The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess trembles, sitting back on her knees, still clutching her stomach as the other rebels start to move past them. Hissing, she lets out a low moan, unable to help herself; the cramping is impossibly painful, like someone is wringing her insides like a wet rag. "I think it's... it's contractions. God..." she whimpers. "How much farther is it?"


Daniel glances at the Mike look-alike and doesn't argue, hurrying up the ladder after Tara and Terenia. He grunts at the sudden exertion after so much time sitting still in a cell.

[Ember Nickel]

Esarvit looks up at the hosts. These are the people he's risking his life for--slow-moving sympathizers, he begins, but cuts himself off as the Andalites approach.

He feels tired, but at least he's accomplished something so far. He hasn't been just a waste of weight--yet. He recites a ritual chant in the back of his mind, which helps him relax and remember his purpose. It also, subconsciously, provides him with a rhythm of when to fire. He gets off a shot, but it misses wide of the target.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin steps up beside Claxter after he dispatches the first Andalite.  <<Good job.  Remorph, I don't want the hosts balking or trying to shoot at seeing an Andalite.>>  He steps down out of the camouflage field, running over to some crates for cover...that should give any more Andalites that found their way to the Maintenance pads a target besides innocent hosts.


~


Aurellia responds to Claxter by swiveling back to cover the door until he says that he's taken care of the threat.  As she notices the hosts beginning to disgorge from the floor.  She points toward the back door which is still standing open.  "Go that way, the ship is cloaked on landing pad one.  You must hurry!  It is mere meters away."  She doesn't include that it's several meters away. 

She continues to the front hangar entrance and takes up position inside the door.  A cursory glance shows three Andalites approaching.  She leans out and fires, taking one in the chest.  As his body crumples, the other two dart off in different directions, firing at Aurellia as they run for cover.  She ducks back inside the front door and darts a glance at the hosts.  "Go!"


~


Ossanlin watches as the hosts begin to funnel out of the hangar entrance and points toward the cloaked Mirage.  "Over there!"  He hears Shredder fire echo from the front of the building...hopefull y Aurellia could handle it.


~


Ehvrin steps away from the door as the Andalites on the other side begin cutting through...not a quick process, and the hallway limits them to two being able to work on it at a time...but there's no time to waste.  "Hurry!  Go!  We are out of time!"  He urges the hosts to move faster.  He trains his weapon on the door, sparing glances for both Enorryma and Esarvit before focusing again on the door.

[Chad32]

Claxter begins remorphing as ordered, and bends down to keep him from tipping as his bottom half starts shriveling. He sees two Andalites try to take cover from Aurellia's shots, and they aren't easy for him to hit from his position either. They seem to have noticed the last guy Claxter shot, and didn't want to wind up the same. He took some shots, though wasn't able to connect. He was only able to fire at one of them, as the other had taken cover too far away. At least he had one pinned while he tried to find some way to hit him.

[Myitt]

Niko stuffs protein packs into his pockets and scrambles up the ladder after Dom and a few of the others, his heart hammering in his chest. He nearly loses his grip on the metal rungs as Shredder fire echoes, impossibly close.

He clings to the ladder for a few seconds, palms sweating, eyes closed.

"Move, already!" Tara snaps, a few people below him, more out of fear than anger.

That drags Niko out of his dizzy spell, and he hurries up the last few rungs, pulling himself up into the main bay.

Tara follows, glancing back down and instantly regretting it, noting Daniel below her but more critically realizing how high up they are.

"****," she breathes, pulling herself up with shaking hands. When she reaches the top she has little time to dwell on her fear of heights; Tess lies on the ground in front of her, and the others are already hurrying toward the Mirage, just out of sight.

Niko rushes toward the Mirage, but Tara kneels next to Tess and Chris, staring up at Chris with wide eyes.

"We need to keep her moving," she says urgently. "Tess, can you walk?"

[Terenia]

"Come on, Tess, we're almost there," Chris urges, trying best he can to help her to her feet, crouching low to try and make himself a smaller target while still protecting Tess. "Just a little bit further, eh? Then we can rest." Assuming this isn't some sort of elaborate trap. He shoves the thought aside. Whoever these people were, they had armed him and they were risking their lives for them. Surely that meant they wanted to keep him safe, right?


At the back of the line, the Mike imposter is the last person to clear the ladder. He steps out onto solid ground and, almost immediately is knocked backwards, narrowly avoiding falling back through the shaft. At first he cannot figure out the source of the forceful blow, but then searing pain hits him with such intensity that he can't help but cry out in anguish. A look downward shows the damage; a stray Shredder shot has caught him below his left knee, charring the leg beyond recognition.

With a panicked, pained cry he tries to pull himself to his feet, but finding one utterly useless he only falls back again. In too much pain to speak, sweat streaming down his face he looks up at the nearest person that he recognizes. <<Tara! Daniel!>> The thought-speak cry is wrought with pain, but even then Efaen has enough presence of mind to exclude Terenia from the plea. <<Help me, please.>>

[Myitt]

Tara struggles to help lift Tess to her feet. She stops in her efforts only when Efaen's thought-speech voice rings in her head.

Still holding Tess' arm, she throws a hasty glance over her shoulder.

What she sees makes her let go of her friend, turning to Mike's bloodied and charred form with a hand to her mouth. Even though she knows it isn't truly her friend, or Myitt's brother, she can't help but feel sickened by the sight of Mike's body so gravely injured.

"Goddammit," she hisses, having half a mind to leave the Andalite there in pain. "Daniel, help me!"

She hurries to Efaen's side, roughly dragging her upward at one arm. "Get up," she growls, breaking out into a cold sweat, pulling at Efaen without any of the concern or gentleness she had shown Tess.

Shredder fire lances over their heads and she curses again, nearly dropping Efaen.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin hears the Shredder fire from the other side of the building, but can't see the source, so he keeps vigil for any Warriors that might try to flank the building.

[Ember Nickel]

Esarvit gets off another shot. This one is aimed better, with force enough to knock over one of his adversaries (though probably not kill them outright); his success is stifled, however, by a return shot catching him in the ankle. He shifts his weight to the other foot, trying to ignore the pain.

[KitsuneMarie]

"I--" Tess cuts off her word with a gasp of pain, clinging to Chris and Tara. When Tara moves away, she nearly falls again, but then she straightens her legs with a grunt. "Yes--I... I have to," she whispers in response to the question about her ability to walk. Still relying fully on Chris, she takes a few steps forward. The contractions are still occurring, but they are lessening in frequency and strength, and this enables her to move down the hallway.


Daniel stops at the cry for help, automatically twisting on the ladder to snag the human arm just below him with his own living metal hand. He hauls him upward several feet until Tara is able to help him, and then, not wanting to waste any more time, he crowds Efaen's morphed form as he clambers upward and off the ladder.

[Estelore]

Enorryma had waited tensely for the others to move on ahead of her, and now as the enemy Andalites- enemy Andalites, what a thought!- came up behind them, she had a completely ridiculous idea which might buy them a few extra seconds.

Unshouldering the bag of Hork-Bajir supplement, she sliced into it with one of her wrist blades and hurled it at the Andalites pursuing them. She drew her sidearm and fired into the emerging supplement, superheating it immediately into a stinging cloud of vapour and burning pellet fragments which flew toward the faces of the Andalites.

She hurried to follow the others up into the vessel, stooping quickly along the way to grab the few human supplement packs which had been dropped during the escape.

[Terenia]

"It's alright," Chris says soothingly, wrapping one arm around her back to help support her as they move. Helping Tess slows his progress, and some of the other rebels begin to filter around him. "Almost there," he murmurs. "You're doing great." God, how many of us were lost? he can't help but think as he watches the meager group of survivors make their way across the landing pad.

After what feels like an interminably long time his foot finally detects a change in angle. He nearly stumbles and falls at the sudden shift in direction the ramp causes, but he catches himself, gripping Tess tightly. "Going up," he says. "Just about there."


Efaen leans heavily on Tara and Daniel, gritting her teeth against the unbearable pain. She does what she can to hop along, but each movement makes spots appear in front of her eyes and once she nearly loses her consciousness. <I must...demorph...> she whispers, but she doesn't abandon the human morph yet, knowing that the awkwardness of her shifting form may prevent them from reaching safety as quickly as they need to.

[Chad32]

Claxter isn't sure if he should take his eyes off where the Andalite is hiding long enough to help the two Humans. "Good job. You made it. The med bay is back there." He said, telling them how to get there. That would be the best place for her to rest. I need to stay here and make sure the enemy doesn't get too close."

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess pants as they make their way up the ramp and on board, still clinging to Chris with one hand, her other on her stomach to support its weight. Her forehead wrinkles as she looks up at the Hork-Bajir who had spoken to her and Chris. "Let's go... I need to lie down," she breathes to Chris, searching the polished halls as if she expects to see a cot ready and waiting right in front of her.


"Come on, we're almost there," Daniel mutters to Efaen, grunting with her added weight. "You can demorph once we're on board. Just a few more paces."

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin catches a glimpse of an Andalite rounding a corner and fires a few times, the Dracon squealing out its characteristic "Tssseeew" with each shot.  The Andalite comes up short and begins firing on Ossanlin's position.

<<Aurellia!  Be ready to fall back as soon as the others reach the hangar bay.  Things are getting messy in a hurry.>>
 
"Everyone, hurry!"  He yells out in Galard.

~


Ehvrin jumps back from the door as it falls open, the seams cut completely through.  He begins firing through the haze of the partially-slagged doorway.  Suddenly he sees a cloud of powder flying toward the door and jumps back again as it ignites, driving heat and flame out into the hallway.  He turns his wide eyes on Enorryma as she makes for the ladder.  He nods to Esarvit.  <<You're injured sir...you go, I'll hold them...go, sir!>>

Ehvrin continues to fire into the hallway.  A slumped Andalite body falls through the doorway, partially blocking it.  A few wild bolts singe through, but nothing that lands.  Ehvrin begins to back toward the ladder to follow Esarvit up as soon as his ranking officer begins to climb.


~


Aurellia hisses as a Shredder bolt grazes her left shoulder.  She leans out the door and fires again, catching another Andalite in the hind-quarters before taking cover again.  Thankfully the hallway acts as a sort of bottleneck.  <<Yes, sir.  They are.>>  She responds to her Prince.