A Den of Serpents

[Admiral Hart]

"Oh no." Captain Hart said as she barged into the "cargo" bay. It was worse than she had feared.

All told, six magi were awake and semi-concious. Seven seemed alive and comatose.

Hart's gaze then went over the seventeen bodies lining the wall. No breath. No motion.

She saw Clara sitting next to the living ones, speaking calmly and quietly to them. Keeping them from going into shock or their systems arresting, most likely. She gave a very helpless look to her mother. Jo walked up to her daughter and held her tightly as the small mage buried her face in her mother's chest and began to sob. And then, Jo being who she was, extended the hug to as many of the teens as she could. They were crying, and weak, but stable.

After a few moments, Jo wandered back to Andi, seeing past her wide and horrified stare, and then embraced her as well. And began to sob, and Jo just held her tighter.

"We'll get through this. These thirteen will live. And they will be cared for. I promise you this." She murmured. "If I have to raise them all myself, I promise you this, my beloved." Andi squeezed her tighter.

Then Jo pulled away from her carefully and tapped on the console a few times. She had been saving this for a while now. Her trump card. One that was bound to be removed from her hand after this incident.

But the lives of a baker's dozen children depended on it.

"Computer, decrypt files pertaining to the medical data of the cargo, and download to the medical computer of the ship, Plunder's Heart through my comm link. Access is Beta Twelve Zero Nine. Codename, Cobra." Jo said sternly.

"Acknowledged." The cool voice of the computer replied.

She ignored the uncomprehending loom from Andi. "We'll extend the med bay, set up an area strictly for these children. I'll order the passenger rooms prepared." Jo held Andi again, and then started to leave. She stopped by Clara.

"As soon as this ship is completely secure, I'll send word for the med team to start moving these kids and as much of the med equipment this ship is holding." Captain Hart then hugged her daughter one more time, and said to the conscious kids, "You're safe now. They can never hurt you again. I promise you that." Then she left to personally make sure the ship was secure. One rapier thrust at a time.

[T.K.]

T.K. was typing out a list of the booty on a datapad, when Shiyounin zoomed over.

“Master, I have finished downloading all the data in the computers. I have a full cargo manifest. Apparently, this ship was to supply spare parts for a 'Project Savage'. The final destination was for a Research Facility on Titan, and not Callisto as previously thought. The ship originates from a facility on Earth's Moon. I have full specs for all Mecha on board ship, as well as a full Crew roster. Master, other than a few scientists and technicians, the entire ship was staffed by Mamba Soldiers and Officers. This ship was a carefully guarded secret. Only the fact that we were after a Medical supplies uncovered the deception.”

T.K. stopped, and shared a glance with Morgan. What the hell was an entire ship of Mamba's doing disguised as a Medical transport?

“Shiyounin, give me a rundown of that Cargo manifest.”

“Very Well Master. Item X-00929, Phoenix Troop Transport. Model PT-21200. Prototype. Being field tested before full production begins.

“Cargo Crates X-002000 through X-002100 are replacement parts and tools for the testing of the Phoenix transport.”

“Pause. Master, there is currently a download in progress. Codename 'Cobra' is downloading all medical files to the Plunder's Medical mainframe. Download is originating from a data terminal in the main Cargo Hold.”

“Wait. You mean there's another storage are on board?”

He looked at Morgan again.

“What the Hell did we find?”

[Morgan Halcyon]

Morgan, T.K., and his crew burst into the hold, gaping at what they saw.

"Andromeda, what the fuck's going on here?" The First Mate asked.

"Magi. They were being shipped to Titan for Project Savage." She replied, her voice a bit shaky for once. "Most...we lost over half. The rest are going to be shipped to the med-bay. The Captain was going to expand it for them."

T.K. started off right then.

"T.K., what are you?"

"Doing my job. Going to expand the med-bay. Shiyounin can take care of anything you need." He said quickly, not pausing.

Morgan started to Clara, but he made impact with a wind wall before he got there.

"Stay back. They're fragile." The tiger girl hissed protectively. Morgan, wisely, backed down.

Before anything else could be said, Captain Hart's voice could be heard. Unbeknownst at the time by Morgan, it was being broadcast over both ships.

"This is Captain Hart. All UE personnel on this ship have been fatally neutralized. We have thirteen prisoners of the UE joining us for the foreseeable future. They are going to be in frail condition, so treat them gently and with respect. All available hands not repairing something important will head to medical and help enlarge the med-bay. Medics, follow Andi's com signal to her and bring thirty stretchers with you. All boarders and non technical crew, sweep the ship for anything of value, and any and all med gear. We're going to need it. Hart, out."

Andromeda and Morgan were a bit startled at that news before Dr. Reyes pulled Morgan aside.

"Morgan, the Captain had security clearance for this terminal. Under the codename Cobra. What does that mean?" She asked.

Morgan looked like someone had hit him with a ten-ton weight. "King and Queen Cobra were the code names for Alexandria and Wilcroft Wright. The first two Mamba."

"How on earth would Josetta know their remote override?" Andi replied. Morgan still looked stunned.

"You don't get it. Hart is not Jo's birth name. Her birth name is more common than that. I've speculated she might have some Mamba training herself some time...but...Dr. Reyes, I think Jo might be the daughter of the two deadliest people that have ever lived."

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

Cassi left the modified passenger area-turned-medical wing with a heavy sigh, bone tired but her heart lifted for the first time in days. She had been as appalled and upset as everyone else, at learning the true intentions of the freighter as well as learning how many Magi children had died being transported so barbarically. The elfin girl had been especially horrified, knowing that it could very well have been her aboard that ship.

Holding more of a kinship with the thirteen survivors than anyone else would ever understand, Cassi and Clara had spent near to every waking moment they had with the patients. Helping Andromeda care for the ones still in comas, and doing their best to soothe and comfort the ones who had awakened.

Clara refused to leave them at all, and so far no one had been foolish enough to try. There were some rather disturbing rumors spreading as to just what Jo's daughter was capable of, from the mangled bodies they had found on board that freighter. Cassi ignored them for the most part. Partly because Clara was her best friend, and she refused to harbor any ill-thoughts toward her. And also partly because a very small, very angry part of her believed that whatever gruesome end those men had found, they more than deserved it.

Cassiopeia had left the medical wing periodically, herself. Mostly to rest, when her body started giving out on her, not holding the superior stamina that Clara did. She also left in order to spend a little time with Beau, when she could. He was being kept fairly busy with his own chores, but the young couple did their best to find each other as much as possible. One such a visit had happened a little while ago, where he had finally gotten a chance to relate some of what had happened on his first boarder-crew shift with the First Mate.

Beau's voice had taken on a touch of awe and hero-worship as he'd described Morgan's battle prowess. "He was amazing, Cass! I swear, I've never seen anything like it! The way he took out those Mamba? Even invisible! And then he literally tore a computer console out of the floor, bare-handed, and chucked it right into the middle of them! He was like a one-man wrecking crew!"

Cassi had listened raptly, perhaps with a touch more interest than she probably should have, but that was for her own tiny niggle of guilt to know and her boyfriend to never find out. She was certain her puppy crush of Morgan Halcyon would fade away any day now. Especially with her dating Beau, now. After all, it wasn't as if he would ever return her feelings, misguided as they were. Surely it was bound to go away eventually.

Cassi headed for her room, looking forward to being able to curl up in her bunk and pass out for a few hours. Yet as she walked, her eyesight tuned itself to the powerful First Mate of it's own accord--the first time that it had happened since she'd come back to the facility. She started to shut it off again with an annoyed scowl, but hesitated at what she saw.

Morgan was standing in his old room. After Jo's true gender and their marriage had come out, he had taken to staying in the Captain's quarters with her, but ever since the freighter he had been bedding down back in his own room again, for whatever reason. That didn't interest her nearly as much as seeing him without his shirt, and getting an eyeful of the livid violet-green bruises that covered both of his arms from shoulder to mid-forearm and the top of his chest. He was currently flexing them at present, slowly, his normally stoic face a mask of pain and discomfort.

Beau's words from earlier suddenly floated back to her, he literally tore a computer console out of the floor, bare-handed . . .

Cassiopeia frowned, chin firming with determination. She turned around and marched back to the med-bay, grabbing up a first-aid kit, then began marching in the direction of the First Mate's quarters. If the stubborn mule was too dumb to seek medical attention, then the medical attention would just have to go find him instead.

[Morgan Halcyon]

Morgan scowled at the bruises on his arms, and the odd bulge in his muscles. He really, really needed to do some stretches or something before boarding next time. Consoles weren't as easy to rip up as they were when he was a teenage ruffian, before Hart had taken him under her wing.

And now she was avoiding him. Probably because she knew Andromeda would tell her about the Cobra incident. And also because she knew that Morgan had known that there had been three Cobras in Mamba, the last disappearing about twelve years ago. The daughter of the legendary first pair.

He was somehwat surprised when a knock came at his door, and even more surprised when it was Cassi at the door with a med-kit.

"Oh, wow, it's even worse than I thought." She said, shoving past him and placing her med-kit on the table. Which she bent down to do.

He quickly pulled his eyes away as she removed an anti-inflammatory injection from the kit and walked over to him. She ran her fingers down his arm, outlining a vein before injection. Her touch felt so soft, so gentle, that he began to think as unsexual thoughts as he could to avoid a rather large problem in his decorum from presenting itself.

After injecting that, she went to retrieve a pain killer. "I don't need all these meds, Cassi. I'm fine."

"No, you're in pain and being stubborn." She replied. "This will take care of the pain but I don't think there's anything in here for the stubbornness." She gave him a second injection as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't remember you always being this much of a brat." He said, his voice very slightly playful.

"You must not have a very good memory." Cassi said cheerfully as she put a few anesthetic-pads on the table. "Use these if things start to get inflamed or swell again.

I can show you something swelling, babe, but I'll get keel-hauled if I do. Came a dismal thought that Morgan tried to shunt away as quickly as possible. She's only sixteen you dirty old man.

"Hey, you doing alright with all this?" Morgan asked her, changing the subject and showing uncharacteristic compassion. "It's hard on everyone, but you've been right there most of the time."

"Yeah...I mean, yeah, it's hard, but we're saving who needs saved." She said, looking down a bit. Morgan gave her a quick hug, and held her for a few awkward minutes.

Cassi's face was a bit red when they pulled apart and she said, "I should go, um, return this. It's probably missed. Right. Don't strain yourself." She then rushed out of the room, and Morgan could not help but to notice the way she was starting to bounce.

Bloody hell. I need a cold shower.

[T.K.]

T.K. pick up the module he was working on, and studied it very carefully.

“Shiyounin, are all the connections stable?”

“Checking. Checking. Affirmative Master. All leads and connectors are working properly. All that remains is to attach the Module to it's housing, and begin to compile the Core Programming.”

“Good, good. Could you start on that for me please, while I work on the housing.”

“Of course Master.”

T.K. nodded to the sprite as she began her work, and he began his.

All this EU technology that had been falling into his lap, it was only a matter of time until he figured out a use for some of it. In fact, the EU databanks and Shiyounin herself had provided the idea. If some two bit programmers in a poorly lit room could create AI's, why couldn't he? He and Shiyounin had been working on a prototype for several days now, using some of the recently acquired parts.

His Prototype, which he was intending to call Faust, would be rather primitive at first. It would be installed in Medical, to help Doc watch over the guests. The plan, was to upgrade it in stages, and eventually give Doc her own, State-of-the-art Medical Bot assistant. For now, it would be a simple Watch-dog, and monitor the status of the coma victims. T.K. had a few plans of his own for that data, but he'd need a lot more equipment than the Plunder had to offer, even with the latest haul.

Still, Faust would be one kick ass AI. Hell, if it worked, he would be the first of many AI T.K. planned to make. Considering how anal the EU was about letting people have them, he bet he could make a killing, selling simpler versions of them to the public.

Ah, the possibilities.

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda entered the slightly darkened wing of rooms that had been modified to hold the coma patients, and blinked a little in surprise when her eyes were immediately caught by flickering white-blue light. She quickly centered on the source, and gave a sad sigh.

Little Toby stood at the foot of one of the beds, staring somewhat sightlessly at a girl there. Her name was Amanda, the others had said. Apparently her power was to fly at up to subsonic speeds, her Magi blood apparent by the tiny, two-foot long vestigial white feathered wings sprouting out of her back.

And much as the other six laying in these series of rooms, she remained in a very deep, vegetative coma.

Andromeda approached Toby, fearless of the sparks of electricity arcing off of him, and gently rubbed his shoulders. As soon as she touched him, the arcing energy stopped. His thin frame heaved a sigh that seemed to come from his toes, his dark blackish-blue hair sticking up a little crazier than normal. He lifted one of his faintly clawed hands, and quickly wiped away the wetness that had trailed down his pale-blue scaled cheek.

"She'll get better, Toby," Andromeda murmured softly, soothing, her hands continuing to rub gentle circles into his thin shoulders. Toby didn't say anything. He never did. The other children had been the ones to tell her his name, as he was apparently mute. Instead the small boy turned and buried his face in her coat, claws clutching at it as he started to shake with silent sobs. Andromeda held him, her own eyes watering. "All of them will," she promised somewhat hoarsely. "I promise, sweetie."

The children had been very leary of her at first. Perfectly understandable, given the hell that they had gone through at the hands of countless doctors and scientists. It had taken days of reassurances from Cassi and Clara both, before the group began to settle down and trust her. Most of them had grown to like her, now, with only a few remaining slightly standoffish, though not nearly the angry, cold hate that had faced her when they'd first recovered enough to react with more than shock in their systems.

Andromeda had felt an especially strong bond with little Toby, however. She wasn't sure why, but she had taken special care of him him, more so than the others, and the two of them had become very close as a result.

The slender woman let him cry it out, continuing to rub his back and murmur nonsensical things meant to soothe. Once he was through, she knelt down to him, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Why don't you go on and find the others. I think Cassi took them to the recreation room earlier." She rubbed his chin. "You could use the break." Toby blinked at her with his brilliant orange and gold starburst eyes, glanced somewhat uncertainly at Amanda's bed, then back to her. Reading his intent perfectly, she chuckled, ruffling his hair. "If she wakes up, I promise you'll be the very first to know."

Toby smiled a little at that, nodding. He stepped forward to curl his arms around her neck in a quick hug, one that brought a new flood of moisture to her eyes, before turning on his heel and darting out the door.

Andromeda slowly straightened after he'd gone, pulling her tablet out of her coat pocket and nearing Amanda's bed to check her vitals. She hadn't left the med-bay ever since the children had been brought in, working around the clock and stead-fastedly ignoring anyone who suggested she needed to take a break or rest.

Burying herself in her work had been doing an excellent job of helping her ignore or forget the revelation that Morgan had had aboard the freighter, concerning Jo. That she might possibly be the daughter of the two most deadly human beings who had ever lived. It was also helping her mostly forget the way Jo had held her, after arriving in the cargo bay, or the way she'd clutched at the redheaded Captain in her moment of weakness.

And most days, she could almost forget that Josetta had called her, her beloved. Almost.

[Clara Hart]

For the life of her, Clara could not understand the crush that Tina had on her.

Tina was tall, dangerously thin, and exceptionally pale. Her hair was dead white, and her eyes glowing green. Coupled with the black she enjoyed wearing, most agreed she was downright eery looking. Though Clara did think there was something attractive about her.

Which was confusing as well. She is another female. I don't understand why I would be attracted to her. I can't mate with her in such a way as to produce offspring.

Damned if that confusing internal pep talk did not increase her urge to shove Tina against a bulkhead and have her way with the bony goth. She was not sure what that would entail, but she was also fairly certain instinct would help her out.

Clara was in the lounge near the med bay with Tina, Cassi, and the four other magi: Gloria, a very curvy, dark blue haired hispanic girl; Antigone, the youngest of the group assembled here at fourteen, a girl with curly pink hair and hazel eyes to go with her moderate curves and delicate appearance; Rascal, a somewhat generic, save for the pointed ears, looking boy with brown hair and eyes; and Stefan, the half-Japanese, half-pacific islander boy with shaggy black hair and white eyes. Stefan was also the one least certain of his surroundings, not quite trusting the pirate ship despite it's rescue.

Clara had become their leader over the past few days, which was not hard. She was calm and caring and compassionate for them ever since they left their prisons, and she had been by their side ever since, making sure they had not want of anything.

Currently they were talking about their stay, things that had happened so far, who was cute, the Captain's near-legendary status, etc. Clara assumed they were normal teenage things, which were good, because it helped to calm them.

But Clara was far from calm, even though having her head on Tina's shoulder was strangely soothing, even considering the fact she was doing it for the comfort of physical closeness. What she had seen, what was being done to her people, had to stop. Things were getting bad and worse.

Much longer, and the only possible course of action would be Revolution.

Those thoughts briefly faded when Tina tentatively put an arm around her, and a warm, bright feeling welled up in Clara of which she had no idea what to do with.