Project Boussh: Procurement and Linguistics by Brad Corletti "What about Brad?" Dorset blinked. So her mind hadn't been playing tricks on her; she'd really seen the Australian High Priest of the Crossed Strike-Foils in that crowd. She'd convinced herself that she had merely been projecting her hopes onto a similar-looking crewer. It was obvious now what had happened. Brad had impersonated an Imperial officer in order to get Dorset to bacta treatment after his plan had gone south. Now they were all ready to leave. But she couldn't leave him in the hands of the enemy. She glanced about. Walking ahead of her the others walked through an automatic door. She stopped just on its threshold and listened. She heard their paces continue, not noticing her disappearance. Good, she thought. The door slid shut and she took a side passage. The door was locked, of course. She spared a few moments to overriding the security lock. Once through she prioritised. They were probably nowhere near the bridge. Brad was wearing the uniform of a high-ranking Imperial officer, so he was probably somewhere near it. But first of all, walking around in prisoner's fatigues would not be an effective cover. She found a suitable spot and waited in ambush. A few minutes later a single Imperial crewer walked past, hurrying self-importantly. When he passed her, she reached out and grabbed him by the head, pulling him towards her. A few swift knees to the most vulnerable part of the male anatomy and he was laid out cold. She stripped him of his uniform and changed, thankful that the Imperial Starfleet demanded a high level of personal hygiene from its members. She then casually strolled towards the nearest turbolifts. -- The turbolift opened on a floor near the bridge. She found one of the public-access terminals and began to access it. She quickly began exploting security holes so old that the Coruscant underworld had known about them decades ago. It figured. This ship had obviously been out of contact with the Greater Empire for a long, long time. And with what had changed in that time, the last thing they'd be thinking about would be upgrading their operating system. She called up a rooms listing, looking for any officers named "Brad Corletti". It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. She found no Corlettis, but there was a "Brad Defel, Major." listed. She smiled. He was billetted a few levels down. She turned away from the screen and headed back towards the turbolift. A Lieutenant stopped her. "That uniform becomes you, Konnair," Davin Porsek sneered. -- The beeping awoke Brad. He grumbled and tried to ignore it, but the beeping did not stop. Annoyed, he got off the bed and looked at the room's terminal. He read the flashing popup window. Closed it, typed some commands. He then threw on some clothes, checked his blaster, and rushed out the door, his droid following automatically. Someone had run a search for his name. His real name. -- "I don't know what you're talking about," Dorset tried. Davin's punch was merciless. She shook her head to clear it and launched a counterattack. Davin blocked her kick. He drew a vibroknife from his waistbelt and adopted a knifefighter's stance. "Come on, bitch, bring it." Dorset regarded him warily. Davin's eyes were cold, hard. It reminded her of the all-too-common look in the faces of people she had known on Coruscant. It promised no mercy. Dorset was unarmed, but not defenceless. Even still, she had no desire to feel that hot blade slicing through her flesh. She was ultimately trapped; this fight would be noticed, and she would be tracked down. She lashed out with a kick again, attempting to knock the knife from Davin's hand. Better to die later than sooner. Davin jerked his arm back and watched the foot fly wide. He immediately pressed home his advantage, moving in for a low left jab. He abruptly spasmed and blue energy played out over him. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground by Dorset's feet. Dorset looked up to see what looked like Brad's bodyguard lower a weapon. It then turned around and left the corridor. The turbolift door hissed open. Brad rolled out of it and brought his blaster to bear on her. "Oh, it's you," he said, checking over his shoulder. Satisfied, he holstered his weapon. "I was hoping, but you can't be too sure." She picked up Davin's blaster, leaving the vibroknife happily humming. Brad noticed Davin KO'd on the floor. "What happened?" he asked. She shook her head. "Bastard tried to kill me. Droid stopped him." "Come on," Brad muttered. "Let's go." The two rushed back to the turbolift. As it descended, Dorset asked, "Where's your bodyguard droid?" "Preparing the way," Brad replied. "He was too slow to make it here in time for my liking. Why'd Davin try to kill you?" "He recognised me," she replied. "Not too surprising, really." Brad frowned. "No reason to kill you." "I don't think he needed a reason. That was one cold bastard." "What?" Brad uttered, confused. "Davin's a great bloke. Always cheerful. What the hell?" Dorset shrugged. "I don't know, I only just met the guy. Look, what's the plan?" "I was going to ask you that," Brad said. "What were you planning to do once you found me?" "I-" She was interrupted by the sudden deceleration. The two felt the weight of several planets settle over them as the lights of the turbolift pod went out. Then the pod stopped and red emergency lighting returned. "Shit," Brad swore. "They've cut the power." "No, they've converted the pod for the growing of fungus." Brad rolled his eyes. "Making stupid observations is my job. Now let's see..." he opened an access panel. "Yep, it's a hardware problem all right." Dorset shoved him aside. "Gimme a look," she instructed. "They've cut the power to this unit entirely. There's probably just enough power in these things to stop a descent and to provide air & lighting for a few hours." Brad mused. "What are these things like, outside the pod? Could we rappel to safety?" "No rope." "What about the.... oh, right, no cables." He glanced at the turbolift door. "So that's the only way out?" She nodded. "They're containing us here until they can prepare a warm welcome for us. That won't be on an exit." "You know what I've always wondered? In all my journeys across the galaxy?" "What?" "Why is it that Terran English is the same as Basic?"