"We should be breaking through the clouds at any moment." Davenport's authoritative voice rang out from the bridge, startling Lucretia out of her thoughts. She set down her book and joined the others, excited to see what the new plane would have in store for them.
Magnus was bouncing on his massive toes like a little kid. "I hope they have some books for Fisher to read." Ever since they'd brought Fisher on board, Magnus had become something of an eager first-time parent, instead of his usual brash recklessness. It was a big change, to say the least.
"I hope it's safe," said Davenport in a quiet tone. Suddenly, the ship broke through the clouds, and they could view much of the world below them. A shining white city stretched as far as the eye could see, crisscrossed by wide streets and punctuated by a handful of tall buildings off to the west. It was a monochrome portrait of modernity in shades of white and gray.
Merle shoved his way to the front of their huddle and peered at the city with a critical eye. "Where are the trees?"
"Better yet, where's Taako?" Barry materialized behind her, a mechanical pencil tucked behind his ear. The pockets of his ratty dad jeans were jammed full of crumpled paper that crinkled whenever he moved. Notes from the last plane, most likely.
"Sleeping," snorted Lup. Without warning, the Starblaster jolted wildly, nearly throwing Lucretia and the others to the ground.
From the ladder below, the heard Taako's muffled cries of panic. "What the hell was that?!" Another series of bumps shuddered through the ship, though not as violently as before.
Davenport swore and yanked the ship upward, throwing the rest of the crew to the ground if they hadn't been already. Lucretia let out a cry as her hip bashed onto the cold metal floor, followed by Magnus landing on her legs. "They're shooting at us!" Beads of sweat appeared on his temples as he frantically tried to outmaneuver them, pitching the ship in all directions. Everyone was yelling and swearing as they tumbled around like the salad Taako had tossed for them the night before.
"Shoot those assholes back," screamed Merle, who'd ended up underneath a very apologetic Barry. Lucretia frantically counted at least seven small fighting ships hovering outside of their cockpit window. One of them, probably their leader, had a silver stripe on it's right wing.
"You do not have flyover clearance," an authoritative voice blared, probably from one of the enemy ships. Lup raised her middle fingers high and glared out of the bridge's window. "You are flying in a restricted area."
"Dav, what do we do?" Lucretia felt her stomach beginning to drop somewhere below her knees as more enemy ships began to amass themselves outside of the Starblaster . "You are surrounded on all sides."
"Please follow us. Do not attempt escape." And without further explanation, the silver-striped ship took off to the west, giving the Starblaster no choice but to follow them. For a few seconds the cabin was silent as everyone tried to process what had happened. Lucretia's hip continued to ache, obviously unhappy about being smashed against the floor.
Davenport cleared his throat and tightened his grip on the wheel. "Hide your things," he instructed, his usual captain's authority replaced by a quiet sense of apprehension. The five of them looked at each other, then nearly trampled one another in their haste to get out of the bridge and into their various cabins. Lucretia burst into her room, nearly tripping over the fluffy rug she'd laid down to keep her feet from getting cold. Once, it had been Lup's room too, but she'd opted to move in with Barry.
They mustn't find the journal, she thought to herself. With shaking hands, she yanked her top desk drawer open and grabbed the contents, making sure her leather-bound journal was among them. Certain that she had everything important, she darted back towards the common area.
Frantic but quiet chaos reigned all around her. Magnus was busy unzipping the couch cushions and shoving his possessions inside of them. Taako had hidden his wand in one of their emergency rations, and was trying to carefully close up the packaging. Merle was on the kitchen counter, and Lup was on Barry's shoulders so she could hide her wand in the air duct above her.
As if sensing the impending doom, Fisher hummed a nervous melody and began to dart around inside his tank. "We have to hide him," Magnus yelped, abandoning his possessions and running towards the tank with parental anxiety.
"There isn't any place to put him!" Lucretia scanned the room for a good spot until she remembered the loose panel behind the bathroom's towel rack. She nearly face-planted in the hallway, but kept going. Her fingers were shaking so badly, she could barely unscrew the panel's bolts.
Taako burst in, still in his silk bathrobe, nearly out of breath. "Get your red robe on. We're here." Lucretia shoved her papers in the panel, and hastily re-screwed it, praying to every deity she could think of that they'd be there when she got back. She reentered the common room and retrieved her robe from the row of hooks over in the kitchen. Everyone was already there, minus Taako, waiting for whatever was outside.
"We're inside of a really big hanger," explained Davenport, gesturing to the apparent darkness outside of their windows. "The fighters must be landing somewhere outside." Magnus had thrown his bed sheet atop Fisher's tank, which was useless since Fisher continued to hum in nervous minor chords. The relative quiet was deafening in their ears.
"So, what's the scoop?" Taako strutted back into the common room, wearing a sassy black skirt and a rainbow crop top, his boot heels clicking on the floor and his red robe fluttering out behind him like a flag. In spite of the grim atmosphere, Lucretia couldn't help but smile at his flamboyance.
Barry nervously adjusted his glasses, looking as if he was going to be sick. "Nothing yet," he croaked, gripping Lup's hand like a lifeline. Contrary to her anxious boyfriend, Lup looked as if she could take down the gods themselves.
"What else did you see, Dav?" Many pairs of stomping feet could be heard above them. Fisher sung a quick, sharp note as the feet above continued to move around. A knock was heard from the door on the common room's opposite wall.
"Stand back," Davenport ordered grimly. Fisher's low hums grew louder as the door swung open and white-suited soldiers poured into the cabin.
"Up against the wall!" Davenport shuffled back to the others without complaint as every soldier trained their crossbows on the team. They all stood side by side; Magnus towered in front of Fisher's tank to protect him.
A series of rapid-fire calculations fired off in Lucretia's brain. It was exactly twelve feet to the door. There were eleven soldiers in the cabin. It would take them roughly ten to fifteen seconds to reload their crossbows. The odds weren't looking good.
"Search the ship!" Lucretia nearly cringed as the white soldiers began to methodically tear apart the kitchen cabinets and the common room. A few were holding small devices that Lucretia hoped weren't scanners. They worked in silence as they tore apart every drawer, cabinet, and shelf. Taako, who'd spent several days organizing the kitchen, looked to be on the verge of saying something that would get them all in trouble.
A lanky blonde with a silver insignia on her shoulder turned to face them with a bored expression. "Who is the captain?"
"I am." Davenport had made certain that he was wearing his captain's red robe with the epaulets and gold buttons. Even though his head barely reached her waist, he stared her down with a fierce intensity. An elven soldier began to scribble frantically on an official-looking notepad.
"What's your sector?" Out of the corner of her eye, Lucretia observed the twins rolling their eyes in unison.
Davenport's shoulders tensed. "We're not from here." The notetaking elf gasped and dropped their pad, backing away in horror. Apparently foreigners didn't crop up a lot.
The blonde's bored expression was gone, replaced by undisguised shock. "Then where are you from?" The seven of them exchanged a few quick glances. Would these people even believe them?
"Another plane of existence," Davenport replied calmly, faintly amused by the shocked silence that followed. A smile was lurking at the corners of his mouth, making his red mustache twitch. Lucretia fought the urge to laugh aloud as Lup actually giggled a little.
"This is not my division," muttered the blonde while gazing at the metal ceiling. She recovered herself and began to bark orders. "Finish searching the ship! And where's that humming noise coming from?!" The seven of them froze. Shoulders tensed, sweat appeared, and throats closed up. Lucretia's heart began to speed up. She could see the beads of sweat beginning to drip down Magnus's temples as the officer's eyes fell on the bed sheet. "What's in there?" Nobody spoke, except Fisher, whose low hum became a series of panicky minor chords.
"Medicine cabinet," Magnus lied in a last-ditch effort to play it cool. The officer snorted and shoved him aside, ripping the sheet off with a flourish. Fisher shied away from the glass and hummed a sour-sounding note.
"Shall we requisition it, Captain Frost?" asked the notetaking elf, her pencil hovering over the pad expectantly. In just a few seconds, the atmosphere shifted. Magnus didn't move but was obviously ready to beat the crap out of anyone who tried to take Fisher. A fight brewed on the horizon.
Taako snorted and played with a stray strand of his hair. "It's just a jellyfish, my dude." His tone was so level you could've built a house on it.
But Frost ignored him, still eyeing the tank. "Might as well, Soldier Krane." Four soldiers moved to grab the tank without bothering to draw their weapons.
That was a mistake.
Magnus, roaring like an enraged bear, grabbed the nearest soldier by the collar and slammed them into the wall with a sickening crack. Soldier Krane screamed for backup as Lucretia found herself being sucked into an all-out brawl. In the end, it took five soldiers to hold Magnus down long enough to make off with the tank. "FISHER! NO!" As if answering him, Fisher let out something like a musical shriek and thrashed inside of his tank. He continued to scream even as he was carried out of sight.
A pair of rough hands suddenly grabbed her shoulders. Panic seized Lucretia as they cuffed her hands behind her. "Wait! Don't take him!" The only answer was a hand forcing her to her knees. Something hard struck her in the face and her cheek began to throb. All around her, the soldiers roughed up the Starblaster crew to get them under control. A hand smashed into Lup's mouth and split her lip. Merle was practically trampled underfoot. Taako's face was bashed against the wall, and Barry's glasses were in pieces on the floor.
"You don't understand," bellowed Magnus, spitting blood from a split lip. "He needs someone to take care of him!" Another high-pitched musical scream rang out from far away. "BRING FISHER BACK, YOU FUCKERS!"
Frost shot him an icy glare. "Shut him up!" A gag was produced and tied around his mouth with chilling efficiency. Unabated, Magnus continued his muffled ranting punctuated by curses. Lucretia's heart hammered against her chest. The whole team was cuffed and subdued. By the looks of the couch and kitchen, they'd found everyone's hidden weapons. They'd even checked the air duct containing Lup's wand.
"We're not a threat," Davenport protested, his officer's coat rumpled from the scuffle. "We're here to help you!" He too was ignored by Frost. They seemed to be waiting for someone more qualified. Magnus spent the whole time muttering vicious threats at Frost, who lounged on their couch and waited. Several minutes later, a muscular mass of a woman stomped aboard wearing a solid silver uniform.
"What's all this mess?!" She was even bigger and beefier than Magnus, with cropped black hair and eyes that narrowed with disdain.
"Foreigners, Colonel Morton," replied Frost, prompting a string of curses from the officer. Taako and Lup were both raising their middle fingers behind their backs. Lucretia hoped they couldn't see them. "We've taken their weapons and disabled the spacecraft." Davenport's face crumpled into a ruin of worry. If they couldn't fix the ship by the end of the year, they'd be screwed.
"Well we don't got any place to put them!" Morton paused to spit, narrowly missing the hem of Taako's skirt.
Frost nodded sagely. "I know Colonel. We could keep them in this hanger until space frees up at Blackstone." The officer paced and nodded thoughtfully as Frost forged ahead. "They can't get off the ground in this thing, and we've got plenty of grunts to watch them."
Barry tried to interject, squinting to compensate for his busted glasses. "Don't we get a fair trial?!" But no one listened, or seemed to care.
"You're certain they can't get out?" Frost nodded again.
Morton sighed loudly. "I want four men inside this hanger around the clock!" She continued to bark orders while stomping off of the Starblaster . The rest of the soldiers trailed out behind her, until only the seven of them were left aboard, still handcuffed and on their knees.
"This cycle's full of shit," Taako muttered venomously, a vibrant green bruise already blooming on one of his cheeks.
With a mighty effort, Davenport got back on his feet and studied them carefully. "Not we have anything to say about it."