A Den of Serpents

[Admiral Hart]

It was a slow day on the ship. No good catches had been obvious when they set sail, but Hart wanted everyone on ship and ready anyway. If only to make Morgan mope less.

And Andi. Andi had gotten drunk too. Josetta tried very hard to not think about why she would have done that. But looking through ship manifests was no helping.

"No. No. No. Ugh, no. No. They still make those? No. No. No." Josetta almost threw her computer tablet across the room. Was there seriously no decent plunder to be had on the Eight Planets?

"No. No. N--wait." She looked at that last one again.

A few moments later, Captain Hart was on the bridge. "Alright crew, this is Captain Hart. It looks like there's a UE medical freighter headed for Mars. According to the manifest, they're carrying luxury medical supplies, basic medicines, and some nice, state of the art gear. In addition to keeping it for ourselves and stocking our lovely Dr. Reyes, some of the fringe settlements on Callisto would be willing to pay a pretty penny for this stuff. Three days before intercept, so everyone get ready for a nice, easy haul."

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

Cassi shifted restlessly in her bed, murmuring softly, face pinched with distaste and pain. The reason being that the young teen was dreaming again, of strange and confusing things.

In her minds' eye, Cassiopeia stepped carefully over a war-torn battlefield. Destroyed buildings, demolished machines and broken men and women littered the ground like tattered toys. The teen moved through it like a specter, her bare toes gingerly avoiding the puddles of blood, gore and torn wreckage with a dancer's grace. Her eyes surveyed the wasteland of destruction, heart heavy.

What could have caused all of this?

Up ahead, above the moans of pain and din of explosions, Cassi suddenly heard the sound of a wild beast snarling. She peered forward, but couldn't make out much through the glare of the sun. She saw a huge banner flapping in the stale breeze, tattered and worn. United Earth was printed across it's surface. And then, as she watched, a massive creature suddenly appeared and blotted out much of the light. It was unrecognizable as anything except inhumane, and Cassi shuddered in fear as it roared out in satisfaction, swiping at the banner with gigantic blood-tipped claws and quickly rending it to shreds.

"No . . . ."

At her exclamation the beast whirled to her, and Cassiopeia had the impression of two eyes that were glowing before she suddenly wrenched awake. The teen lay in the bed for several moments, panting and sweating, before she started faintly trembling and put her face in her hands.

She had had just such a poignant dream about a red and white striped tiger, not long before they had found and rescued Clara. Now, it seemed she was seeing the United Earth being torn assunder, by a beast of great and unimaginable power. One that apparently had no equal.

And Cassiopeia had a very, very bad feeling that this one would prove prophetic as well.

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Normally the next up and coming mission didn't mean anything more for Andromeda than another round of suturing, bullet removals and bandages. This time, however, was markedly different. At the mention of medical supplies and state-of-the-art equipment, the slender doctor straightened immediately from her lists of the day, eyes wide and expression eager.

Oh, she hoped they had a few of the newer digital scanning imagers, or DSI's, on board! She had read about them on the mainframe a few months ago, the latest technology in anatomical scanning. It was a device that could show a fully 3-D, comprehensive hologram of whomever was laying on the device's bed, which could be switched to several different modes--skeletal, muscular, vascular and glandular, to name only a few.

Suddenly feeling like a kid before christmas, Andromeda very nearly squealed in delight. Then she suddenly frowned.

We've never taken on any job even remotely similar to this one before. Not in two whole years. Why would the Captain all of a sudden develop an interest in medical supplies? She's not especially concerned with the well-being of Callistoan settlers . . .

Andromeda's eyes widened a little, cheeks turning pink.

What if this was some round-about attempt to win her affection? Andromeda blanched a little at that thought. If it was, what did she do with that knowledge exactly? It wasn't as if she could return Josetta's feelings, either way. The Captain was married to the First Mate, for heaven's sake, and Andromeda was no adulteress.

And plus, as Morgan had made tearfully, depressedly clear a few days ago, Josetta Hart was apparently completely incapable of remaining monogamous.

"She doesn't do it to be intentionally mean," he'd heaved, "or for spite. Jo just can't seem to tie herself down to one person, anymore. It's a compulsion thing." Then he'd made a face. "And she's a spoiled little brat."

So where did that leave her? Jo insisted that she needed her, but for how long? Was it only because she hadn't yet had her? People tended to want hardest what they couldn't have. Who's to say that if Andromeda were to give in and give Josetta her heart, that the fickle Pirate wouldn't take it in both hands and then leave her again when something else newer and flashier came along?

How could somone like her ever hope to keep even a fraction of Josetta Hart's attention, for any length of time? And how could she ever cope with the pain when Josetta began to leave her, for someone new?

Suddenly monumentally depressed with the morbid direction her thoughts had turned, even the thought of a brand new DSI machine couldn't quite lift Andromeda's spirits.

[Admiral Hart]

Plunder's Heart closed on the medical freighter. It was calm, peaceful and steady, the larger, less well armed ship obviously not noticing them just yet.

The Plunder stopped suddenly, however, against orders from Hart. The Captain gave Jane a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Captain. A very, very bad feeling." Jane replied.

Normally, Hart would have taken a bad feeling with a grain of salt--someone invariably got cold feet on a mission. However, Hart had learned to trust her precognitive pilot's hunches.

"Slow and steady, then. If this is a trap, I don't want to walk into it." The red-headed Captain said. "Let's fire a warning shot from here and..."

Cook called out suddenly, "Captain, five mechs are being ejected from the freighter! Each has energy weapons and...oh my god."

Hart saw the next moment what his trepedation was about. On the shoulder of each black robot was a symbol. A white, coiled snake.

"Mamba." The Captain said to herself, the rest of the crew looking agitated. "Alright, all shield power to the forward shields. Jane, I want you to use that new thruster that T.K. made to advance on that ship. And don't be afraid to hit a few mech-shaped bumps in the road on the way. Dane," She began, calling into the comm. "Get on your dancing shoes and get Elsa into a nice dress, because we've got company. All boarding teams stand by for engagement with Mamba. If they have Mamba then by god they must have something worth stealing."

[Jane Doherty]

Jane sat ready, he hands steady but her heart thrumming in her chest. This is what she lived for. "Everyone hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride," she said over the comm, just as she hit her new button.

The engines thrummed with the power and the ship sped into battle. Jane carefully maneuvered her around the ammunition being pumped out by the mamba heading towards them. Just as one got close enough to be worrisome, Jane turned sharply and caught him with a wing.

Another mamba attempted to hit the engines with a well aimed shot, but Jane pulled up right before hand and practically flipped the ship upside down, which in turn put one of the engines within range to effectively melt one of the other mechs.

Jane cheered and maneuvered around closer to the medical freighter, still keeping a sharp eye on the four remaining mamba. "Dane, get your ass out there already."

[Dane]

Dane dodged another set of crewmen blocking his path, growling in annoyance at the constant obstacles. He winced when he heard Jane's announcement, thumbing on his communicator with one hand.

"Working on that, these people keep getting in my. WAY. ARGH thats it!" He pulled out Veronica and shot at the ceiling, effectively getting everyones attention. "MOVE IT OR LOSE IT!" that seemed to work, causing everyone to scatter. The weapons expert grinned and took off at a run, entering the hangar he grinned wider at his baby siting on the launch platform.

Elsa was repainted, now sporting the Plunders colors and the jolly roger proudly, its two eyes steadily glowed silver. "Elsa! Open up girlie, where late for the ball." The sprite materialized out of thin air, now sporting what looked like a boxing outfit, she danced around him while he climbed into the cockpit, the door shut and Dane took a seat, finishing Elsa's checklist.

"Lets gettem' Dane!" she jabbed with a bright red glove, doing a little combo with her left and right arms, he rolled his eyes. She's in a spunky mood, this should be interesting. And this was the new Elsa's first live fire test, things will be VERY interesting.

"Elsa cleared for launch. In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." sounded a mechanical voice. Elsa's thrusters roared to life, Dane found himself pressed against the seat, he let out a cheerfully yell as he exited the hangar. Adjusting his heading and jetting off in the direction of the now three Mamba mecha's. Elsa perked up suddenly.

"Incoming transmission, its Doctor Reyes." Dane shot her a look and nodded. Elsa disappeared and suddenly reappeared as the image of Andromeda. She didn't look pleased.

"Wassup Doc, about to be really busy." she rolled her eyes.

"Just called to tell you not to get yourself killed, I can only put you back together so many times." he smirked.

"Appreciate your worry Doctor Reyes. But, this is my job. Someone's gotta stop these clowns, might as well be me." Dane dodged a barrage of energy weapons, grunting a little. "Gotta go Doc." the image of Andi disappeared, Elsa reappeared after a moment and landed on his shoulder. Dane stared straight ahead, thumbing the switch near his thumb controller

On the outside, Elsa's Cannon's flipped into place from there prone position on the arms. He smiled evilly. "Lets see what these babies can do." The weapons master targeted one of the suits while dodging and weaving around the three remaining suits. Upon confirmed lock he fired. The Energy based Gatling guns began to spin, not a half second later rapidly fired energy blasts roared out the front of the gun, slicing through one of the mamba suits that didn't move away in time, the suit jerked wildly as it was practically eaten alive by his assault. Moments later the enemy suits went limp, his smile widened.

"Wicked...." Elsa blinked.

"Enemy suits heavily damaged and unable to move. Primary--" she yelped slightly as he dodged again, rather violently jerking the suit into a high roll to avoid a large energy sword, The sprite growled. "Little bitch scratched my paint!" Dane spun the suit around and charged the energy sword wielding suit, its partner trying to flank him from behind. Elsa's arm came up, with a flick of a switch a red energy shield sprouted to life on her left arm. The enemy suit saw it to late, Dane reared back slightly and lunged forward, slamming his shield into the chest plate of the mamba suit, sending it reeling back by the force of the blow. Elsa crowed in happiness, he just smiled knowingly. The suits pilot jerked slightly, bringing up its own fist, somehow getting around his shield and slammed it into her chest. He growled.

These couldn't be fully trained mamba, these had to be fresh recruits or something. Cause theres no way these where seasoned veterans, Either that or that guy was just that good.

Dane's smile widened as his energy sword ejected from the leg plate, he caught it, powered it up and jabbed it into the tumbling suits chest armor. The pilot of the suit, jerked himself free somehow. This caused him to smile, Elsa's right arm came up, he half turned the suit and fired another barrage of energy at the Mamba trying to sneak up behind him, not a perfect hit. But close enough. He watched as the arm holding his energy rifle went limp and float away from its body. Elsa's eyes glowed a brighter shade of silver as Dane smirked.

The fight didn't last much longer, and honestly he wanted this to end. He'd beaten them on there turf, fair and square. Time to mop up.

He backed away, flying backward to get a better range of site on his damaged prey. The weapons expert didn't hesitate when he locked and and pulled the trigger, sending a salvo of cluster missiles out of his shoulders, moments later they both disappeared into a cloud of fire. He showed nothing on his face except a smile. Without warning he jerked his shield arm up and blocked a energy blast, just in time. It sent him near tumbling out of his seat, his head slammed into the controls, he felt blood, but ignored it. Bringing up the gattling gun, only to watch what remained of the suit that fired it explode, he lowered the gun slowly.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the Plunder move closer to his position, he flew over the vessel and landed gently on its flat surface, magnetic feet clamping him to the ship without damaging it. God knows what the captain would do to him if he hurt her ship.

Dane relaxed considerably, he stared at the wreckage of the fallen mamba's Mecha's. The ace smirked further and waited for further instructions from Captain Hart.

[Admiral Hart]

"H-how many Mamba do you think they have?" One of the boarders asked. Both Morgan and Hart were waiting at the main docking clamp. "Those mech pilots were all, right?"

"Mech piloting is not a standard practice by Mamba. Judging by the ease with which those five were downed, I'm guessing we're facing a ship full of Mamba cadets, probably an officer or two." Morgan replied.

"Yes. I've got the officers." Hart replied. "Everyone else, be careful. Mamba are conditioned not to be afraid. They will not break under heavy fire. They will calmly return fire and formulate a plan to fight back. And they will lead you into traps, so everyone stay calm and don't go charging." She repeated that over the comm. "I repeat, do not charge after Mamba. Stay calm and engage on your terms, not theirs."

"How do you know so much about Mamba, Cap'n?" One of he other boarders asked.

"Personal experience." Was Hart's short, simple reply as the docking tube locked into place and pulled the Plunder into hull-to-hull contact with the freighter.

"Everyone stand back from the airlock." Morgan ordered as the hull laser forced open the freighter's.

There was silence for a good long while. A few troops started to move towards the portal, but Hart and Morgan held them back

"It's a stalemate. They're waiting for us to make the first move and we're waiting for them to do the same." Hart replied. Then she thought for a second and stepped into the hallway, pistol in one hand and rapier in the other. Morgan reached out a hand to stop her, but it was too late.

Hart kept her eye unfocused, and immediately saw the glint of three rifle sights. With three shots, the snipers dropped to the ground. Infantry then sprung into action from the sides. A normal soldier would have been cut down by the ensuing rain of automatic fire. Hart, instead, dropped them both before they had full stepped into solid positions. As she reached the end of the tunnel, her rapier flashed out twice, decaptitating and disemboweling the pair of sword-equipped skirmishers on either side of the tunnel entrance.

"The entry is secure. Morgan, I want your boarding party to grab TK and head for the hanger. See if they have any surprises there and have him evaluate their gear. Dane," She said over her comm. "Get back aboard and keep the docking tunnel secure with the rest of your team. Do not move away from the tunnel under any circumstances. It is vitally important no Mamba make it aboard our ship."

"The pilot's weren't trouble, Captain. They'll be a piece of..."

"Mamba are best in close quarters combat, which, on ships the size and structure of ours, means they'll be at their best hitting us on our own turf. Don't underestimate these guys. Trust me. Hart, out." Hart turned to Morgan. "Stay here until you're relieved by Dane. I'm going to take the bridge."

"Jo.." Morgan began, obviously concerned.

"Do as you're told, hon." Jo replied with a smirk. A few boarders chuckled at that before she vanished into the ship.

"Seriously, sir. Where did Captain Hart learn to fight? And how does she know Mamba so well?" The crewman asked. Morgan shook his head.

"When I find out, I'll let you know." Was his only response.

[Clara Hart]

Alone behind enemy lines, like mother like daughter, Clara snuck through the freighter. Nature had made her stealthy and very intelligent--smart enough to use a Mamba flash-bang grenade to her own advantage, sneaking by her "Step-father" right as he was being relieved by the brutish Dane for guard duty.

She was not afraid of Mamba. Not even the officers. She had killed plenty of them before and, despite their training, they were only human. And if they were guarding something interesting, Clara wanted to make sure that she, rather than her mother, would get first view of it.

Not that she wanted to cheat her mother out of plunder. But Clara was the superior being on the ship--no, in the solar system. It would only make sense for her to have first pick of anything they found.

For perhaps the same reason she thought mostly in animalistic terms, Clara was perfectly aware of her place on the food chain.

It was, uncontestably, at the top, as the trail of burning, broken, or torn to shreds Mamba corpses she had left behind could attest.

Then she discovered something peculiar--or, perhaps, with Mamba on board, a peculiar brand of expected. The path to the cargo bay--and it was engineered so there was only one path, was heavily fortified with Aerantium doors, barricades, and entrenched Mamba. And, as far as Clara could tell, the fortifications were designed to defend from both directions. She could feel every Mamba there, even the hidden ones. And their feelings of security.

The tiger girl concentrated and lifted a hand. She felt the Aerantium, the natural metal resonating with her geomancy. She opened her hand, and then closed it.

Then the screaming started. All the metal, the doors, the barricades, crushed inward, and smashed the entrenched Mamba to pieces. Clara gave a fanged smirk as she opened her hand again, and the geomancy put everything in its previous places, save the doors, which were rent open.

Clara then walked throught the hallway, which was absolutely coated in blood and gore. As an aftethought, she closed her eyes and said, "Cleanse." The hallway glowed bright white for several moments, and when the glow died, the passage was, instead, filled with ash and charred bone. A whirlwind then swept through the hall and put all the mess into a neat, large pile.

At last, Clara got to the final door. It was the strongest of them all, heavily reinforced and magna-locked. It took nearly three kicks before the tiger girl could successfully smash it in.

Inside was a single scientist, but Clara barely noticed him. Because she was enthralled by the cargo.

Five rows of six large, clear tubes. Each filled with a strange bluish liquid. And a teenager.

Thirty teens, each stripped down, floating in the blue substance. Each with quite obvious identification as to what they were. Scales. Claws. Elfin ears.

The tiger girl walked forward and ran a hand down one of the tubes, shocked and dismayed, before turning to the scientist, eyes glowing brightly.

"What. What is going on here? What are you doing to my people?" She snarled, walking towards him and the bank of computers he was attending, her hands starting to glow with white fire, a small whirlwind kicking up around her, condensation forming in hanging droplets all about her, and the walls and floor bluckling and groaning very slightly.

"I...they're being taking to Titan, for Project Savage! I don't know much else, I'm just here to monitor their vitals!" He wimpered, and from the smell of it, needed new pants.

"And what are their vitals? What did you do to them?" What could best be described as a shipquake rocked the whole vessel, bolts and joints rattling in their casings.

"They've been put in stasis fluid. It's experimental. We've....some of them are alive, most of them are...brain dead. Or only being kept alive by the fluid. They were going to be gineau pigs for treatments on Project Savage. I'm just a technician, I didn't plan this, please don't kill me." He was on his knees, begging.

"These are people! They aren't test subjects. They aren't machines or animals! You're the animal! You're a beast, a lowly creature. Insignificant and inferior in the face of your betters." Clara hissed. "And, as these were intended for Project Savage, you will have at least some satisfaction in your death in that they have reached their intended destination."

The scientist looked like he did not want to process that information. And then he flash-burned to death.

The tiger girl pushed aside his smoldering carcass and looked at the consoles. Though she was a genius intellectually, and instinctively knew the anatomical points needed to down a human with only a single claw-stroke, she was no doctor. She could not save her people on her own. She needed help.

Welding the door shut behind her, Clara rushed back towards the Plunder, sneaking through the chaos of battle. She could not save her people by herself.

The doctor her mother lusted after, however, would do nicely.

[Dane]

Dane chucked another grenade around the corner, it landed in the passage way and bounced around the corner, he smirked impishly when the explosion came with a scream of pain. He peaked around the corner and winced, two shots later the kid, barely twenty finally stopped screaming. He shook his head and jerked out of the way when a salvo of fire came barreling down the hall.

Thankfully he had some cover fire, made it a whole lot easier to handle the near endless stream of mamba--Dane cut off his thought process and ducked, a knife near came out of nowhere, he rolled and snatched his own knife out of his boot, he was on his feet in a flash, knife at ready.

Dane didn't bother turning to the crewmen as he spoke. "Stand back, just watch the door, I got stealth boy." The soldier didn't show any reaction to his taunt--like a good special forces boy-- Dane returned to a neutral, eying the strange black and silver stealth suit he wore.

The two of them danced around each other, neither making a move and waiting for a opening, Dane remained neutral for now, waiting to see what he was going to try, and just to see how infinite Mamba patience really is. The soldier boy finally made a move, lunging forward. Dane was prepared to parry when her realized the obvious feint to expose neck, the weapons expert stepped back just as the knife came near where his throat used to be not a second before.

The soldier boy didn't disappoint him, he kept coming, near relentless in his assault, Dane dodged, parried, shoved and jabbed till the soldier finally backed off. He didn't bother smiling, knowing all to well thats exactly what the man wanted him to do, get cocky and make a mistake. He went to lunge at the mamba when he flipped back, disappearing from sight. Dane just scoffed.

"Awww, whats the matta? To much for ya?" he waited, knowing that he would be getting desperate at this point. He waited, a very open stance with his knife at his side, twisting it in his grip, he felt something move past him on his left side, he jerked suddenly and brought his knife up at a smooth slashing angle. He was rewarded with a chocked gasped, blood appeared pouring out as the man reappeared, he looked at him, eyes wide. The mamba hit his knee's ,knife dropping out of his hand, he let out another gurgle then collapsed. Dane wiped the blood off his knife before sheathing it in his boot.

The weapons expert pulled Veronica out and fired around the corner, just in time to see a shinny metal object come flying through the air. Dane didn't' think and leaped forward, snatching up the object and tossing it back the way it came, jerking he dived around the corner just in time to catch a bullet in the foot. He gritted his teeth and hissed, cursing to himself and scowling. His anger left him when the grenade exploded followed by another scream.

Worth it.

"Dane! I got it!" he looked up and grinned evilly, Morty ran up to him holding his mini gun. He snatched it up and limped to his feet, Dane put the gun's barrel around the corner and sprayed the area with bullets, cackling like a mad man.

Let the good times roll.

[T.K.]

T.K. was double checking the engines after the Boost, when Morgan can come in.

“Get your gear. Captain wants you with me.”

T.K. looked at him a minute, before he gestured at Marcus.

“Go get me kits C-10, J-16, and M-7. Bring them to the Boarding ramp. I'll meet up with you after I get some gear from my room.”

He brushed passed Morgan, and started off for his room, Shiyounin trailing after.

“I'll meet you at the same place in a few minutes Morgan.”

Not waiting for Morgan's response, he dashed off to his quarters. First thing he grabbed were his Goggles. He also snagged several Data Storage modules, which he clipped to his workbelt. The last thing he grabbed on his way out of the room, was Shinigami. Like he could ever leave him behind.

“OK, let's go see what the Captain thinks is so important over on that ship.”

“Please be careful Master.”

“Oh, I plan on it Shiyounin, don't you worry.”

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda found herself all but dragged from the med-bay by Jo's daughter, Clara. The cat-girl wasn't taking anything but total compliance for an answer, physically hauling the slender doctor after her when Andromeda had balked at her rushed demand to come with her, that there were "vitally important patients" on board the freighter that needed her immediate and undivided attention.

"Clara!" she yelped, unable to keep from being pulled along, as the Magi girl was much, much stronger than she was. She'd barely been given enough time to grab one of her med-kits, which she held in the hand not being clutched by the sixteen year old. "I don't have clearance from the Captain to be on that ship!" she tried to reason.

"There's no time!" the small girl all but snarled. "My mother will agree with your presence, after she knows the truth."

Andromeda was pulled through the docking tunnel, and then quickly yanked down a side path away from the fighting. It didn't seem as though any of the boarder crew noticed them pass. "What truth? Clara, just what is going on here?!"

Another adgitated snarl let out of the cat-girl's chest. "There are children on this vessel," she hissed. "Magi children." Andromeda's eyes went wide, her stomach cold. "Some sort of experimental stasis. Many are already lost. If any are to survive, you must follow me!"

Andromeda was no longer being dragged. The doctor followed Clara anxiously, though her steps faltered again as they started to pass several bodies of Mamba soldiers. All of them having been killed brutally. Some by elemental magic, some looking as though they were torn apart by a wild animal. Only her medical training and several years attending as an emergency room surgeon kept her from getting sick at the sight.

"My God, what happened to them?"

Clara never faltered, eyes straight ahead, chin set with determination. "Me."

Andromeda stared at the redheaded girl, gaping, but she wasn't given much of a chance to process that. Clara yanked her through a strangely distorted hallway covered in gore, and then they were entering into the room beyond. Her eyes slowly rounded in horror, counting the bluish tubes quickly.

There were thirty of them. Thirty faces. Thirty innocent babies. Most of which would never be leaving the cold, inhumane prisons they had been forced into.

Ignoring the corpse of the scientist near-by, Andromeda ran for the nearest stasis-chamber. A small, slender girl rested inside, skin sallow, her long pale hair floating around her head. She couldn't be any older than Cassiopeia. For an instant her sister's face superimposed over the lifeless girl in the tube, and Andromeda felt her stomach heave.

"Focus!" Clara suddenly snapped out behind her, dragging Andromeda out of her personal hell and back into the present. The grieving sister was shoved aside, and the surgeon took over. Her golden eyes hardened accordingly as her fingers began flying across the keypad at the base of the stasis chamber.

[Morgan Halcyon]

Morgan led his crew, including Beau and TK, through the passages towards the hangar. Their missions was simple--look for spare parts, weapons, craft, anything they themselves could sell or use. When they got close, however, the First Mate stopped them.

"We're not alone." He said quietly, slipping on his grav-knuckles. Then, in one fast motion, he grabbed something invisible and slammed it into the wall with a sickening thwack. A Mamba became visible and was obviously knocked unconcious by the slam. Two more wielding knives ducked out of a nearby room, both faster than Morgan. It looked as though he was done for. However, rather than block them himself, he blocked the knives with their compatriot's body and used it to smashed the two of them against a wall. While they were stunned, Morgan pulled a pistol and shot both of them in the head.

Behind him, his crew had taken care of the rest of the ambush, Beau's gun smoking and T.K.'s wrench dripping.

Continuing on the path, they reached the hangar. Before they could enter, however, a rain of fire bore down on them from inside, causing the group to flank the door rapidly for safety.

"Beau, cover me." Morgan said a moment before he charged into the room and ducked behind a pillar. Normally, to charge an entrenched position was suicide. However, Morgan jumped behind a nearby console bank and grabbed it, his muscles straining as the large man, muscles straining heavily, ripped free one of the mostly-concealing metal objects and threw it into the Mamba trench, rushing them while crushing metal and rifle fire distracted them. In a few, bloody moments, the hangar was secure.

"Alright. T.K., start indexing what's valuable." Morgan ordered, ignoring the pain in his arms.

[T.K.]

T.K. was fairly sure he needed a fresh change of pants.

Not actually focusing on it, he attached Shiyounin to an undamaged computer terminal, and left the data modules with her as she started cracking the ships mainframe.

As for himself, he was quite simply in awe. He was having to constantly wipe the drool off his mouth. Everywhere he looked, all he saw was brand new, top of the line parts and equipment. And that was before he had some of the crew help him with cracking open the storage crates.

“Morgan. Is it my birthday and I forgot again?”

Off to one side of the hanger, and brand new Troop Transport was parked. In fact, it was so new, T.K. didn't even know what model it was. The crates to it's side were full of spare parts, and specialized tools for it's upkeep, for where ever it was being shipped. Closer to where T.K. was now, was a wide assortment of prototype ship parts, as well as more tools for their installation and maintenance.

He was definitely keeping the tools for himself. Probably the ship parts as well. He'd have to find their specs in the computer. It would be up to the Captain what to do about the Transport.

Whatever deity was suddenly smiling on him, he really wanted to thank it.

[Admiral Hart]

Captain Hart shoved away the body of the freighter captain. The whole crew had been Mamba. The bridge had been full of officers. Mamba officers were some of the deadliest people in the Solar System, trained to fight just about anyone with deadly efficiency. More than one was more than a match for any given person, especially one with no psychic or magical abilities. When someone was up against more than one Mamba officer, common knowledge was that it was easier simply to die then and save yourself the trouble of wearing yourself out first.

Eight Mamba officers lay dead around Josetta Hart. All she had to show for it was a gash on her cheek, right leg, and side, none of which were anything more than cosmetic.

She sheathed her sword and said, "Thanks again for the lessons, Dad." To no one, and began to search the ship's records. Heavily encrypted, very classified mission.

However, they did not encrypt the star charts. Their destination was definitely not Mars. In fact, it was a much, much farther location. Titan. Titan, whose military installations were related to....

Hart suddenly bolted for the door, moving as quickly as possible to the cargo bay, horrified at what she might find there.

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda had shed her coat about twenty minutes ago, the formerly pristine white garment stained in blue fluid and other filth, laying in a wadded pile where she'd left it. Her blouse and slacks were stained with the same, her dark hair beginning to come undone from it's bun, tendrils of ink curling around her flushed, sweat-misted face.

Fourteen bodies were lined up in a heart-wrenching row behind her, their far-too-young faces staring sightlessly at the cieling above them. The experimental stasis liquid had proven too much for their fragile bodies to handle. The slender blonde girl was at the head of that row, despite the near fifteen minutes Andromeda had fought in vain to resuscitate her.

Slightly apart from them, six currently lay with neural monitors attached to their foreheads, and oxygen filters over their noses and mouths--to help force their vegetative brains to keep their weak bodies functioning. They were in a deep coma, but still alive for now. Andromeda was willing to fight tooth and nail even for that small chance at recovery.

And finally, shaking violently and largely in shock, five very lucky souls sat huddled together, eyes wide and vacant but cognizant.

There were five more yet, to get to. Andromeda worked on the next child, releasing the stasis and trying to ease the young boy back into normal air as carefully and painlessly as possible. Clara stood near-by, ready to catch the child as soon as the glass barrier was lifted. The cat girl seemed a touch hurt and enraged, mixed with a healthy dose of helplessness. She wasn't alone in that last one.

After this, Andromeda feared a very large part of her own soul would never be the same again.

"Alright, get ready," she called to the redheaded girl, adjusting the settings with an almost artistic touch rather than a scientific one. This work required a very delicate hand, after all.

A split instant later, the shields dropped and the boy jerked, his eyes flying wide. And he immediately started going into convulsions. Clara tore him from the wires holding him in place, quickly laying him out and then pouncing back, the routine having become second nature by now. Andromeda immediately hit her knees beside him. His orange and yellow sunburst eyes rolled back into his head, his slender frame heaving up off the soiled ground near to the point of snapping his spine as his body started going into massive system failure.

Christ, he couldn't be any older than thirteen at the most.

"No," Andromeda snarled, voice shaking. She snatched a syringe from near-by and injected a full dose of adrenaline directly into his heart, and then started a regimen of old-fashioned CPR. His small body twitched, weak. Tired. "Don't you give up," she snarled again, tears in her eyes. "Don't you dare."

She continued to administer CPR, doggedly ignoring her own mind-numbing fatigue. She attempted a cortical shock as a last ditch effort, and was finally rewarded when the faintly blue-tinged boy gave another jerk, shuddered, and then his tiny chest lifted in a shallow breath of his own. Andromeda sat back and allowed herself only a small pause to try and recover before she quickly hooked him up to a breathing assistant.

One more saved. Four more to go.