A/N: Posted at Silver Wind Kitsue's request, Chapter Two!

So, Cressida is off to rescue Sharley and doesn't know that the rest of her family is alive. She's afraid of Specials (are you getting the last line of my summary yet?) but she isn't going to let it stop her. She doesn't know what she's in for… Meanwhile Bellorum is just being…well…himself. Oh, and thank you to whoever reviewed anonymously as I Am Squidious. My first review for this story! And thanks to my beta reader Silver Wind Kitsue, who FINALLY reviewed! Some of you might be saying "what's with the title?", I made it to correspond with Chapter Three's title. I also changed the story's title, cause I thought the old one was a little, I dunno, blah.

Disclaimer: Cry of the Icemark, Blade of Fire, and everything else related to the Icemark Chronicles are copyright to Stuart Hill and The Chicken House. Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras and everything else related to the Uglies Trilogy is copyright to Scott Westerfeld and Simon Pulse. But I own this story!

Chapter Two - Out of the Frying Pan

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Never, ever stow away on one of these flying machines again, I thought.

I'd wedged myself in between two of the thin craft and was going over what I was going to do next. Getting off was obviously my first priority. Preferably at the same place Sharley did, so I wouldn't have to go looking for him. That would be bad. I didn't know anything about the Empire and for obvious reasons did not want to stay there longer than I absolutely had to. I had no money, I couldn't speak Polypontian and I didn't want to meet up with Tally or anyone like her, and it would be hard to blend in. I had to find some other clothes if I would be there for any time span longer that a day or two.

A problem with stowing away in a cargo rack, though, is that cargo racks have to be unloaded at some point. And I definitely didn't want to be there when they did. So I had to find some way to get off when Sharley did and before they checked the rack. I decided the best idea would be to wait until the machine was close enough to the ground so I could land safely, then jump off into a tree or body of water. If there was one. Or I could wait till nightfall, if they hadn't unloaded by then. There were too many ifs! My entire plan depended on getting lucky.

I settled into a more comfortable position between the thin craft to wait out the flight. It was cold at such high altitudes and windy too. My armor, for all its usefulness in battle, was doing nothing to keep me warm. The metal was freezing through the simple tunic and pants I wore underneath.

I glanced down and was struck by intense vertigo. Everything looked tiny, like I could reach out and pick it up. The patchwork of fields, towns and forest spun beneath me. I decided to look at the machine's boring metal underbelly instead.

At that moment the machine banked and turned. I was thrown against one of the boards and barely held back a scream. The land spun dizzyingly and I noticed we were now traveling across the Dancing Maidens, the mountains that formed the Icemark's southern border. Here it was still winter and the air temperature dropped even more. I shivered, dressed for the early spring in Old Haven, and sneezed. I hoped I wasn't catching a cold from this wind. That would make things difficult.

Maybe an hour passed and I felt like a little iceberg. I had to find some different clothes when I was in the Empire. The land the helicopter was flying over had changed from mountains to plains dotted with small towns. We were passing over a long stretch of empty plains when I noticed we seemed to be nearing our destination.

It looked like a town at first, but then I noticed that it was surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed sentries. There was also a huge parade ground and near the edge there were long strips of pavement. Not really town material. The craft seemed to be heading toward those.

My stomach dropped. As we got closer I could see the pavement strips were part of a whole other complex. There were huge, long buildings with rounded tops, and in the center of the entire place was a high tower with windows wrapping around the top of it and several antennas on the roof. The buildings weren't what were scary, though. There were rows and rows of the black hovercraft, helicopters like the one I was riding on, and other craft that looked like giant kites. There were also huge ships, the size of normal Navy craft, but instead of sails they had huge balloon-like canopies filled with something that lifted them off the ground. They were all still at the moment, sort of like seagoing ships at anchor. If a few of the smaller craft could destroy Old Haven, imagine what the flying ships could do! I hoped if my mother and father were still alive, they could persuade the Vampires and Snowy Owls to honor the treaty. They wouldn't have much effect on the metal machines, but I bet it would be relatively simple for them to take out the ships.

The machine suddenly dipped forward. The small craft to either side of me didn't move for some reason, but I did and I was going to fall off if I didn't do anything. I grabbed the boards to either side of me and held on tight as the helicopter angled towards the landing pad. After what seemed like an eternity, to me at least, the machine leveled out and began to sink down onto the pavement. I relaxed my grip on the boards and sneezed again, thankful the sound was swallowed up by the sound of the rotors. The craft settled on the ground and the rotors stopped spinning. I lay perfectly still, but prepared to fight.

A group of people were approaching the helicopter from across the landing pad. All I could see of them were their boots. I heard the door of the machine slide open and the thud as it stopped against the side of the helicopter. Someone, (I didn't know who, because again all I could see were boots) stepped out and after a few seconds they began to talk in Polypontian. Again, I could catch Icemark and other stuff that might have been names, Sharley's and, this was a surprise, mine.

More people stepped out of the machine. No Sharley. Not even any sign of Sharley. Had they killed him during the flight? But then, what was the point of capturing him in the first place? I really, really hoped they wouldn't check underneath the helicopter before I could find somewhere else to hide. I also really, really hoped that I hadn't caught a cold, because my nose was feeling really stuffed up and I felt another sneeze coming on. This time, the rotors wouldn't be able to hide the sound.

I felt a tickle in my nose and tried to hold it in, or at least time it so someone would be talking really loudly at the time I sneezed. Why weren't these people going somewhere else to talk, it's not like there were any shortage of places. I tried to muffle it with my arm…

Achoo! Someone heard and spun around (see, I told you I was watching their boots) but before they could surround the machine I was out from under the cargo rack and racing across the field. I didn't know where I was headed, the general direction being away from the (very angry) soldiers by the parked craft. I heard shouts behind me and then a small explosion sent bits of pavement spraying around my ankles. More gunshots sounded and I dove forward, rolling behind the corner of one of the hangars. Just as I got behind the corner, a bullet glanced off my shoulder. I wasn't harmed though, thanks to my armor. I heard the footsteps of people chasing me and took off for the fence. Okay, this was the second time I'd been running for my life in less than a day…new record! Somehow, I didn't feel like celebrating.

I was almost at the fence when I realized it looked too easy. Just climb over it and you were out. So there was razor wire on the top; wearing full armor like I was, I didn't think that would be a problem. This close I could detect a faint buzzing, like the way the air feels just before a lightning storm. Something told me climbing over that fence was not a good idea.

And my pursuers were catching up.

I turned at the last minute and ran along the fence, to where, I didn't know. It seemed like too much to hope for that there'd be a gaping hole. I decided the best idea would be to lose them in the complex of buildings. Which they probably know like the backs of their hands, the pessimist in me thought. I turned again and ran towards an area full of white tanks. The soldiers chasing me ceased fire as I dove beneath one. Peering out from beneath, I could see them coming across the pavement, but for some reason they weren't shooting even though I was a sitting duck. I'd caught my breath, and now I rolled out from under the tank and ran, keeping my head low. When I got away from the tanks and no shots were fired, I began to think that maybe I had lost them.

By this time I was near another of the hangars. I looked back over my shoulder at my pursuers and saw they had spread out. I was dismayed to see two people in gray uniforms with them. People like Tally. I sprinted around the side of the hangar just as one of the soldiers noticed, and they all ran towards me. Scanning up and down the sides of the building I saw a plain door leading inside. Just as the soldiers rounded the corner, I slipped through and shut it quietly. None followed.

I turned slowly, more than half expecting to see another group of soldiers with their weapons pointed at me. There were none. The hangar was empty and silent. I got quickly away from the door and hid behind a small vehicle parked near the wall.

The room I found myself in was enormous, with a high curved ceiling. There were windows up where wall met roof, several more of the small vehicles, and what looked like a very complex pumping device connected to a series of hoses, which were connected to one of the huge sky-ship canopies. The canopy wasn't yet inflated but it was connected to the ship and held up by a grid of steel rods. The rods didn't seem to have anything holding them up, they were just floating there. The ship itself was docked in a metal bay that kept its hull off the ground and had several walkways alongside the hull, presumably for making repairs. A sloped track led outside. There were wheels to help the huge ship along, and I guessed these vehicles were supposed to pull or push it. There were a few other doors leading to small storage rooms and other parked machinery that I supposed helped service the sky-ship in some way. The hangar had only two entrances that I could see; the door I'd entered through and a huge metal door that took up the entire front wall and was currently closed.

I figured this was as good a place as any to rest and think of what I'd do next. I had to find some way to get out of here. It was going to be tricky; the soldiers probably had the hangar surrounded by now. What was I supposed to do, hijack the sky-ship?

Having rested sufficiently, I got up and walked over to the huge pumping device. The control panel was a bunch of touchscreens and dials that I guessed controlled the flow of whatever was pumped through. There was one large switch to turn the flow on and off, currently that was in the off position. There was also a whole other control panel that I guessed was for the other machinery in the hangar. I knew from this moment on that rescuing Sharley wasn't going to be simple. I couldn't accomplish it by just brute force. I had to be smart, and use the enemy's own weapons against him. Hmm…

This thought drew my gaze back to the pumping device. Those heavy hoses…what if they were detached from the canopy and someone turned the pump on? Would the force of whatever came out of the hose be enough to blow a person backwards? A vehicle, even? The only problem would be detaching the hoses, seeing as they were up near the ceiling. Climbing up there would be too much trouble for something I wasn't even sure was going to work. It had been a good idea, while it lasted.

I went to examine the vehicles next. All the ones that I looked inside and tested seemed like they needed some sort of key or password to start. And I didn't have much time until they got that door open. Maybe none of these worked. I checked the last vehicle, and maybe it was just dumb luck but this one actually moved forward when I pressed the pedal. But maybe I didn't even need to think about the vehicles or the pumping device. Maybe they hadn't surrounded the hangar and I could just leave through the door I entered through. I crossed the room and opened it a crack to see whether anyone was out there.

They were. Thankfully, they were just normal soldiers, and not the ones in gray. They were also a little slow to react, so by the time they'd started towards me I'd slammed the door and was holding it shut while I looked for something to keep it closed. There was a coil of steel cable nearby and it looked heavy, but the door opened outwards so it would be of no use. I was just going to fight my way out of the compound, then.

When the soldiers on the other side pulled at the door again, I pushed it outwards and was satisfied to hear a thud as the door hit one of the soldiers. The other one came around the side, but I was ready for him. Before he had a chance to shoot I knocked the gun out of his hand and punched him in the stomach. When he was doubled over I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back and up. There was a pop as his shoulder dislocated. More soldiers were coming around the front of the hangar. I didn't have the element of surprise like before and I couldn't take on a whole group of them at the same time without a weapon.

I ducked back inside and ran to the one vehicle that worked. Really, this whole thing was getting kind of old. Didn't they have anything better to do? Like, jump off cliffs or something?

I noticed a button near the hangar's front door that I hoped opened it, or started some defense system or something that'd help. I ran as fast as I could over to it and pressed down just as the first of the soldiers entered the hangar through the side door. And wasn't it typical, it didn't work. The entire day seemed cursed. The soldiers now in the hangar began shooting and I ducked behind some metal barrels. I heard clangs as the bullets struck the barrels. I hoped that door would open…

Taking a chance, I slammed down the button again. Nothing, and again I had to duck for cover. Sharley had better really be in danger; I thought and then felt guilty for thinking that about my own little brother. I had to get out of this hangar. I waited a few seconds and then tried the door button a third time and ducked behind the barrels again. I heard footsteps coming towards me across the concrete floor and prayed the door would open. But I couldn't rely on that.

As the first soldier came around the barrels, I pulled him to the ground, wrestled the weapon from his hands and knocked him unconscious. It took me a few seconds to figure out how to hold it and more to actually use it, don't think it came naturally. And by the time I could shoot it, I was basically using it as a club anyway. The first shot was a complete accident, and I was lucky I didn't have the weapon pointed toward me at the time. There was a huge blast of noise, one of the soldiers made a strangled noise and fell, and the recoil slammed me against the hangar wall. I shook my head and, using the gun as a club again, knocked one of the soldiers aside and sprinted for one of the little vehicles. I dove inside and slammed the door shut just as bullets hit the outside.

During the fight, I hadn't noticed that the door had begun to slowly open. Guess the third time's the charm. More soldiers were surrounding the vehicle while one attended to the guy I'd shot. I took a quick look at the controls for the vehicle and pressed one of the foot pedals. Nothing. I tried the other one and the vehicle lurched forward. There was a wheel in the center that I spun all the way around and the vehicle spun as well. The soldiers, who'd seemed so confident, were leaping out of the way of the speeding vehicle. I tried to steer towards the door, which was open enough to get out, and ended up swerving wildly from right to left across the concrete. A line of more soldiers was outside the entrance with their weapons leveled. Bullets slammed into the windshield, cracking it, and the soldiers directly in front of me dove aside, but one guy managed to jump on top of the vehicle. I swerved again and he flew off, and then pressed down on the foot pedal making the machine speed up. This was turning into a real crash course in driving.

Ha. Check that out. Pun of the century.

I steered across the airfield towards the gate I could see in the distance. Apparently, all the soldiers, or most of them, had surrounded the hangar and none were at the gate, except for a couple of guards. And they couldn't exactly stop a speeding…whatever this thing was called. I crashed right through the gates, sending them flying off their hinges and skidding along the road, and hurtled on away from the army base.

And into the Empire.

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"That wasn't clever, Octavius."

"I thought it was. Starting that truck remotely? Didn't think it could be done..."

"That's not what I meant, and you know that!" Sulla said indignantly, "Now she's in the Empire and on her way to rescue that crippled brother of hers…do you know how much you've messed things up?"

"There are defenses around Special Circumstances, aren't there? And in that sort of armor she'll stick out like a sore thumb. You shouldn't have any problems finding her."

"What do you mean me? You're helping, since it's your entire fault anyway."

"You know, if she makes it to Romula she'll be a perfect candidate for Special Circumstances." Octavius said, completely changing the subject.

"What?"

"Think about it. Agent Youngblood used to be a Smokey and now she's one of our best. Besides, the Doctor has been looking for someone to test this new operation on."

"You have a point there." Octavius nodded and gave his brother an "all-my-ideas-are-good-ones" smirk. Sulla read the look and snapped, "Funny, I thought letting the Crown Princess escape was a really bad idea."

"What, if she goes back to the Icemark who cares, and if she tries to find her brother she'll get caught trying to sneak into Circumstances. And I only helped with that truck, she figured the rest out herself."

"You owe me so much for not telling Father right away."

"I know."

"Come on, you have a job to do." Sulla grabbed his brother by the wrist and half-dragged him out of the office.

A/N: If I get reviews, I'll continue. Actually, I might continue without reviews 'cause I just like writing. I'm trying to do more character development with Bellorum's sons since we didn't get much at all in Blade of Fire and that kind of disappointed me.

I'd really like some feedback on how I write action-y scenes, though, since the one in this chapter was one of the first ones I did. Thanks.