Star Wars: Rebellion and Betrayal

Chapter 14

She tried to push this slight setback out of her mind, although she had no clue how she would get Rhodes out of this. Abie shook her head and focused on the screen.

Gotcha, she thought as she scanned the screen, now filled with the palace floorplans.

"Hey, Goggles, we got them. Alive as promised." Frisk's voice startled Abie as she glanced back to the security screens.

Lena and their third person, who she realized was a clone, lay in a heap seeming to be generally unharmed. Rhodes, on the other hand, was laying against the wall with a gash across his forehead.

"Take them to the dungeon on floor sub2. We can bring them before Gran-we in the morning."

Frisk let out a loud grunt over the comm channel. "Weren't you watching the fight? The Triplets are all knocked out. Verm and Dwig aren't doing much better. Just because you made the plan, doesn't excuse you from manual labor."

Abie sighed and looked at her droid. "C'mon BO-Z, we better not keep them waiting." Abie fixed her goggles back on her forehead while BO-Z fixed himself onto her back.

Abie took a deep breath as she headed for the door. She briskly walked down the hall to see Frisk in the doorway, tapping his clawed foot against the hardwood floors. "How did you know where the dungeon was, newcomer? What are you up to?"

Abie quickly realized that she had messed up by being specific. There was no reason for her to know that. Abie began to stutter, trying to think of a lie. "I accessed the palace schematics so that I could keep all escape routes covered."

"And how did you manage that?" Frisk retorted with a snarl.

Abie shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of the Transdoshan. "Maybe I am just smarter than you," Abie shot back.

Before Frisk could say a word, Abie brushed past him and into the room. The sight was worse than what the security cameras showed. Eight bodies were strewn around the room, each with varying degrees of injury. Out of Rhodes' crew, he was the worst with his head wound still bleeding. Sho-fi, the Mandalorian, was leaning against the wardrobe, waiting for the next order.

"I can carry the girl, Mando Girl can take the tall, skinny one, and Frisk should take the clone." Abie had to keep concentrated to act like she didn't know two of the bodies lying on the ground. It was hard enough not to say their names, let alone avoid staring at Rhodes' injured head.

To her surprise, Frisk obeyed the order with a slight grunt. He swung the clone over his shoulder while Sho-fi grabbed hold of Rhodes' ankle. Abie picked up the sleeping Lena, careful not to hurt her anymore. She couldn't help but feel bad, watching Rhodes get dragged down the hall. She wanted to say something but couldn't take any risks. Rhodes would just have to hold out until she could do something.

Frisk led the way, not fully believing that Abie knew where to go. They eventually made their way to a spiral staircase taking them two floors down underground.

Floor sub2 was smaller, not matching the same expansiveness as the rest of the palace. This floor was solely dedicated to the dungeon. A chill went down Abie's spine as she looked at the rusty bars on the half-dozen cells that lined the walls. They were all devoid of life, aside from the occasional scurry of a rodent, startled by the sudden flash of light as Frisk switched on the power.

"Throw them in separate cells," Frisk hissed while pressing some buttons on the wall. Three doors slid open with an eerie creak. Frisk propped Timber up next to the skeleton of some sort of alien species that Abie couldn't recognize. Rhodes was simply dragged into his cell while Abie gently laid Lena on the cell's small cot.