When Eli opened his eyes, he lay still for a moment, dazed and disoriented. Where was he? Why was it so dark? Why did his eyes sting?
He blinked several times, but it didn't improve much.
Then other sensations trickled in. His ears gradually registered a dull, overbearing ringing, and he was flat on his back on a hard, unyielding surface. The floor? Why was he on the floor? What had happened?
Faint, warm light danced across the ceiling, but it was hazy, like his eyes couldn't quite focus on it. He squinted, trying to understand. The answer was lying just beneath the surface, he could tell. Every time he caught the edge of memory, he tugged on the loose threads, trying to pull it together—but it would only end up falling back into a tumbled mess of confused thoughts.
Shifting, he attempted to roll onto his side, but his limbs immediately twinged, jerking, and he fell back with a sharp gasp. His whole body hurt, and for some unknown reason, an image came to mind of a rag doll being hurled against the wall by a petulant child.
He froze as the discordant pieces of memory finally coalesced and sharpened.
The warehouse. The turbolift. The droid. The cavern. The fire.
Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, Eli grimaced through the pain as he forced his arms to move, pushing his body into a sitting position. Looking over himself and running his hands over the most obvious areas, he confirmed that nothing was broken. Nothing major at any rate, he thought as he winced in reaction to a pained intake of breath. Something tickled his forehead, and he automatically reached up to brush it away. As he drew his hand back, the dark stain on his fingers quickly caught his eye. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as he hesitantly reached up again to feel gingerly around his face and head. He stiffened as his fingers brushed a damp section of his hair, his scalp stinging, the touch causing a hissing sound to escape his lips.
The sound reminded him—
His gaze immediately shot to the side as he frantically searching for his companion. Only now did he realize that the air was hazy because of smoke, and as he turned slowly to look toward the cavern, he could see that the doors had been blown off their hinges. The fire was still raging, but it had not entered the hallway, perhaps due to insufficient fuel sources. There were, however, black streaks along the walls from the explosive blast that had apparently thrown Eli down the hall. A dark lump lay sprawled on the floor between Eli and the fire, at least half a dozen meters away, and Eli's heart leapt in his throat. He felt more than heard the strangled cry that tore from his throat as he struggled to regain his feet.
His hand flung out to the side in his haste, and when it came in contact with something soft, he turned his head sharply, drawing back with a start. Thrawn! Relief immediately flooded him, quickly followed by another wave of fear. Thrawn lay unmoving beside him, eyes closed, mouth slightly ajar. Unconscious. Again.
Or worse.
"Th-Thrawn!" Eli bent forward, ignoring his own body's complaints as he grabbed desperately at the other. His ears were still ringing, and he could barely hear his own voice. He shook the alien's shoulder, staring intently at the blue face for any sign of awareness. A quick glance over Thrawn's body revealed no further injury to what he already had, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. His concussion could have been made worse. There could be internal bleeding. Hell, his neck could have snapped—
A hand flew to Eli's mouth as he choked back a gag at the thought. No. No. He couldn't think like that. Not when he didn't know for sure. He still had to get Thrawn out of there.
The floor vibrated, and Eli flinched, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes as if expecting it to collapse on them any moment. Perhaps that would be for the best. It would be quick that way, right? And then it would all be over. This whole nightmare would be over.
But nothing further happened. The air continued to grow uncomfortably warm. It was difficult to breathe with the smoke. A coughing fit fell over him then, and he buried his face into the crook of his elbow, trying and failing to filter the air through his clothing. Everything ached. He didn't know if he had the strength to get to his feet, much less to carry Thrawn to safety.
His gaze drifted back to the misshapen form down the hall, and a shudder ran through him. The droid from the lab. That must be what it was. It was down as well, and it hadn't shown any signs of rebooting or reinitializing or whatever. Eli shook his head, unable to think straight. All he knew was that he could not risk assuming it was permanently deactivated. And given that he had no idea how long he had been knocked out, there was no saying how long it would be before the droid managed to wake up.
They had to move. Whether or not Eli felt he had the strength, they had to move. And regardless of what other injuries Thrawn may have sustained that Eli could not see, they had to move. Even if they did end up dying, it wasn't going to be through lack of trying on his part. He would not give up. He could not give up. Even if it was only to spite Captain Rossi for sending them to this forsaken planet on the edge of nowhere, he would not give up.
"All right, sir," he muttered, grunting as he inched closer to the prone Chiss. "I'm sorry if this ends up making things worse, but I'm getting you out of here."
He nearly jumped out of his skin—and he was pretty sure he may have shouted a few rather colorful and expressive words—when a hand landed firmly on his shoulder. Spinning and scrambling back at the same time, he threw up his hands defensively, his mind too overworked from the past few hours to register that this could be the rescue Thrawn had predicted.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
"Hey, hey, it's all right!" The newcomer held up his hands as well in an attempt to show that he meant no harm, pulling back and offering what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. Eli stared at him, his heart pounding furiously in his chest as adrenaline laced his blood. It was not one of their people from the Blood Crow.
But he also didn't look like one of the mercenaries he had seen earlier. He was human, smooth-faced with a crown of hair a few shades darker than Eli's own. The man's clothes were neat and clean, not quite high style like someone from the Core worlds, but definitely a sign of someone with a more office-like position. Perhaps one of the scientists who worked here? Eli's frown deepened.
"What do you want?" The question came out more harshly than he intended, but it was only now that he realized his blaster was across the hall, out of reach.
The other person seemed to have caught his glance. "Not to hurt you," he said, slowly lowering his arms. "I want to help you get out of here."
"What?" The tension in Eli's body eased somewhat, but he did not relax. He was not yet prepared to trust this stranger, despite the friendly demeanor.
There was a quiet huff. "I can explain," the other man said patiently, although Eli could see that he, too, was tense. "But I would rather do it while we are on the move. The structural integrity of the base has been compromised, and the sentinel has not been destroyed. We must move away immediately."
That had been Eli's assumption on both counts, and he followed the other's gaze toward the downed droid behind them. "It can still get up, even after that?" he asked, swallowing hard. Despite knowing it was possible, even probable, Eli couldn't help asking the question.
"The sentinels were designed to be very effective and resilient," the man said, and an odd look crossed his face. But before Eli could decipher it, it disappeared beneath the intense concentration that suddenly filled the other's expression. He was staring at Thrawn.
Eli felt a sudden swell of defensiveness fill him, and he opened his mouth to say something—what, he wasn't entirely sure—but the man beat him to it.
"Your friend is injured," he commented, and Eli nearly bit back with something sarcastic given the obvious splint on Thrawn's leg and the fact that he was unconscious; but he pressed his lips together tightly instead. If this man was indeed going to help them, he had best not ruin it by allowing his own weariness and pain to say words that could not be taken back. The man reached out, touching the side of Thrawn's face with long, pale fingers. His eyebrows drew together in a frown. "He is alive, but he has a concussion that is worrisome."
"How can you get us out of here?" Eli asked. He was already well aware that Thrawn's condition was not good, and the man himself had suggested that haste was needed.
The man's gaze met his, sharpening in silent agreement with Eli's thoughts. "Can you walk?"
Eli frowned again, shifting his legs and rotating his ankles. He didn't notice any sharp pains, although he wouldn't know for sure until he tried to move. "I think so."
The man nodded as his gaze drifted over Eli's body in the same evaluative manner he had done for Thrawn. "Good. I will carry him. You follow me. We must move quickly. There is a turbolift further down that I have reactivated. It will take you to the surface." He moved toward Thrawn, reaching out to gather him up in his arms.
Eli's hand shot out and grabbed the man before he could touch the Chiss. He turned his head to face Eli, warm brown eyes sparking curiously at Eli's reaction as the corner of his mouth twitched downward briefly. Eli glanced down guiltily at where his fingers were wrapped tightly around the other's upper arm. With an effort, he loosened his grip. "Just…be careful, all right? He's—" Eli suddenly realized that he didn't know what he wanted to say, and his voice faltered.
"I know," the man said quietly, and a faint smile returned to his lips. "I will take care. You have my word."
Eli nodded dumbly, feeling his cheeks grow warm. He then stared in awe as the man carefully maneuvered his arms beneath Thrawn and lifted him from the floor, cradling the tall Chiss against his chest with seemingly little effort.
Who was this man? What sort of experiments did they do down here? Something cold and uneasy twisted in Eli's stomach.
The man looked down at him. "Come. We must go now."
Nodding again, Eli scrambled to his feet, unable to help a quick peek back at the sentinel, as the man called it. It remained unmoving, and a part of him hoped that it had finally met its end, regardless of what the other had said.
As the man carrying Thrawn moved down the hall in the opposite direction from the cavern, Eli spared a brief moment to shuffle to where his blaster had fallen, stooping to pick it up before turning to follow. He looked over it; it seemed unharmed. Sliding it back into its holster, Eli jogged to catch up. It would seem that his limbs were still in decent working order as well.
"So why do you want to help us?" Eli asked as he fell into step.
The man glanced sideways at him, but his stride remained steady. "I know you are not part of the group who took over the base," he answered, smiling grimly. "And it's because of you that I am here and not—" He stopped speaking mid-sentence as they passed through an intersection, turning his head to peer down the side halls. "I was in stasis," he continued a moment later. "When the invaders initiated the abandon base protocol, I was released from stasis and given the same order to leave as everyone else. But I didn't." Again he glanced at Eli, but Eli couldn't quite read his expression. "I reviewed the logs to find out what happened. I saw your arrival and the events that followed, including the dispatch of the sentinel. I immediately locked down the other sentinels so that they wouldn't be activated as well."
"There are more?" Eli interjected, his blood suddenly running cold at the thought.
"There are twenty sentinels assigned to this base," the man confirmed. "It is…possible that the others have already been decommissioned by the invaders, given that they should have stopped them when they first arrived, but I did not want to take that risk."
A deep shiver ran down Eli's spine. "Let's hope you were successful," he murmured.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the man tilt his head. "You would already know by now if I wasn't."
Eli bit the inside of his cheek, forcing away the terrifying thoughts that sprang to mind. "Why were you in stasis?" he asked instead, turning his thoughts to something else. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"I had—"
A familiar, dreaded noise sounded behind them, cutting him off, and Eli turned in horror. The man turned as well. The blaze of the fire was still bright despite the fact that the cavern was now some distance away from where they stood. And rising slowly to its feet, dark shape framed by the flickering flames, was the sentinel. It shrieked in fury as it stumbled forward, toward them.
"Run!" the man yelled, turning back and dashing down the hall away from the droid. Eli didn't have to be told twice. The halls all blurred together as they ran through intersection after intersection. All Eli could focus on, despite himself, was the sound of metallic steps pounding the floor behind them. He didn't dare risk a glance, pouring his attention solely on the back of the man as he carried Thrawn toward this promised turbolift.
"Right!" the man called, taking a sharp turn. Eli skidded, narrowly avoiding a collision with him, but he didn't stop. He did, however, make the mistake of looking sideways as he changed direction and felt his throat tighten painfully in heightened fear. The sentinel was still in pursuit and was slowly closing in.
"It's getting closer!" he cried as he dashed after the other. Looking up, he could see the turbolift at the end of the hall, the bluish-white light of its interior beckoning him with its hope of freedom. The rest of the hall was dimly lit with emergency lighting only.
The man stopped at Eli's warning, and Eli felt a flash of rage flare up at the hesitation. "Don't stop! What are you doing?! The turbolift is right there!"
"We won't make it," the man said, setting Thrawn down gently.
"What?!" Eli demanded, his voice high and shrill. "So you're just going to give up? We can make it! We could have made it, if you didn't stop!" He paled as a dreaded thought came to him. "Unless—unless you—you don't want us to—"
"We won't make it," the man said, some frustration coloring his own voice and expression. "But you can. Take him. Go!" The man then turned and ran back the other direction.
"Wh-what—" Eli stammered, his mouth falling open in shock. "What are you doing?!"
"GO!" the man barked over his shoulder. Eli jumped back then looked down at Thrawn, still unconscious at his feet. There wasn't time to think. There wasn't time to argue. If the man insisted—
Eli bent down, struggling to lift Thrawn. There was no way he would be able to carry him as the other man had done, but he didn't have to. He only had to get Thrawn into the turbolift and get it moving. Locking his arms with Thrawn's and settling Thrawn's head as best he could against his chest, Eli stepped backwards, Thrawn's legs dragging on the ground. Eli grimaced, pressed between making his steps steady and making them quick. He glanced up just as the sentinel rounded the corner.
The man leapt the last few feet, slamming his body into the sentinel and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Eli stopped for a split second, staring. What was the man thinking? He was going to get himself killed!
He's doing it for you, so get a move on!
With a jolt, Eli snapped out of it, hastily backing up the last few feet until both of them were in the turbolift. Again he froze, mesmerized by the scene that played out in front of him. The fight between the man and the sentinel was intense, the movements of both quick and precise. Again, something deep within Eli stirred with uncertainty, but he didn't know what it was or what it meant. He just knew that there was something he was missing.
Then, in one swift, calculated movement, the sentinel drove its remaining arm into the man's stomach. Eli cried out, his voice echoing down the hall as the man twitched and doubled over. The sentinel's head swiveled in Eli's direction even as it twisted its hand where it was buried in the man's torso before pulling it away just as quickly. The man slumped to the ground. The sentinel turned dramatically and stalked down the hall toward the turbolift. Despite the unexpected lump in his throat and the tears blurring his vision, Eli managed to slap the door controls and then punched the button for the top floor. As the door hissed shut and the turbolift began to move upward, Eli fell back against the wall and slid to the floor, burying his face in his hands.
He didn't even know this guy—never even asked his name—and he just sacrificed himself to get Eli and Thrawn out of here. Eli felt like he was going to be sick. A sob welled up in his throat as he pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. This was not what he signed up for. He knew he could end up in big trouble trying to leave the Navy, but he seriously had to reconsider his options once they were out of here.
His gaze fell on Thrawn, and he stilled. Could he just abandon Thrawn like that? After one bad mission? Not that Thrawn actually needed him for anything, and why he kept Eli around after all this time was anyone's guess. But things much worse than this happened all around the galaxy at any given time. Would he run at the first sign of trouble, or would he stick to it in order to do what good he can where he can? He had seen firsthand that Thrawn cared more about the things that were important than most other Imperials. Even if he was a bit reckless at times. And his thought processes were rather difficult to follow. Eli frowned softly, studying Thrawn's face.
Would he ever understand him?
"Sorry about that."
The voice came from the intercom near the door, and Eli swore as he nearly fell over in surprise. It was the man who had helped him, the one he had just watched die.
"That went a little differently than planned, but I am glad you made it to the turbolift."
"What the hell?" Eli stared at the intercom, his mind whirring in confusion and disbelief. "I thought you were dead!"
"I was also designed to be efficient and resilient," the man replied, and Eli could almost hear the smirk in his voice.
Wait, what?
"I don't understand," Eli said slowly.
"I apologize. I—" The man's voice was suddenly cut off by a burst of static, through which Eli thought he could hear the jumbled sound of an electronic voice. No words were discernible, but it caused the hairs on the back of Eli's neck to stand on end.
The silence that followed filled Eli with a growing unease. Then, with a sudden jerk and a loud clunk, Eli found himself sprawled on the floor of the turbolift beside Thrawn.
