Captain Rex raced down a long corridor toward his objective, with Echo and Hardcase close behind him. They all knew they were deep inside an enemy vessel, and while a more stealthy, quiet approach would have been preferable, the noise that three separate teams were about to generate...
Well, discretion was no longer an option at this point.
"So what's the plan, Captain?" Hardcase asked as they moved quickly toward their target.
Rex didn't respond immediately, his mind focused on the critical importance of their mission. This technology represented a significant strategic advantage, and if the Separatists managed to reverse-engineer it, one of the Republic's key battlefield advantages would fall into enemy hands. To say that such a development could drastically shift the war's momentum would be a massive understatement.
The 501st captain glanced back at his two clone brothers, then produced a small disc with a distinctive blue glow emanating from its center.
"If everything goes according to plan, we'll have an ace in the hole," Rex said confidently, tossing the disc into the air and catching it smoothly.
"Just don't waste it... or lose it, for that matter."
"What do you take me for?" Rex grinned but fired back defensively.
He remembered when Scott had given him this unique shrinking disc, explaining that it was strictly for emergency situations.
Whether their current circumstances qualified remained to be seen.
Elsewhere on the massive vessel, Sam Wilson and clone medic Kix were navigating their own corridor system toward the ship's detention block.
Unlike their companions in the rescue operation, Sam and Kix encountered significant resistance as they approached the prisoner holding area.
Sam deployed his mechanical wings around himself as a defensive barrier while he and Kix methodically advanced down the hallway, systematically eliminating multiple battle droids in the process.
They were getting close. Just one more turn and they should locate Scott's cell.
Kix was about to round the corner into the next corridor, but Sam extended his arm in a halt gesture and activated his tactical wrist display. Pressing the deployment button, Sam's specialized drone, Redwing, was released.
The compact reconnaissance drone floated ahead to scout the next corridor before returning to Sam's position, hovering between him and the clone medic.
Sam had Redwing capture a quick tactical assessment of the defensive positions and studied their firepower deployment through his enhanced visor.
"What's our approach?" Kix asked professionally.
Sam readied two micro-missiles from his wingpack and programmed several commands into Redwing's targeting system.
"We go in fast and hard," Sam decided. "Redwing will create a distraction while I handle the two MagnaGuards. You concentrate your fire on the standard battle droids. I'll provide covering fire."
Kix simply nodded and managed to position himself along the opposite wall without being detected by the enemy sensors, waiting for Sam's signal to commence the assault.
There was a moment of tense silence, then Redwing was deployed into combat. It began firing rapid bursts at the droid formation, and all of them immediately detected the threat and began returning fire.
While most of the droids were resistant to standard projectile weapons, one unfortunate B1 battle droid took multiple hits to its neck assembly.
The kinetic force was sufficient to sever the head completely, causing it to tumble to the deck while the headless droid continued raising its weapon toward Redwing's last known position.
Sam signaled to Kix, and both warriors charged into the corridor with weapons raised, opening fire immediately.
Sam launched two guided missiles at the nearest MagnaGuard, scoring a direct hit on one while the second absorbed significant damage from the blast radius.
Not wanting to give the remaining enemies time to coordinate, Sam shouted for Kix to take cover and the clone medic dropped prone.
Sam was grateful that the corridor was wide enough for him to fully deploy one wing, allowing him to slice cleanly through the surviving MagnaGuard in a single devastating attack. During the follow-up assault, Sam made sure to eliminate several additional battle droids while Kix systematically destroyed the remainder.
As the firefight concluded, Sam helped Kix back to his feet and both nodded their acknowledgment before proceeding to the cell where Scott was supposedly being held.
The detention cell door slid open, revealing...
"Hey there, Sam. How's it hanging?"
Sam Wilson could only stare in disbelief as his friend and teammate was suspended in mid-air by some kind of energy containment field while wearing only his underwear.
After a moment of shocked silence, Sam began chuckling loudly, and Scott gave him an distinctly unamused look.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, bird brain," Scott muttered as Sam and Kix approached his position. "That psychotic Ventress woman—she's the one who stripped me down like this and was planning to do some seriously disturbing things to me."
"You know, most people would pay good money to be in your position."
"Oh ha ha, Sam. Hilarious. Now get me out of here before she comes back for round two."
"Copy that," Sam said, turning serious. "Kix, help me figure out these controls."
"I've located the prisoner, sir," Kix reported over his comm while studying the containment field generator.
The two worked together to deactivate Scott's restraints, and the clone medic immediately administered a bacta injection to Scott's neck while quickly applying medical patches and bacta spray to various injuries across his body.
"Is that you, Kix?" Scott groaned with relief. "You're a lifesaver."
"We need to move out," Sam urged. "No doubt more droids will be converging on this position soon."
"Where's my suit?" Scott asked with obvious concern.
"Captain Rex, Hardcase, and Echo are retrieving it," Kix informed the Avenger.
"Ah, man," Scott lamented. "I'm grateful you guys are recovering it, but I basically have to navigate an enemy warship in my underwear."
"Could be worse," Sam pointed out, retrieving one of the fallen B1 droids' blasters and handing it to Scott. "You could be completely naked."
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