Taking the Immobilizer 418

Chapter IV | Episode V | 12/8/2017

Twil and Rath discussed plans and options with Mon Mothma and her generals at great length. Ultimately, Mon Mothma persuaded the crew to consider the “Rebel approach” as opposed to engaging the Immobilizer head on.

“Captain, we have found that this strategy has worked quite well for us in the past.” Mon Mothma explained, “Now that we have the location of the Immobilizer 418, we can monitor all traffic coming and going from that ship. When we find the best suitable target, we will contact you. With that target, you should be able to obtain all you need to board the Immobilizer. How you go about doing that will be completely up to you.”

“Thank you so much, Senator Mothma.” Twil replied, “Oh, one more thing. That ‘mining station’ where we acquired this information. Yeah, it’s no mining station. We think the Empire is building something there, something big. Rath can send you all the details that he obtained while there.”

As Senator Mothma looked over the newly arrived information, she turned to Ota.

Ota simply nodded and replied, “I’ll get my squad together and look into this immediately.”

Before Twil could say anymore, however, Rath cut in.

“Twil, I need to have a word with the Senator, in private if you don’t mind.”

Twil gave the Chiss a confused look, but left the cockpit to give Rath his privacy. From a distance, he could see the conversation being had, but he couldn’t hear anything said. He saw Mon Mothma’s eyes go wide, before stepping away, letting another general take up the space in the holocommunicator.

He could see the two talking, the general was clearly distressed over what Rath was saying. When Rath took off his helmet, though, the general looked shocked. A few more words were spoken between the two, before Mon Mothma reappeared in the image, and Rath waved for the Zeltron to return.

“If there is nothing else, Captain Twil?” Mon Mothma asked him, while continuing to look back at Rath with slight unease.

“No, Senator, I think we’ve discussed enough. My crew and I will be heading to Bespin to restock. We will wait for your next call there.”

Mon Mothma nodded, and said, “May the Force be with you.”

The call was then ended, and the holocomm display dissipated.

“Next stop Cloud City.” Twil said with a grin.

The crew made the jump to Bespin for a few key reasons. One, it was close to Hoth, where the Rebel base was currently located. Two, the location of the Immobilizer was relatively nearby, in the unknown regions of space just west of Bespin and Hoth. And three, if they were going to attack the Immobilizer 418, they needed to be better prepared.

Rath had advised Twil that the Sovereign would need to be more than just fast, if they were to take on that ship. So, while on Cloud City, Twil was able to find the following items Rath requested: A psuedo-cloaking device to hide themselves from the Immobilizers sensors, a comm jammer to stop the Imperials from calling for help or for organizing attacks on the crew once the assault had begun, and three, a long range communications array to contact the Rebels for help, should the need arise. In addition to those items, Rath also requested some smaller goods for contingency purposes.

Twil, being Twil, was able to find these (mostly illegal) items fairly easily. It was a simple matter for Rath to install them all on the ship.

Twil watched as the skilled Chiss installed the items onto the ship with a speed and efficiency that was beyond any normal sentient’s possible ability. The ship itself was almost glowing red due to the speed that Rath was working. What would normally be a two to three day job, Twil suspected that Rath would have it done in half a day.

Knowing that he had the time, Twil decided to take Idozzi to Solomahal’s clothing boutique, Threadborn.

Upon arriving, Solomahal instantly recognized his business partner and rushed up to the Zeltron, embracing him in a warm, scaly hug. “Captain Twil! It has been too long! What can I do for you my friend?”

“It’s good to see you too Solomahal!” Twil replied in his usual cheery manner. “I’m actually here for Idozzi. She’s in need of some better armor, possibly something from your ‘special’ collection?”

Solomahal looked a little despondent, “Ah Captain, I am sorry. I don’t have any of that in stock at the moment. But if you’d like, I have plenty of basic armor in stock. It’s nothing special, but it’s still the best looking gear you’ll find in the Outer Rim!”

Felling a little let down, Twil agreed, and set Idozzi up with some much needed armor upgrades. If his crew was going to infiltrate an Imperial Star destroyer, he wanted to make sure they were all prepared for the coming encounter.

Later that night, just as Rath had finished with the upgrades to the ship, R5 sent out an alert for the crew that a message from Hoth was incoming.

Twil, Rath, and Zanroy all headed for the cockpit to answer the call.

One of the Rebel generals materialized over the holocomm display, and said, “Captain Twil, we have a lead. We believe this is your best chance to infiltrate the Immobilizer. A bounty hunter by the name of Captain Marlo has been seen entering and leaving the coordinates you provided. He is currently on Cantonica, in the city of Canto Bight. As Senator Mothma said previously, how you use that info is up to you. But I would suggest one of three options. Get the bounty hunter to give you the access codes to the Immobilizer, steal the access codes, or steal his ship. Any one of those options should get you on board the Immobilizer.”

“Thank you, General.” Twil replied.

The general nodded, before ending the call.

“Canto Bight, huh?” Zanroy mused, “I’ve been there.”

“Wait, you have?” Twil asked excitedly, “So have I! i used to work there, before getting my job with Teemo. I was at a huge party, and Teemo showed up. We were having such a good time, the drunken Hutt offered me a job. Why were you there?”

Zanroy shrugged, “Why would any bounty hunter go to Canto Bight?”

“Oh, gotcha.” Twil replied with a nod. “Well, guess we’re going to Canto Bight.”

While on route to Cantonica, plans were discussed among the crew. It was decided that Rath would find and hack into Marlo’s ship, while Twil and Zanroy would find Marlo himself.

Rath had suggested getting some of Marlo’s DNA, so they could replicate his appearance with his tech flesh camouflage kit. With the access codes, and Marlo’s appearance, they could at least pull off a suitable disguise to get into the hangar of the Immobilizer.

Upon landing in Canto Bight, the crew instantly recognized Marlo’s ship in the same hangar. Rath wasted no time in activating his stealth suit, and headed to Marlo’s ship, working on unlocking and bypassing the ship’s many security features.

Meanwhile, Twil and Zanroy disembarked the Sovereign, only to be greeted by the most welcoming port authority they had seen in some time. They were instantly given drinks and brochures to the best casino’s in the city. This was clearly the most luxurious and most touristy planet they had been to in some time.

Once they were in the city proper, Zanroy and Twil discussed just how they were going to find this bounty hunter that they knew so little about. The two agreed that there was one place in the city that was worth going to above all others, Canto Casino.

Canto Casino was the largest and most opulent casino in the city. It also happened to be where Twil used to work, before becoming a trader for Teemo. Both knew that if Captain Marlo would be anywhere, it would be there.

As the two arrived, it did not take long for them to find their mark. Captain Marlo was at one of the many bars withing the casino, and making quite a riot. The masked human had just slammed his empty glass onto the bar with such force that it shattered to pieces, making a temporary scene, before all the other guests instantly went back to their own drinking and gambling.

Recognizing the man form the image the Rebels had sent him, Twil quickly rushed over to Captain Marlo, who was know making to leave the casino. “Hey, buddy! How about another drink?” Twil asked, with two bottles in hand.

Marlo just pushed the Zeltron aside, not slowing his pace towards the exit.

Seeing that he needed to be a little more forceful, Twil pulled yet another mind trick, fooling the bounty hunter into thinking that he knew Twil.

Marlo turned to face Twil, and with great surprise in his voice, said, “Oh, hey! I know you!”

“Yeah you do!” Twil replied, “So how about that drink?”

Marlo replied hesitantly, confusion clearly clouding his mind, “Uh, I’d love to, but I’ve got a job I need to do. I need to pick up someone. But, yeah, let’s walk and talk.”

Agreeing to the proposal, Twil kept pace with the bounty hunter. At first he was just attempting small talk with the man, to further his mind control. Eventually though, he began to ask questions about the job he was on. However, he was unable to get his answer, as the two entered a dark back alley.

Marlo instantly shoved Twil up against a wall and made a shushing signal with his lips and finger.

Twil decided to play along, and waited, leaning up against the wall with Marlo. Reading his thoughts, he knew that Marlo was preparing to take out his target, whoever it was. Twil looked down the alley, and could see a Duros beginning to approach. As he did so, he could see Marlo pulling out his gun. Twil immediately attacked the man’s mind, causing him to pass out instantly.

As the bounty hunter dropped, Zanroy, who had been following close behind, leaped through the air, landing behind the Duros. As the Duros turned to face him, Zanroy just said, “We need to talk.” And used the Force to push the Duros through the air, landing right at Twil’s feet.

“What’s going on here?!” The shaken Duros cried out, looking back and forth between Twil and Zanroy, who was now closing the gap between them.

“We just save your life.” Twil answered. “This bounty hunter was going to kill you, I want to know why.”

“Kill me?” The Duros asked, “Why would he kill me?”

“That’s what we want to know.” Twil replied.

“Look, man.” The Duros said, getting to his feet, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just here for my pick up. You got my spice, or what?”

Twil eyed the Duros suspiciously, not believing that he was little more than a spice junkie. Using the Force, he invaded the Duros’ mind. He saw thoughts of nothing but spice. As he delved deeper, he could see images of Hutts. Lots and lots of Hutts. Finally, he could see an image of one particular Hutt, suspended in a large bacta tank. Teemo.

“What do you know about Teemo?” Twil asked.

“What? How’d you know about that?” The Duros asked.

“I work for Teemo too.” Twil lied, “I want to know what you know about him.”

“Nothing, man.” The Duros replied, shifting awkwardly, “You know how it is. Teemo sends us on spice runs, and we just go wherever he tells us to go. I mean, yeah, Teemo was out of the game for a bit, but he’s making his comeback. So, you got my spice or what?”

Unsure of what to do with the addict, Twil just used a simple mind trick and said, “Yeah you’ve already got it, go on your way.”

The Duros looked confused, but nodded and left the two alone.

Just then, Twil received a comm from Rath, “Twil, I got the access codes to the Immobilizer.”

Heading back to the hangar, Twil was now wearing the bounty hunter’s armor as per Rath’s request. The two headed up into Marlo’s ship, where Rath was waiting. Twil and Zanroy then relayed their recent events.

Twil then handed Marlo’s datapad over to Rath, “Can you find out anything more about that Duros?” Twil asked.

Rath attempted to hack into the datapad, but it clearly had too many fail safes in place. Working quickly, he was able to get a small amount of information before the datapad exploded in his hands.

Shouting a few obscenities, Rath explained what little he found, “The Imperials wanted him to find out more about Teemo’s spice trading routes. Hmm, that gives me an idea. When we get to the Immobilizer, we’ll have you impersonate the bounty hunter.” Rath said to Twil, “Meanwhile, we can disguise Zanroy to look like the Duros with the camouflage kit. Pretending that you’re there to make the drop off. That’ll get us on board the ship. While you keep the Imperials busy, I can sneak through, find the nearest console, and just create utter chaos. From there, we improvise.”

“So, are we taking this ship there?” Zanroy asked, looking around at the cramped confines of Marlo’s ship.

“No, we’ll take the Sovereign. This ship isn’t nearly well enough equipped to deal with the Immobilizer.” Rath replied.

“So, how do we explain the different ship?” Twil asked.

Rath gave a bemused look to Twil, “We’re on Canto Bight, right? Just tell them you won it in a Sabacc game. We’ll change the call sign, temporarily, they’ll be none the wiser.”

“Oh, that could work.” Twil said, with a grin.

Twil had discussed the plan with the Rebel general he had spoken with before.

The general replied, “It’s a crazy plan, Captain, but I wish you all the success. I have dispatched some of my men just outside of the Immobilizer’s scanner range. They are they for worst case scenario measures. Please treat their lives with respect.”

“Will do General.” Twil replied before ending the call. He then looked back at the others in the cockpit. “Let’s do this!”

The jump to lightspeed was made, and mere minutes later, they reemerged from hyperspace. There to greet them was a small contingent of Rebel fighters. Two A-Wings, a Y-Wing, and an X-Wing. And, a little ways away, they could see the Immobilizer 418.

Upon seeing the Rebel ships, Twil was more than a little upset. “This is it? This is all the help they’re willing to give us?”

“Hopefully, we won’t even need them.” Rath said.

One of the Rebel ships then hailed the Sovereign. Twil answered the comm, and a voice called out to them. “Sovereign, this is Blue Leader. We are ready to help in whatever way you need.”

“Hey Blue Leader.” Twil replied, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. “You know the plan. If all goes well, you won’t even need to engage. But we’ll let you know.”

“Copy that, Sovereign. Good luck.” Blue Leader replied, before ending the call.

Twil then proceeded to the Immobilizer. Sending out the access codes, Twil received a message from the Immobilizer, “Hummingbird, you are cleared to land, please proceed to the main hangar.”

As Twil piloted the ship towards the hangar, the shields powered down, allowing them access. As they landed, the crew could see a contingent of TIE Interceptors parked in the hangar, along with numerous stormtroopers.

Still in the bounty hunter’s armor, Twil headed down the ramp. Disguised as the Duros junkie, Zanroy followed close behind, with unlocked binders attached to his wrists. Following the two, Rath had his stealth suit activated, and immediately went to work finding the nearest control terminal.

Twil was greeted by a squad of stormtroopers. “Captain Marlo.” The lead stormtrooper greeted him, “This is a different ship than the one you left in.”

“Oh, you know, while I was on Canto Bight, I decided to have a little fun. Wound up winning this sweet ship in a card game against a Lutrillian with more credits than sense, if you know what I mean.” Twil replied.

“Is this him?” The stormtrooper asked, eyeing the disguised Zanroy.

“Yes, sir.” Twil replied.

The stormtrooper made a gesture with his hand, and three troopers ran up to Zanroy and began eyeing him closely.

Just then, alarms began blaring throughout the ship. Dozens upon dozens of stormtroopers began flooding into the hangar. Instinctively, Twil shot his hands up, into the air. “Uh, Captain is there some sort of problem?” Twil asked.

The stormtrooper ignored him as he was too busy listening to a comm coming in through his headset. “It’s him!” He suddenly shouted to the other troopers in his squad. All six of the troopers instantly left Twil and Zanroy and headed for the TIE Interceptors, joining the massive group of troopers that had entered the hangar.

Just then, a massive explosion occurred on the far wall, leaving a colossal hole in the wall. Seconds later, half of the TIE Interceptors in the hangar blew up as well, killing all stormtroopers in the hangar.

As the smoke cleared, a single figure, carrying some unconscious woman, could be seen in one of the smoking craters of the wall. “You would not believe the day I’ve been having!”

In seeing who the figure was, Rath, Twil, and Zanroy all replied in unison, “Draven?!”

Draven approached Twil and Zanroy. The three of them could see now, that the woman he was carrying was none other than Doc Barris. “Hey guys! Long time no see!” He greeted them.

“Draven, what the hell are you doing here?!” Rath called out.

“And what are you doing with Doc Barris?” Twil asked.

“Funny story, actually.” Draven replied, “See, Barris has information I need. It’s in her office, but I can’t access it without her being there. It’s locked behind her DNA or something.”

The three were still too stunned to see their long lost companion to really respond.

“So, you guys are clearly here for something too, right?” Draven asked.

“We’re here to extract some prisoners, among other things.” Rath replied.

“Great!” Draven replied, “Look, you help me get the info I need, and I’ll help you out in whatever it is you’re doing.”

“Sounds good to me.” Twil replied, “Rath, have you found a terminal yet?”

“Just now.” Rath called out to them from across the hangar. Rath worked quickly to hack into the ship’s systems. Once inside, he found schematics for the main areas they needed. “Okay, I’m sending you the maps for Barris’ office, the detention level, and the bridge. While you three head to Barris’ office, I’ll stay here and see what kind of chaos I can create to distract the troopers from getting to you.”

“Sounds good.” Twil called back, “Once we’re done there, we’ll meet up at the detention level.”

“Alright.” Rath agreed, “Remember, Twil, Idozzi has just activated the comm jammer. The Imperials won’t be able to communicate with each other, and they won’t be able to call for help. But it works both ways. We won’t be able to use our comms either. So, if you need to contact us, use your powers.”

“Right.” Twil replied. “See you soon.”

As Twil, Zanroy, and Draven made their way to Doc Barris’ office, they were greeted with a scene of carnage and destruction. Multiple walls were seared or melted away, stromtrooper bodies were strewn about, many were in pieces.

Twil didn’t dare say anything for fear that if he opened his mouth, he would simply vomit rather than speak.

With the instructions Rath had given them, the three were able to find Doc Barris’ office fairly easily. As they entered, Draven plopped the still unconscious woman into the chair facing her personal computer terminal. Recognizing Doc Barris, the terminal sprung to life. And Draven was able to access the files he needed.

“It’s going to take some time before I can download all this info onto the datastick.” Draven called out to the other two. Just then, alarms began blaring. Accessing Doc Barris’ computer had clearly triggered something, and stormtroopers would be on their way.

“We’ll keep them occupied.” Zanroy said. He handed Twil his lightsaber, while Zanroy wielded the corrupted saber of Elaiza Ren.

Rath could see the alarms going off, directing all personnel to Doc Barris’ office. He couldn’t shut down the alarm though, because whatever they were doing, was constantly triggering it. So, he did the next best thing, and set off alarms around the entire ship. With nowhere to pinpoint, it would buy them a little breathing room.

Although Rath’s plan worked to some extent, there were still plenty of troopers heading towards Barris’ office. “Protect Moff Barris!” They could one of them call out as they rushed down the hallway towards the office door.

Naturally, Twil and Zanroy decided to deal with them in the most ludicrous fashion possible. Standing ready at the door, the two would simply wait for a trooper or group of troopers to open the door. Once open, the two would stab their sabers through the doorway, killing whoever was on the other side.

Back in the hangar, Rath was busily working at the terminal, to enact the second phase of his plan, when he saw Baruda exit the Sovereign, and head towards one of the still in tact TIE Interceptors.

“Baruda, what are you doing?” Rath called out.

“Twil needs a distraction.” Baruda explained, so I figure more explosions will do the trick.”

“No! Baruda! get away from that Interceptor!” Rath called out.

But it was far too late. The Klatooinian was already starting up the TIE. Now hovering in the air, Baruda let loose a volley of blaster fire inside the Hangar. In doing so, he fried the terminal Rath had been working at.

“You incompetent idiot!” Rath yelled out in rage as all his work was lost in an instant.

Seconds later, Baruda’s goal of a distraction worked as a dozen stromtroopers filed into the hangar, all taking shots at the Interceptor.

Rath watched as the Interceptor opened fire on the troopers, decimating them instantly. “A few stormtroopers… You ruined my plans for that?” He asked, fuming, knowing full well Baruda couldn’t hear him.

Twil and Zanroy had killed at least a dozen stormtroopers, before Draven finally called out to them.

“Okay! I got the info I needed, plus the info on the Rebels that you asked for.”

“Alright, let’s rendezvous with Rath and the others at the detention cell.” Twil said.

“What should I do with her?” Draven asked, pointing towards the unconscious Doc Barris.

“Bring her.” Twil replied.

“Ah, man.” Draven whined, “She’s heavy.”

Having gotten Twil’s telepathic message, Rath, Idozzi, and Baruda arrived at the detention cell at roughly the same time as Twil, Zanroy, and Draven.

Upon seeing Twil, Rath said, while gesturing to Baruda, “Keep your pet in line.”

Twil just looked taken aback, unsure what caused Rath to say such a thing.

Rath was in no mood to answer further, however, as he led them all into the detention cell. There, in the corner, was a single, unarmed stormtrooper. Cowering in the fetal position, too frightened to even speak.

Rath paid him no mind as he approached the cells. There were eight energy cells in the detention center. Along one wall were four Wookies. Along the other wall, were various prisoners of varying race.

Rath inspected each one, until he reached one containing a clearly weak, and emaciated one eyed Shistavanen. He was staring down at the floor, barely holding himself up. Rath recognized him instantly, and was filled with a rush of emotions. Unparalleled joy and severe anger collided in his mind upon seeing his old friend in this state.

Finally, he removed his helmet, and called out to him, “Captain Zoroc.”

Still staring at the ground, the Shistavanen managed to form an incredibly weak smile, and with a pained voice, he replied, “Now that is a voice I have not heard in some time.” Slowly, Zoroc managed to lift his head to look upon Rath.

“It’s good to see you too, Captain.” Rath replied, doing his best to suppress the first tears of emotion he had felt well up within him in years.

“Rath, my boy.” Zoroc continued, “How did you do it?”

Rath let out a weak laugh, “We’ll talk.”

While Rath was busy working at the terminal for the detention cells, Zanroy decided to inspect the cells himself. Upon arriving at the last cell, Zanroy found one of the people he had been looking for.

The woman was in even worse shape than the other prisoners. But he knew, without any doubt in his mind, that this was none other than Ari Diggersby, former senator of Coruscant, and his mother.

He stood there, for what seemed like an eternity, before he could hear Twil in his mind, “Say something!”

Zanroy made a swatting motion with his hand, before finally saying, “Hello mother.”

The woman looked up, the faintest smile formed on her lips. She reached out to Zanroy, but her arm’s strength gave out.

“Where is he?” Zanroy asked, stone faced.

Ari attempted to speak, but no sound was made, she was still too exhausted.

“Where is he?” Zanroy asked again.

This time, she simply gestured upwards.

Zanroy was about to say more, but was cut off by Rath calling in to the room.

“Twil, I’ve got access. Are we releasing everyone?” Rath asked

Twil then replied, “Let’s see.” He then turned his attention towards the Wookies and other prisoners. “My name is Captain Twil Pinn. I can get you off this ship, but you need to do exactly as I say. Are we agreed?”

The Wookies roared in agreement, and the other prisoners chimed in their support. Upon hearing this, Rath deactivated the energy barriers, and headed back into the room.

While Twil was trying to figure out which Wookie was the alpha of the group, Rath rushed over to Kor Zoroc, and helped him to his feet. After hoisting his arm around his shoulder, Rath handed Zoroc his spare blaster pistol.

Zoroc took hold of it, but it caused his arm to slump downwards. “Hmm. These things are a lot heavier than I remember.” Zoroc mused.

“Well, hopefully you won’t need to use it.” Rath said, doing his best to support as much of his old friend as he could. “Alright, Twil. Let’s get them to the Sovereign. Then we head for the bridge.”

With some difficulty, the group was able to get most of the freed prisoners on board the Sovereign. Twil had ordered Vexx to care for each one. Meanwhile, They injected a heavy sedative into Doc Barris, locked her in binders, and locked her into one of the ship’s rooms.

Due to the new passengers, Twil felt that the ship needed extra protection. Arming the Wookies with blaster rifles scavenged from dead stormtroopers, he ordered them to stand guard around the ship.

With all that taken care of, the six headed towards the bridge of the Immobilizer. Rath had two goals when reaching this ship, save Zoroc, and capture the two Chiss working for the Empire. With step one taken care of, it was finally time to take care of step two.

Upon reaching a series of stairs and hallways, just outside of the ship’s bridge, the crew was greeted by six black armored deathtroopers. Along with a Chiss wearing the stark white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral.

“I really must commend you on making it this far.” The Chiss said, approaching the group without a trace of fear or intimidation. “But you will go no further.”

Still stealthed, Rath seethed in an anger he had never felt before. This Chiss was none other than Mitth’raw’nuruodo. Better known as Thrawn. The Chiss that had been hunting him for years now. The one that he had seen accompanying his Aristocra in the video feed he acquired all that time ago. He was convinced this Chiss had the answers he had been seeking for almost half of his life. And he would not allow this chance to go wasted.

“You don’t have to die here, Captain.” Thrawn continued. “Hand over that one, and you may all leave.” He said, pointing towards Draven.

“I’m not sure why you think you can make demands of us.” Twil replied, “But we will not be surrendering anyone.”

Thrawn let out a sigh, and shook his head. he then nodded towards one of his deathtroopers. The deathrtooper approached Twil with a datapad, showing a live stream of the hangar. Deathtroopers had surrounded the Sovereign, completely unbeknownst to the Wookies.

“I will kill one Wookie for every ten seconds you defy me, Captain. And once your Wookies are dead, I will destroy your ship.” Thrawn replied.

The crew watched the feed as one of the Wookies dropped to the ground.

“Why are you doing this?” Twil asked, “What is your interest in us?”

“You have wreaked havoc in my Empire. Your chaos must be stopped. Order must be restored.” Thrawn explained.

Not interested in hearing anymore of a mad man’s monologue, Rath aimed a magnetic goo shot directly in the middle of the four deathtroopers, in an attempt to disarm them. Unfortunately, the gun malfunctioned, causing him to miss his mark completely.

The next instant, all the Wookies on screen were killed, and the deathtroopers with Thrawn took aim at the crew.

“I will give you one last chance, Captain. The Sovereign is a beautiful ship. I would hate to destroy it.”

“You won’t.” Twil replied, he then used the Force to send his own datapad to Baruda.

Baruda caught it in the air, and immediately took control of the Sovereign's turrets. Seconds later, the deathtroopers in the hangar were being blasted to pieces.

While Baruda was busying himself with that, the rest of the crew began to open fire on the deathtroopers in front of them.

Using the Force, Zanroy pushed one into a chasm within the ship. The troopers screams could be heard for some time before they finally stopped with a harsh thud.

Meanwhile Idoozi took aim at a nearby trooper, killing him instantly with one shot.

Twil, on the other hand, activated Zanroy’s lightsaber, and sliced a trooper in two, letting the pieces fall down the same chasm as the first trooper.

Seeing the sudden carnage, Thrawn backed away, with two troopers in tow. One of the remaining troopers attempted to block the crew’s access to Thrawn, by bashing the door’s locking mechanism.

Seeing this, Zanroy and Draven ran for the door, making it in before the door closed. Using the Force, Zanroy bound Thrawn. The Chiss suddenly went stiff, unable to move a muscle, stopping him from escaping.

While Draven took aim at one of the deathtroopers accompanying him, killing him instantly.

Seeing the situation they were in, the remaining two troopers, one on each side of the door, both pulled out thermal imploders, and pressed down the activation switch.

“Kill us, and we all die.” They both told their respective enemies.

“I don’t think so.” Rath said to the trooper on his side of the door. he then took aim at the trooper’s hand, and fired and adhesive goo shot. Not only did the goo hit the mark perfectly, it slammed the trooper up against the wall, pinning him there, his hand unable to released the imploder stuck in his grip.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Draven attacked the trooper head on. Rushing towards him, he fired a shot at the trooper’s hand holding the gun, causing him to drop it. He then latched onto the trooper’s other hand, keeping him from releasing the imploder.

Thrawn watched on, still completely immobilized.

As the trooper stuck to the wall struggled to be free, Rath and the others could hear a sickening snap as he accidentally broke his own arm in his struggle.

His cries of pain were cut short, as Idozzi leveled another bolt at him, killing him dead.

The last remaining deathtrooper managed to knock Draven off of him. Unfortunately for him, that was his undoing, as Zanroy hit him with a powerful Force blast, sending him careening down the hallway. Seconds later, an incredibly loud explosion could be heard some distance down the corridor.

With the threats eliminated, Rath unlocked the door keeping him from his prize. His stealth suit deactivated, he approached Thrawn. Slowly, he took off his helmet, so Thrawn could see just who he was. And although, he was immobilized by the Force, Rath could swear he saw Thrawn’s eyes narrow into a furious glare.

Returning it with a glare of his own, Rath produced a powerful sedative, and jammed it into Thrawn’s arm. Second’s later, Thrawn’s immobilized body went slightly limp, while still standing in place. With a deep breath of relief, Rath whispered under his breath, “I’ve finally got you.”

With the immediate threat dealt with, Draven spoke up, “Well, that was fun. Reminded me of old times.”

Turning his attention to Draven, Rath asked, “Speaking of which, why are you here?”

“It’s like I said, I needed information.” Draven said coyly.

“What information?” Twil chimed in.

“Information on Project Aura.” Draven replied, “All I know, is that I was a part of it. I’m not sure what it is, I don’t really know anything about it. Which is why I came here. My contact told me I would find more info here.”

“That brings up another good point, how did you get here?” Twil asked.

“I surrendered myself to Barris.” Draven explained, “She took me here, then I busted my way out.”

“Who is your contact?” Zanroy asked.

“No idea.” Draven said with a laugh, “He likes to stay anonymous. But now that I’ve got what I need, I need to take one of those Interceptors and get back to him.”

“Take the one on the left.” Baruda said with a grin, “It handles real nice.”

“I like him.” Draven said pointing to Baruda.

“Wait, you’re leaving? Again?” Twil asked, dejected.

“Sorry, Twil. I gotta get back to my contact.” Draven replied, “But here’s that Rebel intel you wanted.” He tossed a datastick towards Twil.

As Twil caught it, he instantly downloaded the data onto his datapad, before handing the datastick over to Rath.

“Alright, well, hope to see you again, Draven.” Twil replied, hugging the strange alien.

“I hope so too.” Draven said, before leaving.

Their goodbyes said, Twil and Rath wasted no time examining the data given to them. There was a wealth of information recorded, but it was the final line that gave them both pause.

“Hoth: Incursion Imminent.”