Chapter Thirty Seven
Fusion
Subsurface, Kessel, Far Outer Rim, 30 days after the execution of Contingency Order 66.
Derik was pretty sure things couldn't get much worse than this.
Well, no, that wasn't true at all. Intellectually, he knew things could always get worse. Kriff, he knew from experience that wandering abandoned mines with only a hired killer as a companion was hardly the worst set of circumstances a fugitive Jedi could find himself in.
But it was still a dang miserable lot. Derik knew immediately what Rex meant, when he second guessed Ahsoka's decision and turned to face him. Ironically, he felt that he and the former Captain probably had a lot in common when it came to their opinions of the bounty hunter. And while Rex's eyes were hidden behind his visor, even a cursory brush of his emotions left no room for argument. Rex didn't trust Bane for a moment, and he certainly couldn't trust him with the person he… cared so much about.
It was a sentiment Derik understood all too well.
But he hadn't counted on being the one to take up the slack, as it were. Not that he had an alternative. It only made sense that one Jedi accompany each group, after all. There was no fudging the math in this situation. If Ahsoka was not to go with Bane, then Derik would have to do so.
At least he's not being so talkative, this time, Derik mused as he followed Bane through another winding side passage. The bounty hunter hadn't said much to him lately, after that one bewildering conversation over nerf nuggets, back on Nar Shadda. Bane had only spoken in vague, cryptic generalities, and Derik was reluctant to make anything of it.
Ahsoka had thought otherwise, and had insisted that Derik repeat every word, as best he could remember it, of their conversation. She seemed to have a scheme of her own in the works, though based on the results of her last visit with Bane, in the Hand's cockpit, it didn't seem to be working out all that well.
She'd better have something potent up her sleeve, because dealing with any bounty hunter is dangerous. And with Cad Bane… he almost snorted audibly. Trying to fool Cad Bane was more along the lines of an attempted suicide.
Derik pushed the disturbing thoughts away, for the moment. He needed to get through this. And while he wasn't sure exactly what Ahsoka had intended to do by being the one to accompany Bane, he did know how to listen and observe. Maybe he'd be able to pick up on something that she'd find useful. It was worth a shot; if he was going to be with this band for a while, it made sense for the Jedi to utilize their numerical advantage.
The tunnel took a bend upwards, and the figure ahead of him went down on his hands and knees, reverting to clambering as the ascent became more pronounced. Derk followed suit, scaling the steepening grade with ease. The passage Bane had chosen for them to begin their search had clearly been one of the most structurally compromised tunnels, and the pair had been forced to detour through vents and partially-excavated pilot passages in order to make their away around the cave-ins.
"Quit the gawking and get up here, Jedi," Bane barked from around another curve. Derik rolled his eyes, and with a light amount of concentration he almost doubled his speed, all but leaping upwards until he came within a few meters of the Duros, who stood still just outside the narrower tunnel, in the full passage again.
"Who's 'gawking' now?" Derik retorted, springing upright beside Bane.
The bounty hunter scowled at him, but didn't answer, instead focusing intently on the device over his wrist. Derik's eyes wandered about the dilapidated passage, taking in the unsettling sights. It was certainly a welcome change being able to stand upright after all that crawling, though the condition of this large tunnel was anything but reassuring. Even a cursory glance revealed several menacing crevices snaking along the seam of the walls and floor, and rubble from the most recent collapse lay strewn about his feet.
A muttered curse brought Derik's attention back to the mercenary at his side. Bane dialed something into the comm, and began speaking harsh whisper. "Todo! Do you read me?"
His blue face twisted into a dangerous glare as he repeatedly tried to hail his droid sidekick.
"Todo! What the kriff's going on out there?"
'Todo' didn't respond, and a flash of frustration and anger came over Bane's demeanor, though he quickly composed himself. "That bolt-brained nitwit…"
Another push of a button, and a holographic image of his ship's piloting and navigational displays materialized over his arm.
Derik stared wide-eyed at the flickering, translucent console. He'd heard of the holographic controls used on a few starfighters, but this was the first time he'd seen such a system in action. While there was no image of the ship's viewports, the miniature nava-display and thruster controls gave Bane complete command of his vessel, even though the Sleight of Hand couldn't possibly be within the range of standard remote piloting links.
Bane however, clearly had other concerns on his mind. "What in the kriffing blazes is going on?"
Till now, Derik hadn't given the bounty hunter's annoyance much thought; if something made Cad Bane unhappy, odds were it was something good. But there was definitely more than complaint in Bane's voice, now.
Something was very wrong.
"What is it?" Derik asked, looking over the holo-panel for a sign of something amiss. "What's the problem?"
The Duros didn't answer right away, still fingering his comm. Finally he met Derik's gaze with narrowed eyes. "Lost contact with the droid," he said, his tone ominous.
"Somebody's crashing our party."
"Rex!"
Ahsoka couldn't remember when she last felt this kind of urgency – no, panic – for someone. Oh she'd felt it before, watching her Master throw her to safety while he held back an exploding starship. Watching Barriss, fighting the control of the brain parasite, fall to her knees in agony and beg for death. Or seeing General Grievous gleefully swing his lightsaber to take off the head of a certain clone Captain.
The same Captain who was now trapped in the maw of an enormous, horrifying and seemingly invincible spider.
She might have panicked for someone before, but nothing could compare to the mind-numbing horror she felt as Rex was beaten down by the giant cave monster. He had thrown her clear the moment it attacked, but her cry of indignation died on her lips as she saw the spider pounce on the man with whom she had been angry and bickering, only moments ago.
She didn't give it a second's thought. The moment she was back on her feet she darted for the one-sided battle, her blade igniting pockets of combustion vapor and creating showers of sparks as it sliced through the stagnant air. The ceiling was too low for her to leap over the spider, so she went for its head, backflipping and landing over the apex of the monster's legs. She wrapped her legs around its bulk, riding the bucking archnid like a wild tauntaun, before drawing back and plunging her saber into its body.
That's when things began to go horribly wrong all over again.
Instead of collapsing in death throes, or even reeling from the plasma beam embedded within its abdomen, the spider's glittering hulk seemed to absorb the blade, glowing and sparkling without any visible sign of damage.
In disbelief, Ahsoka began to slash and stab almost randomly, her mind refusing to accept what her eyes saw so clearly. It was useless; there was no sign the spider even noticed her strikes.
It was impossible, it couldn't be happening. But it was.
Ahsoka fought back the terror coming over her. She was defenseless, essentially unarmed against this infernal beast of Kessel's mines. Blaster and lightsaber alike were all but impotent against it, and it was going to kill Rex.
It was going to eat Rex.
The clone's head was still caught between the glistening fangs. His helmet seemed to have held up so far, but even if it wasn't pierced, no duraplast would withstand the force of the spider's jaws. This disgusting monster was going to devour the man.
Her man.
An almost primal cry of rage escaped her as she released her lightsaber, leaving it embedded within the beast, and spun to face the spider's head. She fell to her stomach, her body wrapped over the cluster of eyes in hopes of obscuring its vision. The spider continued to buck and jerk, trying to throw off this little nuisance.
Ahsoka only held on tighter. The exoskeleton that encased the monster's vitals was hard and adorned with hooks and barbs, and as she tightened her grip she could feel the hard protrusions through her jumpsuit, straining and chafing at the skin underneath.
Still she clung even tighter, wrapping her legs around the juncture of the head and abdomen, using her body almost as a choke chain. Her head was facing straight down, and she could see the top of Rex's helmet from between the glistening fangs below.
Clutching her legs over the spider's neck for support, Ahsoka lunged for Rex, gripping the mandibles that held him prisoner. The bony ridges that lined them strained against her pull, the friction burning the skin even through her gauntlets.
Still the pain failed to register in the urgency of the moment. She couldn't relax, couldn't focus and call on the Force. Everything was happening too fast. Rex couldn't die.
She couldn't let him die.
It should have been impossible. It probably was. Ahsoka would later learn that the mandibles of this so-called 'energy spider' were the connecting point of every tendon and nerve in its body. The monster could have crushed Rex's head in a second, and likely only had neglected to do so for ease of feeding. No humanoid could effectively resist such raw strength, certainly not a teenage Togruta girl.
But none of that mattered, now. Odds and impossibilities meant nothing now. Her pain and frustration and anger were forgotten. The Force itself seemed to disappear, lost in an adrenaline rush as Ahsoka clenched her fingers over the root of the spider's fangs, and with muscle power as her only aid, twisted, pulled, and willed the powerful jaws to open again.
Her arms quaked with the strain, her gauntlets split and left her fingers bare against the unforgiving fangs. She braced herself, eyes shut, head thrown back, teeth bared, her entire face contorted from the exertion. Her entire body tightened against the neck and head of the creature, even as the piercing of her skin drew an involuntary cry of pain from her lips.
It might have been impossible, but it was enough. The massive jaws quivered and strained, then failed to hold their stolen prey.
Rex wasted no time.
The moment the monster succumbed to Ahsoka's assault he was on his feet, and his blaster shrieked to life. Even through night vision and the haze of dust and tears she could see him standing within arm's reach of her, firing relentlessly into the creature's mouth.
The spider lunged and bucked, throwing its body against one wall and the other with a resounding clap as it tried to shake Ahsoka from its head, being effectively blinded by her torso over its eyes. It was with a grim sense of satisfaction that Ahsoka realized the monster's cruel armor now worked against it; the barbs and ridges that caused her such pain now gripped her clothing and made her hold on the creature's head that much more secure.
Not that it didn't hurt like hell. Her head was spinning, and her body ached from the motion and the impacts and the jagged armor of the monster pressing into her belly. Still she held on, trusting that hindering the spider's vision might give Rex an opening, an advantage, somehow.
Her faith was well placed.
It seemed like an eternity, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds before Rex's weapon changed ammunition. Instead of the familiar wail of blaster bolts, the heavy, pulsing burst of ion charges reverberated through the tunnel, lighting up the darkness with brilliant flashes of blue fire.
The new firepower worked with devastating effect, and Ahsoka could feel spasms running through the spider with each shot. It went down on the third round, its front legs collapsing beneath it, twitching and jerking violently.
Ahsoka wasn't one to waste time, either.
She sprang from her perch, disregarding the throbbing in her limbs and stomach. She drew her lightsaber back to her hand before she landed in a crouch, snarling at her foe before beginning to slash furiously at the spider's jaws. While the body may have been resistant to her blade, the mandibles proved to be not quite so durable, and she managed to scorch and slice the root of the venomous fangs with well placed strokes.
Rex stood close to her side, almost dangerously close as she wielded her blade with adrenaline-charged abandon. His weapon erupted with pulsing balls of blue flame as he emptied his powerpack into the convulsing monster.
Then, it was over.
The spider gave one final heave, as though trying to regain its footing, then collapsed, exhausted, a slight pulse in the joint between its head and abdomen the only sign that it wasn't dead.
Ahsoka stood still, panting for breath as her brain tried to catch up with the rush of the battle. As the adrenaline high tapered off, the strain of the activity began set in, and she flinched as her muscles went taught with pain. Blood was leaking from between her fingers, still clenched over her lightsaber's hilt. Her heart pounded out a throbbing rhythm. Her mind felt blank, expended, as she stared into the unblinking eyes of her defeated foe.
Suddenly she felt a hand over her shoulder. She turned, almost startled to see Rex's unhelmeted face regarding her with anxiety and concern. She stood still, raising one hand to lift the night-vision lenses from off of her brow, and met his eyes.
Dimly she realized he had set his helmet on the ground beside them, the light of his headlamp casting a warm glow over their dirtied figures. Rex's face was drenched in sweat, glistening in the soft glow. His armored chest heaved and fell from his own exertion, and there was a trickle of blood running down the side of his head, below his ear.
He was saying her name, asking her if she was alright, if she was injured.
But she almost didn't hear the words, only the sound of his voice, his deep baritone, laced with worry and care and interrupted with heavy breaths, that sent tremors within her montrals. Her shoulder and lekku tingled against the touch of his gloved hand. Her nostrils flared at the scent of blaster gas and blood hung in the damp air, mingled with the electrifying aroma that was unique to him.
Him. He was a clone Captain. A friend, a loyal comrade. A soldier, who'd refused to murder a girl he knew to be innocent. A brave man who had sacrificed everything for her, asking nothing in return except for a chance to keep her safe. A strong man who held her when she cried. A broken man, whom she had held and comforted, when he felt he had no strength or reason to go on.
She had known it all before. But now, for a moment, illuminated by the light of his headlamp, with the scent of their shared blood in the air, a harbinger of death laying defeated at their feet, Ahsoka knew he was so much more to her.
The pain, the battle, the mines, Bane, her plans and frustrations, everything else vanished from her mind in an instant of overwhelming relief and joy. Their previous misunderstandings and disagreements seemed trivial, in the face of the exhilarating reality. He was alive, and so was she, and they were together.
And right now, nothing else mattered.
With another cry, she flung herself towards her startled Captain.
Derik stared at the bounty hunter, trying to decipher the dire statement. Crashed our party? What party? And who crashed it? He glanced up and down the tunnel, half expecting some intruder to be stalking them.
There was nothing particularly suspicious within visual range, nor any signs of life in the Force. Derik turned back to face Bane, who had returned his owm attention back to his holographic shipboard console, apparently taking control of the vessel. While he wasn't keen on starting a conversation, Derik's curiosity – and a growing sense that something was indeed wrong – got the better of him.
"Who? Imperials? Pirates? What's going on?"
Bane's eyes didn't leave the holoprojection as he answered? "No way to know. Something's taken the droid offline. I'm bringing the ship back into our sector." His eyes darted to Derik for a moment. "Bring up the holomap, there should be an old subsurface hangar not too far away."
Derik frowned, certain now that a trap was being laid, but unsure how exactly was laying it. Bane's demeanor was cold and pragmatic, but there was a definite sense of concern and controlled alarm about him, as well.
The young Jedi did as he was told, however, activating his own holoprojector, and downloading the requested map, taking a moment to lift the night-vision lenses from his eyes as he did so. The two projections cast an eery glow over the pair as they scanned the flickering images.
"This it?" Derik asked, as his eyes settled on a particularly large passage that descended steeply from the surface, ending in a cavernous chamber similar to the one into which they had first entered.
Bane's gaze flicked to the indicated location, and he gave a quick nod. "That's it. Lead the way."
Derik had to resist gaping at him, almost taken aback by the mere idea of Cad Bane asking a Jedi to lead him anywhere. For a moment his eyes narrowed, and again he looked for signs of a trap, of deception.
There were none. Like Ahsoka had said, while Bane was certainly far from straightforward, he showed no signs of treachery, other than his very character and reputation. In fact, focused intently on the state of his ship, Bane seemed incapable of planning any sort of trick at the moment.
Well, I guess this is what I signed on for. He gave a nod to Bane, marking their location and crossing it with that of the hangar, only a couple klicks away, according to the holomap. Getting a bearing, Derik deactivated the projector, and began to jog down the tunnel, Bane following at a semi-comfortable distance behind him.
Rex hadn't had time to feel relief, after his harrowing trip through the feeding protocol of the cave spider. He hardly even had time to marvel at the strength and sheer ferocity that Ahsoka had displayed as she wrestled the creature's fangs apart.
He didn't have time for any of that. As soon as he felt his helmet slip from the monster's grip he catapulted himself upright, blasting at full power within a meter of the gaping jaws he had barely escaped. Ahsoka's pained cries and gasps almost drove him to recklessness as he fought to even the score.
It had been almost a whim that he had switched to the ion ammo. His adrenaline soaked nerves – not to mention the sight of Ahsoka dangerously close the beast's mouth, herself – raged against the mere notion of pausing to swap attachments on his weapon.
It was a fortuitous whim, however. Rex always had a clear head in battle, and it hadn't failed him yet. Rather than continuing his fierce but futile barrage, he stood back, his jaw clenched as he watched Ahsoka's form tossed about by the thrashing behemoth, and forced himself to rearm.
The choice of ion pulse was all but random, but to Rex's relief the moment he opened up with the new ammo it was clear that its disruptive firepower was infinitely more effective than the straight blaster bolts.
Within a few shots, the spider stumbled, and lost its footing – well, a couple of its feet, at least. Ahsoka sprang into action, her lightsaber appearing seemingly out of nowhere as she let into the struggling monster. Rex moved alongside her, aiming his rounds to strike where her blade had already left its mark. His finger never released the trigger until his powerpack finally failed completely.
He let out a weary sigh as he lowered his rifle. That could have gone a whole lot worse.
Rex took a moment to survey the results of their assault. The spider wasn't dead, its sheer bulk likely proving too much for his weapon, but it was clearly injured and spent, unable to even move its legs. He allowed himself a quick sigh of relief, before turning towards Ahsoka.
She seemed to be in a state of shock, her shoulder slumped as she stared at the crumpled monster. Rex's impulse was to grab her, to pull her into his arms, but he forced himself to keep his cool. He lit his headlamp, and slipped his helmet from off his head, wincing as the tunnel's cool draft stung against his wounds. The bucket may have survived the fangs, but it had been pinched hard against his face, breaking skin in a few spots.
But he'd tend to that later. He set the helmet down, orienting it to illuminate the two of them, coughing as he inhaled the musty air. Then, moving slowly, not wanting to startle her, he laid a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.
"Ahsoka? Ahsoka, are you alright?"
She didn't respond, her breathing soft but coming fast and ragged. "Ahsoka? Are you hurt?"
At that she turned, pushing her goggles over her forehead, gazing at him as though in a trance. Her eyes were wide and almost unfocused, and they glowed like a pair of some rare jewel under the light of his headlamp. Her lips were parted, and colored a dark auburn hue that looked almost black in the low light. Her cheeks were coated in dust, as was her entire body, and while Togruta didn't sweat like humans it was clear she was exhausted.
Suddenly her eyes met his, and Rex felt his own breath hitch as she gazed at him with an intensity he couldn't recall ever seeing in her. In fact, it rather reminded him of the way she had looked when she fought the spider, and for a moment Rex felt like he should back away. Is she still angry with me? Does she not want me with her anymore? They hadn't exactly been on the best of terms before this all blew up-
"Rex!"
With a cry of what could have been joy or anger or some other fierce emotion, Ahsoka lunged into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and pulling herself close to him, her feet dangling loosely at his shins. Her hands were wounded, and Rex could feel her blood mingling with his sweat as she held onto him. Instinctively his own hands gripped her waist, supporting her as she pulled herself closer.
In the back of his mind he wanted to tell her to stop, that she needed to have her wounds tended to, that they needed to move out, away from the lair of their neutralized attacker. But Ahsoka's emotional crest was contagious, and he found himself pulling her even tighter against his unforgiving armor, wondering just what it was that they were trying so hard to-
At first he thought it was an accident, that the momentum of her sudden lunge was responsible for her mouth colliding with his with almost bruising force.
When her grip over his shoulder tightened, and her mouth melded against his like liquid metal under a weldor's rod, Rex knew this was no accident.
That was the last coherent thought he had before he was overwhelmed with a torrent of sensations like nothing he'd ever experienced. Her lips were coated in dust and grit, yet it only accentuated how soft and lush they were as they meshed with his own dry, chapped ones. Rex's senses reeled as he inhaled her unmistakably feminine scent, tasted the saltiness of her fragile skin, and felt the warmth of her body through his armor.
As suddenly as it happened, it was over. The warm fusion between their lips gave way to an airy emptiness as they parted. Rex's eyes snapped open – he hadn't even realized they had closed – meeting Ahsoka's wide-eyed gaze in a mixture of dizzying passion and surprise. For a moment they simply stood, frozen, faces only centimeters apart, as though each had been caught by the other in some forbidden act.
Ahsoka pulled away first, releasing her hold on his neck and slipping from his grasp, almost skipping backwards as her feet met the ground. Her head turned away, avoiding his gaze while her headtails flushed, the deep blue and white of her stripes pulsing through the layers of dust and grime.
Rex for his part couldn't tear his eyes from her, even as his fingers ran over his lips to ensure they were in fact still there, and not ablaze or melting away. He felt uncharacteristically mesmerized by the rhythmic swelling of her chest, the blush of her lekku, the taste of her lips that still lingered on his own. Not a word was exchanged, as they each tried to at least bring their breathing back to normal, an awkward and embarrassed silence coming over them both.
Ahsoka broke it first, as usual.
"We'd better get moving."
Her voice was quiet, her words curt. Rex looked down at her, while she raised her head just a little, her eyes rolling towards her forehead to look up at him. They held each other's gaze, neither saying a word, until, slowly, Ahsoka's lips curved upwards in a shy smile.
Rex returned the hesitant grin, and her's grew wider in response. They both quickly looked away; Rex had the feeling that had they continued to stare at each other they might have stayed there for a long time.
For perhaps the first time in his life, Rex realized he wouldn't have minded had they done just that.
But it was time they didn't have. The mission always came first, and they still had a job to do. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, we'd better move out," he agreed, before stooping to retrieve his weapon, then his helmet.
He heard a small sigh as he slipped the bucket over his head, and extinguished the lamp. The greens of night vision replaced the dirty but warm glow of the moment before. Ahsoka had donned her own eyewear, and a mixed expression of determination and disappointment clouded her dirtied face.
Rex knew exactly how she felt. His only consolation was that, if they survived this run, maybe they'd get to… well, do that again.
If she was still okay with it, of course.
He risked another look at her, meeting her own sidelong glance for another brief instant, before looking away just as quickly, a shiver running down his frame.
Maybe….
Eyes straight ahead, the two of them headed back up the tunnel.
Thing were definitely not going as planned.
Not that Bane actually expected them to, but it was an annoyance regardless. Contingency plans took time, time he didn't have, and so it was with some effort that he buttoned down his frustration as he followed the Jedi towards what should be an abandoned starship hangar.
He knew someone or something was fooling with his ship. Todo was completely offline, no signals were getting through to the droid. But the Hand itself was still functioning, so the vessel hadn't been captured or destroyed.
It seemed likely that the ship had been boarded somehow, though how anyone had managed to locate the vessel was a mystery in and of itself. Regardless, no matter how clever these intruders had been, they certainly hadn't counted on Bane's ability to remotely override and command his ship's operation, no matter what trickery they used.
Now it was a matter of bringing the vessel to a reasonable landing platform, and dealing with the foolhardy scum that had dared trespass his own property.
It was at least a welcome distraction from the recollections of trespasses of another kind.
The mere thought caused Bane to gnash his teeth, scowling and pounding his boots into the rubble as he ran after the Jedi.
Jedi.
He let out a growl of frustration. He couldn't afford this. He needed to focus on the job, and not magicians performing voodoo on his head.
And certainly not on an insolent youngling claiming to want to undo the damage.
Still scowling, Bane turned his attention back to the navaconsole as he continued to run after Sunsetter. The Hand was now almost directly above their coordinates, and they in turn were nearing their destination. He initiated a narrow holding pattern via autopilot, causing the ship to circle the area at a low cruising altitude while they located the hangar.
"I think this is it," the Jedi called back, standing at the threshold where the passage opened into some larger chamber.
Bane increased his pace, eyes still on the Hand's maneuvers, until he reached the tunnel's end.
Sure enough, this was it.
The chamber was enormous, by subterranean standards. While only fifty meters wide at most, its ceiling vaulted over two hundred meters above them, providing adequate if not ample space for spacecraft to lift off and make their way to the surface. To the north, the chamber grew a little shorter, but still more than a hundred meters as it moved towards the surface at a steep incline. These subsurface hangars were uncommon for mining operations, and were usually used during initial excavation to move in large equipment quickly, to drill out the core of the mines.
Regardless of original purpose, this long abandoned chamber would have to do. Bane quickly scanned the landing platform that dominated the space, eyes narrowing at the damaged and partially collapsed structure. Massive slabs of stone had fallen from high above the platform, punching gaping holes through the plated durasteel decking. The platform itself was strewn with discarded crates and scaffolding, almost resembling an anti-armor barrier. Some of the supports had given way fairly recently, and the entire pad listed heavily to one side.
It would have to do. Bane brought up the manual control profile, transferring control of the vessel to his wriscom's joystick. A cursory radar scan located the entrance to the hangar tunnel, and Bane brought the Hand into a gentle descent towards Kessel's surface.
Decades of flying through the most treacherous spaces in the galaxy had forged unmatchable piloting skills in Cad Bane, if he did say so himself. Still, it took a steady hand and precise touch to guide the Sleight of Hand through the tunnel, with mere meters of clearance on either side.
Soon, the familiar roar of the Hand's sublight engines began rumbling down the tunnel, the vibrations causing streams of dust and rubble to begin pouring from the crevices and cracks high above. Bane only noted the disturbances only peripherally, concentrating solely on the nearing ship, watching the dangerously low proximity readings that denoted the space on all sides of the craft. It was like balancing a top, albeit a very dangerous one; the slightest error in judgement, the barest maladjustment during a course change, would have catastrophic results.
After a few eternal seconds, the rumbling of the distant sublights had been replaced by the high-pitched whine of thrusters as the Hand came into view, its landing beacons sending a piercing white light through the blackness of the hangar. Bane's eyes left the holographic displays, keeping a watchful eye on the vessel as it entered its landing sequence.
The hard work done, Bane allowed himself a quick moment of relief. Now to deal with whoever or whatever had caused this mess in the first place. He turned to meet the Jedi's bewildered and almost awed gaze. A smirk came over Bane's face, but he decided this was far too important a matter to indulge in any nonessential provocations.
"Get back into the tunnel," Bane ordered in a whisper. "Somebody's on that ship. I'm going to change that," he added with another scowl.
Sunsetter's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he didn't answer.
"Go!" Bane repeated, more forcefully. "For all we know there could be an Imperial search party aboard. This will get much more complicated if we let them know off the bat there's Jedi involved. Just stay back until I signal you."
The Jedi nodded slowly, turning and slipping back into the tunnel. Muttering a curse under his breath, Bane glanced at his comm, fingering a certain control for a moment before changing his mind. No sense rushing anything. Not yet.
Drawing both of his LL-30s, Bane slowly stalked towards the Hand's exit ramp as it settled on its landing struts. The familiar hisses and clangs began to die away as the vessel came to a rest.
Ducking behind a stack of crates, Bane squinted at the main entrance, weapons at the ready. The ramp began to extend, creaking as durasteel slid against durasteel, before hitting the deck with another resounding clang.
Bane held his position, crouched just out of sight, while the door unsealed, revealing a slim figure that he couldn't quite make out in this distance.
The person began making a leisurely descent down the ramp, with a bearing that made it clear this individual knew exactly what he or she was getting into. Never a good sign.
But Cad Bane was not one to be intimidated. He quickly holstered his weapons. Standing up right, he strolled out from behind his hiding place, standing with both hands planted over his twin firearms for a fast draw. He came directly in line with the extended ramp, facing down the stranger.
It spotted him immediately, and advanced, Bane's eyes narrowing even further as recognition came.
Midway down the ramp, stood a tall, scrawny female with a tell-tale receiver extending from the top of her pale skull.
A sultry and all too familiar voice greeted him
"Thanks for the lift, sweetheart."
Author's Note: Well, I guess that wasn't much better than last time, was it?
Get used to it. There's a couple more cliffies up ahead. :P
Oh, and in case you missed it, there was a kiss in there...
Next up... a new friend shows _ face. ;)
Please review!