Chapter Ten: The Alert
Compressed inside the rounded, cylindrical chamber, the Imperials stood amidst the subtle hum and rumbling beneath their feet. Finally, the vibrations ceased, and the doors before them parted, granting sight into the empty corridors beyond.
Carefully, the soldiers stepped from the lift. Aurek led the way, and his comrades followed soon after, continually scanning the way ahead. With each step, the invaders neared a hallway perpendicular to their current one, the familiar spine that connected with the cruiser's hangar.
Aurek waved his team forward, and the group moved with a methodical haste in their step. The clamoring of heavy boots echoed throughout the empty halls as they rounded the corner. On the straight path back toward the hangar, the Imperials received a startling surprise. Not an unknown presence, but a sudden absence.
The cruiser went dark. The lights lining the way forward and back shut off. The soldiers froze, black amongst blackness, until the faint, beating glow of ship's emergency lights kicked in. Spinning on their heels, placing their backs to one another's, the Imperials gazed down each direction of the corridor, raising carbines, pistols, and fists.
Just as they were about to engage their helms' nightvision, the cruiser suffered a violent shake, almost tossing the armored figures to the ground. Stumbling and bouncing against one another, the Imperials managed to stay upright just long enough for the vessel to calm.
Breaking the silence was Esk's voice calling out over the team comm. "Before y'all even ask. That wasn't me."
"Dorn?" Aurek calmly asked.
There was a brief pause before the technician spoke. "Well, uh, I'm not entirely sure, but-"
"Alert," a mechanical voice sounded off over the ship's speaker system. "Primary reactor compromised. Explosion eminent. Evacuation advised."
"-but the ship might be self-destructing," Dorn finished.
"This ship is trying to kill us," Besh muttered, now standing without support, but groggily drifting from side to side.
"This certainly complicates things," Aurek stated, maintaining his calm. "Listen. Dorn, Esk, if we take too long getting back to the hangar, I want you two to leave without us. We will just commandeer the Republic shuttle and leave that way."
"Uh, Aurek? What Republic Shuttle?" Cresh hesitantly asked.
"The one that picked me up planetside and brought me here," Aurek answered. "The one that should still be in the hangar." There was only silence as the accompanying four troopers slowly shook their head, to which the squad leader dipped his own. "It's not in the hangar is it?"
"I'm afraid not," Cresh softly answered. "Since you broke out before we got here… it could have left for reinforcements. Or maybe it just-"
"Is the ship self-destructing… or not?" Forn spoke up, his voice low and smooth, yet harsh to the senses. "Because standing around talking… leads me to believe that you don't think so."
"Fair point," said Aurek. "Dorn, how long until this place is done for?"
"Doesn't say," Dorn replied almost immediately.
"How rude of it…" Besh muttered.
"What about escape pods?" Cresh asked.
"Launching as we speak," Dorn replied. "They're practically adjacent to the bridge. Easy access for high priority personnel. You guys are better off making your way back to the hangar."
"Then let us do that," Forn insisted. "Now."
Aurek offered a firm nod and waved the squad forward without further delay. The troopers broke into a full sprint down the darkened corridor. Making their way down the spine of the ship under the flickering yellow of the ship's emergency lights, the invaders neared their first door. Unlike their previous trek, the sturdy slabs of metal refused to part in response to their approach.
The five Imperials came to a grinding halt, waiting for the barrier to open. It refused.
"How intent are they on killing us today?" said Aurek, his usual calm on the precipice of faltering.
"The ship is angry…" Besh muttered.
"Dorn, I pray that you still aren't locked out of the system," Aurek raised his voice over the comm.
"I'm afraid I am," Dorn replied. After a quiet pause, the squad leader slammed his clenched, armored fist into the solid barrier before him, neither receiving even a scratch in return. The five invaders were stuck, but soon, the technician broke the silence. "Don't worry. I am not a slicer without a few tricks. I have a security spike that can overload the entire system."
"And why couldn't you have just used that before?" Cresh asked, his youthful voice almost cracking as he blurted out the words.
The technician went quiet. No more words, only the subtle noises of metal touching metal on the other end of the comm. As the trooper waited, the ship's speakers sounded off another declaration, same as before. Reactor overload. Explosion imminent. Evacuation advised.
Just as Aurek was about to speak up, the door blocking the squad parted, metallic slabs sliding into their sideward recesses. The next door further down did the same, as did the next. Eventually, Aurek could see Esk standing far in the distance, heartily waving his hand toward the squad through the dim lighting.
Aurek offered a quick wave back and took his first step forward. Before he could proceed further, the door slammed shut, almost crushing the squad leader as its two metal slabs met.
"Okay... question redacted," said Cresh.
"The ship is trying to eat us…" Besh muttered.
Forn quickly panned his gaze toward the medic. "What was in that medicine you gave him?"
Cresh replied with a brief shrug of his shoulders.
Just then, the door began to part, only for it to stop half-way before slamming shut again. The sturdy slabs of metal slid and grinded as they sporadically rescinded and closed throughout the central corridor.
Aurek turned around, panning his gaze toward each of his faceless comrades one by one. "Alright, squad. There's no pattern here. We'll just have to try our best to get back to the hangar. It'll take a bit of lucky, but we're nothing if not…"
The squad leader trailed off as the sounds of the metal pounding metal emanated from just behind him.
"Never mind that," Aurek continued. "Just… get to the shuttle."
With that, the squad leader turned back to see the doors parting. Just as the gap was suitably widened, the Imperial leapt through.
The rest of the squad followed, with only one or two soldiers per stretch of hallways between the rapidly opening and shutting doors. A jump, and a pause. No looking back. No hesitation. They each moved with speed unbefitting their armored hides. Even Besh, though his gait was noticeably less refined than those unburdened by wounds or medicine pumping through their veins.
Towards the midpoint of their venture, Aurek jumped through a closing door, only for the barrel of his trailing carbine to get caught between the two slabs of metal. The weapon crunched, and eventually split under the crushing weight of the barrier. The squad leader paused, staring at the mangled end of his weapon before tossing it aside.
Watching their comrades move closer and closer, Esk stepped away from the hangar door to lay a hand upon the technician's shoulder. Dorn looked up for but a moment before disconnecting from the wall panel and rising to his feet. Together, the pair rushed down nearby set of stairs and toward their shuttle.
As the technician hurried up the transport's ramp, the demolitionist picked up the small crate that rest near its base and carried it aboard. Esk tossed the box into the cargo hold, the metallic container bouncing upon the floor with nary a clank emanating from its innards. Dorn rounded the hole in the passenger bay made by the lowered entry ramp, almost tripping as he made his way into the ship's cockpit.
Two seats, side by side, presented themselves to the technician, as well as the dark and unpowered console stretching before them. Not even bothering to take a seat, Dorn's hands glided across the various switches and dials, gracing each individual one with its due attention. The once silent and dark shuttle began to hum to life.
As the instruments fired up, Dorn looked out the sideward viewport to see his comrades enter the hangar, passing the final gnashing door of the haywire cruiser. A sigh of relief slipped out of the technician, only for a sharp ping to draw his attention back toward the shuttle's console.
Dorn froze as he stared at the flashing indicator. "Uh, Aurek? I think that shuttle you mentioned is on its way back."
On the hangar floor, the squad leader panned his gaze across the dimly lit hangar as his fellows caught up with him. "Let's go, we don't want to be here when reinforcements arrive."
Aurek moved forward, pausing to the side of the shuttle's ramp. With wide swings of his hand, he waved his comrades aboard, not budging until he would be the last to board. The soldiers ascended, taking their positions in the passenger bay. As Grek unfastened the footlocker upon his back and slid it under his seat, Aurek rushed by, stepping into the shuttle's cockpit.
"We're all aboard," Aurek declared. "Launch!"
"Aye," Dorn quickly replied. Sliding into one of the chairs before the ship's primary console, the technician took manual control of the vessel. The squad leader stood over the pilot's shoulder as the hum of the engines turned into a roar. The transport shivered, and soon, lifted itself from the hangar floor.
Urging the vessel forward, Dorn toppled the stacked perimeter of crates below. Gaining speed, the shuttle fast approached the hangar's magnetic barrier, until finally, it passed through into the vacuum of space.
"I'll need time to calculate a hyperspace route," Dorn admitted.
"Later. Sublight engines will suffice. Just. Keep. Flying," Aurek ordered, hand clenching around the back of the pilot's chair.
"You got it," replied Dorn.
With a flick of a switch, the shuttle rumbled before violently accelerating. Stumbling, the squad leader backed out of the cockpit. Catching his hand on the doorframe, the Imperial swung himself to the side to take a seat upon one of the benches lining the passenger bay.
Looking up, he saw the faceless visors of his teammates staring directly from him.
Finally, a hearty chuckle emanated from the demolitionist. "So. Aurek. Welcome back…"