Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

7. Off by a Hair

This plan was incredibly risky, but smart enough to work.

Cassian carefully adjusted himself in the Imperial cargo truck. He was uncomfortably tucked between a crate of explosives and a crate of freshly picked imported Calarantum. The truck rattle as it trekked over the hard, swampy terrain of planet Imdaar in the Dreighton Nebula. They were headed to the Imperial supply base stationed here.

General Draven had the utmost confidence in his star Intelligence Officer. Cassian didn't want to put too much emphasis on the success rate of this mission, but he would sure as hell give it his all.

The plan wasn't as intricate and safe as he had hoped, but if he succeeded, it would delay the Empire in numerous areas across the galaxy. The supply base sent out cargo ships full of weapons, ammunition, and food. Captain Andor's job was to sabotage the ships in such a subtle way that the pilots wouldn't notice until it was too late. Then, make it out of the base without dying.

If things go south, just remember. This is for the Rebellion. This is to secure the galaxy's freedom. Cassian reassured himself. He waited patiently as the journey went on, slow and agonizing. The anticipation built up inside of him and mixed with uncertainty. I've done worse missions with this. Those had less chances of survival. His eyes focused on the crate in front of him. The missions came to mind slowly, like the mission on Ando Prime where he almost froze to death, or the time on Chaaktil where he traveled across its deserts, barely clinging onto life. The planet's inhabitants, or at least he couldn't remember which species, took him in, but almost killed him in his daring escape. Other missions sprang up in his mind, but the truck jerked to a stop.

They were here.

Cassian waited patiently and closed his eyes. He put all of his focus on his hearing. The metal crates stayed still after the truck stopped. The engine ceased, causing the parts of the truck to creak and groan as it settled. Other vehicles could be heard driving off of the base, but none came in. The storm troopers that drove the truck hopped out and made their way towards the rear doors. They chattered about some new regulations the Empire enforced, but it was nothing important to use against them.

Cassian ran his hands along the inside of the explosive crate, and set up a small bomb. Once it was set, he buried it among the rest of the inactive bombs. He stayed tucked between the crates when the bucket heads opened the doors. They viewed the inventory, and then proceeded to go get a cargo loader to put it on. Cassian took the chance and hopped out of the cargo truck. He pressed up against the metal as he surveyed the area.

An informant had surveyed the area previously on a separate mission. Cassian knew the layout vaguely, but knew where to go to reach the airships. That's all that mattered. The surrounding area was empty of life. I guess the informant was right. They had stated that only few troopers were stationed here. The rest were sent to Imdaar Alpha, the moon in the planet's orbit. Rebel intelligence has records of a research base there, but couldn't pinpoint the location. It was as if it were invisible to the human eye.

He made his way cautiously to the landing platforms for the airships. A few TIE Fighters were hooked up to stations nearby. It must've kept the ship's diagnostics shown in real time on the base's computers. Cassian put his arm up to shield his eyes when he came in contact with direct sunlight. A heavy air pushed down on him, and the humidity finally sank in.

It only reminded him of how much he hated hot, humid planets.

He pushed the feeling aside and focused on the mission at hand. He ducked behind a TIE Fighter's wing as he looked around. There was one mechanic working on one of the ships with an ion torch. A few troopers patrolled the area, but stopped so often to talk that it almost seemed impossible for them to actually catch him.