As usual, so sorry for the late update and I hope the wait was worth it. :D Thanks to Cuthalion97 for kicking me back into it and also for helping me out with bits of the story that I was unsure of. :) I am sincerely hoping this is the last and only ridiculously LONG chapter. ;D But I guess after this, no promises.
Anyway, hope you enjoy! As promised, the action has truly hit :D (Just going to say...not to add the suspense or anything...;J but I was nearly shaking as I was writing the last scene so...just a little warning...though it might have just been writing jitters; I don't know... ;D)
Time: Approximately 0752
Region: Outer Rim, Cademimu sector.
Location: Ajan Kloss, Muutmine laboratory.
There wasn't much time to think - not that he would likely have stopped to anyway. Dashing forward, Wrecker blasted on full auto. Hard cracks filled the room as the blaster bolts skimmed the air and rammed into the thing in front of him...but even after at least a dozen hard, point-blank shots into its chest, the thing still lumbered forward, shrieking with some horridly mangled cry.
Aw, great, he thought.
Tossing aside his DC17m with a bellow, he made a running leap and skidded, allowing his momentum to carry him forward for a bone-smashing punch as the thing ambled straight into his fist.
Problem was, nothing really happened. It dropped to the ground, but shrieked again, completely unfazed by the blow. Grunting in surprise as the blurry form leaped at him again, he dodged, grabbed it by the arm, and hurled it into the wall. Its head cracked against the hard metal, sending another shockwave of noise through the silence of before.
As before, the creature recovered far faster than should have been possible and scampered out of the way before snapping around. It paused, side-stepped Wrecker's charge, scrambled for a loose chunk of granite from the cracked floors, and hurled it. Before Wrecker could turn, it struck his helmet and his vision went black.
He staggered back, briefly wondering if he'd blacked out - then he felt another hard crack at his armor and huffed. Nope. Just knocked off his night vision. No biggie. While it was difficult trying to fight something he couldn't see, Wrecker could still manage. The thing just kept coming at him anyway, so, for the most part, he didn't even have to really move. All he had to do was wait a few seconds and swing.
It wasn't the most effective fighting he'd ever done (he found it rather boring and therefor tried to keep things interesting by moving around as best he could with his vision out for the moment), but it did give him time to think about the situation. Fortunately, the thing wasn't too bright but didn't stop so that meant simply knocking it down wasn't an option.
Time for more drastic measures.
If it wasn't going down from a blow, then making sure it never moved again would be the simplest way to handle it...
Smacking it particularly hard to buy him a couple extra seconds, he tapped his helmet, night-vision flicking on once more. Its ugly, distorted face lit up on his screen, mouth opening for another scream. He didn't bother trying to recognize it as a near-human; he just stepped forward to finish the thing off.
Before the first cry could break sound, Wrecker body slammed the creature back into the wall; but before he could get a grip on it, it kicked at his hip, staggering him back a step before leaping at him. Surprised, he fell...and growled, getting a firm grip to snap it's wrists as he rolled over a few times (for good measure as he subtly applied pressure to the different movement-prone bones) before coming up on was letting out angry shrieks by the time he stopped and Wrecker grinned.
Finally, he was getting a reaction out of it. It only took cracking both wrists and knees...
Along with everything else first...he thought.
One place left. Gripping it's neck...or, what was left of it, he brought his fist down before it could slip out and he could feel the weight give under the force of the blow, in-tune to the harsh crunch of bone caving in. He didn't stop until it lay twitching on the ground, unable to move with the bones cracked in half, completely immobile.
Heaving a relieved sigh, Wrecker sat back, still staring at the thing that had wasted so much of his time. Whatever it might have been before was gone and undistinguishable, lost with the crushed-in features and dark ooze bleeding from it's face and what was left of it's body.
Too bad...But not his problem. He had other things to worry about.
Glancing around briefly for his DC, he gave the writhing monster one more disgusted glance over before retrieving his weapon and giving himself his over cursory glance over, momentarily worried that now he would have blood on his armor - which, he had no doubt, would later gain a certain point of scolding from Joan; yet to his surprise, he found it was nearly completely clean. Instead of blood, there was some sort of pale slim-ish substance or other. The liquid on his glove was more of a mucus, but it came off easily enough. He made a face behind his helmet, gagging in disgust at the sight of it; It almost look like it was pulsing where he wiped it off hurriedly on the wall.
Just down the hall, Wrecker heard screams again. Jogging forward and around the bend as quietly as he could, he saw several more creatures surrounding a slim figure. He peered closer...and halted. Crosshair lay on his stomach, seemingly unconscious and completely oblivious to the masses swarming above him.
Well now, that wasn't right.
''Hey!'' Wrecker bellowed.
Dozens of green glowing eyes suddenly turned to stare at him, blinking in surprise. Without a word, he - typical of himself - charged head first and down the corridor before any of them could react. Two were crushed and immobile on the first charge as he smashed them into the wall, making sure the blow was strong enough to leave a large dent in the wall...which it did.
The next three he focused on where the ones closest to Crosshair, bent over him as they picked curiously at his armor. Grapping a creature by the arms as it rushed him, with one deft twitch of his fingers, he snapped both fragile wrists, whirled it around his head a time or two, and let it fly, crashing into two of the targeted nuisances. Another one roared and he bellowed back, running into a leaping kick which send it careening down the hallway. Fending off the attackers as he danced around and over Crosshair to keep from crushing him under foot in effort to protect him, Wrecker scrambled for something to finish them off. This was taking too long.
He needed to finish this now.
A quick glanced confirmed that most of the monsters were now in front of him and by the sound of it, there were only a few others still behind him. Hastily running the odds in his head on whether or not an obvious explosion would draw more - and deciding he couldn't tell, Wrecker chanced 'accidentally' backing up and being tackled by the last four. He let them crawl for a while, beating uselessly against his armor plates in effort to open him up; shuddering as his imagination send his brain a flash photo of an HNNE article that read: 'Top GAR RC torn from inside out with guts slowly becoming infected with unknown parasite. Condition irreversible.' before quickly shutting it out, he growled.
Okay, he'd had enough with being a chew-toy.
They didn't have time to run when he threw them off...Well, they did...They just didn't get very far before he smashed into the now tangled group one last time just for good measure, rather very satisfying crunches clinging in tune to the weight shifts.
Now for the finishing touch...he thought, backing up.
Though technically an explosive, the fire grenade wasn't as loud as he would have expected. Still, it got the job done.
They went up in a ball of flame, orange tongues of fire lapping at the walls and suddenly brightening the hallway. As the flames crackled upward, Wrecker took a moment to let the fire remind him of his days as a cadet, back when he and the others had taken that one survival training with Commander Cody. During that training, they had had to build several fires; however, the last one had undoubtedly been the best. It had been a big bonfire on the last night before they had returned to Kamino and that was what that this smaller fire reminded him of. With this fire, they were going home...
And he couldn't wait, cuz' this one was ugly from the fuel up and it stank.
His musings over, Wrecker cracked his knuckles and cheered.
''Most fun I've had all day.'' he commented to no one in particular, walking back over to his blaster from where it had dropped and hefting it onto one shoulder as he glanced down at Crosshair's still prone form. Rolling him over as gently as he could, Wrecker checked the sniper's pulse while resting a hand on his chest to make sure he was still breathing.
''Don't bother. I'm not dead yet.'' a raspy voice growled, patting his hand away.
Laughing in relief, he helped Crosshair into a sitting position.
''Ha! Crosshair, now you owe me one!''
''No. Consider that compensation for one of the five you owe me.''
''Aw, come on! I was hoping you'd forgotten 'bout that!''
''You're forgetting...I have a long memory.''
''Long memory, but sleep like a rock when you've been knocked out.''
''Why am I not surprised?''
As he rolled himself to his knees, Crosshair dusted himself off, eyeing the blaze a few feet away in the corner and undoubtedly noticing the source.
''You've been busy,'' he commented, carefully shifting his sniper rifle in his hands, ''What happened?''
''I donno. I just came here to tell you guys something; saw the creepy ghost things; fought them; saved you. End of story. What happened to you?''
''There was no heat signature from the creatures on my scope. Threw me off; another one came up behind me and knocked me down.''
''No heat signature?'' Wrecker glanced at the fire, ''Well, they sure have one now.''
The sniper hummed thoughtfully, before glancing back at his squad mate, ''What did you need to tell us?''
Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Wrecker leaned in and whispered, ''It's a trap.''
Unfortunately, the reaction he was expecting wasn't the one he was given.
''Oh really?'' Crosshair drawled, hauling himself to his feet. ''I wonder what gave it away.''
''Wait, you already knew that?'' Wrecker called as Crosshair began heading down another corridor.
Not even bothering to just stop so he could recover from the dizzy clenching in his stomach - though he didn't show it, the sniper called over his shoulder, ''Not definitely, but that was the general impression.''
''Aww man. Then that means it wasn't so important that I came here to tell you that.''
''No,'' the sniper agreed, ''but it was kind of you to confirm it.''
''Great, well that's settled. Do the others know it? By the way, where are they?''
''We got separated a few corridors down. We should find Tech first; he shouldn't be far. As for your first question, if they didn't know it before, I'd be surprised if hadn't figured it out by now.''
Peering around at the shadowed walls, noticeably pausing at the...what should have been blood marks spotting the walls, Wrecker watched his friend head deeper into the murk of the darkness beyond.
''So what do we do now?''
''We find the others,'' Crosshair hissed darkly, ''Those things fight in packs. We need to be able to even the score.''
At the same time...
Creeping down the maze of hallways, Tech carefully gripped both pistols, eyes darting to the map on his visor every few minutes. Ever since he and Joan had left the abandoned lab room, they had been trying to get a firm lock on Crosshair's helmet signal despite all the static it kicked up and warbled cross channels that cut in while trying to determine exactly where he was in the facility and how to reach him.
Luckily for Tech, that meant that Joan was busy enough to momentarily set aside her vocal functions rather then continuing to use them and rage about the situation as she had non-stop earlier. Unluckily, however, it didn't last as long as he would have liked. The metal walls, still dark and ominous, were probably blocking what little signal they could get because they hadn't gotten very far when the signal Joan had been tracking jammed and died.
There was a pause in the data on his screen...then everything on his HUD flashed a deep red as Joan swore, muttering about how lousy the situation was; from being stuck underground and separated from the rest of the squad to kriffing off about the fact that she no longer had camera access to keep an eye on Hunter and the others; Joan never was the type to be shy about voicing her opinions...or her language for that matter.
Shaking his head, Tech pursed his lips. She'd been hanging around the others too long.
''Joan, I believe it would benefit us both - and everyone else - if you merely would calm down.'' he suggested.
''Calm down? Calm down?! Do you realize what that witch could be doing to him?'' Joan cried, ''Excuse me, sir, but if there's one female who can give the kriffer a sweet-talk while planning to kill him, it's me...and me only.''
''Calm down, Joan. We will find a way to solve this.''
''We'd better! Otherwise I'll - Op...Hang on...I think I'm getting something. Hang this right...Yes, okay, keep going down this hallway; Toothpick's signal is coming back in. Walls must be thinning.''
''That would be illogical if that were the case do to this structure's very nature as it is underground.''
''I didn't ask you...and besides, what are you saying about bad design? You've seen the inside of your own ship, right? How unorganized it is and - Hang on, let me finish this signal burst, then I'll return to my rant...''
Tech supposed he may as well humor her and kept quiet, though he was rather busy focusing on watching his footing anyway since his night-vision was glitching for some reason, making the loose stones and cracks in the flooring harder to avoid.
''Okay, yeah...'' she continued, ''Where was I? Something about the Marauder...Eh, doesn't matter. But kriff it, I have got to put in a complaint to the top brass because service here is horrible. Seriously, I have to clean everything since you boys don't know how to pick up after yourselves. It's gross...Do you know how many cobwebs I've found in the storage banks, Tech?''
''I'll assume all the ones you missed after you cracked the virus firewall and had to clean up after all the systems shut down?''
''Well...yeah,'' she stuttered, embarrassed, ''but another thing: I can't move! I'm stuck to you and whatever hole you force me into! And now is as good a time as any to tell you that I'm leaving soon. I plan on building a carrier form soon as this is over so I don't have to be 'conformed' to your world any longer, reduced to an over-glorified secretary who just so happens to do all the work for you. I need to be independent of you doorknobs for a change and I hear the Bounty Hunters Guild is taking droids on now. Maybe they'll be interested in an AI who can do a thing or two?''
Briefly amused by the lack of logic in the jest of an idea, Tech cocked an eyebrow and asked, ''Given your rather apparent console restriction and hologram form, how do you plan to put all that together?''
''Me?'' she scoffed, ''You kidding? Don't be ridiculous; That's what you're for, isn't it? After all...''
Joan suddenly stopped talking, cutting off mid-sentence. On his HUD, Tech watched as her avatar cocked her head, all banter and wit replaced with concern.
''Teeech?'' she asked slowly..
Lump...lump...lump...
''Did you hear that?''
Lump...lump...lump...
Off in the distance, there was the faint sound of heavy footsteps lumbering across the glowstone-lit granite floors. Blinking rapidly at a settings control, Tech turned his audio and reception to the maximum, straining robotic ears as well as his own to hear what Joan was talking about.
It was too heavy to be Wrecker...
An animal of some sort? Had the laboratory ceilings caved in in certain areas and that was why they couldn't get any signal from it? No, no, that wouldn't make sense. They hadn't seen any cave-ins or depressions in the earth while scouting out the perimeter.
An older model cleaning droid? But why then-
Lump...Lump...Lump...
No...No...wait...
''Joan,'' Tech murmured softly, ''Are you picking up any life signs?''
''No,'' she whispered back in his earpiece, ''But I would have a limited range of life detection just from your suit anyway.''
Lump...Lump...Lump...
His grip tightened on his pistols, adrenaline already raising his pulse as he unconsciously shifted from a fast walk to a quick, methodical crouched shuffle forward as it suddenly dawned on him what that thing was that he was hearing.
Of course it wasn't an animal...
Barely had the words formed in his head when a low growl echoed off the walls, sending a chill down his spine.
As Joan had said, it was much worse...
Darting forward for cover under a wall pillar, he fired at the nearest form, forcing himself not to panic as he shut himself down to autopilot. Fire, side-step, rabid burst, step back, aim, fire, back peddle...Over and over, the cycle continued, firing at anything that moved in front of him. Each burst of fire sent his head ringing. Darned kriff it, he'd forgotten to lower the helmet audio. Didn't matter. Hearing wouldn't help him if he was dead.
The constant motion left him unable to watch his back. He was basically blind save for Joan's frantic instructions before he could step on something that would make him trip and it would be game over. Scrambling back as fast as he could, Tech risked a glance back over his shoulder and saw a large pile of debris crumbled in the far corner. If he could just reach it, it might buy him some time...But how to get over there? Still back peddling, he kept firing, reaching back to reload one of his pistols when he felt a lump at the back of his belt.
It suddenly clicked in his head. The grenade! The one he'd snagged from Wrecker's kit just before they'd jumped down into the laboratory! It was the only one he had and he'd had other plans for it originally, but if it did it's work, one might be enough and the other plan wouldn't matter so much. He didn't have time to think; he ripped the grenade from his belt, slammed the primer, and chucked it behind him before sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him towards a large pile of debris.
''TECH!'' Joan screamed, ''Lower your aud- ''
Good advise too late and he didn't have time to react before it hit. He had just leaped over the momentary safety when the air cracked with noise, the shockwave tripping his landing. With agonized howl as it felt like his ears were being torn apart from the inside, he went down, curling into a ball as clutched his helmet, squeezing it as if the pressure take away the pain.
Force kriff, it HURT!
''Joan,'' he groaned, teeth clenched.
If there was a response, he couldn't hear it through the spasm ringing in his skull. Forcing his eyes to open, he saw the blurry outline of Joan's avatar on his HUD, squinting as even the dim light made his eyes water further. Blinking it away, he tried to make out her form. Her mouth was moving, but nothing came out.
Shaking his head once - though it only made it ring worse - he did what he could to read her lips, wincing as his ears started ringing. Luckily though, she was only repeating one message.
Get up, Tech! Get up!
Could he even? It was then he realized he didn't have his pistols with him right then. He'd dropped them when he landed; did he have time or energy to reach them before-
Beyond the blast zone, something screeched, making the ache worse until the noise faded completely, leaving only the ringing in his head. A brief burst of panic surged through his mind. Had he gone completely deaf? Why had...Before he could finish the question, a blur moved on his HUD. Joan shook her head, worry filling her eyes as she pointed to something on his screen. No. No, not yet. She'd just raised the noise buffer to protect what little of his hearing still remained.
''Than-k Y-ou,'' he gasped, shaking.
It wasn't much, but it was the best he had. And if he knew Joan - which, presumably, he did - he figured she'd done more then just buffer his hearing. Chances were, she'd also sent out the distress signal, kicked the suit's AC on, and also released a medspray near his ears. The chilled tingling a moment later confirmed this.
His hands were shaking as he reached for his pistols, just mere dull greens forms through the night-vision; when his hand touched the handle of one, the ammo charge popped up on screen and he winced. It was lower then he would have liked, but it was all he had...and he had to hurry. Tech might not have been able to hear the things coming up towards him, but he could still feel the ground rumbling under him. Much as it hurt, he didn't have much of a choice but to get up.
It was get up or get dead...and only one option was possible with the rest of his squad mates out there counting on him...
The unearthly scream made both men jump...They paused, weapons raised as they peered around. They couldn't see anything - which was unsurprising, but it hadn't sounded too close. In fact, it appeared to be getting quieter...
''It's from further down.'' Crosshair said in a hushed whisper, rising slightly from his automatic crouch, ''They're hunting someone.''
''Weren't they hunting us just a few minutes ago?''
''No. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time...This one...''
He broke off, thinking, when static abruptly burst on their comms.
''Contact, con*a*c! Thi* i* AI JO*A*9*9*00448 of*GAR *F99, do y*ou *opy? *repeat, do *u copy?''
''Hey, that's Joan. That means Tech must still be alive!''
''Yes..'' the sniper nodded, still listening to the garbled transmission, though it was basically just a repeat of the same message.
''We ha* ma*e contac* with un-ident*fied en-emy and are * pinned*down. Clone Forc*99, can *u rea* us? May-day, m*day! Thi* i* AI JO*A*9*9*00448 of*GAR *F99, do y*ou *opy? I repeat, do *ou copy?''
Crosshair smacked the side of his helmet, vying for a better signal. When the static remained the same, he turned in a small circle before determining where the signal was the strongest...Sure enough, it was coming directly from where the beasts screams where. He pointed down the route, jerking his head for Wrecker to follow, and they both sprinted towards the noise...
The corner was his last choice. Wedging himself in in the tight crevice in the wall, he kept firing at the nearest figures, mere misshapen dull green forms lumbering towards him in a swarm. The odds of surviving wracked at his mind. The numbers didn't add up! He was trapped and surrounded. Backed into a corner, Tech was firing as fast as he could manage but it didn't do anything! He fired but they didn't go down...and just when he thought his luck couldn't get any better, his pistols clicked.
''What!'' Shaking them frantically, Tech checked the charge. Empty.
From inside his helmet, Joan could only watch as he got dragged out of the crevice only to be rammed back against the wall, vital systems peaking.
Tech, Tech don't you dare die on me, she 'thought', Hang in there just a little longer. Someone's coming...someone has to be coming...Somebody...please...
But it was over. Tech was on his knees, dead tired and in pain; his pistols were useless. He didn't have anything else he could do except wait...and for that, he didn't have to wait long. As soon as the creatures seemed to realize he was helpless, they bellowed - not that he could hear it - and rushed forward with arms outstretched...Only to skid to halt at the sound of a familiar bellow.
Feeling the ground shake beneath his back, Tech looked up...and through the mass tangle of legs, saw Wrecker charging straight for him, Crosshair at his heels and sniper rounds already hitting their marks. Though they didn't seem to know that hitting them would do nothing, Tech felt relief release his chest of tension just at the sight of them coming.
As Wrecker adored saying: The cavalry had arrived...
It didn't take long to find Tech...or rather, the beasts surrounding him. Granted, it hadn't been hard. The explosion had been enough to find them. Sprinting down the halls, Wrecker and Crosshair didn't pause when they saw the creatures. In fact, Wrecker let out a laugh and dove into the fray while the sniper hung back, taking shots at the ones that were too close to Tech for comfort.
Shadows shifted, slithering and squirming as one, turning what was left of their heads to stare at the new threat. As loud cracks filled the air with every deliberate snap of bone he made, Wrecker wondered if they could even see him with those pale, listless eyes.
Eh, didn't matter. They wouldn't be living-dead long enough for him to find out; not with Tech on the other side of the horde and he needed to get through them, with Crosshair watching his back...and, to be honest, not that he cared either. He'd leave it up to Tech to wonder about useless stuff like that once they got out of here.
Another crack, another bloodless limb torn, another scream of some unearthly origin. But as the tiny battle continued, Wrecker noticed something. Was it just him? Or were some of the screams getting...dimmer...somehow? Were the ones he was fighting right now...slowing down? Backing off...?
He was just about to punch a whole through one creature when something beat him to it, instead slicing open the back of the neck so the head cracked backwards, now parallel with its spine. Wrecker winced in disgust, shoving the thing aside and had just enough time to see the blurred light green figure of Tech spinning on his foot with his special knife in hand before ducking out of view as he dodged a blow from another enemy.
Awww, kriff it. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Crosshair must have read his mind because he flicked on the comm and teased, ''Little brother take your butchering knife?''
''Yeah, well if you're so jealous, why don't you just join in on the fun?'' Wrecker shouted back, not bothering to use the comm. He knew the sniper could hear him plenty well without it.
''No thanks. I like it right here.''
As if to prove it, his next shot caught Wrecker's new victim right between the eyes.
But still, the demo specialist couldn't help but notice how the things were beginning to back away, leaving them a little space to regroup. Another scream rose out of the darkness, yet this one was distant...All of a sudden, things went very still. Shoving away from a creature that had jumped on him, grapping it by the neck and wringing it until it snapped so he could fling it away, Wrecker looked up...around...All in complete confusion, as did Tech from where he had been knocked to the ground and Crosshair from his sniping corner. Despite having literally just been fighting them, it was as if they weren't there anymore...they had just become invisible...
Wrecker made a move to step forward, but Tech held up a hand, watching in fascination as the group turned and ran down the connecting hallway. One, the very same which Wrecker had first noticed Tech using his knife on, was straggling behind, unable to see where it was limped to catch up with the others, but didn't get very far. When the others typically didn't want him to be, Wrecker could be surprisingly fast. Tech and Crosshair didn't have time to stop him or see its last final moments; All they heard was the pounding of feet and the squishy slithering sound as it squirmed under his grip before there was a loud crack as the clone put his foot through what was left of its face.
Silence...
''Well...that was weird.'' Joan broke in, releasing the sudden tension that the others hadn't noticed was even there and allowing them to breath.
Turning back to Tech from where Crosshair was helping him up, Wrecker asked, ''Are you alright?''
There was a pause, and Wrecker began wondering if Tech had even heard him when he suddenly glanced up, eyes darting to a string of words on his screen.
''Yes,'' he replied lightly, brushing himself off with a slight air of annoyance, '' At least, I believe so.''
''Be darned if he's not,'' Joan muttered. Yet, Tech seemed to ignored her, handing Wrecker back his knife as he retrieved his pistols, and continued, ''I am still a bit shaken and my ears are ringing - though still functional. However, I regret that I am out of ammo.''
''Yeah, that,'' the AI whispered in their earpieces, ''and his ears aren't just ringing; his hearing is damaged at the moment, just so you know...He's a little wobbly, but oddly enough, he can still shoot straight so give him the ammo.''
There was a moment of pause as Wrecker and Crosshair faced each other, both basically thinking more or less the same thing...Except only one of them had a valid excuse.
''Well, what are you looking at? My extra wouldn't fit into his pistols; You have your hold-out pistol ammo.''
With a slight sigh, the sniper reluctantly pulled the pack from his belt and handed it over, though he gripped it a little longer as Tech tried to take it and growled, ''Don't use it all for one kill.''
The specialist eyed him while he proceeded to clip the ammo to his pistols, watching as the charge lit up.
''That endeavor would be as illogical as would be pointless.''
''So glad we've established that.''
''Yeah, now where's Hunter?'' Wrecker asked
''Unfortunately, we were all separated when the doors began closing. As to his current location- ''
''Ain't nut'en definite,'' Joan cut in with a bored-sounding drawl, ''However, if my calculations weren't correct then we'd all be dead by now and we wouldn't know that our distinguished leader is somewhere towards the center of the lab...or at least was. The last signal I got was blocked a while ago; probably from some sort of blocking...thingy...bopper...or other.''
Her avatar appeared on their HUDs and she was scowling, one lip curled in the way she only did when she was being sarcastic.
''Of course, given how the...'' she motioned with air quotations, ''expansive and glorious honcho of this hellscape seems to be keeping him company at the moment - from what I can tell - I suppose he won't mind if we take our time.''
''What do you know about him?'' Crosshair sneered.
''Her, Toothpick. Who else would be crazy enough to come up with something like this? Well, anyway, apparently, she was - well...okay, I'll give you a very fast basic run-down of all the useless info about her. Listen carefully or you'll miss it.''
A warbling collaboration of noise spouted from their helmet speakers, sounding vaguely enough like a voice but too fast to be understood. She stopped.
''Okay there. Now that we got the useless basics down...Doctor Leanan Rayvn is the lead scientist here at Muutmine Laboratory, a CIS funded bioweapons creation and study of the obvious. It was requested by Lok Durd...blah, blah, blah...A year before the Clone War, she was part of an field trip to Geonosis where she and her team captured some of the hivemind larvae for study, a bunch went wrong with it...OoooOoooh, that's rich. Oddly enough - huh - she's the only one to come out alive - imagine that, I wonder why...Apparently, Durd got wind of it and set her up the CIS for her to 'further her research'. So now, she's testing blood samples to see if the hivemind will work with human's via injection - which, in case you're wondering, that's why she has a hold of Sergeant Sappy at the moment.''
She paused, checking something...
''Oh yeah and get this, she was asked for an interview why she did what she did and this was her response: 'Why not? Other's have different jobs. Some build buildings, others create art, some govern while others protect civilians...All of those are occupations..as is mine. Only I create death.' Huh, nice little quote from her; I'm sure she's just as lovely in person...''
''Uh, Joan?'' Wrecker asked, edging away.
''Yeah, Hotshot?''
''Uh, can we just go find him now?''
There was a pause...Text appeared on their screens.
[Yeah, sure, let's go. :)]
''Can you lock onto where he is?''
''I know it's somewhere in the middle; but last I hacked the cameras, there were a bunch of hungry hooligans hanging around and I can't pick them up on the scanner so I don't know which hallways they would be in unless you were able to plug me in close enough to the control center that I'm able to hack in and guide you through; but you'd have to leave me behind. You willing to do that? I could zip to any console in the sector, just you wouldn't be able to pull me...unless you happen to have packed an extra suitcase for me.''
Wincing, Tech shook his head, glancing at the others.
''Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring an extra extraction chip. I wasn't aware there would be multiple injection and extraction cases.''
Sniffing, Crosshair cocked an eyebrow, ''That's a first. You didn't predict that in the multimillion alternate courses this mission would take from your calculations?''
Tech's eyes narrowed at the sniper after reading the subtitle text.
''I make rough calculations of what might happen based on what we know. I can not predict the future.''
''Yeah, well, I hate to break up the moment since we all just found out that Tech doesn't actually know everything,'' Joan 'yawned', ''but we got to go.''
''You got a plan?''
''As a matter of fact, I do.'' she sniffed. ''Didn't you just hear a few seconds ago? Something about plugging me in close to the control room?''
''I thought that ended in doom.'' Crosshair smirked, crossing his arms.
''It does if you don't get there. I mean, you want to die in a hole, be my guest; just don't take me with you. I got places to be, things to do. Unlike you hobos, I actually have a life.''
''Interesting interpretation of one.'' the sniper muttered.
''Hey, none of your sithspit. Focus on the mission and get me there.''
Turning back to glance over his shoulder at Tech, Crosshair gave the AI a casual salute. ''Roger roger, darling.''
...
What she said in response is best not repeated.
Earlier to present...
Time: Unspecified.
Region: Outer Rim, Cademimu sector
Location: Ajan Kloss, Muutmine Laboratory, Muutmine central lab room A7769
''So why tell me all this?'' Hunter challenged, still squirming.
She paused, griping him by the chin as she studied his expression, a slow smile cracking her face.
''I'm not sure,'' she admitted, seeming pleased with herself. ''I've often heard that villains 'monologue' to the heroes their dastardly plan. So tell me, sergeant...'' she paused, considering...''Hunter...''
He froze. How did she know his name?
''Am I the villain?'' she cooed, ''and you the brave hero come to stop me?''
Shaking off the weird tingling down his spine, he shrugged as nonchalantly as he could muster, trying to talk passed the nervous lump in his throat.
''Sure seems that way to me.''
Ravyn chuckled. ''So it would seem to you. Should I assume you have an escape plan already?''
''I'm working on it.''
She huffed in delight. ''Really? For how long I wonder? Perhaps my in next experiment, I should test your brain waves to see if there is a possibility to replicate them?''
''Yeah, no thanks. Blood samples are enough...and besides, I've heard- ''
Chip...click...scrape...
Straightening, he cocked his head towards one of the door, eyes glaring hard at the floor as he strained his hearing.
Scrrrrrrape...Chip, chip...Then came a low, sinister growl.
''What have you heard?'' Ravyn smirked, ''I like to think- ''
''Shhh!'' he shot back, pausing to listen again, this time glancing up when he heard another growl. It was different from the first. He'd heard several like it before, all from several different animals; but they meant the same thing.
Whatever it was was about to strike.
As the Dathomirian surveyed his body language, she tensed.
''What is it?'' she demanded, voice now in it's natural tone. Harsh and like a whip as apposed to the light, almost flirty tone she'd used earlier.
A crack explanation came to mind and he considered using it, but figured for now, it was better to hold off.
''Something's outside that door.'' he replied vaguely.
She took a step forward and hissed, ''What is outside that door?''
Okay, now he could crack it...albeit darkly.
''I don't know for sure; you tell me, doc.''
The sudden backhand made his right cheek sting. Wow, she was stronger than looked...and he said as much. That earned him another slap.
''Yeah,'' he muttered, wishing his hand was free so he could rub the stinging sensation away. ''If I were you, I'd slap me too; Should have known better then to get caught sneaking around. I'll know better for next time.''
''Enough!'' she screeched, oddly colored eyes blazing. ''What are you hiding!?''
He kept his expression disinterested, but inwardly, some hysterical part of him wanted to laugh. Did she really not know? Oh come on. She's literally probably built the karking things; how could she not know?
''I'll take a guess and say your sister since you missed tea-time with her.''
Ravyn growled, about to slap him again when she was interrupted by a louder clash. Jerking in surprise so she lost her footing and landed against her prisoner, she stopped...and stared at the large, five feet long-one foot deep dent now crashed into the door.
Convenient way of knocking, some sardonic part of Hunter's brain thought.
Clinging to him for a moment longer, the woman briskly scampered across the room and began typing furiously into the console.
''Mistress,'' the medical droid began.
''What?'' she barked impatiently.
''The creature outside is not alone...There are others just like it and they seem to be rallying at our lab room.''
Her eyes sparked and her hands shook.
''Really?'' she asked, oddly...detached.
A familiar sense of foreboding gripped Hunter's chest as he watched her expression shift ever-so-slightly. It wasn't anything obvious...but he had seen that look before. No more time for games; he had to stop what she was thinking...and given what she'd told him about her project, he already had a fair idea of what she was about to try.
''Don't do it! Doc, don't do it! You don't know- !''
But she didn't listen to him; Instead, feverishly, she made a mad dash for the main controls, keying the microphone as she opened the screen to the security camera outside the door, which revealed that the droid had been correct. A single spotlight shown down on the horde and Hunter felt his stomach churn at the sight of the creatures; Ravyn, on the other hand...he figured by now she'd gone mad - didn't even blink at the sight of them. Instead...the fevered catch of her breath as she stared back at the 'things', the way her eyes were dilated, the slight tremor of her body. She seemed...excited.
Okay, yeah, she's mad.
''Test subjects. Take three steps back.''
The air crackled with an energy that made Hunter wince. The shift felt wrong. The scent was wrong.
Luckily, he wasn't the only one who thought so. In the screen, the hideous mass of creature seemed to stare listlessly back at her...then screamed and leaped for the camera, which undoubtedly was smashed as the screen suddenly went static. Startled, Ravyn jumped back, griping her hand to her chest...let out a sharp breathe...and growled in anger.
Whatever she had been trying to do hadn't worked.
Thank goodness.
''Droid, prepare the equipment. We're leaving.''
''Yes, mistress. What of the blood samples, test subject, research data-''
''Take them with us. This may have failed, but it will succeed elsewhere.''
''You won't have time,'' Hunter broke in.
''You know nothing!''
The reply was high-pitched and frantic. She was cracking. He just had to push hard enough...
''You take anymore time, and those things will break through that wall.'' He shot back, ''You just saw that those things can do...You've seen what those things can do. You don't have the kind of security that could keep those things away from you. You have to- ''
''I am well aware of what I should do,'' she snapped furiously.
Then, as if catching herself, she recomposed herself, lowering her head as she took deep breaths, her scent changing. It might not have been noticeable to anyone else, but he noticed.
Ah, another exploit to use. Perfect...She was scared for her life - though it was obvious she tried not to show it. Clearly, she knew and had seen what those things could and have done. Her plan hadn't worked and that was starting to set in. Okay, escape plan one: test run starts...
Ravyn briskly walked by, reaching for his DC17, which she had separated from his armor for some reason. Was the planning on shooting him now? Probably...Might even be a mercy if he was honest and if things went wrong. But he couldn't think like that...Not yet.
Now...
''Hey, Doc, you need to get me out of here!''
Ravyn rolled her eyes.
''And then be threatened both outside and in? I don't believe- ''
''Listen,'' he snapped, ''you need me in order to get out of here. You let me go and I can get you passed those things.''
The doctor stopped talking, studying him quietly for a few moments before saying slowly, ''If I did, then in the end, the roles would be the reversed and I would be your prisoner.''
Hunter shrugged, ''Better then dying.''
Is it though? he could practically hear her thinking. The distinct smell of complete terror was now rolling off her in panicked waves, though expression-wise, she seemed completely calm.
''Assuming I agreed, what guarantee do you have that you can get me by the creatures and will safely return me to Mustifar where many of my other colleagues are conducting research?''
Lip curling, Hunter gave her a dubious look.
''None. Not for that last bit. I can confirm probably getting you out, but not to Mustifar. I don't exactly like the view from right here and chances are, there it's not any prettier. Look, I get you out of the lab and you're on your own from there; we part ways. Deal?''
Her lip curled...and she gave a tight nod.
''Okay...I'll do it.''
Granted, she'd have to be a complete fool to think he'd actually just let her go like that. 'Part ways' could mean many things...and he had a few that came to mind...The one involving Crosshair's rifle seemed the most inviting if those 'things' happened to chase them up to the surface, but a stun setting for her might do just as well...plus it would be considered more 'ethical' to let her live and just hand her over to the Republic to be tried for treason; though, chances were, that would take too long and by then, the Seps might actually rescue her if she was surprisingly of any value to them...and of course, they couldn't have that, now could they?
If she hadn't been standing right there, Hunter might have sighed. Decisions, decisions, decisions...
With a sharp , she briskly set the task of loosening the straps. As each piece of the restraints fell off, Hunter carefully tested limb, rolling his shoulders and kicking out his legs to make sure the blood had still been flowing enough to bypass going numb. It wouldn't do to only have half-use of his limbs during combat.
''My armor?''
Ravyn tightened her lips but nodded towards the cabinet.
''Good, but first...'' He grabbed his DC, aimed towards Ravyn, and fired.
She choked a protest as she ducked, covering her head before hearing a metal 'clunk' and pivoting to see the medical droid laying on the ground with a smoking hole through its 'brain'.
''I- '' she started.
''I don't want that thing buzzing around while I try to get you out,'' he growled, not mentioning the fact that the chances of it still retaining any of his medical tests was very high. ''Besides, it will only slow us down. We're going to need to move fast.''
Making his way over to the cabinet, he was interrupted by a harsh 'Ahem.' Amused as he recognized the voice and tone being used by the voice, he glanced over his shoulder, smirking.
''Well, it took you long enough.'' he quipped.
''Did it really though?'' Joan snapped, hands on her hips as she glared at him, ''Didn't seem to me that you were taking any notice of the time so I just didn't want to intrude while you were...''
Her upper lip curled in distain as she glanced at Doctor Ravyn, ''Making the 'good doctor's acquaintance.' With no adult supervision. Tut, tut, tut, you know better!''
''You know, you have an odd way of saying 'I've missed you.' ''
Confused by the sudden appearance of the AI's avatar above the control panel of the lab, Rayvn stuttered, ''Wha-How did you get into the systems!?''
''By this barbarian's younger brother.'' she snarked dismissively, ''Don't even try to kick me out; I've already shut down that lame excuse for a computer program that tried to keep me out. It didn't take long.''
Ripping the security-code box off the cabinet as he tried to remember how Tech had taught how to hotwire simple security, Hunter found the wires he needed to activate the 'unlocked' mode and quickly got to work.
With a slight chink, the door unlocked and he grabbed his gear, calling over his shoulder to Joan, ''Do you have access to the security doors and camera feeds?''
''Are you willing to bet your life I'm honest?''
Pausing for a split-second, Hunter smirked, ''What are my alternatives?''
The death-glare she gave he thought was absolutely priceless.
''Never mind; can you clear a path to the others?''
''Already dropping doors. If we're lucky, maybe a few well placed ones can be guillotines for strays.''
''Alright, I'll secure my gear and then we need to head out. Storm's brewing and we need to move.''
There you go. Not really a cliff hanger since you guys have been screaming at me for it ;D So instead, I leave you with merely not knowing what is going to happen in the next chapter. You're welcome. ;D XD
Okay, there's something I have to say about this chapter. If dark creepy vibes were not what you were getting while reading this, I admit, because it took me so darned long to finish this, I was listening to all sorts of stuff and some of it was poppy. Just saying. *shrug*
Another note (this time on the moon Ajan Kloss), I tried looking it and it's planet up on several Star Wars maps...and I couldn't find it. :/ In that case, since it was in the Outer Rim, I just picked a planet in that general sector that had had some Sep/Sith activity for Ravyn to mention. Whether it's correct or not has yet to be seen, but I did my best :/
XD Final note, I promise: There. The explanation as to why Crosshair's chip was activated. ;D If Wrecker's is activated after hitting it on a crash landing, then maybe that's how CH's chip activated: getting hit in the back of the head with a rock while underground in a creepy lab being overrun by zombies. ;D