With that, we all walked inside the lift. As we made our way to the top, Anakin reminded us all of the mission. "Remember, this is a stealth mission. No blasting, no blowing things up. Nobody knows we're here."
At that moment, the door opened, revealing several D-wing droids. "Intruders! Attack!"
Wrecker charged forth, tackling and throwing several D-wing droids out the hangar. Rex sighed. "So much for stealth."
As soon as Anakin, Rex, and I joined the Bad Batch, all the droids were destroyed. Wrecker raised his arms in the air as he shouted. "Yeah! Hah! Ha-ha! Yeah!"
We all stared at Wrecker, completely taken back. Once Wrecker realized that we were all staring at him, he immediately lowered his arms. "Uh sorry. I just got excited."
"I've still got a lock on Echo's signal." Tech informed us.
"All right, men. Let's hunt some droids." Hunter ordered.
"Now you're talking! Yeah!" Wrecker exclaimed.
With that, we made our way into the hallway. Hunter quickly took out two D-wing droids behind us in the hallway, while Rex took out the other two D-wing droids in front of us. Once the droids were taken care of, I turned to face Tech. "Where exactly is Echo's signal coming from?"
"Strange. I just lost the signal." Tech mentioned.
My stomach dropped. How could that be? I know Echo's alive, there's no doubt about it.
"What? How can that be?" Rex asked, sounding just as baffled as I was.
"There's no atmospheric disturbances up here." I protested.
"Well, I have a new theory. I'm surprised I did not consider it earlier. The signal is only traceable during data transmissions. So until Echo dispenses more intel, I cannot pick up the signal." Tech explained.
"Okay, we're splitting up. Search every door. If someone finds Echo, contact the others. We go in together, just in case there's trouble." Anakin advised.
With that we split up, entering different doors. I walked into what appeared to be a storage room with several shelves. At that moment, several D-wing droids emerged out of nowhere. One of D-wing droids spoke up. "Surrender."
"Never." I retorted.
As soon as they fired their blasters at me. I ignited my lightsabers, deflecting their attacks. One by one, I took down the droids. I lunged forth towards the last few D-wing droids, deflecting their blasts before slicing them in half. At that moment, I heard a blast go off from behind me. I turned around to see the last D-wing droid on the ground. I looked up to see Crosshair with his sniper rifle in his hands. Behind him stood Anakin. I gave Crosshair a nod, which he returned.
We then made our way down the hallway, finding many D-wing droids near a chamber with a sealed door. Anakin and I used the Force, pushing back several before we lunged towards them, slicing them in half. Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Rex quickly joined in. As soon as all the droids were destroyed, another wave of droids was headed for us.
"Tech, open that door for Rex and Storm!" Anakin ordered.
Tech nodded. "Yes, sir!"
Hunter glanced over at Rex and me. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Captain, General."
Rex and I then rushed over towards the chamber's door as Tech quickly sliced into the system, opening the door. Once the door was open, all three of us went inside. We then entered a large room, which appeared to be a lab. At the very end of the lab, we saw a stasis chamber at the top of the lab. And beneath the chamber, we saw a control panel.
"I don't like the look of this." Tech said.
As we approached the control panel, Tech began moving things around and I helped him, trying to figure out how to open the chamber. As I looked up at the chamber, I could sense something was inside there. And it seemed like I wasn't the only one who could sense that.
"I'm definitely picking up a life-form in there." Tech commented.
"It seems to be a stasis chamber." I stated.
"I think I can get it open." Tech mentioned.
Tech then pulled down a couple of levers at once, opening the chamber. Once the chamber emerged Echo with several tubes around his pale body and his shaved head. He had a robotic right arm with a scomp link at the top of his arm. Echo also had robotic legs with several tubes attached to him. My heart dropped upon seeing Echo's state.
"Echo." I called out.
"Tech. We got to get him out of here. Figure out how to unplug him from from this mess." Rex advised.
Rex and I removed the tubes from his body, but kept the tubes attached to his head. We then lowered him to the ground beside the control panel. I could feel my anger rising from within me. How dare the Techno Union do this to Echo.
"What have they done to you?" I inquired.
"We...We have to get to the shuttle to escape the Citadel. No! I'll go first!" Echo exclaimed.
"Echo." Rex called out.
Echo shook his head. "No! No. No."
"Echo, it's Rex. I'm here." Rex said, trying to get his attention.
"No! Storm...must get back to her." Echo insisted.
My heart clenched at his words. I placed a hand on his cheek. "Echo, it's all right. We're here, Rex and me. It's me, Storm."
Upon hearing my words, Echo looked over at me. "Rex? Storm? You...you came back for me."
Rex nodded. "Yes. Yes, we did."
"When we knew there was a chance of you being alive, we couldn't ignore it. We had to rescue you." I mentioned.
"What? What happened? Where am I?" Echo asked.
He then extended out his left hand. I grabbed his hand, placing it in mine. I kept my eyes on his brown eyes. "It's okay, Echo. You're safe now."
"Just sit tight, trooper. You're going home." Rex added.
As Tech worked on freeing Echo from the tubes plugged into his head, Anakin rushed into the lab. "Situation's almost under control out there. How's it going in here?"
"I'm still trying to decrypt Echo's cerebral interface. Until I do, we cannot disconnect him from this computer system." Tech explained.
Anakin then turned towards Rex and me. "How is he, Rex, Storm?"
"He's too weak to walk. Very disoriented." Rex informed him.
"He doesn't even remember how he got here. He remembers being at the Citadel." I explained.
"But that's about it." Rex added.
"Any word on the extraction squad?" Anakin questioned.
"We called it in, but no word back." Rex mentioned.
"Well, that's no surprise. We knew when we got into this we'd be on our own." Anakin commented.
At that moment, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair backed up into the hallway before the lab, shutting the door shut with their hands. My stomach churned. That can't be any good.
"It's gonna get more difficult to get out of here. There are several squads of droids closing in." Hunter informed us.
They then worked on sealing the door shut before moving to the door of the lab, sealing it as well. We were running out of time.
"Enemy approaching. Droids lots of 'em." Crosshair chimed in.
"How long can you hold them off?" Anakin questioned.
"How long do you need?" Hunter asked.
I glanced over at Tech, getting anxious. "Tech, how much longer?"
"Not yet. I need more time." Tech mentioned.
After what felt like a long while, Tech finally spoke up. "Ah. I've got it. We can unplug him now."
Rex and I slowly took out all the tubes from Echo's spine and head. Once we the tubes were taken out, Echo collapsed onto the ground. I immediately rushed to his side. Echo let out a cough. "Storm? Rex?"
"What is it, Echo?" Rex inquired.
A smile appeared on Echo's face. "I got a big headache."
I couldn't help but smile at his words. Rex chuckled. "Better to feel something than nothing, old buddy."
"It's a touching reunion, guys, but we need to get out of here, now!" Anakin ordered.
"There's an exhaust vent that leads to the cooling systems right there." Echo informed us.
He then pointed up to the ceiling of the lab. There we saw an exhaust vent that was closed. At that moment, Hunter shouted out. "They've breached the front door! It won't be long before they're through the second."
Echo used his right arm, plugging into the socket in the control panel to open the vent. "That should get it open."
At that moment, the vent opened. I glanced over at Echo, giving him a smile. "Excellent work, Echo."
Echo gave me a sheepish smile. "Oh it was nothing."
"Now how do we get up there?" Crosshair inquired.
"Oh, I can help with that." Wrecker commented.
Wrecker then grabbed Hunter before throwing him up in the air towards the vent. "Wait, what? Wrecker, what are you doing?"
Once Hunter was up in the vent, he looked down at Wrecker. "A heads-up would've been nice!"
Wrecker then threw Crosshair, Tech, and Rex. I lifted up Echo onto my back. Once Echo was on my back, I jumped up into to vent. Anakin then followed. It was when I heard Anakin asking what Wrecker was doing that I looked down the vent.
"I'm putting an end to Tambor's little science experiment." Wrecker explained.
"Are you done? Time's up!" Anakin shout out.
After Wrecker threw the bombs in the lab, the door finally opened, revealing a decimator. Once the droid entered the room, it released twelve purple energy tentacles all around the lab. Anakin quickly used the Force, lifting Wrecker up into the air.
"Whoa! Whoa! Oh, no! What is that thing? I don't like it!" Wrecker yelled. "I don't like it! It's trying to get me! Whoa!"
Fortunately, Anakin got Wrecker into the vent before any of the energy tentacles could touch him. As soon as Wrecker was inside, the vent closed, and we began to climb until we reached a hallway. As we walked through the hallway, Echo leaned onto Rex and me.
"Huh. This ventilation corridor acts as a cooling system for all the computers in the facility." Tech stated as he inspected the hallway.
"How did you know it was up here, Echo?" Anakin questioned.
"Well, they got access to my memory, and I got access to the Techno Union database. All their plans, inventory, building schematics everything." Echo explained.
My eyes lit up, understanding what this mean. "You mean you can find us a safe way out of here?"
Echo then began to walk on his own without our help. Looks like he was regaining his strength. Echo wore a nervous smile. "Well, there is a way but you're not gonna like it."
At his words, we all turned around to face him.
•••
As soon as we reached a door, it opened, revealing a long narrow pipe leading to another building. I grimaced. "I don't know about this."
"I'm telling you, there's a landing pad on that other building." Echo assured us.
"So you think there's a ship there we can steal?" Hunter inquired.
"Well, I hope there's a ship we can steal." Echo mentioned.
"Let's hope this trip isn't for nothing." Hunter commented.
With that, we began to walk onto the pipe. I took a deep breath before looking up. Just keep moving, Storm. Keep your balance, and you'll be fine. I heard Wrecker groan. "Oh, boy. I can't even look. Just keep walking, Tech."
"That's fine, but if you fall, don't take me with you." Tech retorted.
"Uh-oh. I looked. Ahh!" Wrecker exclaimed, sounding terrified. "I think I'm gonna be sick. Not gonna panic."
"Hang on, Wrecker. We're almost there." Hunter advised.
"Gonna be okay. Breathe. Breathe..." Wrecker said aloud, trying to calm himself.
Once we were halfway across, we saw droids waiting for us in the building we were heading for. My eyes widened. "Turn around!"
"Go back!" Anakin ordered.
Anakin and I ignited our lightsabers. The droids began blasting in our direction. Anakin and I quickly deflected their blasts, managing to hit some of them with their own laserfire.
"Anybody got a brilliant idea?" Anakin inquired.
"I do have a brilliant idea." Tech answered.
"I'm hanging here!" Wrecker shouted out, hanging from the bottom of the pipe.
Tech then put his visor on as he went through his datapad. "When the locals attacked us, I recorded the creatures' distress call."
"He records everything. It's a hobby." Hunter mentioned.
"Which allows us to call those flying creatures to us." Tech commented.
We then heard a loud screeching sound, forcing us to cover our ears. I groaned as the sound grew louder. "Ow!"
"Enough with the sound!" Wrecker shouted.
Tech pointed out towards the sky. "There is our ride out of here!"
We then saw the flying reptiles beneath us before circling around the pipe. But how were we going to get on them to escape?
"Now, how do we get on them?" I inquired.
"How else? We jump!" Tech responded.
We all looked over at Tech, rather baffled. I let out a sigh. "All right, I'll go first."
Without thinking twice, I jumped off the pipe and onto a flying reptile. The reptile moved around as I held on for dear life. The creature let out a screech, causing me to wince. I need to make a connection with this creature before it decides to drop me. With this in mind, I reached out to the Force, making a connection with the flying reptile. In a matter of seconds, the creature then calmed down before making its way to the others. As we flew away from the city, we saw the D-wing droids flying towards us. I mentally groaned. Those droids can fly?
As we flew back to the village, the droids began firing at us. I ignited one of my lightsabers, deflecting their blasts, while I used my right arm to steer the flying reptile. Fortunately, we managed to destroy them all before reaching the village. Once we reached the village, we dismounted off of the reptiles. The Poletecs surrounded us immediately, including the chief of the Poletecs, who immediately spoke in his language. Tech quickly translated his words for us. "Their leader is impressed we tamed the Keeradaks, but he wants to know why we returned here."
"Tell him we had no choice." I ordered.
"Tell him that we wore out our welcome in Purkoll." Anakin chimed in.
As Tech translated our words, several of the flying droids began blasting the village. Crosshair and the others began firing at the droids. All but one were destroyed, and unfortunately, the last droid flew away from us. I grimaced. "Not good."
"If I know Tambor, he'll come after us, us and the Poletecs, with everything he's got." Anakin mentioned.
The chief began speaking, and he didn't sound very happy. I glanced over at Tech. "What's he saying, Tech?"
"He says that we have broken our word. We have brought the war to his village." Tech said, translating the chief's words.
"You're right. Tell him he's right, Tech. Tell him we didn't plan to drag his people into war. But look what the Separatists did to one of our people!" Rex protested as he pointed over towards Echo.
The Poletecs gasped upon seeing Echo. I could sense their fear and shock. I realized Rex was onto something. If we could persuade the Poletecs to join our side, then we'll have a chance of beating Tambor. With this in mind, I turned towards the chief and his people.
"They took away his freedom, his humanity. They tried to turn him into a machine. The Techno Union claims it's neutral, but they have chosen sides. Now your people have to choose." I advised.
Tech quickly translated our words to the chief and the Poletecs. Anakin gave us a smile. "Couldn't have said it better, Rex and Storm."
"Ugh! Let's hope it works, because I see forces coming more than we can handle alone." Crosshair commented.
•••
Fortunately, the chief of the Poletecs agreed to help us fight. Anakin and I quickly came up with a plan that we shared with the team and with the Poletecs. It wasn't long until the D-wing droids arrived in the village. Currently, Anakin, Crosshair, Echo, and I were on a cliff above the village. Anakin and I gave the signal to Wrecker, who was on the ground with the Poletecs, Hunter, Rex, Tech, and the flying reptiles. In a matter of seconds, a giant boulder headed towards the droids, crushing several.
The Poletecs along with their flying reptiles then charged into the village towards the droids. As they fought, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Rex joined in. As some of the flying droids flew in the air, Echo, Crosshair, Anakin, and I took care of them. Then all of the sudden, two octuptarra tri-droids landed onto the ground, blasting the village and killing several of the Poletecs. We have to destroy them before they kill all the Poletecs.
I quickly contacted Rex through my comlink. "Rex, we've gotta take out these walkers."
"Storm and I'll take one. You take the other." Anakin added.
"Don't worry, Generals. The boys and I can handle it." Rex assured us.
Anakin and I exchanged a nod. As we waited for the walker droid to come in our direction, I glanced over at Echo, who had a smile on his face. For some reason, my heart couldn't help but flutter.
"Still showing off, huh, Generals?" Echo teased.
"You know us, Echo." Anakin mentioned.
"We can't help it." I chimed in, returning his smile.
With that, we jumped off the cliff and landed onto the walker droid. Anakin and I impaled the top of the droid's head before climbing down to cut off the legs and the blasters. Once they were all cut off, Anakin and I jumped off the walker droid before extending out our hands, using the Force to push back the walker droid. In a matter of seconds, the walker droid crashed into the second walker, knocking them onto the ground. The last of the droids flew off, returning to Tambor. The Poletecs, including the chief rushed over towards Anakin and me as their raised their weapons in the air, shouting out of joy. I couldn't help but grin. We did it, we drove Tambor's forces back.