Four

The fourth room was a little further down the corridor than the previous three. Upon reaching the hatch, Rex was pleased to see that it was also a little larger than the others, and he thought he might even be able to scramble through and help place the bombs. Also, he desperately wanted to see if there were any clues as to the inhabitants of these bunks. It had to be Death Watch, but since when did they align themselves with the Separatist's? He lifted Gemma up on his shoulder for her to move the hatch door open.

Half way through the lift she shifted her weight and wobbled uncertainly.

Rex tried hard to maintain his hold but lost the battle and she collapsed rear first into his face before tumbling together onto the floor. Gemma laughed as she looked down at the bulk of a man lying awkwardly on top of her. Rex had become entangled between her legs. He seemed annoyed, but managed to ask if she was hurt before he untangled himself and crawled up her body to be in line with her face. There their eyes met and they stared at one another for what seemed like minutes.

She really was fascinating.

Her dark brown eyes sparkled. Then the giggling stopped, her smile dissipated and her lips parted ever so slightly. Rex knew that look and what usually followed. In another time and another place he would have kissed her passionately.

He rolled of her effortlessly and sat with an elbow resting on one knee.

She had felt it too; the attraction, the admiration, the possibility…

"The hatch is a little larger in this room, I think I may be able to get through as well," Rex stated calmly, squinting up at the opening.

Gemma stood up and dusted herself off, Rex watched quickly as she skimmed her hands over her chest. "Here," she said holding the back pack towards him, "are they all alright?"

He checked the devices for deactivation before they started the lift again, this time with military precision, Gem manoeuvred herself into the room quickly followed by Rex.

The captain was for once, speechless. This room was filled with, what he figured to be around 240 bunks. All were made, regulation style and formed neat row upon row. He wished he had his helmet on so he could have taken an image of the room to show the General during the debriefing back on board the Resolute.

"OK, we need to place each bomb under every 35th or so bunk. Let's get them all," he smirked.

Gemma took off and headed over to the far end of the room. Rex checked his twin blasters for charge and released the safety switch. An old habit, as he wandered over to what he would have considered a small office and went in.

She was making good time.

Quickly placing five of the bombs under the bunks and had set about attaching the sixth when she heard two male voices. Lying on her back hidden by the bed she stopped still, breathing quietly through her mouth as she waited for them to pass.

'They'll move on in a minute, they'll move on in a minute,' her mantra in her mind.

These were different from the mechanical vocals of the previous droids. They had a certain menace that she had never heard or felt before. She wondered where Rex was when she closed her eyes, concentrating on being silent. They were standing immediately above her.

"Yes, this will do nicely" he breathed, his voice menacing and silken.

Darth Maul looked around the room and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he had amassed a small army.

"The Mandolorian's are arriving later tonight Brother," replied the other. He sounded stronger, younger Gemma thought.

"Good Savage, then we can work on exacting our revenge on the Jedi and destroying my old tormentor Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Gemma sucked in her breath, the sound escaping her mouth involuntarily. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, brother, what have we got here?"

He spat out the last two words vehemently as he Force lifted the bunk away and grabbed Gemma in the deathly throat hold. Her eyes bulged as she looked at the two grotesque forms in front of her. Unable to comprehend what was going on, she clawed at her throat; she was simply, suspended above the ground. Air escaped from her lungs and she tried to speak but nothing intelligible came out. The room started to spin as she felt unconsciousness creep in to her oxygen deprived brain.

Then two sparks of brilliant blue.

He was dead before the second one penetrated his right temple.

Releasing his grip, Maul fell heavily on top of his prey, pinning her beneath his foul smelling, twisted and malformed body.

"Nnnnoooo," yelled the other Dathomir warrior as he turned to the direction of the blaster fire.

Rex dropped both hand weapons as he was Force flung hard across the room where he too fell victim to the deathly throat choking hold of the Sith. She could see him struggling, grasping and grabbing at his throat the same way she had done. Without thinking Gemma wriggled out from under her capture and rolled silently under the next bunk. Grabbing the light sabre she quietly stood up behind the soulless yellow man and turned it on. The gentle hum of the weapon activated as it penetrated his chest. Savage looked at the light protruding through his body and tried to turn his head to see who had finally beaten him. He looked at her and lowered his eyes again to the blade, before falling forward, dead, onto the floor.

Gemma was breathing hard when she bent forward and grabbed his weapon and threw it at Rex who was walking unsteadily towards her. He caught it, bent down to collect his blasters and plunged them into his backpack continually moving and heading towards their escape. Kneeling in front of the hatch he opened it for her and she handed him the weapon she had used to commit her first murder. She jumped through and caught the bag seconds before his body landed hard on the ground next to her. There, they both looked at one another in stunned silence.

"Run!" Rex ordered, and they took off at a blistering pace.

They hurtled past all the other corridors.

Gemma tripping every so often and Rex simply grabbing her clothing and lifting her back up on her feet. They stopped only for a brief moment when they reached the beginning of the tunnel. He had to make a split decision. He was sure they would be discovered relatively soon. He had a responsibility to the young Representative, he had to get her off this planet, he also had a responsibility to the small group of men heading in to air lift them off, would they be flying into another hot spot?

Quick Rex think, think…

"Do it," she yelled at him, "do it now!"

The decision was then taken out of his hands. She was a Representative of the Senate, she clearly out ranked him. He flicked the switch up and pressed the button. It began to count down. They had a twenty klick run ahead of them.

"We have one hour before this place blows," his voice husky and rough.