Sirena's Story

by JyrFalcon345

This is a document that I have been working on for quite a while. I read the Silverwing books and didn't like the way that the Vampyrum were represented. They were pretty much relegated to the evil corridor and I wanted to see If I could change that.

Reworked Version Of Story by Alexander Cole Date 2006-2007

Opposing forces

Sirena awoke; sweat beading her brow, her body shaking from head to claw in fear and anger. She had just had the same dream that she always had, in which she was wrenched from her mother's grasp, by one of her father's henchmen. The screams that her mother had let out during that moment of final separation still rang in her ears

Her body felt as if it had been touched by something foul which had left nothing but misery in its wake. She held out her wing and began to groom herself, trying to remove the stains of misery branded on her heart. Later on as she hung from her perch, her mind still half numb with the pain, she looked out the window of her room at the storm clouds that were beginning to gather outside. The lightning flashed outside in the night, and Sirena thought about her life before the crystal had ruined it. Before her mother was snatched from her grasp.

Serge awoke, and looked gloomily at the rain outside the knothole. It had been raining for three nights straight now, and now he felt a growing tension in the air that wafted in from the outside. He unfolded his wings and prepared to drop from his roost... As his body left the knothole, his sleek fur was drenched in water, and he shook it off impatiently. He closed his eyes, using his echo vision and his sense of smell to follow the force that was pulling him towards the unknown. He flew into a clearing and saw a small pond, with a tree next to it, its boughs bending against the wind. He headed for the tree and roosted in its branches' shivering as wind buffeted him about on the branch. Serge sniffed the air uneasily, and looked up at the night sky above him.

A horrifyingly loud high pitched screaming pierced his ears. He looked for the source of the sound, his sensitive ears swiveling this way and that. It was the surface of the pond that was emitting the horrid like call. As he lit from the tree and flew over the water, he never saw the bolt of lightning coming until it was too late. Time seemed to slow down at that moment. As the lightning touched his body, his mind began to buckle from the strain of the energy being channeled through his body.

The lightning then jumped off Serge's body, and knifed into the water. The water's surface began to crackle with electricity, and more bolts hit the water. He was then sucked downwards into the pond's surface, in a brilliant flash of light.

Sirena re-awoke in her room, the thunder's rumblings having ceased, but the rain continued to patter against the glass. Sirena needed to get outside in the clean air, and try to clear her head of all the horrid thoughts running through her mind. This was not something that she did often. Her ship was located within fifteen miles of a forest, where she fed, drank and brooded on her lonely life. The forest was over 200 square miles long, and it was a paradise. Only when she felt her most desolate, did she fly out over the white sands, and fly until her bones ached.

Sirena let go of her perch and flew toward one of the small tunnels that could be used to access the rest of her fortress-like ship. She paused for a moment at a place where the tunnel forked. Should she really do this? The last time that she had left her compound, she had almost been turned in to the authorities. Nevertheless, the ache in her bones was too strong for her to resist. She flew down the tunnel on the left, carried by the slipstream-like current of warm air to a room, with a transporter pad and a control panel on the wall. Sirena said, "Computer, initiate transport to surface level. Maintain neural link, and alert me of any airspace penetration." The computer said "Transporter pads cleared and ready for use." Sirena flew towards the transporter pad and hovered in its center. As Sirena's body disappeared, in the matter stream she thought to herself, "Is this really how I was meant to live?"

Serge awoke, groaning as pain knifed through his left wing. He scanned his wing with his echo vision, and fear flashed through his brain. From what he saw, his wing bone had shattered at the wrist joint, and some of the splinters of bone jutting out dangerously close to the skin. He also felt a stabbing pain knife through his stomach. Perhaps a rib had broken also? It was then that Serge noticed the sand underneath his fur. Sand? Where was he? He grimaced again, as the, pain knifed through his wing. Blood had begun to seep onto his coat, and panic began to set in. How long would he survive without water and food? It was cold­-no, freezing he realized, and his winter coat had not begun to grow. 'I'll bleed to death.' he realized. 'I'll die in about a day-maybe a day and a half if I'm lucky. But either way I'm done for." Then his echo-vision picked up something on the horizon. It was a bat, flying toward him at full speed. He realized that this might be his only chance for rescue. Too weak to call out he

Sirena flew over the cold sands, her shoulders pumping fiercely, her wings driving her over the dunes with incredible speed. Her stomach was empty, but the only thing that kept her going was the pure rage that flowed through her veins like lava. She stopped suddenly, her body shivering with exhaustion. She scanned her surroundings with her echo vision. She suddenly saw it-a body half covered by sand. She got down onto the sand and began to brush away as much sand as she could from the body. It was a Silverwing male, about her age. She then noticed his wing, which was cocked at an odd angle, broken and oozing blood. She thought, "He'll die, unless…I help him." Suddenly he seemed to revive a little and when he saw her face, a flash of horrified recognition registered in his eyes before he lapsed into unconsciousness again.

Sirena's face hardened. She recognized that look. He would probably turn her in as soon as he got to the nearest outpost. However, as she looked at him again something told her that he was somehow …different from the rest of the bats on her world. She opened the neural link with the Leviathan's computer and said, "Computer I need an emergency transport directly to sickbay. Patient with a fractured wrist." The message burst in her mind like a firecracker, "You are currently 1000 meters outside of the transporter field range, expanding the field will compromise evasion of Republican Guard Forces. Fly to a pickup point, and transport can commence as ordered." Sirena's mind began to race furiously. Every second that she was out here meant a greater chance that a patrol would pick her up. She would have no choice. She got down on the ground, and grasped the bat's neck in her jaws, her claws gripping the fur of his stomach. She then began to flap her wings, her shoulders hunched. Her wing-beats began to speed up, 5, 10, 20, 50 beats a second, and she and her cargo slowly rose into the air. She then began to fly slowly towards the edge of the transporter field. Her jaws began to water incessantly, and she tried to ignore the feelings of hunger that rumbled through her gut.

Vampyrum were meat eaters by nature, and feeling the blood pulsing through Serge's bloodstream just near the surface of his jugular vein, was beginning to eat at her resolve. She could almost taste the salty red liquid running down her throat, her tongue reveling in the rich taste. Just as her jaws began reflexively to clamp down to perform the killing bite, she passed the border of the transporter field, and her body disappeared in the transporter beam.

As soon as Sirena was inside the Leviathan's hallway, she set Serge's body on a medical stretcher, and followed it as it floated down the hallway. The stretcher floated into the ship's medical bay, where a droid carefully lifted Serge's body on to a bed. Servos came out from the medical table's base, and electrodes were placed on his forehead. Sirena hung from a perch and checked the readouts that came up on a wall screen. His heart rate seemed to be somewhat weak, but mentally he seemed fine, as the strong ECG readouts stated. A Medical scanner rose from its docking port, and hovered above Serge's body, and colored lights played across his skin as the scanner's probes did their job. She saw Serge's head twitch slightly and she immediately said, "Computer administer local anesthesia. We don't need him waking up during the operation." An IV line was slipped into a vein on his wing, and his body stilled.

"Computer give subject damage report." "Left wing has fractured at coordinate points 23.a as shown by X-ray photo A-1. In addition, the victim's wrist has shattered as shown by X-ray photo A-2. Possible cause of injury, impact with hard surface caused bodily trauma. Request permission to withdraw blood sample for analysis?" "Go ahead, draw the blood, but begin repairing him now!"

Another medical droid entered the room and gently stretched out Serge's wing. A stabilization force field was then erected over the injured wing, to keep it still. A shot of muscle relaxant was injected into his wing so that it would not cramp painfully during the healing process. The droid then, using small tractor beams in its, manipulator arms re aligned all the broken bones in his wrist. "The most serious damage has been repaired. Estimated time of re-awakening at 12.24 hours.

Sirena left the medical bay and flew down the hall to her room to think. She would have to plan this carefully. She entered her quarters and hung from a perch. Had her momentary burst of compassion cost her only chance at staying undetected by the military? After all, the injured bat was a liability. His injury would slow her movements and possibly force her to move in predictable patterns. He would begin to question her, ask about her background, and if he ended up learning her secrets, she would probably have to dispose of him anyway. Years of complete solitude could harden even the heart of a child. Sleep… That was what she needed.

Sirena awoke to see that the unknown bat's eyes had suddenly popped open. He looked to his left and right, confusion clouding his features. He then began trying to move, wincing in pain as his injured wing shifted slightly. He then looked at her, his eyes widening in horror. "I wouldn't move if I were you." Serge moved slightly and gasped as the pain knifed through his wing. "It's broken. If you move it any more the bone will not heal correctly."

"What species are you?" "Vampyrum, why? Were you expecting someone different?"

"You're going to kill me aren't you?" "Your parent must have told you the stories hmm? That we are cannibalistic, kill on sight ECT." Sirena said to Serge in a somewhat stern voice, "Look kid I'm going to run genetic profile through my global database and send you back to your city sector. How did you get out here anyway?"

"I don't know. It all happened so suddenly. There was lightning…, a flash and then, you." His eyes still showed fear. Good. The more she saw him as an adversary, the more wary she would be of his activities. The military had used child, inra-species spies before, and if they had been properly, they oftentimes created havoc for their targets. They could use the mere fact that they were children to gain the most sensitive of info, and often were planted right in the middle of crime syndicate families as adolescents, soaking up secrets, and information.

One case that was relatively recent and had really shaken up the hundreds of drug smuggling groups was the collapse of the Calypso-Carlyle contraband smuggling group. The force of over 15,000 bats and Mandalorian had been smuggling high-end weaponry, battle-planes, anti-aircraft guns and, hover-tanks to a mercenary group which had begun trying to impose a coup on the Capellan Union Capitol city. The government had known about the Calypso arrangement, but had never been able to put a serious tamp on their operations, for oftentimes informants were weeded out by the Calypso family before any real information could be uncovered.

Twelve of the NSA's best spies had tried to infiltrate the group, and all had been found, flayed alive, with dog tags hanging from their necks, stating: He tried, he failed. Is this the best you've got?" Silently four child operatives were slipped into the system, and within three months, they had gathered information about a massive weapons exchange that was to happen on the Marxist peninsula bay. The press was all over the story that day, and quite a few reporters were able to get shots that made them millionaires, and exposed to the world the downfall of the Calypso-Carlyle alliance.

Sirena's wisdom was this: If children could bring down a family as immensely powerful as Calypso had been, what was to stop them from using them on her. She needed to dig up his background and fast. If he was a spy, he'd die this night!

Sirena said to Serge who was still viewing her with a visceral rage, "I am going to leave you for a bit. I need to run some scans on your genetic profile. You need to be back with your race. Don't try anything because that wing needs to heal." Serge watched her go, anger flaring in his eyes. He'd bide his time. She obviously thought that he was quite stupid. He wouldn't go down without a fight.

Sirena flew back into the medical bay and said to the air, "Computer, initiate genetic sequencing of patient's DNA. Cross reference data with genetic database for all colony subjects. The wall screens flickered into life and Sirena watched as the syringe of Serge's, was analyzed on the screen. The computer then tapped into the federal genetic database, and then began to compare Serge's genetic signature, with all of the citizens on the planet. After about fifteen minutes the computer came up with a message that surprised Sirena, "No user specific Genetic Match found. Species type: Silverwing. Clan Type: Unknown." Sirena then hacked into the classified governmental genome registry but continued to draw blanks. Finally, she could only draw one conclusion. Either he was part of the small minority of citizens who had avoided being tagged in the annual census. Or he wasn't from this planet. But then as Sirena reflected upon her train of thought, she realized just how absurd this was.

Bats had not yet branched out from their home planet. None of their species had actually built space going vessels. True, they had drawn up plans to be used by other races, and true they had become the leaders in the intra-planet commerce system. But they had no active colonies, on any of their outlying planets. But then… if he really wasn't from the planet, then that would explain why he was what her friends called a "no-show" a citizen who wasn't under the watchful eye of the government.

If Sirena wanted to be able to get rid of this bat, and live her solitary life she would have to learn how he came to this world. Her life might depend upon this very information. Sirena decided that she should wait until the next night to consult Serge, about the planet of his origins. She would have to do some research. She had been out of the informational loop for a numbers of months.

Sirena flew back to Serge's bed where he lay staring up at the ceiling. He looked up at her and said, "What's the point of this charade? You know that you don't really want me to live. Why bring me up to full health when I'll end up as an entrée? Is it the thrill of the chase that excites you? Or the fear that you see quivering behind the eyes of your victims?"

Sirena swallowed, wondering how to answer him. He was obviously smarter than he looked. His words had struck a deep chord inside her. Why had she killed so many others? Had she really been trying to supply her body as her mind even now rationalized, or had she been letting loose some sadistic urge inside herself?

Sirena suddenly shook herself mentally; she was letting him get under her skin. She could figure out her life later. Now was not the time for distractions. He deserved no answer. She simply looked him over and said, "You are keeping your wing still, that's good. At least you have the sense to follow my directions. I will need to speak with you later. Now I have research to do. It may take me all day so, I will be back to question you later tonight. If you need anything, just yell the intercom system will pick you up."

Serge watched her as she hovered there in mid-air, stunned by his question. He knew why she hadn't answered him. The cannibalistic urge had been engrained in her from birth, and he was quite sure that she had never questioned it. Scum of the earth, that's what they were. The Vampyrum spectrum had been the bane of thousands of bays for years before Serge's grandfather, had obliterated their race. Now they were just a few hundred bats clinging to the last vestiges of their archaic civilization.

The threat might be gone but the stories were there. Gigantic bats with ten foot wingspans, teeth like daggers, fur as dark as night. He'd been told so many stories he wasn't sure what was real or false. But he supposed a part of him had always wondered why there was such animosity between the two races. Perhaps they had once lived side by side until a war or dispute had set them at each other's throats. He decided that he'd need to know more about the race as a whole. There might be the same dichotomy between the two races here or perhaps not.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps it was only natural that he had said such things. His fear had just burst out in the most logical way it could. He'd have to keep more of a tamp on his emotions. Sirena had probably sensed the naked fear in him, and was laughing at him this very moment. He'd probably have to wait until his wing was healed before he even tried to escape. But he knew this. At this moment he was living of borrowed time. And he'd have to try his best to survive. This had been a vital lesson in survival. Hopefully it would serve him well.

Sirena hung from a perch surveying a web posting displaying the current battle tactics being used in the Tholian interstellar war. She'd learned much in her time on the nets. For one thing, she had learned that the power shift movement being enacted by the Gilgamesh Mercenary Combine had succeeded, and all reports showed that a dictatorship had already been put in place. This world made no sense to Sirena, countries were routinely stabbing each other in the back, and the yearly earnings by Mercenary companies were soaring, because the armies of entire countries had been decimated. Rulers fought over water, over the rapidly shrinking patches of forests, they fought over land, but most of all they fought for power.

The worst thing was that this militant atmosphere seemed to be spreading into the school systems, and into the minds of the children of every country involved. In the schools they were not taught the true consequences of war, only the 'good' side, the weapons, the ships the computers, the supposed glory of the fighting, and those few children or parents who realized what was going on were silenced by the pressure of the mass media.

And so the children would rush from finishing school and almost before they had reached adolescence they had been drafted. It was only then, after they had fought that they learned how war could drive even the most solid mind insane. Sirena was reading an article about how flight simulators were being installed in schools across the nation to prime the children for life in the militias. Sirena had fought in a mercenary company before, (well not really 'fought', she had been the operations manager.) but had stopped when she realized what was happening to her.

Her group the 'Draconis Combine' had been contracted to destroy a convoy traveling along a desert trail. The convoy was said to be carrying diplomats from a rival government who were headed to a peace conference with their enemies. Obviously, someone wanted the war to last a bit longer, and was not above using assassination to continue the war.

The fact that the vehicles were sporting civilian markings should have tipped the group off that they were hitting the wrong convoy. But, when the dust from the wreckage had cleared, Sirena's satellite imaging systems picked up movement. When she saw what they had hit, she closed her eyes in horror. They had bombed a convoy carrying refugees, fleeing from Republican forces. They had been children, adolescents, in the prime of their lives, and she had, in her haste, killed them.

Sirena could still see the bats, lying there on the ground, the blood having stained the sands, their wings cocked at odd angles. Could still hear the cries of the wounded for their mothers or fathers. The scene was all too real, and yet she was over 500miles away-and powerless to help them. After that, Sirena quit the Draconis Combine, and had not applied for a contract since. What strange twist of fate was this? That she should be forced into contact with the species that from birth she had been trained to hate, and view as less than the earth she flew over?

Sirena dropped from her perch and flew towards the medical bay. She'd have to face him some time, why not now? She entered the room and flew to a perch hanging there and surveying the bat that lay, below her staring up at her with eyes that seemed to see into her very soul. Sirena said, "Does your wing pain you at all?" He shook his head curtly. "Computer release restraints holding patient." With snapping sound Serge was free. He flipped over, and with a bit of effort was able to hoist himself into the air, and fly onto one of the metal perches embedded in the ceiling.

"Tell me this. Why did you bring me here?" Sirena looked at him silently for a moment and said, "To be honest I have no idea why I let my conscience goad me into rescuing you." She continued dispassionately, "Your genetic pattern is not of value, and to me you would probably taste quite wild and gamey. Plus you are quite thin!"

Serge opened his jaws and hissed, his fangs flashing harshly in the light. "I will not hang here to be judged like an animal for sale! I want out of this prison!" Sirena said, "Computer Initiate transport to surface level." They appeared on the desert sands, and Serge immediately began to fly blindly away from her. "If you go, I can guarantee you that you will not last more than a day out here on the sands." He continued to fly on, unheeding. Sirena felt a strange sense of panic rush through her. She flew after him, and tackled him to the ground. He struggled violently, glaring up at her his eyes glowing with hate. "Stay still you idiot!" "Let me go!"

"Move one more time and I will re-break your wing!" To emphasize her point Sirena bared her teeth. He froze. "Do you want to live?" He nodded, still glaring at her. "Then there is one thing that you must understand. You are not in your hometown, and whatever rules that your leaders made up do not apply. That little outburst would be considered an offence, and I would have been fully right to kill you. Now I hate to break this to you, but there is no way that you can be allowed home. You've seen too much. Now, you may hate me for forcing you into this situation, and you can, I don't care but to get through this we will have to at least be able to co-exist."

Sirena sighed and said, "Are we clear?" "Yes." said Serge curtly. "Are you hungry?" Serge nodded. "There's a forest about five klicks southeast of here. If we fly fast we can make it with time to spare." Sirena lifted off from the ground and hovered momentarily, saying, "Don't worry kid I won't eat you. I gave up Silverwings long ago. If you want to fly behind me just to be safe, go ahead."

They lifted off from the ground and began to fly, their echo vision illuminating the dunes below them. Sirena began to fly higher, and she yelled back at Serge, "Let's move higher up, the sand dunes give off a lot of waste heat, and since you haven't drunk any water in the past day, I don't need you dropping from dehydration on the way back!"

As they flew higher Serge had to grudgingly admit that she was right, it was cooler up higher in the air.

It was somewhat funny now that he thought back on it, but one of the things that he and his friends had always talked about was what they would have done if they had been forced into head to head combat with one of the feared Vampyrum Spectrum. They all predicted that they would win gloriously, and gain fame throughout the colony, for having vanquished another of the creatures.

But Serge was beginning to realize that maybe the image that he had been given of the Vampyrum was flawed. Basically he had been told that an entire species of bats was completely and irrevocably evil. This was quite a blanket statement, for Serge knew in his heart, that it was not possible for a society completely based on wrongdoing to exist. Maybe the Vampyrum colony that had attacked his father had been some sort of rouge faction, a misguided offshoot from the main branch, which had been allowed to grow until it happened to encounter the Silverwing colony.

But, Serge reasoned, even though Sirena seemed to be relatively civil in her dealings toward him, he would, until he uncovered her true intentions, be forced to view her as an enemy. After all, she seemed to be the type of bat who would have no compunctions about killing him right there on the spot. Time would tell the truth.

Sirena raged at herself silently as she flew. What had she been thinking? She could have very easily solved her problems right then and there. The desert would have consumed him quite easily in his weakened state and there would have been no witnesses. What was it that her combat instructor would have said? "You are letting your conscience affect your judgment. Remember, to you the enemy is nothing, a non existent entity, his fate should not concern you."

They had seemed like wise words at the time. Tamp down on your emotions. Focus solely on the task at hand. And aim for the neck. And yet when Sirena had seen him lying there on the ground, even though she had not wanted to admit it even to herself, she had helped him, not because she felt any sort of special connection with him, in fact she had fed upon his kind without the slightest compunction, for many a year. No, she had been craving affection, and had allowed her control to slip momentarily.

She felt fear roil through her stomach, her nerves on edge. What had been wrong with her? Compromising her position, making traceable movements. She was really beginning to lose her grip. She shook her head sharply, and in an attempt to break the ice and get her nagging mind to shut up she fell back until she was beside the bat and said, "So kid, where are you from?"

Serge looked at her sharply and then said. "Tree Haven." "Do you have a name?" "I'm Serge." They flew for a few moments, side by side, but with almost 200 years of beliefs separating them. "So, where you are from, I assume that they are participating in the local governmental elections. Which candidate are you supporting?"

Serge looked at her in confusion. "You really don't understand what I am saying do you. I am not from here. I am not from this planet; I know nothing about where I am. It's like I was dropped here by accident!"

Sirena thought momentarily about what he had just said. Was he crazy, could that fall have generated more damage than she thought? No he was saner than most would be at this moment. He was probably telling the truth. But what he was proposing was so improbable that… maybe it could be true. "Could you tell me what happened to you from the beginning?"

And so Serge told Sirena how he had flown out of his colony's boundary zones, and had been swept into her world. Sirena remained silent for quite a while, turning over the information in her head.

Finally she said, "Serge, does your colony have any sort of written language? Are there any groups of bats who have dedicated themselves to the study of nature and the environment? Do you have any form of government?" "We do not have a written form of language. If anything is to be preserved as a permanent memory we use reflective resonance chambers."

"Obviously the bats on your world are still evolving at a relatively slow pace. Your colony is now in what historians call the "First Light" phase; your collective thought processes, and methods for solving problems are quite archaic. For you to understand what has happened to you you'll need to learn a good deal more.

Serge suddenly saw the shape of the oasis, rising out of the horizon ahead. It seemed to stretch on for miles, and in the air, Serge caught a faint whiff of moisture. Water. He felt his body being pulled toward it, his thirst intensifying. His tongue seemed to clave to the roof of his mouth. Sirena looked at him and noticing the haggard expression on his face said "Don't worry; it's just a bit further."

As they reached the forest's edge, Sirena said to him, "I'll be off hunting in a five mile section of forest. This oasis is very infrequently used, but if you encounter any Vampyrum, run because they will kill you in a heartbeat. We'll need to leave before daylight, so try to feed quickly." Serge then turned and sped into the forest, blasting over the surface of the water and drinking the life giving fluid hungrily. Afterwards, he began to hunt voraciously, dive bombing moths, caterpillars, almost anything that moved. He was feeding so voraciously that he almost failed to notice the pair of bats that were tailing him…

Sirena flew through the forest canopy, scanning the ground with her echo vision. Because the Vampyrum were a meat eating species, hunting took more skill and finesse. One had to find their prey and then chase it through the dense undergrowth. Sirena suddenly saw movement. A fat rodent was scurrying up a fallen tree trunk. Quickly Sirena locked it in her echo vision and swooped down for the kill. She was upon the creature in an instant, and with a quick flash of her jaws she broke the beast's neck. Sirena looked down at the animal that she had killed. A Prevarian Groundjumper relatively healthy. And yet she could not eat. Her instincts longed for the taste of bat flesh.

Several times during her flight she had contemplated killing Serge and eating him alive on the shifting sands. Her race had subjugated the Silverwings for hundreds of years. Almost since birth, she had been told that it had been her birthright to kill and eat them. Maybe it would have been easier if she had not been allowed when she was young, to kill another Silverwing child, to see the panic in her eyes, to hear the snap of vertebra as her jaws closed in the killing bite and she felt that intoxicating flavor spread across her tongue.

Sirena forced herself to eat, and when she finished, she continued hunting and killed three similar animals. After she finished she, flew into the highest branch of a Saitek Fir and rested shortly. She even toyed with the idea of remaining in the forest for the entire night. Of course, that was when she heard a frantic cry for help.

Serge banked left to avoid the pair of snapping jaws closing in behind him. Sirena had told him that the forest was usually unoccupied. Serge cursed himself for believing her. What folly! She probably brought him here to kill him in a place where she could take him by surprise. But the bat behind him was a male. So that must mean…

Suddenly he saw Sirena veer in behind him, her jaws opened wide, a hiss of anger contorting her features. "Go. Now!" She snarled behind her, and as Serge flew away, she turned to face her attacker who snarled, "You made me lose him. He was mine! I should cut you down where you stand."

Suddenly she saw his eyes scan her face, and flash in recognition. Sirena felt her heart leap into her throat. What had he seen? Suddenly she saw the telltale mark on his shoulder. A small barcode with a serial number underneath it, tattooed onto the side of his neck. "Well, we've finally found you Sirena- or should I say 'Test subject 626?" Sirena's fears were confirmed. He was one of the elite 'inner core' agents who sent to capture dangerous criminals. Of all the days to decide to hunt! "Come Sirena, if you come quietly and call your friend out from the trees, I might bargain for you to get a larger cell!" he chuckled evilly.

"You'll have to drag me away in chains; I'm never going back to that research center, never!" "Oh but I won't have to. I can bend you to my very will." Sirena suddenly felt a bolt of searing pain flash across her mind. The more that she tried to resist, the worse the pain got. Through her blurred vision she saw the guard lash out with his claws, and carve a deep gash across her face. At that moment she felt something snap in her brain. As he watched her contortions with glee, he thought he saw a strange red glow creep into her eyes. He surged more power through the neural disruption chip implanted in his brain and watched with satisfaction as she doubled over on the ground. Then he heard her say, in a hiss tinged with pain, "I'm giving you ten seconds to run."

He chuckled savagely and said, "What is a little runt like you going to do to me? You are nothing!" "Oh am I?!" she snarled. At the moment that she sprang, her mind went totally and completely blank.

The first thing that Sirena felt was the pain in her face where she had been slashed by the agent. "Serge... Serge where are you?!" She looked around frantically and then saw him hanging silently from a tree a few feet away. "Are you alright?" He looked at her with a mixture of fear and disgust. "What is it?" Sirena followed his gaze until it came to rest on the corpse lying spread eagled on the ground. Suddenly it all flashed back into grim perspective. Tasting the blood in her mouth she realized that in her fury she may have actually fed on his body and she looked at the corpse in horrified fascination.

She managed to hoist herself into the air and flew over beside the body. The agent's coat was splattered with his blood which had already begun to attract flies. His face… she winced as she looked at it. She had mauled him viciously. Whatever had come over her, it must have not been a pretty sight. She turned the head so that she could see the bar code and serial number branded on his neck. Quickly memorizing it she flapped up to where Serge was perched, feeling a great weakness settle over her body.

After a slight pause she lit from her branch and hovered in the air. Serge gestured at her face with his wingtip and she said dismissively, "I can fix my face when we get back to the ship. Right now we need to move." Serge dropped from his perch and fell in step with Sirena and as they flew higher into the clouds Serge said dazedly, "What does this mean Sirena? What now?" "It means that our cover is blown. They now know that I am alive, and if we don't do something soon… it will be too late" Her words trailed off into the night sky.

Chapter two

Colonel Anaya Boise sat in her office chair staring irately at the Head Intelligence Coordinator, who looked back at her with just a little bit of trepidation. One had to tread lightly when dealing with an individual who could destroy careers with a stroke of her pen. The Colonel said in a voice laced with deadly calm, "So let me get this straight Sir. One of you elite special guard units happened to be out on away leave, and he ran into one of our most pertinent security risks and he lost her?"

The coordinator called Graff fiddled nervously with the lapels of his uniform's stiffened collar. He might lose a few medals by the end of this session-assuming he still had his job. The Colonel picked up one of the small video disks, lying fanned out on the polished tritanium desk. "I assume that this is the disk showing the live neural feed from his transponder?" "Yes sir." She popped it into the drive, and watched attentively. The disc started at the point on which he had encountered Sirena. Status readout appeared on the screen. Graff said, "That is where he activated the Neural Disruptor Chip. Note the power spike."

"This device… is it not used in riot dispersal?" "Yes." "Was this same device used to contain Sirena when we used the isolation chambers?" "Yes." "Then why is she not here in our vault?!" she said her eyes blazing. "As you will see, she somehow found some way to fight off the chip's effects. And then this happened." Boise saw the readout of Sirena's bio-signs; suddenly show a surge of powerful energy. "Only a fusion reactor creates pattern spikes like that!" Boise then saw Sirena lunge at the agent, heard his screams of rage, and then blind terror. Then suddenly she saw the visual feed cut out.

Swallowing mightily Graff said. "The techs think that she clawed his eyes out." I've seen enough." she said. Looking Graff dead in the eye she said, "I'm letting you off the hook this time. This loss was not your fault directly. But if you wish to keep your rank, bring me something that I can use!" He sighted in relief. "And his family?" "Give them compensation. I want him buried with full military honors." "As you wish sir."

Colonel Boise sat back in her chair, dimmed the lights and locked the door to her office. Mandalorians needed at least 9 hours of sleep each night, and already she felt haggard. Leaning back in her chair she thought over the contents of the video-disc. From her training in the gadgetry that the intelligence services used, she knew that the neural disruption devices were one of the most powerful non lethal defense devices available to personnel. Studies had shown that none of the races on the planet were able to resist the technology. This development could mean only one thing.

The nanites inside of Sirena had retained some memory of the experience. She was adapting very quickly. Soon none of their methods of containment would work. The Colonel got on the net and began to place some calls. She ordered a full intensive sweep of the area around the oasis within a 100 mile radius. She knew one thing. The technology within Sirena's bloodstream was more powerful than anything the government had, and if it fell into the wrong hands, millions would suffer.

Sirena and Serge began to descend over the dunes, dropping from their former position in the air. The flight had been largely silent, Sirena seemed to be lost in thought and responded to Serge's questions in short gruff answers. When they reappeared inside the ship, Sirena said to Serge, "Right now, a security detachment is probably sweeping the desert, with a full armor division on standby. We need to take off. If they find us… we will never come out of this alive." Sirena looked at a system map on the wall and began heading for the sickbay. Her face was beginning to throb even more painfully. She knew why the guard had slashed her; he had done it so that she would have a set of unmask able scars over her face, and make her even easier to spot in public.

When they entered the sickbay, Sirena landed on a perch, and positioned herself until her face was underneath the medical scanner. The machine flicked on and Sirena felt the hairs on her neck stand up as she felt the probes scan her entire body. Then she suddenly felt a healing warmth spread across her face, and began to feel the wounds beginning to close. After five minutes of this, the scanner shut off and Sirena felt her face. Completely healed, with no scars!

Now that her face had been taken care of, she had to think of a way to hide. She knew that she had government officials on her tail. If she couldn't get this ship flying, it wouldn't matter how deadly its weaponry was, she would be captured eventually. Suddenly she felt a thought enter her mind. When she had been inside the research center as they had been injecting the nanites into her body she had heard the scientists speaking about the abilities that the nanites would give her. The one that flashed in her mind was Biogenic mapping technology, otherwise known as shape shifting. Only three other species had the ability to shape shift, and they could be quite deadly when provoked. But they needed to come in physical contact with the blood of the beings that they wished to become. Sirena, if she had heard the scientists correctly needed only to come into physical contact with the skin of their candidates.

The critical question was, had she come into contact with a humanoid life form in her lifetime? She had a vague remembrance of having had a friendship with a Mandalorian guard, a female, and on one occasion she had hung from the guards retractable claws as they had bantered gleefully together. She had been quite young at that time and had been rather foolish. She had not yet learned to hate her captors. Snapping out of her reverie she searched deep within her mind, tentatively interfacing with the nanites that were imbedded within her brain. To her surprise she found that the information showed up as it would on a computer. And yes, there it was the genetic profile of the guard. She concentrated on the image. She felt her body beginning to change, and as it did so a sense of power flowed through her body. When the transformation had stopped, she opened her eyes.

Standing up shakily, Sirena looked down at her new body. Her body was covered with short silky yellow fur, which gleamed in the light. Mandalorians had legs that were reverse jointed, giving them extremely high jumping abilities, and one lash of the wickedly clawed feet could slash any opponent to ribbons. The first thing that she noticed was that her hearing was muffled. Then she remembered that Mandalorians had no echo vision so their ears were not as sensitive as bats. Her vision was quite good and she noticed that if she concentrated she could see the world in a strange green light. Infrared vision? It took a moment for her to realize that Serge was speaking to her.

"What did you just do?" "Apparently I can shape shift." "What is-?" "I'll try to explain it to you later. Right now we need to get out of here." Sirena left the sickbay and headed for the bridge, Serge close on her heels. As she entered the massive bridge, Sirena surveyed the room before her. Walking along the rear wall she looked at the different labels along the control panels. Suddenly she saw a bank of switches with a danger sign above them. She noted that almost all the auxiliary controls were in the on position. And then she saw the main power switch. Taking a deep breath she smoothly clicked it into the ON position, and then flipped the Auxiliary switches to the charge/standby mode. Suddenly the room went dark…completely and utterly dark. Sirena froze. Her mind went blank for a few horrifying seconds and then as she stumbled into one of the control panels, the main screen lit up. At that same moment Sirena saw the control panel light up and the overhead lighting snapped into bright relief. Sirena looked at the readouts before her.

C.S.V. Stalingrad, System Startup Log

-Running System Diagnostics Program… Done

-Testing Power Grid… Operating at 100 efficiency

-Priming Sensor Palate-Sensor Grid online.

The control panel displayed messages like this for quite sometime, they were rather boring but she knew that she would need this information if something were to go wrong with the ship later on. And then she saw the words System Avatar "Cassandra" activated. Shunting all functions to avatar mainframe. Continuing system startup. and then she heard a voice come through the loud speakers. A voice that was silky and smooth and tinkled with amusement which said: "Why are you naked?"

Sirena looked down at herself and realized that she was indeed unclothed. Unable to keep the embarrassments out of her voice, she said. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry." Cassandra laughed and said. "So I'll assume that you found the ship eh? It was bound to happen sooner or later. What's your name?" "Sirena." "I'm Cassandra, the ship's avatar." Sirena suddenly realized how vulnerable she was. She knew that she was not dealing with just another computer, but an entity unto itself.

An entity that was probably in control of all of the systems of the ship. "Are you still loyal to your former masters?" "Let me put it this way. Being a military vessel is not all it's cracked up to be. Until they find me, I am yours to control." Sirena then grasped the throttle lever on the control panel and pushed it foreword. Nothing happened. Cassandra said, "The engines will not activate unless the ship is above the surface. Do you want me to initiate the Surface command?" "Yes" said Sirena

The ship's generators began to change the shape of the shields, and the ship began to rise toward the surface. Fifteen minutes later Sirena felt the rumbling beneath her cease. "We are at the surface now. Go ahead and prime the engines." Sirena pressed a toggle and she heard a deep thunk resonate in her ears. "I'm just clearing the sand from the exhaust vanes. Turn on the fuel switch. "Click, cla-chunk "Fuel pumps engaged." Let's hope this works." Sirena held her breath. Would the old engines turn over? Would this great warship finally lift up from the desert sands? Or was she stuck inside a massive tin can to simply to wait until the police showed up?

Suddenly Sirena saw the control panel of the Engine/Power Control station light up and a massive deep thrumming vibration took over the entire room. "Can you shunt all of the controls to this particular console?" "Quite easily." Sirena slid the throttle forward slightly and punched a set of coordinates into the navigation computer. Serge and Cassandra said "So, where are we off too?" Sirena said, "With this ship, the plan that I have had can be set into motion. But I can't pilot it by myself; I need a crew. A crew I can trust. I have some friends that I will have to contact. Cassandra, bring the communication console online." And with that, the massive ship rose from the ground, sand streaming from its armor plating. Long communications antennas telescoped up from a large dome on the top of the ship. Blue flames shot out from the exhaust vents and the ship; slowly began to gain altitude. Sirena was finally leaving the planet of her birth. Little did she know that the journey from here on out would be much more difficult. Possibly even deadly…

Location: Daktari Communications tower. Time: 1400 hrs

Colonel Boise's hovercraft pulled up outside the communications tower. Opening the cockpit door she jumped out and ran up the steps. Her white dress billowed out behind her as she ran, her claws clicking purposefully on the floor as she hurried toward the turbo lift. She hadn't had time to put on her uniform she had been such a rush. The call had come in three hours earlier. She had been sitting at home, lazily reading a book on her sofa, her mind almost completely absorbed in the story. It was then that her cell phone rang. Sitting upright she reached over and snatched the phone out of its charging dock. After having a quick exchange with the tech on the other end, she ran outside, wrenching open the door to her expensive racing hovercraft.

In a fever of anticipation she turned on the engines, letting them rev up to an earth shattering roar before zooming down the block. She was in such a rush that she hardly noticed it when she nearly sideswiped a hovercraft moving much slower than her. A few minutes later she arrived at the Daktari Communications tower. At this very moment Colonel Boise had entered the turbo lift and flashed her ID card in front of the reader to gain access to the command level. She tapped her foot impatiently as the lift began to slow and then ejected her out on her floor. The tower's surveillance level was massive, and at least 20 Mandalorians were hard at work monitoring the sensor grid. All of their sensors were trained on a particular spot in the sky.

Colonel Boise walked over to the chief engineer and they walked together to a small conference room. They entered the room and sat down. Drawing a breath Boise said, "Are you quite sure that this room is not bugged? What you are going to tell me is quite important, and I can assure you that the government does not want a leak." "You have my word madam," he said in a voice tense in fear.

They studied each other for a moment. Ayana saw his eyes lazily gliding over her body. Her beauty along with her credentials was a major asset in her field. And so to put him at ease she flashed her eyes at him and bid him to go on.

"At 1100 hours this morning our western sensor grid picked up a massive energy surge in the ground near the Litchfield feeding area." Alana's mind sparked. This was the same sector in which the guard had died. She managed to lock her face as he continued. "A few moments later our satellites picked up a massive ship leaving orbit at high speed. We did as you asked. The virus has been released."

"When will it begin to affect Sirena?" "Due to the sophistication of her crystal's anti-virus software, about five weeks. Eventually she'll be in so much pain she'll be begging us for the cure." Alana smiled coldly at him. "Scramble a pair of Dragonhead warships and trail her. Follow her for as long as you can but do not allow the ship to pick you up. If she gets even one ping of our sensor array our cover will be blown. Do this correctly and I can guarantee you that your pension will be significantly increased. Fail… and you will never work in this field again."

The Chief engineer's hands were trembling slightly as she shook his hands and then left the conference room. Alana smiled inwardly. Good, he feared her. His fear would make him do her bidding with best speed. Leisurely she walked from the room, giving him a meaningful glance as she left.

As he watched Alana's graceful form sink from view as the turbo lift descended to the ground floor, Asriel chuckled inwardly. What a fool she was. She thought that she had leverage on him. He had no fear of the confounded creature. If his plan worked, soon she would be under his control and another spoke in the wheels of power.

During the entire encounter he had made sure to make her think that she had him in the palm of her delicate hand. The coy, inviting flash of her eyes, that was one of the oldest tricks in the book and he had faked a poorly concealed attraction towards her.

True she was a rare specimen and almost any other red-blooded Mandalorain male would be glad to have her as his. But thing that he valued in a mate was intelligence. Alana had this quality to be sure, but her book of tricks was becoming old. Soon she would be another pawn on his chessboard, and Sirena would be in his clutches.

But for now he would have to continue the charade. Forcing the arrogant smile from his face he picked up his phone and began to place a call. An hour later two Dragonhead heavy cruisers lifted off from the Navy base and set off, Sirena's ship in their sights.

The Stalingrad had been flying for over an hour now and Serge and Sirena were still on the bridge, Sirena having reverted back to her normal form, now grooming her fur placidly. Serge watched her with some trepidation. He was now in mortal fear of her. He had seen her kill another living being and she had as far he could tell no remorse for what she had done. He could hold his tongue no longer. "Sirena, this question has been on my mind for some time and I just have to get it out." She looked up at him, her eyes smoldering slightly. As Serge watched her trying to gauge her reactions, he saw a cold, almost reptilian expression creep into her features. Then he saw her face shift again and she looked at him normally. He said, "What kind of being are you. Please… tell me. I need to know."

Sirena looked at him for some time studying him. Just as he began to wish that he had not spoken she said, "So you want to know what I am?" She flew up closer to him and looked him squarely in the eye. She looked at him and said, "I sense great fear in you. Your entire body exudes it. What are you afraid of?" Serge said. "If I tell you this will you hate me for it?" "No." And so Serge began, telling her of the horrifying deeds that the Vampyrum Spectrum committed. When he was finished, Sirena's eyes smoldered slightly and then she grinned ruefully. "You are partially right. At the moment our race's fate is uncertain. We have become one of the mot misguided races this planet has seen in eons. It saddens me to see such a noble people reduced to such a state. But originally we were not so cruel." Sirena stopped momentarily and said, looking him fiercely in the eyes as she did so, "If I tell you this you must swear to keep it a deadly secret. It is a capitol punishment to tell another species our history. No one must know that I have told you these things. Will you swear?"

Serge said solemnly, "I swear." "I want you to swear on your mother's life." He did so and after folding her jet-black wings comfortably across her body Sirena began to speak.

"The first recorded evidence of our race was back in 3500 EP (Emergence Period). At that time our species was relatively small in number, and our race had not developed the characteristics that we have become known for: our endurance flying and our affinity for meat. That developed when a particular tribe began to run low on food (surprisingly enough we ate many of the same insects that you did) and turned on the local wildlife, and began to include them exclusively in their diet. Fast-forward a few thousand years. We had grown in number a great deal, and had colonies that numbered in the tens of thousands. We had become carnivorous exclusively by this time and the local wildlife; Avian and Marsupials alike had begun to fear us. We had also come across a vast colony of Silverwings over 300 miles away from our own stronghold but we had not begun to see them as a food source yet. To keep a tab on our growing numbers we put in place a rudimentary governmental system which managed to keep everything under control for quite some time.

We even had a religion of sorts in place, and small monastery-esque installations were cropping up all over the place. We had even begun to interact more frequently with the Silverwings themselves. Things stayed this way for quite some time. Then a Mandalorian scout ship scanned our planet, landed and the first species that they went after were the Vampyrum spectrum. They taught us how to use their technology, and at this point we had become really arrogant. The Mandalorians had warped our thinking so much that it just down spiraled from there. And as our numbers grew even faster and as our cities began encroaching upon the wildlife, we turned to the Silverwings as a food source.

Due to the fact that the Silverwings do not have prominent canine teeth, and had not yet been 'graced' with the technological gifts that we had come into contact with, they quickly became our prey." Sirena sighed deeply and said, "At first our leaders tried to resist this genocidal movement, but when they 'disappeared', as a species the Silverwings became condemned to a life of unceasing terror. The ironic thing is that now the numbers of the Silverwings are larger than ever. But they have been stripped of almost all their vestige of culture, a shell is all of what remains of that great people." She smiled ironically and said. "I guess that the same could be said of the Vampyrum."

"Why did you kill that guard?" Sirena's hackles rose as she remembered what she had done. "If I had not tried to stop him…" She stopped abruptly and turned away from him, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. "When he used that… device in his head, I felt so afraid. And after he slashed me with his claws… I killed him using brute force."

Serge's face was contorted with disgust "You and your race are an abomination!"

Sirena snapped back, "Do you think that I enjoyed killing him? I hate it! Every time that I try to sleep, I can hear the screams of the dead and dying ringing in my ears, and I hate myself for every life that I was forced to take." Sirena's eyes were burning with a visceral rage. Lifting off from her perch she flew toward the far wall and snarled, "If you hate me so much then go ahead, I'll let you take the first shot. " Serge flew at her, jaws agape, and they fell to the floor, an angry hissing tangle of wings claws and teeth as they savagely went at each other. Suddenly Cassandra's voice rang out angrily.

"Stop it now, both of you!" she snapped. "Don't you let your anger divert you from your mission? Get this finished and then destroy each other!" Sirena disengaged herself from Serge her eyes flashing. "Now that you two are finished for the moment can you tell me your plan?" Sirena flew back up to her perch and, facing away pointedly from Serge began to speak.

"There was a Mercenary company that I used to be an employee of called the Draconis Combine. My work as a Mission coordinator allowed them to grow and become quite powerful. For my good services they vowed that they would help me if I ever needed their assistance. My plan is to allow them to reside upon my ship. Their strength will protect me and because I will be among friends I will gain influence with the majority. I plan to propose an attack on the research center in which I was held. When I was there they had a large number of children that they were running tests on. Now it may be thousands. But before we do this we need to make sure that every single component on this ship works. Cassandra, begin running the tests."

Location: Dravidian Research Center. Time Unknown

Shayana awoke, confusion clouding her brain. Then she saw her brother next to her, and her world snapped back into painful focus. She along with her brother had been kidnapped three nights ago by a group of Mandalorians. From what she had been able to gather, she was inside a containment cell of some sort. They had not eaten since their capture and already Shayana felt the lightheadedness that came from not having eaten enough. Suddenly she stiffened as she heard the airlock hiss open. There was that Mandalorian again. He wore a white lab coat and was walking down the rows of cells looking in each one, studying the bats inside and writing on a small clipboard before moving on to the next one. Each day one bat was taken away, and each day another pair brought in. As he moved closer to their cell, she wrapped her wings around her brother protectively and hissed angrily at him as he came to their cell. Alonzo shivered inside his sister's embrace, trying to gain warmth from her body. It was very cold in the cell and he could see little clouds of vapor rising up towards the ceiling as they breathed.

The Mandalorian in the lab coat stopped at their cage and looked at them, his blue eyes seeming to pin them to their perch. Then he did something that he had not done to the others as he made his notes. He spoke to them. "What is your name child?" She hissed at him again baring her teeth even more ferociously. She looked at his nametag. "Lord Asriel" it said. Asriel looked in her eyes, his mind blazing with curiosity. In her eyes he saw a trait that many of the other bats had been lacking. An intellect of a fierce and blazing quality. Here was a mind that studied him with a cold and critical gaze.

Arrogant. Intuitive. Almost a mirror image of Sirena's mind. He had made his decision. He whispered to the guard next to him who unlatched the cage. Shayana snapped at the hand that reached for her. "You'll take us both!" Asriel nodded. Mentally he marveled at her boldness. She actually thought that she had a modicum of control over her situation. As they walked down the corridor, he chuckled to himself. She would become the perfect candidate for the hybrid Crystals that he had created. And after he had found out how to make the technology work on all test subjects, then the true assault would begin.

Chapter Three

Kaldorn: The mercenary capitol of the galaxy. If you were young and wanted adventure (and good money) then this was the place to go. The planet was a Mecca; species from across the galaxy and from all occupations came there to become part of the great and illegitimate enterprise that was the mercenary's life. There was a government of sorts, but it was only there to prevent crimes on the planet surface. The rest of the galaxy was fair game however.

There were over five hundred mercenary companies on the planet's surface, and most of them were rather small, with a membership of about 150 or so mercenaries. But the most powerful was the famed Draconis Combine. From its start on the planet Andross; the home of the Vampyrum Spectrum, it had grown substantially, and it was the envy of its smaller satellites. Its new base on Kaldorn was a testament to progress. At the Draconis Combine's HQ, the main hanger was abuzz with activity. The many technicians were checking over a pair of freighters that had been 'acquired' from a raid on their last mission Stockton, the president of the mercenary company stood proudly at the hanger's entrance watching the bustle of activity, his presence unnoticed by his employees.

When he had begun the business, he had made a vow to himself. He would never unfairly treat his employees, he would ensure not to discriminate during hiring, and almost all who applied for a contract were welcome. His main business was in the interstellar wars cropping up throughout the galaxy, consisting of intelligence gathering, surgical strikes on enemy positions and occasional assassinations. As Mandalorians went he was tall and muscular, the product of good breeding, as they called it. His fur was dark grey; his eyes usually twinkling with suppressed mirth gently surveyed the scene before him. He was at peace. Then his mind pricked as his phone rang. He wondered who was calling at this hour. Flicking the cell phone from its hip holster, he opened it, studying the screen. He noted that underneath the number, the caller's ID name showed Unknown Caller"; this did not surprise him, due to the fact that most of his clients did not wish to be known.

Stockton's office was equipped with top of the line tracing equipment, and the secretaries who handled the calls of his clients automatically ran full background checks on those who wished their help. Stockton did not want to deal in activities that were too illegal for his tastes. Then he noticed that the call was being run through his private, emergency line. His family members always showed on his caller ID, and they were all at their normal haunts. To have picked up his private line, the caller would have to be either one of the few of his officers who had been given this privilege; or God himself. His hand shook slightly as he lifted the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" "I'll give you a clue: I was one of the few bats that were on your team, I was your mission coordinator. I was the one who allowed you to rise to your status. I left you when I freaked out after I botched the orbital striking position, during the Mazurka job. Ring any bells?" "Sirena?" he breathed. "Yes." she said, a gentle chuckle in her voice. "Sorry abut the scare that I gave you. I just enjoy taking the hard way in some endeavors." "How did you gain access to my line?" "Ah, that is my little secret. Your computer systems are primitive compared to mine." "Why did you call me?" Sirena said, "Because of the great service that you gave me you told me that if I ever needed your help to call on you." "What do you need Sirena?" "Ah, what indeed?"

Asriel walked toward the lab with the guard, his mind ticking with anticipation. He knew that he was close; almost on the brink of finally getting the system to work. The Nanites were found at an old archeological site on a far distant planet, which had held the ruins of a once great city. In a site that had once been a large and secure military research facility, a massive vault had been found. Inside was a small box with a biohazard label, which, when the coded lock had been broken was found to contain at least 15 small vials of a thick viscous substance, a small transmitter of some sort, and a couple of small memory discs, and a manila folder containing a classified file of some sort.

When the technology was brought back to the planet along with a few of the compound's underground computer cores; and after the document was translated, the vials were found to contain an unbelivably complex collection of Nanites. Contained in vials, the technology amazed the scientists had been amazed at its complexity. The large manila folder suggested that the nanites were a beta version of a project that if it had worked, would have made the perfect agent.

Imagine a technology that allowed the wearer to shape shift into any form that they wished. With a simple shake of the hand, without conscious thought, the genetic material could be downloaded into the nanites memory modules that were linked directly into the brain. The wearer could also develop abilities, evolving as they became exposed to different experiences. A seamless computer interface from wearer to technology, made operation almost second nature. Along with a healing factor that could repair all but the most mortal wounds in a matter of hours.

Of course when the memory discs had been read, it took over a year to decrypt the data entirely, and even longer to unlock the Nanite vials themselves. Without the proper activation codes they were simply inert masses of particles. Useless. Then a small amount of the Nanites security software was unlocked and it was found that a particular DNA trait had to be had for the nanites to work. When the population search had proved fruitful, the nanites were injected into Sirena, and a few other bats, their DNA being the only type that matched the codes closely enough to bypass the security software programmed into the nanites molecular memory storage system.

Asriel and his assistant entered the laboratory. Squirming in the guard's gentle but firm grip Shayana said to Asriel, "What are we here for? What do you plan to do with us?" Lord Asriel looked down at her, amusement flickering over his features. "You are going to become part of a great experiment. You are going to help to destroy a great enemy." "What part am I to play?" "Have patience. You'll find out soon enough."

Shayana and Alonzo were placed inside a large containment cell, filled with trees plants, the air was much warmer and Shayana felt some of her apprehension ease. But not much. Rodents were released and while they fed voraciously, Lord Asriel went to a computer workstation and sat down. He looked at a large Petri dish containing a small sample of the hybrid nanites. The small transmitter used to program the nanites was an ingenious device. The nanites were programmed using a magnetic pulse transmitter, which could transmit bulky programs in a fraction of a second. He sat there for nearly an hour typing, his brow furrowed with concentration. The Petri dish contained a hybrid type of Nanite which he had programmed using a doctored version of the Data on the disk. He had almost bypassed the security program.

There! The proverbial door had been opened, slightly, just a crack. There it was. He had unlocked the shape shifting ability. That was enough; his plan would succeed for the moment with just this. Now he would have to 'confer' with his patient.

He walked over to the containment center, and opened a servicing door, his feet sinking slightly into the soft earth beneath his feet. He walked up to a tree where Shayana and her brother were roosting, her wings still curled protectively around his body. She obviously was very protective of him. From what he remembered of their personnel file, they had been kidnapped on the streets. This would be fun!

From his fingertips slid, a gleaming set of wickedly sharp, gently curving 12-inch long claws. "Wake up!" he hissed. Shayana's eyes opened and she released a cry of alarm as she saw the claws hovering mere inches from her face. Reflexively opening her wings to fly, she watched as her brother literally dropped from his perch. Asriel caught him in his outstretched hand. His voice laced with deadly calm, he said to Shayana, who hovered near him, her eyes dark with fear, "Unless you want to se your brother disemboweled before your very eyes, you will do as I ask." "You wouldn't!" she hissed defiantly.

In answer he retracted all of his claws except his forefinger, which began to descend toward the belly of the terrified bat in his hand. "No, please don't!" Mentally he smiled. Yes, she was beginning to comprehend. "Do as I ask and your brother will remain unscathed, disobey me, and he will die. Do you understand me?" She nodded her head slowly as if in a daze. He instructed her to follow him into the laboratory, where she was laid out on an operating table, a force field erected to hold her in place. Lord Asriel walked back to his workstation, and pulled one of the precious vials of the Nanite solution from its stasis field. After programming the vial as he had done to the Petri dish's test sample, he withdrew a small IV bottle, and poured the contents of the vial into it, along with a solution to dilute it. He then withdrew a sterile catheter tube, and fitted the end of the tube to the bottle, slipping the plastic sheath off of the needle's end.

Shaking the bottle as he walked to agitate the contents, he stood beside the table where Shayana lay, studying her for a moment. Ah, what potential he saw in her mind. She would become one of the first soldiers in his army. As he lowered the needle toward a large vein in her wing she whimpered, "Why me? What did I or Alonzo ever do to deserve this?" He halted momentarily searching for an answer. "You interest me. Your mind is like an unfinished jewel." He then slipped the IV into her vein, and as the fluid began coursing though her vein she said, "If you hurt my brother… I'll make you pay with your life." And that was when the pain seized her body.

After conversing with Sirena, Stockton had headed for a small personal hangar. A large Hrothgar heavy fighter painted fire-engine red, with racing stripes and flames along the engines. It was his pride and joy, and he had tuned it to the utmost limits. He climbed up the ladder and entered in the code to unlock the cockpit. The canopy opened with a smooth hydraulic hiss. He entered the cockpit, settling down in the seat. Buckling the restraint straps around himself, he smiled as the canopy descended, the atmospheric seals hissing into place. He then began flicking the power switches on the cockpit's side, listening as the life support equipment engaged with a sensuous whisper, then as the engines engaged with a roar and he lifted off from the hanger. Sirena had instructed Stockton to meet him at a spot far from the planet's orbit, at the border of an asteroid field.

He had left a voicemail in his secretary's voicemail telling her that he would be out for the rest of the day. The gears of business would continue to turn as expected. Lazily he surveyed the sensor readout. Suddenly as he looked at the screen he saw a sensor spike. Suddenly his communications console showed an incoming tag. He opened the channel. Sirena's voice tinkled merrily around the cockpit. "Hello there sir! It's good to see you. I assume that you wish to see my ship. Enjoy the view!" Suddenly ahead of him Stockton saw a ship seemingly teleport into view. He gaped in amazement. The ship was massive; it gleamed fiercely, almost as if it were on fire. He saw light streaming from an open hangar and he guessed that this was where he was to land.

He landed inside the brightly lit hangar and unbuckled his restraint straps. He descended the ladder and dropped to the floor. "Hello?" His voice echoed around the hangar. Suddenly he saw a door at the far end open, and pair of bats emerge from the entrance and fly toward him. He recognized her profile immediately. Jubilantly he called to her, "It is quite good to see you again. How you've grown!" Sirena's heart was brimming with happiness. It had been a long time since she had seen her old company commander, and seeing him again made her heart swell with pride. Noting the bat beside her he said, "A Vampyrum in the company of a Silverwing? Well this is new! I am surprised that you have not eaten him yet!"

Sirena stiffened visibly at his words and said, "I gave up his kind a long time ago. He is a… friend of mine.' "I apologize for jumping the gun like that; consider it indiscretion on my part. So you two are friends? It's good to see one of your races finally seeing the light. Maybe now this madness will stop." He shook himself mentally and said, "What a windbag I am. Let's start with a tour." Sirena led him to a massive hangar and Stockton gasped when he saw what lay before him. Thousands of fighters, gleaming sliver were parked in their docking bays, their weapons gleaming as the light washed over them. "This is only the light fighter section, which contains at least 24,000 of these ships. There are also medium and heavy bombers in similar numbers along with troop carriers automated scout drones and ground tanks.' They then went to another room a few hundred yards down the corridor. The room had door that covered with blast shielding and marked above it was the label, "Armory" They went through the seal and Stockton was amazed at the massive array of weapons displayed on the racks.

"The weapons are kept inside a security force field that will only deactivate if the quartermaster or another officer of sufficient rank is in the weapons locker along with the soldiers. Effective security measures no doubt. And all handled by the ship's AI."

"You've got to be kidding me!" "The name's Cassandra sir, Welcome aboard!" Sirena said. "Need I mention that the ship has a capacity of 230,000 soldiers and crew? And with its Slipstream engines you will be able to hop from galaxy to galaxy with ease" Stockton extended his hand. "I accept your proposal." He picked up his cellular phone and had a rather lengthy conversation with his second in command. "I'll have to coordinate the transfer from the surface. I can assure you that in twelve hours we will be ready.

And so for the next night, Sirena was kept busy readying the hangar decks on the other floors for incoming ships, loading the programs into the Holodeck for the hundreds of children who would come seeking a space to play, and preparing the living quarters for the occupation of bats, Mandalorians and at least ten other species. Finally the momentous hour came. Stockton's ship floated into the hangar bay, and when he ran up to the bridge he said, "Open the bay doors quickly, they're right on my tail!"

Her brain racing furiously Sirena snapped, "Direct the ships to bays 20-25, tell them to hurry; we don't have much time. I've picked up sensor pings from a ship of some sort, possibly a Heavy cruiser. Cassandra, get the shields up now!" The first to arrive were the transport ships filled with exited Mandalorians and Vampyrum. They were escorted by a squadron of five light fighters that lazily arced and looped around their charges. Once the transport ships were inside, then hundreds of fighters, bombers and other assorted craft began to stream into the other open hangars, among them lumbered massive cargo ships carrying the luggage, weapons and possessions of the entire Draconis Combine.

The last ships had been loaded into the hangars and the blast doors had been closed. Mandalorians, Vampyrum and other nameless species, streamed out of the transporters and moved toward the portal leading toward the rest of the ships interior. Relived, Cassandra said "All personnel accounted for." Stockton said, "Our first destination is the Leesburg cluster, I've got a lucrative smuggling contract that I want fulfilled." The Stalingrad's warp core fired up and the ship blasted into subspace.

Sirena awoke in her quarters, her head throbbing unbearably. She shook herself and began to groom her fur trying to calm her body down but the anger that flooded through her body was too much to resist. And that was when Serge entered her room his eyes ablaze with fury. "I just was chased through half the ship by a pair of Vampyrum males after my blood before Cassandra was able to call them off." he snarled. "I could be dead!" Sirena looked at him tiredly. "I was unable to get any sleep at all. I feel half dead. Cassandra will deal with this. I need some sleep."

Sirena flew wearily from her quarters, trying her best to ignore Serge's hot gaze on her back. Lately her thinking had been rather sluggish, as if her mind was clogged with a thick noxious soup of emotions. Suddenly she decided to try out the Holodeck. She had heard so many glowing reviews from the other bats and Mandalorians about the quality of the simulations displayed within the chambers. Heading inside, she looked about her the flashes of fear and doubt shortly forgotten. What would suit her today? An image popped into her head. Suddenly the room ahead of her flickered for an instant, and in front of her was a beautiful winter scene. The trees here were massive; eddies of snow swirled about their bases. Sirena was amazed, the realism was mind boggling. The trees moved in accordance with the stiff winds and already a light dusting of snowflakes covered her fur.

Suddenly she heard the doors to the corridor hiss open, and in flew a bat. Sirena called out to him, "Hello there, you new here?" He flew up to her and roosted on her branch. Sirena felt her heart skip a beat as her eyes flickered over his form. His eyes were coal black and as they looked at her they glittered with barley concealed mirth. He was lithe, his wings long and sleek, his body covered with a gleaming coat of white fur. Sirena was surprised at this; white fur was a rare trait among Vampyrum. His face was handsome, and his smile showed a set of gleaming incisors. It was then that she noticed that he was studying her just as intently. Chuckling she broke his gaze and said, "Where are you from?"

"My friends brought me here from Andross last year. They've worked as accountants for the Draconis Combine for three years. I've heard the rumor…is it true that this ship is actually yours?" Sirena smiled, "Every single rivet and bolt." She looked at him and, cocking her head said, "I've never seen a bat with white fur before. It really is quite, intriguing." She looked at him and said sheepishly, "Do you mind if I… touch it?"

Tentatively she reached out with her wingtip and touched his fur. It was soft and long, and immaculately groomed." He then said, "What's your name?" "Sirena. And you are?" "Lysander." Suddenly the impulse overwhelmed her. "Want to race? Bet I'll beat you!" His face brightened as he cackled "You're on!" and with that they lit from the branch, both glorying in the joy of flight.

Chapter Three

Colonel Boise's hovercraft pulled into the parking space outside the Andross High court. Shutting off the engines, she sat for a minute trying to collect her nerves. After fifteen minutes she opened the door and marched toward the entrance. She wore an expertly starched, immaculate officer's uniform and her many medals and pins gleamed harshly in the streetlamps. She entered the doors and held out her arms as a guard ran a scanner over her uniform, checking for weaponry and other lethal devices. Alana thought ironically that they were forgetting the deadly set of twelve inch retractable claws that every Mandalorian was blessed with.

But then as a trio of security guards fell in step behind her, their blast rifles leveled at her chest she grasped the seriousness of the situation. They entered the Military Sciences wing and Alana sat at a desk and brought out her laptop readying herself for her presentation. A few minutes later she noted the Chief Engineer's entrance into the room.

They nodded curtly at each other and sat, waiting for the assembly to file in to their positions.

After about fifteen minutes a group of fifteen bats flew into the room and hung from their perches. The one on the far left said. "This is a follow up investigation into the current status of the Nightshade project. I trust that you all have had sufficient background on the situation?" The assembled group nodded. The court stenographer's hands poised ready to type. "Then we may begin." The bat nodded toward Asriel, who began, "When the Nanite ampoules were first discovered, the genome lock was a major obstacle in regards to the mass production of this technology. I have found a way to mass produce the nanites using a simple process, and I have bypassed the security systems enough that implantation has become… feasible." A murmur raced through the assembled individuals.

Another bat spoke up. "Who are you using as test subjects for this technology?" Asriel hesitated slightly before he said, "Children seem to be the only individuals whose bodies readily adapt to the technology. Adult subjects developed, let us say…unpleasant side effects. I have developed a method of creating abilities in test subjects. I call it Immersion therapy. The subject is subjected to an overload of the stimuli… let us say electricity, and the individuals Nanites are forced to adapt to the strain or allow their hosts to die. May I bring in an example?" The assemblage nodded eager to see what possibilities this could entail.

A containment cell was brought into the room. It was surrounded by a force field. Inside was Shayana. Her eyes were haggard, her voice raw from the screams that she had uttered during the Immersion Therapy. She looked out at the bats above her. Was she in a courtroom of some sort? "What is her name?" "Shayana." "What abilities does she have?" "At the moment she has limited control over electroshock projection." As he said this Shayana groaned and arcs of lightning snapped off her body.

"The adaptation process takes about three days for each ability." "How many ampoules of the substance can you create?" "I can have a batch of 13,000 doses ready by next week." The bat spoke up once more. "We shall adjourn for an hour to decide our verdict." The bats flew from the room, Colonel Boise stepped out and Asriel walked over to Shayana's containment cell, a look of triumph on his face.

Shayana said defiantly, "You'll never get away with this. The government will convict you of treason and kidnapping." Asriel crowed, "Ah but I already have. The Vampyrum Spectrum is a race bred for war, conquest. With this technology we can easily take on the galaxy. The Mandalorians will be the first to fall." Shayana's eyes narrowed in contempt. "You're a traitor to your own race. How can you wish for the downfall of your own brethren?" "Quite simply. I'm not Mandalorian at all!" His body began to crackle with blue streaks of energy and as Shayana watched in consternation his body disappeared and was replaced by… A Vampyrum male whose eyes shone with a fierce light.

"Now do you see Shayana? I was taken just like you were, they used my sister as leverage, and at first I hated them just as you hate me. But after I learned of their plans, I began to see a method to their madness. I knew that if I bided my time I could defeat them-and build my own empire. If we work together we will go down in the history books as the saviors of our people."

Shayana said, her teeth clenched, "Whatever form you take, to me you are still evil! I will never help you. And so help me God I will make you fight for every inch you drag me along." Asriel flew through the bars of the cage and tackled her to the floor. "I could eliminate you right now, you insolent pup." he hissed His eyes gleamed with a half-mad light, and Shayana trembled when she felt his teeth close around her neck. Frantically she cried out, "You need me for your plans to succeed." Asriel stopped and, with great effort managed to resist throttling her in her cage. "You are right. Fine. If you wish to resist me then so be it. But know this- your precious brother's life hangs in the balances." He flew out of the cage, transformed back into a Mandalorian and looked at her, hatred burning fiercely in his eyes.

Twenty minutes later the council filed back into the courtroom and took their positions. Asriel had to force a scowl of contempt from his face. The legal system that they used now was designed by the Mandalorians. It had been riddled with loopholes and extortion and money laundering was rife among the governmental facilities. When he gained power he would restore the legal codes to their previous impregnable state and try to restore at least some of their cultural elements. The bat in the middle of the group said, "We have made our decision. You are to use all resources to construct an army of these… enhanced soldiers. But first you must re-capture the Stalingrad and Sirena. Do this and await further orders." Asriel left the courtroom, his heart singing with joy. The smell of victory was in the air…

Sirena and Lysander flew through the winter landscape at breakneck speed, both cackling with delight as they flew faster and faster through the trees. Finally they stopped and roosted in the high branches of a pine. Cold snow sifted onto them as they shook the boughs during their descent. They hung there in silence watching the puffs of vapor their breaths made in the air. Lysander's head whipped around suddenly and he looked at Sirena, his eyes shining with a fierce understanding. She stiffened at his gaze and gave him a quizzical look and then he said something that made a shiver run down her spine. "You're just like me aren't you?"

He said it with such earth-shattering conviction that for a moment Sirena was thunderstruck. "You've got a spark inside you. Ever have a moment when another part of your brain just speaks to you and you know stuff that you can't possibly know? It's like having another…self inside you." Suddenly Sirena knew what he meant. Understanding flooded through her brain. In a tortured voice she said, "They took you off the streets didn't they, just like me." His eyes were shining brightly as he said, "I felt so… hopeless. They made me feel as if I were less than dirt." Then hesitantly, almost as if in a dream Sirena raised her eyes to his own. "I never thought that I would meet one like myself. I feel…" "Kinship?" He finished for her. She nodded and shifted ever so slightly closer to him on her branch.

And then, so suddenly that Sirena's mind was sent into a terminal spin, he embraced her. This unexpected kindness sent her unsteady emotional state tumbling over the edge. She began to cry, softly at first but as the waves of grief pounded through her mind, it built into a keening wail of sorrow, and Lysander held her tightly, his cries building to match her own. When their grief had subsided, leaving only a dull ache in their minds, they looked at each other once more.

Sirena felt his powerfully muscled wings contracting gently around her body and sensed his heart-beat thudding against her fur. Sudden warmth flooded through her and she felt herself beginning to relax in his embrace. Slowly, reluctantly he unwrapped his wings from around her. 'Thank you." they said simultaneously. They chuckled for a few moments. Sirena said, "Seriously… thank you for doing what you did. I've never been treated like that before." He simply gave her a knowing smile. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, same time?" She nodded. He then lit form the branch and flew gracefully from the holodeck.

Sirena's body was still singing from Lysander's kind, almost tender embrace. She smelled her body-she could still detect his scent on herself. She sighed and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a call through the loudspeakers. Stockton's voice rang out. "All mission critical personnel report to the conference room immediately." Sirena's mind pricked up at these words. "I guess since I own the ship I could be considered 'mission critical'." she thought sardonically. As she flew from the Holodeck, a feeling that she had not felt for years rose in her heart. Hope.

Lord Asriel sat on the bridge surveying the starfield that flew past the view screen. He was not in a good mood. He looked at Colonel Boise who sat in the captain's command chair, of the Typhoon tapping her fingers impatiently on the armrest. He glared angrily at the back of her head. He should be sitting in that chair. Suddenly he relaxed. Bah! This matter was not enough to concern one as great as him. Soon he would command a vast armada of warships-and the fate of the foul Mandalorian race would be sealed. He rose from his chair and headed for the turbo-lift. He had a war to plan.

As the turbo-lift doors closed, Colonel Boise felt her muscles unclench. Funny, she hadn't even known that she had been nervous. It was probably Lord Asriel who had set her nerves on edge. Every time that he had conversed with herm, she had felt underneath his gaze, a hatred of her so intense that it seemed alive. Oh he was civil enough in his dealings with her; it was his demeanor that set her off. He had an arrogant look to him, a way of looking at you with an expression of the utmost patience as if he were explaining things to a child. This was the main thing that made Shayana's fur bristle, indeed when around him she felt an odd sense that if she looked hard enough she could see through his false exterior, past the flawless speech and find the truly evil creature within, coiled and waiting to spring. Her feelings of uneasiness might have been eased slightly if she had been told that Lord Asriel was an undercover scientist in her mission briefing. Shayana hated that stupid 'need to know' rule that often meant unpleasant surprises for those involved. Shayana shook her head irritably. Her mind had been wandering lately.

Snapping back into focus, she looked at the control panel on the armrest and routed the sensor readouts through it. Apparently the Stalingrad was heading for the Leesburg cluster. Good, if they picked up the pace they could cut off the Stalingrad's escape route. They might be able to finish this off after all.

Lord Asriel walked down the corridor, a spring in his step, his foul mood having lifted when he had gotten the Colonel out of his sight. He stopped at a heavy blast door and pressed his hand to the DNA scanner. The doors hissed open to reveal an expansive lab filled with state of the art equipment which would allow him to make all of the modifications to the Nanites software that he would need. His focus was not on this however. He walked to the back of the room to another blast door, much smaller this time and entered it. Inside was a massive cell surrounded by a containment force field which glowed a faint blue as it rippled around the cage. Inside was Shayana who hung from a perch, her gaze fixed on another cage which was unshielded. Inside was Alonzo and he and his sister stared at each other with a desperate longing that was heart wrenching to watch.

When Shayana caught sight of Lord Asriel she said, "Let me see him. You promised me this one dignity." Asriel relented. He pressed a switch and the divider between the two cages opened and Alonzo streaked through the opening, flying into his sister's arms and clinging to her with a fierce expression of joy on his face. Shayana said to Asriel, "You said you had a sister. What was she like?"

Lord Asriel changed into a bat and roosted on a perch. He looked at Shayana intently, studying her reactions. With a pang of guilt he noticed that in her eyes, the spark of innocence had diminished slightly. The intelligence was still there, but her eyes seemed harsh and cold now. If he didn't stop now, she'd lose what was left of her soul. "So you want to know about my family hmmm?" She nodded. "Why the sudden change of heart Shayana?"

"You're the only one I have to talk to." she said simply. Lord Asriel sucked in a breath, wondering where to begin; after all it had been so long ago. Finally he began. "My sister's name was Shiva. We grew up in the streets of the Tiburon providence." Asriel smiled crookedly as he said, "She was the one who got me out of fights and stuff, because the other little urchins were relentless in their pursuit of me. I was the timid one and I looked up to her like a flower looks at the sun. We normally hung around the stalls on market day and stole what scraps of food that we could from the sellers. But then there was this one stall that popped up from out of nowhere. We snuck some of the meat form the stall and the next moment, we awoke in this containment cell. But at that time they kept us in one large group. When they tried to take me to be injected with the Nanite serum, my sister resisted, said that they'd have to take us both. But the Mandalorian guard must have had his shock-stick turned up too high because the electricity killed her.'

Lord Asriel's eyes were glistening as he said, "I was so hysterical at this that they had to leave me in the cage with the other bats. She died right there in my arms. On that day I lost my innocence. I was no longer a timid child afraid of combat. Moreover I relished it. I began to have something to prove. And the rest is history." Shayana stared at him, her mind in turmoil. One part of her heart went out to him for the loss of his sister, and the other still hated him for imprisoning her and her brother. Abruptly she saw him alight from his perch and fly back into the chamber from whence he came. And just before she and her brother closed their eyes for some much needed rest, she thought she heard someone crying gently, their sobs muffled by the thick metal of the door. As her eyes closed

Lord Asriel hung from a perch, fiercely holding back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm him. Slowly his grief subsided and he changed back into a Mandalorian. He walked over to a workstation and as he began to draw up the battle plans for his assault on the Stalingrad his sister's image flared in his mind for one brief instant before vanishing in the caverns of his mind.

Sirena entered the conference room and hung from a perch as she waited for Stockton and the others to file in. Serge flew into the room and hung across the room from her, pinning her there with a stony look. With a pang of guilt Sirena remembered how she had unceremoniously blown him off earlier on in the night. "Listen Serge, I'm sorry about what I said earlier on… I wasn't feeling right." His gaze softened and he said, "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It was quite… inconsiderate." They watched each other for a moment each studying the other. Then Serge said, "For a Vampyrum, you're not so bad." Sirena smiled. "You aren't too bad yourself." Then a group of about 15 Mandalorians filed into the room led by Stockton. Serge flew from the room and the Mandalorians sat down in the chairs. Then to her surprise Lysander flew into the room and roosted next to her.

Stockton began, 'We are going to be in the Leesburg cluster quite soon. We have been offered a contract to protect convoy carrying Largos energy plasma to a weapon's manufacture plant on the planet 's surface." He gestured toward Sirena, "This is Sirena, and she was gracious enough to allow us to make use of the ship. You are to follow her orders in conjunction with mine. She was the first bat I hired into this company and she is to be afforded as much respect as any of our number. Understood?" The assemblage nodded.

"Good. The planet the convoy is going to be traveling on is an ice planet and surface conditions will make air protection impossible with conventional fighters. The alternative is simple. The Stalingrad will hover 12 miles above the convoy's route and provide air cover, and ground units, tanks and such will follow on the planet's surface." Sirena piped up saying, "It might be a good idea to keep a crew manning the turret grid and sensor palate. I think that we are being followed." Stockton nodded thoughtfully.

The meeting dragged on for an hour longer as the commanders discussed other matters, but their talk was lost to Sirena and Lysander who by this time had left the conference room and were playing with the other Vampyrum children in the Holodeck in a high speed game of tag. The room was filled with laughter as the group of bats swirled through the holographic forest cackling with delight. Sirena and Lysander had played with the younger bats for a few hours but now they had withdrawn to a quieter corner of the forest to talk. Maybe 'talk' wasn't the best term to use. Sirena and Lysander had found that they could communicate through what she had coined, "Empathic Projection' a rudimentary text messaging system that allowed those who possessed the Nanites to communicate without speaking. The winters simulated in the Holodeck had become much colder and Sirena could assume that the ship's clocks were adjusting the simulator to mimic the seasonal cycles on the home planet. Suddenly Sirena felt her insides tighten.

Home. She still missed her planet dearly. Lysander saw her body sag slightly and said in a knowing voice, "You miss your home, don't you?" She nodded and said, "It's rather ironic that the place in which I had the worst experiences of my life is the one place where I feel at home." They watched the snow swirl around them and listened happily to the cries and shouts of the other bats still playing in the distance. Lysander said, "Are you thinking about staying with the Draconis Combine?" Sirena shrugged. "I probably will. I'll settle down, raise a family… and try to stay out of trouble." She looked at him and said, with a slightly inviting tilt to her voice, "What about you?" Lysander said a slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes, 'Probably the same thing. That is, if I can find a bat on this ship that meets my high criteria." Sirena's eyebrows rose.

She chuckled as she remarked, "And just what makes you think that you are so 'desirable' to females. Frankly, I've seen better." His pride bruised, Lysander said, "So this 'Serge', I assume that he is a friend of yours?" Sirena nodded. "He's a little shy of the Vampyrum due to the fact that he is a Silverwing. He almost got ambushed this morning by a pair of adults." Lysander winced in sympathy. "I'd like to meet him."

Sirena said, "I know a way that we can take part in the mission." Lysander's eyebrows rose inquisitively. "And just how many rules does this break?" "None just meet me in the hangar bay at 1300 hours. I'll have a Javelin JR-23 heavy ground hover-tank equipped for winter operation reserved for us both. You just make sure to clear it out with your 'friends' before you go." Lysander nodded. Sirena said, "You can transform right?" He nodded. "I'll be there."

Sirena yawned and stretched her wings. The Holodeck was empty now, and shafts of moon light drifted through the trees. Sirena said groggily, "It's getting late. We both need our rest." "Yes…" he breathed. As she unfurled her wings for flight her wings came just close enough to his nose to allow her scent to float in the air. As Sirena left she purred, "Don't you dare be late!" And then with a flick of her wings she was gone. Lysander hung from the branch for a few moments longer, allowing Sirena's scent to brand itself on his nostrils. Suddenly as he looked up at the moon he felt a chill descend over him. There was a sort of tension in the air. He looked uneasily up at the sky. Something was lying in wait for them both.

Lord Asriel hung from a perch in his quarters, staring blankly out at the stars cape flowing past the view port. It was quite late and he was tired but there was a reason why he was awake. During the time in which he had worked as a scientist, unlocking the Nanite vials and their abilities he had learned that each individual's nanites emitted a carrier signal that if properly decoded could be used to decipher information about the user. This had probably been installed as a sort of backup device to allow coroner teams to identify the remains of bats long dead.

But Asriel intended to use it for a much more sinister purpose. He had somehow gained the ability to… trace the signal and could use it to hack into another mind. Due to the fact that the individual had to be asleep because of the alpha state that was induced, making the mind more susceptible to these kinds of attacks, this took a great deal of patience. He closed his eyes and began to mentally scan the air around him with his body, gradually widening his search until it expanded many light years around the ship. Then he began to isolate his mind from the mental chatter that the ship's occupants were emitting. The Nanites also had empathic abilities as well and the last thing he needed right now was a distraction.

When he was finished he began to erect a mental force field around himself in preparation for his task. He was entering hostile territory after all and even though he had done this before, precautions were necessary in situations like these. He isolated her carrier signal in a flash and began to process the information. Good, she was asleep. It took him no more than fifteen minutes to crack the encryption lock that her nanites had placed on her thought processes. He met with no defenses whatsoever, no sharp mental probes to ward him off. Odd…

He began to sift through her memories starting with the most recent. He noted that heavy traces of adrenaline were still surging through her bloodstream. And when he traced a few minutes back he found the cause. Apparently she had a slight attraction for a bat on the ship. Lysander, that was the name. He loaded the facial data along with his scent into his own mind. This data could possibly come in handy later when he interrogated Sirena. Then he found that 'Lysander' was actually one of his test subjects. His real name was Falcron. Obviously 'Lysander' was just an alias. He would probe his mind later. He dove even deeper into Sirena's memory and there he found to his surprise, a Silverwing male named Serge.

He was also surprised to note that she viewed him not as food, but actually viewed him as a companion. If he could have retched at that very moment he would have. But he wanted to know more about this… distasteful relationship the two had. Then as he trundled through the audio files, he came across their conversation involving his home planet. Asriel pondered this for a moment. Could Serge be an inter-dimensional being? It wasn't impossible, according to the current scientific mentality.

And that was when his mind took in the mission that Sirena's forces were to engage in. And he noted with a gleeful heart that Sirena and 'Lysander' would be traveling on the planet's surface. A plan began to form in his mind…

Serge awoke to see Sirena already awake; watching him quietly with her coal black eyes. Awkwardly Sirena said, "I'll be heading out with Lysander on the upcoming mission." "He's a friend of yours?" She nodded. "Well that's alright. I'll be up on the bridge, monitoring the operation from above." "You're sure that you want to do this? I mean, if you really want to come- "He shook his head. "Obviously there is something between the two of you. And I don't wish to stand in your way." Sirena blinked, thrown completely off guard. "So that's why you thought … listen I have no feelings for him. He's just a friend." Sirena felt herself beginning to panic and she said. "I've got to head down to the hangar. It's almost time for the mission to start."

Sirena flew from the room her mind spinning as she headed for the turbo lifts. "You have absolutely no feelings for Lysander. You and he are just friends!" The more she repeated it in her mind, the hollower it sounded. Cassandra said, "Don't lie to yourself Sirena. You like him." "No I don't!" she said, a little too loudly. 'If there's one thing you're not good at, it's lying. You can't fool me kid. Look at you, just the very image of him sends you into conniptions!"

As she exited the turbo lift doors she hissed angrily, "Listen you, if you think that you can just-"She stopped in mid sentence to whirl around and see Lysander in his Mandalorian form standing behind her. She immediately shifted form, changing her body into a Mandalorian female in seconds. Lysander said, "I'm here, where's my ride?" Sirena pointed to a massive tank painted matte black, which rested on the ground. They walked toward the cockpit doors and Sirena got into the vehicle's pilot station, while Lysander took the gunnery/copilot's seat.

Lysander said, "How are we going to be able to blend in with our surroundings. I mean the tank is painted black for Pete's sake!" Sirena smiled. "Two words my friend: Adaptive camouflage paint. The entire vehicle is covered in patented 'nano-paint' that works by tying into the visual sensors to camouflage the vehicle. It isn't perfect; the nanite's can slow down when at high speed, because the visual processors may overload, but the stuff is molecular-welded into the armor so we'll be safe. Trust me, this baby's sturdy." she said, patting the throttle lovingly.

Suddenly, Sirena heard over the loudspeaker: "All pilots please move your vehicles into the transport ships located on bay 12. Sirena reached above her and entered in the security code. The tank's hatchway slowly closed and a low hiss took over as the life-support system engaged. "Here we go." The tank lifted off from the landing bay floor and drifted toward a cargo elevator. When they arrived at bay twelve they saw a group of six transport drop-ships lined up before them. Sirena guided her tank toward the transport marked, "Zeta Company" and skillfully backed her tank into the narrow entrance way. Clamps rose from the ship's floor to secure the tank in its place, and as the vehicle shook slightly from the clamping action Sirena said, "You, nervous?" "Quite. But I know we'll make it through this one. I've used tanks before." One by one the other four members of the team filed into the transport. A voice crackled through the COM link. "This is Zeta team; Privates Halsey and Max reporting for duty."

"Hey don't tell me that's Lysander's name I see on the roster." Max quipped. "Back in the saddle again I see." Lysander chuckled, "That you Max? Last time I saw you, you were the lead scientist in the labs." "I passed the physical tests." Lysander opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a gruff snarl. "All personnel are to clear the comm. Immediately. For those of you, who are new at this, I am Sergeant Shilone but you will all refer to me as 'sir', do you read me troops?" "We read you sir!" "Okay people here's the game plan."

"To make the convoy a harder target to hit, HQ's decided to break it up into five different groups. This will increase the chances of mission success. We are going to proceed from the drop point en masse to link up with the convoy. If you look at the map on your display you will see the route's that we will take. Know this: at least three of the groups must make it through. The more cargo that survives, the more we get paid. Are we clear on that people?" A chorus of 'Yes Sir' greeted the sergeant's ears. He continued:

"The trip to the surface will take about an hour and a half so I'll send you the mission map with the navigational markers, and continue my lecture on the surface." The drop ships lifted off from the hangar floor and began flying toward the planet, grouping themselves in a delta formation, their fighter escorts flying tightly around the main group

Inside the drop ship, Sirena and Lysander studied the map closely and began discussing their battle tactics. From what they knew, the winter environment would make fighting rather difficult. Visibility would probably be quite low. But if they communicated with the other members of their team, their mission might succeed. The pilot said through the communication system: "We will be arriving in approximately five minutes. Good luck people!"

In almost no time at all Sirena felt a small thunk as the dropship landedon the snow and the doors opened; the tanks in front of her began to move out onto the snow and Sirena started up the engines once more and floated out onto the frozen ground. Sirena turned on the infrared headlights and activated the night vision filters. Lysander said "You wouldn't believe the temperature out here, it's about seventy degrees below zero. Visibility is about 300 feet."

Sirena's group began to move along with their charges toward the first navigational marker. The teams reported back to each other regularly, and for the first hour or so everything was quiet. Then the proximity alarm went off. Sirena checked her radar and said to Lysander, "I'm picking up at least fifteen signatures, making a beeline for our convoy." Max radioed her back, saying, "They're destroyer droids, those things are built for rough terrain and can rip through defenses quite quickly. They need visual contact for their weapons to target accurately, so if we can't see them they can't see us because their radar range is limited to 1000 meters." The convoy continued along their route, and as they reached the second marker, suddenly a group of destroyer droids flashed into existence not 700 meters away. Lysander swiveled the tank's blast canons toward the droids, and Sirena signaled the convoy that she would take care of the threat and catch up with them momentarily.

Sirena slowed slightly and Lysander took aim and fired at the first droid. Its force field held, and as it crawled about on its eight crab like legs it took potshots at the tank, nimbly dodging almost every blast. But finally it exploded along with the rest of the group of the droids under the hail of fire from Lysander's blast guns. Sirena looked at her radar screen and searched for the rest of her team which she expected to see a few miles ahead of her on the trail. But the convoy had vanished from the sensors. She tried the communication system but all she got on the lines were static. Sirena felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. Suddenly a massive ship flew over their tank. "That wasn't our dropship…" Suddenly a massive flash of pain rippled through her mind, and just as she began to black out she heard Lysander say, "We're in big trouble Sirena…"

Back on the Stalingrad the crewman manning the sensor grid called Stockton over

to his console. "Sir I've picked up a primitive sensor blanket over the route that Zeta Company was traveling. Their commander says that Sirena and Lysander went off to dust-off a surprise droid attack and they didn't rejoin the group. They're continuing on the route but are requesting we send a search team just in case." Stockton said "Sweep the area, see if you can pick up their emergency transponder signal." After a few seconds the Officer said, "The weather is obscuring the signal slightly but I've picked up the transponder and a dropship that's on the surface."

The warships hiding in the asteroid field moved into position, priming their weapons and aiming for the first shot. Ayana stood on the bridge of the Typhoon preparing to hail the Stalingrad. With any luck this would be quite easy. "Hail them." To her surprise Ayana saw not the image of a cowering bat preparing to capitulate but a Mandalorian in battle uniform gazing fiercely at the camera. "This is Captain Ayana Boise of the Mandalorian Naval Fleet. You are in possession of a vessel that is of great importance of our military machine. If you allow us to reclaim our ship we will give you full compensation along with warships of equivalent strength."

"I am Stockton, the leader of the Draconis Combine. The ship's Commander is indisposed at the moment. You will have to speak with her so this matter may be negotiated." Ayana replied, a vein beginning to pulse in her temple, "This matter must be settled now. You will accept the gracious offer we have given or we may be forced to resort to military force, and you will be charged with stealing government property." Stockton smiled as he heard those words. "You're just one ship. I can blast you out of the sky with my forward cannons. You and what army?" Ayana sighed. Shutting off the sound for a moment she said to her communications officer, "Signal the fleet to appear." "Sir I'm, picking up 18 other warships vectoring in on our position." "Raise the shields." Stockton ordered.

Meanwhile Lord Asriel was in his laboratory setting up some last minute programming instructions for his army, when his com-unit began to chime softly. He held it up to his ear and heard: "Sir, we have Sirena and her consort aboard and are ready to initiate transport. The transponders are in place?" "Yes. Beam me up." Suddenly Lord Asriel, the lab equipment, computers, ampoules of nanite serum and Shayana and Alonzo disappeared. On the bridge as the attack force began closing in, one of the officers said, "Sir, I've just picked up a massive ship to ship transport, Lord Asriel and the entire lab are gone!"

Suddenly Lord Asriel's face appeared on the screen. "Good afternoon Ayana, I must now take my leave of you and your quaint vessel. Remember that special molecularly bonded metal I asked all my equipment to be plated with? It's a natural transponder. But enough chitchat, I've got a world to conquer." His image blipped off the screen. Ayana swayed for a moment and then snarled, "Tell all vessels to break off the assault. I want this ship and that treasonous whelp found before they depart." All the warships that had been bearing down on the Stalingrad suddenly halted and began to fly in ever widening circles, scanning for the mystery ship. Ayana snarled at her engineer, "How did they sneak into out fleet?!" "They are probably using a cloaking generator of some sort, and used the confusion to slip in, transport everything out and fly off." On the Stalingrad, Stockton said, "I want dropships down on the surface now; get my men off that snow covered rock!" The retrieval dropships were scrambled for launch and blasted down to the surface and began ferrying the tank groups back to the Stalingrad. Once the last dropship was safely back in the hangar, Stockton said to his weapon's officer with a gentle wink, "Let's give 'em the slip!" The Stalingrad's cloaking generator fired up and within a minute theship was invisible to all vessels on the field." Ayana slammed her fist angrily on the control panel as she saw the Stalingrad disappear from the sensor grid. This was not turning out to be her day…

The ship that Lord Asriel was on was the Vanguard one of the few ships built with a fully fledged cloaking generator and a state of the arts weapons system. It was a warship to be feared, for its weapons could raze entire civilizations to the ground. Yet Asriel knew that even it would not last long against the brute force of the Stalingrad's guns. Alongside it flew a massive armored personnel transport carrying the troops who had been given the Nanites, all 25,000 of them. On the Vanguard's right flank flew a cargo transport which carried all of the weaponry, equipment and everything they would need to set up their base of operations. This small convoy would soon be joined by at least 30 other ships carrying other personnel vehicles and supplies. This plan of Lord Asriel's had been years in the making.

At least fifteen other nations wished for the monopoly that the Mandalorians had over the rest of the galaxy to end, and were perfectly willing to resort to force to achieve their goal. Soon order would be restored to the galaxy, and the Vampyrum spectrum would ascend to their rightful place as the leader of all the civilized worlds!

In the conference room Stockton consulted with his advisors on what to do about the situation. One Mandalorian slammed his fist down on the table saying, "We cannot send our entire force after two individuals, it's too risk!." Stockton said, "The Nanites within the blood of these two individuals are worth more than this entire ship. Whoever kidnapped these two obviously wants to extract them for their own nefarious uses. If they succeed they can duplicate them and if they have an army of bio-enhanced soldiers not even our group will remain untouched. What data do you have on the group that attacked us?

"Apparently they were government warships; I assume they expected Sirena to be aboard the ship and they wanted to capture her." "So do they have her?" "From what our visual sensors picked up, the fleet was caught off guard by some unknown ship, because they fanned out in a search pattern as if they were trying to detect something. What we are dealing with now is something completely different But they are connected to Sirena and Lysander, I've found information about the government funded project that they were involved in…dear God what madness it must have been. You'll find a report about the project on your desk. Do you have any further orders sir?"

"Yes. Run through the sensor logs and see if you can pick up any unidentified warp signatures. If you find one, calculate the vectors and try to use the thrust coefficients to find the model of the ships we will find. Then trace and follow the trail. We need to find them fast!"

Sirena and Lysander awoke inside a massive

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