CHAPTER SIXTEEN: FIREFIGHT
Jaina followed Zekk's instructions on how to reach the lab through the crawlspace in the ceiling. Looking down through the small holes in the ceiling grates she knew she had reached her destination. Before jumping down, she quickly reached out with her senses, trying to detect any hostiles in the room. There were several, but spaced out enough that she should have ample time to deal with each one of them.
Zekk hadn't said for her to wait for his return with Ganner and Lex, so as quietly as possible she removed one of the ceiling panels and jumped down. Almost instantly she felt her danger senses flash – and just in time too.
Her initial reaction brought her blade up high enough to slice through the blaster rifle being aimed at her head. Then she gave her attacker a hard nudge with the force that sent him flying backwards against the wall, where he slumped to the floor unconscious. The noise alerted the other guards in the room, and by the time Jaina had dealt with them all, seven lay unconscious, and one dead.
There were nine test subjects currently occupying the lab, all had their wrists and ankles strapped to their beds. There were monitors above each one of their heads, indicating their life signs. Half of them were barely conscious, while the other half were fully awake and registered Jaina's presence by struggling in their bonds and crying out for her help. Jaina tried to calm them, not knowing how far their voices would carry, but for all her work she might as well just have kept her mouth shut for they were not listening to her. Not that she could blame them. They were being held against their will in a strange place where experiments were being performed on them to suit some sadistic need of the Yuuzhan Vong. Zekk had told her all he had been able to find out about the invading aliens involvement with the project, which was not a whole lot, but if the Vong were involved it was definitely bad.
With her lightsaber, she carefully began freeing the ones that were fully awake, telling them to stay where they were until she had everyone freed. She was on releasing her third human when she heard the doors to the outside hallway open.
"Jaina?" She heard Zekk call her name.
"Over here," she told him.
She was moving on to the next test subject just as Zekk came into her line of sight followed by Ganner.
"Where's Lex?"
"She's sneaking into the hanger bay as we speak to grab a ship," he replied, taking out his own lightsaber and helping Jaina free those that were still held in place by their bonds. "I told her if were not there in twenty minutes to leave without us,"
She noticed how Ganner purposely came over to where she was helping one of the human females to her feet.
"Take her," she said to him before moving on to the next one.
"Jaina,"
She avoided looking at him when she spoke. "Let me do what I have to do so we can get out of here,"
"Jaina, please,"
She could hear the desperation in his voice, but it did nothing to quell her anger. "I have nothing to say to you,"
She was grateful when he gave up after that, allowing her and Zekk to free the last of the humans without interruption. The ones that could walk ventured out into the hallway without aid, while Jaina and Zekk took up the rear to help the others out.
Zekk could sense Jaina's hesitation and immediately understood why. "There isn't any time, Jaina. I know you want to help the others that are trapped here, but there's only three of us. When we get back to Courscant they can send a team here,"
He was right, but that didn't make her feel any better about the possibility of leaving others that were being held captive there. If they never made it out of there however, then the New Republic would never know what was going on on Borleias, making getting out of there alive with those they had rescued their first priority.
Some had already been implanted with symbiotes but were still to weak for the symbiote inside them to have any control. Their only hope was that the New Republic doctors would be able to find a way to remove it.
There was an eerie silence as they hurried along towards the hanger.
"How come the warning klaxon hasn't gone off?" She said. By now someone must have noticed that two of the Jedi prisoners were no longer in their cells.
"Because I disabled it," Zekk replied as they turned a corner.
There was a door on the right that opened when Zekk hit the release. They had reached the hanger – and there was a firefight going on inside. Laser fire was pouring out from the cannons belonging to one of the shuttles docked in there. From the small cockpit window Lex could be seen taking out trooper after trooper with her commandeered ship.
Before their presence could be noticed, Zekk shouted for them to make a run for the ship while he covered them.
Lex set the laser cannons on automatic fire and left the cockpit to help Jaina and Ganner get the others on board.
There was so much blaster fire Zekk was having a hard time blocking every beam that was shot in his direction. The ones he actually managed to aim somewhere hit a soldier in some vital area before slumping to the ground, presumably dead.
His streak of remaining un-hit ended when a blaster bolt grazed the back of his leg, making him falter. His concentration was gone. Without it, he wasn't fast enough to block the next laser beam that pounded into his shoulder…
Jaina turned around in time to see Zekk getting shot in the shoulder but still managing to keep his defenses up long enough to swat aside a bolt aimed at his head.
Without hesitation, she powered up her blade and charged after him, ignoring the shouts coming from Ganner and Lex.
Before she could reach him, he took what looked to be a fatal shot to the chest and went down. She didn't even have time to register his injuries as she heaved him to his feet, half-carrying, half-dragging him towards the ship. She could see Ganner and Lex close by, providing cover.
She heaved Zekk inside the open hatch, and a moment later heard it closing as Lex and Ganner came aboard. Lex immediately took off for what Jaina assumed was the cockpit. She knew she should go with her. That Lex was going to need an experienced pilot to get out of what would likely be an assault from the air, but she couldn't just leave Zekk.
She felt him stirring on deck in front of her.
"So, you couldn't let me die, huh?" A barely conscious Zekk said to her.
She tried to make light of the situation; even when without an examination she knew how serious his injuries must be. "Don't read too much into it,"
His chuckle turned into a hacking cough and he said, "I won't," before closing his eyes.