☆ 𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 ☆ 𝐂. 𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐑

thirty one

In a hurry, Cassian and Kitra guided the freed Wookiees through the corridors. Cassian was at the front of the line with his blaster drawn, checking for any incoming Imperials; while Kitra stayed at the back with both of her blasters drawn.

The route was long and with a large group of Wookiees, the journey felt even longer. Cassian stepped over the powered down KX series droids from earlier, before he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the Wookiees were still there. The rebel looked further back and spotted Kitra, who was surveying the area.

Looking forward, Cassian carried on with the journey. The man lead the crowd through the thin corridors, as they stepped over unconscious stormtroopers. A few Wookiees growled at the downed troopers, as they stepped over their bodies.

After a while of walking through the tedious halls, Cassian stopped in his tracks once he came across the lift from earlier. Upon their arrival to the terminal, the Wookiees grouped together and stared at the humans who stood beside each other.

Cassian pressed the call button on the lift, which summoned the unstable carriage. The old and rusty doors scraped open, as Kitra motioned towards the lift. The two humans stood by the doors as the many Wookiees piled into the carriage in a disorderly fashion.

Before Kitra could board the lift herself, a strange sensation stirred in the air beside her, as chills ran up her arms. The girl looked away from the lift and down the long corridor, where the girl could sense a faint breeze coming from a distant.

Kitra's eyes widened, as her heart braced. Turning on her heel, she faced Cassian who was already looking at her in concern. "We have incoming. Our best bet is to send them up on their own and meet them up top." Kitra formulated.

Cassian nodded, "Not ideal, but we don't have a lot of options." Cassian answered. The rebel turned to the Wookiees and explained the change of plans to the already upset Wookiees, before he pressed a button, which closed the door and activated the lift.

Kitra stood, facing away from the lift as she awaited for the arrival of the Imperials. The girl stood with both of her blasters drawn, her fingers sliding against the trigger as she kept repositioning her grip on the weapons.

Cassian joined her side, as he took out a blaster. "How many incoming?" He asked, as he checked over his blaster, before the distant sound of grouped footsteps started to echo within the halls. "I'm not sure, but enough to put the Wookiees' lives in danger." Kitra explained.

Cassian gave the girl a side eye as he realised the two of them were against a possible battalion of stormtroopers. The man let out a sigh, as the sound of footsteps grew louder.

Out of the shadows of the dimly lit corridor, came a battalion of troopers, clad in their usual badly designed armor. The soldiers stopped in the centre of the corridor and aimed their blasters at the intruders.

Before the gunfight could properly start, the sound of more incoming footsteps echoed, making Kitra and Cassian share a look. The clanking sound of footsteps sounded richer than the usual stormtrooper, like the armor was of a better quality.

Walking out from behind the battalion, appeared a squad of dark troopers, who were covered in multiple blasters and ammunition packs. The dark troopers lined up in front of the regular stormtroopers, and aimed their advanced weapons at the rebels.

Kitra's breath hitched as she looked at the dark troopers. She had only come across them once, and knew that they were a lot more reliable and accurate than the normal troopers.

The girl cursed to herself as she quickly changed her plan in her head. "Surrender, Rebels. We have you surrounded. You're coming with us, both of you," The Dark Trooper Commander spoke through the heavily distorted helmet.