"This the place?"
I didn't even pay attention to the building as I walked up to one of the boarded windows grabbed one of the planks and pushed.
The wood splintered and fell inside, leaving two nails inside. Pushing the other five planks inside, I climbed in through the window.
"Yes, this is the house."
I answered Sabine, looking around the empty house, I scowled at the dust. Would I suffocate if I took off my mask?
Discarding the pointless question, my eyes narrowed in on the Blue seat... Was that a seat? Too wide for it... what kind of purchases were they making?
Ignoring that, I walked closer to it and raised a leg but before I kicked it away, I noticed fingerprints that weren't human.
Grabbing my blaster, I kicked the seat that I doubted was a seat away and looked down the hole, aiming my blaster down and at the yellow Rodian that was just... there.
"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"
He looked up at me with its green eyes and we stared at each other for a bit.
"What's wrong?"
Kanan walked closer and looked down the narrow tunnel as well, raising an eyebrow at the Rodian.
"Oh, isn't he the one the empire is looking for?"
I looked at him as I kept my blaster trained on the guy below us.
"How can you tell? Don't they all look the same?"
He gave me a disapproving look, crossing his arms.
"That's racist, Colt."
I tilted my head to the side, wondering if this guy really just expected me to care. I was right, sure, some of them were different colors, but they physically looked the same. I wasn't wrong!
And I was a terrorist, why the hell would I care how someone looked like?
"Colt? Colt bridger?"
The Rodian spoke and I looked down in alarm. How the hell did he know my name?
He started climbing the stairs, I watched until he got close to the top and backed up, still aiming my blaster at him.
"Who are you and why should I not shoot you?"
For all intents and purposes, I was dead, nobody knew who I was unless I told them, and this guy knowing my name was concerning.
Instead of answering, he just went on to detail the death count of stormtroopers, their next deployment, and the estimated amount of equipment they would need
"You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?"
Zeb asked looking at the guy weirdly.
"Never seen him in my life."
I shrugged and reached for my mask, if the guy knew my name, he knew my face, if anything, I would just shoot him. There was silence for a few seconds before Sabine spoke up.
"She's seen your face?"
I looked at her weirdly, but before I could answer Dina spoke up, coming next to me and placing her forearm on my shoulder to support her upper body as she leaned forward.
"Oh, I've seen more than just his face."
She tilted her head to the side to glance at me with her visor and I just raised an eyebrow at her antics.
Zeb and Kanan blinked at me while Sabine remained silent, since she was wearing her helmet, I didn't know if she blinked or not. Kanan was the first to come back to his senses and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.
"Ah, my little boy is all grown up now."
He even sniffled.
I sent him an irritated look but decided to ignore his antics. I made a few jokes, does not mean he could tease me every chance he got.
Zeb snorted and tried to conceal it with a cough.
"Crawl into a hole and die, the both of you."
I rubbed the bridge of my nose in irritation, ignoring the chuckle from Dina. Great, she was having fun at my expense too.
"By the way, whose house is this, kid? Do you just know abandoned houses all over the town?"
I knew a few, but they were further away than this one, but that wasn't the point.
"This house belonged to Mira Bridger and Ephraim Bridger before they got taken away by the empire, I haven't heard from them since."
I shrugged, but the names seemed to trigger something in the Rodian, or more specifically, the contraption he was wearing on the back of his head.
"Mira Bridger and Ephriam Bridger, Status: Detained, Immediate family: Colt Bridger, Status: Deceased, Ezra Bridger: Information unavailable."
I froze for a moment, my eyes snapping to Rodian who was facing the wall when he uttered the words. Who the fuck was Ezra Bridger.
Slowly, I walked forward, feeling Dina's hand slide off my shoulder. Kanan tried to stop me, but I shoved past him and reached the Rodian, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him around.
My other hand went to his collar and I lifted the alien off the floor, smelling him against the wall.
"Talk."
The word was calm even to my ears, but the Rodian did not speak. I scowled, glaring at the one who was not giving me what I wanted. I felt the force shift around me but I restrained my urge to snap the guy's neck. I needed him for now.
"Access information, Ezra Bridger, Bypass security, enter code seven-five-zero-five."
The Rodian tilted his head and finally opened his mouth.
"Code declined. Information unavailable."
I scowled.
"Colt, calm down, we can figure it out, kid."
I glared at Zeb, and he flinched back, ignoring the muscle of the crew, I pushed the Rodian down to the ground and on his knees. Reaching into my belt, I took out the decoder and moved to the contraption on the back of his head.
Someone moved next to me and I sent a glance their way, it was Dina but she didn't seem to be too eager to stop me from what I was doing.
That code, which was most frequently used for information did not work, so this was more than classified.
finally finding the plug I wanted, I shoved the decoder in and waited. Numbers flashed across the screen as I watched.
"Does that decode the code?"
I just nodded, not really wanting to explain anything right now.
Finally, the code was accepted. Nine-One-Zero-One.
"Access information, Ezra Bridger. Bypass security. Enter code Nine-One-Zero-One."
The device on the guy's head started beeping red before the light turned green.
"Ezra Bridger: Information unavailable."
My eyebrows furrowed. That meant that there was information before something happened to it and since my brother was born in a prison that meant that something must have happened there, but what would cause this kind of reaction from the empire?
My eyes narrowed as the force pulsed around me once again.
The Force... He must be able to wield the force too... That meant that my brother might be an inquisitor or be training to be one as we speak...
A figure in a black mask flashed in my memories and I felt blood leave my face.
Either that or he was Vader's apprentice.
The horror didn't last for long as I felt rage bubble up but before anything happened I took a breath and calmed down.
"Access information: Mira Bridger and Ephraim Bridger. Download location, download prison blueprints, download personal schedule."
Never thought I would be doing this, but this was the fastest way. Those two might know who took my brother.
When the light flashed green again, I took the decoder and put it back in its place.
"Let's move out, This guy can sell for serious information, and maybe they can find a cure for being brain dead."
I turned around and rubbed the bridge of my nose, pushing down on any unwanted and unneeded feelings. I had so much fucking work to do right now that it wasn't even funny.
"You don't want to talk to him?"
Sabine spoke up and I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at her.
"Why would I want to talk to him? I don't even know the guy."
I could feel the frown form under her helmet even if it wasn't visible.
"Don't you want to talk about your parents? You were young, do you even remember how they look?"
My eyebrow lowered itself back into its original position as I processed the stupidity and sentimentality that just spewed from her mouth.
What was I supposed to do? Show empathy? To this guy? To my parents?
... boo fucking hoo, they got arrested.
"Listen, Spectre-five, I don't have the time for this, I already got the information I needed, for all I care, you could sell this guy to some rebel forces, he isn't useful anymore."
The crew remained silent, with Kanan and Zeb frowning and I already didn't care about what Sabine thought. She was pushing her morals onto me and I just about had enough.
"You know, you would make a great bounty hunter."
I blinked and looked at Dina, her voice had a tone to it I couldn't really place and she was placing all of her weight on one leg while having her arms crossed.
I shrugged and looked around, feeling into the force a little more than usual, some people were running through the streets, getting uncomfortably close to the house and I could feel a single person that was on top of the roof a few buildings away, if I looked out the window I could probably... Spot them...
I walked to the window that we came through as calmly as I could and looked out, only to duck back in again as a red bolt slammed against the frame as soon as my forehead was out in view.
"Well... Thats unfortunate. Was someone bugged?"
I questioned, looking at everyone in the room. They looked themselves over I spotted the problem when Zeb started turning to get a better look at himself.
Scowling, I walked over and grabbed the small tracker that was right behind his bulky arm. The sniper must have shot it on when they were running.
Crushing the device in my hand I grabbed my mask and put it back on my face.
"Okay, look sharp, we gotta move soon. They are probably surrounding the building."
And they were, I could feel them getting closer. I grabbed one of my blasters and walked over to a wall opposite the windows. Digging into one of my pouches, I took out a sticky grenade and placed it there, this was the obvious escape route we would take, and that's why it was the most dangerous one.
I looked over to the wall to my right. This one, however, might as well be the safest.
I placed another grenade on that.
The way I had these things work was simple, Ignite the liquid inside and it would go off, as I said, simple, right? The best part of it was if I ever needed to explode one after the other at a close range, I could just shoot them.
Perfect distraction.
I walked back to the middle of the room and took out a detonator.
"What are you doing?"
Kanan asked, taking out his blaster in preparation and others following his example.
"Distraction, now be silent, I need to listen... And grab that blabbering fool."
I pointed at the Rodian and Zeb walked over, grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder. The guy didn't even protest as he was manhandled.
Discarding the thoughts about his unresponsive self, I focused back on sensing the troopers outside. They were getting closer to the house and I readied my blaster, aiming it at one of the explosives, and waited.
Slowly, they surrounded the house and I got ready.
"Are you sur-"
I pulled the trigger and the wall opposite the entrance exploded. As the troopers tried to reposition, I activated the other bomb, blowing out the other wall, and ignoring the shouts from the troopers that were hit by the rubble.
"Alright, let's move."
I walked out of the hole in the wall, absently shooting the stormtroopers that were trying to get up or reorientate themselves.
//////
Sorry about the delay, had to present a 25 slide presentstjon to 3 seminors and the director.
But good news, by the end of the ween I have a two week break, the chapters will be more consistant.