Across the Stars

Chapter 8

Rex spun and covered Shira with his body, feeling the heat from across the room rise. There was a harrowing moment of silence following the explosion, as everyone in the room tried to process what had happened. Then the screams started.

Shira whipped around and scanned the room. Razor, Hod, and Bolt were all on their feet sprinting towards the senator. They surrounded Shira, turning their backs towards her and scanning the room.

Hod swore. "Well, this is one way to end a party."

"We don't have our kit." Bolt's hands were twitching next to his sides as they continued to come up without his pistols.

Shira managed to break free of the circle of muscle determined to protect her and sprinted across the room to a woman lying and groaning on the ground. "Lexa!"

Oh, her assistant.

"Senator!" Razor yelled as the men ran to follow her. Lexa was lying on the ground, her cream-colored dress turning a deep red as blood from her side started pool underneath her. Hod's eyes hardened at the sight, the clones looked at one another and then Razor nodded slightly before they set up their defensive circle again around the senator and Lexa. They would give her this moment before they got moving, she deserved that much. They both did.

Rex kept his eyes on the room, scanning for any information. The blast looked to have originated from near the doorway, meaning it came from inside the building. The person who activated it could be in the building still. Rex pointedly did not look at the bodies lying very still on the ground. There didn't seem to be many injuries apart from those who had died.

People were flooding out of the ballroom, trying to get away from the death and destruction. The chandelier on the ceiling had fallen and crashed on the ground, scattering glass around the room. Black marks scorched the white pillars around the room, what had been an elegant example of Brentaal power and society now lay in shambles.

Rex glanced over his shoulder. Shira was moving to close Lexa's eyes. She had passed. Shira rose to her feet, anger and sorrow warring in her eyes. "Let's go." She said softly but firmly. Rex nodded at her once before turning back to the situation at hand. He really missed his kit.

"We're headed to the rooms, we'll suit up there and regroup." Finished giving the order, Razor moved to take point, and the others didn't protest. He was the only one in armor so it made sense for him to take point, even if they all would have rather been the person in the most danger protecting the others.

Razor carried a viroblade in one hand, and a pistol in the other, he balanced the pistol on the wrist holding his blade sweeping the area in front of him before he moved out. Coming up with no weapons or HUD to sweep the area with, Rex and the others settled for a basic defensive position and scanning the room with just their eyes, moving slowly but surely.

Razor held up a fist for them to stop and cocked his helmet to the side, listening for something. He swore under his breath. "We've got droids inbound from the main entrance."

Hod closed his eyes, deep in thought. "We could head out the balcony and climb down, we risk the droids finding us and we wouldn't have our kit. Best way is probably to fight our way out if there aren't too many. How many you count Razor?"

"A squad of 9 B-1 droids."

Hod ran a hand through is hair then turned to look at Shira. "Senator? It's your call. What do you want us to do?"

Shira's gaze ricocheted between each of the men in surprise. She wasn't expecting them to leave military decisions up to her, but technically she was the highest in rank. She then closed her eyes in focus, not answering.

"Wait. Droids are moving down a different hallway, looks like they found something, or are at least investigating it."

"We need your gear, more protection, lets head out into the hallway, but quietly." Shira said quietly from within the circle. Razor turned his head back and nodded and they progressed the rest of the way through the ballroom.

They made it to the rooms without any more incidents or run-ins with droids. Shira slipped into her own room to change out of the ballgown and the clones sprinted to their gear slipping into it as fast as they could.

Shira ran in as she was tying up her hair in a high ponytail, she was back in the outfit she had been in the first day, with a blaster at her hip. The only new addition was a backback that looked heavy swung across her back.

Rex made to go and take it from her but stopped. They each had their own backpacks to carry, and if Rex had learned anything about Shira from the last week, it was that she didn't like being coddled.

All five of them stood in a circle, drinking each other in. They all knew they might not all make it to the end of whatever this was. But at least they had each other now, and that had to be enough for the time being.