Book 1 - Breakout Squad by Ryder Windham

Author:Ryder Windham [Windham, Ryder]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction
ISBN: 9780448450353
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2009-09-03T07:00:00+00:00

“May I ask your name?” Nuru said from the rear seat as the landspeeder accelerated away from the settlement and zoomed over an open plain.

“What?” the woman said from behind her speeder’s controls. She had lowered the speeder’s canopy to diminish the noxious odor of her passengers, and the repulsorlift’s engine made it difficult to hear.

“Your name!””

“Lalo Gunn!”

Breaker sat in the front passenger seat beside Gunn, holding her bag of vegetables on his lap, while Nuru was scrunched in back between Knuckles and Chatterbox, who still wore their helmets. Nuru said, “I’m Nuru Kungurama. This is Breaker.”

“And your masked buddies?” Gunn said over her shoulder.

“The one on my left is Chatterbox, and the other is Knuckles.”

The trooper to Nuru’s left responded. “Actually, I’m Knuckles.”

“Sorry,” Nuru said.

As Gunn guided the landspeeder around a wide hill, she said, “Those are the dopiest names I ever heard.”

Deciding to change the subject, Nuru said, “You’ve been on Kynachi almost three years? Why did you come to a world where visitors aren’t welcome?””

“I was in the import and export business,” she said. “I thought there was money to be made here. Boy, was I wrong. The Trade Federation controls everything here, including who comes and goes.”

“We only just learned that ourselves,” Breaker said, “We were under the impression that Kynachi chose to cut themselves off from the Republic.””

“That’s what I thought, too,” Gunn said. “It’s what the Trade Federation wants everyone to believe. They conquered this world ten years ago, and because Kynachi is so remote, no one in the Republic even noticed.””

“Ten years ago,” Nuru mused. “That would have been around the time of the Battle of Naboo. But why didn’t anyone here call for help?”

“Remember the frequency-jammer tower I mentioned? The Federation set it up at the KynachTech factory to prevent transmissions to or from Kynachi.”

Nuru said, “So, the Federation took over the factory?”

“That’s right,” Gunn said. “They use it to make droids and weapons.””

“And circuit boards,” Breaker muttered, recalling the device that had launched the troopers’ secret mission.”

“What?” Gunn said, then quickly added, “Never mind. It’s too noisy with the canopy down. We’ll talk more when we get to my place.””

Twenty mutes later, Gunn’s landspeeder approached the outskirts of Kynachi’s only spaceport. Nuru could see the open-domed rooftops of the larger docking bays, which appeared to be surrounded by a wide sprawl of older buildings, similar to the ones he’d seen at the settlement. Except for a few ragged pedestrians, there was practically no one on the street.

Nuru said, “Where are all the people?”

“Most stay indoors,” Gunn said. “It’s the best way to avoid the droid patrols.”

Gunn guided the speeder past a row of deserted, empty buildings. She brought the vehicle to a stop beside a shabby-looking, snub-nosed Corellian transport that rested on its landing legs.

On the ground beneath the elevated transport’s lower hull were some spindly tables and chairs. A humanoid navigation droid with a single large central sensor node for a head was cleaning cheap drinking cups beside a hovering dining cart.

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