Chapter 20 - Out the Airlock
The Eravana
Edge of New Republic Space
Finn, Poe and Rey had been running for several minutes along the ship's many service tunnels before BB-8 finally called far ahead.
"What'd he say?" Finn asked.
"He says he found a backdoor to the hangar," Poe panted, "good thing, too. We've been going around in circles."
"You need to get into shape, flyboy," Finn chuckled.
"Hey, I am in shape! I've just had a terrible week!"
"Oh please," Rey snorted, "you two try scaling a Star Destroyer from the ground level."
They rounded the corner, finding BB-8 plugged into a console and fiddling with the locking mechanism. He gave a grunt of frustration, and Poe translated. "Some kind of lockdown mechanism. He can't override it from here."
"That's just swell," Finn sighed as he examined the blastdoor, "well, Rey and I could try to cut it open."
"Or I can do this. Stand back," Rey gestured as she placed her hand against the door. With several moments of concentration, the loud report of the doors unlocking sounded and she carefully pried the two halves open with the Force. As it opened, they immediately ducked to cover as Corsairs and B1's came to view.
"Oh come on!" Poe cursed, "Didn't we just leave this party?"
Ahead was the Emerald Raptor, and between them was a collection of Varactyls, Maru, a Dragonsnake and a very angry Acklay covered in wounds being corralled into a corner with stun pikes. More droids were coming in through other entrances, quickly securing the rest of the hangar.
"How many of B1's did Han say he had?" Poe asked.
"He didn't," Rey answered, "but there's probably more on the way. So what do you think? Tiptoe around them and get to the ship?"
"I say we make a run for it," Finn offered, "it's either shoot at us and potentially let those things loose, or not. We deal with anything that gets in our way."
"Okay, that sounds good," Poe nodded, "but it'll help if we had somekind of distraction first. Rey, think you could chuck something at 'em?"
"Don't need to," she grinned and pointed at the far wall, "we're about to get our distraction."
On the far side of the hangar, they heard the loud report of blaster fire and a creature bellowing in pain. Suddenly, the entire wall section exploded as a smoking Reek plowed through before sliding to the floor. Behind its burnt carcass, Han Solo and Chewbacca charged through the breach. The wildlife took their chance and all hell broke loose.
"RUN! GO!" Finn bellowed as they took off running, dodging from cover to cover and exchanging fire with the enemy. Ahead, Han and Chewie ran to meet them, Han grinning as they did.
"See, Rey? Told you we would catch up."
The Wookie then growled at them, and Rey chuckled as she deflected a bolt and sent a Corsair flying. "You can call me Little Krayt when we're on the ship and out of here! Han, did your droids fix the ship?"
"Should've!" he called as he dropped a pair of droids, "But I was counting on Sydow hacking the droids! We'll have to finish what they started!"
They all dropped behind a collection of shipping crates, trading shots with a squad of Corsairs who were using the Raptor as cover.
"With the two of us, that won't-" Rey trailed off, and Finn noticed she'd become deathly white. Then he felt it, though lesser than what he guessed Rey was feeling.
"Where is he?"
"Right behind us."
No sooner than she said that, they all heard it: a vibrating purr that passed through them like a cold wind. They all turned and on the far side of the hangar, the blastdoors were ripped apart with a shrieking groan. Through the widening crack, appeared the Terentatek.
"Jeh-dai…" it hissed at them as it slowly began to push its way through the opening.
"Run!" Han shouted. The Corsairs paid them no heed, instead turning their fire on the much graver threat. Finn felt a pulsating thump of a drum in his head, and even his vision was starting to go blurry. He cursed, forcing back the mental assault on his mind as behind them roar of battle filled his ears.
Then suddenly, Rey stopped and pulled them all back with a telekinetic pull. No sooner than she did, the great carcass of the reek flew overhead and slammed right onto the Raptor's loading ramp.
"Oh you gotta be frickin' kidding!" Poe shouted as everybody rose to their feet, turning to find the Terentatek coming right at them. Chewbacca was the first to react, firing a bolt right into its chest as he roared a battle cry. The beast howled in pain, stopped in its tracks as everybody else poured on fire.
Its carapace buckled and smoked under the onslaught, but it just kept coming.
"Down!" Poe screamed as they all dived out of the way, the Terentatek slamming into hull of the Raptor and bouncing off, momentarily stunned. Rey quickly took advantage of this, throwing crate after crate at the beast. Then it caught the last one and threw it right back at Rey. She somersaulted to avoid the attack, but another was sent her way; the doors of it spilling open and sending a barrage of boxes at her.
The onslaught struck her everywhere at once, a medical cart knocking her hard in the head as she was buried beneath the weight. Howly with mad triumph, the beast began to prowl towards her before it took a bolt to the head and doubled over. The Terentatek curled into an armored ball as Finn, Poe, Han and Chewie rained fire on it.
Suddenly, it kicked out with its haunches and sent an avalanche of crates their way.
"Look-" was all Han could get out before he and Chewie were buried under the storm. Finn dove to the side, but took a hit to the head. Everything became blurry and disoriented, but he was conscious that now the Terentatek was chasing Poe and his droid.
"You want some of this!?" Poe roared, "Come and get some!"
His challenge was punctuated by the discharge of his blaster pistol and the foosh of the droid's flamethrower. They circled the abomination in a deadly game of tag, rolling and dodging whatever it threw at them. Then it ripped a pipe out of the wall, tibana showering its carapace.
"BB-8, don't!" Poe shouted, but it was already too late. The droid charged at the Terentatek, setting it on fire. The beast didn't even seem to notice and swatted BB-8 away with the pipe, sending the droid ping-ponging into a crate and out of sight.
"BB!" Poe screamed, and the Sith Rancor threw the pipe at him like a boomerang, throwing him across the floor hard. Before it could advance on either him or Rey, Finn ignited his lightsaber.
"Chew on this!" Finn roared as he leapt onto the monster's back, his sapphire blade ignited he plunged deep into its body. It let out a shrieking cry and thrashed about, trying desperately to throw Finn off. Before it could however, he dropped to the floor and lacerated its legs and across the knee.
Enraged, the beast swiped its oversized talons at him. Finn leapt backwards and drew his rifle, shooting as he moved. The Sith Rancor gave chase, tearing up the ground in its fury as the former Stormtrooper stayed one step ahead of it. The Terentatek then grabbed another crate and threw it at him.
Instead of trying to roll away, Finn rolled towards it and ignited his saber. As the crate sailed over, he slid right underneath the beasts legs and began hacking at anything in reach. The beast roared and kicked Finn as he tried to roll away again, sending him flopping across the room.
Before it could attack again, an all too familiar voice rang out, "Oi, Spooky! That's my bounty!"
Finn looked across the way, more Corsairs pouring in with Captain Sydow armed with a launcher leading the fray. He was a tattered mess yet somehow alive; his helmet cracked to reveal the man's manic grin.
"That's right, Spooky, I ain't so easy to kill! Let's find out about you, shall we?"
He shouldered a rocket launcher and fired its munition. The blast sent it hurtling backwards, its carapace a smoking wreck. However, it rose to one knee, hissing with murderous intent.
Sydow just grinned even further. "Hand me another rocket, Mr. Finnigan. I'm going to cook it fine rare."
The Sith Rancor bared its teeth and charged, giving Finn time to get his bearings and back on his feet. He spotted Poe, and quickly ran over.
"Ow!" Poe groaned as Finn and BB-8 got the pipe off him, "I think I might've busted a rib or two."
"Better than your head," Finn chuckled. Behind them, the Corsairs were fighting the Terentatek tooth and nail, even using trolleys and carts to keep it at a distance. The beast however was stubborn monster.
BB-8 chirped nervously and Poe shook his head, "We don't need to kill it. We just need to get it off this ship. We need to get it through the airlock."
"How?" Finn asked.
"How do you kill a monster? You get one of your own."
Across the room, Rey stirred under a pile of detritus. Pain radiated throughout her entire body like it had gone a full nine rounds, and she was only dully aware of being pulled free by Han.
"You okay, kiddo?" he asked tiredly.
"I've had better," she groaned, feeling a sharp pain in her neck, "I take it things have gone horribly?"
"Yeah, but Dameron's got an idea of how to get that damn thing off the ship. But we're gonna need your help."
"What can I do?"
"Can you mind-dom that Acklay over there?"
A tired smile crossed her face, "Well, it's been a while, but I can certainly try."
Finally, the Terentatek had found a worthy opponent among the insects. A burly Besalisk, strong for its species, had charged the beast in hand-to-hand when it'd ripped his blasters from him. Assuming a boxers stance, the Besalisk bobbed and weaved under its assault before it retaliated crosses and jabs to the face that drove the beast back.
The Terentatek wiped blood from its lips and smiled. It lunged, throwing a powerful punch that sent the Basilisk flying. Before it could advance, it heard a challengers call and turned to find an Acklay stomping towards it. The Terentatek peered curiously at the green crustacean, feeling something strange about it.
Then it turned its gaze to the right, and saw why.
"Jeh-dai…" the Rancor hissed with a manic smile, before the Acklay attacked. It thrust its legs forward, trying to impale the Terentatek as it shuffled out of the way. Then it grabbed one of Acklay's legs and bit into it with a sickening crunch. The Acklay shrieked in utter pain before it returned the favor, reaching its long down and chomping into the Terentateks shoulder.
The Sith Rancor growled in pain, releasing the leg as it tried to wrench itself free. The Acklay used this opportunity to throw the beast towards the airlock, stomping right after it. Before the Terentatek could rise, the crustacean slammed its leg down through it's chest. Blood splattered from the wound as the Sith Rancor was skewed to the deck.
Yet despite this, it refused to die! It grabbed the Acklay's leg and with its awesome strength, lifted it clear and threw it back. Blood pouring from its mouth, the Terentatek pulled itself up with the expectation of the Acklay coming to finish it off. It didn't however, and it watched the crustacean curiously thrashing around with a dazed expression.
"It's… fighting me!" Rey hissed through clenched teeth, "I can't hold it much…" then the rest of her words died with hyperventilating breaths.
"Chewie, get that thing off the Acklay!" Han shouted, "Dameron, Finn! Get the airlock ready!"
Across from the way, the Corsairs rallied and began pouring fire at the Terentatek and forcing it to turtle up and retreat. With a renewed effort, Rey reasserted her dominance over the Acklay and willed it to attack. It tackled into the Terentatek, rolling the Sith Rancor like a ball towards its destination.
"Just a little more… just a little-gah!" Rey sudden screamed as her eyes snapped open, her hands clenching the sides of her head. Ahead, the Acklay had stopped moving and then collapsed onto the floor; the Terentatek holding its severed head. The synaptic pain was too much.
Rey fainted and collapsed onto the floor.
"Rey! Rey!" Han exclaimed as he took the Jedi in arms.
"Drive it towards the airlock, lads!" he heard Sydow roar, "Drive it forward!"
"Yeah! Come an' get some of this!" another Corsair shouted over the roar of a rotary cannon, "Ol' Aayla is hungry!"
The Terentatek responded by hurling the Acklay's corpse at them. They dove out of the way, but it slammed into the pile of shipping crates behind them and brought it down in an avalanche. Han scooped Rey over his shoulder and ran as the storm of metal came for them. He dove forward, just barely missing a descending crate.
"Rey!" he uttered as he tried to stir her, "C'mon girl, wake up!"
"Jeh-dai," he heard behind him, seeing the damn monster limping towards them with a bloody smile. Han drew his blaster and growled.
"Over my dead body, you son of a-"
There was a loud roar and the Terentatek was sent sprawling as a bolt struck in the chest, followed by more as Chewbacca forced it back towards the airlock. He emptied his bowcaster into the beast before he ejected the cartridge to load another from his bandoleer. The Terentatek charged, and Han knew Chewbacca wouldn't be able to reload in time.
"Chewie! Get away from that thing!"
The Wookie answered the Sith Rancors roar with his own. He threw aside his weapon and meet the Terentatek's charge with fang and claw. He slammed into the beast with a tackle, grabbing its legs and pushing it towards the hangar door. The Terentatek rained blow after blow upon Chewbacca's back, and Han couldn't risk shooting lest he hit his friend.
Then with a mighty roar, Chewbacca slammed his fist into the monsters temple and stunned it. With incredible strength, the Wookie hefted the several ton mass like a strongman and threw it right into the opening airlock.
"See ya later, ugly!" Poe exclaimed as the void shields dropped, and everybody strapped in. Atmo whooshed out into the vacuum, soon to drag the Terentatek into space. The beast however had other ideas, digging its claws into the walls and slowly pulling itself through.
"Finn!" Poe exclaimed, "Close the door on this side!"
"What does it look like I'm doing!?" he shouted back, the doors beginning to close. Before they could however, the Terentatek grabbed onto them, prying them open as it started to pull itself through. Chewbacca snarled and threw itself at it, raining haymakers upon the Wookie suddenly echoed an unnerving scream.
"Chewie!" Han screamed, seeing to his horror the Terentatek's fangs clamped down up to Chewbacca's elbow. Desperately, Chewbacca braced himself against the door and tried to pry himself clear. The beasts fangs bit deeper, blood pooling out into space despite Han's efforts to free him.
The door buckled in, the creature's claws starting to lose their grip. Han knew that the Terentatek was going to drag his friend out into space with him, and he knew that even shooting it in the face wouldn't change that. There was only one way to save him. He reached over and plucked Finn's lightsaber from his belt.
"I'm sorry for this, Chewie," and he swung the blade. With a howl of pain and a flash of sapphire, the Terentatek flew out the airlock; taking with it a large chunk of the doors… and Chewbacca's arm still clamped in its teeth.
Han and Chewie fell in after it, but the void shields came up with seconds to spare followed by the outer doors. With a loud and painful thump, the two career smugglers bounced off the shielding, slumping onto the floor with audible groans.
"Air Cyclation complete," the PA system announced, "normalizing pressure."
"Chewie," Han groaned as he felt for his friend, "you okay?"
Chewbacca felt for the still smoldering stub. Despite the intense pain he was no doubt in, he didn't show it and allowed a tight smile, "Had... worse."
"I'll get you a new one," Han grumbled.
"Long… as it's made… good Kashyyyk Wood."
"Ain't you picky?" Han managed a tired smile, "I dunno about you… but I'm getting way too old for this."
"Thinking… of… retiring?"
"...nah. Let's get the hell off this boat."