Disclaimer

I do not own any of the characters from the Final Fantasy Series. They are soley the property of Sony and Square Enix.

Love can not only create Family, but destroy it as well.
It can fill life full of hope or tear it down with one word of sadness.
It can cross time and space and, maybe, even Death itself cannot keep it out.

The cargo ship trudged through the black waves mechanically, sending ripple upon ripple out from the centre and replacing the stars reflections with jittery moving waves of light.

The crew looked around cautiously every so often; some of them turning their eyes up to where the stars shone down while others glanced over the silent expanse of water. They were restless; they could feel that something was about to happen.
"Pirates!" The call came from the main deck where a man threw down his binoculars and yelled down the com link. "Pirates dead ahead!"
"Get those lights up!" A bearded middle aged man with glasses stepped into the decks and peered out the windows, "I want those bloody lights up now!"

One by one massive rigging lights burst into life, flooding the cargo ship with artificial light and dazzling some of the crew as they shielded their eyes from the glare. Shouts and cries of fear rang through the air as others saw the shadow of a lean fighter ship cruise past. It glided alongside the cargo ship before disappearing back into the gathering mist and a few bold enough leant over the edge to try and see where it had gone.
"It's not showing up on the radars Sir."
"They won't, they have some kind of shield that makes them invisible to us. Damn it!" The bearded man brought his fist down on the computer, making the screen shake for a moment before settling. "Find that blasted ship! Put out an SOS to the Patrol!"

The whole of the ship juddered suddenly along its length, making the crew in the main deck stop for a second. They listened with ears straining to catch any noticeable sound, but all there was were the creaks and clanks of the engine room and the ship itself. "Find me-"

The door to the main deck blew inwards with the force of the explosion, several crewmen getting thrown backwards as the rest scurried for cover. Cloud and smoke dissipated slightly to reveal a tall figure wrapped in a dark cloak, face partly obscured by a metal mask, the rest deep in shadow.

It walked swiftly into the room followed by another smaller figure dressed in the same way, both of them working methodically to haul up and tie the crew that were cowering under equipment and desks.
"P-please don't k-k-kill me...pleeeeeee-" A terrified man's plea was cut short as the smaller of the two knocked him unconscious, chucking him unceremoniously on top of another quivering person.
The head foreman tried to stare down the taller figure as he was pulled up by his collar but all he could see were dark holes of nothing. The pirate chuckled in a dry feminine voice. "There is no point feigning bravery, you stink of fear."
"What do you want with us?"
"At the moment, to be quiet." She pushed him backwards, making him trip over his already tied up colleagues and go crashing to the floor. There was a small sound, as if someone was speaking quietly a long way off. The figures nodded to each other and the taller left the deck, leaving the other to finish tying up the men before moving to the ships log.
"We're only a cargo ship, we hold nothing more than metal ore and ship parts."
"Your point being?" The other figure was also female but although the voice was softer, there was an underlying quality to it that filled the man with dread.
"We carry nothing of...any value to you pirates."

The figure ignored him, pouring through the log notes again until something seemed to catch her attention. "That's where we disagree. Captain," she added, talking to someone not in the room, "I've found it. In the cargo hold, starting from the third crate on the left."
The man frowned in confusion, "There's nothing in those crates but old shipping engines to be recycled."
"I think you need to recheck your logs." The figure moved to crouch in front of the man as he strained slightly against his bonds. If he was just able to get one hand free... "Sleep tight..."
She sent him down with a swift blow to the head, moving over the crew to leave the main deck. A monstrous shadow appeared to one side and she turned, seeing another of her group.
"We need to get moving." What sounded like an earthquake rumbled overhead as he hoisted the crates he was carrying into a more comfortable position.
"Right behind you." She trotted after him to where a sleek craft was hovering just above board and jumped inside, the doors closing seamlessly behind her without a sound.
"Hold onto something, Patrol is here."
"I wonder why it took them so long to turn up." She grabbed hold of the railing as the ship shot through the air, turning effortlessly and zipping away from the slower army vessels. Those in the air tried to give chase and a male voice came through her ears on the link.
"You need us on the guns Captain?"
"No Dax, don't worry. They're not giving me much of a challenge. They'll be off our tails in a few seconds." A chirpy female voice answered him as the ship darted and weaved through the night sky. "Cal, help Bern with the crates and get me a full list of what we have."
"Righto Captain." The woman said, following the big man down the corridor and clutching hold of the railings every so often. She had to admire Bern's balance; for such a large bloke he moved with grace and agility almost equal to her own.

He grunted as the crates thumped to the floor, removed his cloak and mask to reveal a heavily muscled green skinned body, dressed in ripped trousers. Scars were etched deep in the skin tissue, marking it look like tiger stripes. Most were a deep green but some shone and glistened when he moved, the metal surfaces catching the artificial light of the storage hold. "Thanks Bern."
The man turned round and grinned, pupil-less black eyes staring down at her through a thick mane of black hair. "No problems Cal." He lumbered off as she stripped away her cloak and mask too, lying them down on another box before moving forward to open the nearest crate.

The glowing orbs stared back at her, illuminating her face with soft light as she picked one up and looked at it. The other three crates proved the same; all carried a load of materia due to be transformed into energy supplies. "We hit pay dirt Captain you'll be happy to know. This will fetch quite a nice price."
"And keep our little pests fed."
"Them too." She grinned looking round as a querying rumble was heard from behind her. Two pairs of glowing eyes watched her from the shadows of the room, evolving into panther-type creatures as they moved into the light.

oOo

Kitots are very rare and therefore one of the most highly sort-after creatures on the planet. Cal could see their eyes widen as they took in the amount of orbs that lay nestled within the crates. "Don't even think about it, let me catalogue them first and then we'll see which ones you can have ok?" The dark grey cat pushed his head against her, nuzzling his way underneath her arm. "I mean it Drakes." She watched him as he snorted and then slouched over to join his brother; they were both nearly as dark as each other but she knew the difference. Both had markings on their flanks and back legs; Drakes were dark blue, almost black with a tinge of red mingling in with the fur on his hind legs. Tekken's were lighter and grey. The other, easier way to tell them apart was the fact that Drakes was missing an ear.

She turned back to root round the lid space, hoping to see if anyone had the sense to leave a list of what was in the boxes. Her prayers were answered when she found what she was looking for in the third lid; a complete rundown of all the materia present. She'd still have to check it but at least it made her job a little easier. She picked up an orb, her purple eyes scanning the surface to see what materia was lurking underneath. "Mys...ti...fy...hmm...this one's been used. One for you Tekken." She lobed the orb behind her and heard the snap of jaws as the Kitot caught it expertly. As she scanned each one in turn she found that nearly all of them had been used at one stage or another, and she wondered by what means Patrol had gotten hold of them.

"How you doing?" The doors opened to let in a slim dark skinned woman, her dark blue hair sleeked back into a ponytail and a long flared pirate jacket open to show the blue and yellow Lycra suit underneath.
"Nearly finished Captain, someone was nice enough to leave a list." Cal waved the clipboard at her and Piper laughed.
"How considerate of them."
"I don't think the foreman even realised what his cargo actually was tonight. He looked really confused."
Piper shrugged. "Can't be helped. There'll be loads of cargo ships that have no idea they're carrying materia and other smuggled goods back to the cities." She looked over to where the two Kitots were curled up together, their faces just visible behind draconian tails. "They give you much trouble?"
"No, they've been pretty quiet since I've thrown them a few. It's a good thing we found such a big haul, they haven't eaten in days."
"Remember to mark it up. They come first, whatever we have left over we sell."
"No problems Captain."

She left her to it and walked through the corridor up the stairs until she could hear the sounds of chopping coming from the kitchen.
"What have you got planned for us then Tala?"
"Stew and dumplings Captain." The hybrid fox looked up at her with a sharp knife in both hands. Her silver fur was neat and glossy, the hairs picking up the light in the room and making her look like she was surrounded by a pale aura. The silks that hung down from her hips and around her arms swirled round her form when she moved back to chopping vegetables, the metal hooks of her pants just visible.
"Smells great." Piper grinned.
"Is Cal ok Captain? She seemed a little preoccupied tonight."
"She'll be fine Tala, don't worry. At the minute she's in her element surrounded by materia and those two pests of hers."
"I'm surprised she hasn't been mobbed already." She smiled showing sharp white teeth. "Any plans on where we're going next?"
"I'll have a look and see where the nearest city is. We'll land there and see if we can get a decent price on the rest of the materia."