[Han Solo] - 03(61)

“They’re vermin, Larens,” Bria said. “We’ll just insure that they don’t represent a future danger. Mecht, you and Seaan catch up when you’ve finished here. Drag that Pilgrim into a room so when he wakes up he won’t be in the middle of anything.”

Mecht nodded. He was a middle-aged man who’d been enslaved himself, though he’d been an Imperial slave, not an Ylesian one. He nodded.

“We won’t be long, Commander.”

Larens started to say something, then obviously changed his mind. Bria motioned to her troops, and they moved on.

Five minutes later, the squad was in the slaver captain’s quarters.

Bria tried not to look at some of the “toys” the fellow had lying around, evidently for use in amusing himself with some of his slaves.

She walked over to the center of the cabin and pointed up at the overhead. “People, the bridge is right up there.” She glanced at one of her squad leaders.

“Squad One, I want a diversionary attack along the corridors leading to the bridge up on Deck 2.”

The squad leader nodded. “Be ready on my signal,” Bria said. “Right, Commander.” He took off, his troops following him.

Bria addressed her remaining troops. “Squads Four and Five, you’ll attack the bridge with me.”

A couple of the newer recruits glanced at each other, obviously puzzled.

How were they going to attack the bridge from here?

“Where’s Joaa’n?” Bria asked.

A stocky trooper stepped forward, her features almost hidden beneath her helmet. “Here, Commander.”

Bria pointed up. “Joaa’n, use your demolition bag of tricks to get us up there.”

“Right, Commander.” The woman climbed up on a bureau that had been shoved into place, and began using her laser-torch. The new recruits nudged each other and chuckled, as they realized what their Commander was planning.

Three minutes later, the demolitions expert looked down at Bria and gave her a thumbs-up. “Commander, I’ve rigged a demo charge that will blow us a nice circular hole through the deck.”

Bria smiled. “Good.” She spoke into her comlink. “Squad Two …

begin your attack on the bridge.”

The Rebels heard the sounds of blaster fire start up again. “Renna,” Bria nodded at another stocky, muscular woman, “you’ve got a good arm.

You stand by with the stun grenades. As soon as it’s safe, toss them up through the hole to stun most of those vermin.” She looked at the rest of her troops. “People, as soon as Renna’s lobbed those grenades through that hole, and the blasts have gone off, we’re going up.

Remember, people, this is the bridge up there. Be careful where you shoot. Too much damage and the prize crew won’t speak to any of us for a month. Got it?”

There were chuckles from her squad.

“All right, it’s set,” Joaa’n said. “Get back and cover your eyes, friends. Thirty seconds.”

Hastily, Bria’s troops retreated to the cabin’s perimeters. A couple of soldiers pulled down their blast goggles, the others just looked away.

Bria, Joaa’n and Renna stood back behind a heavy ornamental screen.

Moments later there was a fizzling sound, then a muffled thud.

Something heavy hit the bureau, slithered off onto the deck. The reek of smoke touched Bria’s nostrils. She nodded at Joaa’n. “Good job.”

The demo specialist and Renna were already moving, scrambling back up on the bureau. Renna lobbed three stun grenades up through the hole in three different directions. The ssss-whump! of the grenades and the resulting cries and thuds told the commander that they were doing their work.

Renna pulled herself up with a boost from Joaa’n, then disappeared.

They heard her blaster.

Bria swarmed up the bureau, and was next through the hole as someone grabbed her rear and gave her an undignified, if efficient, boost.

The bridge crew was lying around, mostly stunned, but there were a few slavers scrambling out the door. Bria sighted on one huge Rodian and took him down with a blast between the green-skinned being’s shoulders.

Another slaver, a Bothan, turned to fire at her, his blaster beginning to stutter with a low charge. Bria ducked, rolled, came up with her sidearm in her hand, and shot him in the face. The vermin was standing in front of the navicomputer, and she didn’t want to risk killing him with the blaster rifle’s greater power.

Moments later, it was all over. Silence descended, broken only by the moaning of the wounded. Bria took a quick status check … six of her people were wounded, and one might not make it. Quickly Bria assigned a special team to rush the wounded back to Retribution for treatment.