Last time: Tac revealed the information from the relay station, but Kyr and Viran were benched from going.
Now: The Coppers, Sasha, Op, and Kait inspect the next stop.
Chapter 12- The Aspis
"Scamp, can you hand me a couple grenades?" Wynnie asked, looking at the bin that was too tall for her to reach with annoyance. They were in the armory kitting up, and she had everything, but she'd already gone through her stash of grenades she kept on the lower shelves. The Quartermaster was eyeing their selections and subtly checking them out on his datapad, but he knew better than to try to make the Copperheads sign for it, or go through the usual checkout procedures.
"I've got them," Scamp said with a smirk as he reached up and grabbed a couple of grenades as requested. He then held them out for Wynnie. "Here ya go."
"Thanks." She said, starting to clip them to her harness.
"Any droid poppers?" Oppie asked, glancing between Scamp and Nova.
"Over there. Third bin from the top," Nova directed without even looking as she loaded her bag precisely with various kinds of explosives.
"Thank you." Oppie said, heading over to the bin.
Sasha leaned against the wall watching them as they loaded up, dressed in her Jedi robes with her lightsaber on her belt and her blaster holstered to her hip. "You think we might run into droids?" She asked Oppie with a bemused smirk.
"Old habit." Oppie said with a smirk as he clipped three of the poppers to his belt.
She chuckled at that. "So is this everyone? I thought Kait was coming with us," she said, looking around the room.
"She is?" Oppie asked, glancing up at her.
The door to the locker room opened at that moment and Kait came in, wearing an armored vest and leg armor she had borrowed from the Marines. Her trusty blaster pistol was in a holster at her hip, and she had a rifle in her hands. She slid the charging handle back, making sure it was fully charged and the tibanna gas canister was fully primed, then looked up. "We all set?" She asked.
Oppie looked at her in full armor with her rifle in hand, a little surprised, and swallowed. She looked oddly beautiful wearing that full kit, and a small part of his mind wondered if that might be because of his Mandalorian heritage. "Uh… yeah. I think so." He said, responding to her.
Kait gave him a slightly confused look but smirked ever so slightly at the way he reacted, she'd have to remember that.
Sasha noticed the moment and tried to hide a smile. Scamp holstered his pistol after checking the charge then grabbed his helmet.
"Then if we're all set, let's move out. Our ride is waiting," Scamp said as he tucked his helmet under his arm and proceeded out of the room, waving the Quartermaster off.
Nova shouldered her bag that looked like it should weigh a ton, but didn't seem to bother her as she adjusted the strap before following Scamp out. Sasha turned and followed with her. Wynnie hefted her rotary cannon and trailed after them, with Kait and Oppie taking up the rear. Dravis was waiting in the corridor outside, leaning against the wall with just his holstered blaster pistol and datapad in hand.
"You guys done? That was quick." He said with good natured sarcasm.
Scamp chuckled at him. "Are you ready to go?" He asked him sarcastically as they walked towards the hangar.
"Sure, I think Shades has the bus ready." Dravis said, kicking off from the wall and heading down the corridor to the hangar bay.
"Excellent," Scamp said. "I'll signal Troy to make sure to be down in the hangar to deploy here in a few minutes." He then pulled out his commlink and called his son.
"Troy is coming with?" Sasha asked, realizing she still hadn't formally met him yet.
"Yeah," Nova said, shooting a smirk back to Wynnie. "You excited Wynn?" She teased.
Wynnie just shrugged in her taciturn way but there was a tiny blush that colored her cheeks.
Nova and Sasha noticed the blush and shared a smirk with each other as they turned their gaze forward as they group entered the hangar. Scamp led them over to the waiting U-Wing where Troy and his squad stood by waiting.
"Commander," Troy saluted.
"At ease," Scamp said then turned to the others. "Alright everyone, let's load up."
Oppie and Kait ended up in line next to Scamp as they waited to board, and he leaned over to the commander. "I kinda miss the LAATs." He admitted.
"You and me both," Scamp said with a smirk. "But don't tell Shades that." He said as he gestured for them to climb aboard.
"Don't tell me what?" She asked from her seat up in the pilots chair.
"Oh nothing you need to worry about," Scamp said as he hopped aboard. "Alright, we are all on board. Get us out of here." He called up to her as he grabbed the hand rail.
The U-Wing was a tad packed and every jumpseat was taken, leaving Scamp, Troy, Oppie and a couple of the Marines standing.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Shades awesome airways." She started as she flicked a couple of switches and the U-wing started spooling up, with an oddly high pitched whine compared to other stock U-Wings, mixed with a low burbling sound. "Our destination today is a creepy-shebs abandoned shipyard that may or may not have spiders aboard, to which our favorite Colonel is probably glad to not be joining us for. The forecast calls for a balmy negative two-hundred and fifty degrees, so we hope you packed a sweater. Please keep your arms, legs, and lekku," She said, glancing in a little mirror she had affixed to her console and spotting one of Troy's marines was a purple Twi'lek, "inside the U-wing at all times until it comes to a full and complete stop. Unless we're doing a hot landing then just jump out when Scamp says." She added as they swept out past the hangar's forcefield.
Scamp rolled his eyes at that as he looked out the window in the door. Sasha and Nova chuckled.
"Does she do one of those every time?" Kait asked Sasha and Nova, who she had ended up sitting across from in the extremely cramped space.
"Yep," Sasha said with a shrug.
"You get used to it," Nova said with a smirk.
"I think it's kinda fun." Kait said. "Though her chewing the gum over the intercom is a little loud." She whispered to them conspiratorially.
"Just a little," Sasha agreed in a whisper as held up a thumb and forefinger to indicate how little was "a little".
There was a loud pop as Shades blew a bubble. "Ladies and Gentlemen the airspace is a little crowded, we're getting formed up with the Avengers, so if you'll bear with us we'll have you to your destination here soon. If you look off to your left, you'll see an A-Wing forming up that is probably the oldest fighter aboard the Defiant, with Valiant squadron rotated home and Y-Wings retired - Oh hey look at that he's waving at us with one finger, that's nice." She said waving back through her cockpit canopy at the pilot who didn't appreciate her history lesson. "With that being said, we apologize for this, and we hope this only inconveniences your travel plans just a little." She said as she blew another bubble and started chewing noticeably louder.
"Fun fact." Oppie mentioned quietly with a little bit of a smirk, "pilots usually have an open line back into the cabin."
Kait shrunk into her seat. "Oh." She said, and cleared her throat. "Sorry Shades." She said quietly as Oppie hid a chuckle.
After about another ten or so minutes, the U-Wing reached the shipyards. The place was sparse and there was no resistance or even comm chatter to indicate where to land. It was just quiet, dead quiet. But the light cruiser came into view as it sat just outside the shipyard's main hangar. It appeared to be offline as it gave no readings as they passed. As the U-Wing entered into the hangar, they noticed how dark it seemed as the interior of the hull suddenly became dimmer. A moment later, the U-Wing settled down in the first open spot Shades could find. The party got out of the ship while Shades stayed aboard.
Sasha looked up at Oppie. "Do you sense it?" She asked as a very unsettling feeling in the Force nagged at her.
"Yeah." Oppie said, a little tense. "Echoes of fear." He said as he looked around the vast, empty hangar guardedly, looking for any sign of threat. "But so quiet."
Sasha clenched and unclenched her fists. "I have a really bad feeling about this," she admitted, tensely. "We should be wary."
"Agreed." He said.
Around them everyone was flicking on the lights attached to their rifles or their helmets, and the beams started cutting through the darkness.
"This ship came into port a couple of months ago." Dravis said. "What happened to everyone?"
"Don't know, I was hoping to meet some Imps." Wynnie said, a slight bit of disappointment in her tone.
"Everyone keep your senses sharp and don't get separated," Scamp advised as he looked to the others with his bucket on. "Something is not right here. So stay on your toes. Now let's go." He pulled out his pistol and turned back to the hangar.
The hangar looked like no one had been here in months. There was dust that coated everything in sight. What was most unsettling was that while the hangar looked well equipped, there was no sign of life. It looked like whoever was here last just abandoned their tasks as if they left in a rush.
"What the hell happened here?" Nova asked as she looked around, gripping her duffle strap tightly.
"I don't know," Sasha said as she shined her lightsaber at the area around them.
"The entry gantry is over there." Oppie said, looking at the superstructure that went up the side of the hangar, and had an extension bridge that went out to an airlock that was near the ship's bridge structure. "Scamp, did they change the Arquitens class much?" He asked, recognizing the ship from being aboard the same class many times during the Clone Wars.
"They were usually gutted and refurbished. Like with updated equipment, engines, and other components," Scamp responded as he took point. "But it looks like this one wasn't finished." He gestured to the cart of parts that were left untouched near the underbelly of the ship that looked newer than the ship they were being outfitted for.
"That airlock opens up pretty much to the bridge, then. I hope we can just get in and get out." Oppie said as the party was moving towards the scaffolding that led up to the gantry bridge.
"This place gives me the creeps." Kait said, hefting her rifle a little closer to her as she shined it around.
"You and me both," Nova agreed as she looked around, uneasily.
Scamp led the team up a set of stairs that led to the gantry. As they climbed, they all got a higher perspective on what the hangar as a whole looked like. Sasha glanced at the hand rail as they climbed up. Her stomach twisted as she noticed some unnatural looking scrap marks along the rail, almost as if something had been climbing up. She tightened her grip on her saber and nudged Oppie next to her.
"Maybe it's just gouges from equipment?" He suggested, looking at what looked like claw marks gouged into the durasteel structure.
"I hope so," Sasha said as she carefully ran her fingers across one of the marks as they continued up the stairs. The sharp metal pricked her finger as she ran them across, causing her to pull her hand back and shake it out. Glancing at her finger, it thankfully didn't break skin, but it stung.
They kept moving up the structure, going up several decks worth of stairs as they moved mostly in subdued silence. The hangar was a vast void around them that seemed to echo with a sense of horror that kept everyone in a tense mood as they moved with caution.
Scamp reached the top of the stairs and he slowed to a stop as he looked at the decking of the gantry. In the middle of the walkway was a gaping hole that provided very little structure on the sides for them to snake around on. Scamp knelt beside the hole, examining what caused such an opening. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the sides appeared to have melted away. He furrowed his brow as he stood up.
"Be careful," He said over his shoulder. "Something melted a nice hole into the floor. Step cautiously." He then led the way forward as he started to move around the right side of the hole. He felt and heard the metal groan under him as he slowly shifted along. Once he was close enough to the other side, he hopped across and cleared the rest of the gap. Scamp turned back to the others. He gestured them forward.
Oppie held back as the others passed by, "what could do this to durasteel?" He voiced the thought, looking at the hole that looked like it had been melted through. "Some kind of industrial acid?"
"I'm not sure," Sasha said as she looked through it.
"Either way, I don't like it," Nova voiced, creeped out as she then moved forward to cross.
Once Nova was safely across, Sasha used the Force and leapt over the hole, landing safely and gracefully on the other side of it. However, it still creaked under her feet as she landed, making her panic for a split second. She looked back to Oppie and Kait. "Alright, you're clear."
"Make a good breaching alternative to your explosives." Dravis commented to Nova as Kait started to gingerly make her way across.
"If I can figure out what caused it then I might consider it," Nova said as she carefully moved away from the hole. "But I'm a little afraid to figure out what made a hole like that."
Kait was halfway around the hole when the bridge gave a loud groaning sound. Everyone froze, and their heads shot around down the length of the gantry where it was locked onto the side of the ship.
"We might want to hurry." Oppie said to no one in particular.
"I'm going, I'm going." Kait said under her breath as she continued moving.
"Troy, get to the ship and get that hatch opened now," Scamp ordered.
Troy nodded. The Lieutenant led the Marines down the gantry as quickly as possible so they could open the hatch to the ship. Troy pressed the switch on the side, but nothing happened.
"Nova! We need you to make an entrance," Troy called back over his shoulder.
"On my way," Nova said as she ran over to help the Marines and Troy.
Sasha held her hand out to Kait as the others started moving towards the hatch. Kait gratefully took her hand and stepped onto the other side of the hole as the gantry groaned again. She turned around, "Op, come on!"
He took a few steps back and then took a running leap across to the other side, landing heavily, though his boots started slipping where the melted metal had warped downward. Kait and Sasha show their hands out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back onto more solid footing.
"Thanks." Oppie said, glancing behind him at the chasm and instantly regretting it.
"No problem sweetie." Kait said as she turned to head down the bridge, and Oppie narrowed his eyes at her.
"Let's move," Sasha urged them as she ran down the gantry to catch up to the others.
There was a loud hissing sound as Nova blew the hatch wide open with breaching tape. "Alright, she's clear. Everyone in," she said as she shouldered her pack again.
Scamp climbed through first, scanning the area to see if it was safe. He then gestured behind him and Troy went through the opening next, followed by the Marines.
The inside of the ship was pitch black, at least the hangar outside had been illuminated by the faint glow of starlight. The interior of the ship was mostly intact, but there were wall panels that were laying against adjacent bulkheads so that engineering crews could access systems. Their lights played around the space, and it was made all the more eerie by the fact that all the tools, all the work carts, everything looked like it had just been dropped in place moments ago. Except for the smell of stale air, one might think that the work crews had abandoned their work only a few hours ago. There was even a lunch box that had a half eaten wrap in it and a thermos of caf, albeit the wrap looked like it had been decaying for the last month or three.
"What in the galaxy…?" Oppie asked as he looked over everyone's shoulders at the scene.
"I don't like this. I really don't," Scamp said as he kept his pistols up.
Nova gulped as she looked around. "Is now a bad time to say I'm afraid of the dark?" She asked with a nervous chuckle.
Sasha swallowed nervously as she entered into the hatch. "How far is the bridge from here?" She asked as calmly as she could.
"Not far, but if the hatch didn't open automatically then it's possible the lifts are down too," Scamp said as he continued to look down the corridors. "We will need to go this way." He gestured down the corridor just before them.
"Then lead the way," Nova said as she gripped the strap of her bag tighter causing her knuckles to turn white.
Scamp took a deep breath before slowly starting down the corridor before them. Troy and his Marine squad followed Scamp, casting their lights down side corridors as they reached each intersection. Dravis followed alongside Nova, with Sasha, Kait and Oppie at the back of their party. Oppie cast the glow from his saber down the side corridors as well, looking at more evidence of half finished work, hastily stopped as if everyone just picked up and ran.
As one of the Marines approached the next intersection, she cleared the hallway and then froze. "Uh, Lieutenant? Might want to take a look at this." She said, trying to keep her voice even.
Troy turned to face her then looked towards what she was staring at. He narrowed his eyes as he moved closer before suddenly realizing what it was. He stared in horror at the sight. There was a puddle of blood that had since dried over that appeared to have claw marks smeared through it and a trail that led off down the corridor as if the victim was dragged away.
"Oh I have a bad feeling about this," Nova breathed out, spooked.
"We are not alone on this ship," Sasha said as evenly as she could. In the Force, she could sense something else was there with them. At first, she thought it was nothing more than the presence of the past echoing in the Force. Now she was sure it was something alive.
"Nothing I'm sure a blaster won't take care of." Wynnie noted quietly, looking at the blood trail as she hefted her rotary cannon.
"How far are we from the bridge?" Kait asked nervously.
"The access ladder should be just down the next left." Oppie stated, trying to keep his own voice from sounding nervous. "Let's keep going."
Scamp continued to lead them down the corridors, taking the necessary turns here and there to get them to the access ladder. After a few quiet and tense moments, they reached it. Scamp opened the hatch to the ladder before peering inside. He shined his head lamp up the ladder before looking back to the others. "Coast is clear," he said as he holstered his pistols. "I'm going to go up and clear a path. Troy, stay right behind me. Everyone else follow suit." He ordered. He then started to climb up the ladder.
"Yes sir," Troy nodded as he waited for his moment then started to follow Scamp.
Oppie stayed at the back of the group, his saber down out of his line of sight so as not to ruin his night vision as much as possible. But the blue light his saber spilled out, and the green from Sasha's along with the rifle lights that still played around the space only seemed to make it darker. As though the shadows were trying to flow towards them like an onrush of water fighting to drown them. The temporary play of light across the scene fighting it back for only a brief instant.
"When we -" Oppie started, but instantly stopped as his head shot around. He was near the intersection that led into their utility area, and there was the faintest skittering sound that he barely heard, perhaps only imagined in this awful space.
"I heard it too." Kait said quietly, casting her light down the corridor, but there was nothing to be seen.
Sasha looked around too at the noise. Everyone else was already making their way up the ladder by this point, leaving only the three of them left. "Whatever it is, I don't want to stick around to meet it. Kait, head up before me," she said as a shudder passed down her spine.
"Okay." Kait said, not wanting to argue as she stepped back to the access way. She shined her light down the ladder, where it ended several decks below. There was a glint of something white, it was a stormtrooper in full armor, crumpled in a heap at the bottom. She swallowed, looking away from the ghastly sight as she slung her rifle over her shoulder and stepped onto the ladder starting to climb.
"You next Sasha." Oppie said as they back down the corridor together.
"Right," Sasha said as she switched off her lightsaber and replaced it to her belt. She started to climb up the ladder.
Oppie waited for her to start up, and then extinguished his saber, but not before looking down towards the bottom of the shaft and seeing nothing of note. Except for, perhaps, another stain of something that may have been blood several decks below at the bottom of the shaft. He stepped onto the ladder and twisted slightly. He popped the control panel open and pulled a lever, manually actuating the door they had entered through closed.
Sasha nearly jumped out of her skin at that and almost lost her grip on the ladder, but she was able to recover it quickly. She looked down, faintly able to see Oppie. She let out an audible sigh. "You scared the hell out of me," she said, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.
"Sorry." Oppie said sheepishly. "Didn't want anything following us."
"Good idea. Just give a little warning next time," she groused before she started climbing again.
After several long moments of climbing, they finally reached the top level. Scamp reached out and pulled open the panel on the wall. He yanked the lever down and the hatch slid open. Maneuvering himself around, he pulled himself up and out of the hatch. Once on his feet, he scanned the area as he pulled his pistol back out. There were a few dead stormtroopers laying in a bloody heap near the hatch, but the rest of the way looked clear. Grimacing at the sight, Scamp turned his attention back to the ladder to help Troy as he climbed out.
"Help the others out," Scamp told him as he pulled him to his feet. "I'm going to keep watch."
"Yes sir," Troy said as he turned back to the hatch to start helping his Marines out.
One by one, he aided them out of the tube. Once out, they immediately took defensive positions with Scamp. Troy then held his hand out to Wynnie as she was the next one coming up the ladder.
Wynnie glanced at it and then gingerly took his hand as she tried to make the odd movement with the rotary cannon and her blaster rifle slung across her back. She disbalanced a little bit as the weight of the weapons shifted slightly and she exhaled sharply at the sudden sensation of falling. Troy immediately tightened his grip on her hand while his other grabbed a nearby pipe for support. He felt his shoulder wrench at the motion as he tried to keep his grip on her and slammed into the side wall. Gritting his teeth, he pulled Wynnie up and out of the hatch.
"Thanks." She said bashfully as she got her footing and stepped into the corridor hurriedly.
"Of course," Troy said, blushing. He was grateful that it was so dark that no one else could see. Rolling his shoulder out, he turned his attention to help Dravis next.
"Oh my, thank you Lieutenant. Such a gentleman." Dravis commented as he took Troy's hand.
Troy glared at the older man as he pulled him up. "Shut it," he growled under his breath. Dravis grinned as he stepped out into the corridor.
Troy then helped Nova, Kait, Sasha and Oppie out of the tube. Once everyone was out, he let out a sigh as he absently messaged his shoulder. "All clear, Commander."
Scamp nodded. "Follow me," he said, gesturing down the corridor towards the bridge.
"Nova, you got any proximity charges you can live without?" Oppie asked as he used the manual release to close the ladder access behind them.
"Uh, a couple," Nova answered, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I uh…" Oppie said, looking around the corridor as the rest of the party moved past to continue towards the bridge. He ignited his saber, casting them in a bright wash of pale blue light. "Want to leave one here? Just a funny feeling." Oppie said.
"Okay," Nova said, nervously. She reached into her pack and shuffled around in it. After a moment, she produced the charge and handed it to Oppie. "Here."
"Thanks." He waited for the others to move out of the corridor, then affixed the charge to the side of the bulkhead at hip height. He glanced around and set the sensor to a two meter spread and armed it as he hurried to catch up with the end of the party.
The group continued along the corridors. The amount of blood, scratch marks, and corpses was a little unsettling the closer they got to the bridge. Sasha had to plug her nose as the smell that came with the dead bodies got worse.
"This is awful," Nova said, trying not to gag as she covered her mouth with a mask she produced from her bag. She took a couple of deep breaths once it was on as it filtered out the rank smell.
"Yeah." Wynnie quietly agreed.
"We're nearly to the bridge." Oppie said from the back of the group, holding his off hand up to his face to blot out the smell of the charnel house they were walking through.
Soon they reached the bridge, but it was sealed shut. Scamp tried the door controls but to no avail. "Nova, your turn."
Nova moved to the front of the group and looked over the door. It was a large, heavy blast door. So her breaching tape wasn't going to cut it. Searching through her bag, she managed to find a couple of heavy duty grenades.
"Okay, the only way in is through a big bang," she told the others. "So I recommend everyone take cover and cover your ears."
"Sasha and I might be able to cut through." Oppie suggested. "Would be a little quieter."
Nova looked like she was about to protest when she realized he was right. "Good point. I'll save the big bang for our exit of this place," she said as she stepped aside.
Sasha walked over to the door and placed her hand on the cold metal. Closing her eyes, she reached out through the Force. It appeared to be clear on the other side. Opening her eyes, she leveled her saber tip at the door. She then looked to Oppie. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Oppie glanced at Nova and gestured to his still belted shoto saber. "Want to help?" He offered.
Nova beamed from under her filtered mask. "Yes!" She tucked the explosives back into her bag and came over to him. She grabbed the shoto saber as he handed it to her and held the beautiful hilt in her hands, quaking for a moment. She then thumbed it to life and stared at the blade, mesmerized. "Okay now what?"
"Place the tip to the door, press in on our count, and complete the circle," Sasha instructed.
"Got it," Nova nodded as she moved into place.
"Gee Op, letting another girl play with your saber? Should I be jealous?" Kait piped up from the crowd around them.
Oppie's shoulders shrunk as he slowly glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Sasha and Nova tried to keep a straight face at that. Scamp could be heard snickering from under his bucket. All the Marines started chuckling at that. Troy just looked between them, amused. Wynnie furrowed her brow as to why people thought it was funny since Nova was getting to play with his saber.
"Let's just get through the door." Oppie groused, embarrassed, as he stabbed his blade into the heavy durasteel plate.
"Yes sir," Sasha said, still trying to keep a smile at bay as she stabbed her saber through.
Nova did the same with the shoto. Sasha clenched her jaw as she tried to move the blade up through the door, it was taking so long to heat the metal up and melt through. But it was making slow progress as the three of them guided the sabers around. After several long and tense moments, the door finally was cut through and a circle was made. Nova backed away, panting, as she handed Oppie back his saber before shaking her sore arms out. Sasha stepped back and used the Force, sending the metal backwards into the bridge. It flew back and landed with a skidding thud as metal scraped against metal. She let out a breath, spent by the task before taking deep breaths and instantly regretting it as it still smelled horrible. She held her breath for a moment as she stepped away from the opening they made and silently hoped she didn't inhale much of the odor.
"Good work," Scamp said as he entered first, clearing the room. Troy and the Marines right behind him.
Sasha nodded and held her breath until the Coppers had all entered. She then couldn't hold it anymore and let out a terrible coughing fit.
"You okay?" Oppie asked.
"Yeah," Sasha said between coughs. "It's the smell." She clapped her hands over her mouth to try and silence the coughing as she made her way into the bridge. Once inside and far enough from the entry point, she dropped her hands and took deep breaths of air that smelled more pleasant than the corridor, coughing a couple more times.
Dravis was already moving to the dataport at one of the terminals. The bridge was strangely empty, for all the remains that had been in the corridors outside.
Scamp looked around the bridge before looking to the others. "Alright, everyone establish a perimeter. Once Dravis has what we came here for, we'll go. Keep on your toes. There is still something on this bucket of bolts that did that out there," he said as he sharply pointed towards the corridor.
"Got it," Troy said with a nod. He gestured to the Marines to take position near the door and another to protect Dravis, just in case. He then walked over to Wynnie. "Are you alright?" He asked her quietly.
"Yeah." Wynnie replied, looking up at him. "It's kind of like where I grew up." She said a little distantly as she checked the charge on her rotary cannon.
Troy furrowed his brow at that. "This is like where you grew up?" He frowned. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
She shrugged. "It's in the past." She said, looking away.
His frown deepened, but he didn't know what to say next. "Well, I'm here if you want to talk." He finally settled on after a moment as he turned his attention out the window, looking at the view.
She looked at him, her brow furrowing slightly. "Thanks." She said as she moved off to go get setup by the door.
Troy watched her go with a silent sigh.
Scamp approached Dravis at the terminal. "How's it going?" He asked him.
"Fine." Dravis responded. "Awful." He said with a frown. "They have six different firewalls that I'm having to fight my way through, and all of the data is encrypted at a quantum level, so I can't just brute force it. This is a nearly impossible task that I'm having to do in a charnel house."
He mumbled off at the end.
"I'm sorry. We should have brought an astromech with us. That might have helped," Scamp said, solemnly. "How long do you need?"
"Like ten or twelve minutes." Dravis said, typing a few commands into his datapad.
"Alright," Scamp nodded. "You've got it."
Oppie quietly walked over to Sasha. "You doing okay?" He asked.
"Yeah," Sasha said, looking up at him. "That smell was just horrible. I do not recommend inhaling it." She joked half heartedly before she stifled a cough. Clearing her throat, she looked back at him. "What about you? You doing okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay." Oppie stated. "This is…" He paused, "not unlike some instances during the Clone Wars, especially being aboard this sort of ship, with a crew that was wearing armor. I'm used to it, in an odd way. I wanted to make sure it wasn't affecting you too strongly."
"I admit, I am freaked out," Sasha said as she looked at the door. "This is eerie and unsettling. And the Force swirls around here in a way that makes me nearly ill. But I want to get that information to find Cien and I didn't want to leave any of you in here to get attacked by… whatever is out there." She then looked over at Kait. "Is she doing okay?"
"I think so." He said, glancing at where she was leaning against a console keeping a wary eye on the door, along with nine or so Marines.
Sasha nudged him lightly with her arm. "Go check on her. I'll be okay," she said.
"Thanks." Oppie said with a little bit of a smirk. "Want to come over with me?" He offered.
"Sure," Sasha said, pushing off the console she was leaning on at the front of the bridge.
He stepped away and the two of them walked over to where Kait was a little away from the Marines. "How are you holding up?" He asked her quietly.
She glanced up at him, and at Sasha. "Fine." She said, looking back at the opening that had been carved in the door, and the black maw on the other side. "First time with any of this, it's kind of weird." She said.
Oppie glanced at Sasha. "I've been through a couple of instances like this in the war, it's something that just happens."
"Those weren't blaster marks." She said. "They'd been torn to pieces with claws and teeth." Kait said quietly. "Probably the only lucky one was the guy that fell to the bottom of the ladder shaft." She said quietly.
Oppie furrowed his brow, "what guy that fell -" He was cut off as the proximity grenade outside in the corridor went off, shaking the bridge and sending a brief flash of light that shone through the exposed hole.
"What the hell was that?" Scamp said as he turned toward the door, his blaster raised.
One of the marines cautiously peeked out into the corridor, keeping his blaster up. He recoiled backwards as he yelped in fear, raising his blaster rifle towards the hole. "It's… They're…" He said, gasping in horror.
"It's what?" Scamp asked, confused.
"I'll check," Troy said, moving forward. He raised his own rifle and looked into the corridor to see what his Marine had spotted. He paled at the sight. The bodies out in the corridor were all twitching and moving, as if they were trying to move, trying to stand. "Get back!" Troy ordered as he staggered back from the door. "Block the entrance now!"
The marines immediately moved to grab the large cut circle that the Jedi had craved and lifted it to block the entrance. Scamp came over to his son as the young man backed away from the entrance, looking white as a sheet.
"What did you see?" Scamp asked, concerned.
"You wouldn't believe me," Troy said, shaking.
"Trovon," Scamp pressed.
"They were corpses. Walking corpses," Troy sputtered out.
Oppie stepped forward, igniting his saber. "Let me look." He ordered, walking to where the Marines were trying to cover over the hole. They held it away for him as he looked outside. He blanched as he saw the same horrifying sight that Troy had just witnessed. The corpses moving, their rotted eviscera leaking out between their plates as the bodies shuddered. Just as he was about to recoil back into the room, he saw the chest plates from one of the stormtroopers crack and a creature shot out. It looked like a spider, but with a dozen legs and a long tail dangling after it, and a mouth that dripped with saliva filled with teeth that caught him up short for looking vaguely human-like. Where the saliva dripped, the durasteel deck plating sizzled from being eaten by acid. He ducked back into the room. "Kriff cover -" As he gave the order the creature shot into the room through the opening, and launched at one of the Marines. Oppie shot his hand out, using the Force to send it flying against the wall where it hit with a chitinous smack. It fell to the ground and was moving instantly, aiming for another one of the Marines. This time Oppie grabbed the thing and sent it flying into the far wall with enough force for it to leave bloodstains, and the wall sizzled from where the black ichor touched it.
"Everyone back! Seal the door now!" Scamp ordered as he raised his blaster at the hole.
The marines instantly moved to place the metal back into its slot. Sasha pulled Kait behind her as she ignited her lightsaber.
"Nova, will that breaching tape weld that plug in?" Oppie asked as he used the Force to help the Marines desperately trying to get the cut door section in place.
"Yes it will," Nova said as she ran forward with tape in one hand and a thermal charge in the other. She tossed the charge through the small gap she had before they pressed the metal all the way in. She then lined the cuts with breaching tape. "Stand back!" She ordered as she backed away from the door. She pressed her controls on her wrist and the breaching tape went off in a pop and flash. It sealed the hole as best as possible. "And eat slime you creepy bastards." She added under breath as she pressed another button. From the other side of the door, they could hear the sound of a loud splat. "That should stop them for a bit."
Oppie backed away from the hole, his saber still ignited as everyone else had their blasters up and out, focused on the door. He unclipped his shoto saber and ignited it in his off hand.
"What the hell was that thing?" Kait asked with fear in her voice.
"It came out of one of the troopers, I think it was… incubating in the body." Oppie said. He glanced at Troy, "that's why they were moving." He looked back forward, his saber at the ready.
"What do we do?" Sasha asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. "That was our way out."
"Dravis still needs time," Scamp said, not tearing his gaze away from the door. "So we need to make time."
"Five minutes." Dravis called over his shoulder as he worked at his datapad.
"What about the viewport?" Nova suggested as she looked around for options. "We could have Shades come do an immediate evac from here."
"It's better than going through that nightmare," Sasha said, agreeing with her.
"Agreed." Oppie said. "Scamp, can you call her in?" As he asked, they heard a sizzling sound from somewhere in the room, and Oppie's eyes darted around, trying to see where it was coming from.
"Already on it," Scamp said as he pressed his fingers to the side of his bucket. "Shades, we need an immediate evac from the bridge! ASAP!" He barked.
Sasha looked around as she heard the sizzling too. "Stay behind me," she told Kait.
"Don't need to tell me twice." Kait said under her breath as she scanned the room with her rifle, covering Sasha's back.
"There!" Wynnie called out a spot on the ceiling where the durasteel was starting to foam and bubble as a small hole expanded.
The marines aimed their blasters at the spot, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Troy and Scamp brought up their weapons too. Sasha swallowed as she stared at the spot forming.
"Why come in through the…" Oppie started, looking around the bridge at the handful of other accesses he knew about. "I need two Marines at each of those ducts on either side of the aft wall, and two more down on that access way in the port side crew pit." He ordered
The Marines glanced at Oppie then at Scamp.
"You heard the man. Move!" Scamp ordered them. They hurried to get into place, following the Jedi's instruction. Once in place, Scamp looked back at Oppie. "Can you sense them?"
"Would you come in through the ceiling if those access ways were open? I feel like it's a distraction." Oppie said as he glanced wearily up at the hole that was still foaming in the ceiling.
"No, I would use the access points, but I'm not some mindless bug," Scamp said as he looked at the opening. "But I agree, we should all be wary." He looked around at the others. "Until Shades gets here, everyone get ready for trouble. Open fire if you have too." He then looked directly at Sasha. "When the U-Wing is here, can you give us a way out the viewport?"
"Can do," Sasha nodded as she kept her gaze at the ceiling.
There was a skittering sound near the lower access in the crew pit, and the Marines opened fire at the thing as it tried to get in through the panel.
There was another skittering sound from the ducts at the starboard aft wall, where the Marines tensed to fire. The entire room froze and stared at the blast door when it resounded with a heavy clang, as if something monstrously huge had pounded into it.
"What the hell is that?" Nova asked, gulping as she stared at the door.
"Big." Wynnie stated.
"Cover your sectors." Oppie ordered. "If we need to, fall back in a defensive formation around the center window."
The Marines steadied their blasters, waiting in anticipation. Sasha tightened the grip on her lightsaber as she moved into a more ready stance to take down whatever came her way. Troy leveled his rifle, gripping the stock tightly. Nova grabbed a couple of thermals and readied them in her hands.
There was another pounding on the door that shook the bridge. The grating that was in front of the aft portside ductwork exploded out into the room, and the Marines started pouring fire at the creature that broke through as it squealed and tried to break through their withering volley.
Sasha raised her hand and used the Force to pin it back, allowing the Marines a cleaning shot. They peppered it with blaster fire and crumbled to the floor, dead.
More of the creatures started pouring out of the duct as the Marines held fast and fired into the swarm as it came through the ductwork. There was another pounding at the door as weakly welded section of the door peeled away from the lower section with a shriek of metal, just enough to let the sound of skittering come into the room, accompanied by a screeching and squealing sound from the creatures on the other side of the blast door.
"Everyone back up!" Scamp ordered. "Protect the bridge and protect Dravis!" He glanced at the man as he fired at the creatures. "Hurry!" He demanded, trying not to sound desperate even though the situation definitely is.
Nova moved over towards where Sasha was near the view port, shooting them with her blaster pistol. Sasha slashed at any that got away from the Marines and headed towards her. The Marines started to slowly back away towards the center.
Suddenly, from outside, the U-Wing appeared, hovering right by them.
"Our ride is here," Nova called out.
"Oppie, give me a hand with this," Sasha said as she turned her attention to the viewport. She slashed through the glass to weaken it. Oppie glanced over his shoulder to see what she was doing and as she drew her hand back he matched her, both of them sending out a wave of Force energy that shattered the transparisteel outward.
The glass sprayed outward as the side door to the U-Wing opened.
"Shades. Hold her steady," Scamp ordered into his comm as he continued to shoot. "We are still waiting on the intel."
Just then there was another horrendous clang as the welded plug to the door peeled away and upward as a horrifyingly large appendage bashed it out of the way, and a horde of the creatures started pouring into the room through the wide hole.
"Fall back around the window!" Oppie yelled as he started moving backwards. He sent a wave of Force energy towards the door that crashed into the creatures sending them flying, several of which recovered, the horde started skittering across the deck, the floors, the ceiling trying to get to the party. "Sasha!" He yelled, needing help trying to hold them back with the Force and his saber.
"On it!" Sasha said as she brought her hands up and used the Force to keep the creatures at bay. She held the push making sure they stayed back.
"Screw it!" Dravis yelled, from his position at the console that was, thankfully, adjacent to the window everyone was forming a defensive line around. "I need a lightsaber here!" He yelled over the din of blaster fire and the skittering and screeching of the creatures.
Oppie extinguished his shoto and glanced just barely over his shoulder, where Kait had moved to Dravis' side, kneeling with her blaster rifle pouring out fire. "Kait!" He yelled as he tossed his shoto over to her before turning back to the creatures. She barely caught it as it came over to her and ignited it as Dravis held up a bulky computer component and gestured frantically at the heavy data cables attached to it.
"Everyone get on board!" Scamp ordered.
Nova turned and immediately hopped the small gap to get onto the U-Wing. The Marines kept a perimeter making sure the others got on board first. Kait and Dravis went next, Kait knelt in the U-Wings bay against the other side of the door from Nova, using her rifle to lay down covering fire still. The Marines fell back, getting aboard the U-Wing as Shades held it steady, and the perimeter shrunk as Oppie and Sasha used the Force to blast the creatures away as they surged forward. Scamp and Troy with them laying down blaster fire.
"Go!" Scamp yelled at Troy.
Troy nodded and moved to leap aboard. Once he was settled onboard, Scamp moved to hop onto the U-Wing next, leaving only the two Jedi.
"Sasha, go!" Oppie ordered as they fell back. The room before them was just a writhing mass of black creatures as they flooded across the floor and the ceiling to get to them. He swept his hand out, sending a wave of them back but they kept coming.
Sasha sent out one last push, a powerful one at that. She then turned and ran for the exit. She Force leapt aboard and turned on her heel to face back towards the bridge. "Come on Op!"
Oppie backed to the broken window and then turned quickly after using one last wave of Force energy to push them back. He stepped up over the console and onto the window frame. Just as he was about to leap one of the creatures darted forward and stabbed him in the leg with a tail stinger. He swept back with his saber as the pain hit him, more searing than a blaster bolt, but his adrenaline kept him going as he made the leap into the U-Wing. Just barely, he collapsed onto the decking, his legs still out of the hatchway as Shades was already moving off. Nova threw a good-bye present back into the mass as they flew away and the bridge erupted in a bright explosion.
Kait and Sasha rushed forward, dragging him fully into the U-wing's bay. The door sliding shut behind them.
"Op!" Kait yelled.
"I'm ohh…" Op started to say, before his breath caught, and he started gasping for air.
"Op!" Kait yelled again, more frantically.
"What's wrong?" Sasha asked, panicked. She looked him over until she saw the stab wound in his leg. "Kriff! Someone get me a medic kit now!" She demanded as she ripped open his pant leg to expose the sting more. "Kait, lay him down."
Kait quickly lowered him down as Oppie kept gasping for air, and she blanched as he started convulsing. Sasha immediately looked to the others.
"Med kit now!" She said as she looked at all of them desperately.
Wynnie handed her the bright red medic bag that had been fastened to the wall. Sasha took it and ripped it open. She threw the contents aside as she looked for the epinephrine. After a second, she found it, ripped the cap off with her teeth, and jabbed it into the side of his thigh. She pressed down and injected the medicine into his system. She then looked up, worry and fear written across her face as she spat the cap out.
"Is he going to be okay?" Kait asked frantically as his breathing relaxed and the convulsions abated.
"I don't know," Sasha admitted, trying to keep the uncertainty from her voice as she turned her attention to the stab wound. "If we can get back soon, he should be."
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