If you want to read more chapters ahead from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
https://patreon.com/kelly_over
____________
"Understood," Quinlan replied, and gestured Aayla to continue as the sounds of battle got closer, the roar of the Wookie battle cries carrying very well through the corridors of the base. Despite not running into many more pirates save a scattered handful, the two of them continued to hear the sounds of battle coming closer, then further away, but always present.
More than once Aayla paused, frowning as Harry and his forces ran into more organized resistance. The company of mercenaries, a group which used a hand clenched over a red rose as their symbol, which none of the Jedi had ever seen, were now acting like a rallying point for the defenders, and the Wookies were becoming bogged down everywhere. Despite that, the battle was pretty much a foregone conclusion since the joint assault force controlled the orbitals, though the defenders didn't seem to realize it.
About ten minutes later the two of them arrived at the control center, finding the massive hatch leading into it strangely empty. The control center was a lavishly appointed room, with a lounge chair of all things in the middle, gold inlays here and there, and elegant, nearly serpentine style light fixtures in each corner. The communications gear was built into one wall to look like so many windows, and there were three small recesses set around the room which catered to an equal number of computers with soft seats built into them.
But for all of that, it was empty of their target. There were two dead women, both humans, there, neatly killed with their necks snapped, their bodies draped over two of the small recesses. They didn't look like pleasure slaves. They wore normal spacers' clothing and blasters at their belts, but they hadn't fought back either.
"Some kind of internecine argument, perhaps?" Quinlan mused, but then he was distracted by what one of the screens was showing. A group of Wookies was about to be ambushed from several sides. Moving over to the screen he pulled out his communicator as he saw which area of the base that was, quickly discerning where that was in conjunction with the two major avenues of the attack.
He quickly began to bark orders into the communicator, finding and warning that group of Wookies that they had trouble coming. Then he watched as the group of Wookies turned and, instead of digging in or falling back as he suggested, turned around as one, and charged into the attackers behind them, rounding the same corner the pirates had hoped to round in turn to surprise them.
Two Wookies fell before they were within reach of the pirates. The pirates, seventy men of dozens of different races, didn't stand a chance after that, the Wookies taking them to pieces quite literally.
"Yes, well, that works too…" Quinlan mumbled, rather stunned. He had never seen someone's arms actually ripped off before, let alone seen said arms be used as flails against other people afterward.
Shaking his head, Quinlan glanced away from the screens looking around the control center. "I don't think either of these women was the leader of this organization, and there are three substations here. That means the other operator must have somehow dragged their leader away, somewhat more selfless than I would expect of pirates. But then again I didn't expect to see women in such high positions as these two must have, either."
Aayla shuddered, the very idea of women being involved in slavery bothering her. It wasn't the first time she had come across such examples, of course, but it still made her shudder. Worse at times, the women who became part of such organizations were often even more horrible than the men in dehumanizing their victims.
He turned to look at Aayla who had been examining the body of one of the two dead women. "Aayla, see if you can track whoever it was down. They can't really get away, but capturing them here and now will be much easier than if they attempt to escape using a hidden ship or something similar. I'll stay here and do what I can to direct the battle."
"Understood, Master. Don't worry, I'll find them," Aayla replied, eager to show once more that she could operate on her own despite her young age.
As Quinlan returned to the screens and began to transmit instructions or warnings, Aayla exited the control center, looking around for a moment. Unlike most control centers, this one didn't abut any intersections. The last intersection they had passed through was a good five hundred feet or so away. But we didn't see anyone coming for, what, two minutes or so? Nor did we hear anything over the noise of combat… Hmm…
Searching around with her hands and the Force she found a panel in one of the metal plated walls that moved under her light push, which it should definitely not have done if it actually abutted the outside of the base. "Ah ha!"
Using her lightsaber she cut into the wall there cautiously, first making a hole large enough to poke her head into. Not that she did. Instead she conjured up a small mirror and used that, though the precaution was unnecessary. No one tried to take a shot at her. After that she cut an opening for herself, idly wondering how the owners of the base had operated the secret panel, but deciding it didn't matter. Once her doorway was cut, she moved on, racing now, ignoring her Force Cloak in lieu of speed.
At first Harry had had trouble catching up with the lead Wookie groups who had set off while he was still teleporting in their fellows. Evidently the Wookies did not know the meaning of "hurry up and wait," just "hurry" when it came to combat. He did eventually catch up, however, and through judicious use of Force Shields, Force Telekinesis, and his lightsaber, Harry was able to keep all of the group he joined both pointed forward and alive despite numerous attempts by the thugs they were facing to either encircle or pin them down.
_____________
If you want to read more chapters ahead from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
https://patreon.com/kelly_over