In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 23

They managed to climb up ten levels in the first lift shaft they encountered before their way was blocked by debris. Senna and Wrecker were able to pull the level doors open wide enough for the group to slip through, making their way through the dark corridors to the next shaft they could find on the schematic. It was slow going, but they eventually made it to the bridge. Tech and Senna immediately set to work under the command console, reconnecting wires in order to fire up the primary power that would allow them to connect to the main flight computer. Echo, Wrecker, and Hunter stood at the windows, scanning the horizon with macrobinoculars to keep an eye out for Scrapper patrols.

Rex watched as Senna's long legs stretched out from underneath the console, her toes of her boots flexing as she worked through the wiring in the panel that was open above her head. After a while, she grunted, shutting the panel and scooting out from underneath the console. "That should do it on my end. All your wiring is reconnected on this side, Tech."

"Come here please. I need a second set of hands," Tech said from beneath his section of console. Senna crawled across the floor, giving Tech's hip a shove when she reached him.

"Move over, Legs."

He scooted and she climbed underneath next to him. Rex watched as Tech directed her to hold a few bundles of cabling out of the way so he could replace a burned-out section of wire nested underneath. It was odd to watch the two of them in their somewhat intimate position, and it struck him that he felt no jealousy. He trusted Senna completely and had no doubt of who her heart belonged to. It made him smile underneath his helmet. He'd seen jealousy eat at his brothers and friends before, and it was a satisfying feeling to realize he didn't harbor that sentiment with Senna.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang followed by Senna cursing loudly. "OW, TECH!"

"I warned you your fingers were getting too close."

"Yeah, well you still could have not shocked me. I'm trying to not look directly into the spark, you know, like you're supposed to do, so I can't exactly keep an eye on where my fingers are."

Rex bit back a chuckle. Ah yes, there's definitely no threat there.

Senna moved from beneath the console, rubbing a red spot on her forehead and sucking a burn mark on her finger. She looked over at him and her eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, let me borrow your helmet. Your visor should be able to serve as eye protection. It's got the correct tinting."

"You think you can fit both of your heads under there with this on?"

"Is that an ego joke, or are you being serious?"

He chuckled, removing his helmet and tossing it over to her. She slipped it on, wiggling it down over her ears. "It's a little tight," her modulated voice buzzed.

"You've got more hair than me."

"True."

She wriggled back under the console with Tech, and it only took a few minutes longer for them to complete the repairs. Sliding back out, Senna took the helmet off and tossed it back to Rex. Her face was pink and sweaty from being under the helmet, and her loose hair was sticking to her face again. Wiping her arm across her forehead, she helped Tech stand, and they moved over to the console. Tech removed the data spike from his belt, inserting it into a port on the panel, and began tapping keys. Suddenly, they could hear the hum of power couplings turning on. The auxiliary lights came on, but the hum didn't grow louder and Senna saw Tech's brow furrow under his helmet.

"What's wrong?"

"The primary power system isn't booting up. It seems that we only have back-up power at the moment, and that won't be enough to boot up the databanks we need to access. It'll only prioritize things like life support and emergency lighting." He poked a few more buttons and sighed in understanding. "Ah, there it is. It looks like there's a broken connection somewhere in the circuit. We won't be able to get the primary system on, but we can likely reroute enough power from the back-up. We'll need to find a maintenance panel to reroute at. It looks like there's one located on the deck below us in the forward section." Tech brought up the schematic on his datapad and showed Senna the location. "If you can go and reroute the power there from the emergency back-up on the lower decks to the main flight computer's databanks, I can start the download as soon as you're finished. Hopefully, it'll be completed by the time you make your way back up here."

"You got it," Senna said, tucking a few of Tech's tools into her belt.

"I'll go with her," Rex said.

Senna looked like she was about to protest, but shrugged. "Alright, fine."

"Don't take too long, you two," Hunter warned. "I don't want to get caught here if the Guild shows up."

Senna and Rex nodded, moving off into the dark corridors.

--------------------------------------

It didn't take them long to make their way down to the lower level and locate the maintenance panel Tech had identified. Rex held his flashlight aloft while Senna cut and re-twisted wire pairs. Finally, she reached into her pocket, grabbing her commlink. "Give it a go now, Tech." The emergency lights that dimly lit the hallway flickered and they could hear the sound of the Star Destroyer's massive servers warming up down the hall.

"Well done. I'm beginning the download now and it shouldn't take terribly long. Make your way back up here, and we should be able to leave shortly."

Senna grinned closing the panel and sticking the tools back into her belt. "That was easy enough."

Rex wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "That's my girl."

She leaned into him a bit as they made their way back down the hall, letting her fingers trail around his waist. As they rounded the corner just before the lift shaft they had to climb back up, Senna's eyes flickered to the end of the hallway. A tall figure stood there, hands behind its back.

"Hey, who's there?" she said, pulling away from Rex.

"Senna, what did you see?" he asked, drawing his blasters.

"There's someone at the end of the hall," she said quietly. Without a word, the figure turned and ran down the corridor to the right.

"WAIT! STOP!" Senna took off after the shadow, Rex calling after her.

"SENNA DON'T!"

She ignored him, tearing around the corner, igniting her lightsaber in her hand. The figure was standing at the end of the corridor waiting for her, and she ran at it. "DON'T MOVE!"

Senna reached the end of the hall, and as her lightsaber illuminated the end of the passage, the figure vanished, disintegrating into the light. She stood panting, looking up and down the hallways to either side of her. There was no sign of anyone. She could hear Rex's footfalls behind her, and she turned back to face him just as the blast doors directly in front of her slammed shut, separating the two of them.

"REX! Rex can you hear me!?" she shouted, pounding her fist on the door.

His reply came back muffled. "Yeah, yeah I can hear you. What the hell just happened?"

Senna opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. She was already doubting what she'd seen, but the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach was steadily growing. "I...I thought I saw someone. This damn door must have shorted out with the power re-route. They close when the circuit fails."

"Stay right there, I'm coming to you," she heard the fear in his voice.

"No, no you go back to the bridge. I'm fine, there's no one here. It was probably just the shadows playing tricks. I'll take the long way around." She tapped the blast door with her knuckle. "These doors will take too long to cut through anyway. You go tell the guys what happened, and I'll find another way up there."

He hesitated on the other side of the door. "You're sure?"

"Yes, Rex. It'll be fine. I'll be right behind you." She yanked her datapad out of its holster, and began digging through the schematics. "There's another lift shaft about one hundred meters from here. I'll just have to do a lot of backtracking. I shouldn't be too much longer."

She heard him curse softly on the other side of the door. "Alright. Be careful."

"Aren't I always?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

She smiled to herself in the dark. Pressing her palm against the door, she called softly to him. "Hey, I love you."

"I love you too. Now get going."

"Yes, sir."