[fic] Vynn Drax: Down Time

[Astor]

Okay, so i've neglected Vynn and Thia for far too long (what is it, only 10 months since an update?).

 

I've actually enjoyed getting back into this story - it's been a while since i've written (especially on this), so I apologise for any rookie mistakes that might appear.

 

Part 8

 

“Is everything alright, Captain?” The Admiral rose from his chair. Vynn’s face had gone blank. Thia’s high heel digging into his shin bought him out of his stupor, to answer the Admiral’s question.

 

“Just fine, Sir” He still couldn’t figure it out – watertight.That was the word Intel had used to described their personnel files, yet somehow Gerlon had been discovered.

 

“There’s more, Admiral” continued the man who had broken the shattering news. “After this… discovery, I spoke with several officers here who served at the same outpost – They have no recollection of a Sergeant Ghillan, or of a Captain Kevan Graff” The man exchanged glances with the Admiral, before calling in a squad of troopers from the next room.

 

“Arrest Captain Graff and take him to the detention block. Have an interrogation droid prepared” Vynn was quickly manhandled by two stormtroopers on either side, with a third digging a blaster into his back. He struggled, but it was ultimately pointless. He’d failed, and would likely be executed as a spy. Thia stared at him, a look of pain on her face, as he was dragged away.

 

He tried to call out, but the butt of a blaster rifle sent him into darkness.

 

Thia watched in horror. She couldn’t fathom it. They must have been betrayed by someone. She’d figure it out later – there was no time to work it out now. For the time being, she needed to focus on not being discovered herself, and how to get off the base with Vynn. That was the problem – they were bound to execute him when they had gleaned as much as they could from him. That gave her about a day. But, before she could do any of that, she needed to get away from the Admiral.

 

“Excuse me, Sir, but I think I’d like to return to my quarters. I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night” She straightened her dress, and started to leave, as the Admiral grabbed her arm.

 

“Such a shame, my dear! I was hoping that we could get to know each other a little better, now that we’re… alone” There was an unsettling gleam in his eye, as he looked her up and down. She wrenched her arm away, and slapped him across the face. He jerked back, and returned the compliment, only with much more force. She fell back, onto the floor, snapping one of her heels.

 

“You insolent whore! No woman refuses me!” He started a slow, deliberate approach, unbuttoning his tunic as he did so. Thia was terrified. She was a spy, and used to danger, but this was something altogether different. She needed to defend herself. She grabbed the broken heel, gripping it like a small dagger, ready to strike.

 

“Come, my dear, let’s not play hard to get” The Admiral knelt on the floor, reaching for her legs. She backed away, but he drew closer, holding her legs so she couldn’t escape. She brought the heel downwards, towards his neck. It connected, piercing his neck. She dug it in further, and blood began to pour from the wound. Surprisingly, he didn’t scream, or make a noise. He fell to the floor, grasping at the wound, before losing consciousness.

 

Quickly, she ran to the door of his quarters, and locked it. It wouldn’t stop anyone for long, but it would give her time to effect an escape. She’d have to escape through the ventilation system – but that would also allow her to travel the base unseen – she could rescue Vynn and Gerlon, while the rest of the team accomplished the mission – assuming they weren’t found out, too.

 

She grabbed the Admiral’s blaster pistol and code cylinders, and ascended into the gloom of the ventilation shafts...

 

It took Vynn a while before he remembered what had happened, until he regained the feeling in his face. It hurt. As he winced at the pain, he recalled what had happened. Thia… he hoped she was alright, or at least alive, even if she was with the admiral – her cover hadn’t been blown. He just hoped she was alright.

 

She’d been crawling through the ventilation system for over an hour now. She had to face it – she was lost. The ventilation system was far more complex than she’d imagined. She thought she’d found the holding cells a while back, but she almost dropped right into a biohazard containment chamber. She needed to get to an auxiliary command console – she could turn off power to the detention center from there, and cause as much trouble as possible – she had the Admiral’s code cylinders, after all – and that gave her a free ticket to cause havoc across the facility.

 

“...was your objective, rebel?” Vynn was drifting in and out of consciousness – they’d pumped him full of drugs in an attempt to get answers – it wouldn’t work. Vynn had built an immunity to the drugs after spending two years on Kessel – they’d need far more than what they’d used to get answers. He smiled as he looked at the interrogator.

 

“You’ll get nothing from me, you…” Another officer burst in and dragged the interrogator to one side. Something was going on. He was too far away to hear anything, other than ‘admiral’ and ‘escaped’. By the look on their faces, it wasn’t good. The interrogator turned to one of the guards.

 

“Sergeant – take the prisoner back to his cell, and post a double guard in the detention area. We have reason to believe one of his associates is loose, and may try to free him” He quickly scurried out, following the other officer. The guard lifted Vynn out of his chair, before pushing him out the door.

 

Only two guards, and a pair of binders. He’d faced worse odds. It was too dangerous to try immediately – they’d be expecting that. He’d wait till they were closer to the detention area.

 

“Damnit!” that was the third time Thia had cut her foot on something. She could hear something up ahead – it sounded like a computer terminal. Finally, a bit of luck. She reached the grate in the wall, and peeked through. It wasn’t a computer terminal – it was better – the droid pens. If she could find Whiner, he could tap into the central computer from anywhere on the station.

 

She looked around some more – apart from the droids, the room was empty. She’d need to kick the grate out in order to get in, but with no-one around, she didn’t have to worry about attracting attention. She winced as her already torn feet connected with the grate, forcing it from the wall, and out into the room with a crash. She dropped down from the shaft, and grimaced as she stood upright.

 

“Whiner? Are you here?” she whispered, looking through the ranks of R2 units. She heard a hiss as he disconnected from his charging unit, and tootled as he rolled up towards her. “Vynn’s been captured – but we can still complete the mission. Here, use these codes…” she plugged the Admiral’s code cylinders into an access port on Whiner’s side “…to activate the self destruct sequence – set it to detonate in an hour – that’ll give us plenty of time to get the others and get out here. And once you’ve done that, turn off the power in the detention block”

 

Obediently, Whiner trundled towards a computer outlet, and accessed the computer. It took twenty minutes before he tootled with excitement, and the base’s PA system began broadcasting it’s stern warning.

 

“Warning. Destruct sequence initiated. This facility will be terminated in 60 minutes. This is not a drill. All personnel are advised to evacuate immediately”

 

Vynn just stood there, in the middle of corridor, in disbelief at what he was hearing. So too, were his guards. It was a perfect opportunity. He lifted his arms above the one in front of him, and lowered them around his neck, wrenching his binders across his throat, and swinging him around to take a blaster bolt from his friend’s weapon. He pulled his arms clear from the now dead guard, and charged his remaining opponent, bringing his binders down fast onto his skull, knocking him down. He took a blaster pistol and started in the direction of the detention area.

 

I’m not leaving anyone behind, even if I have to die doing it.