The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Terenia]

Chris listens to Ossanlin's instructions, checking the setting on his Dracon. He has no intention of using the weapon unless absolutely necessary. He certainly is not leaving Tess' side, despite his eagerness to have Keslin returned to him. He'll be there, he reassures himself, swallowing back a wave of emotion. After so many years with Keslin his absence was almost physically painful. The lack of an extra voice in his head made him feel incredibly empty.

"I am so sorry, Niko," Dom says, squeezing his shoulder, tearing up himself. "I--we need to stay together. We will find Gene, at the very least. And Kellim."

The second name that Tara whispers to Terenia seems to break through her grief long enough that she manages to get her feet up under her. She is still trembling terribly, and when one of the Hork-Bajir approaches her she jerks away, not addressing the alien. She takes a couple of deep, shuddering breaths, pushing back her tears and nodding at Daniel and Tara. "I--okay," she says weakly, swallowing. "Okay." Despite her best attempts, tears still streak down her cheeks silently as she staggers forward. She doesn't even bother trying to reclaim her holster, falling into step behind Chris, her eyes on the ground, her expression one of utter shock and grief.

[Estelore]

Enorryma squeezed past the group and proceeded ahead of them into the chamber above the one they were in.

She drew her sidearm as she got near the mouth of the hatch, hating even more the Hork-Bajir's awful night vision. The humans below were noisy enough that it interrupted Norry's ability to listen for danger. Finally, she just mustered her impatience and stepped up out of the hatch, silently hoping nothing shot at her.

She still couldn't hear anything, nor smell anything out of the ordinary. She slowly raised the power level on her sidearm, so that the meter on its side emitted a dim red glow. Nothing moved in the low light, and she turned it back down to normal.

<<It appears to be clear, Sir, but I suggest we make this quick. Something seems wrong, and I cannot place what it is.>>

She leaned down over the hatch and rapped on the side of it lightly. "Clear."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

<<Good, I'm coming up.>>

Ossanlin gestures at Aurellia.  "You will come up last."

<<Aurellia, you will come up after me.>>  He speaks privately to Aurellia.

"The rest of you will stay here and keep guard!"

With that, he lifts himself up into through the hole that the floor-breacher had cut.  He had thought there would be hazard lighting in here...there wasn't.  Only a soft blue glow coming from around the corner.  That had to be the virtual displays on each of the cells.  His ARC HUD overlaid the hallway definitions on his right pupil, creating a virtual, lighted hallway for that eye.  The emitter could also project a rather strong beam of light...but all that would do was give away their position to anyone who might have been in the cells, unlikely as that was, and blind his team.  The darkness was actually a bit of an advantage with an ARC's HUD capabilities.

He nods to Enorryma as he rounds the corner.  Set into each wall were the Yeerk cell bays, each with it's own individual monitor.  His HUD analyzes the numbers on each display and automatically highlights those which he wishes to take.  He nods.  <<They're here.>>  He pulls the stable, powered unit he'd brought along for this very purpose out of his pack and expands the slots to be ready to receive.

He glances over at Aurellia as he transmits the proper cell information to be displayed on her HUD.  <<I think the block is empty, but Enorryma, keep a close watch in case we missed something.  Aurellia and I are going to start removing the cells.>>

Ossanlin begins tapping the key sequence to eject the first cell.  A few seconds later, the system ejects it and Ossanlin pulls it out, stowing it in the little case unit.  Aurellia had already removed one as well and packed it.  Ossanlin works on his second cell and removes. Aurellia's second cell was packed already too.  As Ossanlin packs his second cell and Aurellia removes her third, a monotone, female-sounding thought-speech voice echoes from all around.  <Warning...unauthori zed access in primary cell-unit.  Individual lockdown initiated...individ ual lockdown protocols impeded...engaging secondary defense protocols.>

Ossanlin's eyes widen...this wasn't in the facility's original design.  Suddenly, some sort of atomized chemical begins spraying into the room.  <<Hold your breath!  Enorryma, get down below!>>


~


Aurellia watches as the hosts receive their weapons.  Was it really wise to arm them now?  But every weapon would count if it came down to a fire-fight.  She watches Ossanlin climb into the circular opening in the ceiling and follows him, hefting herself into the Yeerk cell-block.  Her HUD immediately supplies her with a perfect facsimile of the hallway's definitions.  She follows Ossanlin around the corner and then nods as he sends her the cell data.  She immediately begins to unpack cells.  Her deft hands move quickly over the familiar Andalite interfaces as she ejects cells and packs them away.

As she removes her third cell, a deceptively pleasant computer thought-speech gives an ominous announcement before atomized chemical begins to spray down from the ceiling.  She does as Ossanlin commands and holds her breath, packing the third cell into the unit before turning back to work on the next cell.


~


Ehvrin watches Enorryma, Ossanlin, and Aurellia ascend into the Yeerk cell-block before turning back to watch the newly-armed hosts.  His eyes jerk back to the opening as a strange computer announcement rings out and some sort of mist starts wafting down out of the hole.

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess swallows the lump in her throat, remaining close to Chris. "Do you know of any reason Keslin wouldn't be with them?" she whispers, eyes following where their Hork-Bajir rescuers had disappeared.

Daniel puts a hand on Terenia's shoulder to make sure she is stable before letting go of her, his hand blindly reaching for Tara's as he moves to rejoin the group.

When the thought-speech announcement is made, both Tess and Daniel flinch. While Tess clings all the tighter to Chris, Daniel's eyes narrow, and he fingers his newly-reclaimed Dracon without unholstering it.

[Ember Nickel]

Esarvit freezes in place. His mind seems to work at cross-purposes; his Andalite knowledge is helpless to seek out the Hork-Bajir physiology (can't they use their mouths as an alternate respiration system)? But his morph's instincts take over, following Ossanlin's instructions.

At the same time, he's trying to remember what he's read about chemical defense systems. Are yelach-fission particles still in play? They're expensive to maintain in inactive states for long periods of time, but potentially worth the investment against the right threats...

[Chad32]

"Everyone out of the room! We need to get away from that stuff! don't panic, just file out!" Claxter said. There hadn't been a direct order to do so, but surely they shouldn't be standing around in that stuff. He gestured in the direction towards where the ship was outside. <<What is this gas supposed to be?>>

[Estelore]

Enorryma didn't want to leave Ossanlin, but his order hadn't been ambiguous. She sprinted back toward the hole, sparing just enough breath to call down, "Clear the way!"

She jumped down the hole in the floor, appreciating the ease with which the Hork-Bajir's legs took the impact.

<<Hurry, Sir. We don't know what the chemical is.>>

[Myitt]

Tara helps Terenia to her feet, nodding encouragingly.

"Yeah, see?" she whispers, looking up with a wince as the Andalites-in-morph finish punching a hole in the ceiling. She squeezes Terenia's arm gently. "We're gonna be okay. **** it, we're alive, aren't we?"

Reluctantly she steps away from Terenia, just long enough to have her gun slapped into her hands by one of Ossanlin's lieutenants. She smiles sharply in thanks and stuffs the weapon into her jeans waistband. She and Myitt rarely used a holster; her black jacket, which usually concealed the weapon, is conspicuously missing.

She rejoins Daniel and Terenia, grabbing Daniel's hand and tugging herself against his side.

Niko nods back at Dom, frowning. "We'll find as many damn people as we can. Starting with whoever else got dragged into this ungodly mess." He nods up at the ceiling, just in time for the thought-speech warning.

Tara's hand goes to her Dracon as well, her shirt becoming rumpled and wrinkled as she tries to pull the weapon back out again.

"Dammit," she hisses. "What's going on up there?"

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

<<Aurellia, get below as soon as that cell is stowed.>>  Ossanlin starts removing his third cell as Aurellia stows hers.  She hesitates only a moment before running down the hallway and dropping through the floor.


~


Ossanlin spares only a brief glance to make sure Aurellia and Enorryma had obeyed his orders.  He works on his third cell and ejects it, stowing it in the case.  Only one left.  His eyes had begun to sting and he's running out of breath.  He drops to the floor, exhaling and inhaling again...only a small amount of chemical had made its way to the floor.  His lungs burn slightly, but not enough to cause coughing.  His skin is starting to sting as well, but he ignores it, working on the final rebel cell.

His fingers tap furiously as he commands the cell to eject from the system.  After what seems like an eternity, he manages to extricate the final cell.  He stows it in the case and activates the stability system, the case sealing up.  He picks it up and stumbles to the end of the block, putting a hand out to steady himself against the wall.  His tough skin starts to feel like it's on fire as he makes his way to the hole.  He falls to his knees and drops the case through, the static buffers absorbing the impact without causing shift shocks inside.  He dives through the hole and puts his hands out below him, attempting to cushion his fall.  He uses his arms to shift his downward momentum into a half-roll, half sprawling-crash.  He grunts and rolls up against the wall of the hallway, the case sliding a few meters away.  He grits his teeth, breathing deeply.  His skin feels made of fire now, the chemical burns easily visible.  He hacks up a little Hork-Bajir blood and a translucent white haze partially obscures his vision.

"Yaolin!"  He grunts the Andalite obscenity in Galard with his grainy, chemical-roughened Hork-Bajir voice.

[Myitt]

Inside her little liquid cell, Myitt finally senses a shift in movement.

<<What?>> she wonders silently, a pang of hunger shooting through her body. Even the far fall to the floor doesn't hugely impact her well being, but a sense of dread comes over her.

---

In another liquid cell, a very old, very tired Yeerk senses the slight and temporary shift in gravity.

Lanath One-Four-Eight slides along the edge of the tiny metallic prison, the gray liquid sloshing as his cell also impacts the ground below.

A dramatic shift in inertia, yes. I believe I have fallen, he thinks to himself, not without a stab of fear. He tries to steel himself. This can only mean something interesting.

[Chad32]

"Sir!" Claxter cries as he sees what happened to Ossanlin. He didn't have the strength to help his Prince up, but wished he did. "Is that everyone? Can we get out of here?"

"I'm not sure if the breacher can put the floor piece back into the hole to stop it up. It's probably best we just leave."

[Terenia]

Chris glances upward when the thought-speak announcement reverberates through his mind. The wisps of gas that make their way downward through the hole in the ceiling make his eyes narrow. He grabs at Tess' arm, pulling her back. "Stay back," he hisses, his other hand on his weapon, though there is no one to shoot. A moment later, though, he is glad he pulled back with Tess. A pack falls through the hole in the ceiling, followed closely by the Hork-Bajir that had been leading the escape. Chris winces as the clearly injured creature cries out in pain and counts himself lucky that he is not too near his blades.

Terenia's eyes travel from Daniel to Tara and down to their joined hands. She swallows hard and drops her gaze, staring at the floor, shoulders slumped. From her expression it is clear that she does not really care whether they make it out alive or not.


Keslin lets out a useless ultrasonic chirp as the limited liquid in his prison sloshes slightly, pushing him against one of the walls. What is happening? he wonders as his cell comes to rest once more. He wonders vaguely, almost with a sense of relief, if perhaps they have finally decided to end this pointless suffering.

[Estelore]

Enorryma rushed to Ossanlin's side and moved to prop him up, ignoring the burning lacerations his blades leave on her arms. She noticed how much cooler the hall was than the chamber above, where the Yeerks had been stored. This created a draft as the warmth tried to move into the lower chamber.

<<Sir, what are your orders? The gas seems to be somewhat lighter than air, but it will take only a few minutes for the positive air pressure to carry it down here.>>

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin glances around him.  <<The case...someone will have to carry it.  I...can barely see.  Enorryma, we need to evacuate now.  We have...everything.>>  He hacks again and then tries to stand.  <<I believe...I can walk.>>  He blinks his eyes several times, trying to clear them, only to discover that the translucent white haze is actually corneal damage.  He had fallen on his ASAR and the weapon's metal casing had bent and cracked under his weight.

He uses the support offered by Enorryma, noticing even through his impaired vision the damage she was taking on account of his blades.  <<Enorryma...I believe I shall have to call you shorm under appropriate circumstances.>>  He struggles to his feet, leaning on the wall with one hand pressed against its smooth surface, the other still grasping one of Enorryma's wrists.  He nods to his TO and releases her wrist.  <<Perhaps I can carry the case after all.>>  He limps to the case, his skin still burning.  Normally the Hork-Bajir form would've been healing by now, but the chemical is apparently designed to continue to eat into the skin until nullified.  He grits his teeth again, his face displaying no other signs of the intense pain.

"It's time we left."  He glances at Norry.  "Take point, I will follow."  <<Claxter, follow behind me...I know you're injured, but I may require your...assistance.  Esarvit, Aurellia, and Ehvrin, you have the rear guard.>>  He starts to limp down the hallway back toward the west ramp-well...they had to make it back to the service hangar hatch.


~


Aurellia and Ehvrin both nod as they fall in at the end of the long line of hosts.

[Ember Nickel]

Esarvit falls in line. <<I can take the case,>> he offers one-heartedly*, still shifting the nourishment materials on the Hork-Bajir arms. <<Do you need to remorph?>>

*compare Galard "half"