Planet Aagi

by jalpari

The team arrives at the next planet on the list to continue their search.

A/N:

So excited for the next few chapters and your thoughts on them! Picking up the pace a bit and hopefully, y'all find it as exciting as I do!

Side note: There's a slight hint in the name of this planet. It's a derivative of a hindi word, the meaning of which is a clue to what's about to come!

""What's going on down there?" Keith frowned as they circled planet Aagi.

Pidge had picked up the terrorist's energy signatures as they approached the next planet on the list. The planet had been labelled as uninhabited but they had found another base. What they had not expected was the abandoned settlement in close proximity to the base.

"It seems like it was once a small town", Bani scanned the images for signs of life.

"We had no idea", Keith turned to Shiro. "Who could have occupied…"

"More importantly", Luten interrupted, "what if we find the creature here. What's the plan?"

"We'll have to improvise", Shiro sighed. "Bani has modified the memory serum. If we can capture it and hack into its consciousness with the new formula, we may be able to push through its defenses."

"The last time it was tried on the scientist creature at Olkarion", Bani leaned forward, "they could barely get steady brainwaves. It's like he has protective walls all around his memories."

"He meditates a lot", Noor added. "His will power and mental strength would be rock solid."

"I took that into account this time", Bani replied. "I've strengthened the serum using additional extracts from rare elements we synthesize ourselves. They could help trigger his waves making it easier to access the memories through their movement in the neurons."

"We can't afford to fail this time", Keith spoke with determination.

"No use waiting around", Noor stood up. "Let's go."

They walked through the empty buildings. There was silence all around. The base, as expected, was empty. Finally, Noor sat down on a bench in frustration. She thought through everything she had seen and heard when the creature had recaptured her. She thought back on its words over and over again. But no matter how much she combed through them, she wasn't able to unearth any clues to help them further.

They had been stuck at a dead end ever since it escaped the Olkaship. She still hadn't been able to repeat the water stunt she had pulled off on Sepi. Her visions had been pretty much the same. The only new addition to them was red. Just like the blue, she saw herself falling through red. As mesmerizing and soothing as the blue had been, the new red was terrifying and thrilling.

Suddenly, she heard a buzzing. She sat up straight and looked around. Everyone seemed to be going about the search unbothered. She bent forward once more as the buzzing sound dissipated. A few seconds later, she heard it again. This time, it felt like a soft thudding. She stood up and shook her shirt to air her body and wiped the perspiration off her skin.

She walked towards a giant courtyard that looked like it had once been a marketplace. The space was surrounded by small buildings with similar doors and windows and hatches in the front leading down to what she assumed were basements.

She walked to one of the buildings and peeked in through the dusty windows. She bent down and tried to open the hatch door. It was stiff and she had to tug several times before it snapped open and sent her falling back. She dusted herself off and peered down. Stairs went down into a dingy basement. She heard the buzzing sound once more and frowned.

She looked back and saw the team spread out. Pidge and Bani sat at a shop with their equipment around them, measuring, scanning, exploring with the bots. Keith and Shiro were entering a large building. Luten was further away along with Hunk. Noor pursed her lips and gazed down the basement again.

She walked down a few steps and bit her lips. It was darker than it had seemed from above. And she hated the dark. She braced herself and cleared her throat. As she went in, the heat grew worse. When she reached the bottom, she felt equally disappointed and relieved to find an empty dusty basement. But it felt like there were flames all around, making it unbearably hot. She grunted and made her way back up.

She walked around the courtyard and inspected all the buildings. It was beginning to look hopeless when she felt a heat wave hit her. She gasped as she suffocated in the dense hot air that seemed to have suddenly surrounded her. She ran ahead in an attempt to force a breeze around her and lighten the sickening heaviness.

Just then, a loud sound erupted behind her and she spun around just in time to see one of the hatch doors explode several feet into the air.

"Pidge! Shiro!" She spoke quickly into the comm. "Something's going on here."

"Are you okay?", Luten replied, "Headed your way."

"I can't see anything but one of the doors just blast open and there's some kind of…"

Before she could finish her sentence, people emerged from the hatch. And soon, the other hatches opened up sending forth more of them. Noor watched in shock as armed guards rushed out. She scrambled to her feet and prepared her daggers and shield.

"Guys…", she yelled, "I see them now. Lots of them."

"Fall back, Noor", Keith's voice ordered.

Noor began retreating as the silent army advanced towards her. She sent her daggers whizzing ahead and struck them one by one as fast as she could. There were too many. As they began firing at her, she fixed her shield on her back and ran as fast as she could towards the team, who were now making their way to her, ready to attack.

"So...what's the plan now?" She muttered. "Still improvising?" She took position beside Keith.

"All of you need to keep them distracted", he replied. "Shiro and me will make our way to the hatches they came from. The creature has to be close by."

Everyone nodded and charged ahead. As they spread out to thin the onslaught, Keith and Shiro made their way straight through the herd. Within seconds, Noor and the others were surrounded on all sides.

"I don't know how long we can keep this up!" Pidge grunted.

"I have an idea", Luten yelled into the comm. "There's an open ground behind. Let's lead them away from here. We won't be so cornered in the wide open space."

The team ran back, still shooting at the guards. As expected, the horde followed them mindlessly. Once in the open space, they continued engaging them.

"Keith? Shiro?" Luten muttered into the comm. "We're beginning to get overwhelmed here."

Silence.

"Did you guys find anything?" Noor prodded.

There was no response except some faint crackling. But even that was immediately muted by a deafening sound that stung their ears. They whirled around and saw several pods racing towards them. They were sandwiched between the approaching pods and numerous guards.

"Okay", Noor huffed, "this just went from bad to worse."

"We have to find higher ground", Hunk called out. "Let's move."

Hunk and Luten gave the others cover fire as they jumped and sought shelter in the boulders and outcroppings ahead.

"Keith!? Shiro?" Pidge repeated frantically.

Suddenly there were flashes all around them.

"Seriously!?" Noor screamed. "Bombs?! Is it too much to ask for a second's break so we can get our shit together?"

"I got this", Hunk announced.

They watched in awe as his gun transformed into a huge missile launcher. He sent three shots to the pods and managed to take out several. But soon, through the smoke and flames, they saw more advance.

"There are too many of them!" Luten groaned.

"Where the hell are Shiro and Keith?" Noor mumbled.

Shiro and Keith made their way through the maze like hallways. The basements were all connected underground. They had snuck in when the army chased down the rest of the team. To their disappointment, their hunt had so far yielded nothing.

They were about to turn back when they heard shuffling sounds. They darted forwards toward the source and kicked down a door only to see two guards disappearing up the stairs. Keith glanced at a ticking sound and his eyes flew wide open.

"Shiro! It's a bomb. We need to get out of here…."

They dashed up the stairs just in time. As they emerged from the hatch, the bomb went off and they saw an explosion shatter the windows and doors. But to their surprise, the explosion made no sound. There was just an unsettling silence.

"I think somehow they jammed our comms!" Keith tapped his helmet in frustration.

They heard a soft metallic clanging. Hurtling towards them on the ground, were two spheres. They clicked open and blinking lights fluttered inside. Shiro rushed forward and kicked them away and they watched in shock as the spheres exploded mid air, silently.

"How many bombs are there!?"

"Come on, let's get to the others", Shiro ran ahead. "They're going to stop at nothing to get Noor."

"There! I see them", Noor yelled as she saw two figured running towards them.

Two pods separated from the rest and zoomed towards Shiro and Keith. She heard a shriek beside her and saw whip-like projections wrap themselves around Bani and Luten. Before they had time to respond, they were dragged down towards the guards. Pidge leapt forward and slashed at them with her light whips but was caught off guard and entangled in another net.

Hunk and Noor looked at each other and nodded. Hunk gave cover fire as Noor rushed forward and grabbed Pidge's arm. She sent her daggers ahead and slashed the guard wielding the net. They struggled to set Pidge free but were distracted by a bright flash ahead. They looked up and saw bombs being thrown by the two pods towards Shiro and Keith who were evading and dodging them.

"Silent bombs? What the fu…", Noor grunted.

In her momentary distraction, the guard yanked hard and Noor and Pidge went flying down and landed in the middle of the herd. Noor jumped up and launched her daggers and herself at the guard. She struck him down, breaking his control on the net. Pidge squirmed her way out and fought off the other guards attacking Bani and Luten.

Noor fought hard. She punched, kicked, slashed, impaled, fell, ran, bled. It seemed never ending. She couldn't tell if seconds, minutes, or hours had passed them by. She could feel the fatigue set in. And just as she was about to give in to the exhaustion, she saw something from the corner of her eye.

She saw the pods zoom away from Shiro and Keith. And she saw a storm explode. A storm of flames, light, dust, and smoke. She saw two bodies being thrown up in the air and then collapse to the ground. And they didn't move after that.

She screamed as she tried to run towards them. She was caught by a guard and yanked off the ground. She struggled to break free but to no avail. She grew frustrated, unable to move, unable to rescue Shiro and Keith, stuck and held down helplessly.

She could feel the rage spread through her. And then everything went red.