And There Was Another✔️

Chapter 21: Mounting An Assault

Maya rode up with a small cadre of security personnel about twenty minutes later.

Seth and Nova were standing guard outside the turbine. So far, nothing had come out. Not a single sound had been issued out of the structure. Seth had calmed down considerably, but the thought of going back into that darkness made him ill at ease. Nova seemed to be in much the same situation. Seeing Maya and five security personnel did help, though. Although Seth did have mixed feelings about seeing Sally.

He was glad to have her as backup. He knew that she was a capable warrior. But...after all that had happened on Taris, he hated to see her in real danger again. She'd already endured so much. But, he tried telling himself, life was dangerous.

It didn't help much.

"What's happening?" Maya asked as they all dismounted from the speeders they'd ridden over, moving to join Seth and Nova. The security personnel looked professional in their gleaming Republic mod armor, but some of them looked antsy and anxious. Not Sally, though. She almost looked...hungry, like she was scrapping for a fight.

"There's a kinrath nest in the caves beneath the turbine," he said, addressing the group, "so far as we know, they're contained there, but it's possible they've breach the structure itself."

"All right, what's the best way to handle this?" Maya asked.

He hesitated. It was still very strange to have her ask him to decide anything, but he supposed he had more direct combat experience than anyone else here. Well...maybe. Sally had been living a hard life longer than he'd been in the military. But she and the others seemed just as willing to listen to him as Maya was.

"We move in, clear the structure carefully. You, you, and you," he said, pointing at Sally and two others he didn't recognize, "you head upstairs, sweep the area. There's two stories up there. Be careful, there's a lot of places kinrath may hide. Everyone else with me, we're going downstairs to secure the basement. Once that's finished, everyone meets in the basement, we're going to take the fight into the caves and clear them out. Does everyone have flashlights?" Everyone but Maya did. "Fine. Any questions?"

There were none.

"Then let's do it."

The next ten minutes passed slowly, but not in a bad way. There was something strangely comforting about securing the area with backup. Seth's instincts told him the area remained secured, that the kinrath were still in the caves, and he was proven right. The only door into the caves remained locked and intact.

"Those work-lights," Seth said, pointing to a quartet of powerful work-lights perched on tripods sitting along the far wall of the room they were in, "grab them, see if they have power."

"What do you have in mind?" Maya asked as the two soldiers they'd brought with them set to work.

"We're going to have them come to us, and I'd rather have a lot of light for that," he replied.

"Good idea."

After they confirmed that they were all battery powered and that they had sufficient power, Sally and the others met them in the basement, ensuring that the upper levels remained cleared. "Okay, Nova, get the door unlocked. Maya, we're going to stand close by to back her up. Everyone else, defensive positions around the room, be ready. The kinrath may be on the other side of that doorway," he said, and received a string of 'yes, sir!'s, although he heard one or two people say 'Yes, Sergeant!' That felt...familiar, and oddly comforting.

Once everyone was in position, Nova unlocked the door. She stepped back, weapon unslung, and Seth opened it up. He tensed, preparing himself for a vicious onslaught, but nothing happened. There was darkness and silence beyond the doorway.