Solivagant-The Mandalorian

45

" promises kept "

Back on the ship, Bo-katan sat at the controls in the belly of the ship. Lana, Din, Cara, Fennec and Koska watched as Bo-katan showed them the map of Moff Gideon's cruiser. The doctor sat with his head down, looking at the cuffs holding his wrists together.

"In the old days, it would carry a crew of several hundred. Now it operates with a tiny fraction of that." Bo-katan explains.

"Your assessment is misleading." The doctor speaks up.

"Oh great. An objective opinion." Cara spits. The doctor turns to her, the lights of Slave-1 beaming off his glasses. "This isn't subterfuge. I assure you."

"Let him speak." Lana says beside Cara.

"There's a garrison of Darktroopers on board. They are the ones who abducted the child."

"How many troopers do they have armed in those suits?" Din steps toward him.

"These are third generation design. They are no longer suits. The human inside was the final weakness to be solved. They're droids."

Din turns his head to Lana. She looks from the doctor to him, taking a deep breath.

"Where are they bivouacked?" Fennec asks. The doctor rises from his seat. Everyone on board takes a step closer as he looks through the map. "They're held in cold storage in this cargo bay. They draw too much power to be kept at ready."

"How long to power up?" Lana says beside Din.

"A few minutes, perhaps."

"Where is the child being held?" Din demands from the Doctor. He quickly maneuvers the map, "This is the brig. He's being held here under armed guard."

Bo-katan takes a closer look at the map. "Very well. We split into two parties."

"Lana and I go alone."

"Fine. Phase one, Lambda shuttle issues a distress call. Two, we come in hot and emergency land at the mouth of the fighter launch tube, cutting off any potential interceptors. Koska, Fennec, 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."

"And us?" Lana asks.

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

"Those Darktroopers are gonna be a real skank in the scud pie."

Lana looks at the map beside Bo-katan, "Their bay is on the way to the brig. Can we make it there before they deploy?" Lana turns her head to the doctor.

"It's possible."

Fennec quickly takes the code cylinder from the doctor's pocket, handing it to Din. "Take this and seal off their holding bay. Anyone else," Fennec looks to Bo-katan, "we can handle."

"We'll meet at the bridge."

"Let's board then." Lana says, breaking up the group to prepare for the siege.

•·················•·················•

On the stolen ship with Boba following close behind, the group sits and waits until they're at the cruiser. Its silent for a while, until Bo-Katan speaks up. "Moff Gideon is mine. Got it?"

"He's ex-ISB. He's got a lot of information. I need him alive." Cara says as her blaster is rested upon her shoulder.

"I don't care what happens to him as long as he surrenders to me."