Kalon - Han Solo [1]

Chapter 9 : What's Your Operating Number?

The raven headed girl swallowed nervously as she walked through the corridors of the mighty Death Star. Tasha tried to act normal, but to be perfectly honest; she had never paraded a Wookiee through the halls of an enemy space station that had enough fire power to destroy everything she cared about. So, she wasn't exactly sure what normal was in this situation.

Her eyes flickered to the stormtroopers passing them, trying to mimic their behaviour'; their heavy booted, marching steps. The three fugitives stepped into an elevator that should (hopefully) lead to the detention block they're looking for. A pair of smartly dressed officers tried to enter the same lift as them but Tasha shook her head at him, gesturing to Chewie, and hoping to God that he would get the message without her having to open her mouth. She didn't know how much this mask would change her voice, and she had yet to come across a female stormtrooper.

"This is not gonna work," Han said as the elevator shot upwards.

"Why didn't you say so before?!" Luke said anxiously, double-checking to make sure Chewbacca's restrains hadn't clipped themselves shut and that their plan would actually have some chance of succeeding.

"I did say so before!" Han replied irritably.

"Guys!" Tasha hissed "can we at least try to keep some optimism here?!" the mask didn't really change her voice, just gave it a mechanised tone to it, and she involuntarily was relieved that she hadn't had to speak to those officers.

The elevator doors sprang open, revealing the detention level with a rather snooty looking attendant. He was a lieutenant, although Tasha may have been a wrong, her knowledge of Imperial insignia being slightly hazy, even after a good few years in the Rebel Alliance, but then again, she did more field work, and left the desk jobs for people who were actually good at it, just as they left the trigger pulling to her. He regarded Chewbacca with disdain, his nose seeming to stick itself another inch into the air, a look on his face as though a bad smell had passed under his aforementioned nose. Tasha swallowed nervously again and hoped no one would notice.

"Where are you taking this . . . thing?" he said, eyeing Chewbacca again. Tasha felt Chewie tense slightly under the hand she gripped onto his arm. She too felt her blood boil slightly at the prejudice against him just because he's a Wookiee and her jaw tensed slightly, not that anyone could see it under her helmet. His majestic species had suffered under the hands of the Empire, now reduced to little more than slaves.

"Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138," Luke lied smoothly. The lieutenant eyed them suspiciously, his eyes narrowing when they landed on Tasha. the armour hadn't fitted her female figure as well as the others, and her stormtrooper was a bit taller than she was. 

"I wasn't notified," he said after a moment, "I'll have to clear It." the guards drew their blasters and moved forward. It was now or never. She released her grip on Chewie and he sprang forward, knocking the guards over with swing of his powerful arms.

"Look out, he's loose!" Tasha yelled, pulling out her blaster for the sake of the security cameras placed all around the room. She shot one out and it exploded into a shower of sparks as smoke and the scent of burning metal filled the air. She shot out the guard that was coming straight at her, blaster raised in a vain effort to shoot her down. Han blasted out a guard Tasha hadn't seen coming as she used the red laser beams to take out another camera.

Her eyes strained against the smoke that surrounded them, but she didn't find herself choking. Maybe the masks filtered out smoke? They didn't have much on file back at the base about the specifics of stormtrooper's suits. They'd probably make her file a report on their weaknesses, strengths, functions. And Tasha hated writing reports.