Chapter83
We all hate this crappy submarine
Mission looked at the roof of their submersible in concern as yet another groan of tortured metal came before looking out the plasteel window by the front of the submersible to stare into the dark barely alleviated by the dim lights showing ahead of them. She shuddered and flinched as the glass covering a set of gauges cracked and splintered with the glas shards tinkeling as it hit the steel deck
"I am beginning to think Juhani had the right idea not to come and should have let T3 come in my place." She said, swallowing thickly
Terri ignored the statement as she followed the signal from a tracker, seeming to be of course she adjusted course to get back onto the marker. The sound of a zip opening startled them all.
"I don't care how unsanitary that refresher is I really need to use it." Bastila said moving aft to where the toilet seat was next to the airlock
She struggled for a moment with the body suit she was wearing.
"I am going to need a hand here, this suit is stuck to my skin." She said
"I still do not see why these suits had to be so skintight that wearing underwear is not possible. I never thought I would be the one to say this but we look like the cast of a bad BDSM holomovie." Mission groused
"According to the Mon Cal who made them for us the tighter the fit the better they seal against water. Though I think that dodgy squid is laughing at us." Melissa replied, pulling down the back of Bastila's suit
"And posing pictures on the holonet of us in it and getting paid for it." Mission added
They all looked at the walls again as another tortured and drawn out noise came from the hull.
"Right now I am hating that flimsy pusher more for giving us this piece of junk." Terri said, hands tight on the steering column
"It is not as if they love us that much that they would give us a decent submersible." Mission pointed out
"And framing them for a planned attack on the Sith Embassy did not help matters much either." Melissa added
"I regret nothing." Bastila said mulishly
Another groan came added with another gauge shattering. The engine shuddered and the power flickered for a moment. The engine died and darkness enshrouded the craft
"Though I am rethinking that statement a bit now." She hastily added
Using a time honoured technique Melissa had the engine restarting with a splutter before running smoothly enough. Namely she hit it hard with a wrench a few times till it decided it was in it own best interest to get back to work
In the distance a set off lights broke through the gloom. Moving closer there was no missing the structure on the sea bed. The garish orange could not be missed as the area was lit by floodlights. What was considerablymore worrying was the packs of firaxan sharks swarming around the structure to the extent that nearly every plasteel tube was nearly invisible'
"Trust the Republic to make sure everyone knows who built a secret structure." Mission remarked
"Did you expect anything less from the genius who decided that building a secret base to steal the product from its sole supplier to be discreet." Terri snorted
Melissa was silent
"You know those explosive arrow heads I built for the harpoon guns?" She said
"Yes." Bastila replied
"I do not think using them would be a good idea. Sure it will blow a hole into any firaxen shark but blood in the water will make them frenzy more." Melissa said slowly
"Can we go back? My period just started a minute ago. Me and water is a bad idea right now." Mission said hopefully
"Did you really think that was going to work?" Terri asked over her shoulder
"It was worth a shot." Mission shrugged
A large rectangular opening appeared and Terri steered the submersible into the opening. They winced as the slams of firaxan sharks against the hull came continously as the predators swarmed into the opening. They felt the vibration of the door closing and then the water level started dropping.
A green light started blinking at them but they remained inside as the slamming against the hull became more frantic. It took several minutes for the slamming against the hull to stop. Carefully they opened the sealed airlocks and looked out. A multitude of firaxan sharks were laid out on the grating of the deck. There were so many dead sharks that they would be walking on a carpet of them to the airlock situated under the now blinking green light
Melissa knelt down and opened a large carrier bag. She produced a long tube with a pistol grip attached. A large revolving chamber was attached between the main shaft and the tube. . Expelling the loading chamber of the revolver she loaded it with several smaller cylinders before snapping the chamber back. Pulling back on a large hammer had the revolving chamber rolling, one of the cylinders was now in line with the pipe
"Why is the pistol grip so large?" Terri asked
"I looked up the schematics for a standard pressure suit, this should fit very well in your hand while wearing one." Melissa replied
"I thought you said using them would be a bad idea, so why are you loading one?" Mission asked
"Field test. The theory is solid and the simulations I had HK run supports it, but till I test it for myself." Melissa shrugged
"And we just happen to have enough test samples out there," Bastila concluded
"Want to drag one of them in to take home? I was told firaxan steaks are delicious." Mission asked, looking at the pile of fish
Melissa pushed the tube against one of the firaxan's and pulled the trigger. The resulting explosion was loud and the tube jerked up sharply. The round made a large hole as predicted. What was not predicted was a shark pushing up through the piles of it own dead and snapping it jaws toward the person standing in the open square.
Melissa fell back onto her butt and the shark dropped halfway into the airlock before spasming weakly and going still
"I do not think they are all dead yet." Mission said helpfully
"No shit, what gave you that idea, Captain Obvious?" Melissa asked
"The not quite dead shark maybe, Major Bitch." Mission snarked back
"Looks like we are doing this the hard way then." Bastila stated
She levitated the shark out of the opening and moved it to rest against the far wall of the chamber, before lifting another one of the pile and moving it away as well.
"Feel free to help." She said over her shoulder.
The force users cleared a path to the airlock. Mission studied their submersible from the safety of the airlock as they were equipping their load bearing equiptment and backpacks
" How were they planning to move the Kolto from here?" She asked
"Probably through submersibles, we never asked." Terri replied
"I do not see you moving a lot of kolto on one of these, not a lot of space." Mission continued
"That means there should be either another way to the surface or other docks with larger craft." Bastila stated
"That is not the only thing that is wrong here." Melissa said
"What?" Terri asked
"Listen." Melissa said
"You are right it is too quiet." Mission agreed
" And here I was hoping for a nice quiet walk and not a combat mission." Bastila sighed
"Mission find a dataport or a terminal and get us system access. Melisa and I am on point, Mission centre, Bastila rearguard. Weapons hot."Terri ordered
"There should be a pump room close by and it should have a terminal, it would be stupid to have to pump water from the central hub to flood the docks every time a submersible comes in" Melissa suggested
Their footsteps echoed on the deckplates as they moved along. Apart from the light hissing of air being circulated there was no other sound. The passage ended in a t junction. Terri cautiously leaned to the right before pulling back with Melissa copying her
"Doorway two metres in." Melissa reported
Bastila knelt down and touched the deck plate. She closed her eyes and concentrated
"I sense a life form up ahead. The being is terrified." She said
She shook her head
"It is difficult to sense anything here, the force is in turmoil."
"Then let us go and see what is behind door number one." Terri suggested
They took breach positions against the doorway. Terri slammed her rifle stock against the door three times, waited and repeated the three strikes. She nodded to Mission to press on the pressure plate to open the door. The door hissed open
"Friendlies." She called out
Crouching low she took a quick look around the doorway
"Machines." She reported back
" Moving." Melissa said
Melissa stepped into the room. Sensors picked up her movement and light flooded the room. At the far end of the room she noticed another door. The door led to an office space and closed circuit monitors showing the docking bays and the immediate outside of the bays. The server had no dataport visible and a simple keyboard had a few buttons on it. Twelve in total They were labelled open close, flood and drain. Pressing flood and drain did exactly that to the docking bays.
"I would not push open and close now. I think this was merely for manual override in case the sensors did not function properly" She said
"Move on, then we need to find a proper terminal." Terri said
Enterring the next section found them in what looked like a an office section. The room was lit by the terminals running from the desks. Looking up showed why the lights did not come on. The lights and the surrounding sensor had been shot out.
"Come out." Bastila called
A Twi'lek male slowly got out from behind a desk and shuffled into view
"Are you a rescue party?" He demanded eagerly
"No, recon team." Melissa replied
"There is nothing to recon, they are all dead." The male replied panicked
"What happened? The quicker you tell us the quicker we can leave." Terri asked
"I was with a group of soldiers and mercenaries. We came in, the fish swarmed us. No matter how many we killed, they just kept coming. I ran."
"Did you see or hear anything else? Find any data?" Terri persisted
"No! We have to leave!" The mercenary demanded shrilly.
"Not till we know what is going on." Terri said firmly
He rushed forward and placed his blaster against Mission's head as she was slicing the system
"I will kill her! You will take me to the surface now!" He screamed
Terri looked him firmly in the eyes
"I am giving you one chance. Holster your weapon, now!" She said icily
"Are you not listening? I will kill this bitch!" He screamed
"You got him?" Terri asked
The Twi'Lek screamed as his finger was pulled away from the trigger and subsequently broken, followed by his hand. Mission skidded back as she was pulled away. The male dropped to grab his blaster. The sound of a bolt slamming home followed and the man was dropped against the desk. Terri holstered her blaster
"Mi. You okay?" She asked
"I am good." Mission replied shakily
"Take a moment, get your breath back." Terri adviced
"After I finish the slice." Mission replied, more firmly.
"Silence!"Bastila called
They could hear the sound of running footsteps coming closer through the airvents, the sound of screeching following every few moments.
"Find cover."
The door burst over and a mob surged in. They rushed forward screeching. The Selkath had their arm fins standing out and more than a few of the fin spines were discoloured by some type of fluid. Their sharp teeth were in open display and discoloured as well.
Concentrated fire slammed into the pack, but they pressed forward. Disregarding their losses, the screeching mob kept pushing closer. Four lightsaber blades made their appearance before three defenders waded into the pack.
The thrumming of the lightsabers were the only noise as the three defenders stood in a triangle formation
"Mi, you good? Terri , Bas?" Melissa asked
"I am good." Mission called back
"A slight scratch." Terri reported
"Inject an anti toxin, Selkath bites carry cytotoxic venom , not sure of their fins." Bastila ordered
Melissa looked down at the pile of bodies
"Is that a Gungan and a Mon Cal?" She asked
Terri looked down after injecting herself and dressing the wound on her hand
"It is. The Mon Cal I can understand being here but why the Gungan?" Terri was puzzled
"Care to explain to the rest of the class." Mission said
"The Mon Calamari are specialist in aquatic environments, it would make sense to have them here as technicians and researchers. The Gungans are not exactly known to the brightest beings in the galaxy."
"That is putting it mildly, They make Agamarians look bright." Bastila replied
"Nor is it common to see them of Naboo, they live in underwater cities and rarely do they interact with surfacers." Terri continued
"That is the key. They are aquatic as well. You do not need a rocket scientist to be able to do chores and maintenance. And a species that can handle high water pressure and be able to move faster than a being in pressure suit would make them ideal." Melissa said
"That makes sense, what does not make sense is why they attacked with the Selkath and for that matter why did the Mon Cal join? Why attack us without using weapons and like wild beasts? Why would three different species go feral at the same time?" Bastila stated
"I think we will not like the answers to those questions. Mission how is that slice going?" Terri said
"I am in and downloading the schematics, looks like we are in an admin block, there is another dock marked on the far side. The largest section is marked as refinery and processing. With a section marked as main utilities. We will need to go back and use the east tubes to access the section to get to the main lab and systems control section. Though it takes us through the crew residential hub. That is the easiest way." Mission reported
" The other way?" Bastila asked
"I can not access it from here, looks like the security for that is run from another system, possibly the system control section."
Red lights started flashing, a siren started screeching through the intercom
"I was not me!" Mission called
The siren switched off and an automated message started playing
"All personnel to evacuation areas, All personnel to evacuation area. Self destruct sequence initiated. All personnel to evacuation area. Self destruct sequence initiated."
The siren resumed its screeching. Mission tapped away at the terminal
"Nothing. I can not find a directory for a self destruct."
"Then we need to push for the system control section." Terri said
Mission waved them away
"I know stay here and lock the doors, you can move faster without me doing your force things. Just come back as quickly as you can. I will unlock the doors from here for you. You should have a clear run."
The three dropped their backpacks and rifles, holding on to their lightsabers they dropped into runners crouches. Mission threw her spare slicing pad to Terri.
"Once you are there that should be enough to gain access, if you struggle I can talk you through it. Keep your coms open" She said
There was clacking sounds coming from the terminal and the door hissed open. Three forms blurred away.
The security pad to the control hub succumbed to a lightsaber slash and the door sprung open. Multiple terminals filled the room. Red lights flashed from screens and they could now actually see a countdown clock
"Mission we are in." Terri said over her coms
"Look for a central terminal. It might be in an office or the centre of the hub."
"There."
Bastila pointed to a raised platform where a large terminal stood behind several large monitor screens. Terri moved to it and clamped a dataspike to the clips attached to the pad and pushed it into a dataport. Numbers started running across the screen of the datapad
"I am syncing my pad to yours." Mission said
Mission swore.
"Real heavy encryption it will take me a while." She said distractedly
"Take your time, we have two minutes on the countdown." Bastila said casually
Melissa noticed a torn apart body a distance away from the terminal, a bloodied golden keycard was attached to a lanyard. She moved over to the body and took the card. Wiping some blood away she saw a sequence of numbers written on the back
"I can not get in. The system will only work with an access code." Mission reported
Melissa moved to the terminal and swiped the card, tapping the code in
"I don't know what you did but I can now access." Mission said
Files flashed randomly on the monitors as Mission swept the directory.
"Got it, shutting down the self destruct." Mission reported
"Good job, Mi." Melissa said in relief
"Girls, you got a bunch of fishy folks heading your way… and so do I. Hurry please?" Mission came back.
"Hold tight, we are coming for you." Terri said
"If I hold any tighter I will need some serious laxatives once I am back on the Hawke."
"Mission. TMI." Bastila sighed
Getting back to Mission took some doing having to fight through two mobs to do so. Taking a detour to examine the residential hub was a bad idea. Blood from various species were splattered across the rooms. They all gagged at the smell of blood and torn viscera. Bastila knelt down and examined the scene before her, she looked closer at a bolt ridden Selkath corpse, swallowing back bile as she forced herself to investigate
"Again no weapons were used, despite having a sonic blaster in its holster." She said
"There is a lot of sonic weapons here. All had been fired but the only dead aquatics have standard blaster burns." Terri observed , checking some dropped weapons
"Meaning the numbers were too great and the normal defenders were quickly overrun or the sonic weapons were ineffective." Melissa pointed out, moving back to the door leading to the passage
"I have seen enough too." Mission said from behind her hand as she pinched her nostrils against the smell
They jumped at sound of falling dishes. Weapons sweeping up they approached the kitchen door. Looking through the dropped mesh hatch they spotted movement from behind a counter. The door leading to the kitchen was locked and from their side they could see items were piled against it to form a barricade
"Come on out." Terri called
Two heads popped up from behind a counter. One was human male dressed in a white uniform, the second was a zabrak female dressed in a oil stained coverall.
"How did you get in here?" The woman asked
"Docked half an hour ago or so. We came from the embassy docks." Mission said
"A rescue party?" The man asked eagerly
"More a recon party. What the hell happened down here?" Terri asked
The man sat down on the counter.
"The Selkath, Mon Cal and Gungans suddenly started screaming about a voice before turning on everyone that is not a fish. Jaden here was fixing some equipment and we managed to barricade ourselves in here. They were banging on the hatch and doors to get to us but the hatch and door held. They completely lost their minds." The man said
"We were lucky they went insane, if they kept their minds getting to us would have been easy." The woman added
"Did you try calling for help?" Terri asked
"No one answered internal coms. And we have no signal to the outside." The woman shook her head
"Did you guys disable the self destruct?" The man asked
"We did. Why did you not try to get to the evacuation area?" Bastila asked
The woman pointed up where a plasteel window was embedded in the roof, sharks were swarming all over it
"When this started we saw an escape pod being launched, the sharks tore it apart." She said
"Do you know if there are other submersibles here?" Mission asked
"I normally worked in the large hanger. There should be three load submersibles and one staff carrier. Can not say if they are in one piece though. We could hear the mobs wrecking equipment while in here." The woman replied.
Terri produced her comlink.
"Give me your codes, once we swept the facility we will come back for you and we can see if we can get out through the other docks. The submersible we came in could barely hold four." She said
"Plus I am not sure the firaxan sharks did not damage something when they swarmed into the dock with us." Melissa added
"I should be able to fix most damage, assuming I can find tools and parts."The woman said firmly
"Sorry, I forgot to ask your names." Bastila said
"My name is Jaden Korr and this excuse that call himself our chef is Marce Nanders." The woman introduced herself
Melissa pushed her spare blaster and a power cell through the hatch grate.
"See you a bit later then. If we find anyone alive we will send them here. They will probably be thirsty and hungry, would you mind staring to make some food." She asked
"Might as well. Got nothing better to do for now anyway." Marce shrugged
Melissa had a sudden thought and turned to Mission
"You locked the other access door down?" She asked
"Yes. And disabled the keypad as well. And with how thick that door is, you will need explosives to get through and down here that will be suicide." Mission replied.
Mission was poring over the system schematics from the control hub main terminal. A holographic representation of the base showed. Returning the internal systems to fully operational brought a clearer picture. An external camera was showing three machines trundling along up and down the ocean bed. Green clouds were spewing from the machines. The sharks clustered even closer to the harvesters than to the base.
"Can we shut the harvesters down?" Melissa asked
"No. The communication system is damaged. They just keep going forward and backward harvesting. The receiving docks is overfilled and the processor plant is not functional." Mission reported
"Can you find the base records? Maybe we can see what started it all." Bastila suggested
Mission returned to the directory.
"Everything was running smoothly till they turned on a second extractor." She said
"Okay so all this started with the second unit going into operation." Terri said
"I have a visual file from moments after the unit went on line." Mission said
The file started playing. An audio commentary from the plant was that of a technician relaying technical detail. From the slight warbling in the voice they deduced it was either a Selkath or a Mon Calamari
"We are picking up vibrations from The Hrakert Rift." Another technician reported
"Confirm that." A third spoke
"That is a positive we have vibrations coming from the Rift. No wait that is not vibrations, that is movement!" The second voice spoke
"Great Creators!" The first spoke
The camera panned onto an impossible sight. Moments later screeching and wailing overrode anything that was said, a single cry of the Voice was the only intelligent sound, the sound of death and destruction followed shortly thereafter
Mission paused the file and pointed a shaky finger at the frozen image
"Is that…" She swallowed thickly
"The biggest fucking shark I have seen in my life." Bastila continued shocked
"Big! That thing is the size of a cruiser!" Melissa exclaimed
"I would say battleship but I am not going out to measure that thing." Terri said
Mission looked down and started shifting through files to find something to do that is not looking at the most terrifying shark in existence.
"I have two life signs by the processing area, It is marked as a quality assurance lab. The com centre relay is next to it." She reported
"Then that is our next stop." Terri said
Terri rubbed her eyes as she was getting a headache from the bickering from the two scientists
"Stop." She ordered
She fixed them with a stern glare
"One at a time. What is our options. You both agree that switching the harvesters and extractors of is the next logical step. So what is the problem?" Terri demanded
"All this started with the big shark appearing. By having the extractor deliver a neurotoxin we can kill it and resume operations." The male suggested
"And risk damaging the Kolto, we do not know how the kolto will react to the toxin." The woman objected
"Are you two for real? Almost everyone in here is dead and all you are concerned with is resuming production." Mission said aghast
"That is why this base was built, we need the kolto." The man said dismissively
"Focus. How do we shut down the harvesters and the extractors." Melissa snapped
"Normally we will send a shutdown order via hardline to the communication tower and they will shut down, but with the communication tower destroyed we cannot." The woman said
"They can be shut down manually but you will need to go out there." The man said
"And you are certain all communication possibilities are of line?" Terri demanded
"We are not technicians,we tried to send a data probe up but the sharks destroyed that."
"What type of probes are those?" Melissa asked
"Data probes, they send data from th surrounding sea for analysis, again we are not technicians." The man said snootily
Terri noticed Melissa was looking thoughtful
"What are you thinking?" She asked
"I am thinking I need to see those probes. If the sharks are swarming them we can use that." Melissa replied
"How?" Terri asked
"By replacing the datapackage with explosives. They swarm it we blow the charges. That way we can try and thin the numbers or even use it as a distraction while going for the harvesters and extractors, maybe even using the probes like a missile on the harvesters." She suggested
"That is not an option. Those harvesters must remain intact." The man objected loudly.
"Then go out there and switch them of yourself. Otherwise shut the fuck up." Mission retorted
"Do we have enough explosives?" Terri asked
"This is a lab filled with chemicals. It does not have to be high grades explosives to create a sufficient explosion and from what I know of raw kolto is that it is chemically unstable even under water." Bastila pointed out
"And with all the Kolto being wasted and polluting the water it will not take much. It only needs to be far enough from the base that the concusion does not trigger a breach of the hull." Terri concluded
"Did not think of the concussion, may be not fire on the harvesters then." Melissa admitted
"That leaves the question who is taking the walk out there?" Mission asked
Terri turned to face Bastila as the water was slowly rising in the airlock. She moved forward and pressed the faceplate of her pressure suits against Bastila's.
" I want you to know something." Terri said
"What is it?"Bastila asked
"I love you. I love you with every part of my being and nothing else matters." Terri said simply
"I love you too." Bastila said with a tender smile
"Now be carefull out there. I want my fiancé in one piece when I tear that bodysuit of you later." Terri smirked
"Now there is some motivation right there." Bastila said impishly
Missions voice came over their speakers
"Okay before I lose my lunch, we got coms working up to a hundred metres. We will send a sound pulse from the system to see if we can drive some sharks away before firing all the probes. Thereafter you had better run or walk really fast. The control panels for the harvesters should be easily visible, just press the red buttons and it will stop running."
The water reached the roof and the outer airlock cycled open. They felt the thump of the soundpulse being broadcast and then heard the popping sounds as the probes were launched. Clouds of bubbles were visible as the probes propelled their way from the base heading in different directions. Packs of sharks peeled away to chase after the probes, leaving behind slowly dropping bodies behind from sharks killed by the sound blast. The two rushed forward trying to use the dropping bodies as cover
They managed to reach the harvesters fairly quickly and shutting them down was a simple matter of pressing a few buttons. They cautiously pushed forward to the extractors and stepped up the platforms.
A figure rose up before them. From up close the shark looked even bigger than their worst fears. A pulse followed as the shark screeched. They weathered the pulse barely by grabbing onto whatever they could grab onto. They pulled themselves forward to the controls and started the shut down sequence.
The machines started to shut down and the shark seemed to be looking at them before starting to lower itself back towards the rift from which it came from. Their coms crackled
"The packs are dispersing, get clear, I have two probes left and aimed at the extractors." Melissa's voice came over brokenly
"Coming back, now. Can you do another sound pulse if needed?"
"Yes, but you will need to kill your com units before I do that."
Terri looked down at the unconscious forms of the two scientist before her and raised an enquiring eyebrow
"They tried to stop us from firing the last probes." Melissa explained, off handedly
"So I have been thinking." Mission started
"I thought I smelt something burning." Bastila commented
Mission flicked a finger before continuing
" I have been thinking that returning to the Embassy might be a bad idea. What is to stop them from taking control of the submersible and deliver us to the Selkath and frame us for what happened down here." She continued
"You are suggesting we hijack the other ships and leave for another destination." Terri said
"We put these two in the submersible and send them back to the embassy, put the other two in with us and suggest to them that they strongly think of running for the nearest passenger liner and get of planet." Mission suggested
"If we do this I suggest launching all the submersibles to different locations to confuse matters." Melissa said
Mission was about to reply when she noticed the other three turning to face the far dock area
"What is it?" She asked
"Dark side users." Bastila replied absently
"Let me guess, wait here till you come back." Mission sighed
"See, she can be taught." Terri said
Three figures shrouded in robes were waiting on the dock for them as they entered the area. The trio spread out and took ready positions. One shifted from the centre to face Melissa. She threw her robes of revealing a familiar red and black set of armour. She lit her blade and pointed it at Melissa
"You face Darth Misera, formerly Cara Vesalik. And I will have vengeance for my sister." She said
Melissa stepped forward
"I am assuming you are talking of Tamara No Name. That is the only demagolka's name I bothered to remember." She replied
The woman rushed forward and they met in a flurry of sparks. Terri and Bastila rushed forward to engage the other two.
Melissa flipped back and pulled a tool trolley towards her opponents back. Misera spun and bisected the trolley before throwing force lightning in Melissa's direction. Melissa jumped onto a support girder as she dodged the blast. Miser jumped up onto the pole as well. They tapped their blades together as they settled on their new position.
"It seems you have improved since you battled my sister. I could not believe she fell to someone so weak." Misera said
"I might be weak, but at least I do not drop to my knees before Darth Dickless. Here I though that demagolka had some standards at least" Melissa replied.
"Malak is but a tool for me to use. I will see your precious Mandalore burn for the dishonour they brought to my clan. Not that you will be alive to see it." Misera snarled back
"Coming from someone who follows an auretti and hu'tuun. Not going to hold my breath." Melissa rolled her eyes
Misera moved in rapidly. Melissa held her ground as they swung, slashed and parried. They moved forward and backward on the pole. Misera started to gain dominance in the fight and started pushing Melissa to the edge of the pole.
Melissa flipped back onto another girder and stepped back to give herself space to move. Misera jumped onto the edge of the new girder. Misera stepped forward, but mis stepped. She moved back trying to regain her balance, but found no support for her foot. She swayed as she desperately tried to regain her balance Melissa moved into her defence area, blade swinging. Misera screamed as her hands were amputated by the super heated plasma blade. The blade shut down as the remnant of her hands fell to the ground below.
The woman dropped to ground below and Melissa dropped down following her. Misera landed on another tool trolley, They could all hear the snap of her spine as she struck the trolley, her armour giving no protection as she landed on a weak spot between the chest and lumbar plates. She went limp as her body failed her. Her breathing became laboured.
Melissa looked down in pity at her crippled foe. She lifted her blade and slashed down, preventing the woman from dying a torturous death. The silence of the docking bay was only disturbed by the thrumming of the lightsabers still active. Melissa was the last to close her blade down.
There was a clatter of armour as Misera's body went incorporeal as she rejoined with the force. Melissa bent down and picked up her foe's lightsaber. She felt the usual disgust when touching an artefact that had been soaked in the dark, she opened the blade and ripped the focusing crystal out. She placed it on a workbench and grabbed the heaviest hammer she could find.
The crystal shattered under the heavy blow and it felt as if the air around them became cleaner. Terri added another two crystals to the shattered shards and the hammer came down again.
"Are you going to claim the armour as well?" Terri asked
"No, the dark side taint in it is too strong for the beskar to be used again. It would be better to let it rust on the sea floor when we blow this place." Melissa shook her head.
"How about we get out of here, I really could use some sun right about now." Bastila suggested