Fel was in the hold before anyone could breathe twice, or curse once. He looked around, frustrated that he couldn’t immediately find Zane. But it didn’t take long. The kid was in completely unfamiliar waters, huddled near a bench that was bolted to the floor, but wasn’t on the bench. He crouched beside it, as if sitting on it might cause the bench to bite him. [color=f7941d]”C’mon, Zane. We got work yet to do.”[/color] He didn’t wait for a reply, or hold on to let the appropriate amount of time pass to ask a second time. He simply assumed that the kid would find the strength in his legs to follow the Spacer. Zane took a deep breath, knowing that things were about to get tetchy in a hurry. He didn’t know how or when was going to be the best time to try and bring up his brother - it seemed like things were once again moving at a rapid pace, and he’d be doing well just to keep himself out of the dust storm here. He adjusted the scrubber mask that he nabbed from the shuttle back into place on his face, turning it on, and followed Fel wherever he was heading to.

Back in the main hold, Fel released a tie-down, which whip-snapped as the tension was released from the lock-down rings in the floor. The Outlander put his shoulder against the cargo crate he’d just freed, and slid it a few feet aside, revealing the ventral exterior hatch. The older smuggler worked fast, letting Zane watch as he performed a task for the hundredth time in this ship, his home. Taking a step to the bulkhead, he pulled two earpiece comlinks, with microphone stalks built in off a small rack, and tossed one to Zane. The earpiece was pressed into place, and Fel tested the internal closed-circuit comm as he continued moving. [color=f7941d]”Jet, Aellyn, can you hear me? Wrench, Doc – how long to target?”[/color] He could hear the cannons lighting off, so they were likely nearing the shanty-town. 

[color=AE91B8] “Yeah, hurry up will you?” [/color]

[color=2E5CD5] “Two minutes..” [/color] The Chiss pointed toward a warehouse up ahead. Wrench beeped in response. 

The pilot typed a series of code into an ancient terminal near the retracted planetfall ramp, and called over his shoulder to Zane. [color=f7941d]”flip your glasses down, kid!”[/color] The ventral hatch spiraled open, making for a portal in the floor a little over eight feet square. Dust, flying debris, and the scent of Lotho rushed into the compartment, swirling and buffeting. Fel had to raise his voice to speak to Zane above the din of the ship, the rush of wind, and the sounds of cannon and blaster-fire, no longer insulated by the hull. In a heartbeat, it was like they had stepped out of the safety of the ship and into a battlefield. A few bolts slammed against the shields mere feet below their boots. 

Fel stepped into a harness that dangled from the ceiling, and passed the second to Zane. Wrench’s voice, such as it was – a cacophony of whistles and toots, sounded in their ears, letting them know the UA was slowing to hover at fifty feet. Fel looked to Zane, who was putting on the harness incorrectly. He stepped in, fixing the straps and cinching it tight. [color=f7941d]”You speak droid, kid?”[/color] He secretly hoped Zane didn’t, as Wrench was in the midst of lecturing the pilot about their chances of getting offworld alive, and how much the odds stacked against them, even without TIE fighters currently incoming. Fel keyed his transmitter, silencing Wrench’s profanity. [color=f7941d]”Just hold it steady for three minutes. That’s all I ask. We’re dropping now.”[/color] 

Zane gave Fel a look that was equal parts ‘where’s the jetpack?’ and ‘you’ve got to be shitting me’ to which Fel simply grinned before diving out the portal, better than five stories off the ground. The harness, taking telemetry from the UA’s guidance computer, clamped the brakes on the cable at the appropriate height to slow the Pilot before he was pancaked on the ground. Blaster out, Fel shot wildly at two troopers while moving for the storehouse, a few paces off. He waved overhead at Zane, motioning for him to follow. [color=f7941d]”Come ON!”[/color] As Fel moved, the UA paid out more cable. The ventral cannon coughed again, and again as Aellyn fired on the incoming troopers. At least there was no tell-tale sound of incoming TIEs… yet. 

Zane watched as Fel jumped off the edge of the portal, instinctively reaching out as though the man had just willingly plummeted to his doom. When he observed the semi-smooth landing that the seasoned spacer had managed, the boy’s look was one of pure fear and utter shock. Fel was expecting him to do…that? He laughed in disbelief, unable to really process which emotion he should be feeling right now rather than experiencing all of them at once. It took him a few moments to amp himself up, and he wasn’t even really sure what situation he was about to get himself into. All that he knew was that Fel was on the ground, shooting at [i]something[/i], and that should have told him then and there that it wasn’t going to be good. [color=cyan]”Kriff me…I shoulda just let Wibb kill me…”[/color] he said under his breath, hoping the open comlink in his ear didn’t pick up the chatter. Internally, he gave himself a small countdown before forcing himself to step off the edge and start descending rapidly toward the ground.

[color=cyan]“Ohhhhhh [i]SHAVIIIIIIIIT[/i]!!!”[/color] he screamed, all the way down until he felt himself being slowed just as he alighted the ground. The transmitter definitely picked that up, he surmised. Once his boots met dirt, he began looking around like a frightened animal, grabbing the blaster off his back and trying to get it into his hands properly and swinging around in every direction. He thought he heard Fel’s blaster barking behind him, and turned in that direction expecting to see a whole swath of troopers. Instead, there were just a couple of them on the ground, and Fel was already moving inside of the storehouse. Frantically breathing, he followed the old space hound, crossing the threshold and letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light when he made his way inside. Once he spotted Fel, he quickly made his way over to him, and spotted an annoyed look on Fel’s face. [color=cyan]”Oh, right. The comlink. Sorry about the screaming…”[/color]

Fel Chuckled in spite of himself, killing his comm. [color=f7941d]”It’s ok, Zee. First time free-falling from that height, I sure as the dark place had second thoughts, too. Partly thought you weren’t going to make it. But I’m glad you did.”[/color] He moved as he spoke, assessing their status in this place. The guard must’ve run outside at the first sign of trouble, because there sure as fireblast wasn’t anyone stationed in here. Kark… There were a lot of crates. A lot of kolto. He started instructing Zane as he did what he was describing, essentially showing him as he went. [color=f7941d]“Take your main line… the one you’re clipped off to, unclip, and feed the clip through the rings on four or five crates. Clip off to the last one. Then, pull your secondary line, and clip off to the final case. Yell out when you’re done.”[/color] Fel finished up with his fifth case, and then stood guard, watching the doors for any sign of troopers, his Power5 pistol held at the ready. [color=f7941d]”And Zane! …make sure you clip off your secondary to the [i]last[/i] case…”[/color] He flipped on his comms, not much time had passed, but even a minute or two was seconds they couldn’t bear. [color=f7941d]”Jet, situation? Wrench, not long now, just finishing up here. Hold… hold…”[/color]

Jet kept a weathered eye on the horizon, scanning for any movement yet still found nothing. It seemed odd to him that they still hadn’t sent out the plethora of TIEs that the Basilisk was surely hiding but as it stood, they were in the clear, aerily anyway. [colour=ff0000]“All clear so far, kid, wouldn’t count on it for much longer, though.”[/colour] Jet barked down the comlink.

Zane nodded as soon as Fel gave him the orders, moving quickly to do as he said, trying to mirror what the spacer had done to his own crates and doing a rather-passable job, albeit slower than the seasoned smuggler was capable of doing. As soon as he finished up, he clipped his secondary harness line to the final crate and turned back to Fel. [color=cyan]”All right, it’s done!”[/cyan] He knew this was likely the only chance he was going to get to inform the captain of his “situation”, so he called out to him over the comlink, [color=cyan]”By the way, I need to tell you something when we’re back on the ship, before we end up leaving this place…I know it’s not the best time, but it’s important to me, okay?!”[/color]

Fel weighed the options. He had been about to contact Wrench, and tell the UA’s current / substitute ‘pilot’ to get them the hell out of there, but this gave him pause. The only thing that delayed his activating the comm was Jet’s ‘all clear’ for the moment. [color=f7941d]”Those two things don’t really work together, Zee. When this load gets back in the hold, our next stop is offworld.”[/color] He had a feeling the young man had something he needed off his chest, it had been hinted at earlier, and if it concerned this place, and an attachment for it, or to it, then there was only one time. [color=f7941d]”You got something you need to say – something about Lotho, you need to say it now. Because once we leave this place, we ain’t turning back.”[/color] As if to punctuate his words, a peal of blaster-fire tore across the front wall of the storage depot. Trouble was on the way, and Aellyn could only hold it off for so long…

Zane knew that they were pressed for time, knew that there was a lot at stake. But he also knew that if he didn’t try, didn’t manage to tell Fel about things, then he might miss his chance to say something - anything - to his brother. [color=cyan]”Fel…I’ve got a kid brother. He’s the only family I’ve got on this crap rock. I know you guys are all about getting clear from here and never looking back, and I’m pretty kriffin’ sure I’m gonna have to go on the lam with you, too, but…”[/color] He paused, stopping to scratch his head, trying to figure out what to say, [color=cyan]”if there’s any way that we can get word to him, or even just my family’s old friend, Parlo, I’d be grateful. I know it’s a big ask, and I’d understand if you just wanna cut bait and leave me for the Imps; but I also hope I’ve proven that I’m at least not dead weight.”[/color] He walked over beside Fel, looking him dead in the eyes with his sunken, dark brown pools staring the old spacer down through the clear pane of the scrubber mask on his face, [color=cyan]”Can you help me, or do I need to just unclamp this hook and start tryin’ to find a hole to go hide in?”[/color]

Taking time meant the possibility of them all getting dead. Vinoor Kara was not going to let an insult like their little heist, rest. And to an Imp, there was only one, simple solution. Eradication. Pest control. Fel knew this only too well. Never an eye for an eye… payback for the Empire amounted to a legion of troopers vs. a village of non-combatants. That was ‘fair’ to the Emperor, and his stooge, Vader. Dantooine flashed in Fel’s mind. He tried to give the kid as much empathy as he could muster in the scant few seconds they had… but ‘family’ was not something Galdaart had much understanding of. At least not in the traditional sense. His mind whirled with the astounding lack of viable scenarios playing out in his head. Each one potentially worse than the last. He didn’t want to lose Zane. Indeed, the young man had proved his worth. And Fel was sure he saw more than Zane did in himself. Time ticked on, and in the moments Fel spent thinking, blaster-fire continued outside the storehouse. Each blast could have meant the end for the UA, and their lives. They were out of time, and low on luck. Galdaart could feel it with every breath. [color=f7941d]”We’ll find a way, Zee. We’ll find a way. I promise you that. Will you trust me? I give you my word. But we need to go. NOW.”[/color]

He looked for a sign of recognition or understanding in Zane’s eyes, then flipped on his comm to speak with the ship. [color=f7941d]“Wrench? Let’s go.”[/color] He killed the comm, and turned back to Zane. [color=f7941d]”Brace yourself, Zee. We’re going for a ride.”[/color] Two things happened virtually at once. Wrench banked and veered sharply away from the building, feeding power to the main engines and gaining altitude, and also retracted the cables, which hauled ten crates skyward, busting violently through the front wall and ceiling of the storehouse, with Zane and Galdaart dangling safely below the last of the kolto crates. Thankfully, it didn’t take a genius architect and metallurgist to see that the cold-storehouse had mostly been made of the same scrap that surrounded the town in mountains. In moments, the two were dangling over a hundred feet above the ground, quickly approaching the hold of the UA, which was blasting skyward…