Caeben stole nearer to the gate, stealthily fingering the comlink clipped on his lapel. Jae was on the other end, ready to back him up at moment's notice. The boy was sitting in the cockpit right now, keeping an eye on things and resting while he could.
The Imperial prison on the backwater little planet wasn't much more than minimum security, but it was enough to make the Sylelian sweat. The back gate he was heading for was programmed to set off the alarm if a faulty code was used on it. He would have to be careful not to touch the numpad as he opened the little panel in the control box with the help of a small laser blade.
Caeben finally reached the gate and carefully went through that first step, using the laser blade to cut through the panel, then lifting it off. He let out a breath in relief as the spaghetti of wires under the panel was exposed. So far, so good.
The pilot successfully located one of the wires he needed and detached an end of it with delicate care. However, he couldn't find the other one.
"Jae," he whispered. The response was immediate.
"Problem?" Jae was slightly muffled through the com, but there was no mistaking that warm young voice.
"I can't find the second wire."
"Too dangerous to pull at random. You'll set off the alarm. Use the vidcam to let me get a look at the wires."
Caeben carefully transferred the homemade cam from his pocket to his hand and held it over the wires, switching it on as he did so. For a few moments the only sound on the com was Jae's rapid breathing.
"The yellow one across the bottom," the boy said at last. "Detach the end on the right and connect it to the wire you already found."
With a surgeon's delicacy Caeben obeyed. The gate unlocked with a muffled clank.
"Thanks, Jae."
"Don't mention it. Just make a beeline for that cell, and remember what to do in case of G2RD droids."
The pilot acknowledged his young friend's advice and slipped silently through the gate. He gently placed the cam into his pocket and slithered to his right along the fence, keeping in the shadows. The Crenellian moon shone through the haze above him, illuminating the manicured lawn between the fence and the garrison wall.
Jae sat back in his chair and tried to relax. There was no reason his plan should not work. The Imps had made a compromising mistake in placing Arra and Kyell in a window cell on the first floor, and they were about to find that out. And Caeben was carrying everything he could possibly need.
But Jae could not dismiss the niggling doubt in the back of his mind. What was he missing?
Caeben reached the portion of the wall across from the targeted window without difficulty. He glanced this way and that and shook his head in disbelief. Incredibly arrogant and sure of their security, the Imperials hadn't even posted patrols on the grounds inside the fence.
The pilot looked in the direction Jae had told him to and spotted the security holocam above the window of the targeted cell, slowly sweeping back and forth. While it was turned away from him, he bolted across the grass and knelt next to the opaque window, exultation rising within him. Jae's plan was working beautifully! Before long Arra would be free! And Kyell Tallen too, of course.
Caeben drew the laser-blade and was about to cut those ugly Imperial bars when noticed tiny, almost unnoticeable crimson thread criss-crossing the window in a diagonal pattern so the entire window was designed with a hundred diamonds, each no more than two centimeters across. The threads led to a small gray box.
The Sylelian held the homemade vidcam up to the box and whispered into the comlink. "Jae, is this what I think it is?"
"Space around us! Oh, alluvial damper! An alarm!" came the fierce reply. "Bren fuses! So that's what I forgot! Oh, jumper bypass! I should have known! Fusion reactor core!"
Despite the situation, Caeben could not help but be amused by the boy's unique brand of swearing. "Calm down, kid. Just tell me how to get around it."
"You can't." Jae's voice was intense and forceful. "You'll just have to cut through and get them out of there quick. I'll have the Wind ready for launch by the time you get here. Ooh, mark-five space heater!"
The pilot gulped, his excitement suddenly gone. But this was it, and there was no way he was backing out now. He replaced the vidcam and raised the laser blade, bracing himself for the klaxon of the alarm.
It was even worse than he expected. Arra's furry head peered out the newly created hole, startled and alert.
There was no time for greetings. "Get Tallen," Caeben yelled above the alarm. "We've gotta get outta here!"
Arra turned away and returned holding the limp Rebel in his arms. [He is newly returned from interrogation and unable to walk,] he roared.
"Give him one of these!" Caeben tossed a vial of stim-pills to the Wookiee. "We don't have any time!"
In moments Kyell was on his feet outside the window, shaken and pale but awake and ready. Arra slipped out the hole and the three refugees fled. As they ran Caeben handed each of his companions a blaster, wielding the laser-blade himself. They would need them soon enough.
Sure enough, summoned by the still wailing alarms, a G2RD droid barred their way, stun arm extended and shooting preparatory sparks. Caeben did not pause his flight as he made two quick thrusts through the machine, precisely where Jae had indicated, and received a nasty singe in the process. It fell over with a whimper, sparks dying quicker than a single mug of lomin-ale placed among a pack of Gamorreans. They glanced at each other in amazement, surprised that such a notoriously tough droid would fall so easily, then raced on. In another heart-pounding minute they reached the gate.
Kyell and Caeben stopped short. The gate was shut, a squad of stormtroopers waiting beyond it. And above the klaxon they heard another group of Imps pounding up behind them
Arra was not in the least deterred. Without pausing he tore the massive gate from its hinges and with a Wookiee roar threw it on the squad outside, crushing most. Kyell quickly picked off survivors with his blaster, then spun around and assisted Arra in laying down rear guard fire while Caeben zipped through the gate, then yelled for them to follow.
Most of the stormtroopers behind them were down now. The two escapees whirled and ran, following the Sylelian into the dark night streets of Rismyne.
Matock led them down the street and through several tortuous turnings and backtracks, always in the shadows. For half an hour they pursued a twisted escape route, endeavoring to throw off any pursuit. It was grueling for all three, but especially Kyell, weakened by the brutal treatment he'd received from the Imperials.
"Almost there," Caeben gasped. They could still hear the screaming of alarms in the distance.
Down another alley and through a back door, across an open patch of thermacrete, up an open entry ramp and they were inside the Sylel Wind. The minute they were aboard the ship lifted off on repulsor lift power. Caeben ran up the companionway to the cockpit, the others at his heels.
The stim-pill was beginning to wear off, and Kyell was several feet behind the others when they reached the cockpit. Jae was standing, having just vacated his seat for Caeben to take over.
The boy barely had to time to turn around and catch a glimpse of Kyell's face before he was pulled into a fiercely joyful embrace.
"Jae!"
"Kyell, oh Kyell!"
The Wind was starting into atmospheric turbulence. "Get into restraints," Caeben said tensely. "It might be a rough ride."
The Tallens did so quickly, joy subsiding into anxiousness. They weren't out of it yet. And sure enough, ten minutes later they were out of the atmosphere and in a trap.
Mynan Shelpion had been awakened by the alarms at the neighboring prison and garrison and quickly pulled his corpulent body out of bed, grabbing his robe of silky nerf hair. What in the seven moons of Alanda--!
Shelpion sat at his desk and switched on his holo compad. "Captain Anlessic, what is the meaning of this racket?"
The Imp snapped a hasty salute. "Prison break in progress, sir. Two criminals have escaped."
The governor scowled. "Which criminals, Captain?"
"Tallen and Arramylian, sir."
Shelpion cursed loudly and filthily, then calmed. "Bring them back. They'll be made examples of."
"Yes sir."
The search progressed, or rather, didn't progress. Governor Shelpion dressed in his usual expensive tailored uniform and came over to supervise, and Anlessic realized his neck was in the noose. If the fugitives were not captured, and soon, the captain would be demoted--or worse. Shelpion's cold hazel eyes held no mercy.
At last an aide brought Anlessic a report, and he took it straight to Shelpion. "News, sir."
"What?" the governor ground out.
"A launch from the dock in Rismyne, sir. The Sylel Wind, the ship the Wookiee mentioned in interrogation."
"Send out the TIE fighters and order them to herd it toward the moon base. Have the moon base power up the tractors." A mirthless smile crossed Shelpion's pudgy face. "They're as good as ours."
He settled back in his chair to await news of his prey's capture.
TIE fighters! Caeben lit a blue streak in two languages, Kyell occasionally throwing in the colorful phrases he'd learned in the Rebellion while Jae sat stunned and speechless, mentally going through his list of mechanics' curses. An entire squadron headed straight toward them!
"Arra, the quad guns," Captain Matock finally said urgently. "Take your buddy Tallen with you." The two disappeared. "Jae, stick with me and let's see what you can do with a turbolaser. The targeting is already on to those fighters--I'll handle the grenade launcher."
Kyell bolted down the ladder and into his seat, throwing on the restraints as he studied the controls. Over his shoulder and through two gravity field changes Arra was already blasting away, howling his pleasure with the upgraded laser gun.
Adrenaline kept Kyell from collapsing, but the stim-pill had completely worn off now. Pushing away the effects of all those interrogations, he grabbed the controls, lined up an Imperial fighter, and blew it out of the sky. The quad gun was working at twice standard energy, and repeating speed.
Kyell tracked another fighter, chasing it to the other side of the Wind, where Arra took care of it, roaring a battle-song. Kyell continued triggering his quad gun again and again, and he managed to destroy three more fighters within the same number of minutes. Some of the Imps shots were still getting through, but the shields, working at three or four factors above standard, were handling it without a problem.
The young Rebel quickly jerked out four more shots at another TIE fighter, and the last one clipped its nearer solar panel. The fighter whirled away toward the planet, pulled by Crenellia's gravity well. Kyell Tallen didn't waste any time, but turned to another TIE coming toward the Wind. One of Caeben's grenades took it out, and Kyell realized with a shock that they had destroyed the entire squadron.
Caeben's evasive action had kept Jae clutching the edge of the control board with one thin hand, fighting nausea brought on by whirling stars as he struggled to man the turbolaser. At last he got enough used to it to actually aim, only to find it was too late. There were no TIE fighters in sight.
"We got 'em all," Caeben said triumphantly, grinning. "You can relax."
But they were now in range of the moon base.
"Emperor's dark heart!" Caeben swore reflexively as the tractor beam lodged onto them.
Jae sagged in his seat. It was all over. All his effort and planning and hard work was for nothing. He was afraid he would vomit.
Kyell appeared in the cockpit, pale and excited. "What's going on?"
"Tractor beam," Caeben said in despair. "It's all over."
"No, it can't be." Jae rallied his resources as Arra entered the door. "There must be a way."
"Throw on all sublight power," Kyell said. "Full away. If you've got everything upgraded like Arra told me, it might be enough to break through. This is only a third rate little garrison, after all."
Caeben threw all switches as far forward as they would go. The engines hummed with the gigantic amounts of energy coursing through them. Seconds ticked by as the four companions sat tensely and listened to the straining engines. Jae silently begged his soldering to hold together. Just a little bit longer, a little more power…
Kyell sat at the dataport and began piecing together a code. If this didn't work, perhaps a little virus in the Imp databanks would at least exact revenge for the Empire's newest victims-them.
At the last second before the sublight engines overheated, they broke through and shot away from Crenellia and the moon. Instantly the Imps hailed them.
"Sylel Wind!" It was Mynan Shelpion. "Sylel Wind, surrender or be destroyed!"
"Forget it, Imperial scum!" Caeben whooped through the com. "We're gone and you can't catch us!"
With that, he pulled the hyperdrive levers. They burst through the kaleidoscope of stars and streaks into the pearly safety of hyperspace. They were free.
Free as the wind.
A day later the Sylel Wind drifted in space a few parsecs from Crenellia while her crew put a new course into the navicomputer. Kyell Tallen was returning to the Rebellion with three new recruits and a freighter, everything on it upgraded by 150%. Right now though, the young Rebel was lying in the med room, resting after being treated for malnourishment and dehydration from his imprisonment.
"How are you doing, Kyell?"
Kyell opened his eyes to see Jae standing beside him, thin face glowing. The young man smiled and sat up, pulling his brother into another embrace. "I couldn't be better, Jae. It was worth it all to get you back."
Jae pulled away to look at him. "Why did you come back to Crenellia? There was no reason to."
"Oh there was plenty of reason. I found some of Shelpion's files while slicing, and when I saw you might be alive, I could think of nothing but finding you. And now I have." Kyell reached out to touch a fading bruise on Jae's cheek. "I wish I could get my hands on that Kaltyk character, though. Arra told me how he treated you. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Caeben and Arra have been taking good care of me while you were getting better."
"Good. And thanks for rescuing us from the Imps, incidentally. Caeben told me all you did, working yourself to the point of collapse."
"What else could I do?" Jae squeezed Kyell's hand. "You were in trouble, and I could help."
The young Rebel's face darkened. "And I couldn't do anything." Then he brightened. "Except that virus. While Caeben was whooping over the com I shot it to the Imp databanks. Hopefully that's causing trouble for Shelpion."
Caeben's voice came over the ship com. "Brace for acceleration. We're about to re-enter hyperspace."
Immediately the ship lurched beneath them, throwing Jae into Kyell's arms and pressing them both against the bulkhead for a moment. Then the deck was still again.
"Thanks for the warning," Kyell said dryly.
"We aim to please!" Caeben replied mischievously, then shut off the com.
Jae laughed and mock-struggled to escape as his brother held tight and tickled him. At last the boy pulled away and rested by Kyell on the bunk, flushed with exertion and breathing hard. Kyell put his arm around the boy's shoulders and held him close. They had both been alone and orphaned for too long. Jae leaned on his brother and found that the loneliness, his constant companion for over five years, was gone at last.
"Where are we going?" he asked, more to hear Kyell's voice than for any other reason.
"To join the Rebel starbase on the edge of the galaxy. After our escape from Hoth, we set up there." Kyell was silent for a while. "When I went to Crenellia I never thought I'd be bringing back two smugglers and their ship."
"Arra's decided the only way to rescue Woothiramilla is to join the Rebellion, and Caeben has his own grievances against the Empire. They're decent beings--they wouldn't survive in an Imperial galaxy. Besides, Shelpion probably has bounties out on all four of us by now."
"No doubting that!" Kyell laughed and hugged Jae's shoulders. "Come on, let's go up and give that Caeben Matock a piece of our minds for pulling that 'warning' on us."
Jae laughed and followed his brother out.
Governor Shelpion had demoted Anlessic and half the moon base personnel, but it was not enough. He wanted the Wind back.
And he was not going to get it. Shelpion paced back and forth, muttering to himself. He was cut off from the galaxy, for a brand new virus was playing havoc in the computer system, and the techs were helpless against it.
The Imperial governor stood at his window and shook his fist at the stars, but he could not catch the Wind. No one can, after all.
It is free.
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