Placing an empty caf cup in the sink of the galley, Sabine returned to the table in the common room and picked up her datapad. She scrolled idly through the articles that populated the small screen, waiting for the caffeine to make its way into her bloodstream.
It must be a slow news day, even by Imperial standards Sabine thought, failing to find interest in the headlines proclaiming economic progress and galactic security. Flipping to the entertainment section, she paused to read through the schedule of holovids showing that day. Again finding nothing to pique her curiosity, Sabine got up and began walking back to her room. As the door to the hallway opened, she noticed that one of the vent covers was absent, leaving a gaping black hole in the ceiling. Ezra and Zeb had spent the better part of the previous day fixing a fault in the ventilation system.
Typical for the kid, forgetting to clean up after his work Sabine thought, her eyes returning to the datapad as she queued up a recorded show to alleviate her boredom. A large drop of clear liquid splashed onto the screen from above. Sabine's brow furrowed as she moved to wipe the screen clean, when another large drop splattered on her gauntlet. Tucking the datapad under her arm, she touched the drop her forearm, finding it slightly bubbly and viscous. She looked up, staring into the chasm of ventilation shaft directly above her.
A pair of arms suddenly protrude from the darkness, reaching down to envelop her. A surprised shriek escaped Sabine's lips as she instinctively thrust her fist towards the unseen attacker. There was a brief yelp of pain as her fist connected with something hard, and the arms retracted back into the vents as a clattering sound emanated above her. The door to Zeb and Ezra's shared room opened, revealing Zeb's amused face peering out. Sabine gathered the datapad from the ground and stared angrily at the Lasat.
"What in the seven hells was that?" she demanded, eliciting a chuckle from Zeb.
"So, he got you too, huh?" Sabine stared daggers towards the open vent, then back at Zeb.
"Ezra? I'm going to throttle that kid… Who gave him the idea to go crawling around in the vents?" Zeb rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, drawing even more ire from Sabine's look.
"Well, we worked pretty late yesterday, so we decided to see if there was anything good on the holonet. Turns out, there was this old monster movie on, something about a creature stalking people on a ship…" Sabine rolled her eyes, pulling up the holovid schedule from the night before on the datapad.
"…with the attacked crew recovered and the critter deceased, they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun… I think I've seen this one before." Sabine swiped to some of the still images on the summary. "Oh yeah, I've seen this one before. Old, but the creature design is fantastic…" Sabine's voice trailed off as she looked at an image of the salivating, nightmare-inducing creature. She looked at the moisture on her gauntlet, then back up at the vent with renewed anger. "Did you drool on me?" Sabine implored. A slight snicker could be heard from the ceiling above.
In a quick, fluid motion, Sabine dropped the datapad and leapt towards the vent, grasping the side of the opening as she pulled herself upwards. "KID! I'M GOING TO KRIFFING END YOU!" she bellowed. Zeb watched the Mandalorian disappear into the vent, laughing riotously at the sound of panicked thumping moving through the ceiling.
Hera exited the cockpit of the Ghost and scanned the common area. Kanan sat at the table, reading from a datapad.
"Have you seen Ezra? I need him to reset the breakers for the 'fresher's light fixture." Kanan looked up from the datapad, giving her a shrug and a slight grin.
"He's probably on the prowl somewhere around here." Hera gave him an inquisitive look, then turn and headed through the door of the galley. She had just begun to prepare lunch when a quiet thumping in the air duct above her caught her attention.
"About time you showed up. Are you going to lurk in the vents all day?" Hera asked, not bothering to look up from the cutting board.
"Hissssss!" said a voice from the darkened vent. Hera continued to focus on her work, keeping her head turned so that her guest wouldn't see the slightly amused smile creeping across her face.
"Well, it's a good thing vent-creatures don't eat fruit, because this jogan is delicious," she taunted, popping a slice of the fruit into her mouth.
"Hissssss?!" One of the larger slices began to shake on the cutting board, and then float up towards the vent. Hera nabbed the piece from the air, preventing the fruit from escaping.
"Only if you reset the breakers over the 'fresher. The lighting's gone out again."
"Hissssss…" Hera let go of the fruit, and it continued its ascent into the ceiling. The sound of chewing could be heard, then the scraping of the visitor dragging itself back through the vents towards the rear of the ship. As the sound faded, Hera switched on her comlink and paged the waiting Mandalorian.
"He's headed your way. Use the access panel in the right corner of the common room." Through the door, she heard the clatter of a panel falling to the ground, the heavy thump of something larger following it.
"GOTCHA, YOU LITTLE TURD!" Sabine's disembodied voice yelled. From the other side of the door, Hera couldn't tell if Ezra's shriek was meant to impersonate the creature or not.
Ezra and Sabine rounded the corner of the hallway at a dead sprint, making a mad dash towards the facility's hanger bay.
Just once, Ezra thought, it'd be nice if the "abandoned facility" remained abandoned. Ezra could sense the dark presence drawing ever nearer, relentlessly pursuing the teens through the station. The two crossed the threshold of the hanger doors when a small droid latched around Sabine's legs, sending her sprawling onto the ground. An invisible power began dragging the girl back into the hallway, towards the black-clad Imperial. The front of the attacker's helmet parted in two, revealing the sadistic smile of the Seventh Sister.
"If I can't have you, then I'll take your friend as a consolation prize," the woman cackled. Sabine grasped at the floor, desperately clawing for any handhold to stop her slide.
"Ezra!" she called out in a panic. He turned, feeling fear and anger building in his body as he watch his friend coming closer to the Inquisitor's spinning crimson blades. Drawing himself to his full height, Ezra faced the Seventh Sister.
"Get away from her, you bitch!' Ezra shouted.
The red blades came to a sudden halt, and Sabine's slide ended. The Seventh Sister cocked her head in an incredulous stare towards Ezra, mirroring Sabine's own look. Seizing on the momentary pause, Ezra threw his hand forward, launching the Inquisitor away from Sabine. Before she had landed, Ezra manipulated the controls of the blast doors, sealing the Imperial on the other side from the two teens. Kicking the droid away, Sabine got to her feet and sprinted to open door of the Phantom, Ezra trailing after her. The ship promptly rocketed out of the hanger into the safety of open space.
Catching her breath, Sabine pulled off her helmet and stared at Ezra.
"How long have you been waiting to use that line?"
A grin crossed Ezra's face.
"Oh, you have no idea."
Author's note: After so many deep, dark pieces, I thought it was high time for a little fluff. As always, critique and suggestions are welcome!
All the best,
JA