the ship. "Are you sure this is going to work? If we get caught before we even get on board, it'll do Senna no good."

"I can get us on board. I've scrambled the ship's signature and have clearance codes to get us past their defenses." Tech said over his shoulder as he guided the Marauder towards the lone Star Destroyer in the vicinity. "The beacon is coming from that ship. We'll have to get onboard and access their internal systems to find where she's being held."