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<blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4072620" data-attributes="member: 10079"><p><strong>Chapter 568: No One Stays Dead</strong></p><p></p><p>Rea approached the shelter where she had left her three injured squad mates as quietly as she could manage. The cut across her back still ached, but for the moment she ignored it. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but worry about the wound getting infected, though. There was, however, a much more pressing concern beyond her bruises and small injuries that she’d received at the hands of a few reptilian creatures.</p><p> </p><p>Barely a minute after she had started to catch her breath after the fight, Rea had heard sounds back towards the very place she was trying to lead the enemy away from. It had been voices, she was sure of it. Now, however, she heard nothing at all.</p><p> </p><p>Staying low beneath the meter-high red grass, the Twi’lek’s eyes very carefully looked ahead, trying to find any source of movement. She was down on her haunches, blaster pistol in hand and at the ready, and very cautious about moving any closer. Looking up, she could see the tops of the stones that formed the shelter where the Commodore and two other unconscious members of Zephyr Squadron had been left. If she stepped any closer, the grass would grow shorter and thinner, and she could be spotted.</p><p> </p><p>But she didn’t hear anything anymore...and certainly didn’t...</p><p> </p><p>Wait.</p><p> </p><p>There.</p><p> </p><p>As slowly as she could, so that her lekku didn’t make too much noise brushing against the tall blades of grass around her, Rea turned her head slightly to her left to the flash of colour she’d seen. Rea couldn’t determine how far away it was, but she could distinctly see a tint of brown within the red. And it was moving...slowly, but definitely moving towards the shelter. And there, near it...black. And then grey. Wait...another...not right with the others and actually very close to her. It wasn’t moving, and looked to be black with reddish...it was figure. Humanoid, but that was all Rea could tell.</p><p> </p><p>Well, that and they were all starting to move towards the shelter.</p><p> </p><p>Knowing she couldn’t just sit there while more of those creatures, or worse, actual Yuuzhan Vong, Rea decided to act while she had the element of surprise. As silently as she could, Rea took in a long, deep breath and then let it out. She was ready for this. Sure, she was pilot, but she could do this...</p><p> </p><p>In one quick movement, Rea was on her feet, pushing herself up to a standing position and raising her blaster at the same time. It only took two small steps before she planted her feet and aimed the weapon right at the head of the first of the enemies, which ended up being just a half meter away from the end of her weapon’s barrel and...</p><p> </p><p>“L...Loro...?” Rea had nearly squeeze the trigger and fired a shot off by the time her eyes relayed the information of what they were seeing to her brain.</p><p></p><p>Standing there, pointing a blaster rifle at her torso, was a Mon Calamari that she had no trouble identifying at all. Some would say that, beyond skin colour, all Mon Calamari looked alike. But Rea knew Obrack Loro, though she couldn’t say exactly how. She just knew that despite what she had previously thought, the two large, circular eyes looking right back at her were those of her friend she’d thought dead.</p><p> </p><p>When he lowered his blaster rifle and then spoke, it only confirmed that, “Its good to see you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Rea was too busy staring in shock to notice Adria and two other humans step in from the grass. She just stood there, finger still on the blaster’s trigger for some reason, her hands shaking very slightly as her mind tried to grasp the reality it was being presented with. A reality that shouldn’t have been possible. Opening her mouth, Rea attempted to reconcile this problem, “But you...I thought you were dead.”</p><p> </p><p>Loro’s eyes turned down slightly to look at the blaster still being aimed at his head, “I managed to eject. The Vong picked me up and then I wound up here. I can give you the detailed version later, but we probably shouldn’t stay here for much longer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Its really him, Rea,” Adria spoke slowly and carefully. She then decided to add an important request, “Come on, put the blaster down.”</p><p> </p><p>Hearing that seemed to trigger a realization in Rea’s mind. She jumped very slightly then looked at the blaster in her hands as if she hadn’t noticed it. Suddenly understanding, she lowered the weapon and let out a loud, sigh of relief before saying quietly, “I’m sorry for that. Just...some things got the jump on me and I thought you were more of them. Or worse.”</p><p> </p><p>“That is why we are here,” Loro nodded his head and finally put on a smile, which was always an interesting sight on a Mon Calamari, but comforting nonetheless, “We have an actual house not far from here that’s much safer than this ancient rock formation.”</p><p> </p><p>That was good news, for once. After a casual glance to the two humans that she didn’t recognize, Rea moved to the shelter and began to figure out how to move the three pilots. Over her shoulder, she said, “The Commodore’s unconscious again. Haven’t heard a word out of the others since you left, Adria. We really need an actual medic for them.”</p><p> </p><p>“You need one, too,” Adria’s voice was close, and after she spoke the human woman was next to Rea, helping her move the stretchers out to the others. It seemed that the less questions were asked about who people were, the sooner they could get to an apparent safety. Rea wasn’t one to complain.</p><p> </p><p>In that same vein of thought, as she activated the repulsors on the Commodore’s stretcher to move him out, Rea said simply, “I’ll be fine. Its not deep.”</p><p> </p><p>“But its bleeding still,” the red-haired human countered easily as she helped to move the stretcher out to the others, who were both helping them move the stretchers and, from the looks of it, watching the perimeter. But Adria didn’t really pay that much attention, “At least let me get you a bandage.”</p><p> </p><p>But Rea shook her head, “I doubt we have the time to waste. With one group of creatures finding this place, I’d be willing to be there are more nearby.”</p><p> </p><p>“There are more,” that was not a voice Rea recognized. She had to look up to see that it was the older of the other two humans that had spoken. He was facing the other direction, though, and so she couldn’t get a read on his face at all, just the back of his head. But before she could tense up and ready for another attack, he quickly added, “A Vong ship just took off about a half click south of us. Looks like a transport type, too. We should have friends coming soon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Big friends?” Loro’s cryptic statement didn’t make any sense to Rea, though she could detect worry in his gravely voice.</p><p> </p><p>The older human looked over his shoulder to the rest of them, a weary look on his aged features, “At least one knowing our luck. But probably a handful of Chazrach along with them. We need to get moving.”</p><p> </p><p>In a matter of moments, Rea, the older human who’s name she still didn’t bother asking, and Adria were all holding onto a separate stretcher. The younger human, who had remained silent but continued to give Rea sideways looks that were unnerving her, followed behind them, with Loro taking the front and leading the way.</p><p> </p><p>As they began to move at a brisk pace, Rea decided to ask an important question, “Chazrach?”</p><p> </p><p>Though she’d been looked at the older human next to her, it was Loro who spoke back at her, “Like small Trandoshan. Not much for fighting but the Vong like to just throw them at us every so often. Some kind of slave race.”</p><p> </p><p>Ah. So that’s what they were called. Now, at least, Rea knew what those things were that had attacked her. Well, truthfully, she knew before. They were small, badly trained, reptilian, things. Now she could just think ‘Chazrach’ instead, which definitely made things a bit simpler.</p><p> </p><p>That was the moment an alien sounding roar reached them. All of them stopped a moment to look behind. Thankfully, they saw nothing. Or maybe that made it worse.</p><p> </p><p>Putting two and two together, Rea broke the terrifying silence that resulted in the aftermath of the sound by saying, “I believe that would be the big friend you mentioned?”</p><p> </p><p>“It would,” the older man nodded, “And it sounds close.”</p><p> </p><p>How he could tell, Rea had no idea. But Loro cut in before she could ask, “Can you three run with those stretchers safely?”</p><p> </p><p>That was dangerous. There was the obvious problem of possibly dropping the person on the stretcher. The repulsors that held up the stretchers were not, by any means, strong. They basically just held the thing up at a comfortable level for most humanoids to push. Beyond that, however, it was rather easy to tip them over with too much weight on one end. If they were running too fast and not paying attention, it would be easy to tip the thing one way or another. And then there was the problem of not knowing the exact details of many of the injuries the three pilots had sustained. They had definitely all taken some internal damage, but how much and where was up for grabs. And that meant that there was a danger of bumping them around too much and ending up causing more damage.</p><p> </p><p>A second, slightly deeper roar echoed to them.</p><p> </p><p>All five of them looked between one another. It was Adria that spoke a very true statement in her matter-of-fact way, “I don’t believe those things are going to give us much of a choice.”</p><p> </p><p>A part of Rea wanted to add some sarcastic remark to that, if only to lighten the mood. But there were times for that, and this definitely did not feel like one of them. In fact, it seemed that no one felt anything else needed to be said. Almost as one, they started to move again, the previous brisk pace immediately becoming as fast of a run as they could manage without dropping the three injured pilots.</p><p> </p><p>Though Rea had no idea what the so-called ‘big friends’ were, she did learn one thing from the faces around her not long after they settled into a fast run. It was written on the older man’s sullen features, the way Loro constantly was looking over his shoulder every few seconds, and that same actions from Adria.</p><p> </p><p>They weren’t fast enough.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ankh-Morpork Guard, post: 4072620, member: 10079"] [b]Chapter 568: No One Stays Dead[/b] Rea approached the shelter where she had left her three injured squad mates as quietly as she could manage. The cut across her back still ached, but for the moment she ignored it. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but worry about the wound getting infected, though. There was, however, a much more pressing concern beyond her bruises and small injuries that she’d received at the hands of a few reptilian creatures. Barely a minute after she had started to catch her breath after the fight, Rea had heard sounds back towards the very place she was trying to lead the enemy away from. It had been voices, she was sure of it. Now, however, she heard nothing at all. Staying low beneath the meter-high red grass, the Twi’lek’s eyes very carefully looked ahead, trying to find any source of movement. She was down on her haunches, blaster pistol in hand and at the ready, and very cautious about moving any closer. Looking up, she could see the tops of the stones that formed the shelter where the Commodore and two other unconscious members of Zephyr Squadron had been left. If she stepped any closer, the grass would grow shorter and thinner, and she could be spotted. But she didn’t hear anything anymore...and certainly didn’t... Wait. There. As slowly as she could, so that her lekku didn’t make too much noise brushing against the tall blades of grass around her, Rea turned her head slightly to her left to the flash of colour she’d seen. Rea couldn’t determine how far away it was, but she could distinctly see a tint of brown within the red. And it was moving...slowly, but definitely moving towards the shelter. And there, near it...black. And then grey. Wait...another...not right with the others and actually very close to her. It wasn’t moving, and looked to be black with reddish...it was figure. Humanoid, but that was all Rea could tell. Well, that and they were all starting to move towards the shelter. Knowing she couldn’t just sit there while more of those creatures, or worse, actual Yuuzhan Vong, Rea decided to act while she had the element of surprise. As silently as she could, Rea took in a long, deep breath and then let it out. She was ready for this. Sure, she was pilot, but she could do this... In one quick movement, Rea was on her feet, pushing herself up to a standing position and raising her blaster at the same time. It only took two small steps before she planted her feet and aimed the weapon right at the head of the first of the enemies, which ended up being just a half meter away from the end of her weapon’s barrel and... “L...Loro...?” Rea had nearly squeeze the trigger and fired a shot off by the time her eyes relayed the information of what they were seeing to her brain. Standing there, pointing a blaster rifle at her torso, was a Mon Calamari that she had no trouble identifying at all. Some would say that, beyond skin colour, all Mon Calamari looked alike. But Rea knew Obrack Loro, though she couldn’t say exactly how. She just knew that despite what she had previously thought, the two large, circular eyes looking right back at her were those of her friend she’d thought dead. When he lowered his blaster rifle and then spoke, it only confirmed that, “Its good to see you, too.” Rea was too busy staring in shock to notice Adria and two other humans step in from the grass. She just stood there, finger still on the blaster’s trigger for some reason, her hands shaking very slightly as her mind tried to grasp the reality it was being presented with. A reality that shouldn’t have been possible. Opening her mouth, Rea attempted to reconcile this problem, “But you...I thought you were dead.” Loro’s eyes turned down slightly to look at the blaster still being aimed at his head, “I managed to eject. The Vong picked me up and then I wound up here. I can give you the detailed version later, but we probably shouldn’t stay here for much longer.” “Its really him, Rea,” Adria spoke slowly and carefully. She then decided to add an important request, “Come on, put the blaster down.” Hearing that seemed to trigger a realization in Rea’s mind. She jumped very slightly then looked at the blaster in her hands as if she hadn’t noticed it. Suddenly understanding, she lowered the weapon and let out a loud, sigh of relief before saying quietly, “I’m sorry for that. Just...some things got the jump on me and I thought you were more of them. Or worse.” “That is why we are here,” Loro nodded his head and finally put on a smile, which was always an interesting sight on a Mon Calamari, but comforting nonetheless, “We have an actual house not far from here that’s much safer than this ancient rock formation.” That was good news, for once. After a casual glance to the two humans that she didn’t recognize, Rea moved to the shelter and began to figure out how to move the three pilots. Over her shoulder, she said, “The Commodore’s unconscious again. Haven’t heard a word out of the others since you left, Adria. We really need an actual medic for them.” “You need one, too,” Adria’s voice was close, and after she spoke the human woman was next to Rea, helping her move the stretchers out to the others. It seemed that the less questions were asked about who people were, the sooner they could get to an apparent safety. Rea wasn’t one to complain. In that same vein of thought, as she activated the repulsors on the Commodore’s stretcher to move him out, Rea said simply, “I’ll be fine. Its not deep.” “But its bleeding still,” the red-haired human countered easily as she helped to move the stretcher out to the others, who were both helping them move the stretchers and, from the looks of it, watching the perimeter. But Adria didn’t really pay that much attention, “At least let me get you a bandage.” But Rea shook her head, “I doubt we have the time to waste. With one group of creatures finding this place, I’d be willing to be there are more nearby.” “There are more,” that was not a voice Rea recognized. She had to look up to see that it was the older of the other two humans that had spoken. He was facing the other direction, though, and so she couldn’t get a read on his face at all, just the back of his head. But before she could tense up and ready for another attack, he quickly added, “A Vong ship just took off about a half click south of us. Looks like a transport type, too. We should have friends coming soon.” “Big friends?” Loro’s cryptic statement didn’t make any sense to Rea, though she could detect worry in his gravely voice. The older human looked over his shoulder to the rest of them, a weary look on his aged features, “At least one knowing our luck. But probably a handful of Chazrach along with them. We need to get moving.” In a matter of moments, Rea, the older human who’s name she still didn’t bother asking, and Adria were all holding onto a separate stretcher. The younger human, who had remained silent but continued to give Rea sideways looks that were unnerving her, followed behind them, with Loro taking the front and leading the way. As they began to move at a brisk pace, Rea decided to ask an important question, “Chazrach?” Though she’d been looked at the older human next to her, it was Loro who spoke back at her, “Like small Trandoshan. Not much for fighting but the Vong like to just throw them at us every so often. Some kind of slave race.” Ah. So that’s what they were called. Now, at least, Rea knew what those things were that had attacked her. Well, truthfully, she knew before. They were small, badly trained, reptilian, things. Now she could just think ‘Chazrach’ instead, which definitely made things a bit simpler. That was the moment an alien sounding roar reached them. All of them stopped a moment to look behind. Thankfully, they saw nothing. Or maybe that made it worse. Putting two and two together, Rea broke the terrifying silence that resulted in the aftermath of the sound by saying, “I believe that would be the big friend you mentioned?” “It would,” the older man nodded, “And it sounds close.” How he could tell, Rea had no idea. But Loro cut in before she could ask, “Can you three run with those stretchers safely?” That was dangerous. There was the obvious problem of possibly dropping the person on the stretcher. The repulsors that held up the stretchers were not, by any means, strong. They basically just held the thing up at a comfortable level for most humanoids to push. Beyond that, however, it was rather easy to tip them over with too much weight on one end. If they were running too fast and not paying attention, it would be easy to tip the thing one way or another. And then there was the problem of not knowing the exact details of many of the injuries the three pilots had sustained. They had definitely all taken some internal damage, but how much and where was up for grabs. And that meant that there was a danger of bumping them around too much and ending up causing more damage. A second, slightly deeper roar echoed to them. All five of them looked between one another. It was Adria that spoke a very true statement in her matter-of-fact way, “I don’t believe those things are going to give us much of a choice.” A part of Rea wanted to add some sarcastic remark to that, if only to lighten the mood. But there were times for that, and this definitely did not feel like one of them. In fact, it seemed that no one felt anything else needed to be said. Almost as one, they started to move again, the previous brisk pace immediately becoming as fast of a run as they could manage without dropping the three injured pilots. Though Rea had no idea what the so-called ‘big friends’ were, she did learn one thing from the faces around her not long after they settled into a fast run. It was written on the older man’s sullen features, the way Loro constantly was looking over his shoulder every few seconds, and that same actions from Adria. They weren’t fast enough. [/QUOTE]
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