2.3 Literary Adventure

<div id="i4c-draggable-container" style="position: fixed; z-index: 1499; width: 0px; height: 0px;"><div data-reactroot="" class="resolved" style="all: initial;"></div></div>The world hums as the shuttle makes touchdown. The machine's oversized repulsors thrumming on the air itself as the side door opens and it disgorges it's passengers.

The stormies who step out arn't the same pack of inexperienced kids from my last trip.

That's a lie, they are the same pack of inexperienced kids but this time they're prepared inexperienced kids instead of rank noobs like last time.

Lieutenant Terra is the first out, wearing the same helmet and armour as last time except instead of the simple standard issue blaster the young man is using a standard issue E-11 blaster cabin on a sling and has what looks like a sonic pistol in the holster on his hip. Of the imperials he's the most lightly armed.

The six troopers behind him are all sporting a combination of a pistol and some kind of interesting weapon instead of, or in addition to, just the standard blaster.

"Morning Folks, I trust we all got a good nights sleep." I holler at them from the small picnic table I snap into place. I pull out the sheaf of OH&S forms we've got and lay them on the table as my temporary companions amble towards me.

Terra looks back to the shuttle and signs something out, I don't see the pilot respond but a moment later the humm of the repulsors re-intensifies as the heavy durasteel transport rises off the ground and leaves the cavernous room the way it came.

"Morning Alex." A stormie asks.

"Is that a rocket launcher you have there miss forty five? I do hope you've brought enough for everyone." I say smoothly.

"Only if you all stand close together." She replies similarly smoothly and I can't help but chuckle.

"Good grief, you're awful, I'm awful." I mutter. "Forty eight, my man. Looking at your repeating blaster you certainly look like you have, indeed, brought enough for everyone."

"And then some." The trooper replies jauntily, patting the heavy weapon clamped to his backpack.

"Out-Fucking-Standing. The rest of you good?" The other stormies nod as they surround the folding table.

"Everything is in order. when shall we get underway." Terra says as he approaches our group.

"Soon mate, soon. Checklists first, we can't be heading off half cocked despite the fact that it appears that the lot of you are all ready to party. Chanim's out for the moment seeding the area with sensors so that at least basecamp remains secure."

"Good. Can't skimp on safety." He says and my mind comes to a crashing halt.

The stormies likewise are looking at each other nervously.

"This is a training mission. I cannot afford for us to lose valuable experience or equipment because we aren't properly equipped. Worst comes to worst I will chalk the mission up as a failure and we will move on." Terra says authoritatively.

I look him dead in the eyes.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Johann Terra?"

"Very. Funny. Scavenger. My career depends on the outcome of this mission, loss of personnel is failure both you and I cannot afford. If I have to I will return empty handed rather than spend lives for a trinket." Terra says with steel in his voice.

"Agreed. It isn't a trinket though, but if we do come back empty handed I've probably got some "excess stock" which you can have as a souvenir." I say and the man nods.

"I'll hold you to that scavenger."

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I stand at the table, 5"10 with broad shoulders and a solid torso. Beneath my helmet my hair is rapidly greying, in some places being pure white despite my age. I'm the oldest one here by at least five years, that isn't saying much given that terra's barely out of officer school and the rest would be barely out of high school.

"Alrighty then. Alexander Archaeologist. I have a belt of standard grenades, an ion pistol on my right hip, a sonic under my shoulder and a regular blaster on my left hip. On my right leg under my ion pistol is my happy fun grenade, do not taunt the happy fun grenade, do not look at the happy fun grenade, do not ask about the happy fun grenade, if you are too close to the happy fun grenade it will kill you, the happy fun grenade comes with all of the warnings." I don't mention my other armaments, the shock amulets sown into the knuckles of my gloves, the frost storm jewels ringing my gauntlets or the "fireball" wands hidden in long pockets of my jacket. Everything else though, it's better that they know I have them in a pinch rather than not.

"Leutennant Terra. E-11 blaster on my sling, sonic pistol on my right hip, demolition charges in my pack, lower left side pocket. Belt of standard grenades, Extra concussion grenades on my harness." He says standing to attention. Terra is very nearly the imperial ideal, six foot tall, green eyed with sandy blond hair the only thing keeping him off a poster declaring his faith for the fatherland is that his jaw is a little bit too strong, his nose too small and I don't believe the man could grow a beard to save his life.

"Private Forty eight, heavy suppression. I have a T21 Light repeater on my pack, an ion pistol on my hip and a standard belt of grenades." The trooper says. His is a short list, the Repeating blaster is the Imperial armies LMG equivalent and a pretty heavy bit of kit. The weapon is all the more effective because of the near bottomless magazines which blasters have, they aren't actually bottomless but you can expect five hundred or so shots from a standard blaster most of the time. The trooper like all troopers is nearly indistinguishable save for his distinctive weapon. He is a bit broader than the other troopers but not nearly as much as I am he does however easily clear six foot letting him gaze directly over my head without trouble.

"Private Forty five, Anti-armor. I have a Rocket launcher on my pack, three armour piercing rounds, three frag and three concussion. I've brought enough for everyone. I am also carrying a blaster pistol in my hip holster and the standard belt of grenades." She says listing out her armaments.

"Private Thirty Nine, assault, I've a regular E-11 and a heavy stunner to mix things up. Even got an armoury pass for it. I've got the usual grenade harness and even a few extras I talked the quartermaster out of. Only frag but it's better than nothing." Of the imps thirty nine is the shortest and wiriest inasmuch as it's possible to tell in his armour. That means he's still taller than me by a good couple of inches and lighter than be by at least a dozen kilos.

"How'd you do that niner, give er a bit of the old razzle dazzle?" The next trooper asks with a lewd gesture. "Yeah, Private Fifty Two, Special Tactics, Got an E-11, an electrosonic pistol and a disruptor pistol, yes before you ask, they're awesome. I'm also packing a small skeleton key brand plasma torch which I thought could come in handy if there's any locked doors and the usual grenades, of course." Fifty two is a big man, bigger than his voice would suggest, nearly broader than I am and at least six inches taller he has his weapons are strapped all over his torso in much the same way mine are.

"Private Forty Six, Assault, E-11, BTX-42, grenades, ion pistol?" I pass the woman the ion blaster she purchased with a portion of last trips bounty, She pings a few shots at the far wall where the ion charge crawls over the metal for a few moments. "Ion pistol." She says with satisfaction dropping it into the holster on her right hip next to the conveniently sized flamethrower she has strapped to the side of her pack.

"Private Fifty, Recon, E-11 marksman, Sonic pistol, Grenades with double sensors and distractors." The final trooper says. He's wearing the same brilliant white armour as the others but he's actually attempted to camouflage himself slightly, black smudges cover each of the plates of the hard durable plastic just enough that it breaks up his outline in low light conditions.

"Cool that's almost everyone, Chanim. you paying attention?" I ask to the small feline.

"Uhhhhh... Alex I've got a bad feeling about this." She says and my hand goes straight to my blaster.

"Talk."

"I uh. I thinks there's something wrong with the sensors I'm getting funny readings." She says nervously. fiddling with the contol panel attached to the sleeve of her coat.

"What's the hold up Alex?" Terra asks.

"Chanim's having trouble with some of the sensors." I respond.

"It's still there." The girl mutters.

"Sir.. I have a bad feeling about this." Thrity Nine says, fingering his blaster and my brain switches gears.

I look at the man, really look, beneath thee armor, beneath the flesh I look at the way his soul interacts with the universe. Reality swirls around him, he isn't quite as powerful as either of the twins but...

Shit.

"Chanim, I don't think that's a malfunction." i say, reaching to my harness and pulling off a decoy and stinker, they latch together and I dial the timer as I subvocalise a command word.

My perceptions open up for a second as Detect Life goes to work at the maximum range I can manage of two hundredish meters and... Holy fuck that's a lot of life forms.

"Nope not a malfunction." I say flinging my grenade downrange towards the great gaping entrance of the cavern.

"Alex what is going on!?" Terra shouts at me.

"Not a malfunction. We need to run. Right now, Code red, run like fuck." I turn on my heel and fucking leg it for the far end of the cavern and the slightly ajar sliding door which leads deeper into the ruined buildings of the undercity. I reach my hand out and attempt to slide the door open.

It's stuck.

Shit.

Fuck.

Cunt.

"Alex, What are you doing." Terra asks.

I turn and see a Coruscani Ogre come around the corner of the cavern entrance.

Fifty puts a blaster bolt next to the monsters foot, it turns and snarls.

The second bolt takes it in the heart and it falls over dead.

"There's more than one." Chanim and I say in unison.

Three of the beasts come around the corner just behind their dead fellow, they snarl as the holo on the distractor activates, a scene from halfway through some shitty action holo.

Five more that we didn't see leap out directly at the distractor.

The stinker detonates and the large entry doors disappear in a cloud of turgid brown smoke.

"Retreat!!" Terra hollers and the troopers begin to move in unison.

Fucking door, you are open, you are unstuck, there is little to no friction on your bearings now open you fucker.....

It doesn't budge.

Shit.

I reach my arm through the gap and press it to the flat of the door and activate on of the amulets I've got sown into the hem of my coat.

"Offen."

There's a clunk as the door settles properly onto it's bearings and I heave it open with my shoulder.

Chanim shoots past me and I pull my pistol to see the stormies closing rapidly.

An ogre charges out of the smoke cloud, coughing it's guts up from the unholy stench, that's when it sees us and howls in an unearthly wail.

i raise my pistol and take a few potshots at the fucker.

I manage to hit it in the knee, it doesn't stop the other five coming out of the cloud far too fucking fast.

Terra shoots past me, the others shortly behind him.

"Alex, What the fuck."

"Follow Chamim. I'll seal the door." I say as Fifty throws himself through the door and I slide it closed with my shoulder.

"I think we can take'em." Fifty two remarks, "There was only what, eight of em."

"Kiddo, there were a fuck load more than eight." I say just in time to hear the thump and scrabbling of claws at the door. I can feel the door begin to move as the creatures try to sink their claws in.

"Geschlossen." I whisper and the door locks with a *Kathunk*.

"I doubt we're getting out through there." Terra says.

"No shit." I say panting.

Terra sighs beneath his helmet. "Miss Pieweto you're on point." He says calmly.

I pick myself up and follow them keeping an ear out for anything sketchy aside from the unearthly howls of the fucking monsters behind us.

We move silently and it only takes us a minute to reach the stairwell I was going to use, Chanim takes the lead, carefully going down the first few steps to the next landing.

"I have a bad feeling about this." She mutters to herself.

The girl stops stock still.

"Nope." She says over the radio. Carefully pulling a stinker and decoy from her belt and placing them silently on the ground where she stands.

"We can't go this way, they're right below us." She says stepping back and carefully making her way back up the stairway.

"We need to move." She says quietly over the radio as if even the faintest sound could alert the enemy to our presence.

I Fire off another detect life silently and... yep... Nope. Not going that way.

"How will we know if the enemy gets here?" Forty Six asks quietly.

"You'll know." Chanim whispers over the radio. "This way." She carefully forces open a door and slides through, I close it when pass myself.

We follow chanim through the warren of an old arcology for another ten minutes. we don't hit any obvious easy ways down as we move but with silent movement the nine of us manage to get around most of the obstacles until we find an old lift shaft.

It takes the troopers a few minutes of quiet work to slide the lift open.

"Shit. A long way down." I mutter.

"We have the ropes. this is why we brought them." Terra replies.

"True enough."

"HUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!" The Ogre a level down screams at us.

We blast a hole in the things torso with our pistol as all around us, above and below more ogres scream for blood.

FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE *Kathump* EEEEEEEEEEE!

"They're up the stairs." Chanim says over the radio as the decoy screams with the most annoying noise know to the galaxy, easily audible even through three solid walls.

She takes off, and I'm half a step behind her as she charges through old apartments and the holes in rotting walls. I koolaid through rotting drywall, hop over piles of discarded furnature and slide through half open doors as we hear the ogres clamber through the buildings behind us.

Chanim shoots through one final door and runs right off the edge of a balcony, feet motoring in the air as she falls into an indescribably large cavern leading deep into the undercity. I come to a screeching halt on the edge.

Terra does as well as does the other stormies.

Fifty two shoots off in the same manner as my fuzzy apprentice.

Shit.

"HUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!" An ogre screams and then it's friends scream.

It charges into the room we just came out of only to eat a blaster bolt through the head and be replaced by two more of its foul kin.

A claw clamps around the balcony below me and a ogre tries to latch onto Terra's leg. I blast the fucker in the face.

"We need to jump!" I shout.

"It's too far, we'll die." Fifty says.

"I've got some bullshit which can save us. It's jump now and maybe die" Pew! headshot. " or stay and definitely die."

There's a searing gout of heat and flame as Forty six unloads her flamethrower into the room, burning the creatures as they charge through the door.

"Fuck." Terra says, throwing a few stray shots at an ogre trying to approach from one of the adjacent balconies. "Fuckedy Fuck." He mutters.

"On three we jump. Alex, I hope you know what you're doing."

"I'm very good at not dying mate. Now move!" I say, providing some suppression fire towards the enemy.

"One." He holsters his blaster and draws his pistol.

"Two."

"Three!" Terra and the stormies throw themselves off the balcony in a disorderd mess.

It takes two steps to get enough speed to throw myself over the edge and a fucker almost gets me. I don't shoot it, there's no time. it doesn't stop the other monsters from following me. Three creatures fling themselves after me, too far back to catch me as we all fall into the darkness.

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