Present day

 

Reya busily prepared for the mission. She secured several months’ worth of provisions from the quartermaster and sorted them out in the ship’s inventory. Their ship wasn’t the biggest one out there, but it was by no means small. They were accustomed to spending large amounts of time away from base and they needed a ship large enough to house all the equipment they needed for their missions.

The result was a top-of-the-line, slightly-larger-than-standard scout-class ship. Being the top scouting team had its perks, after all. The sleek grey ship was designed with speed and distance in mind. It wasn’t as heavily armed as other ships, but it still packed a punch. Reya was quite proud of her ship.

Each person on the team had their own role when it came to mission prep. Rann organized their weapons and ammo, a privilege granted to her as second in command, while Kell took charge of the medical bay as the ship’s doctor. Jyn cleared the ship for take-off and Tassie worked on logistics, coordinating with Irric. Reya still wasn’t sure how she felt about their new liaison but trusted the Commander. Eimir fine-tuned the ship’s engines while Beor had no other duties beyond simply showing up and shooting things.

In what felt like no time at all, Reya and the rest of her team assembled on the main bridge and prepared for take-off. They each assumed their positions at their terminals and Jyn called in to mission command. Once they were cleared for flight, off into orbit they went.

“Listen up, everybody,” Jyn said once they were far enough away from the planet. He studied the holoscreen floating in front of him for a moment before continuing. “Our journey should take us three weeks at warp speed, according to our estimates. Tassie, is there anything else we need to know since you last spoke with Irric?”

“Our destination is surprisingly close by, all things considered, which is why Irric’s report is so worrying,” Tassie replied. “I took the time to read it over while we were preparing for the mission. Irric didn’t just detect one ship in the system. He updated his initial report showing that he detected the same ship multiple times along what looks like a specific route.”

“Should we be worried?” Jyn asked.

“Honestly? Probably. If Irric’s reports are accurate, then we should expect to run into somebody. We’re going to have to be really careful to avoid being detected once we get there.”

Jyn thought over what Tassie said from his command chair. He called up a new holoscreen in front of him and looked at the star sector they were going to. “Tassie, can you send me a projection of the solar system we’re going to?”

Tassie typed on her keyboard, sending the data over to Jyn. “And sent,” she said, after several seconds. A new image appeared in front of him. He spent several long minutes studying the planetary system then synced his screen to the main screen at the front of the bridge for everybody to see.

“Since there’s a good chance that we’ll encounter somebody when we arrive, I think it’s best if we enter the system from here,” Jyn said, highlighting the fourth planet, “and then make our way here, to where Irric’s report detected the activity.” The second planet of the system lit up. “Tassie, I leave it to you to find the best flight path once we enter the system so as to avoid being detected. We’ll contact Irric once we’ve arrived and inform him of the details.”

“On it, sir,” Tassie replied.

“Excellent. On that note, are we ready to jump?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Everybody strap in and brace yourselves. You all know how unpleasant it is to enter warp.” Once the rest of the crew indicated that they were ready to go, Jyn gave the order for them to jump into hyperspace.

***

As predicted, it took them three weeks to arrive at their destination. The journey passed by uneventfully, the crew spending the majority of their time preparing and maintaining their equipment and playing cards. The ship pulled out of hyperspace behind the fourth planet of the local star system and Jyn gave the order for their cloaking system to be activated.

Tassie activated it and confirmed that it was working as intended. Unless anybody happened to be scanning that sector of space upon their arrival, they would be able to approach the planet undetected.

“Beginning scans of the planet,” Tassie announced. As the technical support expert of the crew, this was her time to shine. Multiple screens appeared in front of her as she began pouring over data as it came in. The ship’s sensors were scanning for any sign of activity within the sector, as well as any trace signature of ships passing through. Ships almost always left some sort of sign of their activity if one knew where to look.

She opened a secure line to Irric so that he could go over their scans in real time alongside her. The military had long since cracked the secret to instant communication, the only drawback being that it didn’t work in hyperspace.

“Hey, Irric,” she said pleasantly as he picked up the call. She was looking forward to having a teammate to work with for once and hoped he was reliable.

Irric’s face flashed on screen in a small box off to the side. “Hi, Tassie. I hope the trip went well.”

“Nothing major happened except for the fact that I lost five hundred credits playing cards,” she replied with a pout. “I swear Beor cheats. There’s no way he should be able to win so often!”

Irric laughed. “I’m sure you’ll get him back one day,” he said with a bright smile. Tassie blinked at the sight. Cute, she thought. The smile really softened his features. When she’d met him in the Commander’s office, he’d been rather tense and stern looking. She amended her image of him, thinking that she may have misjudged him somewhat. “I’ll have to join in on the next round. I happen to be pretty good at cards,” Irric continued with a grin, oblivious to Tassie’s inner musings.

“Good.” She returned the grin. “I’m in desperate need of a partner. Nobody wants to be on my team anymore because I suck too much.”

“Really?” Irric said with an eager expression. “I mean, um, sure. I’d be happy to play with you,” he stammered.

Fucking adorable, Tassie thought, trying not to laugh. She typed away on her keyboard, sending him a copy of her readings. “Here’s what I’ve got so far. I haven’t found anything obvious yet. Think you can help?”

Irric’s expression turned more serious as he began going over the data. The pair spent several hours going over the findings together, exchanging ideas and observations. Tassie was beginning to get frustrated at their lack of progress.

“Wait,” Irric said suddenly. “Right there.” He highlighted one of the readings and sent it back to her to go over. “There’s a small blip in the readings. It’s super short, barely noticeable really.”

Tassie looked over the data, her eyes narrowing. “Do you think it was a coincidence? That’s such a small error that it could have been anything.”

“Only one way to find out. If it had been an error in the readings, then it shouldn’t reappear if we run another scan focusing on just that element, assuming it was a one-time thing.”

Tassie ran another scan, limiting the search parameters to focus specifically on what Irric had spotted. She frowned when she saw the results. “The same error appeared, but for a slightly different location this time.”

“That might not be a coincidence then. Somebody’s trying to hide,” Irric said when Tassie showed him the results. “Try running the scan again.”

Tassie did so, her trained eyes quickly spotting the same error they had found the two previous times. “Same thing. Two’s a coincidence, three’s a pattern,” she said. “It’s the same location as before.”

“I think that’s worth checking out then.”

“I agree. I’ll let the others know. I’ll contact you again if we find anything.”

“Alright. Be careful, Tassie,” Irric replied, a look of concern adorning his face, earning him a small smile from her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Talk to you later.”

She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and called Jyn over to come see. She explained what they’d found and how it indicated that there might be activity in the area. Jyn agreed that it would be a good place to start and directed the ship to plot a course for that location.

The ship entered the planet’s atmosphere several hundred kilometers away from their intended location. They approached at a much slower speed so as not to alert anybody of their presence. Several hours later, they arrived at a secluded spot in a barren desert.

They parked the ship at the entrance of the canyon in front of them. Seen from above, it was a veritable maze of twisting, winding stone formations. Tassie mapped out an approach path for the team to use. She sent the data over to everybody except for Kell as they got ready to disembark from the ship.

Rann went to the weapons room and stocked the crew with standard scouting equipment. Guns, grenades and flashbangs were allocated to each person, depending on their role. Although the planet’s atmosphere was confirmed to be breathable, the squad decided not to take any chances and went in full combat armour. Reya put her helmet on and secured it to her armour.

The form-fitting black exosuit was the latest in the line of protective equipment the military had to offer. It allowed for soldiers to run faster, jump higher and artificially boosted their strength. The helmet offered a HUD that kept each person aware of the suit’s condition and as well as their own condition. Nestled within was a cocktail of combat drugs and pain medication, ready to be delivered at a moment’s notice if the AI in the suit determined that it was necessary for the user’s survival.

Reya secured her sniper rifle to the side of her hoverbike while she waited in the wide-open area of the ship where the main hatch was located. Parked alongside her bike were those of Beor, Eimir, Jyn and Rann. Kell would stay behind to protect the ship along with Tassie, who would provide tactical support from the ship’s command room.

“Let’s go over everybody’s roles one last time before we head out,” Jyn said, addressing those who were ready to sortie. “Eimir, your job is to scout ahead and ensure that the path is safe. Reya, your job is to find a good cover position. You’ll be operating independently from us, as usual. Rann, Beor and I will wait for Eimir’s intel before proceeding. All clear?”

Receiving a chorus of affirmatives, Jyn ordered everybody to get ready to go.

Reya mounted her bike that was parked on the floor. It was a sleek, black machine that matched her armour. It sat on the ground, no wheels beneath it. She turned on the ignition and the bike rose a metre in the air. The name hoverbike was a bit of a misnomer, as the bike could actually fly quite high. It was just too dangerous to do so and was really only used at lower heights.

For her purpose, however, it was perfect. It would allow her to ascend the rock formations with ease to find the best cover position. She drew up a map of the area on her HUD in her helmet, scanning for the optimal location. Finding one she thought would work, she informed the rest of the team where she would be providing her cover from.

“Tassie,” Reya heard Jyn call over the comms, “open the hatch. We’re ready to deploy.”

“Opening the hatch now,” came Tassie’s voice. “Good luck, guys.” Reya watched in anticipation as the hatch to the ship opened in front of her.

They were off like a shot, their bikes accelerating out into the desert landscape. Eimir went off into the gorge ahead of the others and was soon out of sight. Reya followed suit, speeding ahead of the others.

She arrived at a fork in the canyon and glanced down at the map displayed above her bike’s dashboard. On it, she saw the location of her teammates represented by red dots on a green background. Focusing on the dot that was ahead of her, she noticed that Eimir had gone right at the fork. Perfect. She went left, beelining towards the spot she had surveyed earlier.

She dodged through a field of stone pillars that rose high above the ground and ducked into the small opening where the walls of the canyon met overhead. Reya wove through the tight terrain with expert precision, never slowing. The rock above her opened and she came face to a small valley with a lake in the middle and multiple ravine entrances in the distance. She stayed low along the lip of the valley, avoiding more rock formations as she zipped past.

Taking the rightmost entrance, she followed the narrow, winding trail. Her map showed that she was fast approaching her destination. She slowed down and ascended, bringing the bike up towards the ridge.

Soon after she levelled her bike, the channel opened up, revealing a large bluff that overlooked a small river. On the other side was a large clearing with a mountain in the distance. She parked on the bluff and began setting up her equipment. Carefully taking note of her teammates’ locations, she positioned herself accordingly to provide cover.

She lay down on her stomach, her sniper rifle extended in front of her. Her scope provided an excellent view of the terrain on the other side of the river. An unnaturally flat section of the mountain on the other side, about a hundred metres off the ground, stood out to her. Zooming in further revealed a large hangar door, coloured the same shade as the stone it was carved into, rendering it almost invisible.

Reya spoke into her comms. “I’m in position, guys. I have a visual on your entry point. I see some kind of oddly flat surface in the mountain face on the other side of the river. It looks like some kind of door. Look carefully for it, it’s easy to miss since it blends in.” Busy focusing on the scene in front of her through her scope, she missed the approaching figures from the far left.

***

“—easy to miss since it blends in,” came Reya’s voice through their comms. Jyn looked over at Eimir, who had just returned from scouting the opening.

“Did you notice a large door when you were there?” Jyn asked.

“No,” Eimir replied, shaking his head. “I was looking for movement and hidden figures nearby. The door would have been too far for me to see.”

“Well, if Reya’s given the all clear, then we should be able to safely move in. Alright everyone, we’re almost at the coordinates Tassie gave us. Proceed with caution.”

At a much slower pace than they used to arrive at their current location, the group pushed forward through the chasm, sticking to the edges. An opening soon appeared, and they pulled to a stop just before exiting.

“Let’s see if we can spot that door Reya was talking about,” Eimir said as they surveyed the area in front of them. He pulled out a sophisticated pair of binoculars and looked for the telltale signs Reya had described. After several seconds, he located the strange feature. “I think I found it. It’s over there.” He pointed. “About a hundred metres up.”

He passed the binoculars around so the rest of the team could see. Beor was the last one to take a look, handing back the binoculars once he was done.

“Alright,” Beor said, “looks like we’ve got us some enemies.”

“Or, it could be one of the other factions. Maybe they built a base here. Peacefully,” Rann stressed, not trying to temper his expectations.

“Bah,” Beor spat. “I’m calling it now, whoever’s here is hostile,” he insisted.

“Fine, whatever you say, babe.”

“Eimir, is it safe to proceed?” Jyn asked, turning in his seat to face Eimir, who was hovering to his left.

“I think so, but we should approach with caution and be ready to retreat. I’d like to get a closer look at that door. Since it’s so high up, we’ll have to risk flying high on our bikes.”

Jyn nodded. “We’ll go about halfway up for now until we get closer, at which point we’ll ascend further. If we run into any hostiles, we’ll retreat back here to the canyon and make our way back to the ship.”

Orders relayed, they all shot out of the opening and out into the open. They followed the river that wound its way across the clearing, a part of it directly in line with where they needed to go. They kept a close eye on their surroundings, looking for any sign of activity.

The large door in the mountainside opened as they approached, and three black figures emerged. They flew straight out before turning towards the four of them and accelerating.

Eimir was still looking in the general vicinity when he noticed them approaching. “Guys,” he yelled out. “We’ve got company. Straight ahead in the air, coming right towards us. Something tells me they aren’t friendly.”

The rest of the team quickly spotted the ships Eimir was referring to and Jyn made his decision after seeing the unfamiliar design of the vessels. “Everybody fall back,” he ordered. “Do not engage. I repeat, do not engage. We’ve confirmed the presence of somebody here and we’ve accomplished our mission. Now let’s retreat!” He dipped and made a sharp turn over the water and began flying in the opposite direction.

Rann and Eimir followed suit, leaving only Beor, who still continued forward. Jyn looked behind his shoulder and slowed down when he realized that Beor wasn’t following.

“We can totally take them!” Beor exclaimed. “There’s four of us and three of them.” He took one hand off of the handlebars and reached for the pistol he had secured behind his belt.

“Beor, no!” Jyn shouted.

Not listening, Beor slowed his bike and let loose a shot at the closest ship, a short beam of superheated plasma leaving the muzzle of his gun. His aim went wide, and he missed completely. He fired several more times in quick succession. He missed every shot but continued, undeterred.

The ships danced in the air, avoiding the shots, each one far more mobile than their bulky build suggested. They took aim at Beor and returned fire. Beor dropped swiftly in altitude to avoid them, swerving to make himself harder to hit.

“Beor, fall back!” Jyn barked into his comms. “This is not the time to engage. We need to retreat. We don’t have the firepower to take on actual ships.”

“We can totally take ‘em, Captain! We have our guns, they have theirs. We just need to hit them first.”

“Babe, get your ass in line and fall back,” Rann screamed sternly into her comms. Beor finally listened to her and turned around, making straight for the rest of the group.

“Reya, are you there? We could really use that cover fire right about now!” Jyn shouted desperately as he barely avoided an incoming shot. He raced back to the chasm, knowing that he would find cover within its narrow confines. “Reya, do you copy? Reya?” he repeated.

When no reply came, Jyn was forced to acknowledge that something might have gone wrong. He watched the others file into the opening and soon followed, hoping that Reya was alright. She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself, he tried to convince himself as he fled. She’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.

***

“Reya, do you copy? Reya?” came Jyn’s panicked voice through her comms. Unfortunately for Jyn, Reya couldn’t spare the time to reply, her focus occupied on the alien in front of her. It was an ugly thing, looking vaguely insectoid with four arms and black chitin. Its grey skin was unnerving. She had heard of the gru’ul but had never met one before.

“A’vaare,” came the voice from the translator held in one of the creature’s hands, “surrender now or perish.”

Reya evaluated her options as she looked at the four gru’ul spread out in front of her. They each had a gun trained on her, ready to make good on their threat should she disobey. She hadn’t noticed their arrival until it was too late. Cut off from her bike, she had no way to escape other than jumping off the bluff to her death.

Gods damn, why do they have so many arms? Not fair, she thought. Knowing she was beat, she put her hands up and slowly stood, leaving her gun on the ground. “Alright, I surrender,” she said.

“Sensible. Now give us your face covering. We know you can contact others through it.”

Reluctantly, she took off her helmet, not daring to attempt to contact her team, knowing that it could get her shot. Her platinum hair spilled out and she took her first breath of the dusty, non-filtered air since arriving on the desolate planet. Her already pale purple face lightened a shade further as one of the gru’ul approached her, snatching her helmet out of her trembling hands.

She watched as the gru’ul in front of her crushed her helmet with its four arms before throwing it on the ground and shooting at it, thoroughly destroying it. In that moment, Reya could only think one thing.

I’m so fucked.