STAR WARS: Gray Jedi

Chapter 32

STARKILLER BASE.

It was only minutes in hyperspace and Starkiller Base already came into view. Destin only wished he had more time to prepare his mind for what was ahead. The station was massive and the giant weapon trenched within its core was larger than anything Destin could've imagined. 

Neema hailed the other fighter squadrons. "This is Nighthawk to Black Leader. We're breaking off."

"Roger that. Good luck Nighthawk," a voice responded over the comms.

"You too Black Leader. Good luck out there Poe," Neema replied. 

And with that, Neema and Bozin pulled their ship away from formation and lowered towards Starkiller Base. A snowy surface came into view as the ship broke through the atmosphere, with a tall-standing tower in the middle of a the empty, white tundra. Neema pointed towards it. 

"There!" she exclaimed. "That has to be the data-tower we're looking for. Take us down Bozin."

"Gotcha," Bozin replied. 

Bozin flew the ship a little ways away from the tower into a snow-frosted forest not far off, concealing The Nighthawk. With a few clicks of some buttons, the ship landed and the engines shut off. They all began unstrapping their safety buckles. Neema and Destin stood.

"Alright Bozin, let's go," Neema said.

Bozin's eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, go where?" he asked, confused.

"You're coming with us," she said, as she checked her blaster.

"Uh, no I'm not," Bozin replied.

"Oh, yes you are. We need you to help us navigate through the base."

"You mean the one crawling with Stormtroopers? Uh, yeah, no thanks. Base? Bad. Ship? Good."

"Bozin, we need you," said Neema.

"We can't do this without you buddy," Destin added.

"No way! You guys've seen me in action. I'm no good out there." Bozin replied.

"Don't worry," Destin assured him. "You have us. We'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Neema raised her eyebrows, smiling at Bozin. "Bozin, the Jedi is asking for your help."

Bozin looked to Destin, then to Neema, then back to Destin. There was a slight pause, and then, "Ugh, I hate you guys," he said. He stood from his pilot's seat. "I better get paid double for this," he directed at Neema.

The Nighthawk's cargo ramp reclined and Bozin walked down first with a datapad in hand. Destin and Neema followed. They spent some time trenching through the snow of the forest until they made their way out of the tree line. The data tower came into view and they forged ahead, bracing the freezing cold in their fur-lined thermals. Bozin lead them to a small side entrance at the base of the data-tower. The door locked, Bozin linked up to the door's security pad with a small wire linked the controls to his datapad. He sliced into the door's security firewall and did some quick tinkering on his screen and after a moment, the door swished open, revealing a staircase leading both upwards to the tower and downwards towards the underground.

"This way," Bozin said. 

He lead them down the stairs where another door stood. Neema raised her finger to her mouth, signaling for Destin and Bozin to be quiet. They could hear voices from the other side. Bozin linked in the doors security pad and waited for Neema to give the signal to open the door. Neema and Destin drew their blasters, readying themselves. She gave Bozin a quick nod of her head and he opened the door. They moved in quickly and fired on the Stormtroopers inside, clearing every corner. Bozin moved to one of the NAV terminals in the room and and plugged in. Maps of the tower's underground came into view on the terminal screens.