Star Wars: Marooned

Star Wars: Marooned (Part 3)

Serrin stood looking through the view ports of the last possible entrance into the hanger bay's deep storage areas. He had discovered the regular hanger bays were completely carved out of the Star Destroyer's hull. It looked like the Rebel fighters attacking it had launched torpedoes directly into it, effectively destroying the rest of its tie fighters, shuttle craft, and landing craft.

The deep storage area was still intact. Its blast doors had closed. The heat of the explosion had effectively melted the doors into one single piece of metal, and Serrin doubted they would ever open again. The other three entrances to the storage area were either gone, the way to get to them exposed to space in someway. Serrin could not get to them due to the damage to the ship's super structure with collapsed or crushed routes. This final entrance was his only hope. The doors to this section were closed, but this one had view ports in it. The scene threatened to crush his hope. There was only one more hallway to the final door that led into the deep storage area, but the hallway Serrin was looking at was mostly open to space. He could even see the gas giant through the rip in the hull.

Anger boiled up inside him as he cursed his fate. He pounded the door with the bottom of both fist and spun away in frustration. He finally sank down on the floor next to the door and let his mind calm down. He had survived this long, there had to be a way. All of the vacuum suits he could find were damaged, and he could not just walk across the hallway without protection. The atmosphere integrity field generator in this section was down. He would just float off into space if he went out there.

After a few moments he felt really drowsy, so he closed his eyes for a few moments to rest. He had only gotten three hours of sleep in thirty-six hours. His nerves were fraying with each disappointment. He needed to rest and gather his strength. When he had sufficiently calmed himself, he began a relaxation exercise his grandmother had taught him. It helped him rest easier. This room was just as good as another to catch some sleep. He lay down next to the wall by the door and let himself drift off.

About four hours later, after a fitful rest, Serrin woke up in a cold sweat. He thought he heard the whispering again. With blaster in hand he jumped to his feet and looked around through sleepy, dry eyes. The shadows were playing tricks on him. When he could get his eyes focused and feet stable, the shadowy figure he thought was standing in the shadows across from him was gone. His heart was pounding very fast and very hard. The feelings of rage and hatred permeated him, and he felt like he was suffocating under the weight of it.

Serrin ran from the room and headed toward the prison block. The whispering seemed to envelope him, and he spun around shooting his blaster at the shadows. There was nothing there. The cold feelings of hatred and rage were receding as he ran down the corridor. The sight of dead bodies did not help the situation, their vacant stares and opened mouths haunted him as he ran. The shadows seemed to close in, clutching at him. He had to get away.

* * * * *

Serrin ran through the first door to the prison block and activated the door. The door slowly closed, and he backed toward the other as he tried to control his breathing. He was sure there was something on the ship. It was dark and powerful. He kept his blaster up and pointed toward the closed door as he backed into the cryocell hall. The struggle with his fear fought him, but he mastered it as he did so many times before. Serrin had restored power to the area, and the prison block was warmer.

The Captain turned and activated the prisoner-monitoring console. The readouts reported the death of all the prisoners accept one. Two of the active units had failed since Serrin had escaped due to a lack of power. The remaining unit showed 2% energy left in its reserves. If the power failed again, the last prisoner would also die. The Captain walked down the line of cryocells until he came to the last operating unit. The window was not obscured from view since the temperature was warmer.