Vanguard
Chapter 37
"Extract"
[Onderon, Apartment complex, Two hours later]
"Ugh . . . wha-? Why did you hit me?" Lux muttered faintly as he was greeted by a throbbing headache the moment he came back to.
He heard no response from either Danforth or Ahsoka but he could feel that he was laying on something rather comfortable, like a bed, and started open his eyes to see where he was. At first his vision was nothing but a messy blur until it began to gradually clear up, his hearing was also starting to come back as he could hear muffled voices, one male and the other female but both are familiar, not too far from where he was.
Soon enough he hears a door opening and footsteps approaching, then he hears the voice of who he was hoping "Enjoy the nap?"
"Hardly" he responded as he painstakingly sat up in the bed seeing Ahsoka standing there now wearing a set of black combat armor that he never saw before "Where's your brute of a friend?"
"Out here keeping guard, said he had to make it look convincing when he hit you."
"It convinced me . . ." he stated as he started rubbing the side of his face where the rifle stock had struck him.
Tano grins and pulls him out of bed "C'mon, let's get you something to eat."
The two headed out into the common room where it had been hastily converted into a small defensive position with tables tipped over to act as barricades, windows being blocked out to avoid any chance of people looking through, and finally Danforth, wearing a more complete version of the same kind of armor Ahsoka has, wielding the same DC-15A blaster rifle he used to knock the senator unconscious.
"Hey Longarm, guess who's up?" Tano quipped as she made her way to the kitchen area.
The SPARTAN turned his head and saw Bonteri standing there with his arms crossed, Lux could no longer see the man's face due to the polarized bluish silver visor, and he gives an acknowledging nod "Senator."
"Is that your real name? Longarm?" Lux wondered.
"Just a nickname. How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing just fine no thanks to you."
"I had to do what was necessary Senator."
"Right . . . well in any case why are we still here?"
"Shortly after escaping from the palace all military and police units were alerted and mobilized to seal the city off and lock down the spaceports. We were half way to the ship when the Empire began cracking down on security, right now we have heavy patrols marching through every street and gunships providing surveillance and close fire support if needed."
"So we're waiting here until they lift the lockdown."
"Given how important you are I doubt they'll lift it. We were waiting for you to wake up so we could punch through their defenses and get to the ship."
"You need my help to fight?"
"No, we need you to stay of the way."
"Well that's not helpful now is it?"
"About as helpful as carrying your weight around while trying to fight off a squad of troopers."
"Okay boys" Ahsoka intervenes before Lux could've made a comeback to the SPARTAN's remark "Let's not try and kill each other until we get back to the ship. I need you both alive if we want to get out of here."
The ODST-clad SPARTAN briefly glances at his partner before turning his attention back to the door, Bonteri shoots Longarm one last unfriendly glare before he too drops the conversation and walks over to Ahsoka where she has a protein bar out for him, courtesy of UNSC regulated rations.
The senator takes a bite from the bar and swallows before he glances at the SPARTAN and whispers "What's his story?"
"That's something I'm still figuring out . . ." Tano answered back in the same tone.
"Okay, well what have you figured out?"
"Well some of it you wouldn't believe. But he's something his people would call a Spartan."
"Spartan? What's that?"
"A super soldier to say the least, biochemical enhancements, rigorous training, augmentations- this is the kind of guy you want to back you up in any fight."
"Is this what he said or what you saw?"
"I've seen him in action multiple times, he doesn't disappoint."
"Okay . . . I know what he is, but where did he come from? How did he come to be what he is?"
"Like I said, some of the things you won't believe."
"Try me."
Longarm's voice broke the relative silence "You do realize I can hear you both?"
The two looked over to see the soldier staring at them through his opaque visor, his voice was unamused when he spoke, and he continues "Go ahead Ahsoka, see if he believes you."
Lux looks back at his friend as she tries to sum up what she already knows and explains it "Longarm here is a super soldier from another galaxy. He serves a military organization called the UNSC who has been waging a twenty seven year long war with a genocidal race of religious aliens called the Covenant, but lately the UNSC had been losing a lot and were becoming desperate from what I imagine. He and his ship was caught in an electrical surge during a battle that caused his jump drive to send him here in our galaxy. So now he's stuck here with us as well as the Covenant, and if it weren't for Ventress we wouldn't have met."
Tano and James stood silently waiting for a response from the senator, who was at the moment trying to process what he had just heard, a man from another galaxy fighting religious aliens hell bent on destruction and somehow ends up here due to some surge, and soon enough he starts to chuckle which quickly died away when he noticed the serious expression on her face.
"You're not joking are you?" he asks.
She shook her head which in turn prompted Longarm to state "Whether you believe it or not it doesn't matter to me. What does matter is that I ensure your safety for the sake of this rebellion."
"And what about this Covenant? Where have they been all this time?"
"The Covenant were the ones that attacked the Azloc system, the Imperials can't get too close to the system now without losing the element of surprise. And unfortunately we are in no condition to engage them."
Lux didn't what to say to that, if what the SPARTAN claims is true then the uncertainty of this galaxy is ensured. With the Covenant slowly building up its already significant military presence to stand off with the seemingly endless forces of the Empire, and the only threat to them is a mere soldier and a ship, then this could be the galaxy's darkest time.
He sees the armored figure move towards the window and gently peer through the curtains for a moment "The next patrol just passed us, we need to start moving."
By cue Ahsoka reaches down and pulls her M6C out before making one last check over the mechanism and ammunition, Longarm heads over to the door and waits for them, all the while Bonteri asks "Don't I get a weapon?"
Tano retorts "You're being kidnapped remember?"
"Oh right, must've slipped when Longarm hit me" he replied sarcastically.
She gives an amused smile before she and the Senator made their way over to the door with Longarm who stood ready with his blaster rifle. The SPARTAN momentarily placed his head next to the door, waiting to hear any signs that may indicate movement outside but nothing was to be heard, and shortly afterwards he presses the button opening the door and heads out taking point with his rifle raised. One by one the three walked out of the room and proceeded down the hallway towards the main lobby where the exit is, taking careful steps as to not alert anyone that may be inside one of the many rooms of the apartment. Nobody said a word to each other but Lux decides to take a moment to examine the SPARTAN from behind, the black combat armor was certainly something he had never seen or heard of before plus the small compact weapon that was latched to his left thigh, and turns his head to see Ahsoka watching their backs with a small black blocky pistol in her hands rather than her two lightsabers. It was then when Bonteri accidently walks right into Longarm's back when the SPARTAN had stopped to check the main lobby for signs of life, he glances over his shoulder to see the Senator immediately taking a step back before looking back ahead, and signals everyone to make a dash for the door. The group sprinted for the door, with the super soldier reaching it first and opening it for the others to pass through, and from the dry warm interior they ran out into the cold night that was caught in the middle of a rainstorm.
Ahsoka and Lux briefly looked around scanning the scene for people before they heard their ally whisper "This way, into the alleys."
The two glanced over to see the SPARTAN heading into a dark alley in between the hotel and another building set next to it, they followed their friend and quickly caught up to him where he then went into a jog until he reached the other end of the narrow passage. He quickly stops and takes a quick look into the streets, finding nothing but heavy rain and darkness but his hearing told him there was a squad of troopers marching this way with the synchronized footsteps and plates of armor. He gently pushes the others back a few steps with one hand and presses his back against the stone wall of the alley, his rifle was pressed against his chest with his finger on the trigger, as the marching became louder and grew closer. Surely enough a platoon of clone shock troopers marched next to them, some made the effort to glance into the alleyway only to find nothing but pitch blackness, and continued on without any further complications. Longarm poked his head out once more and watched the troopers march on until they were finally out of sight turning around a corner onto another street.
"Clear, let's keep moving" he mutters prompting the others to follow him out onto the street.
The trio made a quick dash through the rain and mud across the street onto the other side where they then moved along the row of buildings. Longarm did well to pay attention to their surroundings, carefully listening and watching for anything out of the ordinary with his helmet's built-in VISR HUD display and audio receptors but only those were second compared to Ahsoka's ability to detect physical objects given her species' use of their montrals that allows them to detect displaced space ultrasonically. Lux was only trying his best to keep his guard up but compared to the SPARTAN's enhanced visual imaging and the togruta's unique ability, it only made him third wheel.
"How much farther to the ship?" Bonteri asks as he tries to keep pace with the super soldier in front of him.
Longarm answered as he kept jogging "Spaceport is only three hundred meters out, expect heavier patrols."
But quickly enough Ahsoka orders them in a harsh whisper "Hit the walls!"
Without a second thought all three slammed themselves against the wall next to them, moments later did the men hear the distinctive hum of a LAAT gunship hovering overhead with spotlights shining down on the streets below. The lights scanned the vacant grounds as the aircraft smoothly glided over the streets in search for the fugitives and the kidnapped Senator. Eventually the gunship completed its search and moves on to a different area.
The three then broke away from the walls with Longarm watching the gunship disappear into the distance before looking down at Ahsoka who stood next to him "Good work. We're almost there."
She nods to that and continues to follow the commando who resumed jogging towards the spaceport with their docked cruiser. The rain intensifies into a downpour but it did not slow the team's progress to the hangars until they finally came to the edge of an intersection with their destination just across a wide open plaza meant to welcome spacefarers from around the galaxy. Longarm threw a fist up, signaling the others to halt, and fell to a knee to survey what laid ahead of them.
Initial scans via his VISR highlighted roughly twenty contacts in red, clones guarding the hangars with light vehicle support from a few walkers, with no cover to get behind between them and the troopers. Most of the soldiers were making routine marches around the vicinity but there were those few that stood around talking with one another. The walkers however were standing idly with their riders vigilantly looking through the rain for any signs of movement, fortunately the three fugitives were still as ice.
"What do we have?" Tano whispered behind the SPARTAN.
"Twenty plus contacts including a pair of light walkers, no telling how many are inside though."
"So what's the plan?"
Lux kneels behind and examines the positioning of the clones to the best of his ability "We could sneak pass them" and points out a certain spot in their lines that seemed neglected "There's a point with hardly any of them, we sneak right through and they won't see us."
"No chance" Longarm responded "Even if we get past their outer layer those walkers will still see us for sure."
Ahsoka thought for a moment, taking careful notes and coming up with various plans to get past the troopers but in the end nothing proved promising, "Can you make the shot?" she asks.
The SPARTAN gave a short grin and came up with a plan "Alright, I'll target the walkers while you and Lux head across the street and get ready to move. Once I have their attention I'll need you to lay down support fire and catch them in a pincer move, but with the weather like this you need to engage your targets at close range with your magnum."
"What about Lux? He's too exposed out here."
James took a moment to look around until his eyes rest upon a metallic shipping crate across the street from them large enough to fit a person inside "Put him in that crate, it'll keep him safe and give you cover to use."
"You're seriously not going to stuff me inside a crate are you?" Lux protested.
"Either you get in that crate or I shove you in it. Either way this is how we're going to do it. Get into positon."
"C'mon Lux" Tano urged the Senator to stand and follow her as she ran across the street where the crate sat.
Once they made their way over Ahsoka opens the crate, finding it to be luckily fitted with repulsor lifts and quickly empties the contents, bags of grain and seeds, and gestures her friend to get inside which he reluctantly obliges but before she closes the lid back on top Bonteri asks "What if he misses?"
She grins with confidence and answers "He won't" before closing the crate.
The SPARTAN receives a thumbs up from his partner and begins to line up the shot with the blaster rifle, with the lack of any sights or optics the rifle was a little tricky to use so he had to do a little guess work taking in account of the distance, size of target, and the weather. After making some last second corrections he fires the first shot.
The blue bolt of ionized plasma skipped across the plaza, leaving a vapor trail in the heavy rain, and squarely impacted his target's chest causing the trooper to cry out in searing pain as he was knocked clean off his seat and hit the ground, only moments later did he hear the other troopers call out "Sniper! Get down!"
He watched the clones spread out and hit the deck, some fell to a crouch position with their blasters raised scanning for their attacker, one cried out "How's Mack!?"
Another called back "Mack's gone!"
"Dammit! Where'd that shot come from!?"
The SPARTAN readjusts his aim onto another trooper, one that was crouched and seemingly looking in his direction, and fires another bolt of energy that struck the clone in the face plate, killing him instantly.
"Someone call for backup!" a trooper barked.
James spots a trooper raising his left forearm hoping to contact support and fires off another shot that resulted in the blast to slam into the clone's side, his plastoid armor couldn't have saved him from the high powered shot of a DC-15A rifle and he died on the cold wet ground.
"I think I have a fix on the shooter!" a trooper called out as he turns his aim on the alleged shooter.
"Fire!" an officer roared.
At that moment the trooper fires the return shot sending a bolt slamming into the stone wall next to the SPARTAN, heat and rocky fragments splashed and caused the soldier to flinch a brief second before he shoots back sending two rounds back into the trooper's chest.
"I see him! Far side of the plaza!" a trooper yelled out before he fires a shot that narrowly passed by James' head making the commando to duck briefly and begin returning fire onto the now retaliating troopers.
Ahsoka watched from behind cover as blue blaster bolts flew across the open plaza, the clones were making use of their numbers with volume of fire trying to keep their target suppressed as they advanced across the open, but Longarm held his ground as he fired back accurate rounds in a controlled manner with each shot slamming into a hostile. The firefight illuminated the wet grounds with blue lights as orders were barked and men cried in pain, she watched knowing the very men she had fought alongside for years now stood no chance against the nigh unstoppable force that was the SPARTAN-ll. The troopers were gradually and painstakingly closing in on the attacker's position but with each foot they made they lose one of their own to the fray.
The recon walker however was making good progress advancing with the troops and providing support fire with its light blaster cannon, until of course the rider took a plasma bolt to the helmet and slumped off the vehicle. The clones were now but a dwindling few but their accuracy was at this point spot on when they were within eight meters of their target, now able to clearly see their blackened attacker in the pouring rain.
"Ahsoka now!" James roared as he was forced to flee from his position and resume fighting from a different stance.
Tano takes her M6C magnum out of its holster, pulls the slide back loading the first round into the chamber, and flips the safety off, she then trains her sights on the closest trooper in front of her that was standing practically feet from her with his back turned. At first she hesitated, reluctant to shoot a man in the back especially if said man was part of a force she grew to trust and respect over the course of the war. The last thought that skipped across her mind was the one soldier that she would consider a very close friend, a clone by the name of Rex, and closed her eyes before she pulled the trigger.
The 12.7mm semi-armor piercing high penetration round shot out with a heavy bang and tore into the backside of the clone's plastoid armor, effortlessly cracking the armor and eviscerated the trooper's internal systems forcing him to give a sharp cry of agony as he fell to his knees and slumped onto the wet muddy ground. Tano couldn't help but open her eyes and observe what she had done, a clone dead by her hand, and she sighed in frustration but her moment of solemn was short lived when a blaster bolt slammed into the side of the crate Lux hid in snapping her back into the action.
Longarm noticed how three troopers had turned their attention on Ahsoka and quickly places another bolt into one of his own attackers before one trooper fires off a lucky shot and blew the rifle clean out of the commando's hands. James however quickly responded by drawing his suppressed M7 SMG from his left thigh and effortlessly fire a burst of 5mm caseless full metal jacket rounds into the unfortunate man's chest before his bloodied body hit the ground. Then one after another he ejects several three to four round bursts into the remaining stragglers in rapid succession giving the troopers no chance to recover, retreat, or even fight back. One clone however makes one last ditch attempt and throws his weapon aside before charging into the SPARTAN and deal a hard hitting right hook across the helmet visor, however the commando only coiled back from the hit and turns back around launching a swift and devastating blow to the trooper's gut causing the man to double over. But as the clone tried to get up Longarm finishes the man off by grabbing his neck left arm in a choke hold, the trooper tried to fight back with his only freed arm but it was to no avail as the super soldier firmly grabbed hold of his helmet and forcibly twist his head in one rapid move that made Ahsoka flinch when she heard the loud cracking of bone and muscle just as the man fell limp.
He tosses the dead clone aside and looks around for more contacts, all hostiles in the vicinity has been killed, and asks "Are you alright?" with his usual strict tone as if nothing just happened.
"Yeah . . ." she replied rather hesitantly, she couldn't understand how the SPARTAN had just murdered the men he fought alongside like they were mere animals without a second thought, but she continues "We should get going . . ."
The soldier acknowledges it with a nod and walks over to the crate and activates the repulsor lift drives causing the container and its content to float above the ground before he begins pushing it towards the spaceport hangars. The two broke into a steady paced run making their way through the massive area dedicated to landing pads and hangar bays meant to fit ships of most sizes, their Gozanti was not too far ahead of them located in a hangar.
"Is the fighting done!? Can you let me out now!?" Lux called out, his voice muffled by the metal casing.
But neither of them answered the senator's pleads to be let out, instead Percival was the one to alert James of what was happening "Be advised, the security detail you eliminated was supposed to report in and now all units are mobilizing onto the spaceports."
"What are we facing Percival?" the commando asks inquisitively.
"At least a regiment of shock troopers with light vehicle support from what I can gather."
"ETA?"
"Now, they're disembarking their gunships as we speak."
"Acknowledged, we'll be back home soon."
The AI signs off prompting James to hasten the pace with Ahsoka quickly following suit, she knew they were about to have company, he asks "How long will it take for the engines to spool up?"
"Only a few minutes. Why?"
"We won't have a few minutes."
As he said those words the duo turned into the correct hangar bay where their sixty four meter long ship lied dormant waiting to be put to use again, Tano could sense the presence of more troopers rushing through the entrance they came through, and the SPARTAN stops to give his partner her new set of orders.
"Get the Senator aboard and prime the engines, I'll buy us enough time before we take off."
She gives a quick nod before he takes off his heavy rucksack handing it to her and she takes the crate and ships it into the cruiser, Longarm looked around hoping to find cover but the entire bay was void of supplies and equipment to use.
He gives a small sigh and starts to prep himself for the ensuing fight starting off by asking "Percival how far out?"
"Forty meters and closing . . ."
That cued him to get to work, first he starts untwisting the long suppressed barrel off of the SMG seeing no further use for the element of surprise and stealth, and tucks the barrel away in one of his pouches.
"Twenty five meters . . ."
Next he ejects the stick magazine from the gun and inserts his last fresh clip into the weapon's receiver, he pulls the charging bolt ensuring a round was in the chamber ready to fire, and flips the safety off his personal magnum.
"Ten meters . . ."
And finally he raises the compact firearm pressing the extended stock against his shoulder and narrows his eyes on the reticule that pinpointed where the weapon was aiming via a wireless link between the gun's optical scope and the helmet's HUD. At this point he could hear a chorus of armored footsteps charging his way and his motion tracker had already picked up numerous red blips approaching fast.
In mere seconds multiple men plated in pure white armor stomped into the bay area, their scoped compact rifles trained on the lone dark figure that stood between them and the ship, their eye-like visors stared into the opaque silver blue faceplate. A lone second generation SPARTAN against the newly formed imperial Stormtrooper Corps.
"Put the weapon down!" a trooper barked through his helmet's vocoder, making his voice sound synthetic.
Longarm counted eight targets standing eight meters from him, with more most likely on the way, but he made no response to the trooper's demands "I said put your weapon down!"
Then without warning or sign of wanting peace, the super soldier asks "Who wants to pray to God first?"
That was the sign telling the Stormtroopers that the target was done talking, finally a sergeant called out "Blast 'em!" and fired the first shot sending a red energized bolt slamming against the boarding ramp behind the soldier.
Longarm immediately returned fire, without the suppressor fitted onto the barrel the sub-machine gun sounded like more like a buzz saw with the rounds firing off at an impressive nine hundred rounds per minute. The sergeant and the trooper next to him were engulfed in a violent spray of bullets but not the SPARTAN's surprise their strengthened plastoid armor had withheld against the small metallic rounds. At that moment the other troopers began firing off their weapons sending a volley of red bolts upon the ODST-clad soldier who sprinted towards the nearest trooper dodging and weaving through blaster fire, even without his MJOLNIR armor the SPARTAN-ll was still beyond physically superior in every aspect compared to the already impressive clone soldiers. He closes the gap in seconds and launches a fast devastating fist that smashed into the side of a trooper's helmet, the clone's neck snapped under the immense pressure the super soldier exerted, before seizing his E-11 blaster and swing the gun till it lined up with another trooper's head and pulled the trigger. In a mere instant two Stormtroopers fell to the ground dead before anyone could've realized, but the men in white quickly reacted and turned on the black armored figure among their ranks and fired.
James effortlessly ducked below the first bolt, he guessed the trooper he spoke to was right about how difficult it was to see out of the new helmets because he didn't even need to dodge the shot, and swung up with the blaster in one hand and fire off another shot that slammed into the shooter's chest who then gave out an agonizing cry as he fell to the ground with his white armor now stained by mud and the blast mark. Another trooper leaped onto the SPARTAN's back, hoping to use his own weight to bring the giant down, but it proved to be his fatal mistake when Longarm grabbed onto the clone's arms and threw him over onto the ground before he receives the sole of a UNSC combat boot to his faceplate. A bolt of plasma rang out and grazed James' side before he turns to see the shooter and fire off shot of his own that impacted against the shooter's right shoulder and fires again sending a blast straight into the abdominal region before the trooper fell to the ground wounded.
Ahsoka finally comes back down the boarding ramp to see six troopers already on the ground with the SPARTAN standing victoriously over them however she also noticed that his attention was focused on one of the remaining two men when the other was preparing to fire into his back.
She cries out "James!" before she gathers the Force and blows the trooper off his feet sending his flailing though the air until he hit the dirt.
Both the last standing trooper and James glanced at Ahsoka for the briefest second until the imperial called out "Jedi!" and trained his blaster on her.
However Longarm swiftly acted by charging and shooting out his left fist like a missile where it collided with the man's chest, the sheer force of the SPARTAN cracked and dented the plastoid plating and sent the man crashing onto the ground with the air knocked right out of him.
"Engines primed let's go!" Tano cried out urging her friend to get aboard quickly.
He turns around and starts making his way to the ship until he noticed the trooper she had pushed away was already standing back up and training his sights on her, he didn't have time to raise his blaster and shoot so he broke into a dead sprint gunning for her roaring "Ahsoka!"
Before she realized it the stormtrooper had fired two bolts into the SPARTAN's back who has acted as a shield for her when he jumped in the way and took the hit, James grunted in pain and fell to his knees just in time for her to react by grabbing his blaster and fire a clean shot into the trooper's chest. She then tosses the gun aside before grabing the super soldier, putting his arm around her shoulders, and help into the ship. More troopers were arriving on scene and started to open fire pelting the cruiser's thick durasteel hull and she was able to close the boarding ramp before putting her companion on the cold floor.
"Lux get us out of here!" Tano commanded through the comlink on her arm.
Lux, already stationed in the cockpit, ignites the engines and begins to guide the ship into the air out of the hangar and sends the cruiser on a course for orbit.
Ahsoka begins to quickly examine the wounded SPARTAN, moving his torso so she could see the two blast marks that had penetrated the titanium-ceramic armor plating, and states as she tries to pull him back up "C'mon, let's get you to the medbay."
But shook his head and he argued with exhaustion in his voice "No . . ." he wheezed "Get the ship to safety first."
"I'm not going to leave you down here-"
"The mission comes first Ahsoka . . ." he takes a breath "That's number one priority, you get the ship into Hyperspace then you come to me . . . I'll be fine."
She hesitated to leave him but if she knew James well enough he'll still be alive by the time they leave the system, he had proved to her several times that SPARTANs were just too stubborn to die, and she rushes off to the cockpit to help in their escape.
The togruta rushes into the cockpit and takes her spot in the co-pilot seat, upon looking through the narrow viewport she finds out that the cruiser was already entering Onderon's orbit but her sensors indicated that a squadron of fighters is pursuing them and two imperial Venators are on course to intercept.
"How's your friend?" Lux asks as he steers the ship towards the stars.
"He's hurt bad but he'll pull through- I'm going to switch on our rear deflectors and warm up the cannons."
"Aren't you a bit worried about the two cruisers coming to block our way out?"
"Not at the slightest, how much longer till the hyperdrive is ready?"
"Only a few more minutes, these ships aren't exactly the fastest you know."
"Well it's certainly one of the toughest, here comes those fighters."
Several hundred meters behind the flee Gozanti, a squadron of seven V-Wing Starfighters are rapidly closing the gap and assuming attack formation. The cruiser's dorsal mounted array of laser cannons and a single quad-barreled cannon came online and began tracking their targets, leading the barrels slightly ahead of the swift fighters, and opened fire sending concentrated blasts of heavy fire onto the fighters. The clone pilots did well to avoid the incoming fire, only one fighter was lost in the initial attack when a blast impacted its starboard wing causing it to tumble out of control, and immediately engaged the cruiser firing their onboard cannons that slammed against the shields with moderate effect. Soon the remainder of the Gozanti's weapons systems came online and each turret began tracking their individual targets before firing with accurate bursts.
"Those guns won't do much against the star destroyers if we can't get out of here" Lux warned Ahsoka just as the guns record another kill.
"We won't have to worry about those if we can get these fighters off us."
The ship rocked as the shields took a strafing run from a pair of fighters passing overhead, the togruta continued to monitor the guns and shielding until she heard Bonteri ask "So that Longarm fellow, how long have you known him?"
"Long enough . . . why?" she asks as kept her eyes focused on the monitors.
"You two are good friends I guess."
"What do you mean you guess?"
"I mean . . . after I saw you two kiss I figured you two are really good friends."
She turns her towards him, her face told him that this was the worst possible time to bring something so irrelevant up in a situation like this "Are you seriously talking about this now!?" she bantered.
"What!?" he asks just as a fighter struck the shields again.
"I can't believe you're bringing up something that has nothing to do with this situation!"
"Okay okay you're right! Definitely not the time or place to talk about it! You're right!"
The togruta shook her head and shoots down another fighter just moments before the cruisers were starting to close the gap ahead of them, though fortunately enough Lux reports "Well the good news is that the hyperdrive is ready . . ."
She stares at him for a moment, her expression was enough to convince him to simply stop talking and initiate the hyperdrive, and with the push of a lever the cruiser jumps into hyperspace leaving the fighters in the dust and the cruisers without a target.
As the cruiser traveled further and further from Onderon Tano stood up from her seat and started walking towards the hatch "I'm going to check on Longarm, unless you have anything else on your mind."
Bonteri said nothing instead he just sits back in his seat and watches the stars pass by, she then headed out the hatch to attend to her friend in need.
Upon arriving at the boarding ramp she found the SPARTAN lying where she had left him, his helmeted head turns towards her and he spoke with a weak but surprisingly calm voice "I'm not dead yet if you were wondering . . ."
She grins and begins to pick up the soldier by his arm "C'mon . . . let's get you to the medbay. See how bad it is."
Longarm painstaking got up to his feet and allowed his partner to help him to the medical bay where she'll give him the medical attention he needs.
Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thank you.