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Crosshair scanned the water, Firepuncher in hand, as the boat rocked under him. Hunter was doing the same in another boat thirty meters away, Wrecker keeping it steady as he leaned over the edge.
Clone Force 99 had been sent to find out why patrols from a nearby base kept disappearing. Most were presumed dead, those who made it back were severely injured and often didn’t make it. The few who survived refused to go back out onto the water and needed to be reassigned. Can’t have aquaphobic troopers on a planet that’s mostly vast oceans.
They had been out there for hours by then, carefully following the patrol routes, watching for anything strange, and had so far spotted nothing out of the ordinary.
Tech’s scanner beeped from where he was guiding their boat. “Fascinating, we appear to be approaching a large underwater cave system not marked on any maps of the area.”
“Does it overlap with any of the patrol routes?” Hunter asked over the comm.
Tech hummed. “Yes. It appears that one patrol route overlaps with what I believe to be a large cave entrance. Perhaps, if something lives down there, it is the proximity to the caves that it perceives as a threat. The next closest route is only a klick away, and yet the patrols there get by just fine.”
Wrecker groaned. “So why are we directly above it then?”
“Because luring it out is the best way to figure out what it is and deal with it.” Said Crosshair.
“I’m just saying, if it just doesn’t want anyone here, tell them not to come here.”
“Are you scared, Wrecker?”
Hunter scambled to grab the side of the boat as it rocked with Wrecker’s outrage. “Wha- No! It’s probably just some monster. I can take them on anytime!”
“Alright, enough you two.” Hunter ordered, shooting them both a look they knew was scolding even through the helmet. “We have a job to do. Let’s focus up.”
Crosshair returned his focus to the depths as his own boat began to rock on the water.
“Hold it steady, Tech.”
“I am.”
Crosshair flicked down his viewfinder as the previously calm ocean around them rocked the boat hard enough for him to stumble, catching himself on the side. “I don’t think it’s just one creature we’re looking for. There’s dozens down there.”
Multiple heat signatures surged up through the water towards them. He couldn’t tell where exactly they were coming from, but assumed the cave entrance was a safe bet. Tech and Wrecker stopped the boats, letting them idle as they reached for their blasters. Hunter and Crosshair kept a close eye on the water.
Crosshair was knocked backwards into the boat when a large shape shot from the water, almost capsizing the small vessel. He heard Wrecker shout as the same happened to the others.
“Tech! What are we dealing with?” Hunter called over the comms.
Behind him, Tech scanned the creatures as they appeared while Crosshair levelled his Firepuncher to shoot whatever came too close. The creatures shrieked and recoiled, but didn’t back down. He growled as the shots only seemed to agitate them more, their thick, scaly hides simply absorbing them.
He turned to yell at Tech to hurry it up, cutting himself off when one of the creatures rose up near Tech, who simply sat there scanning it. He lined up his shot and waited for the last second before he shot at its softer underbelly. The creature shrieked, and it finally seemed to do some damage.
He continued to cover Tech as he began reading out from his datapad. “They appear to be a native creature that lives in subaquatic cave systems. They usually stay far below the surface, but become extremely territorial when they have young. This lasts for around two to three months before they return to their normal behaviour.”
“Great! Can we go now?” Wrecker shouted, shoving away one of the creatures that came too close to the boat.
“That would be advisable.” Tech put away his datapad and manned the controls once more. Crosshair crouched low to keep his balance before he was thrown off the boat.
He could see Wrecker manning the other boat, Hunter covering them. Crosshair refocused on the creatures closest to his own boat, but his attention was quickly drawn back when Hunter let out a startled shout. Two of the creatures had launched themselves at the boat, and while Hunter quickly dispatched of one, he was too slow to stop the other before it tore through the side of the boat with its claws as it scrabbled for purchase.
Crosshair swore. “Circle back around.” He called to Tech. He looked at Crosshair, then over at the other boat and nodded. The boat swung in a tight arc, racing towards their sinking brothers.
Crosshair did his best to cover them while keeping their one remaining boat intact. Wrecker stopped trying to drive the boat when another creature launched towards him. He swung around with the momentum, throwing the creature off the other side. He cried out when another took advantage of that distraction and launched up, latching onto his shoulder with its powerful jaw.
Crosshair aimed as Wrecker twisted to try to get it off. As soon as he had an opening, he took the shot, hitting its soft underbelly. It let go of Wrecker with a pained screech, dropping back into the water.
The swarming creatures prevented Tech from pulling right beside the other boat, but he got as close as possible. “Jump!” He called as he kept it steady.
Wrecker shoved another creature off the boat and made a break for it, leaping over the snapping jaws rising from the water. Crosshair put a hand out to steady him as he landed, rocking the boat hard. As soon as they were stable, he raised his Firepuncher, shooting one of the creatures harassing Hunter, giving him his full attention while Wrecker kept their boat clear.
Something must have slammed into the bottom of the boat as Hunter jumped. It rocked wildly, catching his foot on the lip. He cried out as he tumbled, not quite making it to the other boat and disappearing into the water.
“Hunter!” Wrecker shouted.
Without taking his eyes off Hunter, Crosshair lowered his viewfinder again and changed his Firepuncher barrel. He aimed carefully as Hunter’s form was tugged and shoved through the water by menacing shapes that followed him down. He was holding his own, but Crosshair saw him waver as another struck at him. He took the shot, sending his grappling line into the chaos, catching Hunter’s chestplate.
As soon as it connected, he began reeling it in, growling in frustration whenever one of the creatures tugged at the line. He raised his viewfinder as Hunter got close to the surface, grimacing at the sight of red blood among the blue waves as he finally broke it.
Hunter gasped and let out hacking coughs as Wrecker reached over to pull him up. Crosshair instantly spotted the source of the blood, Hunter’s leg bleeding profusely through cracked plastoid as he slumped to the floor of the boat. He didn’t have time to do anything about that as Tech swung the boat around, gunning the engine, making a swift escape. He braced himself as the boat rocked violently between Tech’s manoeuvring and the creatures’ continued assault. The most persistent kept up their pursuit even as they left the area of the caves.
Crosshair swore when the boat rocked violently, another creature lunging up at Wrecker. While he was distracted, avoiding getting caught up in the grapple, another creature rushed Crosshair’s side, shoving him forward. He flung his arms out for balance, the creature’s jaws snapping around one. He cried out at the sudden pain, forcing him to drop his Firepuncher before it dragged him under the water.
He felt its grip tighten as he struggled to free himself. He grit his teeth against a scream when he felt the sudden sharp pain of a bone breaking in the powerful jaws. He reached for the blaster on his leg with his free hand, ignoring the pain the movement shot through his arm. He drew it quickly as soon as he got a grip and raised it to the creature’s softer underbelly, firing twice.
The creature shrieked, letting go of his arm and thrashing in pain. It wasn’t dead, however, and continued to flail as he tried to kick away from it. He bit back another cry when its claws bit into his side, getting caught in a gap in his armour and tugging him back down, violently. A small cloud of bubbles escaped him at the movement, lungs tightening. He took hold of its leg in an attempt to steady it enough to free himself as he continued to get pulled around by its dizzying thrashing. It didn’t do much, but eventually, he was flung free, spinning through the water, leaving a trail of red floating after him.
His head spun from getting tossed around, the pain, blood loss, and lack of air not helping him get his bearings. He took a moment and spotted where he was sure he could see sunlight and kicked towards it. He faltered when it made pain lance up his side, but didn’t stop. His chest burned and tightened, desperate for air. Black spots invaded his vision as he felt himself slowing.
Suddenly, something flashed through the water towards him, and he felt a tug as he was pulled towards the surface. He gasped for breath when he broke the surface, and let Wrecker pull him over the side of the boat. Through the spots, he saw Tech putting down his Firepuncher and raising his visor as he returned to manning the boat. Hunter lay unmoving beside him, though his chest still rose and fell steadily enough. Crosshair cried out when Wrecker touched his arm, who apologised and pulled back.
Crosshair shivered as the spots continued their invasion of his vision. He gasped when Wrecker put pressure on the wound in his side, earning more apologies, but this time he didn’t let up.
He felt his eyes slip closed as Wrecker began shouting to Tech, too tired to hear what he was saying. He just lay there, feeling the boat rock him as they flew across the water, the jostling causing sharp pain to spike, never allowing him to properly rest.
By the time the boat shuddered to a stop, the pain had lessened to a dull throb as numbness spread throughout his body, finally letting him relax. Voices echoed around him as he was finally allowed to join Hunter in unconsciousness.