Chapter 19 - The Terentatek
The Eravana
Edge of New Republic Space
"Is he frickin' crazy?" Poe cursed as he, BB-8, Rey and Finn popped their head out from under the grating, checking both ways before they climbed out, "Did he just release all the damn monsters in the hold while we're still on the same damn boat!?"
"Evidently, he did," Finn nodded as he pulled his blaster, taking point down the hallway, "which should give us enough time to get past the Corsairs in the confusion and get to the Raptor."
"Yeah, that's if we don't run into something mean and nasty first along the way. Rey?" he stopped to look at her, noticing she was looking a bit pale, "Are you okay?"
"He's free," she said softly. At first, Poe was about to ask who but he quickly realized that was a stupid question.
"Where is it?" he asked instead.
"I dunno. The ysalamiri are playing havoc with the Force. It's like trying to see in the dark. But he's there, and if I can sense him, then he can sense me."
"Would the yssalmir affect him the same way as they do you?" Finn asked.
"His Force based senses, sure, but he doesn't need those. He can literally smell my blood."
Couldn't we just throw him out an airlock or something? BB-8 asked, Hell, shoot him right at the Corsair ship while we're at it!
"Good luck trying, buddy," Poe grumbled as he drew his weapon, his senses becoming alert, "regardless, we need to get the hell off this boat. Rey, any chance Han might've made some major changes to the freighters layout?"
"I don't see why he would."
"Good. BB-8, see if you can pull up the schematics on Baleen-class heavy freighters. We need to know where the hangar bays are."
Gotcha. That might take me a few minutes though.
"In the meantime, we can follow this junction," Finn pointed out, "this is the general direction we were going before we ran into the Pirates."
"Pirate is such a strong word," an all too familiar voice called out from an adjacent junction, "If you are so inclined for the technicality, we're privateers."
From around the corner, emerged the Crimson Corsair.
"Y'know, Pirates and Privateers are the same thing," Poe deadpanned, "It's just one gets paid by someone else."
"Aye, that is fair, I suppose," Captain Sydow chuckled as he crossed his arms, "but I'm not here to argue semantics with you, lad. Speaking of lads," he then getsured his fingers at them, "take them."
Suddenly, there were surrounded by a dozen blaster armed Corsairs.
"Well, this is just marvelous," Finn cursed as the four of them went back to back, weapons raised, with Rey facing Sydow, her saberpike pointed at him.
Sydw shrugged his shoulders at the lot of them. "For me and the lads, it is actually. We got you, we got a ship full of very exquisite monsters," he then pointed to one of the Corsairs, "Mister Chester, remind me to look up ask Miss Bonny for prices on said monsters later. I want to get them sold before "
"I could just call her up now, boss, and ask her."
Sydow considered it for a moment, and shrugged his shoulders, "Aye, go and do that, Mister Chester," he then turned back to his prize, "where was I?"
"Um… you got us in a bind and a ship full of monsters?" Poe replied.
"Ah, yes, and now we have Han's droids under our control. Of course, we've been sidetracked gettin' here, but I'd say this day's been quite profitable."
"Hold on, how'd you get out of that junction?" Rey exclaimed, "I locked you in there not five minutes ago!"
"You do realize I have a slicer, correct?" he replied bemused, "Nice trick, by the way. Top notch. But perhaps you should have thought about closing all the other doors? Not one to think ahead, are you, lass? And it wasn't much to figure out where you were going when we saw you weren't with Han. Now, anymore questions before the lads and I collect our pay?"
"Yeah," Poe shot back, "how much to pay you to leave us alone?"
"More than what you've got, I'm afraid. Flattered though."
Rey suddenly shot her hand forward, a telekinetic blast ripping apart conduits and the bulkheads until it finally hit the blast door ahead and left a crumpling dent in it.
Captain Sydow, however, was still standing. As if on cue, the lizard-like Ysalamiri crawled up from his back to rest on his shoulder again, Sydow petting its scaley head softly. The lizard stuck its hissing tongue out at Rey and Sydow chuckled at this, "My thoughts exactly."
He quick-drew his blaster pistol, firing from the hip at the Jedi. Instinctively, Rey raised her saber, deflecting the emerald bolt upward and blasting an air duct directly above the captain's head. Coolant hissed out but Sydow had already taken a step to the side.
He pointed up at the venting coolant, asking bemusingly, "Hmm, was that for me? Bad luck, Jedi. Alright lads, take 'em."
A roar suddenly reverberated from somewhere down the hall, echoing with frightening cacophony.
"What the hell was that?" one of the Corsairs asked.
"Mister Chester, call up the boys in the cargo bay," Sydow ordered, "they were supposed to secure the beasts in the hold."
"I'm just gettin' static from their channel, boss."
Rey began to tremble in fear, her breath coming out in a terrified, stuttering whisper,"It's him."
"Captain," Finn said evenly, pointing down the hall, "the thing that is coming for us now is far more dangerous than you or us. We need to move, now."
As if to emphasize his point, there was a loud crash like a wall getting bulldozed and the low but steady rumble of something big and heavy coming their way. Sydow shook his helmed-head and scoffed.
"Alright, new plan. Kill whatever is coming this way, and then collect the bounty on these four."
"Did you not hear a word he said!?" Poe exclaimed, when suddenly there was a loud explosion as something mashed through the outer wall. The force of the impact put everyone on the floor, a silhouetted shadow standing ahead in the cloud of coolant. It's arms and hands spread wide as a low vibrating hiss went through them all, leaving behind a lingering feeling of dread cold to the bone.
"Well hello, Spooky. Your head will go nicely in my trophy collection," Sydow turned his head to his armsmen, "aim low."
As if in response, the carapaced-rancor charged headfirst like a bull reek, its carapace shielding the rest of the body as the Corsairs opened fire.
"RUN!" Poe screamed as they sprinted with all their might. The Corsairs didn't bother to stop them. They had something much worse to deal with as the air was filled with curses, crashes and screams. Not long after, they felt the beast's footfalls coming right after them.
Promptly, they began closing and sealing blast doors as they went, but they were being plowed down one after the other. Once they got to the next junction area, Poe stopped for a moment and stared up at the still unclosed blast door. It was bigger than the others and it dropped horizontally instead of vertically.
A grin crossed his face. "Hey guys, I've got an idea! But I'm gonna need bait!"
"Bait?" Finn asked, "What for?" Then he saw the blastdoor, "Ah, I see what you have in mind. Well-"
"I'll do it," Rey sighed as she marched towards the entrance way, "he wants me, afterall."
"Not after what he was able to do to you last time," Finn countered.
There was a sudden crash of metal as the final blastdoor between them and five tons of monster was sent flying. Slowly, with a deliberate slowness as the air turned frigid cold, the burned and manic-grinning Terentatek came into view.
It stopped for a moment, flicking its tongue out and licking its chops as its beady eyes glared down at them before speaking in a raspy, barely understandable gurgle of a voice, "Jeh-Dai…"
Rey's eyes went wide, her body trembling as her breathing became frantic. Slowly, it started to advance on them, its eyes shifting back and forth between its prey before they finally settled on Finn. It stopped, glaring at him with something of a constipated expression.
An arctic smile crossed Finn's face. "Not this time, monster," and he pulled Rey away. The Terentatek roared in rage and barrelled towards them, getting only ten feet in before Poe dropped the door on it like a guillotine.
There was a crash, a loud squeal, and then nothing. Poe let out a hoot. "Ha! Works once on a Rancor, works twice on a-Oh you gotta be kidding me!"
Poe had expected to see the Terentatek dead under the weight of the door. Instead, it was forced to its knees and holding the door up like a bodybuilder performing a deadlift. With the grinding of metal, it slowly began to push the several ton weight upward as it laughed at them.
Suddenly, they heard a Wookie roar behind them followed by the report of a bowcaster. The tungsten bolt sheathed in crimson plasma struck the Terentatek in the chest like a thunderbolt, barrelling it over and causing the blastdoor to slam into the ground with a loud crunch.
"And stay out!" Han bellowed as he and Chewie came in, "y'all alright?"
"Yeah, more or less," Poe replied before he was cut off as the door suddenly dented inward. This was followed by another and another, the metal struggling to hold back the weight.
"Everybody, climb on!" Han shouted as he mounted the gravcar and took off at full speed. They got exactly thirty seconds ahead when Han suddenly slammed on the brakes, turning around sideways.
Ahead of them was the main cargo junction tunnel leading down to the hangar bays, and standing between them was a confusing melee of monster, Corsair and battle droids. With a scowl that could kill, Han slammed the pedal to the metal and the gravcar rocketed forth into the crowd.
"Hang on!" he shouted just as the car smashed into the melee, sending combatants flying like bowling pins. However, their luck didn't last as they started taking on hitchhikers, the extra weight causing the car to bow over and scrap the ground as it moved.
"Get 'em off!" Han roared as he struggled to keep the car stable. Poe and Finn took turns punching, kicking and throwing Corsairs off. Chewbacca grabbed a B1 by its head and began using it as a club. Rey decapitated a Nexu that tried to swing at Han, throwing it's body with the Force at a pack chasing them. BB-8 meanwhile held the rearguard, shocking a Sand Panther off the bumper before turning around and torching a Corsair who'd grabbed Poe from behind.
Han rounded the corner, spotting the final passageway to the hangar bays when suddenly a wampa blindsided them, causing the car to roll onto its side and crash into a forklift. The repulsor lifts turned in that moment, catapulting the wampa away as the car threw the occupants in all directions.
"Ah you gotta be kiddin' me," Poe groaned as he pushed himself off the floor, "Is the damn galaxy determined to keep us on this ship?"
A blaster bolt whizzed past his head and Finn promptly grabbed him the scruff of his shirt, pulling under the cover of the car. "Does that answer your question?"
Finn then began return firing, but the Corsairs quickly suppressed them. Rey deflected the incoming fire, rolling over to them as she pulled the forklift over to cover their rear.
"They've got the front entrance covered! Any better back here?"
"Not even slightly," Finn grumbled, "where's Solo and the Wookie?"
That answer came when Chewbacca was thrown into the crashed car. They all turned to see Han ducking and dodging the enraged Wampa's frenzied attacks, blasting it at every opportunity.
"You ugly excuse for a furball!" Han roared, "You cost me a ticket off this boat! I'm gonna take it out of your hide!"
The Wampa snarled and charged. Han threw himself backwards, wincing as he hit the ground. Still, the Wampa ran right past him and Han put several well aimed shots into his side and legs before the Corsairs turned it into a smoking mound of burning flesh. Han immediately rolled to cover as they turned their attention to him, the car buckling under the barrage.
"We need to get the hell out of here!" Poe shouted, "Rey, can you try pulling their blasters away?"
"No, they still have their ysalamiri! Wait," she pointed to the far walls, "those are service tunnels. If we could get close enough, I could cut our way in and we could work our way towards the hangar!"
"Yeah, but it's the same problem as before!" Poe pointed out, "We'd get shot down the moment we try!"
"Then we're going to have to wait for him to arrive," Finn replied gravely.
"Him!?" Rey exclaimed, "You wanna wait for him to catch up!?"
"Yes. With any luck, he'll be coming down that hallway and that'll give us the time to escape."
Han shook his head at him, "Kid, you're crazier than Luke when he wanted to use the Ewoks on the Empire."
"Yes, but it worked, didn't it?"
"Wait…" Rey held up her hand, "the firing. It's stopped."
"Oh Han Solo!" the mocking voice of Captain Sydow rang down the corridor, "Did you miss me?"
"Not really!" Han shot back, "Why aren't you dead?"
"Because I'm clever, that's why! And I paid top credit for this armor."
"Why can't you be a good boy and die?"
"You first," Sydow chuckled, "which may come soon, depending on your choice. I have you pinned on both sides of this corridor and I have your droids under my command. Face it, ol' boy, you've lost."
"Games not over 'till I'm not breathin', Jak," Han retorted, "Cathorn taught us that."
"Ah yes, the great Cale Cathorn with his smuggler proverbs. And what good did they do him on the Kessel Run?"
"He died a hero. Something you will never understand."
"He died a fool, Han. Blow up one superweapon, and the Empire just made another five years later. It really wasn't worth his life."
Han's reply was to shoot him in the chest, sending Sydow flopping onto the ground like a wet fish before he pushed himself back to his feet.
"Ah, there he is," Sydow coughed as smoke billowed from his armor, "the lad who'll talk a grand game but shoot you under the table. Thank you for proving a point. Lads! Light 'em up!"
The car was pelted under yet another overwhelming barrage of blaster fire when there was a sudden crash and the firing stopped. An all too familiar hiss passed through them all as Sydow shouted, "You again! What are you, the pitcher from the drink commercials!?"
The beast roared and the pirates opened fire. Han pushed Poe, Rey and Finn out towards the wall, "You go that way, we'll catch up!"
"Oh no!" Rey shouted, "I already lost one friend to that excuse! I am not losing another, especially not you!"
"Get going!" Han shouted as he fired into the mass ahead, "We'll find our own way out! You and that droid need to get out of here!"
"But-!" a blaster bolt grazed her head and she dropped to the floor.
"Commander Dameron! That's an order!" Han bellowed as he and Chewie ran to draw the Corsairs fire. No sooner than they did than the Terentatek tossed a cargo hauler their way, crashing into the car and forcing Poe and company to leap away to the far wall.
"Yes sir," Poe reluctantly replied as they rolled to cover, "c'mon, we need to cut this door open!"
Rey nodded with a sigh, "Alright, I'll-"
They ran smack into a retreating squad of Corsairs. "Oh fer piss sake!" one of them shouted, "We just tryna run away from the bloody monster, and now we've run into you lot!"
"Um… so are we," Poe replied, "how about you go that way and we go this way?"
"And miss out on the 50k bounty on each of your heads, sobutyl'nik?" another burly Corsair hefting a rotary cannon asked with a vicious smile, "not a chance."
"Oh for-" Poe's words were cut off as the Rotary Cannon opened fire. Rey drew her saber as cobalt bolts slammed into her weapon, damn near knocking her off her feet as she struggled to keep the fire at bay.
"Hevi, fer frack's sake!" one of the corsairs screamed, "We gotta a frickin' monster behind us! We don't have time for this!"
"Listen to your friend and go away!" Poe screamed as he and Finn tried to take out the gunner, but Hevi popped up an energy shield around his firing hands, absorbing their fire.
"No, Aayla is hungry!" Hevi roared back like a maniac
"Aayla?" Rey asked before she saw the rather provocative painting on the side of the Rotary Cannon, "Oh stars, REALLY!?"
"Ya like her, devushka?" Hevi beamed proudly as he continued pouring fire into them, "I got her off an old clone! Maybe I'll put you next to her!"
"BB-8, where are we at with that door!?" Poe shouted.
I'm trying, but I don't have the fuel for this! The damn wall is too thick!
"Droid, do you still have Tekka's Saber?" Finn asked. BB-8 nodded and pulled it out, Finn promptly grabbed it and slammed the cyan blade into the wall up to the emitter, slowly pushing the blade up. Physics however soon reared its head as the metal's melting resistance slowed him down.
Poe immediately ran over and began adding his own strength to the effort, cursing as he did, "Jeez! What the hell is this wall made out of!?"
"Not made out of," Finn grumbled, "more like how many layers!"
They finally reached the top and Finn pulled the blade free, "Okay, on three. One, two, three!" and the two of them tackled directly into the metal wall, causing it to crash over.
Ignoring the jarring pain throbbing in his shoulder, Poe quickly ducked back outside and grabbed Rey by her belt, pulling her in. No sooner than they did, the Terentatek came charging in. Hevi spun and tried to blast the monster, but was promptly thrown into the wall with an audible thump.
"Back back back!" Poe screamed as it slammed into the wall and threw its hand into the open hole to grab them. Rey and Finn promptly drove their blade into the outreaching appendage, causing it to wrench it back in pain as it began punching the wall in.
"Oh come on!" Poe shouted, "Can't you just take hint already and go away!?"
"Nevermind that!" Rey screamed, "Just run!
No sooner than they cleared the corridor, the Terentatek caved in the wall and reached for them madly as they rounded a corner. A hiss of frustration passed through its clenched teeth, echoing down to its prey as they ran.
"Y'know, I got a feeling we're gonna have to go with BB-8's idea," Poe panted, "cause that thing ain't gonna stop!"
"At least until I'm in his stomach," Rey groaned, "still, how are we going to get him next to an airlock?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Finn grumbled, "if we can even make it to the damn hangar at this rate."