Trooper

Prisoners of War

Naraka: 11 BBY
Naraka Prison
Ryn Alera

    Feylin gently dropped them out of hyperspace close to the planet. Elide and Mirk leaned forward on the edge of their seats behind them. Ryn scrunched her forehead, staring up at the underbelly of a Star Destroyer. "They'll be contacting us soon," Feylin noted. "Azie, be ready."

    "So what's our plan for the station?" Mirk asked. "From the schematics I've seen, there's no landing zones around it. The platform outside is guarded by a single AT-ST, but that doesn't make our problems less."

    "I've been thinking about that. We can," Ryn began. Static crept over the comm, cutting her off.

    "Shuttle, please identify."

    "This is Silver Crescent delivering supply crates," Ryn replied, leaning over the comm.

    "Send your clearance codes and be prepared for scanning."

    Ryn twisted her seat. "Grab some of those empty crates out of the back and throw stuff in them. Whatever you can find and hurry," she hissed. Elide and Mirk leaped out of their seats and rapidly obeyed. Azie was already plugged into the ship's console and was transmitting the clearance codes from the store of them in his memory banks.

    Elide and Mirk returned at last and slid into their seats. The comm remained silent as they drifted beneath the Destroyer. "You are cleared. Drop the crates on the platform and make your departure," the officer replied at last.

    Ryn let out a small sigh of relief and increased their speed. They soared through the atmosphere before slowing again. Ryn rubbed her temples and brought her seat around, letting Azie take over flying. "Here's my plan. Azie is going to continue flying the ship. We'll drop those crates you filled onto the platform so that they won't suspect anything. Azie will circle around and we will jump on top of the station and make our way down."

    "How will we find the rebels?" Elide asked.

    Ryn glanced at Feylin. "The databanks. As soon as we find them, we'll head outside towards the platform. We'll have to find a way to handle the AT-ST but after that, Azie can bring the ship down and pick us up."

    Mirk looked somewhat skeptical, but said nothing. He simply nodded. "We'll just follow your lead," Elide laughed nervously.

    "Good. That's probably best." Ryn stood and made her way to the front of the ship. She grabbed crates and pulled them over to her. Azie whistled as they flew over the prison. Ryn opened up the boarding ramp and threw the crates onto the platform below. She sealed the ramp again before anyone had approached the crates. "We don't have much time before they see that those are fake," she called. "Circle around and drop us on top, Azie."

Ryn leaned against the wall, feeling the immediate shift in direction. Azie chirped back to her. Elide, Mirk, and Feylin all joined her momentarily. Ryn adjusted her blasters and reholstered them. She let her hand close around her kyber crystal for a brief second, before she opened the ramp again. The roof of the prison loomed below them.

Ryn closed her eyes against the wooziness that threatened to overwhelm her. Without a scream, she managed to leap out of the ship. Wind whipped her lekku past her face and stung her eyes. She hit the building hard and rolled. Ryn managed to stop herself before she reached the edge of the building. Feylin and Mirk hit the ground and rolled to to their feet beside her.

Ryn lifted her gaze and saw Elide still standing on the ship. She gritted her teeth in frustration and waved the young pilot on. "She's a pilot. She can't be scared of heights now," Ryn hissed. Still, Elide didn't move. Ryn activated her wrist comm. "Hey, Azie, have you ever wanted to push someone out of a ship?"