EPISODE I - SIXTEEN: Where do you go?

Just beyond the sewage reclamation center laid a corridor leading to another section of the facility. To call it a corridor was generous as it was quite narrow. Dex tried to make out how any sort of equipment meant to repair anything in the main room could be moved from point to point if all the passageways were this thin. The saving grace of its construction was that anyone coming at him or Etler could easily be taken out.

"You didn't say the route to the 'fresher was going to be a single file sort of affair."

"It was really hard to make out in the schematics your droid was downloading into his system," the old man replied almost apologetically. 

"Don't take it to heart, Etler. I'm just giving you grief... having a little fun."

"Oh..."

"I think we're just up here to the left." Dex looked at the keypad and determined that it was a simple open and shut system. Pressing a key with one of the two indecipherable glyphs did nothing. "I guess it was a fifty-fifty shot." He pressed the second button and the door slid open.

"I'll wait out here and keep watch."

Dex screwed up his face. "It's probably better that you did. I won't be in for too long."

Upon entering the refresher, Dex saw a bank of stalls with doors and a couple of sinks. It was pretty basic and, like everything else he'd encountered so far, was adorned with the same dark walls, reflective black floors and was starkly lit. Shrugging to himself, he picked a stall and entered.

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Just outside the door, Etler waited, trying not to look suspicious. His visage went from nervously relaxed to panic as the sound of footsteps drew closer. He looked around for a place to conceal himself. He quickly realized that even if he was able to hide somewhere, that would leave Dex in the refresher unaware of the presently unseen guest. 

Etler hoped that it wasn't a couple of Stormtroopers, but of course, it wouldn't be. They never come down here. He began to pace but quickly stopped himself as he became aware that this would make him look all the more out of place. He steeled himself to whatever approached him. An officer! What was he doing down here? 

The man in the smart black tunic, matching flared-hipped trousers and high boots sized up the old man. Etler knew from the black outfit that this one had enlisted. Elter looked up at the offer and the officer looked down the end of his nose at Etler.

"Are you lost?" asked the agent.

Elter waffled. "Lost? Um... no. My counterpart is inside and I was just waiting out here for him."

"What business do you have down here?"

This wasn't a good time for Etler Anson to lose his nerve. He wished that Irie was here because she always had a quick answer for everything. She was sharp that way. Come on, think!

"Eh... we were on a maintenance detail and saw that there was some issue with one of the pods in the reclaimer. Wanted to see if..."

The officer grabbed the old man's arm and forcibly pulled him into the refresher unit. 

Hearing the hiss of the opening door and the sound of the boots, Dex called out to Etler. "Hey... didn't I tell you to wait out in the hall?"

Giving the officer a repentant look, he meekly responded, "yes, but..."

The officer jostled Etler into silence. 

"Yes, but... what?" Dex emerged from the stall to find the officer a frighteningly intense look, digging his gloved hand into the elderly man's arm. The act of which was clearly causing pain to Etler. 

"I told him we were looking in on the reclaimer unit..." The officer rattled Etler like a ragdoll, practically knocking his feet out from under him.

The young officer's lips devilishly stretched across his teeth and he shouted, "I heard enough of what you said. What is the true reason you are skulking around down here?!"

Dex sized up his unexpected opponent. They were about the same build and height. Even feeling as rotten as he had been, he still felt he would be able to take this kid out. "Well, yeah, you see the actual reason we're here is that I'm a little shy and..." Without finishing, Dex thrust the length of his left forearm into the officer's ribcage, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. Etler took the opportunity to scramble to the far end of the room and out of harm's way. 

The officer quickly recovered and lunged at Dex, knocking him straight to the floor. He pinned Balagon by putting his full weight on him, elbow across his windpipe. 

The room started to spin when Dex croaked out Etler's name and the word "rod". Etler started to dig through the pack until he came across a metal baton. He made an attempt to give it to Dex, but the Resistance agent frantically shook his head "no" and directed Etler with his eyes to use the implement on his attacker. 

The rod came down across the officer's back two times and that was enough to cause him to lose focus. Dex rolled off his back and onto the officer. He straddled the man's legs and with tightly clasped hands smashed his opponent's collarbone and dislocated his jaw. Blood poured from his nose and the corner of his mouth, but Balagon kept hammering away at the officer until the strains of Etler yelling for Dex to stop pulled his focus back to the here and now. 

"What the hell was that?" demanded Etler. 

Dex looked shellshocked and lost for a moment or two. He shook his head and sat back, looking at the mess he'd made of the First Order officer. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I get so... I just remember how the Empire treated the people on my homeworld and that all came back to me when he was rattling you around."

"I'd like to say I understand, but this is all new to me. I didn't have much contact with the Empire on Aporoth and it wasn't until these First Order people came down here and started to make a mess of things."

Dex exhaled and tried to clear his head. "I'm glad you haven't had the experiences I've had, but the First Order--this stuff here is just a taste of what's to come if we don't end this soon. And I worry that there isn't going to be much left of your planet if we fail."

Etler pulled his head back, wearing a concerned and quizzical expression. "What do you mean 'there isn't going to be much left'? What exactly is happening out there?"

"Silara didn't tell you? Have you heard any of the stories coming from the other side of Aporoth; people getting moved into other areas because of a desert?"

Old Anson shook his head and added, "I've heard a little, but I chalked up the whole desert thing as an exaggeration of the odd weather cycles we've been having."

"No," Dex responded matter-of-factly. "This harvester facility is pulling whatever unique energy Aporoth generates through the planet's core and, for as unlikely as it seems, that's enough to wipe out all life in an ever-expanding desert on the opposite side of the planet." Etler gasped and appeared to be at a loss for words. "And there's no telling how long we've got until this place is a giant dustball."

"I... I think we have a job to do."

Dex smiled reassuringly. "We do. But first, I think we need to clean up this shambles I made." He looked back down at the dead officer. "You know... I think this uniform might come in handy."

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Dom, Jaimos, and Paloame shuffled around the reclamation hall, keeping vigil while they waited for their compatriots to return. Irie sat in the corner with Adria, worried about Etler's safety and Dex's wellness.

Hearing approaching footfalls, they spun simultaneously toward the corridor to see the silhouette of a uniformed First Order officer coming down the hallway. They moved out of plain sight and tucked themselves behind some of the tanks and pieces of machinery, hoping they hadn't been spotted. They drew their weapons and prepared to fire should the situation call for it. 

The figure drew closer and it looked like he was pulling something behind him. The blasters went up as he entered the main hall and the lights revealed that it was a First Order officer--until he tilted his head up.

"Dex?" Adria called out to the man. A familiar smile broke across the figure's face. "Where the hell did you get that..." She paused as she the body of a half-dressed man being dragged across the floor. Etler stepped out from behind Dex and ran over to his wife and gave her a firm hug. "Okay, 'naked' over there answers my first question. Second question: why is your shirt wrapped around his head?"

Paloame and Dom stepped to the front to get a closer look.

Pal peered around Dex and looked at their unexpected guest. "Dead?"

Dom goofily nodded his head. "Well, you know how the commander gets sometimes. He's a nice guy, but don't give him a reason to unleash the beast."

Adria shrugged. "Did you go all dark side on him?"

"I didn't like the way he was messin' with the old guy." Dex looked down at the body. "There was a lot of blood and I didn't wanna track it down the corridor so I wrapped his face--what's left of his face in my shirt."

"That's pretty grim. Thanks for the details." Jai scrunched up his face with obvious disapproval.

"That answered your second question, didn't it?" Dex returned. "But now... what do we do with the body?"

As he did prior to Dex and Etler's exit, Dom stepped back out onto the walkway and turned around, opening his arms wide, revealing the best option they had.

Adria dropped her head in disgust while Palome attempted to stifle a giggle. Irie and Etler rose up to see what the fuss was about.

Dex glanced back at the body and gave Dom a stupefied look. "In there??"

Dom's face and body language read, well, what other choice do we have?

"I dunno. That seems too mean even for me." He examined the room for other options, but it was obvious that was the only one. He sighed. "I've never flushed anything this big."

The old couple appeared disgusted and Pal couldn't stop laughing. Neither Adria nor Jai were terribly amused by this turn and wished they'd just be done with it all.

"You need a hand, Dex?" Dom offered.

"Yeah... that would be good. You mind grabbing the end that used to be his head?" Dom accepted the request. Picking up the corpse, they gave it a couple of swings and tossed it over the side and into the slurry far below. The two men swiveled around to their audience, looking a touch embarrassed.