Desperate Times

15 BBY: Tarkintown, Kijimi

AFTER A GRAND FAILURE,

Kema would stop at nothing to make sure the refugees of Kijimi would have a home. So she gathered the town citizens to prepare for a quiet blockade run. Xido and Bothka secured a dozen Imperial transports and led them to the town's little hangar packed with hundreds of people. She stood atop a fallen AT-ST, then began talking to the people.

"Dear Citizens," she began. "We've gathered you here today, to mend our mistakes! To give you the life that you deserve...back from this oppressive tyranny."

"Life has always been hard, believe me I know! But today, I assure you, we will give you refuge in our home! Away in safety!"

"The Empire has left the town, which means we have a brief window to leave this place and crack the blockade before they come here and shell your houses down!"

After she mentioned the shelling the crowd went into a chilling gasp. Turning to each other in shock.

"Don't worry, leave your things! Only take what you need, we have a place for you!" she smiled. "Follow the clones to the transports and we will begin!" After the warming speech, she lept down towards Xido, Bothka and Kai who wore stormtrooper armour.

"Wow! nice speech, did you write that?" Kai curiously asked.

"No, I thought as I went," she sighed. "Pass me that!" Motioning towards a trooper's armour.

Meanwhile, in the transports, the troopers advised the citizens to duck in their chairs until they were told not to. The team planned to escape the blockade through a stealth mission and needed to make it as real as it could be.

The four Jedi examined each transport carefully before they launched into the air. They entered their specific tie-fighters and left the hangar to ascend to the sky in accord.

-

The transports cut through the atmosphere in a sonic boom but lowered speed right as they entered orbit. They came up to the large Imperial blockade that watched over the planet, surveying every ship that passed through. The blockade patched the main transport housing Bothka and Xido through.

"Attention Cargo Ship, what is your business?" the blockade officer spoke.

"We are transporting slaves from the Tarkintown down south!" Bothka spoke into the comms while the transport waited patiently.

"Under whose orders?" he asked before a brief pause took place. Xido and Bothka looked at each other, thinking of their next move.

"Grand Admiral Tarkin himself," he mentioned.

"We didn't get any info on that," the officer noted. "We will issue a check through in a few, standby!" The comms clicked as Bothka spoke into his wrist link and advised the clones to calm the passengers.

The process began as the clones calmed the passengers and quickly switched to their stormtrooper armour. Several fighters entered the transports to observe the ships.

"Clear," one by one the troopers called in as they left to the fighters; docking out and leaving for the blockade.

"SJ-1670, what's your status?" the officer called the stormtrooper as he surveyed Kema and Kai's transport.

He walked between the isles as the signal stood by. Kema remained vigilant while Kai kept a close distance. As he turned to leave, he saw Kema's sabre and walked towards her.

"Scramble the signal," she whispered to her wrist link as Bothka quickly hit buttons to disorient Imperial comms.

The trooper attempted to call in the blockade but to no avail. Observing what had unfolded he rose his blaster but before he could shoot, Kema cut the blaster and stabbed the trooper. Kai rushed to him and took off his helmet.

"Clear sir, coming up!" Kai groaned his voice before clicking out.

"What are we going to do?" Kema stood thunderstruck.

"Don't worry I–"

"No general, I got this!" a clone trooper interrupted.

"No trooper, that's not your call!" Kema advised as she retracted the sabre and laid the body down. "I'll do this,"

"Let me pay for my mistakes!" the clone insisted as he walked to the dock port. "I'll be back,"

"Go to these coordinates, I'll come get you!" she threw a disk.

The comms went scratched back to normal as the clone trooper dressed in stormtrooper armour signalled, "clear!" The tie-fighter hummed to life and docked out of the transport into space.

"Alright troopers, your clear to go!" the officer called as the transports moved out of the blockade and towards the egress point, finally entering hyperspace.

"Sir, I have them tracked!" a crewmember of the blockade mentioned.

"Good, find their destination. We'll see if they really got orders from Tarkin!" he finished as they went about their business.

Meanwhile, the transport pulled out of lightspeed in space where they met their upgraded republic vessel. The transports entered the vessel and dropped off the citizens safely in the hangars. The ships then moved out to the vacuumed hangar and let the transports hang-freely out to space. The tactic was great, therefore the empire would think the slaves died or looted.

-

Two TIE-Fighters emerged from hyperspace and came up to the transport's last location. They circled around the transport to find out what the mission was.

"Have you arrived?" the blockade officer questioned.

"Affirmative sir, closing in on the transport. Over," he signalled as the comms clicked off. The fighters closed in right away and observed it.

"Sir, I can't see life signals!" a fellow fighter spoke in comms.

"Check for signals," the main fighter spoke.

"None, sir!" another fighter circled around the transport and found nothing!

"Then we've been played," he sighed as the fighters paused. "This will not sit well with the supervisors!"

"That's the officer's fault," one of the fighter's spoke, "let's ditch it!"