“You call that shooting?” the intruder yelled out. “I think you boys need a little more time on the practice range.”
The stormtroopers ran after her, not taking their fingers off the triggers. Yet as the intruder wove between fighters, their shots only pockmarked the airfield and the TIEs.
TK-626 knew they’d be reprimanded for all the damage. But their punishment would be worse if they let this intruder escape. She could be a rebel.
While MB-223 continued pursuit, TK-626 stopped and pressed his hand to his helmet comlink. “This is TK-626. There’s an intruder on-site.”
Their commander replied immediately over the comm. “On our way.”
TK-626 rejoined MB-223 near another TIE. The other trooper looked about in disbelief. “Where did—”
“Over here, bucket-heads!” the intruder said from behind.
MB-223 wheeled around. “There!” he said, firing away. But the intruder wasn’t there, either.
“You guys are too predictable!” she said, behind them again. TK-626 spun and saw her figure swerve between two rows of TIEs. He and MB-223 chased after her, snaking through the TIEs, their blasters on full-fire mode.
This intruder was quick. Their bolts seemed always a moment too late to hit her. Worse, she laughed at them.
“Missed again!” she said from somewhere near. “Always by the book! I read your book,” she taunted. “It’s a short one.”
TK-626 didn’t like being mocked. It made him furious. Didn’t she know what he was? He whirled—and stopped himself at the last second from triggering another round at his commander and three other stormtroopers.
“What do we got?” the commander asked.
“One intruder in Mando gear, still at large,” MB-223 reported.
The commander motioned in each direction. “Split up. Capture her. I want her alive.”
The six stormtroopers dispersed. TK-626 hoped he’d be the one to catch her. You didn’t laugh at Imperial stormtroopers and get away with it.
Sabine stood on the cockpit of the TIE she had painted, watching the stormtroopers spread out to search for her. She jumped down when no one was looking in her direction.
This would be a good opportunity to complete her final mission objective, but she couldn’t do that just yet. It wouldn’t be right to leave her painting unfinished.
Sabine gave her mini airbrush a shake and added some strokes to the starbird she had sprayed on the TIE’s wing. But her painting wasn’t quite complete yet. It didn’t have her signature touch.
“Something ’s missing…” she said, pulling a circular object off her utility belt and plopping it between the wings she’d painted. “There, perfect!” Now the starbird had a beak, with a tiny light that blinked. Her signature.
She wished she could admire her work a little longer. But every blink of the beak told her time was running out for her diversion to succeed. She had to gather the troopers together into a group, then sneak back into the city without being noticed.
Sabine raced off, spying white armor behind a nearby TIE. She leapt up to grab a handle on the cockpit-wing attachment and twirled her legs in front of her. One of the stormtroopers approached her. “Hands up, you rebel scum!” Sabine used her speed and landed a devastating kick to him. The trooper fell, his rear smacking the tarmac. “Ha! Too slow!” she said. The trooper rolled and fired, but she was already circling another TIE.