Breakout
Book 1 of Roan Tales
Chapters 1
-9
The Colonies - Byblos-
Trallon-Soro
Four Imperial E-11 blasters
pointed in his direction and he knew escape was not an option. He dropped his weapon, placed his hands
behind his head and turned as instructed.
The Binders where attached tightly but he made no sound to indicate the
discomfort, that would give them too much satisfaction.
“Looks like you smuggling
days are over, now you’re just bantha fodder” said one of the trooper as they
lead him down the ramp of his transport.
***************************
Two days later
Roan looked out from where
he was hiding and could see the coast was clear, “phew, that was close again”
he muttered to himself. But how long would this lucky streak last.
He pulled his hood back over
his head and climbed out from behind the crates, surveying his surroundings, it
had been a blur when he scampered past a few minutes ago. But now he could see the hanger’s contents,
a transport freighter surrounded by several crates. He slapped the hull “one day I’ll leave this place, will you be
the one to take me?” Roan waited for a reply, but of course none came.
The sound of footsteps awoke
him from his daydream and he remembered the package beneath his arm. Imperial
Uniforms altered for their new inhabitants, Rebels. Time to finish his delivery.
He looked up and through the
smog could see the peak of the Sorosub tower, which rose above all others in
the city of Trallon-Soro, just another industrial city on the planet
Byblos. Roan had been bought up outside
the city and now did “odd jobs” for his friend Mantin. Jobs that would be so much easier if the
Imperials would stop interfering.
The footsteps coming from
the other side of the freighter continued to get louder. Roan moved quietly around to the nearest
exit and left the hanger into the busy grey streets. Where his adopted parents had bought him up, was a quiet town far
from the city in the countryside and full of friendly people, Trallon-Soro was
the total opposite. It was also the
place where had been found fifteen years ago.
Speeders moved slowly past
him and he soon matched the pace of the crowd and moved towards the Octagon
promenade in the central district. The
sight of a pair of Storm troopers, coming towards him, sent shivers down his
spine. They appeared to only be interested
in their own company. So he tried to remain calm and continued walking,
“The sooner I get off this
planet, the better. Patrols are one
thing, but I joined to get myself some action, fry some rebels scum” Said the
nearest trooper as Roan got within hearing range he liked to stay close and
keep his ears alert, you never know what you might hear!
“Yeah, yeah” said his
companion “The way things are going, I’ll take the easy jobs and leave the
heroics to you”. Roan passed them
without incident, but noticed two men and a Rodian who appeared to be following
the Storm troopers. The tallest man had
piercing green eyes and broad shoulders. The other human was much shorter and
slim. He noticed they all appeared to be armed
He tightened his grip on the
parcel under his arm. All in good time
he thought. If he was right the storm
trooper may just get a bit of action sooner than he expected. As the three men
passed, Roan turned and headed after them.
The pursuit continued. The sound of a blaster shot, off to the
side, alerted the storm troopers and they turned down a narrow side
street. As he expected the men
followed.
***************************
By the time Roan arrived the
battle was lost, two stormtroopers gagged and no longer in their Uniforms sat
behind a large trash container.
“Hey! Can I help you” said
the tallest of the three he had followed.
Roan eyes had been diverted to a huge round man trying in vane to get a
Strom trooper helmet on. “um, um” Roan stumbled
noticing the blaster pointed in his direction. “I. I. I’m Roan”
“And?” the blaster hadn’t
moved
“…I work for Mantin”
The man’s face softened, a bit, as he looked Roan up and
down. To his relief the blaster dropped
to the man’s side. “The runner who’s handy with a needle?”
“Yup”
“Hey guys, this little
fellows that delivery boy they’ve been talking about. Still keeping the
Imperials on their toes I hope?”
“Yup” said roan a cheeky
smile appearing on his face, as he tried not to blush.
Since getting in contact
with the Rebel, Mantin, a few months ago Roan had spent almost every day doing
small errands for his friend trying to prove his loyalty. He craved more exciting assignments but at
only 17 and quite small for his age, he had to prove himself, so he’d told
himself to be patient.
“Slow Down young man…” ..
his father, Braidon Danjoyd, had told him, a thousand times, when his was
younger, “…good things come to those who wait!!”. Braidon was a wise man and a good father; although Roan was not
his real son he had ensured that Roan had never questions his love for
him.
“Well, I’m Raxter, but we
don’t have time for full introductions” he said as he turned to the other
men. “Okay guys no time to waste, lets
get moving”
In pairs they moved back out
into the street
As Raxter went to leave he
turned to Roan “what you standing there for? …come on.” Roan chased off after him as he exited the
side street.
As they walked Raxter looked
at Roan “So, what can we do for you Needle boy?”
“Nothing just saw you
tracking the stormies so thought I’d see what was going on.”
“Looks like we weren’t as
subtle as we thought” He smiled. “Or have you just got a keen eye!”
“I notice stuff” Roan beamed
“My hunches are usually right, keeps me out of trouble”
“They never mention you were
a Nautolan” Roan slipped one of his head tentacles back beneath his hood,
sometimes he forgot. “No I try to keep these hidden, I’m the only Nautolan’s I
know on Byblos. Most people don’t
notice under the hood”
They walked of in silence
both keenly studying the streets ahead.
Colonel Muld drummed his fat
fingers on his desk. He breathed in only slightly reducing the size of his
large stomach with his other hand he stroked his beard. Captain Tainer his second in command, stood
before him looking uncomfortable. This, Muld knew, was because he had a
reputation for reprimanding officers, for the smallest of reasons, often-adding
demotion to the sentence. It was one of
the few perks of his position in this small unimportant planet.
He smirked at the officer
“At ease captain”
The captains slim frame
relaxed slightly. “Please give me an update of the captive?”
“Sir we have received
notification the Vanquisher has entered the system. I was about to contact them to arrange pick up but was instructed
to report to you first.” Muld paused
again staring at the captain.
“ I will contact Admiral
Gallon and arrange transfer captain” Muld had taken the news of the smuggler
capture rather well. If he could ensure
that it appeared that he co-ordinated the plan a promotion may be bestowed upon
him or at least a transfer to better surroundings. He had been posted to Byblos almost two years ago and his slight
objection did not change the assignment.
“Yes Sir, will that be all?”
Tainer had relaxed a little more at hearing that Muld appeared not to be
annoyed by any of his actions and was keen to end the meeting.
Muld paused again. The son
of a rich family and had joined the officer training school hoping to enjoy the
various perks that an officer from a family of wealth should expect. Some ill-advised complaints to the wrong
people had resulted in that not being the case. He had served the imperials so far in some of the grimier planets
in the galaxy and had feared that he would never again enjoy the lifestyle he
had as a young man and training officer.
“Yes that’s all
Captain. Oh, keep me updated of any
changes I may need to be aware of.”
Muld smirked again, the vagueness of his statement gave him enough scope
to bring charges against the captain should he feel inclined to. Keep them on their toes, Muld he
thought to himself.
The Captain stood to
attention saluted turned and left.
The Rebels arrived at a small
repair shop and proceeded straight into the back room. “I think these are for
you”. Roan said as he passed the parcel to Raxter.
He laughed as he opened the
package “Guys I think we have enough disguises to make this plan work”
“What plan?” Roan spurted
out before he could stop himself.
Raxter smiled at Roan “Sorry kid, this is on a need to know basis
and I’m afraid you definitely don’t want, or need, to know.”
“You best run along, we have
stuff to do. Thanks for the Imps uniforms.
I owe you a drink by the way. A nice glass of juice.” The men around laughed and Roan felt very
small.
Being small had its
advantages but was sometimes annoying. “ Make it a Corellian Ale and I’ll take
you up on It.” he retorted, trying to stand tall, generating another round of
laughter. He stared at Raxter
“You’ve got attitude young
man I’ll give you that” Raxter was starting to like this Nautolan. “Look, I
think you can help us out. It’s dangerous, but I guess if old Mantin trusts
you, we should too.”
Roan’s face lit up “I won’t
let you down, I promise.”
***************************
The rebels around the table
went through the plan three times changing bits slightly each time to ensure
that there would be no mistakes.
Roan sat quietly keeping his
thoughts to himself as he memorised his part in the scheme. Unsure if he should
have left when he had the chance. Raxter when he first explained the plan had
given Roan the chance to leave, again he had declined
The plan involved breaking a
rebel prisoner out from the holding block on Imperial Installation in
Trallon-Soro
“Well I think that about
concludes our discussions, gentlemen!” Raxter announced after the final plans
had been agreed. As Roan glanced at the
people around the table he saw mixed emotions, some were nervous, others
excited and Raxter just gave of a felling of calmness.
“Check you timers. I make it 22:05. I guess that gives us just
under four standard hours to rest before we need to leave” Raxter look around
the room at his friends. “Qes you okay
with everything” He smiled at the blonde haired lady as she nodded and smiled
“you be careful, we’ll be waiting for your signal.”
Roan glanced at Qes out of
the corner of his eyes and tried not to blush.
Slim with short-cropped blond hair and striking green eyes. Although
probably at least ten years older than him he still found her very attractive,
a quality that was a crucial part of her role within the plot.
The plan was based around
Qes getting into the central power/observation post and her being able to cause
a “distraction” which would allow her access to get the rest though the first
two security gates. “I’ll be glad when
it’s over” She complained. Having spent the last two days gaining the lecherous
officer, Frazen trust she would be glad to see the back of him. “I know it’s not been easy,” Raxter replied
”but I don’t think Hoggy’s charms would have had the same effect” within the
laughter Hoggy snorted. He was the large man Roan had noticed earlier trying on
the stormtrooper helmet. Hoggy slapped
his large stomach and batted his eyelids the others cringed jokingly.
After gaining access the
rebels lead by Raxter would move around to the block where the prisoner was
being held. Stormtroopers would patrol the area but with the outfits they were
confident they could get around quite easily.
Gaining access to the holding cells was where the plan would get
complicated.
Uoez, a slicer, would need
to slice the code from at least two gates. With any luck he would be able to do
this without the Imperials noticing.
Uoez a skinny man with sharp eyes was a technical wizard but had very
few social skills and had remained distant, emotionally, from the rest of the
group from what Roan could tell as the waited for the time to leave. Qes had now left, it was under half an hour
until they would be setting off.
Roans part in the plan was
simple he was the prisoner that they would be escorting to the cells where the
prisoner where held. He was not
initially keen on the idea but had just nodded and said “No problem” thinking
this was just the beginning of bigger things for him.
“Hey lil man what you
doing?” Hoggy asked as he disturbed Roan from his meditation. “Oh just
something that helps me relax.” Roan had taught himself many Jedi techniques he
felt he could use even though he knew he wasn’t force sensitive. Since a young age he had been mesmerised by
the mystical Jedi’s and had devoted himself to living by their code.
Roan stood up and walked
over to where Hoggy sat eating and pinched a piece of meat from his plate.
“Hey” he protested
“I don’t think you’ll die of
hunger today Hoggy!” Roan replied.
Everyone laughed which
seemed to relieve the tension that was building in the room.
Hoggy jumped up from his
seat and grabbed Roans arm lifting him in the air then grabbing his leg and
dangling him upside down.
“Actually you could do with
putting some meat on them bones” Hoggy said.
Roan tried to struggled but
realised it was best just to hang there until Hoggy was ready to put him down.
The laughter continued until Raxter said “Well looks like are time has come my
friends”. Hoggy turned Roan round and
gave him a big hug, almost engulfing him. “You be careful kid” When Roan was
let ago and could finally breath he said, “I will be”.
Hoggy, unable to fit any of
the outfits, had to stay outside waiting for the teams return. If thing went wrong he would be on standby
to assist. He would also scout the area before they arrived. Hoggy smiled “Good Luck guys, drinks on me
when we get back” the replies followed him out the door as he left.
Muld check himself in the
mirror one last time and accepted the communication.
“Admiral Gallon” He saluted.
“Colonel an unexpected pleasure.”
Gallon was standing on the bridge of the Victory Class Star Destroyer,
Vanquisher.
“As I was involved in the
capture of the rebel I felt that it would be wise to oversee the
transfer.” Muld said.
“I’m impressed with your
actions, we have been close to capturing this scum for quite some time now”
Muld had received the response he was looking for. Muld actually had only got involved after he had heard of the
Prisoners capture.
“I personally ensure that
all crafts are scanned and any peculiarities are checked out. I suppressed
clearance until these are checked.” Muld had needed to read the procedure to
ensure his story sounded authentic. His
actual work involved the odd meeting with his subordinates and he never got his
hands dirty with the actual day-to-day activities.
“Very good Colonel. You
actions will not go unnoticed your skills seem wasted” Gallon turned to speak
to someone behind him. Muld tried to suppress the excitement he was now
feeling. Finally he would be away from
this place.
He waited for Gallon to face
him again. “Just arranging the final details of the transfer. I have decided to travel on the shuttle down
so we can talk further.”
“I will finalise the
transfer details and look forward to our meeting.” Muld responded slightly
nervously. He would have preferred to keep the Admiral away from the facility
and his subordinates. He saluted as the communication was terminated.
He quickly moved to his
comm. “Captain Tainer”
“Yes sir” came Tainer’s
voice.
“Admiral Gallon will be
arriving with the transfer team please ensure that a full squadron is there to
meet the shuttle.”
“Sir, could I suggest….”
“no suggestions Captain just
do as I have ordered” Muld interrupted
“Yes Sir, when will we be
expecting his arrival?”
“He is finalising the
transfer plans you can work out the ETA from that.” Muld stated in his usual
vague manor. “If anything goes wrong I will hold you personally responsible
Captain”
“I understand Sir”
Muld’s smirk spread across his
face as he ended the transmission
Roan was placed in binders
“Not to tight kid?”
“No they’re okay” he
whispered, his throat starting to get dry.
“I’ll look after you, don’t
worry” Raxter reassured him.
The Team of Five, two
dressed in the officers uniforms, two Stormtroopers and Roan set off out into
the streets.
It was late and the streets
were quieter now and they moved through the streets with ease. They reached the
corner of the Imperial building and waited. The central power/observation post
was a taller building across the street and had a view over the First gate into
the Main courtyard and onto the Second gate. Qes was confident that the gates
would be down.
They waited
“click,
click…….click………..click” Qes signal was received on Raxter’s comlink.
“Okay guys this is it!” They moved toward the main gate as the
opened invitingly. The group moved into the courtyard and could see the second
gate already opening. The pace quicken
as they moved towards the second gate.
Lot of imperials, troopers and officers were entering the courtyard from
what appeared to be barracks to the side of the Main building. They didn’t seem to notice the party as they
moved through.
“Slow down and keep calm”
Raxter said. Roan could feel the
tension amongst the men and Uoez was physically shaking.
They reached the second gate
and entered the main building and moved of down the corridor. A cleaner droid
unit rolled by as the reached the turning into the Holding Cell block. Five stormtroopers passed by without
incident. They reached the first secure
door and stopped. “Relax it’s time to
do some magic” Raxter nodded at Uoez who still was shaking as he removed a
pouch from his pocket.
Roan started to struggle,
causing the group to shift around in an attempt to control the prisoner. This was a diversion that would cover Uoez
as he went to work on the lock. “Let me shot him!” said Uoez, as he held up his
blaster signal that the lock had been dealt with. Roan ceased struggling and
was escorted through the gate.
The group walked down a
narrow corridor Security Cameras located at each end. They arrived at the second gate and Roan collapsed to the floor
wheezing and twitching. Uoez turned to the lock as the second diversion began. The door slide open, before he had touched
the lock, revealing four imperial officers.
Uoez moved back to the group.
The Officers stood staring
at the scene, Roan still twitching on the floor.
“What’s wrong with him?”
asked the first officer.
“Looks like he took a hard knock,
I thought these rebels had thicker heads” Replied Raxter, with a sneer, keeping
his voice calm and firm.
“Well move him out of the
way and into a cell, we have places to go!”
Raxter nodded to the Rebel Stormtroopers. They grabbed Roan under the arms lifting him from the ground. and
moved to the side as the four officers walked past talking amongst
themselves. “This is too easy!” Sidle,
one of the rebels dressed as a Stormtrooper said, his Rodian voice in basic
sounded strange through the helmets amplifier.
“Just stay focused.” Raxter
replied giving him a stern look “It’s not over yet.”
As they moved into the
holding cellblock Roan slowed down the twitching until the door close behind
them with a hiss and he stopped altogether but still acted unconscious.
Before them, in a booth,
stood a solitary guard who inspected them through the window as he spoke into
the intercom. “Clearance code” came the
voice. “TR565 DZ” Raxter answered, an invalid code he knew but in the correct
format for the cells.
They could hear the guard
entering the code into the console.
“Invalid code, repeat!” The
group waited.
“TR565 DZ” Raxter
repeated. “Invalid code, wait there
while I call this through”
They waited for a few
minutes. They could see the frustration
in the guard posture as he tried to contact the Security Officer, Qes was
hopefully keeping busy, for the third time.
.
“Ah don’t tell me Frazen
gave me a invalid code he seemed a bit preoccupied with that lady with him”
Raxter bluffed “Look our shift finished hours ago if this kid hadn’t given us
the run around we’d be blowing some credits at ‘Strates bar’ by now. Let me
just put him in a cell you can speak to Frazen when he’s finished” Raxter added
trying to sound a bit aggravated.
“Protocols state no code no
access.” The guard insisted as Roan was
dropped to the floor. “Guess will leave him here you can deal with it in your
own time.” They turned to leave Uoez
moved towards the control panel on the door they’d arrived via and started to
work.
“ You cannot do that please
wait there while I get security clearance came the worried voice of the Guard
as Uoez released the door and the group started to exit.
“Please wait I need to get
the code” Raxter could tell the guard was flustered and Roan could feel his
confusion as he laid motionless on the floor.
Uoez moved toward the door panel that separated them from the guard and
started to go to work.
The conversation continue
for a minute as the guard tried to ensure that protocol was followed while
Raxter argued that he and his team had better places to be.
With a hiss the door opened
the shocked guard looked up from the intercom a second before the stun bolt hit
him.
Admiral Gallon shuttle
arrived in the landing area at the front courtyard. A Squad of troopers had assembled. Muld hurried out to greet the landing party, accompanying him
were his three captains. He glanced at
the troopers and hoped Gallon was suitably impressed.
They stopped and waited for the
platform to lower and the Admiral and his team to disembark.
***************************
Uoez moved to the console
and the door to the cells opened a long dark corridor with 4 doors at either
side. “You can get up kid,” Raxter
said. Roan climb to his feet as Raxter passed by into the corridor. As Raxter
passed by the second door, what appeared to be an arm shot out from the grill
and grabbed his shoulder. He hit it
with the butt of his side arm producing a squeal from the inhabitant of the
cell. “I’ll wait here” Roan said.
“Cell 5” said Uoez “and no
alarms yet” the door to cell five opened and Raxter went in, a huge growl came
back, Roan jumped. Raxter reappeared
followed by a huge hairy creature Roan assumed was a wookie. He’d never seen one before but had heard
stories of the species that the Imperials liked to use as slaves due to the
immense strength. This ones coat was a
mix of black and white his only clothing was a greyish hooded poncho he wore
over his shoulders. As they reached Roan the Wookie growled again “He may be
small but he’s proved quite useful Hokkla replied Raxter.
Sidle moved towards the
wookie took his helmet of and was immediately engulfed by Hokkla.
“Roan this is Hokklaton,
Friends call him Hokkla and Hokkla this is Roan.” The big wookie at least 8 feet tall let out a small growl. “umm
Hi!” said Roan.
Raxter had explained about
the prisoner during the briefing before, a long time Rebel Sympathiser and gun
trafficker. He had been picked up on
Byblos, after a recent trip back from Nar Shadda, with a cargo hold full of
contraband weapons. He had been immediately sentence to life imprisonment as a
slave to the imperials.
“Uoez, how’s it looking in
there”
“All quiet at the
moment. Access out should be a bit
easier” He said holding up the guards security key.
“Let me just delete the
recordings of our entrance disable a few cameras and I’ll be right out”
“Quickly check how’s Qes is
getting on?” Sidle asked.
“They’re still busy!” Uoez
chuckled.
“All done” he said as he
walked out of the guards room.
Raxter ran through the exit
plan quickly as the placed Hokkla in binders and they exit the holding cell
area.
This is too easy, I’ve
got a bad feeling about this. Roan
thought to himself. Lets hope I’m wrong!
They traced their path back
to the main door from the building to the courtyard.
As the door opened and they
moved out Roan knew something was wrong.
The courtyard now had an
Imperial Shuttle and everyone’s eyes where drawn to a man wearing an Admirals Uniform.
Standing at the top of the landing ramp.
***************************
Muld saw the group with
Hokkla and turned to Capt Tainer and whispered, “Did you authorised this?”
“No sir, standard protocol
is for the Vanquishers landing party to collect the prisoner from the
cells.” Tainer was confused “I gave no
orders after your instructions Sir”
“Who’s manning the
observation post, find out what is going on?” Tainer could hear the anger in
Muld’s whisper.
“Yes Sir”
.
Qes tried not to squirm as
the guard, Frazen, kissed her neck again, she was straddling him as he lay on
the floor she whispered “The wait makes it even more pleasurable” she had tried
to keep her distance but she knew what he wanted and it wasn’t good
conversation. She just had to keep him
occupied for a little longer. She would scrub herself down when they where all
well away with the wookie prisoner
The Console beeped then came
a voice “Frazen this is Captain Tainer.”
Other communications had been ignored.
Qes could be quite persuasive.
Frazen moved his head from
her neck and lifted her off him and moved towards the desk. “Come back here..” she said grabbing his arm
“..that was nice” Qes had to keep him
from the desk otherwise the game was up.
He pulled his arm away “I’ll be right back, honey”
He reached the mic “Captain,
this is Officer Frazen”
“I want to know why an
Escort team is at the Main door with the prisoner and on whose authorisation?”
Frazen looked at the screen
and noticed the stunned officer on the Prisoner cell control room floor.
“Oh no!” he said to himself
“Sir we have a problem, the cell guard has been attacked. I, I hadn’t noticed before” He turned to Qes
to see here doing up her shirt as she moved towards the door. He pulled out his blaster and pointed it at
her.
“I don’t think we should go
any further” Roan said
The group stopped “We should
get back inside the building!”. Nobody moved, Roan looked at Raxter and pleaded
“Trust me!”. We’re so close he thought
but he also felt something was wrong
“You heard the kid get in” Raxter instructed
***************************
“Bring those men and the
prisoner to me, use force if necessary” Tainer ordered a group of stormtroopers
pointing at the rebels.
They moved forward toward
the group as he issued further orders into his comlink.
As the rebels moved back
inside the compound a blaster bolt caught Sidle on the shoulder turning him
round and throwing him to the floor.
More shots started raining in from outside. Uoez hit the door panel as Raxter and Hokkla fired back at two
troopers coming down the corridor behind them. “Make sure that doesn’t open any
time soon” Raxter order Uoez “It’s done” came the reply.
Tass, the other rebel
dressed as an officer was holding Sidle
“How is he?” Raxter asked,
letting out a few shots.
“Looks like just a graze,
the armour took most the hit.” Tass
explained as he dragged Sidle into a doorway.
“He’ll be okay if we can get him a bacta patch, soon!” The way he looked
at Raxter explained it was more than a graze.
Roan ran behind Tass.
“Anything I can do?”
“You know how to use a
blaster?” Tass asked passing Roan Sidle’s Blaster.
“umm, I, er sort of!” Roan didn’t want to admit
that he only once held Mantin’s Merr-son “Deathhammer” blaster when he’d put it
away once.
Tass handed Roan Sidle’s
E-11 blaster. The metal felt cold in
his hand it seemed so large.
“You gonna admire it or use
it?” It was more a command than a question.
The odd shot ricocheted of the
durasteel walls. The troopers down the
corridor were just keeping them pinned down.
Roan mover the gun into position leant around the wall and fired.
Nothing happened!! “You may feel like taking the safety of”
said Tass looking a bit concerned. “ Maybe you should stay with Sidle”
“I’m okay just a bit
nervous, that’s all” He couldn’t believe what he was saying he had a real
stubborn streak and it might get him killed, I hate guns, he thought
He flicked the switch and
leant out, shooting in the general direction the imperials were. He heard footsteps and mumbled instructions
from the other side of the door that was locked behind them. They where surrounded and if they managed to
released the door that would be it for them.
The Admiral reached the base
of the ramp. “ Can you explain the
commotion, this should be a routine escort assignment?”
“Admiral, it appears that we
have a small problem, but it will soon be eradicated. Isn’t that so Captain?” Muld turned to Tainer who now stood at
his side.
“We have it in order Sir.
They have managed to lock the door but I have an team dealing with it now.”
Tainer reported slightly red in the face.
“Very well Captain, advise
me when we have them those that remain alive will wish they where dead.” Muld
was trying to appear in control. This
was not how he had seen the day turning out.
The situation could again turn out in his favour though.
“The Wookie smuggler must be
captured alive we believe he may be of value to me” Admiral Gallon added.