Well that went very well. Very well in deed.

I wish I could say Fox's betrayal came as a surprise to me, but I'm afraid it does not. He's a very troubled young person. (Sadly, his troubles will only increase from here on out.)

I'm glad Ras got to me when he did. If he had been delayed, there's no telling what would have become of Cousin Duro and his friends. The young Bothan appeared in my doorway, and I knew right away that the day had come that I was preparing for; it was time to be a hero. I grabbed my belt and jacket and was halfway to the Command Centre when Xenrad stopped me. He insisted on accompanying me. I was concerned that he might slow me down in my quest, but I relented quickly rigged up the Vibrovan to accommodate a make-shift hoverchair lift.

While Xenrad made himself comfortable, I grabbed our barista outfits that I had been preparing for the annual talent show, and quickly outfitted the hoverchair with a cooler, umbrella, change box, some blinking lights, napkins and poison. Lots, and lots of poison.

Soon the two of us were rolling up the ramp to the Imperial Centre. The guards just let us in after a word from Xenrad. Boy, those costumes really worked well!

Once inside, it was my turn to shine. I cracked open our cooler and started passing around can of Caff Extreme which had been heavily laced with fast-acting Dendriton Toxin. (Not hard to do considering the adrenaline boost the caff gives, pumping blood all over the body.) 1, 2, 3 Imperial dirt bags down without so much as a shot fired!

We went through one door and found many non-humans in wooden cages. We first found the young Red One. He was ok. He mentioned Cousin Duro was not far away. I calmly walked towards him and assessed the situation in a glance. I could tell that he was in need of medical aid. I began examining the cage for structural weaknesses. Time was of the essence, so my examination may have been a bit… harried.

It was the young Red One who suggested we search some of the twitching guards for keys. (Smart one he is. He will go far.) I briskly walked up to one of the prone men and searched his front pocket. He had a tool in there, but it was much too small to be of any good. The key around his neck, was a different matter! I opened Cousin Duro's cage and quickly concluded that his eyes were damaged beyond repair. He would be constrained to a world of blurry shapes without intervention. I considered salvaging some of the eyeballs from the men on the ground, but decided that operating under these conditions were far too dangerous for Cousin Duro. Rather I led him to the young Red One, and the four of us continued.

More hallways. More guards. More energy than they bargained for.

Next we found the Smart One. We released him from his cell, no problem. (I checked the pockets of these guards too, just in case they had something we might find useful. Nothing, besides increasingly tiny tools.) That only left us with other two. We abandoned the caff disguise and took a hoverlift down and prepared for what might be awaiting us there. (On goes the gas mask.)

Blaster fire. And a red key. I threw my grenade and the chamber soon filled with noxious gas. Everyone slipped into an adjacent hallway and started pulling torches off the wall to use as clubs. Even brave Cousin Duro. (He's so heroic.) Eventually we subdued the two guards. Meanwhile, Xenrad, who was looking increasingly flushed, made his way to a nearby door where the key was laying. But instead of just picking the key up and using it, he started to carve through the wall with his big glow stick.

In the next room, we found them. Fearless Peer and Firebrand were in desperate need of medical help, but they were not alone. Xenrad entered the room to face the fearsome guards alone, but Cousin Duro refused to abandon them. And we refused to abandon him! Our attacks were proving to be useless against them, though; they were too powerful and skilled. Then, inspired by the heroic acts of Cousin Duro, I knew that this was my moment to count! I ran headlong in the room, leapt onto a table a bellowed in my most powerful voice, “I abjure thee, most cruel and foul villain! In the name of all Nemoidia, cower and despair!” I then lifted my hands to the sky, and activated the charges in my flare jacket.

One of the guards was staggered by my valliance and heroism. The other one tried to throw a boulder at me. (He was less staggered.) By this point, Fearless Peer and Firebrand were almost out the door. Cousin Duro was laying down cover fire, and I took my opportunity to exit. Once we were clear of the door, the ceiling caved in around Xenrad and the guards, though the sound of much fighting continued on.

We took a moment to regroup and the Smart One and I tended to the wounded. (He is a very good student!) Then we began on the quest to find the missing supplies of our brethren. We went down one hallway and found a locked door. Quickly the Smart One began to take the wiring apart in order to open it. Soon, it was unopenable. We retraced our steps to try another path.

We knew that time was against us as we picked our way past the no longer twitching bodies that littered the floors. 15 minutes, tops, before the next shift arrived. We took another hoverlift down (is it still a lift if it doesn't take us upward?) and then found the goods we were looking for. I watched Cousin Duro as he felt his beloved gun. The look on his face made me want to weep.

I decided a bit of mayhem was in order for us to make our escape. I slipped into the kitchen and raided the fridge, throwing all sorts of things into the toaster oven with the heat cranked! Anything that might start a grease fire went in; oil, cream, garlic, noodles, some diced peppers, leftover chicken. 5 minutes later the timer dinged and out came delicious smelling chicken scampi paired with a Château Blanc Neuf. (Dammit!) I flung the abomination at the wall and some of the hot (but perfectly done) sauce flung up and onto the heat/smoke sensor which was enough to activate it. Soon sprinklers were going off around the whole facility.

We armed ourselves and took the ride up the hoverlift one more time. As we expected, very drenched troopers were waiting for us. One of them was Fox's boss (I deduced, because I am so smart) who was also someone from Fearless Peer's work circle (I also deduced, because I am so smart). Then I asked Cousin Duro if this man was also his lifelong nemesis. (I don't think I need to record his answer or how I deduced it.)

(It's because I'm so smart.)

Blaster bolts were firing and guards were running willy-nilly around. Cousin Duro pulled off a miraculous shot which almost killed our foe. When he started to run, Fearless Peer leaped into harm's way and pulled him back… somehow. Then we all took shots at his helpless form.

Soon the battle was over. I was ready to start making protest signs to insight the city to riot when I noticed that Cousin Duro was unconscious again. The Smart One and I revived him while Fearless Peer secured our new prisoner in the van. He almost had an altercation with young Red One. I'm concerned for that boy.

Our getaway was… bumpy. Young Red One needs to control his road rage better.

We arrived at the bar and found it to be burning down. Young Red One gunned the engine and smashed into one of the remaining walls, pinning the pudgy arson to his flaming work. I believe he tried to say something to us before he died. However, the windshield was so full of airbags that we couldn't see or hear him.

I jumped out the side door to see what we had hit. I looked into the face of the man who burned down this beautiful cantina and was inspired. I told the Smart One to grab my kit and to hurry! (He and everyone else in the back were complaining about whiplash. Whiners.)

I opened up my kit and dug around until I found the correct vibro-bone-saw for the job. Together, Smart One and I cracked the pudgy skull open and disconnected our prize. We then hurried Cousin Duro down to the Medbay to install it.

Well, all's well that ends well!