Hyperspace
3.5 ABY - Unknown Ghtroc Class 720 Frieghter
Time was not their ally it seemed. Oxygen was running low for all four of the men in their pressure sealed suits. The option to blow the sealed bulkhead was still there but much riskier once they'd found themselves trapped with a reactor core. The transport had just entered hyperspace giving them seven minutes to work with. Skit was busily working to finish patching up the hole from the inside that they'd created. Connor and Tannor remained near the door, ready to blow it if need be. With only several minutes to go Skit had barely gotten half the hole welded. To conserve energy, Vekis had simply sat down and taken slow shallow breaths from his suit. He suspected everyone else was doing the same.
The seconds seemed like minutes and minutes like hours. At the two minute mark, Vekis glanced over at Skit who seemed to be getting disoriented. Feck. All the effort on that weld must've made him use his oxygen up faster...Pushing off from the cargo bin he was resting at, Vekis floated over towards Skit andi n one smooth move pushed the man up and away while grabbing the welding rod. There wasn't too much to go, even if they ran out of oxygen each man could hold their breath for a few minutes. Skit though seemed to be at that point already. Moving quickly, Vekis continued to finish off the plate Skit had been working on. Circling around the perimiter of the steel slowly, he melded the piece to the hull. With just a little under a minute to spare he glimpsed the movementi n his hud. The external sensors were picking up oxygen levels. Still low, but coming up. Lifesupport had kicked in. Vekis none the less stayed at work. They couldn't risk the seal rupturing.
Skit opened his eyes as his internal speakers made a beeping noise. Looking up at his HUD he also noticed the oxygen coming back. Not enough for them all but shit he needed it. Quickly raising his hand he pressed a notch on the side of his helmet, breaking the seal with the suit and opening up some vents. Gasping and coughing, he tried to suck in what oxygen he could as the levels slowly rose. The one thing he didn't realize was he was still floating about. With sudden abruptness he found himself flying through the air landing a half dozen feet below on the steel.
"Slag! Thanks commander! Could've tethered me down" Skit mumbled into the helmets com as he slowly pushed up with a grunt.
"Be grateful I saved us at all. That was close." Vekis said softly.
What many didn't know, and led to such absurdly high attrition rates in the Void Clones was one of Palpatines rules. If one died they were all decommissioned. A euphemism for death. It was part of the bonding program set up for them. They'd embrace each other and be forced to rely on one another literally to live. If any one died, they were all set for slaughter. Only forty-eight Voids still lived and within a year it was estimated two more squads would be decommissioned. At the present rate it was estimated that in the next six years all would be dead. One would think being a Royal Guard was a cushy job but it wasn't. Despite the ideas, they weren't merely Palpatine's protectors. They were his guardians through out the universe. To ensure his survival meant more than being physically near. It meant taking out threats that the usual protocols couldn't handle, going on virtual suicide missions to ensure their Emperor's continuity.
None of the men had much time to enjoy their new found oxygen though. Tannor and Connor scrambled to the sides as the door abruptly opened from the outside. Apparently someone had decided to investigate just what was going on in the cargo bay. Tannor, closest to the console tapped a button for the lights ensuring darkness as the person stepped in.
Using their night vision, the men could immediately see who or rather what it was. A large Duros, taller than any of them by several inches. Connor and Tannor moved immediately. Tannor's fingers traced over the console and tapped the doors button to seal it once more. Connor moved simultaneously to sweep behind the Duros and grab the create around its neck, pressing his forearm and bicep into the creates neck squeezing the blood flow off. As Connor and the Duros struggled, Tannor quickly came around delivering a hard fist to the gut of the creature. The air knocked out along with the combined surprise made the creatures efforts virtually useless. Within seconds it was passing out and Connor let it drop to the ground.
"Scum. Now I need to get my armor cleaned.." Connor would've spit if it wasn't for his helmet as he looked down at the creature. Even with the helmet on one could practically feel his hatred towards the creature.
"Enough of that. Secure him and lets move. Skit get out an R-1 and send it through the halls. Connor, Tannor you take the back area of the ship and secure the emergency escape pods. Skit and I will secure the bridge.After that we'll sweep the rest of the ship. Connor, Skit lets get out the equipment. Remember, live captures. Move before someone comes looking for this rebel scum""Copy that..." Connor and Skit had both converged to the right of the door, unloading the bags as Tannor kept guard with his E-11.
Moving quickly, Skit tossed Vekis a Force Pike, Connor grabbing one for himself. In practice there was rarely times a force pike was useful but on a compact ship with close quarters and a need for live prisoners it proved useful. All the men also took Stun Batons, attaching them to their hips. Tannor kept his E-11, set to stun though switchable to kill if need be. Skit did the same, pausing a moment to pull uot the R-1 and send it out.
"Tannor, Connor move out first, secure the two escape pods lock them down. Then move up the staboard side. We'll hit the Bridge and move down the port."Several clicks were received back. No man was in a talking mood as their minds moved into a different sort of mode, mentally they were detached from every day niceties, focused upon their objectives. Connor and Tannor moved out first. Several tense minutes later a click of acknowledgment was sent to Vekis. One escape pod down. Skit and he both quickly moved out of the darkened storage bay, leaving the incapacitated Duros unconscious on the floor.
Vekis lead the way, wielding the Force pike, Skit following behind and to the side. All the way to the bridge they were un-hindered. Both moved to take positions on either side of the door. Skit paused a moment gesturing with his hands down to his belt, a stun grenade attached. Vekis only shook his head back. The explosion might do too much damage in the bridge as would the blaster if it hit the controls. Instead Vekis motioned to Skit's baton, and he didn't need to be a Jedi to know Skit wasn't happy with that.
Raising three fingers, Vekis pulled one at a time down. As the third came, closing into his hand in a fist he pumped it rapidly. Skit moved, a hand reaching for the controls and hitting the door key. Vekis was the first turning in, and almost running into an equally stunned human. Headbutting the man violently, a spray of blood landed across the face plate of Vekis as he pushed the now howling man to the side. As Vekis pushed in and past, Skit was behind him, bringing the prongs of the stun baton into the neck of the man in a violent jab before pulling back and slamming it against into the mans gut sending him down with a scream of pain. The only other man on the bridge, the Bothan turned startled as Vekis rushed him. The Bothan was quick, Vekis gave him that. Stabbing quickly at the shoulder of the Bothan, Vekis missed the first time, the Bothan yanking to the left. Vekis kept with him, pulling his blade to the left and yanking it back towards his own body. As it retracted towards him, the edge of the blade caught the Bothan, sending him convulsing to the floor as the shock of the stun ripped through his body, the blaster in the creatures hand clanking against the steel.
The entire process had lasted seconds, but Vekis mentally noted how close the Bothan had come to pulling that blaster. Unacceptable, he'd need to brush up on his hand combat. Glancing back at Skit who was watching the door, Vekis took a moment to survey the bridge before kneeling beside each of their prisoners and securing them.
"Bridge Secure. Skit you stay here. Tannor, Connor, sweep from the front, aft."Stepping out of the bridge, Vekis waited a moment for the door to close. Skit would've locked it down on habit until the all clear was given. The sweeps through the port side were uneventful. Several crew-quarters seemed occupied but were empty. As Vekis finished his sweep Connor and Tannor radioed.
"Sir...Starboard Cargo Bay...You'll want to see this.."***
At the Starboard Cargo Bay, Tannor gazed around at the dozen occupants, feeling slight discomfort. He wasn't used to seeing so many civilians in this context. One family it looked like along with six other humans. All looked a bit ragged and tired, clearly fearful.
Using the benefit of their internal comms, Tannor spoke privately to Connor, the civilians oblivious.
"This was a rebel ship, why does it look like they are refugees?""Who cares? They're on a rebel ship...Ergo they are Rebels. Why is irrelevant..""I suppose so, but children? They hardly seem like rebels.."Connor snorted audibly, the passengers glancing at him a moment as he spoke silently into the com.
"We were children and look at us now. You let them go long enough and they'll bite you in the ass.."Despite the fact the ship had been secured, Tannor spun taking aim at the doorway as it opened with a woosh, lowering his weapon quickly as he caught sight of Vekis.
"Sir...Civilians.."Vekis marched past Tannor and gazed cooly at the dozen passengers. Using his external speakers, Vekis spoke in a monotone near robotic purpose
"Names and purpose...""Ghen Tal. Engineer. We are all passengers hired to help with the reactor.."Vekis glanced at the man for a moment and spoke using his external speakers once more, though the command was directed to his men.
"Kill them all."TBC
