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The force of the explosion was much stronger than what Watcher Three had told Cipher Nine to prepare for. Even in the parts of the tunnels that weren't collapsing, Cipher Nine was having difficulties breathing, between the dust and his bruised ribcage. The mask over his mouth and nose filtered out the worst of it, but Cipher Nine was sure that he was going to have to spend a few days in a Bacta tank after everything, just to make sure there were no micro-abbrasions in his lungs.
His ribs were doing poorly as well, and Cipher Nine knew that he'd have to replace the bandages that Lokin gave him sooner rather than later.
The sound of the building was surprisingly muffled, though Cipher Nine supposed that shutting off his implants before re-routing the missile helped what little of his hearing remained. The rumbles were near-continuous now, with occasional aftershocks strong enough to knock Cipher Nine off balance.
Keeper owed him so much time off after this mission, if he wasn't pulled from field duty altogether. There were only so many times that a man, even a Cipher Agent such as himself, could fake his own death for the sake of a mission.
Even if it was to fool Hunter and his Star Cabal.
Cipher Nine still didn't know how deep the Star Cabal's reach was, how far into the echelons of Imperial and Republic politics the conspiracy went.
His handlers were looking into it, but, given that he had to fake his own death, Cipher Nine had a feeling that someone in charge of Intelligence was involved.
If he had to hunt down each member of the conspiracy himself and gut them all one at a time, he'd do it. Cipher Nine would gladly do it.
The rumbles finally settled off, though Cipher Nine had a feeling that if he switched his implants back on, he might hear air raid sirens in the distance. He might even hear the sounds of other missiles travelling through the atmosphere.
Cipher Nine's shoulders slumped. There wasn't much he could do until he got to the relay point. Perhaps if he found a spot, he'd be able to re-wrap his ribs.
Dust drifted off, and Cipher Nine pulled his makeshift mask down. He'd be fine.
Probably.