CHAPTER FOURTEEN: BAIT
Jaina ran. Even when a sharp pain started burning in her side she did not slow. It dawned on her then that she probably should have thought out her escape plan more carefully before executing it, but she knew the reality of what would happen if she and the others waited too long. The only reason she, Ganner and Lex had not been killed already was because they were planning on implanting each one of them with a symbiote just like the ones she and Lex had seen in the lab.
After causing a distraction when the guards had brought their daily meal to their cell, the three Jedi had split up, knowing it would be easier to escape if the soldiers had to make several small groups to find them. The plan was to meet up in the hanger bay, where they would commandeer a ship and escape.
Jaina was currently running along a large access shaft that Lex had told her would lead straight into the hanger bay. She had no choice but to trust Lex's memory of the place, knowing it would be a lot faster then trying to find her own route. If she reached the hanger first, she could sneak aboard a ship and set up a line of defense against any troops that came into the hanger.
She skidded to a halt when the access shaft came to a sudden end. She didn't think she had taken any wrong turns, but the only way to find out if this was where she wanted to be was if she went outside. As quietly as she could, she lifted the access panel off and jumped down.
Lex's memory had proved to be correct. There were ships of all shapes and sizes covering the bay. The next hurdle would be to get aboard one.
She immediately crouched behind a stack of containers, carefully peering out at the situation in front of her. Without any weapons it would prove difficult to get near enough to one without getting shot by the now dozens of guards patrolling the area thanks to the warning klaxon that continuously blarred. It would have been impossible to keep their escape from going unnoticed for long, but since no one had spotted her yet she still had the element of surprise.
She may not have had any visible weapons, but she did have the force, and that was as good as any lightsaber. She came out of hiding when a pair of arms seized her from behind. A hand clamped shut over her mouth, preventing her from crying out as she was dragged back behind the pile of containers.
Jacen swung his blade wildly to prevent himself from decapitating the person in front of him. Instead, he managed to sever only a hand, but where a normal human would stop in pain, it only served to make this creature madder.
Out of the ten that had entered the room, three were dead and two were mortally wounded. But the changed odds did not make the current situation any easier for him or Tahiri.
They were unlike anything Jacen had fought before, and with their frenzied behaviour and no clear thought pattern it was hard to predict or anticipate any sort of attack. The majority of his movements were counter attacks or reactions.
His first attempt to get inside the creatures mind had forced him to shut down his force senses completely to avoid risking an overload of emotions to his brain. Inside its mind were nothing but raw emotions and primitive behaviour. The pain and confusion he felt coming from it had nearly made him pass out - and he would not make the same mistake again.
Together, he and Tahiri gave the remainder of the creatures one, giant force shove, sending them crashing into the nearest wall, stunning them momentarily.
Not wanting to stick around to see how long the stunned state would last, Jacen and Tahiri sprinted from the room and down the corridor.
They were running so hard, they nearly ran headfirst into another of the creatures. Jacen couldn't react with his saber fast enough, but when the altered human moved to attack the ceiling collapsed overtop of it. All that could be seen was a dark blur and a violet energy blade taking out the monster before it could do them any harm.
"Anakin!" Jacen said, breathlessly.
"Are you all right?" He asked them both.
"Fine, but we need to evacuate everyone,"
"No argument from me," Anakin said, and the three of them began running but at a much more cautious speed this time.
"How did you know?" Tahiri asked from beside him.
"Jedi's intuition," he said, flashing her a grin.
They saw Tenal Ka approaching them, flanked by two soldiers. "All non-essential personnel have been evacuated," she told them. "The rest are fighting off the changed humans to keep them from escaping,"
"What's causing this?" Anakin asked her.
"I do not know. But if they are not stopped there will not be anyone left to find out,"
Anakin nodded thoughtfully. "Take Jacen and protect the villagers outside," he said to her. "Find everyone who's left in here and get them out,"
"What about you?" Jacen asked, having the feeling that his brother was about to do something both extremely brave and extremely stupid.
"I'm going to stop them,"
"I'm coming with you," Tahiri said.
Anakin looked at her. She was still showing signs of her previous injuries, but he had to trust her to decide for herself that she was all right.
He nodded without protest and they left Jacen and the others.
They reached the nearest turbo lift, but with the power out it would be useless. Anakin sliced a hole in the bottom of the lift and they jumped down several meters to the bottom level. Using his saber as a source of light, he led the way into the large room that had been converted into a lab since their arrival.
"What are we doing here?" Tahiri asked him.
"I think I've figured out why the attacks are happening when the sun is still out," he said, reaching into the freezer and removing several blood samples. "They've got a taste for human blood now," he began. "And since Baxter implemented the sundown curfew, they haven't had much to feed off of because of everyone's safe indoors. But what if they've adapted to these changes? What if they've altered their hunting patterns in order to survive. Think about it, there's not much wildlife on this planet, so it's either adapt or die,"
"Anakin, that's - "
She stopped herself from finishing that sentence when she considered the possibility that he might be right. When she thought about it, the idea did not seem so farfetched. The truth was they understood so little about these creatures that anything was possible. She pointed to the vials in his hand. "What do you need those for?"
"What if these creatures are more intelligent then we gave them credit for? Maybe the other reason the attacks have become so frequent recently is because they know we have one of their kind,"
"And you think they might try and get it back even if it's dead?"
"I don't know, but I'm hoping they will or this will all be for nothing," he said to her. "If their sense of smell is as good as I think it is, we could use these to lead them to wherever we want them to go," he said, holding up the small vials.
"Bait,"
"Exactly," he said. "But you might not like the rest of the plan, that's why I was going to do it on my own. I was going to set charges in the lab here and once they're inside set them off." He pointed to the far side of the room where a large slab of metal had what was the size of a human being on top, covered with a long white sheet. "With their dead friend over there with the sheet draped over him, it shouldn't be too hard to convince them that this is where they want to be. It's either that or they destroy the village," he said, watching her expression carefully. "We don't have time to come up with another solution,"
"So what are we waiting for?"
He hesitated. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"No," she admitted, "but we have to do what we have to do, right? It wouldn't be right to stand by and do nothing,"
"I'm glad you're with me on this." He handed her two thermal detonators. "Now, set one of these by the doorway – "
"Uh-uh, no way. I'm not letting you be the bait,"
"Tahiri, we're both the bait. I'll be leading them straight to you. Set the detonators and get yourself out before I lead them straight to you,"
When she finally agreed, Anakin left and retraced his earlier steps through the deserted hallway.
He climbed back up the turbo lift shaft. Unmistakably, the shouts and screams of the altered humans could be heard not far from his current position. He made a trail with half of one of the blood vials leading to the lift. He had barely made it back down the shaft when he heard them closing in behind him. He continued to leave a trail of blood as he headed back towards the lab.
"Tahiri, how's it coming?" He said into his comlink.
"They're set,"
"Get out now,"
"I'm coming to find you,"
He nearly swore. He should have known she wouldn't leave him.
He continued to drop blood, and it wasn't long before the creatures were catching up to him. When he turned back at one point he could see one of their dirty faces.
There was still no sign of Tahiri. "Tahiri, where are you?" he shouted into the comlink.
She didn't respond back but he could hear an ear-splitting scream in the background that made him run faster than he thought was possible.
He made it to the lab ahead of the pack in time to see Tahiri engaged with one of the creatures. He went to help her when he was knocked down from behind. He felt nails digging through the skin on his back, and rolled over, trying to shake the creature off of him. There was a loud yelp and he managed to break free.
Staggering to his feet, he realized only two of the things had followed him in. Had they sensed it was a trap? It seemed impossible, but there was no time to dwell on that now. They needed to get out of there before they got buried alive.
He saw Tahiri falter as the thing smacked itself against her injured ribs. She was on the ground, her lightsaber out of her reach as the creature reared back its fist to knock her out. Then she was blocked from his sight when the creatures double-teamed him. Anakin managed to take one out with his saber before the other one jumped him and knocked him hard on his back. He was gasping for air when he felt it lift him up and smash his head against a nearby table.
He heard the familiar hum of his lightsaber and felt his body being dragged along the ground just as the first detonator went off.