Starwars v.s. Aliens Part one Chapter three
CHAPTER THREE
With out bothering to hide his actions, Nikko’s arms and hands flowed into several quick motions, which had been relayed down the line almost as soon as it had been given. Stepping through the small gap in the perimeter, Nikko started to open himself up to the small vibrations within the force. At first he felt a slight pressure of resistance, then with a little more encouragement he was able to start pulling the fragmented emotions and essences within the force into a larger picture. Echoes of silent screams, pockets of bitter tear stained memories, rivers of fear and uncertainty started to ease their way through the oppressive atmosphere within the station.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” He asked Tees without so much as a backward glance.
“It feels empty in here, almost as if someone or something just scooped out every possible presence here and left with it.” Her voice quivered slightly as she started to feel the eerie silence within the station.
Even if every soul in the station had died, or been taken away there would have been more traces of it then just the fragments that had been left behind. Nikko knew that there were over four hundred workers living within this mammoth complex, he also knew that there were at lest twenty sith depending whether or not they were living or machine, and he also knew that he had another seventeen troopers with him as well as Tees and yet he could feel nothing of their presences within the station. Something was blanketing everything in a dense force fog.
The sharp clanking of metal on metal alerted the strike team as the noise was easily picked up on their externals built into their helmets. Blaster rifles raised, hand hovering close to the spot were her lightsaber should have been and his hand clenching slightly as he mastered himself to face what ever it was that was moving towards them. Out of the shadows of a door way, leaning slightly to one side with a single blue dot on the left of the bobbling head, half of the right side missing from the torso, a late model protocol droid shambled into the hanger bay.
“Good day.” It sputtered out through damaged audio speakers. “I am ssssstation…” it seemed to struggle with what it was trying to say as it grew still and silent. It’s left arm jerking around as some droid did to mimic human communications. “Welcome to Czerka Corporations mining and research facility Eel-Vee Twelve Sierra.”
“Tell me what has happened here.” Nikko stepped closer to the droid his eyes taking in the odd looking damage marking along the droids right side.
“I’m sorry but I can’t not divulge that information. You do not have proper authorization from Czerka headquarters.” The droids blank photoreceptor stair annoyed him, though he had already surmised that most computers and droids working within the station would be security locked from outsiders.
“Lieutenant Venn, have the boys ready to go. I want to be in the command center an hour ago.” Nikko looked at the way the droids metal shell seemed to have been melted like hot wax on the right side, a few smaller holes here and there and a severe puncture wound on the top of the droids head which looked to be the cause of the thing only having one working photoreceptor.
“You heard him, Red team you got lead. Blue team cover the rear.” Venn checked his blaster pistol as he fell in behind the red team. Nikko and Tees behind him, and blue team in the rear. The droid slowly turned around and limped off after them as they started to exit the hanger bay.
Rather then the harsh red emergency lighting that most stations used during power outages, the stations hallways only had a few working white lights that cast an odd soft blue white glow throughout the station. Nikko felt bothered by the continuous fact that he was having a hard time finding anyone within the force. His mind went over every possible explanation as they made turn after turn down empty corridors and ill-lit common areas where everything looked untouched minus a few scattered piles of data films and an over turned bench here and there.
“Sir I don’t think your going to like this.” Venn’s voice broken over the communicator. Looking forward to the Lieutenant Nikko noticed that Red team had set up on either side of the hallway up ahead facing down an off shoot hall. Their head lamps built into their helmets all pointing down the darkened corridor.
When Nikko and Tees reached them, the troopers started to move slowly forward flashing their head lamps along the unnerving scene. Nikko took in the sight of the nightmarish hallway, which had been transformed into a black greasy looking tunnel of curved black and dark grey material that reminded him of some sort of insect like hive. Reaching slowly out with his gloved hand, Nikko felt the smooth surface of the material and a radiating heat that seemed to flow off of the substance.
“Take a piece and analyze it.” Lieutenant Venn told one of his troops, bending down to examine the floor that seemed to be covered in a softer version of the stuff coating the walls and ceiling. “I’m not sure this is what Czerka normally builds their stations out of.”
“No, this stuff has a more natural feel to it. Almost living.” Tees answered in a distant voice as she ran her gloved hands over the stuff. Her red eyes looking into the shadowy distance of nothingness. “I need to touch it with out gloves.” She said as she started to reach for the latch of her helmet.
“Wait, we don’t know if the life support systems are still online.” Nikko warned reaching out a hand to stop Tees.
“Oh, but sir. Station Life support systems are operating at one hundred percent. We at Czerka Corporation pride ourselves on our superior craftsman skills in the latest station development and energy sufficient building materials.” The droid cut in as it continued to walk towards them.
“Is that so?” Nikko asked as he reached up to his own helmet and unlatched the seal. The hiss of air lasted only a second but it was enough to allow everyone to register the results in their minds. The station was intact as far as hull integrity went.
Tees was the first to take off her suit, relieved at having the awful pressure on her leukkes removed, she gently stroked the soreness out of the sensitive body parts feeling a slight chill of pleasure that caused her to roll her head in a graceful circle. When she finally adjusted to the freedom of only having to wear the barrowed clothing, Tees felt the oddly warmer air within the station on her skin, the gentle smell of decomposing organic mater on the air. Looking to Nikko who had obviously noticed the same oddities, Tees finally remembered what it was that she wanted to do. Looking at the section of wall once more, her hands bare and free from the confines of the suit, she reached out her delicate fingers and touched the smooth black material.
The first thing that she noticed was the surge of heat and energy that seemed to flow through the structure. Then she started to feel something building up slowly in the distance, something that she had never felt before. Closing her eyes she allowed her mind to glide gently down the path that the connection produced through the force. Darkness, everything was black but it was also warm and getting warmer. Everything was soft and fluid, yet hard and protective. The darkness started to move around her, small gaps within the moving darkness allowed for slivers of colored lights to peer through. Deep within the heart of the darkness, an aura as green and vibrant as the acid pool on Korriban began to glow. in the silence a chorus of strange music unlike any she had ever heard before called out through the substance. She felt drawn to it, felt the pull of protective warmth that only a mother could offer a child after a horrible nightmare.
Nikko’s face suddenly filled her blurred vision as his warm soft hands embraced her head, his voice distant as he seemed to look worried and angry at the same time. Those soft brown eyes had changed some how, they had grown darker blacker with a sense of power that she was starting to feel as it pushed through the warmth she was drifting in.
“Damn it Tees Eeda, snap out of it.” Shaker her violently, he started to notice the air in the tunnel was becoming less favorable. “Wake up Tees.”
“Sir step aside, let Shen do his job.” Lieutenant Venn reached down grasping Nikko’s shoulder.
Corporal Shen drew the small medical kit from his pack, kneeling next to Tees as he started to examine her. The medic was one of the best Nikko had ever seen in comparison to the healers of the Jedi. The man had been responsible for saving the lives of nearly every trooper on the team to include his own on a few occasions. Pulling out a small syringe of blue fluid, Shen stabbed Tees in the neck and pressed his thumb down injecting the fluid. Tees’ eyes flew open, her sudden gasp of breath and the nearly violent way she arched her back and started to grunt told Nikko that the adrenaline shot he had given her seemed to have brought her out of her nearly comatose state.
“She’ll be a bit more active and annoying like Luke over there, but she’ll be fine.” Shen said as he packed up his stuff and moved back to his position along the wall.
Tees sat up breathing a little bit faster, her eyes moving a bit more franticly as if she had just finished drinking eight cups of really strong caf. A shiver ran through her body as she realized she was spread out on the floor, everyone looking at her with confused and annoyed eyes. All except one man, who reached out his hand for hers, his eyes concerned and gentle despite his grim scowling expression. She took his hand feeling ashamed that she, a Sith who had more power in the one end of her head tails then this young brash jedi had in his whole body, not only had been captured by him and held captive for nearly a week now, but also was being supported and helped by him.
“What happened?” He asked quietly as she adjusted herself.
“It was odd, I’ve never felt anything like it before. This stuff, ” her eyes looking up and around at the black material. “Its all connected to a single point, a living being who uses this stuff as an extension of its own awareness.”
“What do you mean, like a shell?” Nikko was beginning to envision some sort of monstrous space slug who was using the station as a new shell.
“Not quiet, its more like the hairs of a mole, but instead of physical sensation it uses the force in a strange way that I’ve never quiet seen before.” Her body shivered at the thoughts that started to crawl through her head. “It was singing.”
It took another hour for them to reach the command center, Tees avoiding any intentional contact with the material that now covered every inch of the station the further they traveled into the facility. She could still feel the lingering melody of the music deep in her heart, like a black stain on a white sheet. No matter how hard you tried to remove it, no matter how many times you cleaned it, the stain was still there and it left her feeling vulnerable and some how attached to what ever it was that was singing. She watched as the Republic troopers moved about their tasks securing the area, which some of the prior inhabitants of the station had obviously tried to do earlier. Several desks had been pilled up against the far doors, they had to cut through the main doors just to get inside the center after they had been welded shut. There was very little of the black material actually within the center, which gave her a brief pause of relief after having felt flashes of that aura and heard the melody several times along the way here when she would accidentally reach out to steady herself as they walked through the tunnel systems. Nikko had managed to clear a large enough space in the center of the area piling heavy desks and cabinets against the exits to help in the security set up. Some of the troopers had already managed to set up a small rest area as well as guard positions by the time she had entered the room, found a chair to sit in and sat down. “Efficient.” She whispered to herself as she looked out over the bank of computers and darkened screens.
The droid had followed them all the way into the command center, mumbling on about how they didn’t have clearance to be in the area. It wasn’t until it had started to mention that it had never been so ashamed of its current state, being ignored by three different groups of visitors that it was sure that its masters would send it to the scrap yards on Tattooine to rust away.
“Three groups?” Nikko stepped closer to the droid, eyes focusing on the single glowing photoreceptor.
“Why yes, master. You are the third group to visit this facility in the last month. Which is a very busy month for the Corporation. I’m sure my Masters will be very pleased to learn of this facilities sudden popularity from prospective customers.”
“Who were the other two groups?” Nikko asked.
“Well there first ones were brought aboard by the researchers and taken to the lower levels of the facility for a tour I presume. The second group came shortly after the station started to experience.” The droid went silent, for a minute before starting back up again. “They headed towards the living quarters were the remaining employees are currently hiding.” It took another pause only to jerk somewhat up right. “Oh dear. This station is in a crisis isn’t it?”
“Just figuring that out are you?” Tees mumbled from her seat.
“That changes everything. I must alert Headquarters and send out a distress.” The droid started to shamble towards the computers along the wall and slowly type in the security codes. “Oh my. The system seems to be down for maintenance. I’ll have to try again later.”
“Something tells me that the droids missing a few screws?” Tees laughed as the thing wobbled around looking for nothing in particular.
“Well it sounds like we have the destination of our next mission. Lieutenant.” Nikko turned to his men and walked towards the small group gathered around a small holo-projection of the stations blue prints. “Okay, I’ll take blue team and head for the living quarters. I want you to stay here and try to get things working. Have our ship standing by to take on passengers. We’ll make this a rescue mission first, then call in for support and do a full sweep of this facility when we have the resources to do a through job of it.â€
“Sir. And the Prisoner?†Venn asked in hushed tones.
“I’ll take her with me. There’s a chance that we might still have some Sith to deal with as well. I don’t think their in the habit of just leaving a cruiser around.†Nikko looked at Tees, her eyes still showing signs of the stim-pack rushing through her systems. There in the back of his mind he could feel the resentment mixing with the slight spark of concern he felt towards her, the way he had to deal with her and take care of this mission. He felt his fists tighten slightly as he walked towards her. The term babysitting came to mind as he looked down on her, but then something else popped into his thoughts. Master Tarkin’s voice seemed to echo through his memories.
“Not every thing we see with our eyes is the truth. Be mindful of the lies that hide in the open.†Tarkin’s voice was soft and gentle but the kick he delivered to Nikko’s stomach was vicious and cruel.
Nikko had been trying to read his masters actions through the force, but all he could pick up was that calm gentleness of peace. By the time he had been hit it was too late to do anything about it.
“So you see my young padawan, be mindful of the lies right in front of you.â€
“We’ll be heading off to check out the living areas for survivors.†Nikko looked down on Tees, the anger he had been feeling towards her for being so week and child like replaced with an appreciation of her skills. “Do you feel up to another walk through that stuff?â€
Her eyes locked onto his slowly. “When do we leave?â€
Once more they walked through the maze of nightmarish hallways, having to use grappling hooks to lower themselves down the turbolift shafts that failed to operate. During their entire walk they had yet to come across anything other then abandoned personal effects, dropped weapons, empty rooms and a constant heavy blanket of fog within the force. It was unreal and it was beginning to worry Nikko that something was terribly wrong. Though he had yet to draw it from his belt, his right hand gently stroked the hilt of his lightsaber. His left hand next to the small hip pouch he worn on his belt. His eyes watched the actions of his troopers, as the rest of his senses tried to keep track of Tees behind him and the others back in the command center.
“Sir, we’re here.†Sergeant Biggs called back fanning out his team into a small perimeter for over watch.
“Lets go.†Nikko whispered to Tees as they walked past the small eight man team kneeling, weapons raised ready to take action. Nikko felt a slight stir within the air around the door. Felt an icy coldness that seemed to fight back the warmth of the air through out the station.
“He’s here.†Tees whispered as she neared the door. Her eyes frozen on the pale grey door as Nikko drew his left hand across the surface of the door, a look of determination etched into his features.
to be continued…
