Planet of Darkness
by Kirayoshi
Technological Terror
[reviews]
Episode Four
"Technological Terror"
"His name is Snydaa," Buf explained to the two Jedi, displaying an image of the corpulent slug on her holo-comm. "He's the boss of all illegal activities in this area of Tatooine. The Hutts control most of the planet, and Snydaa's as nasty as any of them."
"Doesn't seem like much of a threat," Willa Sunrose commented as Gy'les nodded silently.
"He is not without resources, Willa. He has an army of mercenaries at his beck and call, and he pays them well." She smirked as she continued; "He's also a devout coward. He never goes anywhere without an entourage around him. He doesn't have the stones to confront anyone by himself."
"And with the power and influence he seems to exert," Gy'les mused, "he could afford to surround himself with plenty of hired guns."
"Yes, the best muscle money can buy," Willa agreed. "Fortunately, Buf, you have an ace in the hole."
"Yeah?" Buf asked, "what's that?"
"Us." Willa looked at Gy'les, who quietly gave his agreement. "I doubt that Snydaa has ever faced a pair of Jedi Knights."
"The two of you against an army of mercenaries," Buf pursed her lips, skeptical of their chances. "I saw the two of you handle those Trandoshan slavers, but we're dealing with much larger numbers, better armed and better trained."
"We don't plan to engage them in battle, not if we don't have to," Gy'les announced. "If I may look at the sensor views you made of the generator?" Buf punched up the corresponding hologram, and the image of a large, forbidding gray fortress filled the viewport. Buf manipulated the image at her control console, spinning the three-dimensional view around. "There," Gy'les stopped Buf suddenly, pointing out a small spot in the south wall. "Can you magnify this area?" he asked, pointing at a section of the image.
"Certainly," Buf answered. She tapped her finger on the touch pad, and a specific section of the image grid enlarged. Another tap on the pad, and the image clarified. "There," Gy'les pointed to a small round hatch partially obscured by erosion and debris. "Some sort of access port?"
"Or ventilation shaft," Buf commented. "According to the readings, the hatch is approximately one meter in diameter. The three of us would be able to fit--"
Her musings were interrupted by a belligerent bellow from her Wookiee companion. "Sorry, big guy, but I'm not taking you along." Ossborca growled, but Buf stood her ground. "I'm not leaving you out, Oz, I need you and Xander to pilot the Slayer and the Vigilance. Once we disable the gravity generators, we'll have a window of opportunity of only a minute or so, and we'll need both ships ready to pick us up fast." Oz grunted, reluctantly accepting Buf's logic.
"So we have a plan," Gy'les accepted. "A quick three-person strike, locate the well controls, and get out fast." Willa and Buf agreed and the three companions left to prepare for the raid.
========
Twilight on Tatooine was a dangerous time. The Tusken Raiders, commonly known as the Sand People, prowled the dunes, preying on unsuspecting travelers, defending their territory on the backs of their bantha mounts. And the heat of the planet's twin suns didn't fade noticeably at night, nor did the sandstorms. Fortunately the skies were clear that night, and the heat was negligible. And no bantha was as fast as a skilled speeder-bike rider.
Willa and Gy'les each rode a separate bike, while Buf rode with Willa. The bike was able to support two riders, and neither woman was too heavy, but it was still close quarters for sitting. Buf was forced to hold Willa tightly around her waist, an experience that, strangely, neither woman was opposed to. Willa found herself enjoying the closeness, the comfortable weight of her passenger behind her. Buf also found pleasure in the warm body of Willa, and found herself leaning closer to her as they sped past Beggar's Canyon.
Willa sensed more than Buf's nearness as they journeyed to Snydaa's base. She sensed a power within the feisty Correlian, her sensitivity to the Force. She knew intuitively that Buf Somars could be a very powerful Jedi Knight, if she were so inclined. However, she doubted that Master Yoda would permit Buf to train as a Jedi. Potential paduwans were invariably chosen at a very early age, well before adolescence, as Willa herself was. A young adult like Buf Somars would surely be considered too old to train. But still, Willa was uncomfortable with the idea of a potentially powerful Force wielder being unschooled in even the basics of the Force. She resolved to speak to Gy'les once they had succeeded in their raid on the gravity generator.
She surveyed her surroundings, and suddenly turned the throttle on her speeder bike, sending it even faster. Buf noticed the acceleration and asked, "What's up, Willa? You in a hurry?"
"Just to get out of this neighborhood," Willa answered, as Gy'les accelerated his bike to keep up with the young Jedi. "Those tracks below us, Buf. Sand People. Very dangerous."
Buf scanned the ground below them. "Looks like just one track to me," she commented.
"Sand People ride single file," Willa explained, "in order to hide their numbers. And in these canyons near Snydaa's base, they can ambush us easily."
"Or be ambushed," Buf said. "That's where I ordered Oz and Xander to hide the Vigilance and the Slayer. They're behind those rocks on hover mode. Those canyons make a great sensor shadow, so Snydaa can't detect them. And I doubt that the Sand People would be foolhardy enough to attack a fully armed Correlian cruiser." She triggered her comm-link, saying, "Hey, Xander. You copy?"
"I'm at the end of the canyon, Buf," the XNDR-12 droid answered. "The Wookiee has the Slayer, I'm on the Vigilance, and we're in standby mode. Say the word and we can be at Snydaa's digs in three clicks."
"Great," Buf answered. "Have Oz watch out for raiding parties of Sand People, Xander. Willa says they can be nasty customers."
"So can Oz from what I've seen," Xander answered. Buf nodded in agreement, remembering how he handled himself against those Trandoshan slavers in Mos Eisley.
Buf disengaged the comm-link. She and the two Jedi would be flying in radio silence from now until they disabled the gravity generators. They rode in silence until the dark and ugly spires of Snydaa's base were visible. It was bigger and uglier than the holoscans indicated. Squat slabs of ferro-concrete for walls, no windows or visible doors, all painted in a hideous dark reddish-green with garish goldleaf trim. Big, ugly, and reeking of self-importance. Just like its owner.
Having maneuvered to the rear of the citadel, Buf and Willa ditched their speeder bike behind a dune just outside of the base. Gy'les pulled up beside them, cutting power to his bike as well. "Ladies," he intoned quietly, "we've arrived. We go in on foot, and draw as little attention to ourselves as possible. If our return passage is blocked, we head for the roof, where our ships will pick us up."
"What about the speeder-bikes?" Buf asked.
"Speeder-bikes are expendable," Willa answered simply. "Lives are not." Buf nodded silently, accepting her wise counsel.
Buf approached the access hatch, fishing a portable scanner out of her vest pocket. She ran the scanner across the surface of the hatch for a few seconds, before whispering to the others, "No evidence of any alarms or booby traps. It's clear." Willa moved to the opposite side of the hatch, and fired her light saber. Using it like a cutting torch, she slowly cut around the seam between the hatch and the wall, efficiently loosening the hatch. Within a minute, the hatch dropped, revealing a narrow passageway. A vent, they had guessed.
"I'll go first," Buf volunteered, but Gy'les shook his heavy head. "No, child, I can best defend us forward." Before the others could argue, he crawled into the hatch, quickly making his way down the passageway. Willa quietly followed Gy'les' lead, and Buf took the rear.
It took a few minutes, but Gy'les was able to locate a grate that would allow them to leave the cramped confines of the ventilation shaft. Breaking the hatch open, he crawled out, and escorted the two women behind him into the open. Willa and Buf stretched their limbs with relief, then examined their surroundings. A broad hallway, dark and ugly. Gray steel walls, smeared with leaking oil, studded with pipes, cables and conduits. Buf sniffed the air, recoiling at the whiff of rancid motor oil, mingled with the familiar stench of Hutts. "Yeah," she whispered, "Snydaa's digs all right."
"Okay," Gy'les turned to the others. "Willa, take Buf down that corridor, I'll go the other direction, whoever locates the generator first, signal. Move quietly, and no unnecessary action." The two women nodded; neither of them had any desire to draw attention to themselves.
The three split up, as Willa and Buf walked carefully down the hallway, keeping close to the far wall. For a few minutes, their path was unobstructed, but neither of them had any idea where in this labyrinth of steel and concrete to locate the generator. Suddenly, Buf stopped short, pulling Willa back. She scanned ahead, her eyes tracking on a figure ten meters ahead. His gangly frame, long canine-like ears and stretched face identified him as a Gungan. Probably a hired flunky of Snydaa's, evidently guarding a door. Buf turned to her companion, saying, "My guess is that any door with a guard is worth looking into."
"Be careful, Buf," Willa answered. "We don't want every guard and mercenary in the base on our tails."
"Hey," Buf answered, giving Willa a lopsided smile. "I'm always careful." She started ahead, walking casually toward the guard.
The Gungan noticed the interloper, and hoisted his blaster rifle, aiming it toward his target. Buf looked at the guard, gaging the angle that he held his rifle; he would probably miss her by a wide arc. They do come smarter, she thought. Still, she didn't want to call attention to herself. She stopped and regarded the Gungan with an amused expression.
"Yousa stop right dere!" the Gungan squeaked. "No come no further."
Buf looked around her, feigning ignorance. "You mean this isn't the way out? I must have gotten turned around, I'm sorry, I--" She suddenly turned, kicking the rifle out of the Gungan's hands. She grabbed the hapless guard by the neck, and held his head in a hammerlock. "Not one word, friend. My friend and I need some information. First, who are you?" As she whispered her commands to the captive guard, Willa emerged from the shadows.
The guard trembled in fear, and stammered, "Me-meesa Ri-Ri Finn."
"Okay, Ri-Ri," Buf smiled at the odd-sounding name. "What are you doing here? Aren't you a little far from Naboo?"
"Meesa exiled from Naboo," the Gungan answered sadly. "Meesa embarras Big Boss Walsh of Gunga. Meesa come to Tatooine to work for Snydaa."
"Great," Buf glared at Ri-Ri. "He's desperate enough to hire anyone. Now then, Ri-Ri, we want to know where Snydaa's been keeping his gravity generators."
"Noo," Ri-Ri wailed softly. "Snydaa hurt meesa if meesa tell yousa."
"And meesa hurt yousa if yousa don't," Buf whispered through clenched teeth, pointing the tip of her blaster into Ri-Ri's back.
Ri-Ri yelped slightly, and said quickly, "Level 4, Section 16!"
Buf released the Gungan, happily saying, "See, Willa, I told you he could be cooperative." She then rammed her fist along the back of Ri-Ri's neck, quickly knocking him unconscious. "Can't have you tipping off the boss, Ri."
"Not exactly a subtle form of persuasion," Willa mused.
"Kindness doesn't feed the bantha," Buf answered. Tripping her comm-link, she told Gy'les to meet them at Level 4, Section 16. Buf and Willa then ran to meet Gy'les.
They found their designated location fast enough. The huge bulkhead that housed the generator room was more effectively guarded, by at least twelve security droids. Two meters in height, they each sported heavy blasters within their arms, and boasted great physical strength beneath their gleaming chrome exteriors. All much more effective deterrents than the hapless Ri-Ri Finn. Shortly after they arrived, they were joined by Willa's mentor. "Suggestions, Master Gy'les?" she asked the Mon Calamarian.
"I fear that stealth is no longer an option," Gy'les announced, removing his lightsaber handle from his belt.
"You are right, Master," Willa agreed. "Time for the direct approach."
"If that means it's time to bust heads," Buf smiled, unholstering her blaster, "then count me in."
"On three, then," Gy'les announced. "One, two--THREE!"
The three humans jumped from the corridor, their weapons charged and ready. Buf fired her blaster efficiently, taking a droid down with her first shot. The two Jedi were also efficient, taking down a guard droid with each sweep of a saber.
A sudden clarion hacked through the atmosphere, causing Buf to tense up. "Let's wrap this up soon, people, 'cause we're gonna have company!"
The two Jedi stepped up their assault, and between their sabers and Buf's blaster, made short work out of the remaining droids. Buf blasted through the lock controls of the hatch, and managed to hot-wire the mechanism so that the doors slid open quickly, allowing the three access to the gravity generators.
The massive engine filled most of a space ten meters wide and ten meters tall. Buf, versed with electronics(and not unfamiliar with contraband devices), started to look for the main power couplings. "Why would Snydaa create this monstrosity?" Willa asked, noting how her voice carried in the room.
"It was part of his scam," Buf answered. "Draw ships into forced landings on Tatooine, and offer to 'repair' the ships, gouging the owners out of everything they owned and extorting them into working for him, at slave wages."
"A repugnant arrangement," Gy'les declared. "And one which will not be tolerated a moment longer. We're shutting down this technological terror now!"
[I don't think so.] the hideous bass voice boomed across the chamber. Buf and Willa spun on their heels, only to witness the author of this infernal scheme. Snydaa rested his massive bulk on a heavily armed freight repulsor-lift, and Buf could hear the repulsors strain to carry the Hutt aloft in the air. Snydaa stabbed at the lift's control pad with his stubby arm, and the device hovered ungainly above Buf. [You think to end my reign over the businesses of Tatooine, little Correlian?]
[Something like that, Tubby.]
The corpulent crime lord laughed mirthlessly. [The Sarlacc will feed on your entrails for a thousand years, foolish ones.]
[I don't think so,] Buf answered calmly, before firing her blaster with deadly accuracy at the base of the repulsor-lift. The lift started to lose altitude, as Buf ducked out of the way. Snydaa managed to control the attitude of his craft, but was clearly displeased at Buf's attack.
[You will live only long enough to regret your actions!] Snydaa shouted. Willa and Gy'les didn't need to translate Huttese to hear the contempt in the Hutt's voice. The Hutt lowered his lift rapidly toward Buf, but took no notice of the two others behind him. His fatal mistake.
Of one accord, Gy'les and Willa charged Snydaa, their sabers flaring at maximum extension. With one clean curving slice, they carved a large chunk out of the lift, including main attitude control. The crippled lift suddenly lurched wildly, and Snydaa madly stabbed at the useless control panel, desperately trying to regain control of his craft. It was all for naught; within seconds, he was sent ricocheting against the pylons of the gravity generator, until the craft finally crashed into the largest structure in the chamber. The craft exploded as it pierced the exterior of the structure, causing Buf to gasp.
"Bug out, people," she shouted, "Snydaa just collided with the main power supply! This whole place is going to go nova real fast!" The two Jedi followed Buf's lead, and rushed out of the generator chamber.
Straight into a mob of guardian droids. Reinforcements for the ones that they had sliced earlier. Buf started to fire her blaster in wide arcs at the advancing droids. No time for subtlety, she managed to clear a path for them to pass, the two Jedi at either side of her, guarding her flank as they rushed the droids. Buf pointed to the exit to the side, shouting, "Stairwell!" They made their way toward the stairs, keeping the encroaching swarm of droids barely at bay. Blaster fire grazed Willa's robe, which only drove Buf to further action. "Take her to the roof, Gy'les," Buf commanded, "I'll guard your rears! Move!"
"No, Buf," Willa cried, "we're not leaving you!"
"I'll be right behind you guys," Buf assured the redhead. "I'm not going to die on you now. Get out of here!"
Gy'les eyed the young woman thankfully. "We'll wait for you, Buf." The two Jedi moved up the stairs, while Buf continued to fire at the army of droids. "Come on, you sons of a used hydraulic system! Take your best shot!"
The army of droids slowly encroached on Buf, as she inched her way up the stairs. Gy'les and Willa had managed to cut a hole in the locked door with their sabers, but Buf didn't dare turn her head on the advancing wave of opponents.
A well-aimed blaster bolt winged Buf's arm, causing her to drop her blaster, as a white-hot bolt of pain seared up her arm. Defenseless against the droid army, she scrambled up the stairs to catch up with her companions. Her vision misting from fatigue and pain, she nearly missed the large hairy arm that reached out to support her. Once she felt the arm, she relaxed visibly. "Oz?" she asked, still disoriented by the pain. A friendly growl confirmed her suspicions. She leaned on the Wookiee's side, as he walked her over to the Slayer, which had landed on the roof seconds earlier. She could feel herself being lifted up in the Wookiee's arms and carried onto the Slayer.
"Thank the Force," Willa breathed as Buf was taken to her quarters aboard the Slayer. Oz left to pilot the ship away from the doomed crimelord's base, and Willa began to remove Buf's tattered garment. Willa began to treat Buf's blaster wound, while Buf glanced out of her viewport.
She was treated to the sight of a large orange cloud, tinged with ugly sooty black, emerging rapidly from the base, as the base's walls imploded around the cloud. "Looks like we'll be off this rock soon, Willa," Buf smiled, wincing at the remnants of pain that still lingered in her arm.
"Soon, Buf," Willa answered, "but first, let me finish treating your arm. The droids did a number on your arm, but my healing techniques should relieve the pain, and promote your natural healing." Indeed, as Willa dabbed Buf's wound with bacta salve, the pain ebbed away, leaving a tingling sensation.
"You do good work, Willa," Buf said, as she examined the bandage on her arm. "Thanks."
"No problem," Willa smiled at Buf, and Buf could see the sadness in the young Jedi's eyes. "It's the least I--we could do for you." She started to turn her head away from Buf, but Buf turned her face back with a gentle finger.
"Hey, Willa," Buf consoled her newfound friend, "I'm the one who owes you. Snydaa would have made me, and any other traveler to Tatooine, his property. Extorting us with his slave-wage employment, forcing us to tithe him, stranding us on that hellhole. I owe you guys." She stopped, and took in the sight of Willa's beautiful green eyes. "Could you guys use some added help on Suun'dyl?"
Willa looked up, her eyes a question. "You volunteering to help us?"
"Well, volunteer's such a strong word," Buf grimaced. "But I can be reasonable, and I still owe you guys for two lost speeder-bikes."
"I am certain that the Jedi Council would be more than glad to reimburse you for your time and effort," Willa said gladly. "And I'd be glad of your companionship."
"I'd like that too," Buf answered. The two women just looked at each other for a few seconds, simply happy to be together, happy for the chance to further the bond that the Force had forged between them.
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Darth Ang'lus threw his metal goblet hard at his protege, spilling vile red liquid over the floor. "My intelligence tells me that Buf Somars and the two Jedi escaped from Tatooine, killing that fat fool Snydaa! I am not happy to hear this!"
"Be at ease, my lord," Darth Spyk answered, his feral eyes glowing in the inky darkness of his master's throne room. "I have contacted someone who may bring your errant love back to you." He clapped his hands, and a statuesque woman strode into the throne room. Her dark hair was barely tamed by her barrette, and flew wildly around her face. Her eyes were hard as stones, her mouth pursed and unsmiling, her whole attitude professional and deadly.
"Darth Ang'lus, I understand?" the woman asked.
"Approach me," the Sith lord commanded quietly. The guest walked toward the throne, feigning supplication, but making it sure that she bowed to no one.
"She is the most successful bounty hunter in this quadrant, my liege," Spyk introduced her. "She is also the most expensive."
"You needn't impress me with her resume, Spyk," Ang'lus interrupted his student. "I know of her." Standing up from his throne, he descended the dais and met her on the floor. "Your reputation is widespread. Whether it's deserved, we shall see."
"Whoever you need dead," she said coldly, "I can kill."
"I need two Jedi dead," Ang'lus announced.
She raised her eyebrows at the statement. "You have powerful enemies, Darth Ang'lus. And expensive enemies."
"I assure you that money is no object. The tricky part is that the two Jedi are in the company of a Correlian woman. Her I want alive and unhurt."
The woman knitted her brow in concentration. "I can do that," she answered. "We can arrange a pay schedule as soon as I bring you the heads of the Jedi."
Ang'lus and Spyk grinned ominously. "It is a pleasure doing business with you, Feyth Jade."