Amir unplugged the connector and looked at the others.
"Everyone, take some before we go." Amir opened his backpack and distributed explosives.
After grabbing their gear, Mando was the first to leave, heading straight for the stairs. There were no enemies in the stairwell, so he could go straight to Floor 19.
Obi-Wan and 32 left after him.
Amir followed behind Parks to the door. He suddenly felt something and closed his eyes.
A Force precognition unfolded. Following the Force, his consciousness gradually sank into a dreamlike state.
As the Force flowed, his consciousness drifted aimlessly. He suddenly arrived at a familiar place. Familiar, but blurry, making it hard for Amir to recognize.
The environment became oppressive as he breathed. Darkness was everywhere. A black-robed figure appeared in the distance. With just one look, a strong premonition struck Amir's heart.
The black-robed figure faced him and extended a scarlet blade from his wide sleeve. As he stepped forward, everything around seemed to press in on Amir! Cold and fear surged uncontrollably, like a tide rising past his chest...
The footsteps were like drumbeats, striking his heart again and again. It was long and torturous. Finally, he walked right in front of him, raised his hand... and everything exploded and dispersed. A giant, abyss-like mouth appeared behind him, spewing an endless black fog, swallowing him whole!
Amir woke with a start, a layer of cold sweat on his back.
Why would I have such a precognition? Amir carefully considered every detail of this operation, but couldn't find any clues.
That black-robed figure had given him an immense sense of pressure, even in the vision.
In that moment, Amir felt an irresistible power. A dense dark Force was eroding his mind.
He felt fear.
"What's wrong?" Parks turned his head to look at Amir, who was standing frozen, and asked.
"Nothing." Amir's face was grim.
But he quickly calmed his emotions and told himself again to focus on the present.
The things seen in a Force precognition had too many uncertainties. It was just a speculation. The time and place were unclear.
It was possible that scene would never happen. It could also appear in a few months, or a few years.
And the most important thing now was to complete the mission and save the children.
He stopped thinking about it. Amir put BD-4 on his back and followed Parks up toward the tenth floor.
. . .
In the boundless universe, a massive cruiser floated.
In the command pod, a black-robed figure slowly opened his eyes, revealing a twisted smile, as if he had discovered something interesting.
He raised his hand and waved gently. An officer next to him was pressed against the wall by a huge, invisible force, his face contorted in pain. His face turned dark red as he bit down on his chattering teeth.
"You have failed. You should know the consequences," the black-robed figure said, his hoarse voice like a demon's whisper.
The pressure on his body vanished. Gideon fell from the wall. He had just caught his breath when he leaned against the wall and hurriedly said, "I... we extracted his blood! We've already analyzed his gene sequence! Perhaps..."
"It seems you haven't realized your failure." The black-robed figure's lips curled. His pale, scarred skin under the robe looked terrifying.
Gideon instantly knew he had said the wrong thing. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, and prepared to welcome the pain once more.
But the expected pain did not come.
"Don't be nervous, my capable subordinate. This time, it wasn't your fault. We both misjudged the opponent."
"So, I will go myself."
The black-robed figure stood up and said, "Set a course for the experimental base!"
A technician, trembling, stood at attention. "Report! The cruiser's hyperdrive is not fully repaired."
The black-robed figure turned his neck, still wearing that smile, but the coldness within it was unmistakable.
Gideon immediately cut in, "Yes, Emperor!"
Beads of sweat rolled down his dark skin.
Finally, the black-robed figure walked out of the command pod, heading for the hangar.
Gideon collapsed against the edge of the table, drained. His life was spared. He hadn't expected to be given another chance after such a total failure. The blood they had drawn from Amir while he was unconscious... the gene sequence they analyzed... had nothing special at all. They had even cultivated identical ones over the years! But they were all, without a doubt, failures.
He had thought about trying again, cloning Amir's genes directly, but it had failed at the embryo stage.
The Emperor's arrival had shattered his last shred of hope.
Nothing could be hidden from this black-robed man. He was like a demon, always hovering behind his mind. He had no secrets in front of him. He could only beg for forgiveness, humbly, like a worm.
Good thing... no. This is the best possible outcome.
Taking a deep breath, Gideon stood in front of the command table again. The course was set. He personally confirmed the request to enter hyperspace.
The massive cruiser pulled away from the Imperial repair station, turned into a streak of light, and disappeared.
. . .
Obi-Wan and 32 were the first to reach the target floor. When they exited the stairs, they found only one combat droid on standby. Obi-Wan destroyed it with a surprise attack, then ran quickly toward the hibernation area.
"Who are you!?" As soon as he opened the door, Obi-Wan saw a researcher checking on a child's body.
Obi-Wan was about to move, throwing back his robe to charge, when the sound of a blaster shot shrieked from behind him. A black, bloody hole appeared on the white lab coat. The edges of the hole were still burning, emitting hot red sparks.
Obi-Wan turned to look at 32's emotionless eyes and raised an eyebrow. That shot had a bit of a personal grudge in it.
Looking at the researcher, who wasn't dead, Obi-Wan stepped forward, pinned him with his foot, and asked, "Where is all the data on these children?"
The data Amir had stolen didn't include the detailed contents of the experiments performed on the children. That would only exist in an independent storage.
The researcher's fear overcame his reason. He subconsciously handed over the datapad in his hand.
Taking the datapad, Obi-Wan smiled. He turned to 32 and said, "You?"
Pew-pew~
The two began to wake the sleeping children. 32 was in charge of opening the hibernation pods and moving the children out. Obi-Wan went around the room and pulled a stack of clothes from a cabinet.
There were 11 children in total. A worried look appeared on Obi-Wan's face. He hoped they could all recover quickly.
It took time to recover from a hibernation pod. Waking up was one process, and recovering mobility was another. Obi-Wan felt the adrenaline hyposprays Parks had stuffed in his pocket. These drugs could give the weak children a temporary boost of strength, enough for them to leave.
If there were no accidents.
He'd had a bad feeling since just now, which made him want to speed up the process even more.
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