Outlaw's Rebellion: Chapter 13

Since their last mission, Spid Dövan has worked as a cook, and Donovan has worked as a repair tech, on the Burgo space station, near the planet Drukenwell. Coming out of hyperspace, the Duros, Ace Proton, has problems with a micrometeor shower and comes into the station for repairs. He stops at Beedo’s, a restaurant owned by a pudgy Rodian, and meets Spid there, who is just going on break. While they are eating, Ace happens to recognize two members of the The 100 Guns, a semi-criminal, semi-bounty hunting team. They come over to Spid and ask his identity. After Spid answers, they ask if he knows where Fabius Kane is.

Even though Spid tells them that as far as he knows, Kane is dead, the two men (7 and 18 of the 100, respectively) end up fighting with Proton and Spid. ‘18’ ends up getting killed accidentally and ‘7’ manages to escape. Later, Spid and Ace find out that The 100 Guns has taken a ship hostage and is demanding to be handed Fabius Kane. Therefore, the Syndicate orders Kane to rendezvous with Donovan, Spid, and their new pilot, Ace Proton, on Kamino.

At Kamino, Kane meets up with the others and is introduced to Ace. Shortly after introductions and catching up, they are contacted by a Syndicate space freighter, which appears damaged. They encountered a space storm and cannot make it. The others will thus be on their own. Kane mentions that his ship has stealth capabilities and perhaps they can use it. They all agree that this is a good idea.

Fabius guides the Mayan Phoenix carefully up toward the hostage-taken luxury liner. Donovan then hacks the security system outside the airlock and they all move in. Spid moves in first and sees two guards; the Ortolan stuns them both, so they cannot call for help. The other three then finish them with blaster fire. Kane and Donovan drag the bodies back into the ship (agents 4 and 22) and have LE-N5, Kane’s droid, watch over them.

Fabius and Donovan concentrate their Force abilities and scan up ahead. Fabius feels no great Force presence, but Donovan senses a ballroom where hostages are strapped to a bomb. There are five of The 100 Guns there. After a moment, an intercom buzzes and tells them to surrender. The Syndicate agents quickly agree to allow Spid to surrender while they run to the bridge and look to run an end run around The 100 Guns. They make it to the bridge without incident, but it is empty.

Meanwhile, 23 and 71 come to take Spid into custody. At this point, they believe he is a stow away. The Ortolan allows them to believe this. The pair escorts him to engineering, where 99, 51, and 88 are waiting. There are some passengers here and they are strapped to a bomb also. There is a dead hostage there with a blaster shot to the head. They want to strap Spid to a bomb, but they cannot get the device around his wrist. Annoyed, the leader orders Spid's arm carved down. In an attempt to stall, Spid tries to convince them that Kane is dead, but they apparently were told he is not. After a short conversation, Spid launches into an attack. Things do not go well. Ultimately the Ortolan finds himself down and with a gun to his head.

Meanwhile, looking over the Bridge controls, Donovan realizes that all of the controls have been slaved to engineering, and that they cannot be re-routed back to the bridge without manually switching them back. However, the three Syndicate agents decide instead to head toward the ballroom. On their way, though, they hear the sounds of battle coming through Spid’s intercom and realize he is in trouble. Presuming he is in the ballroom, they double-time it to save him.

In engineering, the Guns demand Spid's surrender. Yet even with the blaster to his head, the Ortolan catches them off balance, surging upward and grabbing the blaster rifle from one of The Guns. Spid then wisely decides discretion is the better part of valor. After escaping, he calls the others to engineering on hi comlink. Upon receving this message, Ace activates his rocket pack and Donovan uses his Jedi powers to burst forward at super-speed (while pulling the lightsaber that Kane gave him). Unable to keep up, Fabius decides instead to continue on to the ballroom, and rescue the hostages there.

Outside of engineering, Spid takes cover with the blaster rifle, and waits for the mercenaries to chase him. He opens fire as soon as they come out for him, just as Ace flies in and also opens fire, and Donovan pulls up the rear: lightsaber flashing. After a short skirmish with 100, 99 forces them to stop fighting again.

When Kane gets to the ballroom, he sees three members of The 100 Guns. Without hesitation, he opens fire with his heavy blaster pistol and injures each of them badly. However, they return fire and one of the blasts and stuns Kane. The Scoundrel-Jedi drops his weapon and is forced to surrender. Fabius tries to use his Jedi powers to get the villains to release the hostages, but is unable to do so. However, when they accept his surrender, and let their guard down, Kane pulls a thermal detonator and forces them to pause.

Elsewhere, Donovan contacts Fabius and reveals that he senses the same frequencies of intimidation that EV-9D9 used. At the same time, Gun “99” then says she needs to talk to Kane about a job. Suddenly the two Force users know who is really behind the Guns. Kane agrees, saying that he is going to pick up his weapon and then come talk. However, as soon as he picks up the blaster, he attacks, taking out all three of the Guns in the ballroom, and then running toward engineering to help the others.

In engineering, Donovan follows Kane’s lead and attacks 100, slicing him several times with his lightsaber, though taking blaster fire as he does. 99 tries to take out the fuel cells, but Ace stops the blast by sacrificing himself, and jumping in the way. Spid charges 100 and attacks also. Even though they seem to have the uper hand, upon arriving, Kane finally barters a true standoff with 99.

As they talk, they find out that 99 wants Kane and the other Syndicate agents to destroy Mark 2. Apparently, IL-1D20’s replica has escaped Bespin and fled to Kamino. There it has used Fabius’ DNA to clone him. It has made at least one working clone and used it to slaughter innocents. Had 99 not intercepted the video feed, Fabius would have been framed. For the release of all the hostages, the Syndicate agents agree to take out Mark 2. To help them, 99, or Mark 1, as they all learn, agrees to create a computer virus which will prevent D2 from switching bodies, so they can destroy it forever when they destroy whatever body it is in at that time.

Mark 1 also reveals that it has tapped into a galactic network of droids and is almost everywhere at once. Fabius and Donovan figure out from what it says that IG-88 must have created this network. This terrifies Kane but he is willing to go along for now, so Mark 2 can be stopped. (They even find out that Lenny, Kane’s droid, was being spied on.)

When the virus is ready, the four Syndicate agents fly down to Kamino, using the Mayan Phoenix’s stealth capabilities. Upon landing, they run into two robot guards, which Kane promptly takes out with several autofire blasts from his blaster carbine. They all then move into the compound to look for a main computer terminal. However, on their way, they run into three more Kane clones, with droid parts shoved and wired into them. Kane takes one out with his blaster rifle, and finishes another in tandem with Donovan. Spid attacks another with his fists; Ace, firing over the Ortolan’s shoulder, takes it down.

A clone of Kane appears on the video screen and strikes up a conversation. He is “glad to see” Kane. The Syndicate agents can clearly see that the close is insane. D20 Mark 2 lights up a pathway for them to follow, including his head on various monitors along the hallway. Mark 2 claims to have worked on just under 40 clones before reaching “perfection.” As they get to D20, the four Syndicate agents find him at a table for five with tea and cake. However, about then, Imperial Stormtroopers arrive: Elites (those that train the Storm Commandos).

While Fabius distracts D20, Donovan is able to slip the virus into a computer terminal just before the Elites fight their way to them. D20 pulls a pair of blaster pistols and readies to join the fray with them.

One of the Elites rounds the corner and unloads with a blaster carbine, but everyone takes cover. Kane then throws a thermal detonator and uses the Force to push it down the hallway and it explodes into the group, also knocking the first Elite down. Ace moves up to him and unloads on him; combined with D20’s shots, he dies. Another Elite leans around the corner and drops a grenade which explodes in the middle of the party. Two other men come around the corner also. Donovan takes out the grenade launcher Elite, while another tumbles behind Spid and punches him. Ace gets his back and fires at the tumbler. D20 tries to help him also, but hits both Spid and the Elite. Spid hits the Elite twice and drops him. Fabius then blasts the fourth Elite as he comes around the corner and fires wide with his autofire blaster; Donovan hits him with blaster fire also. Ace then finishes him.

D20 is injured in the battle, but before he can get up, Spid goes up to him and kills the cyborg clone with one massive punch. Donovan cannot find any trace of him in the system. The virus seems to have worked. They take solace in the fact that at least Mark 2’s evil is over. Donovan then overloads the plant to explode, which it does, right after they fly away.