FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R F I F T Y-E I G H T

"Huh, it's not as bad as I thought." she scoffed. "No visible fire. No smoke. Perhaps we will actually be able to salvage something valuable." Her eyes scanned its exterior with her torch. "The ship looks like some class of transport."

"Can't tell for sure. There are no hull markings." Hunter noted.

"Based on the severity of the impact and the lack of communication signals," Tech tapped away on his datapad. "the crew aboard most likely perished."

"Nice bedside manner, Tick." Fern muttered after sucking air through her teeth.

"We don't know for sure." Omega spoke up, hopping on top of the pile of metal that had been shredded off when the crashed vessel skidded across the ground. "They could be trapped inside. Come on."

"Let's not be hasty." Fern held out her hand. "It is possible this is an Imperial ship. No hull markings could mean many things, but it is no doubt to prevent identification in case the ship crashed. Just, keep your guard up. Tech, if you will."

The intellectual clone hacked in and triggered the panel door. It shrieked sharply when it scraped open. Steam hissed from the exhaust ports. Hunter and Fern zipped around the dented frame, armed with their blasters and torches. The pitch-black corridor was clear and the squad progressed through, warying shining every inch of the interior before they cut each corner. Dead silence suffocated the stale air; the soft clicking of their heels echoed eerily. The longer they roamed, the heavier the pit in Fern's stomach grew. She was never one to experience an uneasy chill in dark places or even quiet ones, but the spookiness of this particular ghost vessel had goosebumps shocking her nerves with any tiny creak.

What's going on here? She gulped. Something isn't right here. I haven't seen one body yet...

Should I question the others about it? No, it'll just freak Omega out, and right now she looks just as nervous as I feel.

When they passed in between giant copper coils of some sort of energy system, the young girl verbalized in a loud murmur what Fern was thinking. "Where is everyone?" The silence was so oppressive, it protested against the young girl's whispers.

Clank! Clank...

Everyone's nervous systems temporalily jolted when the silence was pierced by an ear-shattering bang against the grated floor. Instinctively, Fern snatched Omega's arm and wrenched the young girl behind her with her blaster aimed down. She saw blue-white sparks glitched. Wrecker, who had unknowingly kicked the object while walking, stooped down and scooped up what looked like a thin rod with a cylinder as its top with an excited chuckle. "Oh, check it out. High-volt electrostaff."

"Tech..." Fern pointed when she noticed what his torch's light was resting on. He and Hunter turned and their eyes widened when they observed the vicious, animalistic gashes in the metallic walls.

"Something unfortunate happened here." The spectacled clone noted.

"Whatever did this," the sergeant stated. "wasn't human."

"Wrecker," Fern nodded to the muscular clone. "you might want to keep that electrostaff handy."

"You don't got to tell me twice." The muscular clone skillfully twirled the rod in between his fingers with another hearty laugh. His booming voice echoed in the empty hallways. Despite wearing his helmet, Hunter shot a glare at him, warning him to stow his bolsterousness before it attracted...the sergeant could not quite place it, but he detected a faint presence somewhere on the vessel. However, he sealed hip lips to prevent unnecessary apprehension among his squad.

"I will get the power restored and check data logs on the bridge." Tech announced.

"By yourself?" Omega gasped.