The Abiding Force: A Knight of the Empire (Star Wars)

11: Worthy Adversaries

Val was worried. The strange feeling had not left him, growing more intense the deeper he and Chiko descended into the world engine. Their route had been circuitous and there had been a few close calls with rebel patrols and engineering staff as they'd moved closer to the reactor. Their battle armor was now a liability, one that Val wished he had eschewed before the operation. His understanding had been that the majority of hostile forces would be Zyllovian, a species made distinct from humans by their orange-red pigment and four arms. Val was surprised to discover that seemingly half of the garrison consisted of humans. Their infiltration efforts would have been much simpler if they could pass as rebels themselves, but their armor made that impossible and it would be more trouble than it was worth to attempt to remove it.

He ducked around a corner as another patrol jogged past, heading for the ongoing battle unfolding outside. Val hoped that the Imperial commanders had not committed to a full attack in the confusion. Chiko tapped his shoulder, urging him on. He moved, crossing a short distance to an adjoining corridor. Chiko followed after as they approached the final stretch leading into the reactor room. Val halted at the final turn, reaching out to track the life around him. There were two rebels standing guard at the doorway, both of whom were extremely bored. Val turned to Chiko and spoke quietly, "Chem darts." he said. Chiko nodded, pulling free two of the small darts and handing them to Val.

He readied himself, reaching out through the force to place them precisely in the space. With some effort he raised the darts from his hand and propelled them around the corner at great speed. The pair of projectiles struck home, embedding themselves in the flesh of the two rebels. There were two quick yelps of surprise, then a clatter as they struck the floor in unison. "Oh my!" a voice cried out. Val gave Chiko a confused look, but she was already moving. He realized an instant later what had occurred.

Chiko didn't hesitate in dismantling the protocol droid. Val watched in stunned silence as she went about the task with methodical calm, bare-handed. She ripped the droid's processing unit in a single vicious strike that tore through metal and wire as if it were a blade through flesh. What was most disturbing to Val was how quiet it had been. He caught up to her a moment later as she was dragging the destroyed bot into a secluded corner behind a crate. Val moved the other bodies as she stood panting, obviously exerted by her previous attack.

"How did you do that?" He asked, suspecting it was some sort of force enhancement. Chiko smiled playfully, "Oh this is a precious moment." She said, relishing knowing something he did not. Val frowned in annoyance, then turned back to the reactor entrance door. He bent down and checked one of the unconscious rebels, finding an old-style keycard. He held up the card with a smirk. Chiko returned one of her own, "Quaint." She said, checking the other rebel.

Val moved to the doorway controls sliding the card into the slot. A low beeping tone accepted the card and the door slid open with a hiss. Val stepped through, entering a narrow corridor leading toward a distant light. Chiko was at his side a moment later, her lightsaber now palmed. Val drew his own, stepping down the corridor after withdrawing the keycard. Chiko hit the interior control panel, the door closing right behind them.

Val moved quickly and quietly toward the terminus of the hallway. The reactor came into view slowly, the scale of the tumultuous fusion core was something of tremendous splendor. It was as if a small star had been captured in metal and plasma. The sparking energy emanating from the central reaction was the fire that had reshaped life on this once desolate world. It was like looking into the beating heart of the future. Val forced himself to turn his attention back to task, despite the spectacle unfolding before him.

Chiko moved ahead to a control panel. It was as they'd planned for, thankfully. They'd arrived right on schedule. Val began preparing the attack signal as Chiko began the long shut-down scram sequence. It would take a few minutes at least for the monstrous energy storm to be reduced down to standby. Val placed the signalling device in front of Chiko. "Activate it when the reactor drops below 50% output." He said. Chiko looked up with a smirk, but whatever clever jab she was about to take died in her throat.