The squad moved quickly and suprisingly quietly for how well equipped they came. Quin kept a map of the structure up on her tiny data-link at all times to flawlessly lead them to their target. There was a rumble that shuddered the walls around them and the floor beneath their feet. Had they brought up the heavy artillery already? She pushed forward into air that was becoming thick. Think and pungent. It was only seconds before the stench became so strong she felt averse to breathing and some of the agents began to wretch. "What in creation is that?" one of them mumbled. "Rotting flesh..." Quin knew it well. She slowed her pace. The rumbles continued. Not artillery. It wasn't quite right. What could be happening? With he light on the floor of the dark passage she spotted a small grimey bone beside her foot. She kicked it away. A few more steps revealed a larger bone and then several more, then a bit of clothing here and a pile of unmentionable rot there. She shined the light forward. The edges of the floor were piled high with shreded corpses as if their bits clawed at the wall still begging for escape after death. The floor shuddered and rattled. "That... That sounds like breathing..." a man behind her whispered. "Or footsteps?" another said in a jabbing tone. "Don't be stupid," Quin snapped, "Keep moving, we're losing time." She was the first to plunge through the fetid pile of wretched leftovers. Her rifle was raised safety off. The air felt cold. Then damp and warm. The drafts swept around them with a hiss. The bones that held her weight shifted. Screaming startled her and a roar from the void deafened her and stopped her heart. Quin spun around and nearly fell as her squad errupted into chaos. The screaming became gutteral like choking. Blaster fire lit up the passage like flames. Shouting and screaming and the roaring. By all the suffering in the universe the roaring. Before her, barely fitting in this section of the labyrinth stood a monster. It lashed out at her men and crushed them between the horrible teeth that lined its foul maw. She froze. This could not exist... "RUN!" the shrill yell tore at her lungs as she tried to be louder than the slaughter, "FALL BACK!" The woman tore back onward away from the demon behind them. She could hear some of the squad repeating her orders and following immediately. The decaying carnage that she scrambled over now became nothing. It was all she could do to hail the Commander. "Commander! There's something down here! It's... It's a monstrous... I don't know what it is, but we have casualties! We need to extract!" she screamed. "Agent Quin, have you completed your mission?" his voice was cold. A response would not form for her. "I never thought I would be so disappointed in you... Agent, you will leave this planet alive when your mission is completed or you will not leave. Need I remind you that you and your men are not soldiers?" "Sir..." "Deal with it, Agent." The feed went dead. Her ears were ringing and full of static, but still the beast's howling managed to peirce them. The ground rose up and threw her to her face as another squad member wailed and garggled in agony and death. There was a ripping noise before his silence. A rough hand grabbed her arm, hauled her to her feet and drug her forward. "Captain!" The large blonde man thrust a laser cannon into her arms before pushing her along again, "He won't be needing it anymore!" She couldn't tell how many of them still lived. How many were behind or in front or if they were going in the right direction now. Her heart slammed into her ribs painfully and her breath clawed at her insides. Another roar. Quin loaded a charge and turned on her heels to slide to a braced stop. The monster towered above her and fell upon her with a gaping, dark mouth. She fired. The impact struck the back of its throat in an explosive display. Its head ripped back and its furious, pained screeching could be felt in her chest. She sprinted away again. She could feel it tearing at the passage behind them, throwing bits of corpses and slamming walls and ceiling in its rage. The muscles in her legs ached, but she had to keep putting precious distance between them. She stumbled around a corner blindly and saw ahead flashing warm light flooding the passage. The exit! The battle! But they would lead this thing into the fray... It was the only choice. She could only hope it would be to their advantage. The light and deafening blaster fire that burst all around them in the open space nearly felt like a sanctuary, but she knew it was far from that. There was the ship. The assault was being cut down left and right. Nothing had gotten through. Her guts boiled at the sight of the bodies and the blood. The monster crashed in after them. She risked a glance back to see its full form. She almost wished she hadn't. There was no stopping now. With a fierce battle yell she sprinted at the ship knowing full well it still followed her. Lasers whipped past them aimed at the ship and those that fought from it. A shocking pain ripped through her ear and she immediately slapped a hand over it and stumbled. She could feel the chunk missing from it but regained herself and charged forward. Only a few more meters. She slammed on the breaks and dropped down sliding into the low clearance between the ship and the ground. Rolling back around to aim the cannon and face the beast she fully expected it to come down on the ship with the same destructive force with which it had come after the squad. But it didn't. It had lumbered to a stop. She breathed hard and kept it in her sights. It walked around the ship and bellowed at her before striking under the ship with a deadly claw. She screamed and fired another blast causing it to recoil its paw in anger. "Damn creature!" she spat. Frantically she looked for an out and only found herself trapped and alone. --- The Commander sat comfortable, watching the butchering of his army in silence. He heaved a sigh and contacted the Kaminoans, "I apologize, but it seems we will need to resort to our back up plan... Yes, the damages will be repaid in full... Flood the sector." --- Every blast of the turret shook him. The first kill had been the easiest. He hadn't thought about it. He had only followed suit. The following kills had been out of fear of what would happen if he didn't. Now it was just happening. Out of control. Horrifying. They put up little fight which only added to his guilt. They could have just run... but he knew what was waiting for them off planet. A sudden cacophony from the rear ripped his focus away from the battle. Iisska dropped the turret after a few more moment and clambered out of the platform and up over the ship for a better look. The terentatek was back. Two people in black uniforms and carrying large guns fled from it. One of them was snatched up and torn to pieces in the blink of an eye. Then it came toward the ship. Not good. "No. No, no, no!" he yelled. It brutally tried to fish something out from under the ship, circling it and shrugging off fire like it was nothing, obsessed with its prey. Iisska aimed his blaster at its eyes. "Back off!" he yelled at it. He was completely ignored and it struck out under the ship again. This time slamming it roughly. He nearly lost his footing but managed to stay up right. "You, stupid... you gnotrohk... UUH'K WHORE!!" Iisska let loose several blasts into the creature's eye causing it to wince and throw its head and growl in annoyance. Again it went after whatever was under the ship slamming it again. This time there was a low snap and high pitched whine. The ship jerked and sunk to one side as one of the landing gears gave way. Iisska fell backward and started to slide off the ship toward the terentatek. He snagged a vent with his foot and kicked down hard to propel himself into a jump stronger and higher than anatomy would normally allow. Surprised by his own force jump he stumbled but stuck the landing on the new top of the ship. "ZEN! YOU AND YOUR SODDING PETS! COME GET THIS--" the lights went dim and red sirens filled the room cutting him off mid tirade. What in the 'verse was... From hatches the suddenly opened in the ceiling and from the passage where the monster had come and from nearly all entrances into the area water flushed in like tidal waves and began to rapidly rise.