The Great War • Hunter

59.The Zillo Beast's Return

The tensity in the room cleared once Tech said those words, that Alona would make an adequate mother. That was something she needed to hear. They both knew it.

"You know, I don't think this team would make it as far as we have without you." Alona said softly, glancing to the side to check back down the hall again. "But you already know that, don't you?" She grinned.

Tech nodded. "Yes."

A loud thud is heard from inside a compartment a few feet away from Alona. Her hand immediately goes to her lightsaber defensively. Tech whips out his blaster and strides over to Alona, peeking his head out the doorway.

The compartment busts open and out pops a damaged droid, repeating the same word over and over. "Danger, danger, danger, danger, d-d-dan-danger."

Alona and Tech took a few steps closer, shining their flashlights on the droid. "What happened?" Tech asks it.

Alona noticed the scratch marks that extended across the wall, it had gone through the entire ship, shredding each passenger into pieces. Again, the creature's presence felt so familiar, it was driving her nuts. "What attacked this ship?"

"D-danger..." The droid spoke, then shutting down completely.

Alona raised her eyebrows, turning to Tech and shrugging her shoulders. "That could be any number of creatures across the entire galaxy." So the simple word did not narrow down their list. They would have to keep searching.

An ear-piercing screech inside of the ship's ceiling made Alona grind her teeth and cringe, squinting her eyes shut. It slowly got quieter and further away, heading to another part of the ship.

"I'm gonna ignore that entirely and leave it for the other three to take care of." Alona stated, but Tech gave her a disapproving look.

So the two of them started heading down the hall, searching for the source of the noise.

Only to have their comms beep and Hunter's urgent voice. "Tech, Alona, we've got a problem. Get off the ship. Now!"

Their walking pace quickened to a run. "I suspect this is some type of research vessel." Tech chimed, his voice entirely too calm for what Alona could sense was a serious situation.

That monster, it was active and angry. It had discovered more people on board, and it was hungry.

"Whatever they were researching just got loose." Omega added from the other side of the comm.

"And it's headed your way." Hunter chimed.

Alona scoffed, pulling her lightsaber off of her hilt. "Fun." She said, but not very enthusiastically. They turned the corner and froze in place, staring at that monster, who was feasting on the ship's electricity.

Igniting her lightsaber, Alona strikes the gray blade down on its reptilian skin, only to be met with absolutely zero effect. The laser did nothing.

Alona knew right then and there exactly what this creature was, and it filled her with horror.

"Fascinating." Tech mutters with starry eyes.

Alona shook her head, not tearing her eyes away from the beast. "No. No the kriff it's not!" She said in exasperation.

Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega stood on the other side of the beast. "Does that thing look different to you?" Wrecker muttered, tilting his head in confusion. The three of them started firing at it, not realizing they would have no effect.

"Take cover!" Tech tells his siblings before pointing his blaster at the electric source.

Alona let out a stressed sound and began to reach out to him. "No, don-" but it was too late, Tech had blasted the tank and pulled her into his chest, shielding her from the explosion. The beast ran out of the hole that had been created, escaping out freely into the planet. Alona let out a long string of curses as she ran after it, ignoring the squad's panicked calls.