Taking a deep breath she leaned against the elevator walls, her back pressing into the cold metal as she forced her breaths to slow. Terror still pounded in her chest, but she closed her eyes, drawing on the Force to steady herself. Calm flowed through her eventually, pushing back the panic that clawed at her edges. She reminded herself: survive, find the others, escape. The elevator buzzed faintly around her until...
*BOOM*
Multiple explosions boomed through the station once again, shaking the car violently and jolting her eyes open. Lights flickered and died, plunging her into darkness and the elevator ground to a halt with a screech, the sudden stop throwing her forward. Panic flickered in her gut again, but she shoved it down. 'No time for fear.' She reached out with the Force, sensing the doors' mechanisms, and wrenched them open, the panels parting with a groan that echoed in the shaft.
The elevator hung halfway between levels, the gap above her head revealing a sliver of corridor. She jumped, gripping the edge, and pulled herself up, her muscles straining slightly as she hauled her body through. She rolled onto the floor, and paused, kneeling in the emergency light that flashed intermittently. The corridor stretched before her only unlike before it was like a ghost town. Lights were out everywhere, the station swallowed in a blackout, she wondered why the backup generators hadn't kicked in yet.
She stood, brushing off her tunic and took a moment to center again. Spreading her awareness out through the force she started to move carefully down the corridor, only to stop as she sensed people coming closer. Multiple people rounded a bend in the corridor, running toward her in a frantic sprintt, all of them breathing heavily and looking panicked. She stepped into their path, raising her hands. "Wait! Stop, I need to talk to whoever is in charge."
They didn't slow, shoving her aside in a panic, one elbow catching her shoulder and spinning her against the wall. Pain flared in her ribs, but she caught herself, calling after them. "Hey! Don't go that way it's dangerous!" But they didn't listen. They vanished down the hall without a word. Aubrie considered chasing them, but she decided against it. They likely knew no more than she did and wouldn't be much help in their state of panic. She had to focus on finding her friends and getting out.
She pressed on, the corridor twisting into a service junction where a terminal flickered weakly on emergency power. The looked at the screen which was glitching with static. She approached, tapping the interface to pull up a station map, but the controls responded sluggishly, menus freezing mid-load. Frustration built inside her as she kept trying to access the terminal, she wasn't tech-savvy like Scout and Jaden so she found it hard to try and get passed the broken system. She tried again, but the display errored out. "Come on," she muttered, slamming her fist against the panel, the impact jarring her knuckles.
She stepped back, reminding herself to calm down. Anger wouldn't help her now. She closed her eyes, reaching for the Force to guide her, seeking that inner clarity. But emotions swirled inside—fear from the Sith's presence, anger at the destruction, sadness for SD8's loss—making it hard to focus. The Force felt turbulent, like a storm-tossed sea, pulling her in conflicting directions. She couldn't grasp a clear path. In the end, she picked a direction on instinctl and continued through the corridor. Then it hit her again—the malevolent presence, a dark wave crashing over her, closer now, almost suffocating. Terror surged through her body, her skin crawling as the Force screamed danger. She turned and ran away from the source. The Sith was coming and she needed to get out of there.
She pushed harder with each step, boots pounding against the ground, breath tearing out of her throat in ragged bursts. The weight in her chest swelled as she ran, pain building behind her ribs, but she didn't slow. She threw herself around the next corner without thinking, not bothering to check what waited ahead. The floor shuddered under her feet, another blast rolling somewhere behind her, the sound bouncing through the passage. She didn't look back.
She turned sharply again.
Her shoulder slammed into a body. She staggered back, off-balance, her hand flying to her belt. Her saber snapped into her grip, and her thumb pressed the switch.
The blade ignited and Aubrie swung.
Zule caught her wrist mid-arc, her cybernetic hand clamping down and stopping the strike inches from her neck. "Aubrie!"
Aubrie's eyes widened in shock, then flooded with relief. "Zule!" She deactivated her saber, stepping back, and looked at her properly, also realising that Master Fay was behind her.
"Aubrie," Fay greeted softly, her hand reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"Aubrie," Zule said with a frown on her face. "Do you know what's going on? There was an explosion and the power—"
"A Sith Lord he's here! He destroyed SD8. We need to run now!" She interrupted, panic filling her voice as she grabbed onto Zules robe.
Fay's expression remained calm, though a shadow crossed her eyes, as if she wasn't surprised. Zule, however, looked stunned, her stern features slackening for a moment before they morphed into one of anger. She drew her lightsaber, the green blade igniting with a snap. "Where? I'll—"
Aubrie grabbed her hand immediately squeezing tightly. "No, Zule. You can't fight him. You don't stand a chance, he played with me like I was nothing, I didn't even manage to graze him. We need to run. We need to find Scout and Vaylin and get out of the station. There will be no victory through conflict."
Zule hesitated, her blade humming, but Fay spoke up. "I fear she may be right. The presence I felt is unlike any other. The only one to come close is the incarnation of Darth Nihilus."
Zule's fear radiated outward, a cold wave that Aubrie felt in the Force, her grip on the saber faltering.
They all turned as the malevolence grew closer, a suffocating pressure building in the air, making their breaths shallow.
"Come," Fay said urgently, gripping both women's shoulders. "We have to run."
_____________________________________
Scout leaned against the transparisteel window, her breath fogging the surface as she stared into the adjacent bay. The prototype fighter suspended there gleamed under work lights, its sleek fuselage a puzzle of exposed wiring and unfinished panels that made her fingers itch to tinker. "Look at that thruster assembly," she said. "That's got to be a hybrid ion-turbo setup, probably from Sienar Fleet Systems. If they integrate that with a hyperdrive ring, it could outrun an interceptor easy. And over there that's a deflector shield test bed. See the emitters? They're using a phrik alloy, I bet, for lighter weight without losing power."
*BOOM*
A sudden explosion rocked the deck beneath her feet, the blast wave making the window vibrate against her palms. Scout stumbled back, her heart jumping as alarms wailed piercing her ears like needles. Red emergency lights pulsed, casting the corridor in red lights. Engineers froze for a split second, then chaos erupted, people started shouting, shoving toward exits, tools clattering to the floor as they abandoned workstations.
"What was that?" Scout yelled, grabbing a passing mechanic by the arm. "Hey, what's going on? Was that an atmospheric breach?"
The man yanked free without a glance, his eyes wild as he bolted down the hall. "Out of the way!"
Scout spun to another group fleeing past, their jumpsuits smeared with grease. "Wait! Stop, tell me what's happening! Is the station okay?"
The crowd kept moving forward. No one looked at her. They didn't stop. They didn't slow down. Each person just kept running, their arms pumping at their sides, their feet slamming down hard against the floor. Some had their hands out in front of them like they were trying to push the air out of the way. She could see the fear on their faces. Some people had their mouths open, shouting to others, but she couldn't make out the words over all the noise.
Scout stayed where she was, trying to hold her ground. Bodies bumped against her from both sides. One shoulder struck her arm and spun her slightly. Someone behind her shoved past and knocked her forward a step. She threw her arms out to steady herself, then turned her body sideways so she wouldn't get dragged with the others.
"Wait please!" She called out, but no one reacted.
She looked to her right, expecting to see Vaylin still beside her. The space was empty. She frowned and turned more fully, scanning the people behind her. She didn't see blonde hair. She didn't see Vaylin's jacket. She didn't see anything familiar.
"Vaylin?" she shouted, raising her voice again.
She turned her head the other way and stepped forward into the crowd. People kept running. She ducked under a taller man's arm and moved past a pair of engineers clutching each other's hands.
"Vaylin?!" She shouted the name again. Her voice broke a little at the end.
*BOOM*
Then another blast struck, this one louder than the others.
The floor jumped under her feet and tossed her sideways. She lost her balance and crashed into the wall. Her shoulder slammed hard against it, and she felt the pain shoot down into her arm. She gritted her teeth and shoved herself away from the wall before she could be pinned there by more people. She stumbled back into the flow of the crowd. They didn't stop for her either. Someone hit her back with their elbow. Another person's hand caught her face for a second before they passed by. She didn't see who it was.
The lights above blinked once and then shut off.
She stood still for a moment. The red strips on the lower walls turned on, casting the hallway in a red glow that made it harder to see people's faces. Smoke started to fill the space. She noticed it when it hit the back of her throat. It made her cough. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and raised the collar of her jacket.
She shouted again, louder this time. "Vaylin!" She didn't see Vaylin anywhere and it was starting to worry her. She kept moving until she saw a terminal fixed to the wall. The light from it flickered, and she went straight to it without thinking. She slapped her hand against the activation panel. The screen came to life slowly, lines flashing across it, but it kept cutting out. She leaned close, watching the loading bar crawl across the display. "Come on," she said under her breath. Her fingers moved fast over the controls, pressing keys and trying to bring up a map. The screen glitched again and filled with red text. She pressed the keys harder, trying different commands, but the system froze. Then a message flashed saying access was locked.
She swore under her breath, stepped back, then dropped to her knees. She pulled the lower panel off the terminal and tossed it aside. A mess of wires hung out. She reached in, pushing them apart with her fingers until she found the ones she needed. She followed the power cable to a dead relay and flipped it open, cut through the damaged section, and spliced a working line into it. Sparks jumped when the wires met. The sound made her flinch, but she kept working until the power came back through the system.
She pushed herself up and hit the screen again. This time it stayed on. The map of the stationloaded showing the layout of the station. She zoomed in, moving between levels, trying to find something—anything that would tell her where Vaylin might be or what the hell had happened to the station. She tried to access the cameras and sensor logs, but each time she hit the command, the same message flashed back at her. Access denied. She typed in a republic override code, one she had used on other systems before. The screen froze for a second, then flashed a warning and shut her out again.
She stared at it for a moment with a look of annoyance, then turned the terminal off and stepped back. If she wanted to see more, she would have to reach the command deck or engineering, but those likely had even more security than this terminal, they were also far away, so she would have to make do with the main sensor hub. That was the place she could check for damage in the station, life readings, maybe even open comms if she could get to it. She nodded to herself and started walking in that direction.
A moment later an announcement started being repeated over the speakers. She stopped and looked up at the ceiling. "Protocol Five-Nine-Omega active. Repeat. Protocol Five-Nine-Omega active." It said the same thing again and again.
She frowned and shook her head. The name meant nothing to her and she didn't have time to figure it out. She turned and started moving again, following the little light that marked the path. As she walked, the sound of boots reached her, what followed was the sound of blaster fire and the screams of people. She reached for her saber and pulled it free from her belt. Her thumb brushed the switch. The blade sprang to life. She held it in front of her and started running toward the sound.
When she turned the corner she stopped.
A group of clone troopers stood ahead. They stood with their blasters aimed towards the ground, though the barrels were smoking signifying that they had been fired. Several men lay on the ground in front of them, not moving. The smell of burned cloth and metal hit her. The clones lifted their rifles again and fired into the bodies, confirming the kill.
Scout stepped forward and shouted, "What the kriff are you doing? Stop! That's an order! Stand down!"
The sound made them pause. One of them turned toward her. His rifle stayed half raised. "Commander?," he said. He looked to the Clone Sergeant. "What do we do sir, does protocol apply here?"
Scout frowned and raised her saber higher. "What protocol? Stand down right now!"
The lead trooper hesitated for a moment. Then he spoke. "You know the protocol boys, no exceptions. We have no choice."
Every soldier turned their rifle on her.
The lead trooper said one more word. "Sorry Commander."
The shots came all at once.
(AN: Damn, things are still escalating there are now order 66 clones running around our here. Hope you enjoyed)
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