Earthlings

19

Mace extended a hand and summoned Sketcher's limp form to him before pulling him to safety as 3 blast doors sealed shut to contain the flames. Thank goodness for vambraces; his armor was now hot and smoking.

He set Sketcher down, removing his helmet. "Are you all right? Trooper?"

No response.

Mace tried again. "Trooper?!"

Still no response. Mace glanced back towards the blast doors, realization dawning on him. Whoever had decided to raze his quarters weren't aiming for Sketcher. They weren't trying to kill Sketcher.

Either they were attacking the Endurance, or they were trying to kill him.

--

Smoke and debris were everywhere. Sparks rained down from the ceiling like a sprinkler, and Windu's quarters was a wreck.

Eli caught up to the scene a few steps away from Anakin before stepping in. Sketcher had been taken care of moments ago, and now Windu was just standing there, assessing the damage.

"You're lucky to be alive," Anakin was saying. "And our trooper?"

"Dead," Windu replied.

Eli wished he had a gas mask, because the smoke was becoming unbearable. He sighed, looking around. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"This was no accident," Anakin said under his breath.

"Agreed," Windu replied grimly.

Sparks kept crackling, and one burned a hole in Eli's sleeve. He glanced back, as did the other 2. Anakin seemed to realize something. "The ship's navigation is nearby."

The navigation was obviously not the target. But Windu commed Kilian anyway. "Admiral, has the ship's navigation been damaged?"

"Hobbled, not destroyed," Kilian replied. "Systems are repairable. I've ordered shutdown of all engines until we're fully operational. We'll hold orbit over Vanqor."

"Any sign of attack ships?" Anakin asked.

"None, but we'll keep scanning. Until we get navigation back, the Endurance is a fat and easy target. I won't have it! Kilian out."

"If navigation wasn't the target, then hitting your quarters was intentional," Anakin said.

"I thought that was obvious," Eli muttered as they left the room. He glanced at Mace, whose face had become as hard and expressionless as stone. "So now what?"

"We go to the war room," Windu replied. "We alert the men, and we search for the assassin. We're locked in space, so it shouldn't be difficult to find him."

Eli sighed softly. "I doubt that..."

They entered the war room to be met by Ponds, Roughneck, Slender, Killjoy, and Oreo among other clones. Ponds approached Windu as soon as they stepped in. "Any orders, General?"

"Yes, thank you, Commander," Windu replied before walking over to the holotable and placing his hands on the rim. Anakin and Eli followed suit. "We have a killer on board this ship, and we are locked in dead space."

"Just like our assassin," Anakin added. "We'll form an unbroken line from bow to stern, checking every corridor, bulkhead, and storage unit."

Windu stared into the eyes of every trooper in the room, his low tone a sign that he wasn't playing around. Not that he ever did play around anyway, but to hear him speak like that startled Eli nevertheless. "I want him alive."