Rising Malevolence (Part 4)
“I think they see us.” Boost watched as the pod hunter let go of remnants of the last one, proceeding slowly towards their pod. Catra might have heard wrong but she swear she could hear the droid that was piloting it was humming, it kind of made her feel a bit sick that they can kill without mercy.
“It is time to go.” Plo turned around in his chair and stood up, moving towards the back of the pod where the airlock was. Catra stood and followed him, putting on her mask that covered her lower face and nose, attaching a small pipe from it to a canister on the back of her belt, with a small wire connected to her right Vambrace.
“Go? Where are you going, sir?” Wolffe was confused as he watched them.
“Outside, to destroy the enemy.” Plo turned around and explained to them, “I can withstand the pressure for a brief time. Put your helmets on.”
“My body can withstand it as well, but not my breathing, that’s why I carry a mask and a small air canister around, it also works with poisonous gases, most of my clan has one.” Catra’s speaking was muffled by the mask, her tail moving up towards her belt, wrapping around it to keep close and safe.
“If you say so, sir.” Sinker and Boost started standing up
“This is a difficult situation but there remains a possibility we will survive.” Plo spoke the honest truth.
“That’s good enough for me. Come on, let’s go.” Sinker and Boost put their helmets on and had their blasters ready, the pod shaking as the hunter latched on.
“Wolffe, keep the communications signal alive. It is our only chance someone will find us.” Plo turned and gave that last order to Wolffe.
“Let’s just hope someone’s looking for us.” Wolffe nodded with a grim look.
The four of them moved into the airlock and closed the door behind them, waiting for the pressure to change. This was going to be new for Catra, during training there were sparring and tasks to do in zero gravity, but this would be the first time doing the real thing..
When the door opened Catra could feel the pressure of space minutely, she was glad she brought the mask from her home with her, cause if she didn’t she would have died in just a few minutes. Plo went out first holding onto the left side and helping Boost up onto the roof of the pod, Catra climbed onto the right and did the same for Sinker.
Slowly they made their way to the front of the pod, the droids not noticing them straight away as they were distracted talking between themselves. Catra grabbed her lightsaber with her tail moving it to her clawed hand, she usually fights with her tail, but right now wasn’t the time for fancy tricks.
“Well, this looks like the last one. Let’s finish the job.” The droid spoke, hearing a little echo and static when they spoke.
“Hey, what’s a Jedi doing out here?” Another droid looked up and spotted them on the pod, both Catra and Plo activating their lightsabers, both blue in colour. Since she held it in her right hand, it made her blue eye glow more than normal.
The droids started to fire at them with their blasters, Plo and Catra deflecting the shots as they came. Plo used the force on Catra to move her down in front of the viewport window, cutting the first droid at the front in half. Plo followed down after to help deflect shots away from the glass.
Sinker and Boost fired back at the droids to give some cover and to take them out. Catra yelped behind the mask as a blast hit her left vambrace, leaving a blast mark but otherwise undamaged, it still worried her that she wouldn’t be able to deflect every blast.
“Take cover!” The piloting droid shouts to the others.
Catra wrapped her tail around another droid’s head as Plo force pushed it, her tail to snaping its head off, sparks coming from it’s neck socket. The other two droids floated back up with their jetpacks out of range of Catra and Plo and behind cover, Plo and Catra kept deflecting shots away from the glass, one coming close to the pipe for Catra’s mask.
“I can’t get a clear shot!” Sinker shouted, not letting up as he kept blasting.
“Time to put the squeeze on them.” The droid pressed a button as the four prongs that held the pod started squeezing down, slowly denting the metal and damaging outside panels as sparks flew out.
“Is there anyone out there? Come in?” Catra’s ears twitched when she heard a familiar voice from the communicator inside, Ahsoka’s voice, “This is Ahsoka Tano. Is there anyone out there? Come in.”
“It’s Ahsoka! She must be close!” Wolffe shouted to them
“Keep the signal alive, Commander.” Plo heard as well while deflecting blaster fire. Catra managed to deflect one shot back into the head of a droid, sending it flying as she thought, ‘Come on Ahsoka, find us.’
“We’re losing the signal! The pod can’t take much more damage!” Wolffe shouted, the pod was creaking and the glass was starting to crack.
“Sinker! Your turn!” Plo turned and used the force to lift Sinker and hold him steady
“I’m on it, boss!” Sinker was prepared before Plo moved him across and over the droids making them have to duck, “Whoa!”
“What the…” The pilot droid ducked his head to avoid taking damage.
“Eat laser, clankers!” Sinker had the advantage as Plo held him still, he blasted the droids from behind, able to get every one of them except the pilot who was protected. During this, Catra sliced through all four prongs of the hunter with ease, Plo pushing it away and bringing Sinker back to the pod.
“Uh-oh!” The droid shouted as the hunter got crushed in between two large pieces of debris causing a small explosion, pushing the pod away from the shockwave a bit, they had to hold onto the viewport to stay. Catra dropped her lightsaber as she was slowly losing strength in her arms, but Boost caught it for her.
“Well, General, this is another fine mess we’ve gotten into.” Sinker casually said after the danger of the droids has passed. Boost moved close and reattached Catra’s lightsaber to her belt
“Your sense of humor is improving.” Plo slightly smiled.
“I don’t mean to say i told you so, but I never believed anyone would come looking for us.” Sinker slightly sighed as Plo looked at him curiously.
“Well, I still believe Ahsoka is out there, I know it…” Catra was heavily breathing, not because she had run out of oxygen, but because she could slowly feel the pressure pressing down on her body, the only reason she didn’t float off is because Plo was holding onto her.
“Sergeant, why are you so certain no one is coming?” Plo asked Sinker curiously
“We’re just clones, sir. We’re meant to be expendable.” Sinker sighed. Catra didn’t like how the clones alwaya believed that, she kept trying to dissuade them from that line of thinking, so she spoke her mind, “If that was true, why would I help you escape from the cruiser? No one is expendable.”
“Not to me.” Plo replied in a serious tone, he always told the truth like that. A light had appeared from behind them and was getting bigger and brighter as it got closer, Plo and Catra turned around slightly, where Catra could see a familiar ship, The Twilight.