Keno
4 BBY
KT-306 studied the game board with intense scrutiny, begging the pieces themselves to direct her next move. She could see the looming presence of KS-237’s ‘Houjix’ adjacent to her own Ng’ok but knew her opponent had only made the move to free up her usual assassin squad of Monnok and Ghhhk to outflank KT-306’s final game piece. “Why do you always insist upon using that damn Monnok KS….”
“N’dali.” The ebony woman corrected the Mirialan. “And you are Ani. Do not give them any more power than they think they have.” She finished with a rise in tone.
“Shhhhhh….” came a chorus of reprimands from fellow bunkmates with designs on actual sleep during lights out.
“Stow it…. all of you.” Came a deep voice from the front of the bunk room. “It’s my ass if they are alerted.” KT-026 said.
Ani simply shook her head, undaunted by the verbal distractions. She knew she could defeat the Houjix and possibly the Ghhhk on the next turn but not all three within the following two turns, leaving the damn Monnok staring back at her mockingly.
“Give it up Ani, this will end like they usually do.” N’dali said with a slight laugh. Ani gazed into her white eyes and knew she was right but would never give up while she had active game pieces. Her mind trying to read N’dali’s next three moves, only two of which would be strategic. The third and final move would be reactionary. Unless….
She punched in her movement and attack sequence then let the holo take over through action. The Ng’ok moved to the left two spaces surprising N’dali, then moved forward one space occupying the center of the game board.
“Karabast!” N’dali whispered. “I forgot about your Bulbous sacrifice…” she finished in a more subdued hushed tone. As soon as the words left her mouth the holo image of a small reptilian quadruped materialized on the outer ring before Ani. She knew however that she still held the advantage although no movements and no active combat would decide the winner. The Mirialan was crafty she had to admit. She placed a long slender finger aside her chin in contemplation as a sudden wave of impending change overtook her. She looked up to see that Ani had felt it as well. A flutter felt internally by both and acknowledged by both as their eyes met. A dull thud, kilometers distant in the structure sent its vibrations up through the floor decking that made their bunk room quiver. Both slowly stood, Ani turning the Djarik table off upon her ascent.
“KT-306, what was that?” A voice from the top set of bunks cascaded down in a silent whisper.
“I have no idea but suffice it to say that we all felt it.” Ani responded in kind. She certainly felt it, but she could also see it. Ribbons of trickling Force currents moved about each sentient within the room but also to the thousands of others in the complex. Ani could sense those currents picking up momentum.
“Where, and how much?” N’dali asked in her own hushed tone with a gentle hand on Ani’s right shoulder.
“Section AA-23, Southwest wing.” Ani replied with her head cocked to the left. “Landing platforms? N’dali you may have been right.”
“Only if the power is cut and if so, we need to be ready.”
“The power? How do you know?” Ani replied.
“Because that is what I would do. Now, how many?” N’dali repeated.
Closing her eyes tight, Ani concentrated fully on the complex within which they had called home for the last four years, willing the flows of the Force to reveal their paths. She could both see and sense surging currents all around her specifically originating from the southwest wing. “At least twenty-five, most moving in pairs down corridors toward us.” She replied with a brisk whisper.
“We need to be ready on the door, with the power cut it’ll be easy enough for us to force open, then we make our way toward the training fields.” N’dali whispered back, her face millimeters from Ani’s.
“What about them?” Ani gestured toward the remainder of the room.
“They’ll follow you two scrappers to the ends of the galaxy.” Came a heavier whisper from KT-026 immediately behind N’dali. “As well they should at that.” She finished.
A tremor ripped through the complex followed by a cadence of short-lived thudding sounds reverberating off the interior walls. Several small illuminators descended from the ceiling above them all and began flashing a piercing red, shocking awake anyone in the bunk room that had not been before. Murmurs of “What’s going on? Are we under attack? Is this a drill?” began filling the small space in a wash of auditory assault.
“Cut the chatter.” KT-026 barked immediately, her voice deep and authoritative, eliminating the harried questions before her voice echoed its last. “We are ascertaining any possible threat. Just remain calm and be prepared for action. KT-306 and KS-…”
“N’dali!” The ebony woman whipped around correcting her.
“And N’dali are working on a plan.” KT-026 finished with a scowl on her face, not at all appreciating being corrected but under the circumstances unwilling to get in their way.
Without warning, startling most in the room, Klaxon’s began blaring from the four different quadrants of the complex, overlapping one another into a chaotic jumble of pitch and frequency. The mesmerizing eeriness of the sound taking everyone out of their own frames of mind as instinct compelled them all to defend their home.
N’dali was the first to break down the mental wall. “Focus on the moment people, we’re getting out of here…. tonight!” She slapped Ani on the shoulder, “Get ready on that door.”
The flooring began to vibrate under their feet, a high-pitched whine ascending in tone added its own element to the deluge of sound, then another and another. “Power generators for the heavy laser turrets. I do not understand why the shield reactors have not been engaged though.” N’dali added, thinking audibly.
Ani thought for a moment, “perhaps they don’t have the ability. If that is the case whomever is creating this chaos knew what to hit first.” She surmised. “We need to get you to the control center N’dali.” She finished, looking deeply into the ebony woman’s eyes.
N’dali flashed a brief smile while touching the side of her head, absently feeling the bare and exposed implant socket above her ear. “I can do better tapped into the network, that’s for sure.”
They could all hear the pattering of plastoid boots hitting the duranium plating outside their bunk room, troopers running at a fevered pace toward the landing platforms.
Ani whirled around surprising everyone. Taking the entirety of the room into focus and all twelve young women of various near human races into view. Each one garbed in their regulation black body suits, a haunting vision as each face had adorned a stoic expression of resolve under the cadence of the red flashing lights. “Make no mistake, any of you. What is coming is a blessing for some but will not be for all. I will harbor no ill will toward anyone that wants to stay but let me make this clear right here and now. If any of you hinders either my or N’dali’s efforts in the next few moments I will kill you.” She finished her statement staring directly into the eyes of KT-026. “Any of you.” She added for emphasis turning her head back to the door and creeping closer to the access handle.
On cue, the red bunk room lights blinked out drowning the room in an inky black. The chaotic noise of the dueling Klaxons died out completely and the vibrations ceased as the power generators went audibly offline. They were drowned in a suddenly heavy silence.
“Now.” N’dali said over Ani’s right shoulder, adding her own hands around the access handle. They both tugged and the door slid open easily riding on the back up pneumatic system.
Turning again for the benefit of those behind her, Ani spoke clearly and concisely, “If you’re leaving, stay low and follow the edges of the corridors. You will be concealed for the most part so take advantage of it. I would not advise going for your weapons or armor. Keep moving toward the central training fields. If your still with us at that point, we’ll muster and find our own way off this rock.” She finished with heavy emphasis on departing. Not one facial expression changed throughout her message, they all seemed to be on board. Surprise was however the hallmark of strategy and she prepared herself for the possibility that she may yet have to follow through with her threat. Satisfied with her clarity, she ducked her head and disappeared into the corridor, heading to the left, N’dali right behind her. She sensed the others following suit but heading in the opposite direction toward the training fields. Smiling briefly, she felt a slight wave of confidence, knowing her message was heard and respected and that not one of them stood to oppose her.
“Well, that was a surprise Ani, I figured some of them would have stayed.” N’dali said in a hushed tone as the two crept toward the command center and access to the Thebeskan’s neuro device.
“Suggestion is a powerful motivator.” Ani said pausing at an intersection, waiting for a squad of troopers to rush past them from the right. She felt N’dali’s finger on her shoulder with a prescribed cadence of taps and pressure. Ani reached up and responded in kind on top of N’dali’s hand. ‘No, I don’t hear any blaster fire either.’ She did find it odd but did not spend any amount of time overthinking it. She turned to the right in the adjacent corridor and sped to the set of double doors opened wide ten meters distant, her low crouch maintaining swift momentum. The sentries that should be standing guard were nowhere to be found. She could hear shouting and rapid-fire cussing coming from the duty commander within.
N’dali rolled to the other side of the open doorway trying to catch a glimpse of the interior. She made a sharp clicking sound with her tongue and cheek as she pushed her back to the wall drawing Ani’s attention and quickly held up four fingers. Ani didn’t hesitate, dashing into the room and smashing her form into the knees of a frantic tech officer trying in vain to restart the power generators in line with the crazed orders spilling forth from the commander. His knees buckled forward with a sickening pop, his anguished scream cut short as his chin smashed into the edge of the control console sending teeth and blood in an arc before him. Ani recovered with her left hand supporting her next move as she removed the officer’s hold out blaster with her right.
N’dali didn’t wait any longer and sped over to a small shelf on the left side of the room where her implant waited along with two others set into recharge docking stations. She grabbed her own as Ani fired two quick bolts of green energy into the other two techs who were slow to react to the fate of their comrade, their forms crumpling immediately with a clatter and strangled cries of torment. N’dali paused for an instant then grabbed the other two implants off the shelf as well with a shrug of her shoulders. Ani began walking up to the commander, her intentions taking careful aim for the ruffled brow set right between his eyes. She heard several shouts coming from the corridor coupled with loud reports from a heavy repeating blaster illuminating the darkness with bright flashes of green and the strangled screams of the victims caught up in its devastation.
The commanders’ eyes could not find focus bouncing between the irrationally quick downfall of his support staff, the black clad Mirialan before him with blaster raised, the phantom at the walls edge grabbing implants and the assured doom transpiring in the corridor. He had already given up hope of making sense of the situation and knew there would be no flight from it. He began reaching down for his own blaster as a voice barked out from the open doorway.
“Keep your hands where I can see them, and you’ll survive.” Came a voice in basic with an accent Ani couldn’t identify. She followed the commander’s gaze to look upon the source of the voice, her own blaster still trained on the commander’s forehead. He was clad nondescriptly with a ragged mop of hair and unkempt beard, both hands held out palms forward. Ani could see the sling over his shoulder and the butt of the E-11 it was attached to. “We are only here for the cadets.” He added.
“Where?” N’dali asked.
“Central fields, go. Go quickly.” He said with a hastened tone.
“Ani, let’s go.” N’dali said, trying to keep her friend focused.
Ani heard the words, but they didn’t register immediately, her attention solely on the commander again. His own gaze returned to her and the blaster she held. She envisioned everything that comprised Keno staring back at her through his vacant expression. His dull set eyes held the knowledge that only the two of them knew for certain. He would be her final form of retribution paid to this form of hell she had been shackled to for more time than she could remember.
“Ani don’t…. let’s go!” N’dali continued to plead.
“We have to move.” The stranger said.
Ani began to move her head to face him and pulled the trigger in the same instant, sending the body of the commander to the floor in a heap after lolling his head back ferociously with the point-blank impact. The stranger merely shrugged his own shoulders then turned to head back into the corridor. N’dali was at Ani’s side pulling her arm to follow, looking back to see that Ani had adopted an expression of rage as she was absently kicking at the body of the dead commander at her feet, a froth working at the corners of her mouth as she began yelling incoherently.
“Dammit Ani, not now...we need to get out of here. They will detonate this place once they get a shred of power if they haven’t already blockaded our exit up the well. It’s now or never sister.” N’dali screamed at her.
Ani stomped once more on the dead man’s chest before acquiescing and letting N’dali guide her to the corridor where the stranger was waiting.
“It appears we made the right decision in liberating Keno first.” He said with a light laugh. “That was intense.” He added guiding Ani and N’dali back the way they had come.
“Who are you?” Ani finally asked.
“Andor. Cassian Andor.” The man said with a smirk, “continue down this corridor, I’ve got your six.”
All three of them took off at a run for the training fields, watching as they did the confluence of other cadets and strangers making their way for the same area. Ani noticed that the strangers comprised a wide variety of sentient beings. Humans, near humans, non and alien alike all working together to assist her and her fellow cadets. She contrasted that thought quickly with the cadets themselves, either human or near human without exception. With that, any reservations she thought she held vanished quicker than Cassian had revealed his name. She squeezed her hand around the blaster and fell in line with the strangers, herding cadets and assisting in their efforts wherever she could.
N’dali grabbed her hand after the last of the cadets had made their way out the corridor and onto the open terrain of the training fields where her mouth dropped at the shear enormity of the endeavor. Twenty plus drop ships of all makes and models were either taking off or loading cadets into their holds for the trip off planet. Cassian grabbed both yet again and ferried them toward a sleek looking UT-60D, both bay doors open, gun emplacements firing randomly at various points on the complex. Ani was amazed at the scope of the operation and the coordination that would have been necessary to pull it off. They reached the ship as the doors were closing and clung to straps suspended from the cabin ceiling, Ani’s hold out clattering to the floor.
“Get us out of here K2.” Cassian shouted, Ani’s attention briefly shifting to the co-pilot’s seat occupied by an Imperial security droid. She immediately let go of the straps and searched the floor decking for the fallen blaster.
“Relax cadet, he’s a rebel.” A voice from above her said in a soothing tone. “We take em all. The fight against the Empire isn’t of flesh and blood only ya know.” Ani looked up into the face of the speaker. The Dresselian held out his hand for hers with a wink of an eye, his other hand firmly wrapped around a strap of his own. She took a firm hold of his hand steadying herself as she grabbed her own strap yet again just before propulsion changed from repulsors to Ion thrusters. She felt the surge of acceleration immediately and watched from the viewport before her as the complex began to erupt into balls of red and white flame in timed intervals.
“They are detonating their own facility N’dali. Why?” Ani said, feeling her friend’s presence at her side.
“Taking many with it Ani.” N’dali said in return, not bothering to answer the rhetoric.
Ani looked over at the Thebeskan, tears pooling above her cheeks.
“What do you mean?” Ani asked with all sincerity.
“Ani, there were less than two dozen drop ships. To evacuate just the cadets would have taken at least twice that.” N’dali said, choking back her sorrow.
Ani said nothing. She stared out of the viewport long after the ship had broken atmosphere, her eyes still transfixed on the tiny speck of red visible far below. Her insides were turning, free of the thoughts that may have caused it, her mind trying to calculate the truth of N’dali’s words.
“You were right N’dali, they executed this precisely the way you had described. They did not however calculate the lengths the Empire would go.” Ani released her grip on the strap above her head and fell into the viewport, both hands pressed into its surface. “How many N’dali?” She asked solemnly, attempting to choke back her tears. The other occupants of the cargo bay lowering their heads, understanding what the cadet was asking.
“Ani...I have no way of knowing with certain……” N’dali began.
“N’dali, how many!” She stated, removing any question from the remark.
N’dali blew out her breath and tapped the side of her neuro implant and just as quickly shut her eyes. A single tear fell across her cheek from the effort. “Less than twenty two percent Ani.”
Whatever murmuring had occupied the cargo bay ceased immediately, leaving them all to their own thoughts and the hum of the Ion engines.
Ani was quiet for a moment. Assessing her thoughts, calculating, wishing she had boots and for some reason remembering her mother’s touch on her cheek, “Over seven hundred dead….” she trailed off squinting her eyes tightly shut herself, considering it better to stop looking.
She gritted her teeth, “They will pay for this, I swear they will,” she swore into the viewport at the same instant the ship entered the spiraling vortex of hyperspace.