Forlorn IV:
Kara leapt forward, diving over the green pool of mud, landing on a strip of earth, covered in thick, convalescing hunks of dry moss. The stale air of the forest swamp was complemented by the monochrome and lifeless green that surrounded her. Tall trees with spindly grey trunks shot out of the swamp, covering the black sky with their dead leaves.
Kara jumped forward awkwardly, trying to place her feet anywhere that would swallow her up. She stumbled, bouncing off a tree as she tried to balance herself. Droplets of murky water fell from the tree tops, splattering on her armour. Kara slid to a stop on a dead piece of wood, looking over the murky expanse of the swamp floor. A light mist covered the ground, hiding the two eyes tracing Kara.
Breathing heavily, Kara looked either way.
'Delta Four to Commander. We're nearly back at the Shadow Blade' came the voice of Selethen.
The mission had gone to the dumps. An Imperial Refinery mining Forlorn's resources had been forced into lockdown after fierce local wildlife had plagued their operation. The Phantom Order had been directed by the Empire to exterminate the uncontrollable hives of Slip-Flies! Kara jerked back as one of the yellowy bugs emerged from the mist.
It was the size of her arm, covered in thick green goo, and had a nasty looking needle attached to its tail, called the tensor. Transparent wings vibrated rapidly on either side, keeping it aloft. Kara knew that the Slip-Fly could inject its tensor multiple times and continue to live, or it could shoot out its deadly weapon with uncanny accuracy, at the cost of its own life. Green venom that traced the edge of the pointy weapon would stop Kara's heart less than a minute after injection. No one had ever survived.
Kara raised her blaster, pointing it at the Slip-Fly, before firing two bolts of red into the creature. The blaster fire shredded through the bulbous yellowy skin of the bug, spraying its thick innards across the swamp. Kara doubled over, trying not to gag as the odour pierced her filter. Kara stumbled back to the nearest tree, swallowing the vomit before it could surface in her helmet.
Before Kara could escape, three more Slip-Flies emerged from the swamp, disturbed by their comrade's death. Kara paused, unmoving. If one of those flies fired their tensor, Kara was dead meat. She watched their massive glowing eyes. The Slip-Flies appeared to be scanning around, looking for anything out of place. She knew it wasn't long until she was spotted. Taking action, she fired a bolt in their direction and spun around behind a tree trunk. A split second later, she heard a tensor slam into the opposite side of the trunk. There was a splash as the Slip-Fly dropped into the swamp.
Kara could hear the humming of the Slip-Flies drawing ever closer and knew she didn't have long. She fired a blaster bolt into the tree tops, drawing the attention away from her. The Slip Fly buzzed around the corner and Kara went rigid. It was facing the opposite direction, trying to spot the source of the commotion. Kara zeroed in with her rifle, not daring to make a sound. She squeezed the trigger, blasting the creature from behind. Its body was ripped apart and it dropped to the ground, splattering on impact. The last Slip-Fly burst around the corner, shrieking towards Kara with its tensor raised over its head as it dived in for the kill.
Kara dived aside at the last second and the Slip-Fly flew into the tree. It came to a stop, trying to regain its bearings. Kara hadn't come off any better. She landed in a thick pile of mud that immediately begun to swallow her up. Her rifle had already sunk into the mud, completely submerged. Kara tried to clamber back to the solid ground and found herself sinking even faster. The Slip-Fly had found itself and Kara watched it turn to face her. It stared her down and raised its tensor, ready to fire, even if it was totally suicidal. The Slip-Flies' primary instinct was to protect the hive even if it meant giving up its own life. The tensor twitched and then fired.
Kara didn't hesitate. She dived into the mud, finding herself continuing to sink deeper into the sinkhole. She was fully submerged and begun to count slowly in her head. Her armour would provide two minutes more of air. Kara forced herself to keep her breathing slow and even, despite wanting to burst into tears. She pushed her hand through the thick swampy mud, the mud resisting as she fell further downwards. Finally, after a moment, she found her utility belt. She tried speaking into her comm as she searched, but was answered with static.
She brushed her fingers over it, searching for her desired tool. She had thirty seconds left. She found what she was looking for. A concussion grenade. She forced her way through the mud. She had finally stopped sinking. Fifteen seconds left. She couldn't see anything beyond her visor, just a sea of brown compacted mud. Kara began to panic. She didn't know if her plan would work. The air was running thin. Her visor display flashed red, a five second warning counting down. Her chest shocks begun to go off as it tried to bring her back to consciousness. Kara fiddled with the grenade at her feet. It had to work. She could feel herself slowly slipping. Her vision fading. Her hands lost hold of the grenade. Her air had run out and she had her mouth sealed shut, trying to run on the fumes of air lingering inside her helmet. Finally, her hands found the grenade and she pulled the pin.
She was unconscious before the grenade could go off.
She awoke to ringing ears. She couldn't see anything past the brown mud on her face, but wasn't sure if it was just the mud clinging to her helmet. With a start she realised she was breathing fresh air. Or as fresh as air could through a filter thick with mud.
She brought her arms out of the mud, to wipe her helmet clear. It was still thick with grime but she was able to see. She was still in the sinkhole and rapidly descending once more. Her arms scraped at the banks, trying to find anything she could use to pull her free. She vaguely noted the dead Slip-Fly laying at the edge of the tree she had been using for cover but her thoughts were soon redirected to the task at hand. Her hands flailed, trying to find anything to latch onto. Kara gave out a cry of despair as she once more sunk under the mud, her hand still in the air, groping for anything.
Kara jerked as a hand clasped around hers. She felt herself hauled out of the thick mud. She pulled herself clear of the mud and collapsed onto the banks, breathing heavily. She looked up and saw Reeve, his armour also stained with mud.
'Thanks' Kara muttered, checking around her for any sign of the Slip-Flies. Behind Reeve were Barko and Rodin, two of the newbies who had replaced Kings and Seevor.
Almost half a year had passed since Kara had led the team to catch the Jedi. Kara had sent Wolfe and Tarkin in pursuit of the girl who had escaped Aeos Prime. Neither of them had returned and had Kara had lost all contact, forced to classify them as missing in action. All four of them had been replaced by four new burly troopers from the academy. The escaped Jedi hadn't been spotted and Kara knew she couldn't afford to send any more troopers in pursuit.
'What now?' Reeve asked, looking to Kara.
'We get back to the Shadow Blade and find a new strategy. We certainly can't just go blundering in again' Kara responded, checking the data pad strapped to her arm. It was a recent addition to her gear, built in by Rook. She could see a radar with several blips that marked her teammates. Kara looked up and saw her teammates looking to her for orders.
'Reeve, take the lead' she ordered. 'I'll take the rear and watch our backs.'
'Yes commander' Barko and Rodin called in sync. She remembered when she had first joined the team, she had been exactly the same.
'Next mission, I want you two to practice being less formal' Kara joked, letting Reeve lead them away.
'Of course, Commander' Barko and Rodin replied. Kara rolled her eyes and begun to set off. The two of them scrambled into place behind Reeve. Reeve capably led them back towards the Shadow Blade. Kara lost track of how long they had been trekking when Barko came to a stop. Kara nearly stumbled into him, too intent on watching the ground and keeping her footing on the uneven terrain. Kara looked up to see what they were looking at.
A massive black cone shaped hive hung over a swampy, strewn up between six or seven trees. It seemed to vibrate with an inner yellow glow. Inside was a constant humming. It was the size of a TIE fighter, and made the trees around it bend in strain. The Slip-Fly hive. Kara went cold, half expecting to see an army of Slip-Flies come from behind every tree. I guess they're too busy terrorising my team thought Kara.
'What do we?' Rodin asked, panic stricken.
Kara couldn't help grinning. 'We plant charges, get as far away from that thing as possible, blow it and run like hell.' Kara looked at Reeve and knew that he was smiling underneath his mask. Kara took the lead this time, crossing the swamp to the hive. The other three fanned out and Kara spoke into her comm.
'Command to Alpha 1; We've found the main hive. We're going to blow it. Hopefully, without their queen and hive, they won't be able to live. We'll be back at the Blade soon. Be ready to leave.'
'Copy that' Clips responded unconvincingly, obviously occupied with something else. Kara turned her attention to her task, planting a charge on a groove of the hive. She moved around the base of the hive, planting a charge slightly higher up. She moved around again, stretching up to plant her last charge. Reeve and Rodin hurried around to meet her, having planted their own. Barko wasn't far behind.
'Time to get out of here' said Kara, leading them away. As they broke away past the trees, Kara heard a familiar buzzing.
'Sparks' swore Reeve as several Slip-Flies emerged from the base of the hive, already hot in pursuit. Kara and Reeve broke into a run, leading the younger two behind them. Kara spun around, aiming her pistol behind her and firing at the Slip-Flies. They buzzed out of the way, barely disturbed. Kara swore, pushing harder. The four of them burst past a line of trees, running across a log to avoid the swamp. The Slip-Flies flew straight over the swamp, gaining on them. Kara knew it wouldn't be long before they were within range of the tensors. As they ran, more and more Slip-Flies joined the group behind them, the incessant buzzing vibrating Kara's whole body.
Reeve pulled out his detonator as he ran. Kara saw what he was doing and followed suit. Rodin and Barko caught on quickly. Kara decided to make the call. 'Three… Two… One!' All four of them activated the detonator, igniting the twelve charges on the hive.
There was an explosion from behind them, that rocked the entire forest. Fire exploded above the tree tops, illuminating the grey sky. There was a rise in the buzzing and Kara risked a glance backwards. There were at least fifty Slip-Flies now in pursuit of them, gaining. The buzzing of their wings was becoming intolerable. Kara pushed ahead, leading her teammates into an open clearing. The Slip Flies flew in, chasing them towards the Shadow Blade.
Relief swept through Kara as she spotted the black spacecraft, just ahead. She could see Rook beckoning Diano and Brock inside, hurriedly. Rook looked up and saw them sprinting, a swarm of yellow trailing behind them. He yelled something, but Kara couldn't make it out over the buzzing of the Slip-Flies. She stormed ahead, leading them to the ramp, when she spotted Rodin stumble in the corner of her vision. Rodin fell to his knees. Kara slid to a stop. Reeve and Barko continued to sprint forward, to the safety of the Shadow Blade.
Kara hurried to Rodin's side, yanking him to his feet. He was blubbering, and Kara pushed him ahead. He seemed to snap back to reality, before sprinting towards the Shadow Blade. Kara spun around and fired into the oncoming fray of Slip-Flies with her pistol. The massive swarm of Slip-Flies scattered but continued in her direction. Kara spun around, running hard, her legs stretching as she sprinted for the Shadow Blade. Barko had made it to safety. The ramp of the Shadow Blade was already closing. Rook leaned out over to help Reeve onto the ramp.
Tensor needles shot at Kara as the Slip-Flies drew closer. The swarming buzzing was closing in on both sides. Rodin had made it aboard. The ramp was pulling up. The landing gear had already closed and the ship was beginning to take off. Kara swept forward, leaping up. She dropped her pistol, raising her arms for the ship. The Slip-Flies were right around her. Kara's hand wrapped around the edge of the ramp. She hauled herself upwards, feeling arms grab around her shoulders, hauling her in. The ship was ascending and the Slip-Flies were pursuing into the sky. Kara reached out, and next thing she knew, she was in the safety of the Shadow Blade's hold.