Hello There! This being my first fanfic, please tell me any feedback you may have. I'd love any advice that'll help me improve my quality of writing.

Antarctica, 1987:

The helicopters thundered over the antarctic ice. US Navy Commander Ahsoka Tano looked out nervously, awaiting the fate of Outpost #17, codenamed Fulcrum. She had left weeks ago with her RAF liason Captain Hera Syndulla to deliver a report to McMurdo Base commander Kanan Jarrus.

She had left Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus in charge of the base. He was a perfectly capable officer and was well equiped to command in her absense. But Commander Tano had been forced to remain at McMurdo for much longer than she anticipated. A blizzard had grounded her helicopter for over two weeks. Matters had been made worse when a desperate radio call had come through the storm.

Ahsoka had been talking with Captain Syndulla and her husband Kanan when it came through. There was a lot of static, but she heard the voice of radio operator Ketsu Onyo, then multiple gunshots before the line went dead.

A few hours later, as Hera tried to reestablish contact with Outpost Fulcrum, a massive explosion rocked a helicopter sent to investigate. A fire could be seen in the direction of the Outpost. Unfortunately, the helicopter was unable to penetrate the blizzard and forced to turn back.

A team had been immediately sent on a snowcat to reach the base, but they had also been forced to retreat due to the inhospitable conditions. It had been ten days since the explosion and the storm finally cleared. They had to act now, or the antarctic night would ground them for nearly 6 months. Three of McMurdo's helicopters were scrambled, Hera piloting the one holding Ahsoka and Kanan.

They neared the Outpost, and Ahsoka steeled herself for what she would find. A minute later, she heard Kanan gasp. Ahsoka and Hera looked over and what they saw astonished them completely. Hera was speechless, and all Ahsoka could say was, "My God."

The Outpost had exploded and burned. The snow and ice around it had been blackened by smoldering wreckage and soot. Outpost Fulcrum had been all but destroyed.

The three helicopters landed and Ahsoka and Hera got out. A squad of US Navy soldiers and marines flanked them as the two officers sorted through the smoking wreckage. Most of Outpost Fulcrum was destroyed by fire, but some of the tunnels and corridors were still standing. They were half collapsed, but still accessable.

The first squad entered the ruins while Ahsoka and Hera set up a makeshift command center in the helicopters. Corporal Wedge Antilles turned on the flashlight on his MP5SD3 and stepped into the ruined tunnels. The walls showed signs of battle: pockmarks from bullets, spent shell cases, burnt wood and scorched steel. The passages smelled of death, blood, and kerosene. There were empty kerosene buckets and the emptied tanks from blowtorches, fire extinguishers, and flamethrowers in certain buildings.

They came upon an ajar door. Wedge aimed his lantern along the contents of the room. There had been an explosion in the room. Broken glass littered the floor while radio equipment littered the shelves, but his attention was drawn to two masses on the floor. Bodies.

Cpl. Antilles clicked his headset, "Commander Tano, we found a body in these destroyed tunnels. It looks like the radio room."

Her mind flashed back to the radio call, with Ketsu's voice and gunshots. She swallowed, then replied, "Right. Captain Syndulla and I will be right there."

Ahsoka nearly puked as she entered the tunnel. She pushed aside the stench as she clambered over chunks of ice and arrived in the radio room. It was as if a bomb had gone off. Burnt papers had been strewn everywhere, chairs were broken, and a body laid on the ground with a gun in its palm. The body was charred beyond recognition. It smelled of alcohol and gasoline. Ahsoka knelt down and examined the gun, it was smashed, the barrel broken "It's from Jyn's cache all right." She picked it up and inspected the magazine, "It's been fully discharged. Empty clip. It looks like Ketsu fired at this... this person multiple times."

She turned to the two soldiers with her, "Lets search the room. Try to find something, anything, that'll help us." With a nod, they got to work. But the room was empty, nothing of importance was visible. The only thing that Ahsoka could discern was that someone had thrown a molotov cocktail into the room.

Shaking her head, Ahsoka stood and turned to Wedge's squad. "Two of you guard this room. Corporal Antilles and one other on me, we need to figure out what happened here. And if there are any survivors." She turned to Hera and pointed to the charred humanoid corpse, "Get the medical officer down here. Have him conduct an autopsy on... on that."

Flanked by Wedge and another soldier, Ahsoka went deeper into the complex. They shortly arrived at the dorms and Ahsoka entered the room of Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus. On his desk lay a voice recorder.

Wedge spoke up, "Commander, we'll head further into the base. See if we find anything else."

She nodded, then picked up the recorder and looked at it. There were multiple logs recorded in the past few weeks. Slowly, Ahsoka hit the play button.

"Log 3/4/1987. I have been placed in command by Commander Tano. She told me this morning that she had to go to McMurdo to deliver a report to Station Commander Kanan Jarrus. With the Antarctic winter a couple weeks away, I can only hope she returns before it begins.

Mattin, Sumar, and Kell have left about 80 miles to the south. They said they picked up an abnormal magnetic reading that deviated from the pole. They took a snowcat out to investigate. We should soon find out what they recorded.

Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"

She moved on to a new tape a couple days later:

"Log 3/6/1987. Mattin, Kell, and Sumar reported in today. They claimed to have found a strange object in the ice. A crashed airplane? Perhaps, but maybe not. I have the approximate coordinates, and they said they would check it out before returning to base. We will find out what they saw soon.

Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"

Ahsoka shut off the recorder, a strange object? Could it have been a crashed airplane? Could it have had some effect on the strange corpses and the disappearance of the crew of the base? Intrigued, Ahsoka played the next tape:

"Log 3/7/1987. Mattin, Sumar, and Kell have reported in. I cannot say this any other way, but they claim to have discovered an alien spacecraft, or something like it. They claim it flew down here out of control many hundreds of thousands of years ago and smashed into the side of a mountain. We have the location, and I'm sending out an expedition immediately. The position is an hour from here by helicopter and 8 by snowcat. I intend to take a helicopter out and support them. Unfortunately, radio communications have been out because of the blizzard at McMurdo, I would contact Commander Tano otherwise.

Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"

Ahsoka stopped the recording. An alien spacecraft? Was it true? Did it have anything to do with the destruction of the base? She closed her eyes and endured off the coming flashback. The North Pole Incident, her mentor Anakin firing the flare gun and the beast running into the snow. She forced the memory away. Wary, but curious to know more, Ahsoka played the next tape.

"Log 3/9/1987. If I had not been there, I would not have believed what Mattin, Sumar, and Kell told me. We found... something at those coordinates all right, and I have no doubt that it was a UFO. It was tube-shaped, about 250 feet long. It almost looked like a submarine without a conning tower or directional vanes. We dug down through the ice and found an entrance. The door was ajar, but jammed with ice, unable to be opened. I could see the inside, things had been smashed around, but it was still in fairly good condition. What surprised us the most was we discovered what could be an extraterrestrial. Our working theory is that it stumbled out of the crash and was frozen in a blizzard. However it was frozen, we excavated it in a block of ice and strapped it to the snowcat.

Corporal Erso and I decided to loosen the ice around the ship with a thermite charge. Unfortunately, the thermite ignited the magnesium hull of the ancient spacecraft. It erupted into white-hot fire that blanketed the region. The only reason we are not dead is because of the strong winds. The winds blew the flames away from us. We saw multiple dark hulks burning inside the craft, possibly other passengers. Several large explosions signaled that the engines had blown up, secrets that could have given us the stars, gone in an instant of blazing glory. The ice from the mountain crashed down on the ship, destroying what had not been burned in the fire.

We managed to reach base today, and the debate, over whether to thaw the alien out or leave it in the ice, began. Some, led by chief biologist Guerrera, believe that there is no danger from the thing. Others lead by meteorologist Bridger and his girlfriend, helicopter mechanic/pilot Wren, believe it should be destroyed. Bridger claims to be having nightmares about the thing breaking free and killing us, imitating us, one by one until we are all dead. I must admit, I have been having similar dreams myself, but Guerrera is insistent that the thing is dead and will stay dead. Our medic, Kell, also believes there is no danger. Guerrera has started chipping the ice away.

I must say though, I don't like the looks of it. I got my first good look at it when Saw removed the tarp. The way those three red eyes stare at us, as if it knows we are here, and the way its hair looks like blue worms. I can only hope Guerrera and Kell are correct. For all our sakes.

Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"

Ahsoka paused. Her thoughts were broken when she heard pounding boots on the ground outside. Wedge ran in, "Commander! You've got to see this."

"What?"

"I'm not sure, ma'am. We found something in the ad building. We think they're bodies. What've you got there?"

"I found Lieutenant Kallus' logs, they've been very interesting so far."

Wedge nodded as Ahsoka placed the recorder in her pack. The two scrambled over the wreckage in the hallway to enter the ad building and they found another body. It was blown apart by a close range explosion and its head was lying a short distance away. It appeared to have one mouth, but two faces. In what used to be the corpse's torso, there was the melted remains of an HK93 semiautomatic rifle

The other soldier emerged from a door, "Commander, Wedge, I found something interesting. Looks like a supply room. Come on."

They passed what was once the dog kennel. The walls showed signs of a battle. Shotgun shells littered the floor and the room smelled of burnt flesh and kerosene. The residue of a fire extinguisher was also visable.

Moving on, they found the supply room. What was inside was a solid block of ice, but there was an indent, as if something had been frozen and had broken out of it. There was also a hole in the roof. Her mind briefly flashed back, past seeing Kallus' logs, 20 years ago to the North Pole. It stood there, still haunting her, stalking towards her and Rex.

Ahsoka's breath caught in her throat as she snapped out of the flashback, "The Thing."

Wedge noticed this, "The what?"

Quickly, Ahsoka pulled out Kallus' recorder and played the last log she heard. Wedge's eyes widened, "Is it possible?"

"I believe so. Wait, there's another."

"Log 3/10/1987. What I feared has come to pass. The Thing is alive and possibly still on the loose. Leonis was on guard in the supply room as the Thing slowly thawed. It then burst free of the block of ice, escaping through the roof. Leonis barely made it out alive, he claimed. It stumbled into Dogtown and killed Charnauk, the lead huskie. The huskies kept it at bay until we arrived. Sumar... Sumar tried to get a better look, but got grabbed by the Thing. We fired at it, doing little to no damage. It began engulfing him, engulfing Sumar, and... and it... it began to assimilate him. Bridger turned the fire extinguisher on it, but Sumar was too far gone. It wasn't until Erso turned the flamethrower on it that the thing was finally killed. We had to burn Sumar with it, he had been stabbed through the chest.

Guerrera autopsied it, and the Thing's cells appeared to be attacking and consuming, assimilating Sumar's. We did discover that the Thing is unable to imitate inorganic matter. Anyone with something like dental fillings or earings is human. If someone is missing those, they're a Thing. Guerrera suspects Leonis of being a Thing, that all of us could be imitations. He's gone insane, and thinks that the only way to save humanity is to kill us all.

The dogs were all assimilated by now, they had to be burnt. Fire and electricity seem to be the only way to kill it. We can shoot out its eyes, but it'll still live. Still be able to assimilate living things. Fire extinguishers disorientate it, but fire and electricity are its enemy. And with no more dogs and no more animals, it has to imitate us.

The Thing doesn't want to show itself; it wants to hide inside an imitation. It'll fight if it has to, but it's vulnerable out in the open. If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies. Nobody left to kill it. And then it's won.

Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17."

Suddenly, Ahsoka's eyes widened in alarm and she grabbed her radio, "Captain Syndulla, come in! Come in!"

Hera's voice was perplexed, hearing the alarm and urgency in Ahsoka's voice, "What's wrong, Commander?"

"Order all troops to be on high alert. I suspect that foul play happened here. If you see anything out of the ordinary, shoot first and ask questions later. And at all costs, lock the helicopters. Don't let them take off without my explicit authorization."

"Why? What did you find?"

"I have reason to believe that the crew of Outpost 17 was hunted and killed by an extraterrestrial of unkown appearance and origin. It imitated certain members of the crew and systematically killed them off. I don't know if they managed to kill it."

Hera's voice was filled with disbelief, "Err... Commander, is this a joke. That's... that's impossible. Isn't it?"

"It's true. I located Lieutenant Kallus' logs and he reports this. Evidence Corporal Antilles and I have found proves it. And..." she paused, remembering the North Pole incident, "Aliens exist. I've faced something like this before. Switch all weapons to incendiaries. Kallus' log says those are the only way to kill the Thing.

"I also want you to call back the guards in the radio room. Have them switch their weaponry and postpone the autopsy until we know the Thing is dead."

Hera could only nod, "Yes, Commander."

Ahsoka shut off her radio and the three continued moving.

-0-

Outside, a Navy soldier spotted something lying in the snow, a severed arm. Curiously, he picked it up. He was inspecting it when a horrid transformation occured. The arm sprouted legs like an insect and grabbed hold of his arm. The soldier tried to throw the Thing off, but it was too strong. It scuttled up his arm towards his face. The soldier let out a choking gurgle as he tried to scream.

-0-

Ahsoka held her rifle at the ready, her M203 grenade launcher loaded, and she strapped a thermite charge on her belt. Ahsoka also found a flamethrower in the supply room, Wedge carried it now. They moved quickly, scanning every room. They found the garage, all snowcats and the helicopter destroyed. They moved on and found the command center.

The command center showed signs of an explosion, and in the room was another body, this one not charred like the rest. Tears swam in Ahsoka's eyes as she rolled the body over. "No. Please no." It was Lieutenant Kallus. There was a bullet hole in his chest. Ahsoka sat there on the ground, quietly mourning the death of one of her friends in the Navy.

Ahsoka radioed Hera, "Captain Syndulla, come in."

"Syndulla here, what is it Commander?"

"Send two men with a stretcher. We found Lieutenant Kallus."

Hera had some hope in her voice, "Alive?"

A tear streaked down Ahsoka's face, "No, dead. Shot in the chest."

"I'll send them at once, Commander. Syndulla out."

Wedge walked up, "Commander, are we sure he's human?"

A new voice, weak and raspy, answered Wedge's question, "He's human. He saved us."

Ahsoka, Wedge, and the other soldier spun to see two figures in the doorway.

One of them stepped into the light, holding a flamethrower. A small bit of flame burned from the end, ready to fire. "But what about you? Are you human? Are you really Commander Tano?"

Ahsoka's breath caught in her throat as she recognized the speaker's black and purple dyed hair, "Sabine? You're alive?"

Update : I've changed a few details (conditions of the base, state of the bodies), removed Ketsu's corpse from the radio room (I have a different plot surrounding her), and added two scenes in

1) The arm-Thing assimilating a soldier

2) Ahsoka's flashbacks to the North Pole (I have plans to make a prequel and sequel when I'm done with this story)

I hope that these changes will make my story flow better with future chapters.