Chapter Fifty Five

With the second door completely open, I passed through while remaining alert with lightsaber in hand. As far as I could see with the dim flickering lights there was a continuous hallway. The walls on either side were made of a dense glassy substance, letting me see the dark ocean outside. I watched the sharks swim at an alarming proximity to the walls, so much so their tails brushed against them. Juhani tried walking as far from each wall as she could while to ignore the sharks focusing her eyes straight ahead. I commented.

"As long as these walls hold they're harmless –if these walls don't hold, we're dead anyway."

"Please do not make me think of what might happen… I would rather fight one of those crazed fish people than be here. I feel as if the weight of the entire ocean will collapse onto me at any moment."

She visibly shivered at her gruesome musings. My attention fell to Bastila as I heard her say.

"There! At the end of the hall there is a terminal."

I sprinted toward the blue glow. Nearing the terminal, I saw the standard Republic interface. Thankfully I had better knowledge of hacking terminals than advanced security panels. Juhani asked.

"Can this computer tell us what happened?"

I nodded.

"It's still working, which means I can upload all of its data to my datapad. This is what Roland wanted, so from this point our priority will be the Star Map. We aren't here to rescue anyone who might be alive. We are here for this information and the map."

Bastila said.

"On that we can agree. Also, I doubt there is anyone left alive –it's just too quiet."

Having accessed the system, I connected my datapad. The data upload would take a few minutes, so I accessed the video feed menu. I checked the feed for every room listed. Most feeds were entirely static until I found two with activity. Some showed active patrol droids guarding hallways while two others displayed groups of wild-eyed Selkath kneeling over corpses as they devoured them. I felt disgusted at I watched one Selkath rip an arm off then chew it up within seconds. I couldn't stand watching. My fingers moved rapidly to access that room's ventilation system. As I accessed the system, I hacked into the emergency toxic gas controls, and prepared to seal the rooms with the crazed Selkath before gassing them. After having sealed the rooms, the sound of my comlink gave me pause. I accepted the transmission.

"…This…Carth. I'm at the popular handout for mercenaries. Canderous… brought me… I talked to a few Selkath…"

Likely because of the depth, the signal sounded horribly distorted. I didn't need the distraction, so I said.

"Carthy, get to the point."

"Shaelas… a Selkath, told me about young ones of his kind going missing. His or her kid went missing, and Shaelas told me it has to be linked to the Sith. There's something sinister happening here –I thought we should investigate it."

"I think I already am."

"Lena, what… you mean? Where are you right now?"

"Under the sea."

"How'd you get there?"

I watched the Selkath devour everything but the bones of the corpse they mutilated. I didn't have time for a conversation with Carth, so I said.

"That doesn't matter at the moment. What is important is that you return to the ship."

"Why?"

"I don't think we'll be staying here a second longer than we need to?"

"Again, why?"

"Carth, I don't think you want to know. Anyway, I'm ending the transmission."

As I cut off the transmission, I punched in the final sequence that would release toxic gas into the rooms containing the insane Selkath. I watched the screen intently as they clutched at their throats before lifelessly collapsing beside the corpses they were devouring. I joked.

"Maybe I should've been gentler –frozen them in place instead of killing them."

Juhani scowled as she said.

"You do not have to mock me. I would have done the same to those monstrous fish people."

Bastila laughed.

"Well, I can't blame you for disliking them."

Her face became stony as she added.

"After witnessing that footage I'm not sure I could face a Selkath without having those sickening images pop into my head."

I uploaded the area schematic to my datapad after the upload completed. Following the schematic I made my way to the Envirosuit storage room on the left side of the hall leading to the airlocks. Though I knew the Selkath inside should be dead by now, I walked in cautiously while looking around for a functional Envirosuit. I heard clacking from one of the lockers. As I carefully pulled the locker door open, a human corpse came tumbling out. He looked entirely uninjured and his body felt warm, which meant he died from the toxic gas.

I quickly stepped away from the locker and walked carefully to avoid stepping on the Selkath corpses. Seeing a yellow Envirosuit at the opposite end of the room, I hurried toward it. Though before I could reach it, I felt my heart pound so hard that the pulse was the loudest thing I could hear. Behind a desk lay a corpse garbed in Dark Jedi robes with his leg eaten off. Carth was right about the Sith having something to do with this mess. Bastila and Juhani saw the peculiar corpse after I'd passed it and stood before the Envirosuit. As I channeled the Force to lift the heavy suit in a blue aura, I said.

"The Sith did this! We need to hurry… I think there might be more of them."

Bastila nodded.

"We should head to an airlock."

Before leaving the room I gave it another scan in search of more Envirosuit. Juhani noticed my frantic attempts then said.

"I do not think there are more suits. You will have to be the only one to go out there in search of the Star Map… unless you wish for me or Bastila to go."

"It's riskiest for the one that goes. And with those sharks around, frankly, I don't see you going out there."

"I did not even think… you are right. Lena, if you are eaten by a firaxa shark, I…"

"If I have to die, it won't be at the mouth of a damn shark! Don't get too worried, Juhani."

She nodded, though I sensed she wasn't convinced. I walked through a short hallway while having the Envirosuit levitate ahead of me. As we entered a central airlock, I carefully lowered the suit then walked over to it.

As I stepped into the suit and slid on the huge helmet, I felt crowded and clunky. I turned to Bastila and Juhani as through the speaking unit I said in a distorted voice.

"I'm about to began the airlock sequence, so I guess I'll see the two of you after I've obtained the Star Map."

Bastila didn't look too happy as she exclaimed.

"I should have at least kissed you before you stepped into that suit!"

"I'll be back soon enough, and that's when you can kiss me."

No one could see it, but I grinned before adding.

"While I'm gone, I'm sure Juhani wouldn't mind kissing you…"

With the Force Juhani shoved me as she said.

"To be quite frank, I would not mind the sensation of Bastila's lips against my own. She is no less alluring than you are."

"Then I'm glad you two will enjoy yourselves while I'm being ripped to shreds by those firaxa sharks!"

With Juhani and Bastila on the opposite side of the airlock door, I pressed a button shutting it before either of them could say another word. Next I walked over to the door leading out into the watery abyss and began the airlock sequence. The room slowly filled with water as the pressure in the room adjusted to that of the ocean. I knew I couldn't be out there long without being killed by gravity alone. I fully intended to use the Force to lessen the atmospheric pressure as I stepped out into the ocean.

Instead of being greeted by an open ocean, I walked out into an underwater extension of the base. The suit displayed a layout of my current location. I followed a path through the outskirts of the base until in the distance I saw someone else in an identical yellow suit. I tried going faster, but the suit would only let me go so fast. As soon as I was within speaking distance, I asked.

"Who… who are you?"

I noticed something similar to a blaster in his right hand, though before I had time to ask about it, he walked ahead into the open ocean. I followed him into the emptiness. Or at least it seemed empty until I saw grey silhouettes rapidly approach from two directions. They approached faster than I could move in that clunky suit, so instinctively I started backing into the safety of the underwater base. The person wearing a suit identical to mine remained motionless as he watched the grey sharks that were now less than three meters from him. As he lifted his blaster one of the sharks swam faster and before he had time to fire, his torso was trapped within its jaws. He dropped his weapon as the shark carried his body within its jaw into the murky depths.

The moment the second shark turned around I slowly neared the blaster he left behind. I had no idea how the weapon would work underwater, but I suspected I'd find out soon. The small screen projected within my helmet directed me left through some reefs. I was heading to the Rift station directly responsible for kolto extraction, or at least that's what I read.

Somehow I managed to make it halfway without encountering a single shark, but my luck changed. As I took another step, a firaxa swam up from my left. I pointed the blaster at it then squeezed the trigger repeatedly, watching what looked like ripples vibrate toward my target. The moment a ripple hit the firaxa, it instantly squirmed then within the same moment turned on its back motionlessly.

As I made my way further, I encountered more sharks, but my reflexes were sharp enough I managed to pull the trigger before any of them got too close for comfort. Having encountered at least four sharks, I felt my body shake a little. If this was on land, I wouldn't feel an ounce of fear –but the ocean was their domain. I felt out of my element within the confines of the dreadful suit, and more importantly, the ocean. Nearing the first airlock of the Rift station that I saw, I proceeded to punch in the sequence that would open it.

As the water drained, I felt more than happy to remove the suit. I would need the suit again on the other side, but since I didn't know the situation, it would've been unwise to direct my attention to carrying the suit. It was more than likely I'd encounter the insane Selkath.