After making contact with Rayff, Lucretia stood up, picking up the rifle and slinging it over her shoulder as she rose. She looked into the sky and raised her right hand, extending her middle finger in defiance. The satellite hovering overhead in orbit saw her gesture; the officers watching her were not amused.

"What in the world is she doing!? Why can't you get in contact with her!?" asked one of the officers in charge of the operation.

"She's deactivated her com. link, sir. She's gone dark," said an operator.

The officer was gripping the table firmly as he watched Lucretia on the monitor. "She's gone over the line. I want a kill order put out for Maj. Lucretia Ren on the double! She's not going to get away with this."

Lucretia looked down at the camp and made her way down to it, sliding down the side of the dune. Before continuing towards the camp, she walked over to Devan's body to check for extra supplies.

"I'm sorry, but it's nothing personal. It was either you or my love, Rayff. And I chose him." She looked one last time at her deceased partner before walking off.

As she approached the private encampment, a couple sentries raised their weapons at her as she got nearer. "Hold it. Let me see your hands!"

"Put your guns down. I'm on your side idiots," said Lucretia as she took off her helmet, attacking it to her utility belt.

"Lucretia? I didn't recognize you in your uniform. Sorry 'bout that," said one of the pirate sentries.

She casually passed them by as they lowered their rifles. She headed into camp in search of Rayff, the pirate leader and her boyfriend. The pirates were almost done cutting through the safes, so most of them were hustling about, making preparations to load the loot and escape.

Rayff spotted Lucretia and made his way over to her. "Hey, baby. How are things on your end?"

"I've already dealt with the other Rose. And as for the backup sniper team, they won't get here in time. Trust me."

"What about our exit plan?"

"Shouldn't be a problem, so long as we have the hostage; they won't make a move. The nighttime sniper incursion was their only solution. Now that the mission was botched, they're out of alternatives."

"Good. Very good. Everything is going according to plan. This is our biggest heist yet, so we can't afford any loose ends. Since you've done your part, you can relax in the ship while we loot the ship." He gave her a kiss before leaving to supervise the last stage of the heist.

She watched in admiration as he headed into the downed civilian transport, her heart a flutter from being in his presence again. Feeling the sweat accumulating on her forehead, she decided to head into the pirate ship to take a shower and unwind.

She didn't have too much trouble finding her room since she was somewhat already familiar with the ship. Entering the room she shared with Rayff, she vividly remembered every aspect of it, despite only being in it once before. She leaned her two assault rifles and Devan's sniper rifle against the wardrobe and headed into the bathroom to get cleaned up. She took off her utility belt with the helmet still attached and dropped it to the floor, followed by her gloves and tactical vest.

After loosening her hair, she stared blankly into the mirror. "What is wrong with me? I did what I had to do, didn't I? It was her or him. Damn the military for forcing me into this position."

She continued to disrobe and took a long, hot shower to get her head straight. After she was cleaned up and dressed in new clothes, she headed outside to check on Rayff's progress. The pirates had broken through, nearly completely transferring all of the treasure over to their ship. She started to grow wide-eyed as she watched cart after cart filled with precious valuables being loaded into the cargo bay. She found Rayff inside the civilian transport filling the last cart.

"Almost done?" she asked, entering the ship's vault.

Rayff emptied the last tray of jewels into the cart. "Just about."

"And I hope you haven't forgotten my share of the cut, right, hun?"

"Don't worry, babe. You'll get yours. We couldn't have gotten this far without you."

"That's right, and don't forget it," she said with a playful smile.

"Of course, darling. Now head outside and make sure everyone's loaded everything into the ship. We're getting outta here once we load this cart."

Lucretia nodded and did as she was told. Once Rayff had loaded the last cart, he headed towards the bridge for the final launch preparations.

"So, Lucretia, is there anything I should know about the military's plan of action before we lift off?"

"Not really. Like I said before, they won't make any hostile actions while we have hostages. They were watching this site from orbit via satellite, so they know we have hostages onboard. By the way, do you have the decoy drones I told you to get?"

"They were a bit pricey, but I got em'. Are they really necessary?"

"Believe me, they're quite necessary. Don't worry; with this take, you should be able to get your money back and then some."

"You think there are ships in orbit?"

"I don't think there are any ships near us, but you never know what's lurking out there. So if there is something out there, they'll be on your ass once you jump if you don't have the decoys. Let's just hope they don't get lucky and choose the right signature."

Rayff gave the order and told his pilot to lift off. Once in orbit, the ship deployed several drones which flew away in random directions; they were meant to throw off any tailing military vessels that might be tracking them.

Once the ship was a considerable distance away from the planet, they jumped into hyperspace toward an outer colony to enjoy their spoils.

#

It had been a month since Lucretia defected and things were already starting to fall apart. "You're freakin' unbelievable!" Lucretia grabbed the nearest object at hand, which happened to be a remote control, and hurled it at Rayff. She was covering her bare body with the bed sheets as she sat on the bed.

"Hey, give me a break, babe. I've given you some of your take already." Rayff was putting on his shirt with his back against the door, ready to leave if she got any more hostile.

"I want my entire cut you prick!" She picked up another object and threw it at him.

He dodged it and opened the bedroom door, hiding behind it for protection. "Now I'm going to leave now, so while you're still in here, I want you to cool off, okay? I'll check in on you later." He shut the door and locked it from the outside.

Lucretia was furious with Rayff and got out of bed to confront him, taking the sheets with her to cover her body. She tried opening the door, but to her dismay, it was indeed locked. She was about to head back to the bed when she heard voices in the hallway. There was an open air vent on top of the door, so Lucretia found a chair to stand up on to get a better vantage point.

"Having trouble with Lucretia there?" asked Fau, one of Rayff's pirate crew.

"She's just being stubborn. She wants her entire cut."

"Then why not give it to her? We all got out share already."

Rayff scoffed at the suggestion. "Do you know how much she wants? She wants twenty-five percent of the entire cut. The entire cut! Do you know how much that is? Much more than she deserves."

"But her role was important to the success of the heist. I mean, she killed her partner for you man. She loves you dude."

"So?"

"So, don't you love her as well?"

Rayff raised an eyebrow. "Pssh…love her?" I love her as much as I love getting stabbed in the gut, and then choked to death."

"Man, that's harsh, dude."

"Yeah well, she has a hot bod and all, since she's the soldier type, and she's good in bed, but she's just an asset, an asset I used to get the job done."

"Well if you don't want her, can I have her?"

Rayff scowled and slapped him upside the head. "She's still mine idiot. I never said that I didn't want her. C'mon, let's get something to eat. All this stress is making me hungry." He and Fau left the living quarters and headed to the mess hall for some breakfast.

On the other side of the door, Lucretia was heated with rage and fury. She moved away from the door and meandered back onto the bed, wrapping the sheets around her as she sat, thinking.

'Used me. He used me! That rat puck meat head dared to lie to my face! Well…I'll just wait her, and when he opens that door, we'll see how much he really likes getting choked and stabbed to death.' She raised her chin and started laughing maniacally, eagerly awaiting her revenge.

After a few hours, Rayff decided to head back to the bedroom to check on Lucretia. "Okay, Lucretia, cry baby time over. Let's go and get some food."

Little did he know, Lucretia was hiding behind the door, waiting for him. When he stepped inside, she punched him in the jaw, knocking him out. She quickly dragged him into the room and shut the door before anyone noticed.

When Rayff regained consciousness fifteen minutes later, he found himself gagged and tied to a bed with his wrists and ankles tied to each of the bed's four corners. The only light illuminating the room came from a small lamp on the desk; a shadowed figure sat at the desk with their back to him. He started to panic and tried to break free. The noise caused by his struggle alerted Lucretia, who was over at her desk sharpening her knife.

She stood up and walked over to Rayff. "So…you're awake?"

Rayff stopped to see who his captor was. He was surprised once he saw Lucretia before him. He tried to talk, but the gag muffled his words.

"Don't bother trying to speak. No one will hear you," said Lucretia as she waved her newly sharpened combat knife. She moved on the bed and straddled his waist, brandishing her knife in front of his face.

"Right now I bet you're wondering why you're in the predicament you're in, right? Rayff remained silent. Annoyed at the lack of a response, she smacked him across the face. "Well?" He angrily responded in a muffled voice. "I'll take that as a yes."

She leaned towards his face, caressing his head. "Allow me to refresh your memory then. Does 'she's just an asset' ring bell?" Immediately, Rayff's eyes widened as the fear gripped him. "Oh, so now you remember. What about 'much more than she deserves', remember that? I know, how 'bout 'I love her as much as I love getting choked and stabbed to death'?" She slowly cut his shirt open with her knife. Rayff's pulse began to increase quickly as his chest rose up and down rapidly. His heart beat furiously and his breathing became erratic as her knife reached just below his chin.

Sneering, Lucretia grabbed his throat with her left hand and readied her knife over his chest with her right. "How dare you use me. How dare you make me kill my friend in the name of love. You will pay for your…HUBRIS!" She raised her knife and plunged it straight down into his flesh, cutting downwards starting at his heart. She tightened her grip on his throat, stifling the struggling noises he tried to spurt out. Rayff's eyes were wide open with horror as he watched the blade cut down his torso. A large grin was growing on Lucretia's face as she continued to force the knife further. After a few tense moments of pure agony, Rayff breathed his last breath, his head tilting to the side with eyes still wide open.

Lucretia loosened her grip on his throat and rubbed her hand from grasping so hard. After regaining her composure, she withdrew her knife from his body and wiped it clean on his tattered shirt. She sheathed her weapon and got off the bed, looking one last time at Rayff's corpse with a look of disgust.

'Now for the rest of the crew.' She walked over to the wardrobe and got dressed in her Crimzon Rose combat uniform. She thought that it was the best suited attire to fight in since she was already accustomed to it. Once she was clothed, she retrieved her suppressed assault rifle, the same one she used when she was still a Crimzon Rose. Since she had killed the pirates' leader, there was no turning back. She checked her gear and loaded her weapons as she approached the bedroom door.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped through. It was late in the evening and most of the crew was already asleep. Lucretia decided to start off with the rooms near hers and Rayff's, since they were personal rooms and would make killing the occupants easier to deal with. As she entered each room, she decided that simplicity would be best and didn't try anything fancy. Instead, she just slit everyone's throat with a single deep slice. Since she knew the exact number of pirates in Rayff's crew, she simply subtracted those she'd already killed from the total to see how many were left. Five. That was how many were left after she was through with the living quarters. She figured that the majority of those remaining were in the lounge/commons area, so she cautiously headed there, checking all the miscellaneous rooms on the way for any stragglers.

As she came to her destination, she waited behind a wall and peeked around the corner to see how many targets there were. Three enemies confirmed. Not everyone, but most of them. She readied her assault rifle and planned her shots to catch them completely off guard. She raised her rifle and turned the corner. Three shots, three thuds. Lucretia scanned the area with her rifle raised and advanced, taking slow, cautious steps. 'All clear.' Two remained.

She had a feeling the remaining two were in the cockpit area, so that was her next stop. She traversed the rest of the ship and was almost to the cockpit. As she walked down the corridor towards the pilot's cabin, a pirate ambushed her en route. He forcefully knocked her rifle away and maneuvered behind her, wrapping one of his arms around her neck.

'I must be getting rusty. I should've seen that one coming,' thought Lucretia as her assailant tightened his grip. She struggled to get an arm free and elbowed the man in the stomach. He reeled backwards as he clutched his gut in pain. Lucretia moved away from him and drew her sidearm from her tac-vest, planting a single round in his head.

As she was about to holster her weapon, the door to the cockpit opened. "What's all the commotion?" asked the pilot as he exited the cockpit, his pistol in hand. Lucretia acted without hesitation and aimed her sidearm, shooting the man twice in the chest. She didn't want to go for a headshot because she didn't want to risk missing and hitting anywhere in the cockpit behind him. Unfortunately for her, shooting him in the chest gave the guy an extra few moments of life. He randomly shot off a round before he died which grazed Lucretia's right thigh. She cursed to herself as she leaned against the wall to take the pressure off her injured leg. Zero remained. 'That's the last of them.' She sighed and limped back to the commons area. She plopped down onto a random chair and just sat, unsure of what to do.

'Now what do I do? I've killed my only love, I've killed the entire crew, and I'm a wanted fugitive. There's nowhere to go. No friends. My parents certainly won't take me in. And Carolyn, not a chance. There's nothing left for me anymore.' She took her sidearm and pressed it against the side of her head. 'Is this my only option, to end it all? No. There must be something worth living for. But what?'

She started to squeeze the trigger, but then, she heard a voice in her head - a familiar voice, a memory. She was remembering a moment a few months ago, just before Devan transferred to her training assignment.

#

Devan fired another shot down range, hitting the target dead on. "Looks like the rifle is finally zeroed in." She loaded another magazine into the rifle and took aim. She and Lucretia were at an outside, long-range firing range, practicing sniping at extremely long distances.

Before she was about to continue firing, Lucretia spoke. "Rook, why did you join the military?"

Devan was caught off guard by her sudden question, unsure of what to say. "Um, it's a long story, ma'am."

"I've got time, sergeant."

"I'm sorry for asking, but why do you want know, ma'am?"

"I just want to get to know my partner better."

Devan moved her focus away from her rifle's scope and towards Lucretia. "Well, it all began during my childhood."

"That far back?"

"Yeah. Well, I was involved with the military all my life since I was a Prodigy, but the turning point that really drove me to continue my military career mostly began with my parents. My mom was an army infantry officer serving with the expeditionary forces. My dad was a deadbeat, alcoholic construction worker. When my mom died in combat, my dad started drinking heavily again. When my mom was alive, he went to rehab and had been clean ever since. But when she died, he had no reason to continue being clean. So as you can imagine, I went through some tough times with being constantly drunk all the time."

"He only stopped drinking because your mom?"

"Mostly. She forced him to. Anyway, I was doing okay in school and was allowed to remain in the Prodigy program on economic assistance, since my mom died. But after the school day, I always hated going home. I would get bossed around, beat, and abused. If I said anything, I would get beat harder. So I didn't say anything. I was growing fed up with my life at home with my dad. Then one day during the end of my senior year, some army recruiters came by to get some of the students interested in joining the Scarlet Berets after graduating. I was intrigued by their displays and wanted to see what they had to offer, but then I remembered the argument I had with my dad the night before."

"About what?"

"What I'd be doing after I graduated. He didn't want me to enlist, but to instead find a job close to home to support his alcoholism. The only reason he let me stay in the Prodigy program was because we were getting financial aid, in which he used whatever was leftover to buy his alcohol. So when I graduated, no more financial aid would be coming in, and thus no more alcohol money. I dreaded what my life would be if it came to that, and so I made a decision. I was going to enlist and cut my ties once and for all from him once I graduated. So, I went over to the Scarlet Berets and learned all I could. So for the last remaining days, I coped with my life at home. And then on the day of my graduation, I gathered all the money I could and the few possessions I wanted to keep, and went to the enlistment office once the graduation party was over. I snuck away after the ceremony and caught a transport away from the city.

"And then the rest is history, right?"

"Yeah. I enlist. Train with the Scarlet Berets. And then I end up here, with the Crimzon Roses. And I haven't contacted my dad every since."

"Do you regret any of it?"

Devan smiled, something Lucretia didn't expect she would do. "Not one bit. The decision to enlist was probably the best decision I had ever done in my life. It finally allowed me to lead a new life."

"A new life?"

"Yes. Leaving home allowed me to make my own decisions and to not worry about anything else but myself and my job. No more drunk dad and problems at home. A new life."

#

Lucretia paused and as she withdrew her finger from the trigger, she repeated the last three words in her head. 'A new life. A new life? A new life! Yes! Why didn't I think of this before? I can finally start living now! No longer do I have to uphold my loyalty to my parents, the military, or deadbeat boyfriend, but to myself, and only myself! But Devan…'

Realizing she still had a gun to her head, she threw it across the room and cried, letting out a loud, sorrowful yell. 'But Devan…she wasn't supposed to be there. She wasn't supposed to be there! If I was paired with some random Crimzon, this would have gone a lot smoother, or at least, the betrayal would have been easier.' She buried her face in her hands as she cried. 'But I had to choose. I was a fool. Blinded by love and choosing gaddamn Rayff over my one and true friend, Devan. She was one of the only people that truly understood me, and now she's dead, killed by my hand. Oh Devan, I should have told you; you would've understood me.'

She sat silently for a few moments before getting up. She limped over to the refrigerator in the kitchen and grabbed a Mountain Dew: Code Red, leaning against the counter after closing the fridge. 'I'm sorry Devan.' She popped open the can, the escaping gas hissing at her. "To you…" She poured the first bit on the floor and took a long, refreshing gulp, sighing with relief.

As she placed her drink on the counter, she bumped into something on the ground with her foot. Looking down, she saw her sidearm lying next to her and bent down to retrieve it. "Frickin' a." A sharp pain ran up her leg as she picked it up. Remembering her wound from before, she holstered the gun and pulled out her med-kit to address it. She applied a healing ointment to the injury and wrapped it in a bandage.

'So not what? I already stopped myself from blowing my brains out, so what's next?' She walked around and surveyed the carnage of dead bodies she left around the room. There were poker chips scattered around the floor.

'Must've been playing poker when I dropped in.' She walked over to the table and picked up one of the chips. As she held the piece of plastic, something clicked in her brain and she smiled deviously to herself. She placed it back on the table and spun it around.

"What's next you ask?" She watched the poker chip spin on the table until it stopped, resting on a pile of money in the center. "If I'm going to start living for myself, I'm going to need some money, lots of money."

She left the table and headed back to her bedroom. Entering the room, she walked straight to her bed which still had Rayff's bloodied corpse still on it. Completely unemotional by the grisly scene, she started rummaging through the clothes on his person.

'Where is it? I know he has it. Ah, here it is.'

She fully opened his shirt and gripped a key on a necklace located around his neck. Prying it from his neck, she took the key and left the room. As she walked through the corridors, she increased the speed of her steps as she went along. In just a few moments, she was jogging through the hallways with an eager smile on her face. She came to a halt outside a large steel door and readied the key.

"This is it, the motherload."

After fitting the key home, and with a turn to the right, the door opened which left Lucretia standing in awe. The room she had just unlocked was the pirates' loot room. All of the loot gathered from raids and heists were kept there until it was distributed amongst the crew. Inside the room were racks filled with crates containing items ranging from jewels and jewelry, to straight up bundles of hundred dollar bills.

Lucretia walked through the aisles, eyeing and touching all of the valuable items within. "Most of the loot from the Grimestone Heist is still here. I'm guessing…half, maybe? Looks like there's some leftovers from previous jobs here as well. This is definitely going to last me awhile." She turned her attention away from her treasure and stood for a moment, deep in thought about how she was going to continue.

'So now what? I've got a ship full of loot and dead pirates. Do I pilot the ship back to port in an outer-rim colony and hope no one ask any questions? No. That's too simple; I can do better than that. Hmm…maybe…' She exited the room and headed to the ship's cargo bay/hanger.

"Now we're getting somewhere." In the hanger, there was a smaller ship, a transport they used for traveling from the ship in orbit to the planet's surface. It was a moderate-sized ship with plenty of cargo space, and after she made a few adjustments, there would be even more room. She opened the outer hatch and inspected the ship. 'Yeah, this will do perfectly.'

After she was done clearing out the transport, she started loading all of the valuables onto the ship. Starting with the loot room, she loaded crate after crate, each filled with money, jewels, and valuables, into her ship. She then went back to her room to gather up her belongings. She packed her clothes and personal items into duffel bags, making sure it was tightly packed to conserve space.

As she was going through her things, the ship shuddered, making Lucretia loose her balance. "What the frick was that?"

As she put down her box and headed to the hallway, another quake forced her to brace herself against the wall. Regaining her balance, she sprinted for the cockpit to see what was happening before the next shock occurred. Taking a seat in one of the seats in the cockpit, she looked out to see what the problem was. "Great…a debris field."

She hastily looked around the cockpit's consoles and piloting panels, scanning over the numerous buttons and switches. She started pressing random buttons with hopes that it would help somehow. "Frick! I'm a foot soldier, not a pilot." As she looked out the window, she saw a large piece of space rock out in front of the ship. "Um! Uh! I guess I have to go in manually." She grabbed the joystick and throttle and tried to turn, but neither budged. She pulled on them harder, but still nothing happened. Panicking, she jerked on them harder and harder. "Why won't you move!?" She let go of the controls and slumped back in the seat.

"Frick…" She closed her eyes and gripped the armrests of the chair. "So this is the end, is it? Man…karma's a bitc*." After a few moments, the ship started to tilt. Expecting to have collided with the asteroid already, Lucretia opened an eye to see what was happening. Just as she opened her eye, she saw the large mass pass just out of sight of the cockpit's window. She opened both eyes and peered out into space. The ship was moving on its own, evading the asteroids with ease. She looked around the cabin and saw that the autopilot had been engaged. 'Whoa…I must've triggered it when I randomly started pushing buttons. No wonder they call me Lucky. Damn, I need to get off this ship ASAP.'

Sighing with relief, she got up and left the cockpit. As she walked out, she noticed her assault rifle from earlier that she had dropped. She knelt down to retrieve, and as she moved closer to the ground, a glimmer from the dead body lying next to the gun caught her eye. Looking over, she reached for the man's wrist and admired the golden watch fastened securely around it.

"Hmm…that's a nice watch you got there," she said, removing the watch from his wrist and pocketing it. She paused before standing back up and looked the body over. "What else do you have, hmm?" After scrounging through the pockets, she acquired a sidearm, a knife, two pistol magazines, and fifty-seven dollars from his wallet, along with a few IDs and bank cards. Putting all of the dead man's possessions on her person, she looked over at another dead body nearby. 'I think I'm on to something here. I'm pretty sure all those pirate scum have loads of cash on their person, not to mention all the stuff in their rooms and trunks. And there's plenty of stuff throughout the ship worth a pretty penny. I've got time, and there's still plenty of room in the transport for all this stuff. Yup, looks like I can't leave just yet.' She scooted over and started looting the second body in the hallway.

As she continued to loot the rest of the ship, she only took items of value. Her focus was on items like: guns, ammunition, electronics, appliances, tools, clothing, jewels, etc. She scrounged through every nook and cranny of the pirates' rooms and personal quarters for anything she could sell. She was very thorough with her work. Being the greedy and materialistic person she was, she checked every drawer, opened every box, and sifted through every container. She even raided the kitchen area of its coffee maker and microwave.

On her way back to the cargo bay with the last few boxes, she heard voices in the distance. Putting the boxes down, she drew her sidearm from her tac-vest and listened for the voices again.

'I'm pretty sure I heard voices, but I'm also pretty sure all the pirates are dead.' She took a few steps with her he pistol raised. She heard the voices again; this time they were louder and clearer. Lucretia proceeded towards the source of the voices. She came to an iron door and pressed her ear against it. The voices started up again and she was sure whoever the voices belonged to was behind that door. She raised her pistol and prepared to storm the room. Turning the knob slowly, she kicked open the door and proceeded in, her gun poised and ready to fire.

There were shrieks of fright as the people inside turned to see Lucretia barge in, fully clothed in combat gear and with a weapon drawn. Seeing the unarmed civilians behind metal bars, she lowered her gun. 'Hmm…they must've taken hostages again during the last raid.'

One of the prisoners, a young woman dressed in a civilian pilot's uniform, approached the wall of steel bars. "You're a soldier. Are you here to rescue us?"

Lucretia was surprised by her question. 'Rescue? Oh yeah, I'm still in my uniform. They must think I'm here to help them. What should I do? Kill them? No. I'm not a cold-hearted killer that kills for no reason. I'll leave 'em here till I figure out what to do with them.'

She walked into the room and approached the captives. "It's still not safe out there yet. Wait here till I come back." The pilot was about to say something, but Lucretia left before she could finish. 'Now what? I've got civilians I have to deal with now. Great. Let's just finish loading everything and then I'll deal with them.'

She finished packing the ship and went back to the commons area for a bite to eat before leaving. 'I'm surprised I'm still on this ship. But what do I do when I leave? Huh, haven't thought that far yet. Hmm…well, the outer colonies are the obvious place to go since I'm still an outlaw. Frick, that's right. I still am an outlaw. Gaddamnit. Wherever I go, they'll be after me. I should've taken Rayff's advice and faked my death when I still had the chance.' Lucretia paused and had another brilliant idea. 'Actually, it's still not too late to fake my death. I can overload the ship's reactor and make my escape in my ship. And as for witnesses, those civilians just made themselves useful.'

She got up and made preparations for her escape. Once everything was in place, she went back for the hostages. She psyched herself up and played her part as she entered the brig. "It's all clear, but you all need to hurry." She approached the prisoners in a panicked manner.

"Why? What's going on?" asked one of the prisoners.

"The pirates overloaded the ship's reactor before I could get to them. It can blow any minute. Stand back!" She pulled out her sidearm and shot at the lock on the prison door. Once the lock was off, she pried open the prison door and led prisoners out of their cell. "Stay close keep up! There's not much time left."

"Where are you taking us!?" asked the female pilot.

"An escape pod. The ship has an escape pod for you to use. I've already stocked it with food and supplies to keep you alive until rescue finds you," said Lucretia.

"An escape pod? What about your ship, the one you used to board with?" asked one of the prisoners.

"I didn't come by ship. I snuck on the last time they made port," said Lucretia. The group arrived at the escape pod and Lucretia started loading them in.

"C'mon. Get on! It's going to blow soon!" said the female pilot.

"No can do. Someone needs to stay behind to activate the launch sequence," said Lucretia with a faint smile. 'Damn, this hero stuff is really starting to get on my nerves.'

"Is there no way to start the launch remotely?" asked one of the prisoners.

"I'm afraid not. As a Cornerian soldier, it is my duty to protect its people." She handed the female pilot her combat helmet and military ID. "My name is Major Lucretia Ren. Please tell them what happened here." Before the pilot could say another word, Lucretia pushed her into the escape pod and shut the hatch. And with one last smile, she launched the pod into space.

Once the pod was gone, Lucretia let out a heavy sigh and headed to the hanger bay to leave the ship as well. "Urgh, that was so annoying. Being the good guy really sucks. How in the world can they do all that sincerely and freely? Whatever I'm outta here." She boarded the ship and piloted out of the hanger bay.

"This looks far enough." She reached into her pocket and took out a remote detonator linked to explosives on the ship's reactors. "Kaboom…" Once she pushed the button, the entire ship behind her erupted in flames as it tore apart into millions of pieces. She activated her ship's hyperdrive and headed towards the outer-rim colonies before anyone arrived at the scene.