Boom—Boom!—!
Amidst the torrential downpour, the U-Wing fighter carrying Leon, Cassian, and the others was struggling to navigate through steep cliffs, desperately avoiding the sudden and sharp terrain.
The rain slammed against the hull of the fighter, producing a dull metallic sound, while the body of the ship jerked violently in the fierce airflow, as though it could lose control at any moment.
The planet they were on was Idu, home to the Galactic Empire's Kyber crystal refinery and the Death Star research facilities.
From low Earth orbit, Idu appeared to be an extremely "gloomy" and "oppressive" planet.
Thick clouds formed an impenetrable gray carpet, covering the surface entirely.
Within these clouds, countless flashes of lightning flickered unpredictably, as if an invisible beast was roaring between them, with thunder echoing like war drums, resounding in every corner of the planet.
This harsh environment was one of the reasons why the Galactic Empire chose Idu to build important factories and facilities.
The dense clouds and unending storms provided a natural barrier for the Empire's facilities, making it difficult for any hostile forces attempting to spy on them to find an entrance. The area even appeared unfit for exploration or colonization, causing others to simply ignore its existence.
As for Leon and his group, Cassian's voice, filled with clear anxiety and unease, echoed inside the cabin.
"You're not an Empire pilot? How much farther until we crash?!"
Cassian was staring intently at the data on the instrument panel while urgently questioning Bodhi, who sat beside him, and gripping the control stick alongside K-2SO.
However, apart from the mechanical K-2SO, everyone in the cabin, including Leon, appeared tense due to the situation at hand.
What was supposed to be a smooth "infiltration" and "raid" mission had turned into a nightmare after entering Idu's atmosphere.
Leon began to doubt whether it was his presence that caused the U-Wing fighter to face this predicament.
After all, the special treatment by both the company and the Empire toward him, as well as the frequent accidents whenever he was involved, led Leon to question his own influence on events.
From receiving Ada's notice to using his personal hovercraft to reach the Empire's palace and directly carry out the mission without issue, Leon had become a little complacent. It seemed that whenever he traveled, he should never take his safety for granted.
"I don't know! How could I know?! I've never been through this route before!"
At this moment, Bodhi stood behind them, his hands flailing in helplessness as he tried to answer but fumbled in panic.
His voice was a mix of fear and frustration, clearly out of his depth in the current situation as a defector from the Empire's pilot corps.
His eyes kept shifting between the instrument panel, the storm outside, and Cassian, trying to find any useful reference, but it was all in vain.
Cassian clenched his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead, and glared angrily at Bodhi's panicked behavior, unable to stop himself from muttering:
"I should have thrown you in an Imperial prison."
Meanwhile, sitting at the pilot's seat, K-2SO inserted its usual calm and mechanical voice into the conversation:
"Based on the current flight trajectory and storm intensity, the failure rate is 36%."
"Can you shut up?" Cassian shouted angrily. "Your 'encouragement' is really reassuring!"
Upon hearing "failure rate of 36%", even the usually calm Leon and the indifferent Baze could not help but check their seat belts.
"Emperor, please don't let these people suffer because of my bad luck."
At the same time, Leon closed his eyes slightly, silently praying to the Emperor in his heart.
Boom—Boom!
Suddenly, a violent tremor came from the left side of the ship, shaking the entire U-Wing fighter. The force was so strong that it nearly threw everyone out of their seats.
Bodhi was startled by the sudden jolt, taking a step back, grabbing the armrest on the wall with both hands, his eyes filled with terror.
Through the porthole, everyone could see flames quickly spreading from the left engine, accompanied by thick black smoke.
"Left engine shutdown," K-2SO turned its head, its voice still calm, and even added deliberately:
"The failure rate has risen to 73%. At this rate, we will crash in the next minute."
This caused the tension in the cabin to reach its peak. Cassian slammed his hand on the dashboard, shouting loudly:
"K-2SO! Stop talking nonsense and fix the problem!"
"I am solving the problem," K-2SO continued to operate the U-Wing fighter without turning its head. "But statistics show that your anger does not help resolve the issue."
However, as they barely managed to dodge a cliff and adjust the ship's angle, distant lights appeared in their line of sight.
It was an artificial facility located in a deep canyon.
Cold-toned lights flickered in the storm, casting sharp shadows.
Even in this harsh environment, the lights silently declared the order and authority of the place.
The towering buildings were surrounded by multiple defense structures, with ground anti-aircraft gun emplacements forming a tight defensive line, making the facility look well-defended and seemingly isolated from the world.
"That's it!"
Through the porthole, Bodhi recognized the target at once. He immediately slapped K-2SO's metal shoulder, his tone urgent:
"Now! Quickly land! If we go any further, we'll miss the shuttle station!"
"Visibility is limited."
However, K-2SO still answered in its mechanical, calm voice.
As it spoke, K-2SO adjusted the fighter's angle, attempting to avoid the increasingly dense fog ahead.
After passing through a thick mist, the improved visibility immediately caused everyone's hearts to drop to "the bottom"—
"Cliff! There's a cliff ahead!" Bodhi cried out.
Cassian instantly tensed, shouting, "K, careful!"
The steep rock face was almost directly in front of them, leaving K-2SO with little time to react.
But this time, "it" did not respond. Instead, it firmly controlled the stick, pushing the rescue time to its extreme limit.
Then, the U-Wing fighter made a sharp turn at a dangerous angle, barely avoiding the rock face with its nose and body.
However, the right side of the ship collided violently with the cliff in the instant it brushed past it.
Boom!!
With a loud crash, the right engine of the fighter was immediately torn apart. Intense flames and debris flew outside the cabin.
"All engines have failed," K-2SO calmly reported the situation. "Estimated crash time: ten seconds."
"Ten seconds?!" Bodhi screamed in fear. "You better do something!"
But it seemed their fate was already sealed.
"Emperor, please... Emperor, please..."
"May the Force be with me, and I with the Force..."
Leon and Chirrut, one silently praying in his heart, the other whispering quietly.
The fighter lost balance entirely in the turbulent airflow and began spinning uncontrollably toward the ground.
Cassian gripped the control stick with one hand and desperately held onto the armrest with the other, trying to stabilize the ship, but it was all in vain.
"Brace yourselves!" Cassian yelled with all his strength, but his voice was swallowed by the roar of the storm.
Boom—!!!
Finally, the U-Wing fighter crashed belly-down onto a flat cliff in the canyon.
The massive impact lifted the entire ship, causing it to scrape along the ground, dragging sparks and debris behind it.
The violent shaking sent equipment, seats, tools, and other parts of the cabin scattering in chaos.
The fighter skidded for dozens of meters before finally slamming into a rock and coming to a stop.
At this moment, the surroundings fell silent, with only the sound of the rain battering the hull and the occasional spark crackling from the wreckage.
Inside the damaged cabin;
"Is everyone okay? Cassian?"
K-2SO's mechanical voice rang out clearly in the silence.
As a robot, K-2SO was unaffected by the crash.
"Its" metal arms gently shook the unconscious Cassian, trying to wake him: "This is not nap time."
Meanwhile, Leon had unbuckled his seatbelt and moved his shoulders, checking for any serious injuries.
Although his hair was a mess and his rear was sore, it didn't seem like a big issue for him.
He slowly stood up, scanning the cabin.
The crash hadn't been kind to everyone.
Chirrut and Baze were both unconscious in their seats, their heads slightly drooping, clearly still recovering from the impact.
Jyn was leaning against the opposite wall, her brows furrowed, clearly wounded.
The worst off was Bodhi.
Leon's gaze fixed on the back of the cabin, where Bodhi's body lay in a strange position, face down, completely still.
Sparks from the cabin's electrical system flickered across his back, revealing numerous abrasions and bruises on his skin.
Upon seeing this, Leon immediately activated his holographic glasses' scanning system.
A blue pulse wave expanded in his vision, clearly displaying the condition of everyone in the cabin.
After only a few seconds, the scan results came back.
"Phew..."
Seeing the results, Leon finally let out a sigh of relief.
The data showed that everyone had sustained varying degrees of injury but none were in life-threatening danger.
Despite not having spent much time with these people, Leon had already sensed their uniqueness through their words and actions.
Whether it was Chirrut's dedication to his faith, Baze's loyalty, or Jyn's strong will, each of them radiated the brilliance of idealism.
So, Leon certainly didn't want these valuable individuals to sacrifice themselves due to his "bad luck with transport."
He quickly pulled a bottle of biological foam from his back waist pack and knelt beside Bodhi.
The nozzle twisted slightly, and foam immediately sprayed out, covering Bodhi's wounds.
The foam rapidly spread along the edges of the wound, slowly flowing like an invisible liquid membrane that sealed the injury.
This foam wasn't ordinary medicine—it contained disposable nanobots capable of quickly penetrating into the wound's cellular level, "binding" with the tissue and promoting localized healing.
Leon then moved on to treat Chirrut and the others, applying similar first aid.
After using up the entire canister of biological foam, K-2SO picked up the empty can and looked toward the now breathing wounded.
"Agent Kennedy, do you have any more of these medical devices? I'm curious, I'd like to study them."
"You still have curiosity?"
Leon asked, somewhat amused, as he checked his gear.
"I'm just analyzing data and learning more about biological repair theory," K-2SO replied seriously.
Hearing this, Leon didn't respond immediately but made sure all his weapons, ammunition, and various tools were in good condition before looking at the somewhat comical-looking K-2SO and saying:
"Once we deal with the Galactic Empire threat, you'll have time for your research.
Also, K, stay here and keep an eye on them. Try to make contact with the incoming reinforcements."
"Understood, Agent Kennedy."
Following the instructions, K-2SO began checking and repairing the U-Wing fighter's communication equipment.
Leon then stood up and left the damaged cabin, stepping out into the torrential rain.
Before the U-Wing fighter reached the heart of the Empire, Cassian had successfully uploaded critical information about Galen Erso to the Rebel Alliance on Yavin IV.
They had also received the latest directive to shift the original assassination plan to an "attempted capture."
Meanwhile, Yavin IV had dispatched a special forces team to assist the isolated Cassian and his team.
As planned, that special forces team was on its way and would soon arrive on Idu.
Now, except for K-2SO and Leon, everyone was unconscious from the crash.
So, Leon decided to go ahead alone to scout the shuttle station near the research facility.
As he did so, he couldn't help but reflect on the fact that the hyperspace engines in this universe seemed too commonplace.
Even small units like the U-Wing fighter were capable of launching hyperspace travel at any time and any place, and from his conversations with Cassian, Leon learned that the special forces team from Yavin IV would also be arriving in three U-Wing fighters.
This triggered the "plundering" mentality of the Empire's populace.
Of course, the Main Universe Empire wouldn't resort to forceful plundering but instead absorb more advanced technologies from other universes to make humanity stronger.
After leaving the wrecked U-Wing fighter, Leon tapped into his skills as an Investigator of the Main Universe Empire, rapidly scaling the steep cliff.
In no time, he reached the summit, where he could get a clear view of the shuttle station.
With the help of his holographic glasses' visual aids and pulse scanning, Leon could clearly detect guard positions and the entrances to the facility.
Seeing the situation, Leon's expression grew more serious.
Attacking such a facility and capturing key figures was not as easy as it seemed.
He wasn't sure about the strength of the Rebel Alliance's special forces team, but if it were a tactical squad from the Scourged Children or a combat unit from the Hell Paratroopers, it would likely be no problem.
"Director Kennedy, please respond."
Just as Leon hesitated on whether to risk infiltrating the facility and locating Galen Erso, the communication suddenly chimed with the call of a female clerk.
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American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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