"Commander!" Luke cried out as the swarm came closer to the ship.

Trip's hand balled into a fist. "I see it. Head to Plan B." Prith was nearly at the entrance of the ship, but now more than thirty skirmishers were already aboard and another two dozen on their way.

"Yes sir." Riley tapped another button on the console. Ballista and her compliment carried enough firepower to kill every single pirate four times over, however no matter how grim it was, there were lines that Aegis and his crew never dared to venture past. The men with their rifles would be tricky being targets, as there were women and children onboard as well.

The door to the ops center opened and Dan Tyler rushed in, still in the costume as engineer Duane. He muttered his apologies before clanking fists with Ril. The two were best friends and inseparable. Tyler had never really gotten over being a studious geek ever since he left high school with an IQ of 168. Joining the navy for four years in the academy and four years at the HQ on Reach hadn't really changed much about him.

On the other hand, Luke Riley's thuglike style was something he couldn't quite get into sync. A certified genius, he had been a naval developer for improved versions of the MAC. They had met during a conference in late 2550 when he presented the newest version that he had headed.

Even though both were just about as opposite as you could get, they worked in perfect synchronization with the power to anticipate Aegis as if they could read his mind.

"Prepare sonic suppression systems. Don't start until I give the order."

"Yes Commander."

The new sonic suppression systems were a newly developed countermeasure by UNSC warships to ward off jackal and skirmisher pirates. Similar to ones used since the 21st century, the sonic suppression released a high pitched sound that was inaudible to humans, but not to kig-yar.

"Leah, I want you to monitor Prith. Keep him in your sight at all times and inform me of his activities. Tell me the minute he enters the storage."

"You got it." Like Ty and Ril, Leah Roush had also come from the navy having served as an intelligence officer. Her figure was much more petite and her voice had a higher pitch, but she was as excellent at combat and naval planning as any of her masculine shipmates.

"Pyra, Suvorov, meet me in the armory."

"Roger that." Both men had started their way down. Vasili was right behind Aegis since he was also at the bridge. The armory was located right underneath where pirates were located and they heard their clawed footfalls as they sprinted into the large room. Inside was almost every imaginable weapon from simple handguns to N6 Spartan Lasers. Also in the corner were three rings surrounded with robotic arms. This was the MJOLNIR armor assembly rings. Within thirty seconds, their latest MJOLNIR GEN2 armor would be combat ready. Both he and Vasili suited up at the same time. Aegis's armor was dark red and black. Suvorov had a green and white colored armor. As they walked out, they were greeted by Pyra, who was already in his own completely black armor.

"Prith is about a minute from the main hold." Leah updated.

"Anybody on the bridge?"

"There's a couple of little chickens tampering with the weapons controls."

"Then let's give them something to play with. Weapons, activate the sonic suppression system and pipe I through the speakers where the pirates are located."

The pirates heading to the main hold were the closest to the origin of the SSS when Riley turned it on. Inside, the new unbearable sound was an assault on all of their senses. Many squawked in pain and covering their ears did little to dampen any noise.

"Yeah now they're going to have a hearing problem." Luke chuckled back at control.

"Commander, Prith had just ordered one of his bodyguards to check the bridge. Those kids are gonna be in trouble. Vaal is standing by to take him out."

"I don't pity them." Aegis replied as he reached the Covenant section of the armory. Although mostly UNSC made weapons were used in their operations, they kept Covenant ones for undercover. He selected a needle rifle with a plasma rifle sidearm and was satisfied that the other two chose carbines with needlers. Vaal Talam was the leader of the sangheili side of the Blades. Bringing several loyal Covenant warriors gave the Blades versatility on tackling both human and Covenant problems alike.

"Prith is now outside the hold with the pelicans and phantom. There are about ten other armed skirmishers with him. Speaking of which, our lead visitor, Hys is now grinning from ear to ear about his find and looks hopeful for praise."

Trip smirked from Leah's last comment, "Not for long." The team started down the lavish hallway until stopping in front of a hung carpet. Aegis pressed his hand against it and the scanner on the other side verified his armor print. The door opened to reveal a utility closet. He brushed aside the various clothing on the racks as the door shut, nearly indistinguishable from anyone else. This was one of the many transitions between the disguise and actual Ballista. He opened the door and recoiled from the sight that he saw.

Skirmishers were everywhere, on the walls, howling, partying, drinking, one of them, Aegis guessed was an unmated male, was trying to hit on one of the females and it looked as if she was captivated. He shrugged it off, insisting that all kig-yar were just about as ugly as they come, children or adult, male or female.

"Sitrep on Prith's location?"

"He's inspecting the container with the phantom."

"His mood?"

"Kid at an amusement park."

It was the time. Aegis used Pyra's larger bulk to conceal himself as he talked, "Okay, tell Drew if he's back to get the burnt plastic and smoke ready for deployment in the hangar hold. Remember, we want pirates getting off, not on."

Occasionally, smoke was indicated from the Ballista that she was heavily damaged. In a way, it drew suspicion away from the fact that they were capable of doing anything that was harmful. The smell of burnt plastic was what Hys had smelled on his first time stepping aboard and the smoke the she displayed of feigning damage was now being redirected into the hangar.

Within seconds, the noxious gas flooded the cargo holds. It wasn't long before the skirmisher's rejoicing of their loot turned into a frenzy to escape the ship. Since they brought no helmets to filter out the nonlethal scent, their only option was to get off the ship as soon as possible.

The three Spartans stepped out and sprayed fire into the hold, making sure that no unarmed pirates were hit. Instantly, combined with the fact of toxic air and automatic fire, the crowd suddenly became a mass exodus.

Aegis and Pyra waved their hands, causing two of the sangheili also hidden and observing to shut off the lights. Without the largest visual aid, the pirates would be even more dazed and probably scared out of their minds.

The three Spartans switched on their VISRs, a special night vision that could depict armed pirates in red and noncombatants in yellow. Their target was highlighted in purple with a plasma pistol in hand.

Like wraiths, the Spartans and hidden elites armed with carbines opened fire upon the crowd, making sure they only fired at armed pirates. A few returned fire, but no rounds had even hit the shielded operatives. They had already vanished before their targets even knew that they were shooting back.

Aegis silently slipped away from the others, working along the back wall of the fight. Of course, Prith was firing at the origin of a carbine shot. One of his shots must have gotten lucky because the bolt impacted right where one of the cloaked elites were. He was far enough away to keep Trip from identifying who exactly he was. A few more pirates fired their needle rifles at where he had been seen. Unorganized, they had missed their window as the elite's camo regenerated and he faded from view, moving out of sight so that their shots hit the back wall.

Trip put away his rifle and removed a small pistol that he had to use a little bit of effort to work his gloved hands through the grip. The handgun fired a quick tranquilizer dart that could incapacitate a fully grown man within seconds. A skirmisher took even less. Beside Prith, there was also Hys, the leader of the original boarding party as well as two of his men.

Back inside the ops center, Dan was watching as the unarmed skirmishers had dashed back into their hideout, biding his time until Leah confirmed that only armed pirates were aboard, he pressed another button making clangs resonate throughout the hull. The doors, hatches and windows immediately became inescapable as the blast doors sealed shut. The team with their vision could be stealthily moveable, while the pirates might as well have been blind. The team inside the hangar's hold could hear the skirmisher thugs talking to each other, but easily saw that nobody dared to move where they stood.

Aegis aimed at the closest pirate and fired, the pistol making no more noise than a whisper. The skirmisher squawked out loud as he fumbled for something in his belt before the drug finally claimed his consciousness and he collapsed like deadweight.

"Six left, but there's another situation outside." Leah set markers on the last targets, although Trip and the others didn't need them.

"Talk to me."

"One of the men that had fled the ship is rallying another twenty to board. They're also bringing online a few antiaircraft plasma turrets situated on the nearest ship.

"Have Luke spool up the Death Machine and turn the turrets into scrap metal. Get Dan to start the engines and pull us away."

Even though he couldn't see them, he knew both men were grinning as they went to their tasks. The Ballista's engines fired up as she made ready to depart the pirate's hideout. Further along the hull, a piece of armor plating was withdrawn and a large four barreled minigun slammed out. A high pitched shriek pierced the air as Riley aimed above most of their heads at the turrets. The emplacements were hit with thousands of armor piercing rounds in a second and went up in flames, spraying blue flaming debris everywhere. Most of the pirates that had been hosed by the fire had survived and dove flat on the ground before hitting back. Unfortunately the hull simply shrugged off their needle rounds, being about as effective as trying to halt a charging hunter with a slingshot. Next to him, the ship's engines had reached her nominal engine capacity. With a little help from Riley hosing the docking controls with the Death Machine, the Ballista popped free of her cradle. Still under invulnerable fire from the pirates, she peeled free and began accelerating away from the hideout, unchallenged.

Back inside the hold, Hys' man Lok had gone completely wild.

"There are devils possessing the entity of this ship!" He fired his weapon wildly, the bolts doing little to help illuminate the dark room or help their moods. Hys had now believed his teammate's suspicions; this was no helpless ship. It was much too late for him.

"We've got to get out of here!" One of the other pirates exclaimed, rushing out into open space.

That was the last words he had uttered before a carbine round tore through the side of his head, exploding his cranium into a purple mess.

Pyra had materialized out of the other side of one of the containers and he gave Aegis a nod. Both men stepped out with the latter closing the gap between him and Prith in less than two seconds. He swiftly wrapped his arm around the pirate leader, jamming the dart gun in his neck and pulled the trigger. Shrugging off Prith's struggling, he stiff armed him to speed up the process. Prith finally flailed weakly before going limp.

Hys had suddenly realized the larger presence beside him with his leader uncounscious in the armored giant's hands when he felt something red hot pass through his stomach. Turning around, he saw the Spartan aim his rifle again and fire, this time Hys' body flopped onto the floor, minus his head.

The other skirmishers aimed their weapons in the confusion, but after a repeat of carbine and bullet shots, they all collapsed to the floor at nearly the same time. Lok found himself staring down an angry looking sangheili before having his head parting his body from the energy sword.

"Clear!" Pyr called from his position.

"All enemies have been vanquished." One of the cloaked sangheili, the one to run Lok though with his sword deactivated his cover. Although Rak was more of a sniper and an artist with the carbine and beam rifles, he was also quite proficient with the blade as well.

"Now that that's over," Aegis hefted the pirate leader up, "Tell Dan to get us the hell out of here."

Was that epic or what?! Even though they've nabbed their target, they still have to get him back to their clients! And what if they have more for the Blades than what they expect?