Click Here for the Era of Darkness: PrologueClick Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 1Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 2Click Here for Era of Darkness: Chapter 3
"Hands up, don't move! Don't move!", yells Able squad as they approach the unexpected visitor.
"Put your hands up now!", shouts Lieutenant Kane.
"Woa-woa! Don't shoot!", a feminine voice yells as she removes her cap. "Friendly-I'm a friendly!"
"Gun!" yells Meade as he spots the blaster, tucked in its holster.
"Don't move or we'll fire!" yells Kane as his deep voice echoes through the hall.
"Stop-no! I'm here for the rendezvous! I'm friendly!", she shouts back to the men.
"Stop!" the men yell repeatedly as they fan out. "Hands up!"
"I'm here like we planned", she says. "Just like we planned. I'm going to take this off," she says as she removes her scarf and googles.
"Don't move!" yells Darr as he sites the woman with his rifle, concentrating on her every move.
Kane's eyes widen beneath his helmet as he watches the woman remove her gear.
"Wait, Dreya?"
"Captain Brior!" a crewman shouts. "Sir, another Imperial cruiser is dropping out of hyperspace, they're hailing us!
"Sir!" says another crewman, "They're jamming our transmission to the planet!"
"What's going on here?" whispers Brior to himself.
"It's Admiral Gala, sir," the crewman says. "He request we break off and let him take over from here."
"Yes?" the woman says. "Dreya, that's my name-how did you-", she looks at the squad and back to the lieutenant.
"It's Kane," the lieutenant replies.
"Wait, Kane? Kane, is that really you?" she asks.
"Yes," he says resting his weapon at his side. "Yes it is."
The men glance over to their squad leader; they lower their weapons slightly as they look back towards the woman.
"Well, I'll be," she says. "I would have never imagined Imperial big shot, Lieutenant Galen Kane, would be meeting me here."
"Sir?" asks Darr.
"Quiet," says Kane firmly.
"What are we meeting here for Dreya?" asks Kane. "Remind me again."
"I'm your contact, for the Alliance, right?" she asks, looking back and forth from the squad with a half smile.
Sumner quickly flips multiple switches and turns several dials trying to regain the connection.
He smiles as the transmission resumes on the displays and the audio feed resumes. "Hope I didn't miss much," he whispers.
"Kane?" she asks looking around. "Kane, I-"
"You're part of the rebellion then?" he asks cutting her off.
"Yes, just like we talked about. We can move your ship undetected shortly," she says. "Don't worry, we can insure the safety of all crew members as long as they were disarmed properly, like we agreed."
She smiles at the trooper. "The Alliance needs your ship Kane. We need your men. We need you."
"Dreya, I'm sorry," Kane says with regret in his voice.
"We're going to have to take you in," he says, raising his weapon.
The men instantly snap to attention aiming their rifles at the woman.
"What?" she shouts. "We had a deal Kane, we had a deal for you to defect! We had a deal for the Star Destroyer to-be, to-"
"Not our deal, wasn't us," he says. "I'm sorry."
"Darr, cuff her," orders Kane.
The soldier nods, squinting his eyes through the pain of his migraine. The trooper begins to approach the woman, but she quickly holds up a small device.
"Woa, easy Dreya! Easy!" says Kane.
"Do you know what this is?" she says nervously. "Tell your men to stand down!" she yells as she slowly moves backwards towards the door.
"Wait! Dreya, please! Put that down, and come with us," reasons Kane.
"The main halls are rigged to blow," she says shaking the detonator. "Have your men stand down or none of us walk out of here."
"I can't do that. You know that's not gonna happen," says Kane.
"Sir," says Kalin. "I have an angle-"
"No!" shouts Kane. "Steady! Don't fire!"
Kane looks back toward the woman as she continues walking towards the door. He shakes his head beneath his helmet as he holds his breath. "Dreya, drop that and we'll talk. I can't let you leave."
"Kane, we had a deal!" she yells. "I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can-"
"Dreya," Kane says firmly. "I can't let you walk out of here."
"We have to take you in-"
"-I don't have a choice."
Suddenly Meade begins to yell as something grabs him from behind, pushing him down.
The soldier screams as he is pulled backwards towards the deep abyss within the pit.
"It's got me," yells Meade as he holds on to his blaster. "It's got me!"
"Shoot it! Grab him!" the men yell as they frantically run towards Meade trying to help him.
"Oh no," says Dreya, stumbling slightly as she runs for the door.
"Don't let him go!" says Kalin as Darr reaches out to help.
The soldier finally gets a good grasp on his weapon as he gets tossed around from side to side.
He fires several laser blasts into the dark cavern.
The creature's squeals deep within the pit, and its tentacle cracks in the air, throwing Meade hard on the ground.
"Run!" he yells to his squad mates as he stumbles to his feet trying to get away.
"Fall back!" Orders Kane as the men scramble to run out into the hall. "Fall back!"
