Going Up

(I'm going to start occasionally streaming in my discord while I'm writing. Find my discord in my X/Twitter bio, @arn3wman.)

The hatch was about 6 feet across. It was solid metal and covered in corrosion.

There was a wheel on the door that appeared to be a locking mechanism. I walked up to it and tried turning the wheel. It didn't budge.

Someone then tapped on my shoulder. "Step to side."

Glancing back, I saw it was Olga. I shrugged. "Have a party."

Olga stepped up and effortlessly turned the wheel with a slight grunt. The metal screeched as it turned. This hatch had likely not been used in years.

She pulled open the hatch and stepped to the side. Inside was what looked like an airlock.

There was splashing behind us. The other teams had caught up to us.

The 17 of us filed into the airlock. Olga then pulled the hatch closed and turned the wheel.

Towards the far end of the airlock, I found a control panel. I pressed a button and began the decontamination sequence.

Hissing gasses filled the room as jets of hot water sprayed on us all. This continued for several seconds before stopping.

Olga then pushed through the crowd and opened the second hatch. This one was less corroded and didn't make much noise when opening.

We filed out of the airlock and into a storeroom. Olga then closed the hatch behind us.

I tapped my wrist. "Bravo team, clear to proceed."

Through the wall, I was able to hear the corroded hatch opening. I then turned away and looked around.

This room was filled with crates, tools, and scattered parts. There was a rack with a dozen hazmat suits and boots. A small cache of blasters with flashlight attachments was next to the rack.

Through the ceiling, I could hear the humming of machines. We were just below the sewage processing plant.

I sighed and walked over to the ladder on the far side of the room. I climbed up and reached a small landing that could fit two people shoulder to shoulder. There was a door to my back once I got off the ladder.

Paula was the second one up. Once she got off the ladder, I opened the door using the control panel on the wall. The door slid open.

Paula and I rushed through the door. She had her rifle raised and I had pulled out and activated my lightsaber. I swung to the right and saw a few people.

I quickly realized that they were kids. They were frozen, staring at me.

One of them was holding a pipe. Smoke slowly puffed from his mouth.

Behind me, more operators emerged from the ladder room. I deactivated my lightsaber and gestured down the hall. "Get out of here. It's not safe."

The kids nodded and ran off.

Tomas walked up from behind me. "Soryn?"

I shook my head. "They're just kids doing drugs."

Tomas sighed. "Well, at least we have someone to blame if there are guards waiting for us."

I shrugged and tapped on my wrist. A holographic map of the city came up.

Lessu wasn't a large city despite being the capital. It was situated on a massive spire in the middle of a rocky mesa. Despite making it out of the sewers, we were still hundreds of feet below the surface. Fortunately, the power plant wasn't that far above us. We wouldn't need to worry about going outside.

We held a defensive position in the hallway as the other teams made their way up the ladder. These halls were carved right into the stone and was reinforced with metal supports. It was surprisingly well-lit.

Once all three teams were out, we split up. The other two teams had to head up to the surface since they would be securing the spaceport and disabling the surrounding air defenses. Alpha team, on the other hand, would be staying underground since that was where the power plant was.

Taking the front, I led Alpha team through the halls. If we walked in a straight line, about a klick separated us from the power plant. Unfortunately, the halls snaked through the core of the rock spire upon which Lessu sat.

We swiftly moved towards our destination without stopping for a few minutes. Upon reaching an intersection, I stopped and held up my fist. The team stopped on a dime.

After a few seconds, a small droid moved across the intersection. Once it had passed, I peeked around the corner in the direction the droid came from. "There is a security office a few hundred feet down this hall."

Tomas replied. "That is our destination. Weapons hot. Let's move."