The plan seemed to work without a hitch - initially at least. After it had seemed like the shambling undead had filtered back to wherever they had come from, the marine Corpsman who's name was Geela Belen, her fellow marines and three of Agent Reinhardt's special operatives charged down the ramp with their blasters blazing at anything that moved in the shadows. Immediately, a series of loud, heart stopping screams tore through the air - some from in the hanger and some from throughout the station. "Let's move;" stated Nisotsa, her lightsaber snap-hissing to life in her right hand and her blaster pistol in her left. Wade, Keyan and the remainder of the special operatives charged out as well, heading for the blast doors from the hanger further into the facility. They had taken time to study a schematic of the facility and headed directly for the lift cluster that would take them up numerous levels before they would have to cross to another set that would take them up to the primary control center. When the blast doors hissed open, they found themselves facing dozens of the things. Immediately, Nisotsa, Keyan and Wade stepped forward and engaged while the operatives covered their backs. It wasn't long before the distraction by the marines proved absolutely futile. More of the creatures came out of the hanger, screaming and firing blasters as they came.
Wade gritted his teeth as his blade cut easily through three of the creatures, bisecting them. To his horror, the upper portions didn't die but reached towards him with their arms. "Destroy the brain, Jedi;" called Reinhardt.
Keyan obeyed instantly, stabbing his blade neatly through the skull of one of the creatures, right through its sinuses and its brain behind. That seemed to put it down for good. The operatives were utilizing the method of blasting at the creatures bodies to try to knock them down and then finish them with shots to the head if the things weren't close enough to just blast in the head initially. Suddenly, Nisotsa dropped her blaster pistol and extended her left hand and unleashed a purples torrent of force lightning. The sight and feeling of it caused hair to rise on Wade's and Keyan's necks. However, the blasts were more than enough to clear out a large number of the creatures and they did not rise again. Behind them, two of Reinhardt's men sprayed some kind of fluid from canisters and, when they had gained some distance, the operative leader shot it. Immediately, white hot fire erupted, as did the screams of dozens of the shambling undead. As they advanced down the halls, they blasted any of the creatures they came across. "What the hell was that, Nis?" demanded Keyan as he cut the legs out from a stormtrooper before spitting it through one eye hole and dragging his blade sideways.
"It worked, didn't it?" she demanded as she cartwheeled into the midst of a knot of the things and whirled around, starting low and ending in a full standing position. The creatures fell around her neatly sliced to pieces. "Besides, Master Marek uses force lightning - has for years."
"Galen Marek has learned how to summon and cast it without calling on the dark side;" said Wade as he kicked one of the things in the chest, sending it back into four of its fellows. "You and I both know that what you just did was not the same thing."
Nisotsa didn't reply as she took the corner and saw the turbo lifts ahead - and at least fifty of the things between the New Republic forces and the lifts. Gritting her teeth and fighting down her frustration, she resisted the urge to summon force lightning again, electing instead to rush forward and systematically cut her way through those immediately in her path. She knew that her two fellow Jedi would mop up after her. Using the force, she hit the switches to summon the turbo lifts. By the time the last special intelligence operative made it to them, all three doors had opened. "Pile in, folks;" said Keyan as he deflected four blaster bolts one after the other into the skulls of the four nearest monsters. There were still dozens of the creatures and more were coming. Suddenly, a small hand yanked him into a lift. Keyan found himself in the lift with Wade, Nisotsa and Reinhardt. "Thanks, Nis;" he said.
She nodded absently, looking troubled. Wade nudged her gently. "Hey; you alright?"
"I'm sorry;" she sighed, "about the Sith lightning, I mean. I panicked! Seeing all those things and their screams. The fear overwhelmed me and I did what Diabolis and the Dark Jedi Masters taught me to do - focused my fear into rage and unleashed it. It was-" and she shuddered slightly, "so easy."
Keyan looked at her compassionately and put a hand on her arm. "It's alright;" he murmured, "I'm not going to pretend to understand what you were taught under the Sith and I'm not judging you. I can only imagine how hard it is to fight back the urge to take a quick and easy win. Wade and I were just worried about you is all. I could tell you resisted the urge to do it a second time."
Wade nodded and gently patted her back with a large hand. "That's right; anyhow, you have the most experience out of the three of us since you were raised and trained as a Jedi, even if it was several thousand years ago. I figure we should follow your lead."
"This is the second time I've heard it mentioned that you were millennia old, Jedi Nisotsa;" said Reinhardt, reminding them that he was also there. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by that? Is it some kind of private joke or something?"
Nisotsa considered the man for a moment before replying. "Myself and several hundred Dark Jedi were sealed in carbonite nearly four thousand years ago by the Sith Lord Darth Revan in preparation for the war against what he called the "true" Sith Empire. Our purpose was to be a ready fighting force for Revan's Sith if and when that Empire showed itself. Unfortunately, we were never released and the wars, plural, with the Sith Empire came and went. A few years ago, a Dathomiri witch named Silri released Talvon Esan and Xaset Terep and they promptly took the names Darth Diabolis and Darth Heluquin and struck a deal with the Zann Consortium to establish a power base. During that time, I and my friend Cariaga Sin surrendered to the Jedi of the New Republic and, thanks in no small part to Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, we were welcomed and our training resumed."
"You know, I've always wondered, Nis;" said Keyan, "weren't you a Jedi Knight with the old Jedi Order? Why are you only considered an apprentice now?"
Nisotsa shook her head, her hair tail swishing back in forth as it had come loose during the excitement. "Luke and Mara suggested that, given that we had been asleep so long and given our fall to the dark side, it would be safer to make us apprentices again. Cariaga and I agreed to it, too. It only made sense and was the safest option."
They were all silent for several long minutes before she whispered, "I miss her these days. I constantly wonder what she would do or how she would respond to a given situation."
Wade nodded but couldn't help but chuckle just a little. "How do you think Cariaga, or even Maris, would handle a situation involving a huge Imperial bio-research facility filled with the shambling dead?"
Nisotsa gave the ghost of a smile and said, "I don't even know how I am handling this situation."
Her two Jedi companions snorted with amusement. Just then, the lift doors opened and their weapons were at the ready again in an instant. To their surprise, the corridor before them was empty. "We need to cut across and head to another set of turbo lifts in order to make it to the primary command center - several hundred meters of labyrinthine corridors and who knows how many of hungry corpses will be in our way. Everyone stay close;" murmured Nisotsa as the other operatives filed out of the other lifts.
Slowly, utilizing every sense in their possession, they stalked forward. They covered every open hatch and every corner. The Jedi used the force, attempting to sense the tainted un-life feeling that the creatures sent out in the force but it was difficult - like a muscle they just discovered they needed to exercise. What's more, the station was so overpoweringly steeped in it that it overwhelmed them and made it difficult to tell if anything was close or not at all. When nearly twenty minutes had passed and they had heard, seen, smelled or sensed anything that indicated the creatures were close, Wade murmured, "Okay, I really don't like this. When we had mobs of them chasing us, at least we knew where they were coming from but right now, we have no clue."
"I would agree with you in most combat situations, Master Jedi;" murmured Agent Reinhardt, "but just this time, I am glad not seeing them."
"Was the situation on Dathomir like this?" asked Keyan.
Reinhardt gave a wry chuckle. "Other than the corpses coming back to life, having the capability to learn, trapping us and trying to eat us - yes, it was exactly like this, Master Jedi."
The other intelligence operatives snorted in amusement and Keyan, having the good grace to understand and even share their amusement at his own expense, chuckled. Just then, a shriek tore through the air, causing them all to freeze. A moment later, another did as well - one just ahead and around the corner. "Do you think they are setting up some kind of crude ambush, perhaps?" asked Reinhardt in a low murmur.
"Does it matter?" asked Wade, his voice a little shrill with nerves; "we need to go that way and get through them and we know that they're there. Any ideas?"
Reinhardt reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a small, familiar looking sphere. "This will incinerate anything within the blast radius. Even that virus won't be able to survive it."
"An explosion like that will draw every creature in the station to us - even those in the hanger may be drawn off. Let's keep that as a last resort, Agent;" suggested Nisotsa.
"If you don't mind, Master Jedi, call me Mat;" said the operative as he pocketed the explosive.
After just a moment of hesitation, Nisotsa nodded. "Very well, Mat, but only if you call me Nisotsa or even just Nis. If we are going to drop formality, let's drop it completely. Now, let's get ready to rush around the corner. Myself, Wade and Key will provide cover while you and your operatives maneuver into good firing positions. Hopefully we'll be able to either cut them all down or at least see enough of the full situation to advance through it."
As silently as they could, the snuck to the turn of the corridor. After sharing brief looks and nods, the Jedi moved out into the corridor and the operatives were right behind them. Luckily, the cluster of shambling corpses was large, but not endless. The operatives blasted them with incredible accuracy while the Jedi cut them down as they got to close or deflected the bolts fired at them back into the dead faces. When the last one had dropped and none of them were even twitching any longer, they gathered up and headed towards the lifts. Before they had made it even a dozen paces, the loud, undulating cries began to sounds. They were coming from every single directing - above, below, in front, behind, left and right. The fact that not a single creature was visible made it even more eerie. "Let's go;" growled Reinhardt; "the lifts are just ahead. A hundred credits say they're waiting for us at the top."
No one answered as they continued towards the lifts. The lift cluster was clear as well. "Should we lay traps or something?" one of the operatives murmured just loud enough to be heard. "just in case the monsters wander through; that would draw more away from us where we're at too."
"And right into the path we'd take to escape;" pointed out Keyan. "Otherwise, I'd agree wholeheartedly. I'd rather not have to disarm bombs on the way back through if the things are after us."
The operative nodded in acquiescence as Wade hit the button to summon the lifts. Nisotsa looked around at all of them. "Listen up, everyone; I'm going to operate under the assumption that they are going to be packing the command center. This is going to be a nasty, up-close-and-personal fight all the way through. Stay close, cover your buddies but don't be a hero. I know way too many dead heroes and not just because of my carbonite hibernation either. No explosives, and be careful with your aim. We need the consoles to survive the encounter. Any questions or suggestions?"
None were forthcoming and the lifts arrived moments later. "It's like no one is here to use them;" chuckled Keyan dryly.
No one commented on his joke and Nisotsa didn't even shoot him a disapproving glare as they piled in. The quiet ride up was nearly unbearable to the New Republic and Jedi operatives. The operatives had been through dozens of combat situations but not like this one and the Jedi - this was so far beyond their experience that it nearly overwhelmed the to Jedi men. Wade had never been in any combat before he had been pulled from a cell on Tatooine by Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade - or Mara Jade Skywalker now since they had just gotten married. Keyan had been a fighter pilot his entire career but after joining up with the Jedi, he had found himself facing a lot more combat on the ground and up close and personal with the enemy than he ever had before, even during the crisis against Grand Admiral Batch, Admiral Sarn and the Terror, a super star destroyer equipped with a specialized cloaking device. He had seen plenty of ground combat then but after joining the Jedi Order, he had found himself outside of a cockpit more than inside one. While he had been getting used to it, this situation was so other than what he had ever seen that it shook him to his core.
Nisotsa, by contrast to her two companions, was calm and put together. If the terror of the undead, bioweapon powered corpses of this Imperial installation was causing her any sort of discomfort or pause, she wasn't showing it or projecting it in the force. Neither of them knew that, during the Mandalorian wars, she had fought on a world where a plague had turned sentient beings into feral, flesh-eating monsters called rakghouls. This was different of course but still not so different that she would allow herself to be overly rattled by it.
When the lift opened, they looked down a short, empty corridor. At the end was the entrance to the command center for the station. The lack of opposition did nothing to quiet their fears. Even from that distance and with their un-adapted force senses, the Jedi could feel a massive concentration of the creatures behind the blast doors leading to the command center. "Listen up;" said Wade as he moved to the activation panel for the doors, "I have no idea how many, but there are a lot of those freaks beyond this entrance. Keep your blasters firing just don't shoot us, got it?"
The operatives nodded and lifted their weapons to ready positions as they moved to stacking positions on either side of the doors. They looked in a mixture of curiosity and wonder at the three Jedi who simply stood in the open entrance of the door, having not worked with them before. With a deep breath and a flick of his mind, Wade opened the door and the three Jedi moved in and froze instantly for just a fraction of a second. The operatives moved in behind them and immediately opened fire. The command center was so filled with the shambling, screaming, drooling things that they couldn't even see the monitors, equipment, floor or viewports of the room.