Ten minutes later, the group was finally ready to set off.
They were in a cramped underground pit dug by the giant mechanical worm. If they wanted to go deeper, their best bet was to use the tunnels it had left behind.
But these were nothing like city sewers. The route broke off unpredictably, sometimes dropping into a vertical shaft, other times forcing them to climb.
There were also an astonishing number of forks, along with cave-ins and dead ends caused by ages of geological change.
Even with all her experience, Aphra soon lost her bearings. The ground beneath this planet was like a jigsaw puzzle smashed to pieces, only in three dimensions.
Deathstroke had everyone ride the Cloak of Levitation and left Aphra to guide them. Most of the time, though, she chattered about nothing in particular, nearly as much as Spider-Man.
He could hardly blame her. Talking was how she dealt with stress. Some people sang to give themselves courage when they walked past a cemetery at night; Aphra talked to herself because she was frightened of what lay beneath the planet.
She went from breakfast on one planet to the droppings of some species in space, from historical tales to Imperial Army orders. Only a protocol droid like Zero Three could keep up.
"Looks like we rushed into this." After leading them into yet another dead end, Aphra covered her face. She looked pale in the light BT provided. "We should've rented some underground survey equipment. A few expendable droids, for instance."
"Master is right, but I must emphasize one point." Zero Three twisted his neck and raised a hand. "When people use droids as expendable scouts, they often neglect to switch off their pain modules. It's terribly cruel."
"Beep!" BT gave an electronic chirp and spun