As many of you have already figured out, yes this story is based on The Thing. I'm trying to combine elements of the 1982 and 2011 movies together with the book "Who Goes There?," so some elements may be the same, others new. This is also rated T, so I'm going to try to keep it as T-rated as possible. Let me know if you think I should change the rating.

I'm also kind of writing this on the fly, so updates may be somewhat slow. I hope to update weekly or semi-weekly, but I've never been one for following a schedule.

SirLoozElite - Glad you liked the beginning, I thought of this after finding my copy of "Who Goes There?" (I think everyone should read it, it's one of my favorite books). I'm glad you liked me replacing Blair with Saw, it came to me after trying to determine who the most paranoid person in Star Wars is. As for Childs, he may have been a Thing, he may not have; I honestly think he was infected, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

Guest 1 - I'm glad you like it so far, and yes this is based on the movies and the book.

Guest 2 - Good to hear that you liked the first chapter. As for Ezra's fate, this chapter should answer that.

Achilles453 - I'm glad you like Kallus' logs and Saw being paranoid. As I said above, updates may be slow, but I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Guest 3 - That's the problem with Things, who knows who's human.

Command Center, Outpost 17 'Fulcrum', March 1987

Sabine Wren didn't answer, instead, she motioned with the flamethrower, "Open your mouth. Show me your teeth."

Ahsoka immediately realized where Sabine was going with that statement, "Inorganic matter, right?" Sabine raised her eyebrow, and lifted the flamethrower. She was about to fire when Ahsoka held up her hands and quickly said, "I heard Kallus' logs. Don't burn me!"

Sabine didn't relax her trigger finger, "Prove it. Show me the logs." Ahsoka did so and played one. Sabine nodded, then said, "The Thing's telepathic too." Sabine then repeated her earlier demand, "Show me your teeth." Ahsoka did so, and luckily for her Ahsoka had a dental filling. The other soldier had an earring, so he was safe, but Wedge had neither.

Sabine pointed the flamethrower at Wedge, "Has he been with you the entire time?" Ahsoka shook her head, as did the other soldier, remembering how Wedge had gone from the ad building to the dorms by himself.

Sabine cocked her head and said to Ahsoka and the other soldier, "Get back. Now!" Ahsoka saw the other figure behind Sabine come into view, carrying a hammer. Sabine shrugged off her flamethrower and took the hammer. The other figure picked the flamethrower up as Sabine said, "Now, we'll find out what you are."

She swung the hammer at Wedge, hitting him in the head. Ahsoka and the other soldier were about to run forward and restrain Sabine when the other figure lifted the flamethrower and growled at them, "Don't." Sabine and Wedge grappled and traded punches, until she swung the hammer again, claw first, and made contact with Wedge's arm, drawing blood. Wedge yelled, grabbing his arm as some blood spilled onto the floor.

She ignited a flare, bathing the darkened room in the reddish glare. Sabine held the hammer in front of the flare, heating it until the head grew red-hot. She dropped it onto the blood. Perplexed, Ahsoka watched as it sizzled, but did nothing. Sabine stepped back, "I guess you're human after all."

Wedge screamed in anger, "No shit I'm human! What'd you have to do that for?!?"

"Sorry about that," the other person said throwing back the hood of their parka, "We can't permit the Thing to escape."

Ahsoka nearly jumped when she saw him. "Ezra! You made it too!"

Ezra Bridger nodded as Sabine took the back her flamethrower. But the look of concern didn't leave Sabine's face, "You shouldn't have come. This place needed to be forgotten, abandoned, destroyed. Wiped from the face of the Earth."

"Why? Did you kill the Thing? Are there any other survivors?"

Ezra shook his head, "No, it's just Sabine and I. And we don't know if the Thing is truly dead. We burned them, every one we found."

"What do you mean? Why would it not be dead then?"

Sabine answered, "Even a few living cells can assimilate something. We burned every Thing we discovered, but several of the crew disappeared completely in the chaos. They may be dead, alive, or assimilated. We'd hoped you would have napalmed the entire base. That's what Ketsu tried to contact you about, but we didn't know if it got through."

Ahsoka's mind again flashed back to that desperate radio call, "What happened to Ketsu?"

Sabine winced, "For that, you'll need to know the full story. But we can't tell it here, not now. We need to leave, burn this place, burn everything!"

-0-

Meanwhile, the Soldier-Thing continued masquerading as a soldier of Bravo Squad, and snuck up on another unsuspecting marine. Quickly, it covered the marine's mouth with one hand and dragged it into the shadows to finish the assimilation.

The other four members of Bravo Squad located the mess hall/kitchen and entered. There was a squishing sound coming from the room. The squad leader shined his flashlight around the room to see a man enveloped in tentacles. The soldier's face was blank, his body barely squirming as he was assimilated. They watched with wide eyes as the tentacles slowly retracted and the soldier slowly began morphing into the man it used to be. They were so fixated on this that they failed to hear the floorboards creak behind them.

-0-

Ahsoka's radio clicked, an incoming message. It was from Hera, "Commander, a squad's gone missing."

"Missing! What do you mean missing!"

"Bravo team was investigating the kitchen when they missed their check-in. Delta claims to have heard gunfire from that area. They went to investigate and reported finding shredded uniforms."

Sabine's tan skin had gone from pale to ghost white, and Ahsoka noticed for the first time how banged up and shaken they were. Sabine had frostbite on her nose, left ear, and probably on her hands and feet. Ezra was also frostbitten, and they both looked badly malnourished. It was a miracle either of them were still on their feet. Adenaline probably.

-0-

The soldier-Thing stepped back, satisfied with it's work. Three of the remaining four-strong military group had been assimilated, and the last had been shot and was going to die. It looked around at the new Things, some of which were joining together, combining body mass to create larger, more dangerous creatures. Another group had heard the battle and was on its way. Excellent, more body mass in the humans to assimilate. Maybe the Thing could finally get out of this forsaken frozen wilderness.

Wait, in two of those among the humans, the Thing could feel nothing but cold determination. Them! The ones the humans called Sabine and Ezra. The Thing seethed in anger at the thought. Those two, with the one called Kallus, were responsable for the destruction of the Thing's bretheren. It would kill them first.

It had been a prisoner once before, and it had escaped and killed its captors. Now it was imprisoned again, but this time, it couldn't kill its captor. It couldn't kill the cold, windswept terrain of this desolate wasteland. It had to bide its time, and with luck, the Thing could escape.

-0-

Sabine snapped out of her trance, "It's loose. Burn them on sight! Burn them or we're done for!"

Ahsoka's hand shook as she yelled into the radio, "I'm on my way. Tell Delta to remain in position. If anyone sees Bravo, burn them! We can't let the Thing escape!"

"Yes, Commander. Syndulla out."

The five ran out of the garage towards the kitchen. Sabine carried her flamethrower while Ezra held flares and a couple sticks of dynamite. Both were still badly affected from the conditions and had to lean on the others to maintain a quick pace. Wedge had a flamethrower while Ahsoka and the other soldier carried their assault rifles. Bullets wouldn't kill the Thing, but they could distract it.

The five arrived at the kitchen and adjoining mess hall to see Delta taking positions. Hera, Kanan, and Alpha Team ran up, meeting the five outside the mess hall complex. A figure came limping from the Mess Hall, staggering from the door. He collapsed on his knees. Several soldiers surrounded him, but Sabine yelled out.

"Stay back! Don't touch him or I torch you!" Her tone broke no argument and the man looked up at them. Kanan recognized him, "It's Sergeant Caldwell! Bravo leader."

They got a better look at Caldwell, or what used to be Caldwell. The navy marines stumbled back in revulsion as they saw its hands. Caldwell's hands were scrunched up and furry, with four long claw-like pieces of red horn and bone replacing fingers. But Sabine and Ezra stood firm, Ezra kicked over a drum of used cooking oil, soaking the snow around the Thing, and lit a flare. "It isn't Caldwell."

-0-

The Caldwell-Thing looked up. Damn this host body! It had sustained a bullet wound in the leg and couldn't escape. It was in no position to fight back either with its hands not fully formed. It looked up in hatred at those two. The Caldwell-Thing tried to move towards them, to make them suffer for killing its bretheren, but a close proximity shotgun blast slammed into it.

The one called Ezra held the flame stick in his hand. As he tossed it towards the flammable liquid on the snow, the Thing knew it was done for. It screamed. Screamed in rage and hatred at the ones called Sabine and Ezra as the flames consumed it.

-0-

Ezra threw the flare onto the Thing. The Thing screamed, an unnatural, inhuman screech that made all the marines back away, as it was immolated by the fire.

Sabine said quietly, "It isn't over. We need to destroy them now."

Kanan was speechless, "What was that? My God, what was happening to him?"

Sabine answered, "That was one of those Things, Director Jarrus. If it had more time, it would have looked and sounded and acted exactly like him."

Ahsoka regained her composure and said, "Cover all exits. I want a flamethrower, blowtorch, or thermite on each. Alpha on me, we need to sweep this building, kill it now." The five-man Alpha team joined Ahsoka, Sabine, Ezra, Wedge, and the other soldier and they cautiously entered. They didn't need to wait long. Upon seeing an upright figure, Sabine immediately burned it. The being also screeched, another unnatural mewing. Alpha Leader Hendry threw a thermite charge at the Thing and it was burned to a cinder.

Sabine shut off the flamethrower, "Shoot first, ask questions later." They split up as they left the kitchen and entered the mess hall. One of Alpha team spotted a man's boots under the table and knelt to get a better look.

A scream alerted Ahsoka to the danger. She looked over to see the Alpha soldier disappear under the table and saw his buddy open fire. A tentacle shot out and pierced him through the chest. He convulsed as the Thing began to assimilate him. Hendry ran over to the squirming soldier, but Sabine pulled him back, "You fool! You can't help him anymore! Assimilation can't be prevented once it's got you!"

"But he's my friend! I've known him for 10 years, I can't just leave him!" Hendry threw her off and ran to the Alpha trooper pulling him away from the tentacle. But the newly created Thing attacked Hendry, transforming into a hideous beast. Hendry's screams resounded through the building, only intensifying when a stream of fire engulfed him and the Thing. Ahsoka looked over to see Sabine burn the Thing and Hendry without any emotion whatsoever. The Thing thrashed wildly and gave another inhuman roar as it convulsed in the heat of the flames. The clinking of a thermite grenade rolling across the floor signaled the Thing's end, consuming it in a blaze of white-hot fire.

A table was thrown to the side and another, even larger Thing jumped up. It lashed out with a tentacle, grabbing the other soldier from Wedge's squad. It pulled him towards its gaping mouth. The soldier screamed, but grabbed his sidearm and a flare. He ignited it amd pulled the trigger at the same time, burning and killing himself almost immediately.

Ahsoka opened fire with an M203 grenade launcher. The explosion knocked the Thing back and she saw Ezra throw a stick of dynamite at it. The Thing struck at him, hitting Ezra off his feet.

The second explosion greatly weakened the Thing, and it was quickly finished off by the two streams of fire from Sabine and Wedge.

As it quieted down, the group heard sobbing come from the corner. Wedge turned and recognized the person, a badly wounded member of Bravo Team. Sabine raised her flamethrower, but Ahsoka pushed it down, the soldier was bleeding badly from a mortal wound. "If he doesn't die from that, we'll know he isn't human."

Sabine nodded but still looked concerned, "Be careful."

Ahsoka knelt down, "What happened?"

The traumatised soldier responded, "Came in to sweep ki... kitchen. Found body... body wrapped in tentacles. Another was... was behind us. I op... op... opened f... fi... fire. Tentacles lashed out, grabbed Caldwell, pulled him into m... mou... gaping mouth, and grabbed others. I ran... ran here, was followed, fr... friends shot me. Heh. Ha-ha-hah-ha-ha." He started laughing uncontrolably, breaking down into choking sobs. The man had been shot through the chest and started gurgling from the internal bleeding.

Sabine sighed, "It must've been the remains of a Thing. A severed limb or even a finger could assimilate you."

Ahsoka stood, "He's dying, nothing we can do for him now." One of the Alpha soldiers delivered the coup de grâce and Sabine dropped a flare on the dead body. Ahsoka turned to the smoldering remains of the Things. "Drop some thermite on this, I want nothing but ash remaining." It was then that they heard more gunfire.

-0-

Meanwhile, Hera, Kanan, and Delta were waiting outside. They had heard gunfire and Hendry's screams, but they didn't go in. Ahsoka wanted them to remain outside and block any escape. A door flung open and they got their first good look at a living Thing in what could be its true form. The being was blue, with three red eyes that glowed with a hatred. It ran towards them, snarling and mewing. The rifle of the Bravo trooper it used to be, was in its hand and fired. The Delta soldiers dove for cover, but three bullets each found their mark on two soldiers. They fell dead. Out of ammo, the Thing changed its hand into a clawed tentacle and threw it out towards another Delta trooper, who opened fire. The bullets had almost no effect whatsoever.

It's red talons sank into the soldier, who screamed as the Thing ripped his armor and parka apart, shredding skin and drawing blood. He was saved when one of his comrades ignited a blowtorch and the Thing fell back from the three-foot lance of blue flame. Another blowtorch gurgled to life as Kanan ignited his. The two advanced on the Thing, which screeched in hatred and pain as the flames scorched the Thing's hide. Its hand transformed into sharp spikes, which crisped in the flames and fell off. Greasy smoke rose into the air as the Thing's limbs jerked and stiffened. The red eyes clouded over as the Thing fell to the ground, burning.

Hera turned to the injured soldier, "Everyone get away from him!" She had to be safe, this man could be assimilated by now. Hera had not believed Ahsoka initially, but now she knew it was true. "Quaratine him. I want at least one blowtorch on him until we know whether he's human or not."

A pair of handcuffs were strapped onto the soldier and he was placed in an ice dugout. Two other Delta soldiers guarded him. The door opened and everyone jumped at the noise, ready to fire. But it was Ahsoka and her team. They entered the building 10-strong, but only six came out. Ahsoka walked up to Hera, "Captain, we heard gunfire. Is everything all right? What happened?"

"One of those Things attacked us. We lost two men and it attacked another physically. He survived."

Sabine's face paled again, "Where is he?"

Hera's eyes flashed with relief upon seeing Sabine and Ezra, "Sabine? Ezra? Is that you?" They nodded and Hera continued, "We quarantined him. Multiple blowtorches on him. Is there any way we can know if he's human?"

"There are. Multiple ways in fact. But we need equipment for some. All ours was lost in the battle against the Thing."

Ezra continued, "It can't assimilate inorganic matter. Your soldier have dental fillings? Earrings? Jewelry?" Kanan shook his head and Sabine offered the other, "Kallus discovered a way to determine whether someone is human. The Thing is selfish, and every part is an individual. Blood in a test tube is a new Thing. It jumps away from a heated wire. Human blood doesn't."

Ezra finished, "Like Sabine said, all our medical and scientific equipment was lost. But we can't allow anyone to leave here without being proved as human. We need equipment flown in."

Kanan nodded, "I'll put in a call. A heli should be here soon."

He walked off to the helicopters and made the radio call. Meanwhile, all soldiers and personnel were split up, those who had dental fillings to one group, all others to another. Several hours later, a helicopter was heard over the antarctic horizon. It landed and two men stepped out and unloaded the equipment.

Ahsoka stepped into the middle of the two groups, "All right, listen up! By now, all of you know what demon we are up against. It killed all but two researchers at this station and has killed at least eleven of our soldiers and marines. The five from Bravo, two from Delta, three from Alpha, and one from Echo team. You may not know what's at stake, but if the Thing escapes the Antarctic, the world as we know it may be lost. More of you may have been assimilated by now, but Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger, the two survivors of this outpost, know how to prove whether you are human or not."

Ahsoka stepped aside and Sabine stepped forward, Ezra was heating a platinum wire with her flamethrower. Sabine addressed the assembled groups, "The Thing cannot assimilate inorganic matter. Therefore, those of you in this group," she indicated the group to the left, which included Hera and Ahsoka, "You are human. You on the right, are all under suspicion. The Thing is selfish. Yes, selfish is the word. It will act to preserve itself first and foremost. Any part of the Thing on its own will act as an individual and try to save itself. Therefore, its blood will recoil from a hot wire. A human's blood will do nothing."

She looked at the group on the right, which included Kanan and Wedge. "I will now prove I'm human." Sabine cut herself with a knife, and let some blood accumulate in a test tube. Ahsoka took the heated wire and dipped it into the blood. Nothing happened. Ezra repeated the process, and nothing happened for him. Sabine turned to the first in line, "Director Jarrus, you're up."

Hera held her breath as Sabine sterilized the knife and cut Kanan's arm. Ahsoka dipped the wire into the blood once, twice, thrice. She nodded, "Human, I'd say." Kanan walked over to Hera, who hugged and kissed him, relieved that her husband was human. Sabine then turned to the next after Ezra had sterilized the wire and knife, "Wedge, your turn."

Wedge was also human, and Sabine called over one of the men from Wedge's Echo squad. The blood was collected and Ahsoka dipped the wire into the blood as Sabine tightened and relaxed her grip on her flamethrower. The blood in the tube screamed as the wire was dipped into it and it retracted away from the wire. The assembled people stared in shock as the mini Thing in the test tube screamed in a tiny voice.

Sabine and Wedge swung their flamethrowers around as the Echo soldier's face faded then contorted into the three eyed visage of the Thing. It attacked one of the guards next to it, forcing Sabine and Wedge to burn both of them. A bullet from Hera punctured the tank of the blowtorch held by the unlucky guard, incinerating both him and the Thing in the explosion. Ezra dropped the mini Thing into the fires of the Things, burning it until nothing was left.

Luckily, the remaining men in the right group were human. All that was left was the soldier whom the earlier Bravo Thing had attacked. It's blood reacted violently and the Thing immediately launched itself at the guard, who managed to dive away and swing the blowtorch canister at its arm, knocking it out of the way and buying some time. By now, Sabine's flamethrower had run out of fuel, and Wedge was almost blank. Hera opened fire, shooting out the Thing's three eyes. It clawed at its blinded eyes. One of the Echo soldiers smashed an ice ax against its head, knocking it on the ground. The Thing lashed out with a tentacle, snagging the Echo soldier's leg. The Echo soldier frantically tore at his parka, ripping it off his body. The blinded Thing ripped at the parka, trying unsuccessfully to find flesh, flesh it could convert. Kanan advanced on the Thing, joining the guard in burning the Thing until it was a crisped blob on the snow.

-0-

The next few hours were spent carrying the corpses into the burned remains of Outpost Fulcrum. Only Kallus' corpse was in decent condition, considering the events that led to his death, and a post mortem test proved he was still human. Kallus was to be taken back to the US and buried with full military honors. Sabine stood next to Ahsoka as this was carried out, "Commander, this place still needs to be destroyed. Not a speck of the Thing must be left alive. We need to napalm this base." Ahsoka nodded, "I'll talk to Hera."

Ahsoka walked over to Hera and Kanan, who greeted her, "Commander, all corpses have been placed in a central location. Kallus' remains have also been loaded. We can leave as soon as you give the word."

"Captain, we need to destroy the Outpost. Sabine wants it to be napalmed. Can you pull that off?"

Hera thought it over, "The nearest military base with that could be the Falkland Islands. I can put a call in."

Ahsoka nodded, "Yes, please do."

Hera walked over to the radio, "Falklands come in. This is RAF Captain Hera Syndulla. Come in Falklands."

A gruff male voice responded, "Err... this is Falklands HQ. Good to hear your voice Captain, you've spent too long at that US Base."

"Nice to hear you too, Captain Orellios. I need you to do a favor for me."

Captain Garazeb "Zeb" Orellios groaned, "Not another favor Hera. I was in hot water for weeks last time you requested a favor. What is it now?"

"I need to requisition a plane. A fighter. US Navy Commander Ahsoka Tano wants US Outpost 17 to be destroyed, with napalm or missiles."

"Napalm, huh. Why'd she want to bomb your own base?"

"Apparently, the personnel of this base discovered a crashed alien spacecraft and an extraterrestrial frozen in ice. It apparently broke free and killed all but two of them."

Zeb's roaring laughter was heard on the other side, "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. You can't seriously expect me to believe that, Hera. You've been staring at snow and ice too long."

Hera grumbled and did her best to convince Zeb. But, Zeb was still somewhat unconvinced, "Okay Hera, here's what I'll do for you. There's a carrier, the HMS Phoenix, nearby Halley delivering supplies. I'll have Admiral Sato dispatch a couple Harriers, but I need you to take full responsibility. You do realize this breaks the Antarctic Treaty."

"Alright Zeb, get your voice recorder. Commander Tano and I hereby take all responsibility for this action. We'll light the base, tell your pilots to destroy it completely."

Zeb signed off, "I'll send the order, Harriers should be there in a few hours."

Nearly 24 hours after the scout force had found the ruined base, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra drenched the massive pile of human corpses and burned Things in aviation fuel siphoned from the helicopters. Ahsoka's radio clicked, it was Hera, "Commander, the Harriers have arrived and are in position."

"Roger that, Hera. We've finished up here, and will be out in a minute." She turned to Sabine, who held the signal flare. Sabine stared at the massive pile from the doorway, what remained of her friends and the alien that killed them. Her hand quivered as she ignited the flare and dropped it onto the floor. The flare instantly ignited the fuel on the ground and the command center was engulfed in the raging inferno.

Sabine felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Ezra, and they both gave the burning pile on last look as they turned and left the building.

Up on the glacier by the helicopters, they joined the remaining Hera, Kanan, Ahsoka, Wedge, and the eight surviving soldiers of the scout force. Sabine nodded and Hera put the radio to her mouth, "Fire."

The survivors watched in the darkening skies of the antarctic twilight as the two RAF Harriers unleashed missile after missile on Outpost 17. The explosions joined the inferno as the corpses of the Thing were blown to shreds. They watched until the last rocket had impacted. The only thing that remained were twisted shreds of blackened metal. Sabine turned away and boarded Hera and Ahsoka's helicopter as the Harrier's departed.

As the copters flew back towards McMurdo, Ahsoka watched the burning outpost until it disappeared from view. She turned to Sabine, who was cuddled up against the sleeping body of her boyfriend Ezra. Sabine simply said, "It's over. It's finally over. I never expected to survive, but we did."

Ahsoka went to sit next to her, and placed a blanket over both Sabine and Ezra, "What happened there? What caused the base to fall?"

Sabine sighed, "I guess it started a few days after you left. Mart, Jai, and Morad discovered a magnetic anomaly..."

Next Chapter: Sabine's story begins. The Thing is discovered and the crew begins to split.

Update 3/13/18: Same as the last chapter, a few changed details and a few added scenes.