Comics part 1

[doctoraphra]

So far, so good, Aphra thinks. It could've gone smoother, and she's going to have to do something to get back in Tolvan's good graces (maybe), but on the whole, this part of the overall job has been a success. Maybe that luck will continue on to the next parts, but she's not really willing to bet on that. Syndulla is currently safely stashed away on-board, but that woman has probably gotten out of worse scrapes, so this next part needs to get done very fast.

She clears her throat, sitting up straight in the pilot's seat and cracking her neck before keying on the comms.

Here's hoping her smirk shows up clearly in her voice.

"Hivebase-1, come in."

This is going to be fun.

Comments

[for_everyone]

No one notices a droid.

Okay, that's not always true, but very often, no one notices a droid. But there's a lot Chopper notices, including when a bunch of "recruits" are trying to abscond with his general.

That's not going to happen. But there was too much chaos in the evacuation to sound the alarm, so Chopper had stayed silent. He'd rolled along after them, and followed the band of... brigands? Imperial spies? Whatever they are, up into their ship, tucking away behind a crate before anyone could look back and spot him.

And then he'd waited until the coast was clear, until the kidnappers had cleared out from their ship's small cargo bay, giving Chopper the chance to look around, and happen upon a couple unattended blasters. Those'll be useful.

[doctoraphra]

"I've got a present for you, Hivebase -- no, no, I'm sending you my credentials, they are completely legitimate. I just got lucky on a research trip, what can I say? No, no, it's a Rebel leader, one of the ones your bosses have been slavering over for years. I'm going to spell it, because I'm not sure you -- Syndulla. S. Y. N -- no, not M, N, like nerfs -- Oh for the love of -- "

This is the kind of conversation Aphra can carry on with both hands tied behind her back and her eyes closed, which explains why she's now slouching in the pilot's seat, feet crossed up on one of the less-vital arrays, and halfway to fantasizing about how cranky Syndulla's going to be when they're face-to-face again. She makes such good expressions! It's like a free show all by itself.

"Yes, I'll hold."

[for_everyone]

Chopper creeps toward the upper deck, where he can hear the voices of this crew. It looks like they haven't left Hera somewhere alone, which would've made this easier. But he sidles just far enough along one edge to find them gathered in a cabin just off the cockpit. They're a weird-looking group: one seems to be missing a head, another still wearing some kind of helmet.

Hera's at the edge of the room closest to him, tied up and gagged but visible awake. That's going to help.

He sets the blasters in his arms to stun, slips back to get some momentum going, and -



Hera hadn't known anyone had come after her. But somehow, the moment the commotion starts, she knows what's happening. Blue stun bolts fill the cabin, Aphra's crew cry out in surprise, but Hera jumps down, somersaulting across the floor and landing behind Chopper. There's an instinctive coordination between them - Hera lifts her wrists and Chopper ejects a blade that cuts through the bindings. He keeps firing the blasters as Hera rips the gag from her face and the bindings off her ankles. One member of Aphra's crew that manages to evade the stun bolts, a lanky being with many arms, but Hera stands and slams her elbow into their face before they can reach Chopper.

"Thanks," she says, as Chopper tosses her one of the blasters. "I'll get the cockpit."

[doctoraphra]

" -- I promise, you'll like her," Aphra says, grinning over at the comm, fingers idly flying over the ship's controls without quite touching anything dangerous. "Well, you'll like her information. Thanks for the credits! And, you know . . . "

She leaves a heavy weight on that silence, just to make the Imperial on the other end feel uncomfortable. There's no pleasure in the world quite like annoying an Imperial, particularly when you're not at the other end of their blaster (or even if you are, some days).

"That other thing. Right. We'll be at your coordinates shortly, and I'll have General Syndulla all wrapped up in a bow for you to take into custody."

[for_everyone]

Hera gets the cockpit doors open just in time to hear the end of that last sentence. Suddenly, the blaster in her hand feels a little superfluous.

But she raises it, not toward Aphra, but the at the ship's controls. Hera fires, frying the ship's comms array, just as she slams her fist into the wall, shutting doors again, and locking them.

[doctoraphra]

Sparks fly off the comm array even as Aphra registers the sound of a blaster shot so close to her ear, and she tumbles sideways and down off the pilot's chair, hands scrambling at her waist for her blaster, a vibroblade, a regular blade --

This is why she hates being comfortable on a ship, it always ends terribly --

"Fancy meeting you here, General. I hope you were enjoying the accommodations!"

How did she get out? Right, that's probably a story for another time, why is the cockpit to small?

Aphra tries darting around the copilot's chair, endeavoring to keep something between herself and her Rebel captive, but --

Well --

[for_everyone]

But this cockpit isn't very big. But Hera doesn't answer, doesn't speak at all.

She doesn't even try leveling her blaster toward Aphra. Instead, she launches across the small space, blaster still raised in her right hand as she lifts her left arm to slam against the other woman.

[doctoraphra]

Aphra manages to keep it said arm from striking into her throat, so that's good, but her diaphragm isn't nearly so lucky, and now it's really hard to breathe.

"Oh, come on," she tries to say, and fails, lungs scrambling for breath and limbs scrambling for a hold on anything --

Why doesn't she keep a hydrospanner up here? Or a tiny sonic welder -- that'd come in handy with things like the sparking comm board.

She tries to kick at Hera to buy herself some space, but the angles in here are really terrible. Damn.

[for_everyone]

She feels the kicks, but they're not enough to enough to knock her off balance, and Hera barely registers the pain. She's registering very little else besides movement, her own breathing, and her rage -

Her free hand reaches for Aphra's collar, her fingers latching against it, and she shoves her weight forward, trying to throw Aphra down against the not-yet-sparking portion of the ship's controls -

The ship swings suddenly as she does, but Hera still stays on her feet.

[doctoraphra]

"'s a trick," Aphra struggles to say, trying to break Hera's grip with a fist into her elbow, even if the leverage is not in her favor.

"'m not -- "

She smashes her hip and lower back against the controls, hissing out a sharp breath as she does so. That's going to bruise, and there's only so much bacta on this bucket of bolts.

"Ow!"

[for_everyone]

Hera presses the barrel of the blaster to Aphra's forehead, her weight still pressed against the other woman's chest, pinning her down against the controls. The ship swings again, and a buzzing noise starts to sound from the console, but Hera doesn't let up.

"Go ahead," she hisses. "Talk."

[doctoraphra]

"I needed you onboard to be convincing! And then the Imps will let us land in the archive, and I can get the data we're both after, and then leave a copy with you for your Rebels, and take my copy with me when we part ways!"

It sounded better in her head. (Most things do.)

"Tada!"

She would make a dramatic hand gesture here, except that might make Syndulla shoot her faster, and --

Well, that wouldn't help anyone but Hera.

[for_everyone]

Hera tightens her grip.

"You seem to be forgetting the part where you hand me over to the Empire."

[doctoraphra]

"That's just to get us a landing berth! Then your Rebels will come swooping in to save the day -- at least I hope they will -- you definitely have some kind of tracker on you, right? -- anyway. They'll come in and distract the Imps while we get our data and fly out with no one the wiser!"

It's the perfect plan! See?

[for_everyone]

For a moment, Hera stays on her, still breathing heavily.

Then she slowly leans back. Her eyes, and the blaster, stay trained on Aphra, but she shifts her weight away, moving to stand.

"Did you get that, Chop?"

The droid blats in response, sounding from somewhere in her uniform.

[doctoraphra]

"Wait," Aphra says, slowly pulling herself up from the control panel that's been putting deep dents into her spine.

"What?"

[for_everyone]

"Then deactivate it."

There's another blat, a little reluctant now. This time, Hera speaks to Aphra.

"No one's coming."

[doctoraphra]

Aphra just stares at her.

And stares.

And --

"Is there a reason you just torpedoed my plan so that all of us are going to die?"

Okay, probably. Well, at least be inconveniently captured for a couple of days.

Look, it's annoying. And Triple Zero is going to be very upset.

[for_everyone]

"My people aren't yours to use as a distraction."

The ship rocks again, and something whizzes by outside. Hera doesn't move, but she does take a step back. "Maybe you want to check on that."

[doctoraphra]

"I was just getting them to do what they'd do anyway," Aphra starts to say, then swears as the ship rocks, taking another look at Hera's blaster.

"Are you going to shoot me if I sit in the pilot's chair and start doing my job?"

Part of her is hoping Hera says 'yes', because at least that will keep things interesting. But at the same time . . .

[for_everyone]

"I think your job's getting us out of here."

She's not shooting her yet, anyway.

[doctoraphra]

Aphra raises one eyebrow, looking back over her shoulder at Hera even as she slings herself into the chair and starts activating the sensor package.

"You sure you don't want the data I'm after?"

Are you sure you're sure, Syndulla?

[for_everyone]

"Am I sure I don't want to go on whatever suicide run you've gotten yourself into."

There's a flash of green light, and Hera's eyes do flicker up now. "That's a TIE."

[doctoraphra]

Another flash, and the sensor package finally starts working.

"That's three TIES. Shit. Shit, shit, shit."

[for_everyone]

"Might be a good time to jump."

Her voice hasn't risen yet, but her heart's starting to beat faster.