Guardians of Light

A Dark Alliance

Clarke and Lexa left the storage room far behind them, the Jedi taking the lead through the maze of corridors. The pulsing red warning lights illuminated their path with a soft glow, the wailing alarms continuing to echo throughout the base.

It seemed rather unreal to Clarke to find herself in this situation. To infiltrate the base and find the mysterious pyramidal device had been one thing, but crossing paths with a Jedi only to find themselves under attack from unknown hostiles was certainly an unexpected turn of events that neither of them would ever have predicted. 

Clarke had never met a Jedi at close proximity, only ever catching brief glimpses of them going about their own personal missions over the years. On instinct she had raised the gun at the unexpected entrance of the stranger, not that a bullet would do any harm after she had just unlocked the door with her mind. Clarke had been surprised to recognise the Jedi from her interrogation earlier, having glanced over the impatient Cathar's shoulder to see the dark haired figure in the distance. 

A spark of recognition had also been visible in Lexa's eyes, it seemed that Clarke had not gone unnoticed either.  

She pulled her thoughts back to the present as a stream of civilians hurried past them to escape the imminent danger, the crackling voice over head returning to give instructions.

Civilians are advised to move away from the entrance,

As a matter of urgency, all civilians should retreat further into the base.

The message remained in a constant loop and, as the pair emerged into the open civilian holding area, Clarke was beginning to tire of the droning monotone speech.

They were noticeably slowing down now that they were fighting against the tide of civilians who were desperately making their way deeper into the base as instructed. They both had to step back against a the wall for a moment as the main mass filed down into the corridor that they had just emerged from.

The Jedi set out at a jog once it was clear and the blonde followed suit, slipping around the few lagging civilians who were hurrying to catch up with the others.

The unlikely pair emerged out of the chaotic base and into a whole other nightmare. It was a blessed relief to be distanced from the endless screeching of alarms and static warnings, though it was now replaced with the distinctive sound of blaster fire and occasional explosions that shook the ground even from a distance.

At the concrete walls that truly marked the entrance to the base, a small group of soldiers had been left as a last line of defence against any enemies who happened to slip through the main defenders.

'Stay here and protect the entrance, ensure that these men do not leave their posts under any circumstance,' the Jedi instructed, not slowing her pace as she relayed the command over her shoulder.

Clarke complied and took up position against the towering concrete structure as the Jedi continued on to where the main fighting was taking place on the wide, open plain of Hoths icy surface.

The blonde was still very much aware of the item hidden beneath her fur jacket and planned to get it to safety at the soonest opportunity. This was an unfortunate delay in the plan.

This was the first time she had been present at such a level of fighting, more used to small infiltration missions of getting in and it without any problems. She was faintly relieved to be stationed here rather than fighting in the thick of it, the Jedi was far more skilled to deal with the enemy at close quarters than she was. 

There were ten soldiers remaining at the entrance, most gathered behind the barriers that had been erected to provide cover against any incoming fire. Clarke inclined her head to the man who had mirrored her defensive stance on the opposite concrete wall, he returned the gesture before they both focused back on the distant battle that continued to rage.