Episode I: Part 8

"Interesting," was Kells’ only comment once Clang concluded his explanation.

"Given the situation, leaving him operating under his own power just made sense, Sir."

The lieutenant glanced at the droid who was watching the jungle foliage amid the light rain. "Enough, I agree. Still, he wouldn’t be harmed from a scan, so get to it. Sergeant!"

"Sir!"

"Walk with me." A few paces away, the lieutenant stopped. "Opinions, Deuce?"

"Kid has a good head on him. Sure, not scanning the droid was stupid. Smart to use the droid as a tracker."

"I still don’t like it, its far too contrived. It leaves me wondering when the trap will spring now that we’ve got the bait."

"Makes two of us, LT."

"All clean sir. No trackers." Clang called over once the scanner finished.

"Good." Kells and Deuce rejoined Doc and Clang.

The lieutenant studied the droid for a moment. "What is your designation?"

"Unit 5532, Lance Corporal, custom model, nickname ‘Doc’."

Kells folded his arms. "I’m Lieutenant Dison Kells, the trooper armed with an E-11 and a Deece is our squad’s Top Kick, TK8822 also called Deuce. If you so much as spark suspiciously, he’ll see to it you won’t do that or anything else again, ever. Now, according to TK3422’s story, you’ve turned traitor against this ‘Master’ of yours. I’m curious as to why but for now that will have to wait. The sergeant detected passive signals from Imperial com units a good hike from here. I’m assuming you’ve been there?"

Doc looked at a scanner display Deuce produced from a pouch at his waist. "Affirmative," the droid stated after a second. "It is a power station and former materials factory that has been converted to function as a modified medical and cybernetics laboratory."

Kells thought a moment. "Any active sensor use?"

The droid shifted his photoreceptors to stare off into space. "Droid patrol to the northwest, twenty-five klicks and holding steady. Five to ten ‘Bloodhounds’ as the Master would call them. They are modified messenger droids."

"Loaded with combat scanners and hold out blasters, I’m sure." Clang said wryly.

Before the lieutenant could glance his way, Deuce had already palmed the scanner at his belt and took his own readings. "Contact confirmed LT, seven droids of unknown type, twenty-five klicks to the northwest."

"Let’s get moving. I’m not interested in being found."

"Yes sir." Deuce replied and motioned for Clang and Doc to follow him.

Ten kilometers in a Northeastern direction later, Deuce knelt in a thick stand of dark green, broad-leaf foliage and shrubs. Through a pair of macrobinoculars he could see the power station and former factory turned cybernetics lab that Doc described. Only, the droid failed to mention it was more than a makeshift lab, but a small fortress with an array of jamming emitters along the roof to hide the complex from orbital sensors.

"Shabla," Deuce swore in Mando’a while he offered the macrobinoculars to the lieutenant.

"Problem?" Kells asked as he looked for himself.

"SNAFU. Other than that, with an AT-AT’s load of restraining bolts, we’re sitting shiny LT."

The lieutenant watched two pair of message droids float silently past one another atop the walls of the fortress. Past them, something large moved out the roof access and into view.

"Frack, droidekas guarding the roof. I mark two, no, make that three."

"So marked," Deuce checked his spare power packs and grenades.

Clang sighed heavily from his hiding place in the bushes while Doc silently contemplated the fortress on his own. Overhead, another of Aldair’s impressive thunderstorms rapidly developed, merging with the weak storm system already present. Purple lightning danced through the oily clouds in a chaotic pattern.

"This will definitely be a challenge," the lieutenant commented.

Deuce looked over at the fortress while the drizzle of rain grew stronger. "The roaming patrols seem to be just message droids. Cheap, easily remanufactured killing machines."

"Quite likely, but all they need do is pin us down, then flank us with those droidekas. Bad prospect."

"Point taken, LT."

Clang frowned. "Doc, didn’t you say that place used to be a power station and factory?"

"Affirmative, though only the factory had fallen into disuse from what I could observe."

"Right, and since this place has such bad storms, I bet they’d need a ground based beacon for incoming freighters."

Kells lowered the macrobinoculars and glanced at the clone. "What are you driving at?"

"Doc picked up a telemetry reading earlier. Imperial encoded transmissions, I thought that was just a ground based relay for the station but now I’m wondering if it’s a navigational beacon for freighters coming to the factory. Something left over that this Master never noticed."

Doc perked up at that. "Very plausible theory, the Master considered beacons as bait for organics. Beyond that, he never concerned himself with them."

"If that’s true, the beacon relay station could have an unguarded terminal and a recording of our shuttle transponder codes from when we entered this system. That relay was broadcasting at regular intervals. I bet the Master’s droids don’t even pay it attention now."

Deuce grinned mischievously as he understood Clang’s suggestion. "A decoy signal."

The Imperial officer nodded in approval. "If you can remote into the station’s system, you could send a fake ‘incoming ship’ signal which might cause the Master to send his droids up to wait in ambush again on the station."

"Right, this would leave the fortress with a lot fewer defenders making getting in much easier."

Doc’s photoelectric gaze drifted from one Imperial to the next. "The Master will eventually realize the ruse and recall his droids."

"If the signal’s modulated, it might make it appear that it’s several vehicles or at least give enough doubt the droids wouldn’t be recalled that quickly. That would buy some extra time."

Deuce laughed. "You’re a devious little bastard, Clang. I like that, reminds me of me. Keep it up and you’ll be half as devious as I am one day."

"Can you reach that relay station before the storms or the droid patrols reach you?" Kells asked Clang.

The clone grinned like a kid with a new toy. "Trust me, Sir. They won’t know I’m there."

"Best keep it that way. Good speed Troop. Send word when you’re in place."