The Imperial Bane dropped out of hyperspace systems away from the Naboo system, taking advantage of a cosmic storm to hide in. Hondo and his smuggling freighter came into view of The General, and the cyborg's eyes glowed with anticipation. He turned to face Lucia, who herself was flanked by the Red Commandos and several other ex-imperial soldiers that had joined them after Tatooine. "Don't trust this Hondo. He may be helping us, but he is a pirate and may be likely to betray us." Lucia nodded and moved once The General nodded in return. The group of soldiers turned around and headed for the bridge lift.
The Red Commandos crammed into the lift, leaving enough space for Lucia and the other teoopers to stand comfortably in. The former Death Trooper sighed, putting her helmet on. "Connect to communicate, Reds." She said, the other humans putting their red helmets on. Their former White armor was now the same red as the Commando droids and Lucia's armor. Her HUD lit up with the names of her new squad members and she sighed, preparing herself to return home.
The lift stopped and opened up, the Red Commandos marching out and towards the landing freighter. The ramp was already lowered and Hondo was holding on to a rope as to not fall off. "Greetings my rebellious friends!" He shouted, laughing as his vessel slowly lowered down to the hangar floor. The Red Commandos met up with some normal looking troopers and people pretending to be merchants. The vessel landed and Hondo walked towards Lucia, swagger with every step he took. Lucia and her unit stood at attention as the Pirate approached them, chuckling the whole time.
"Hondo Ohnaka, at your service, Madame." He lowered his head, prostrating himself in front of her in a vibrant manner. "I look forward to taking you to Naboo. It is quite a peaceful world, although unlucky In the way of avoiding eh...conflict." He said, chuckling slightly. Lucia said nothing, not entertaining the pirate's nonsense.
"You're here to take us on world. Get us into this city and wait for us to return to the ship. Nothing else." Lucia said, handing Hondo a data pad. The pirate took the pad and studied it, waving his arms. At this, a few of his pirates came out, picking up "cargo" and pointing where her soldiers would be. Two men came with two large empty containers. Lucia looked to them, perplexed as to what they were for.
"These are to hide your droids. The Imperials are going to scan the vessel and we need them to think they are just support droids." Lucia looked to the droids, who simply nodded. Lucia waved for them to get into the containers and the droids folded up and grew compact into the box, all ten that were with her fitting in the two boxes. The boxes were covered and brought onto the ship, and her soldiers were boarding the vessel, leaving only Lucia and Hondo on the hangar. He stepped aside and allowed her a straight path onto his ship. "Your chariot awaits, madame."
Lucia simply walked forward, going up the ramp and entering his ship. Hondo looked around, a grin plastered on his face, and boarded as well, the ramp raising and the ship lifting off, beginning to back out of the hangar.
The General watched as their infiltration team left the hangar, glaring at the bridge of the vessel with anger. "Make sure we are monitoring the Commando droids closely. I want to be informed the second the Empire attacks them." Hebsaid, getting a Roger Roger from a B1 before returning his gaze upon Hondo's ship. He focused as it veered off away from his vessel, moving off into the distance before it entered hyperspace, leaving the Imperial Bane within the cloud.
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Lucia and her soldiers sat down as they entered hyperspace, preparing their blasters and making sure their gear was set to go. Hondo slid down the ladder that led to the bridge, his cloak swinging around as he maneuvered around the cabin. "Alright, my dubious cargo, I need you all to remain calm and stay seated once we enter Naboo. The Imperials will ask what we are transporting and I will give them a cover story. I need you to deactivate your blasters so that they will not detect their energy signature." He said with the energy of a showman, taking dramatic pauses as he tried to find the proper words.
Lucia stood up, her brow furrowed, but she stopped herself and sat back down. Shaking her heads, she commanded her men. "Deactivate them." Her soldiers hesitated for a moment before doing as they were told, their blasters humming coming to an end.
"Good! Good! Now hold on tight, we're about to meet out gracious hosts!" Hondo shouted, turning back around and climbing the ladder.
Lucia stood up and moved to the ladder, looking up and listening on Hondo as the Comm activated. "Unidentified cargo freighter, this is ISD Domain Command, you are not authorized to be in this sector. Identify yourself or be destroyed."
Lucia felt her heart stop for a moment. She was used to being on the other end of this interaction; not having to worry about being blown to scrap and pulp. Her heart practically stopped when she heard Hondo's reply. "No need to worry friend, I am just a mere merchant who is in need of repairs and supplies. You see, I am transporting survivors from a recent rebel attack. I have an Imperial officer here to confirm this." He then looked down to Lucia and nodded for her to speak.
She cleared her throat, speaking on the comm. "This merchant is correct, Sir. I am a mere Storm Trooper who saved as many soldiers and supplies as I could from an overwhelming Rebel assault. Please allow us to land on Naboo in order to recuperate from the recent encounter. Sending clearance code now." She tapped a button on her wrist console, getting a nod from Hondo.
After a moment, the Imperials recovered a reply. "Sergeant, you will be allowed to land and your troops will be able to rest for One rotation. As soon as that rotation is done, you and your soldiers need to report to the Sector commander immediately." The comm cut out and Hondo cheered, as did the rest of the crew.
Lucia couldn't help but look at the destroyer as they passed, feeling a sense of dread as they approached her home.