The Twilights: The Basics of Secrets

Chapter 10

Jay

The original meeting had been a total mess. He knew the right catch phrase to let us know he was the defector, but the moment we entered the room, everything was off. The "defector" was fidgety and walked on his toes; ready to move quickly at a moment's notice. That wasn't unusual; defecting from the Empire is no laughing matter. He closed the door behind him and we began talking about the extraction, telling him about our waiting ship and that once we get him to safety, then he'll give us the information he had.

But before we made our departure from the cantina, as a precaution, we ask all defectors a question. The questions are random and from an outside ear, they wouldn't make sense. When someone contacts, the Dissent looking to escape the Empire, they are transmitted a secret file; a story. Folk tales passed around species that live throughout the galaxy. They aren't told what to do with the stories, but if they're smart enough, they know to read them, and then we ask about the story.

When we asked our imposter, he answered wrong.

Tor and I have to play off his false answer cool, trying not to let him know that we have discovered he wasn't the defector. But talks were cut short when Livia stormed into the room, shooting the trooper before any explanation.

On our way running out, Liv elaborated that the cantina quickly filled with Empire troopers and that she overheard them preparing to infiltrate the meeting. She also pointed out that she was given a small tip off from Azura, before Azura went running away from the cantina. Tor and Russ said we should cut our losses and go back to the ship. Livia and I agreed to go look for Azura. We compromised; Tor went back to warn Luna and Brie while Livia, Russ, and I took the long way back, searching for Azura. With a small explosion from Liv to cover our tracks and following the direction she saw Azura traveling, Russ was able to spot Azura's white hair from the massive crowds.

Russ picked the defector off the ground and draped him around his shoulders. Now that we have the real defector, our escape has been made all the more complicated. No doubt troopers are already on their way to the docks to prevent us from leaving, and now we have to carry extra weight.

We didn't waste a second; already running off to The Spirit.

Our route back had to change several times to avoid patrolling troopers. Pausing in alleys, cutting across other streets, the way back was taking too long. "Livia, we need another distraction to get to the docks. I may not like it, but we need to split up; we'll move faster if we aren't in a group. Liv and Azura, get us a clear window and we'll meet you back at the ship."

Livia rapidly raced across the street, placing her homemade explosives in spots on the street where there weren't many people around to get hurt. She ran back to us, took Azura by the arm, and the two ran into another alley. Russ and I went out the other end of the alley as the bombs went off. The more streets Russ and I came across, the less troopers there were; all of them going to inspect the explosions.

The ship docks were just in view and a very obvious firefight was taking place. The Spirit was hovering slightly in the air with the gun cannons firing into the groups of troopers below.

I tapped Russ on the shoulder and motioned for him to go around the troopers to get to the ship. I kept running ahead.

At first, I fought back with just my blaster. Coming from the rear, the troopers didn't see me shooting their allies. But my surprise attack was short lived. Now half the troopers turned their gunfire on me. I took shelter behind a landed ship. Russ needed to get to the ship, and Livia and Azura still needed to make it back. We needed to buy them time and stop as many troopers before any of them shot vital parts of The Spirit.