Near Mint Mill

“So what’s the plan now?” Ravi asked, his back pressed up against the wall at the top of one of the two staircases leading down from the now cleared top floor.

On the other side of the landing, Rayna was listening intently, her ears at full alertness. “I can only make out four distinct footsteps.” She tilted her head to try and focus more, but ended up shaking it fairly quickly. “Vidscreens are on and no one is moving around where the most heartbeats are.

Their Captain thought for a moment. “Right. Rayn with me.” Jill pointed at the zentzo. “You two.” She indicated Ravi and Sess. “Sit tight while we scope out the other side.” She quickly and quietly headed off with Rayna for the main staircase.

After the two disappeared from their sight Ravi looked over at Sess.

“No.” She said pointedly over their line-of-sight comms, so as to cut down on any potential eavesdroppers. Ravi peaked around the corner and down the stairs. It was a u-shaped set of with a landing halfway. “Ravindra…” She growled, but he was already around the corner, crouch walking his way down the stairs.

Ravi made his way down the first set of stairs, knife at the ready. He stopped just shy of the landing, as far from the second set of stairs as he could be. The nephite got as low as he could and eased over to the halfway banister. Sess’ grip on her blaster rifle tightened, getting ready to cover for her brazen squadmate. Ravi quickly peaked over the banister and pulled back. He waited a couple heart beats before slowly rising up to look again.

“It’s a back hallway.” He told Sess, before he eased around the landing and started to move down the second part of the stairs.

Sess snarled to herself and put her rifle on her back. Given her size and stature, the only way she could ‘sneak’ down the stairs was to get down on all fours and crawl like a little non-sentient reptile. “Ravi…I swear on the Elder’s I’m going to neuter you one of these days.”

He snorted at that, quickly checking both directions of the hallway to ensure it was clear before he started to creep along the wall, keeping his back to it and one of his single handed blasters at the ready.

“Rav.” Sess growled, having crawled to the bottom of the stairs and got him in sight again.

He quickly looked back at her and ended up doing a double take on the wall opposite him. “Well hello.” Ravi said to himself as he tilted his helmeted head, adjusting his inner eyelids to focus his vision along the infrared spectrum. “Got big boi number two right there.” He told her pointing at the wall. Sess did not respond but stared at the wall. “One, two, stampede?” Ravi suggested. “Or let Cap and Bun steal the show?”

She looked over at him. “This is not a competition.”

Ravi drew his other blaster to dual wield them. He highlighted the spot on the wall through their HUDs and kept it trained on the drakomo on the other side.

“How many more in there?” Sess asked, making some calculations in her head.

“No idea. Doesn’t work like that, can’t see through the wall.” He reminded her.

Sess snorted before looking both ways down the hall. She took a deep breath and turned around, crawling back up the stairs. A moment later a countdown started on Ravi’s display. He grinned that wolfish grin of his and stood up, readying himself.

When the countdown reached its end Sess came charging down the stairs at full tilt, with enough force that she charged right through the wall right where Ravi had indicated. Her armour protected her and even helped power her through the initial impact of crashing through the wall.