A/N: Sorry about the slow updates, college has been really busy this semester (I'm taking 18 units so I can apply for transfer) and with a busy work schedule as well, it hasn't really given me much free time. Hopefully this is up to snuff, it was written over the course of almost two months whenever I get free time, so it may not be my best work. Still, hope you guys and girls enjoy. Let me know what you think!

It had been more than two days since she had last seen her pilot. The two had a bit of a quarrel and she had chosen to stop interacting with him for the time being. Now his neural-link was offline and she was sitting in a half-assembled state. She was uncomfortable to say the least.

She sat in an almost inactive state, running at the lowest priority of idleness, lest she be caught by surprise. However it wasn't like she would be able to do much, given that the majority of her systems were disconnected or disabled. Giving an inward sigh of resignation, she noticed one of Vinson's engineers take notice of her central glowing-white optic flare up in activity before dimming again. When the green and dark grey jumpsuit clad man came over she sighed again.

"Interesting…" She heard the man mutter, peering into her optics. "Alison, come here. I think there's some activity going on. I think the AI is still active."

"It shouldn't be. We ran the shutdown codes." She peered into the optics, taking note of the dim glow of the systems within. Everything seemed normal, despite this model currently lacking an AI core. "All of the wireless connections should have been terminated." She mused, "Perhaps we erred in our application?"

Vi grumbled internally. She was being fussed over while a group of people tore her apart and tinkered with her internal mechanical systems.

"Should we rerun the protocols?" The man asked, Vi's audio receptors amplifying and identifying his voice despite the din of the workshop.

"I guess, just to be sure." Alison had replied, beginning to move away when she spotted increase in intensity of the glow followed by a subtle twitch of the Monarch's optics. With an animated gasp Alison exclaimed, "It moved! The Monarch moved!"

"See! I knew it was still active." The man smiled at his correct presumption. He quickly tempered his demeanor, adding, "Let's review those protocols and reapply them."

The Monarch's armored optics covers narrowed as Vi approximated a glare as best she could with her Titan body. "You will do no such thing." Came her voice over her—surprisingly—still functional external speakers.

As the room quieted to near dead silence both of the engineers stood flabbergasted. "I—wha—it can talk!" One of them blubbered.

"I know, I'm surprised you lower life forms can speak as well." Vi joked, earning a few chuckles from the various mechanics within the workshop.

At this the woman—Alison—shot back. "Hey now! No need to be rude!"

"And how would you feel if I pulled your arms and legs off then tried to lobotomize you?" Vi sassed.

"Quite the… personality on this one." The male engineer noted.

Vi audibly sighed. "Where is my pilot?"

"Your pilot? The mercenary?" The man asked.

"Yes, him." The Titan responded with a tone of irritation.

"We wouldn't know. Our department doesn't deal with that kind of stuff." Alison replied, still bewildered by the personality that the Monarch possessed. "We were just told to give you a diagnostic and a full refitting."

"He's probably fine." The man reassured her. "I mean that guy was a veritable treasure trove of data, he's given us so much to work with. He's been a valuable asset." The man finished, curbing his building excitement.

"Great." Vi simulated sarcasm before going on to say, "How long will this take, exactly?"

"A couple more hours." One of the mechanics answered. "We just need to reattach your new limbs and then your electronics need to be recalibrated. We also need to address the severe energy drifting in your power core." He listed as he looked over a diagnostics checklist. "Should take us between two to three hours."

Vi was silent for some time before she replied with a curt, "Very well." as she set herself into standby mode.


Wraith groaned as he woke up from his chemically induced sleep. It was the fourth in two days. Vinson Dynamics' medical staff had kept the man on heavy sedatives and a cocktail of powerful drugs to keep his neural activity to a minimum. The sparse lapses of time where he was conscious and cognizant had informed him that he was on the road to recovery. However, despite the long stretches of sleep, he felt drained and fatigued.

Given what he was experiencing, he was glad that Vinson Dynamics was giving him medical attention. He had also heard that his Titan was getting maintained by their engineers. Apparently that representative had pulled a few more strings. Wraith grumbled, this probably meant he was in debt to Vinson Dynamics. He failed to see how he could receive all of these things as compensation for foregoing monetary payment for his contract.

His suspicions seemed to be confirmed when said representative had entered his small room, glancing about the room before settling on the man. "'Wraith', is it?" She asked with a surprisingly pretty smile that contrasted her formal appearance.

"Take it this is your doing?" He asked as neutrally as he could, given what the drug induced fatigue was doing to his body and subsequently, his speech.

"Think of it as thanks." She smiled as she walked over to his bedside. "The information you gave us was quite valuable. Saved us Millions in credits towards research and a few years of time." She explained. "The cost for professional medical care and engineering services is justifiable given your value to us." She finished coolly.

Wraith shrugged. He could accept free services. "Thanks."

Then the woman took on a different cast. "Business aside. I wanted to say… thank you…" She said awkwardly, perhaps not used to speaking for herself. "W-we… We have a few hours until your Titan is ready and I'd like to get to know you better in the meantime." She said with building confidence as she worked herself up into a steady pace. That all came tumbling apart however as she nervously asked, "I-If… that's okay with you."

"Uh… sure." Wraith nodded. A little confused by her stark differences in her personality.

She gave a relieved smile, "Thank you." She smiled again, eeking out an infectious smile from Wraith. "I don't get much practice or time to be myself." She admitted tiredly. "I'm always supposed to be a face of Vinson Dynamics. I'm not even that important, I'm just a facility manager…" She lamented. "It's funny I've represented a company more than I've represented myself." She said as her melancholic tone left her with a wistful sigh.

Unsure of where to take the conversation from here, Wraith replied with a cautious, "Was it worth it?"

"If you're asking me if I have any regrets, I… guess I do." She sighed. "I've been working for this company since I've been a teenager. Seven years spent dedicated to my job instead of my own life. My social life is basically non-existent. I've never really been able to pursue anything that makes me happy." She said as she looked out of the window of Wraith's medical suite, twenty stories above the ground. As she gazed upon an azure ocean and black-sanded beachs she glanced at the mercenary's reflection. "I envy you... Able to chase what your heart desires… I have to say. I'm quite jealous indeed…" She said in a predatory tone.

"I still have to make ends meet." He answered.

"True… but you could always take what you want." She responded, kneeling down until her head was next to his. "Just like how I could take what I want right now…" She whispered into his ear, even as her hand started its slow journey down his body.

"Who said it would be that easy?" Wraith smirked playfully, sitting up on his elbows.

"Oh I can be quite… resourceful." She purred with a hint of laughter.

An amorous hour later and the two had sorted out their jumbled mess of clothes to appear mostly presentable. The woman—Veronica, he had found out—was currently refastening her bra with her back to the freelancer.

"Th-thank you for... that." She stammered, flustered, yet slowly returning to her formal self.

"It was a pleasure." Wraith joked, earning an amused look from over Veronica's shoulder.

"That it was." She smiled. "I don't get to enjoy myself often…" She huffed.

"Well if you ever need an out from this, you know where to contact me. I could always use another talented crew member." Wraith offered, as he finished donning his own shirt, just as Veronica buttoned hers.

"Ambitious I see…" She chuckled. "Trying to start your own mercenary company?"

"The thought had crossed my mind…"

"As much as I appreciate the offer. I really do. I don't think your… wife… would apprecia—"

"We aren't tog—it's complicated." Wraith muttered, mood turning dour. With a sigh, he dismissed that train of thought and looked at Veronica, back to her prim and proper appearance as a representative of Vinson Dynamics. "Anyways… My offer still stands. I'm serious about that. I'll even arrange for a pick up."

"I… Thank you." She smiled, a look of genuine happiness fleeting across her demure features. "From your… wonderful... performance, I'd say you're well enough to move about. We still have an hour to spend, perhaps you are hungry?" She asked.

"I could go for some food." Wraith answered shortly. "I need my gear first."

"Ah, yes. Your equipment." She agreed. "Right this way." She instructed, leaving the room with Wraith following shortly behind her. As they traveled down the almost sterile looking hallway, she commented. "Please refrain from looking at my butt, sir." That led to a stammered, muted apology and a slight tug of bemusement at her lips.

Despite the silent walk to wherever Veronica was taking him, he didn't mind the quiet. It helped ease his mild headache and allowed him to take in the companionable silence. Wraith was never much for talking, and from his interactions with Veronica, he had taken that she wasn't either. Whether that was from her choice to be professionally detached or her actual personality was yet to be seen. However, he appreciated that a conversation wasn't initiated just to fill the silent void.

Eventually, after minutes of walking down grey plated hallways, the odd patch of greenery and several dozen windows, they had arrived at a locker room. Inside were several Vinson Dynamics employees, in various states of undress or lounging about, taking a rest. Seeing these employees, Veronica spoke harshly. "I hope you aren't taking a break on company time."

"O-of course not… ma'am." Came back the startled and hurried replies as those lounging about jumped up and rushed off to where they were supposed to be.

"Your gear should be in section two, Mercenary. I think you should be able to find what belongs to you." She said coldly, detached and professional.

Wraith simply nodded, taking a look at the markings on the walls before following the signage to his right. Sure enough, he had found his equipment, all locked behind a mesh caged locker. As he approached the locks blinked green as a metallic click echoed across the concrete space. He noticed the blinking red light of a security camera tracking his movements from the corner of the ceiling.

Wraith nodded in wordless thanks, before he retrieved his gear, weapons and all. His flight suit and kevlar and carbon nano-weave vest was the first thing to come on. Shortly followed by his knee pads and shin armor before he moved to his arms then his helmet. He kept his weapons loaded, but the magazines unchambered. A show of faith and goodwill, but the veteran pilot wasn't stupid. He wouldn't be unarmed in he had a say in the matter.

Regardless, it was a massive show of faith from the company to allow an armed, currently unaffiliated contractor of his caliber to roam without a security detail escorting him.

"I trust that everything is in order?" She asked.

"No complaints." Wraith confirmed.

"I hope you don't make me regret allowing you to be armed."

"I'll behave."

Veronica simply smiled at the freelancer's sense of obedience. "I am going to hold you to that." She quipped. When he gave no reaction or complaint she gave a soft sigh and began to escort the man to the on-site cafeteria.

Another trip down several nondescript corridors and through two security checkpoints ended with another elevator ride. During the silent ride Veronica spoke up. "Not much for words are you?" She asked.

Wraith turned to look at her, silently staring.

"You're a different person with that uniform on." She smiled ruefully. "I guess we're similar in those respects…" She finished, looking ahead to the elevator door momentarily. Shortly afterwards, the elevator slowed to a stop, the doors parting with a soft clunk of metal.

The elevator let out into a t-shaped hallway, the far end made of a glass wall that led to a modestly sized cafeteria. It was a little on the small side but still had ample room for a group of people. As they entered the cafeteria Wraith took note of the design of the benches. They were made out of a single piece of stainless steel, bent and tooled to form both the benches and the eating surfaces. There were several rows of these surfaces each with subtle scratches or scuffs, but each immaculately clean. They ignored these larger tables as they walked around the L-shaped counter to a space in the back where several smaller, more intimate tables were held.

As Veronica found them a place to sit she waved to one of the staff working behind the counter. The person in question nodded and began to make their way over to where the two were seated.

"Hello ma'am. What can I get you today?" The middle aged man asked politely. "The usual?"

"Yes, Hudson. Thank you." She smiled.

"Great. And for your…" The man, Hudson' trailed off, taking in the full combat gear Wraith wore with palpable nervousness. Clearing his throat he continued. "Mercenary friend?"

"I'll have a sandwich." Wraith replied, staring at the portly man.

"Yes… sir." He gulped. "A-any preference sir?"

"Meat." Wraith answered, still staring at Hudson.

"Okay." He replied, turning to the Vinson Dynamics representative. "If you'll excuse me." He bowed slightly before scurrying off to the kitchen.

"That was… humorous." The woman said with a tint of laughter to her voice. "Intimidation comes to you naturally I see."

Wraith shrugged indifferently.

"You're quite the serious personality. No nonsense. I like that. It's a good work ethic." She mused.

Wraith looked at her as she spoke, giving a curt nod of his head, signifying his agreeance. "In my line of work, if you aren't serious you're dead."

She nodded her head, making a sound of agreement. Before she could verbally respond however, she was interrupted by the arrival of their food.

Hudson returned, depositing their food with a pointed attempt at ignoring the intimidating pilot.

"Thanks you, Hudson."

"Y-you're welcome, ma'am."

Wraith looked at his own food—a sandwich—and found it visually appealing enough as he started to remove his helmet, even as Hudson made a hasty retreat behind the counter.

As he placed his helmet on the bench next to him he removed his gloves and looked at the sandwich before him. The freelancer took a moment to glance up at the woman before him before he shrugged his shoulders and began to eat.


Vi ran yet another systems check as the Vinson Dynamics engineers and mechanics reattached various limbs and weapons systems. While she was sure these people had… qualifications… she still took comfort in checking her own systems personally. She had already caught a small handful of mistakes or oversights not caught by the Vinson employees.

Unfortunately, working on a relatively new Titan system and configuration left the humans prone to mistakes. "Hardpoint 3-7A is misaligned." She informed the mechanics crew, who slowed their pace slightly before adjusting the aforementioned error.

"Attention: Automatic recalibration of motor systems has failed. A manual recalibration is required." She spoke mechanically, her tone flat.

She waited for the crew to finish their job, idling until the tinkering had stopped. Pulling herself from her "unconscious" state her optics twitched before settling over the group of humans. Noticing that they now had her attention, Alison addressed the Monarch Titan. "Is there anything that needs adjustment?" She asked in a professional albeit slightly frightened state.

"Standby." Vi replied, initiating a full scan. She was silent for several moments before she replied with a succinct, "All systems operable."

"That's what I like to hear." Came a deeper voice, one she had recognized.

"Wraith!" Vi exclaimed, turning to see her pilot walk in with another woman. "I am glad you are okay." She "breathed" with relief.

"I'll be calling my Goblin to pick me up." Wraith told the representative as he began to walk towards his Titan.

"I'll arrange a landing zone for you." She nodded before walking off.

Wraith walked past the throng of people who were standing about, interested in the exchange currently happening. As he began to climb into the Monarch's open hatch he turned to the assembled mechanics and engineers. "Is everything ready?" He asked, his low, slightly digital, raspy voice echoing slightly in the relatively quiet room.

"Yeah. Everything should be fine. You're all set to go." One of the mechanics grunted gruffly.

Wraith nodded as he seated himself, displaying his thanks as he keyed the hatch to close. And as he made himself comfortable, Vi spoke up again. "Pilot… I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I am sorry for my childish behavior."

"You should know better than to ignore commands during combat." Wraith replied with a slightly dismissive tone. "I'll have to make changes to your AI." He commented as he began to pilot his Titan out of the facility.

"No!" Vi exclaimed catching Wraith and herself by surprise. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise! Just please don't change me!" She pleaded.

Wraith was silent for some time—mostly because he found her behavior strange—before he responded. "I'll think on it." He muttered as he led the giant machine through the building and towards the exit.

The trip was silent until he had reached the shipyards of the facility. "Mercenary, your ship is cleared for landing zone three." The representative informed him.

"Thanks. Forwarding the information now." He grunted, as he opened a direct channel to his ship. As he relayed the pertinent information he was greeted by his mechanic, Natalie.

"Boss? That you?" She asked rhetorically. "I thought you had died on us." She continued.

"Afraid not."

"Ah, I can dream can't I?" She replied with a muted giggle. "Ship's on its way." She said shortly.

"Appreciate it." Wraith grunted.

Soon enough, and Wraith had heard the whining moan of the Goblin dropship's engines as it flew down from it's place among the clouds. He angled the Monarch's optics up to watch the angled ship roar to a stop, a few feet above the ground. As a maelstrom of dust kicked up from the engine's jet wash the rear door lowered with a mechanical whine of heavy motors. Wraith waited for the dust to settle as the ship slowed to a soft landing upon the jet-wash charred tarmac before he stepped forward. The door had barely clunked down onto the ground when Wraith had stomped his way onto his ship. "Vi. Terminate remote connection." He ordered as he exited his Titan, the front hatch stopping just shy of the interior roof of the ship. He turned to see the hatch fold close and the AI core dim before darkening completely.

Making his way into the cockpit, he moved to sit in the pilot's seat when he found his reclusive pilot, Zero sitting there, wearing a flight harness over her orange jumpsuit. "H-hey." She laughed weakly, scratching the lower shaved portion of her hair.

Wraith blinked in surprise, finding it strange that she would be here in person. "It's a surprise seeing you here." He commented with a strange smile to his voice.

"I… I got worried. We didn't hear back from you." She spoke softly, as she spooled the ship's engines back up to full power, watching several monitors and gauges as the ship ascended.

"...Sorry." He offered as he took his helmet off to give her an apologetic smile.

She looked at him, surprised and curious before offering her own smile. "I'm just glad to have you back."

"Glad to be back." He replied as he massaged his temples, which still had a dull pain of a residual headache.

Noticing this, Zero spoke up. "You okay?" She asked concerned.

"Maybe. I don't know." He sighed, unhappy that the pain was returning.

"Get some rest when we get back." She suggested as the ship began to pick up speed and shake slightly as they broke away from the upper reaches of the stratosphere.

Wraith grunted in agreement, looking to her concerned face before attempting to give her a reassuring smile.

As his ship became visible, he turned to Zero to tell her to dock with the outer airlock of Cargo Bay Two so he could offload the Titan. His pilot nodded her head as she swung the modified Goblin under the much larger, heavily armed cargo freighter. The docking process with the airlocks with Cargo Bay Two were fairly trivial and successful.

Despite this however, Zero still secured an EVA helmet over her head, double checking the seal before she looked over to Wraith who also had secured his own helmet. While the pilot's flight suit and combat rig were not real EVA suits they were pressure sealed and allowed for short spacewalks of 45 minutes. Wraith resecured his helmet and moved to the Goblin's cargo hold. He found a small side door attached to the ship through a mechanical umbilical, and moved through to the outer airlock of his ship. A short moment was spent inputting the code of his outer airlock before he cycled through into his ship.

He then took a moment to seal off Cargo Bay Two, preventing any of the airlocks leading from or to the hold to open. Wraith double checked that the airlocks were in fact locked down before he moved to detach the umbilical from the Goblin.

"Zero, you're detached, move back to I can lower the platform." He spoke over the radio, watching out one of the portholes as she maneuvered back from the ship. He then initiated the energy field over the giant side panel that would soon part from the ship. This allowed for the atmosphere to remain inside the ship and allow for easy access of large items into the Cargo Hold.

When the field stabilized and reported back at one hundred percent integrity he keyed for the door panel to drop down. Soon it jutted out at a 90 degree angle, not unlike a landing pad for the Goblin.

Zero being the young talented pilot that she was, was able to land the Goblin no problem on top of the makeshift platform. Wraith spent but a moment double checking the magnetic locks on his boots before he walked out of the ship, through the forcefield and towards the lowering back door of his Goblin.

As he walked up the ramp, he saw Zero poke her head around her seat, to peer through the cockpit door and into the cargo hold. She and Wraith exchanged a quick wave before he climbed into his waiting Monarch.

Operating on manual true control was a bit harder than with the assistance an AI subtly correcting and making changes to facilitate movement, but Wraith managed. He had back peddled the Titan out of the back of the ship without incident and was soon standing on the outer platform of his ship. With the magnetic locks still holding the Titan to the hull he cleared enough space from his Goblin before he radioed Zero. "Hey, I'm clear, go and park the Goblin." He cleared her.

"Will do. See you in a bit." She replied shortly.

Wraith grunted a reply as he stomped his way across the platform into his ship, the trip taking longer than usual as he made sure that he was secure before taking another step. The last thing he wanted to happen was for the Titan's magnets to fail and he go tumbling into space. Eventually after a few minutes of careful, methodical walking he had gotten his towering war machine into his ship proper.

Now came the task of transporting the Monarch Titan to Cargo Bay One, where his machine shop was. Unfortunately, the structure of his ship meant that large objects, such as Titans, could not traverse from side to side. Instead he had to travel along a U-shaped path that allowed the largest of his equipment through the ship. He would have to walk through Cargo Bay Three which would prove an easy task once the tables were moved out of the way. He contacted his AI for this task. "Vi, I need you to control the Spectres and move the tables in Cargo Bay Three out of the way."

There was a pause followed by a curt "Yes sir.". She left her pilot waiting for a few short moments before he saw several Spectres cycle through the smaller bulkhead airlock. He only had to wait a minute or two before the AI reported back as successful.

At her signaling, Wraith contacted his pilot, Zero. "You back at the helm?"

"Yeeeap." Came her reply as the sound of video games could be heard in the background.

"Open Bulkhead C-2-3." Wraith ordered.

"Uh huh." She muttered distractedly. Despite her preoccupation the giant bulkhead did begin to slide apart.

He watched as several lights strobed along the floor and ceiling as the door parted with a loud mechanical drone. Due to the spectacle, several groups of his "passengers" watched on in curiosity.

Once the doors had parted enough to allow the Titan through he stepped into Cargo Bay Three.

"Zero, seal 2-3. Open Transfer C-3-4." Wraith once again instructed.

There was no verbal response but he did hear the bulkhead behind him closing as he saw the one at the end of Cargo Bay Three. He began to stride forward past confused Militiamen who began to whisper and mutter amongst themselves. Wraith cared not, he just wanted to get this to Morgan, get any tweaks or improvements she could think of then go to sleep. It was a simple request, and despite the simplicity things seemed determined to not go his way. Two people stepped in front of him and stared down the reverse-engineered Titan as it made its way across the cavernous space. And when the two refused to budge as the Titan closed the distance between them he sighed explosively. "Why does everything have to be difficult…" He muttered to himself as he came to a reluctant halt. "Move." He grunted.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" Gates yelled in an accusatory voice.

"Move." He said again patience wearing thin.

"I'm with Gates on this one. You mind explaining where you got a hold of one of our Vanguards?" Briggs asked.

"I don't have time for this…" He muttered to himself in frustration. He then took a careful step over the two Militia commanders, proceeding onwards to his destination at the end of the Cargo Bay. Fortunately, the Militia didn't try to follow him down the cavernous hold. He soon made it into the transfer bay towards the rear of his ship. Making a hard left he proceeded about one hundred feet down the wide corridor before he reached the next bulkhead.

He began to radio Zero when she beat him to it. "Already on it." She mumbled. And true to her words he watched as the previous transfer door close with an accompanied lights and alarms as the door before him opened.

"Doors sealed, all Militia accounted for." Vi reported back to him.

Wraith sighed. Tired but glad that the day was almost done.


Shortly after he had walked his Monarch through the Cargo Bay, there was a flurry of conversation. Some of it was confused, some of it was scared and some of it was heated. Such was the case with the three marooned Militia leaders and their remaining Pilots.

"So, we're in some serious shit now right?" Barker laughed dryly. "I mean they reverse engineered the only advantage we had."

"I say we capture our "Captain" and get the information from him. He's got to know something. Or we can steal the Titan back and take it apart." Gates suggested.

"That's probably not going to go well." Briggs replied, punctuated by Wraith speaking over the intercom.

"If you want to test your plans Gates, I'll leave the airlock open for you. I'll have some body bags ready for you too."

"My point exactly." Sarah Briggs concurred. "We should be focusing on establishing a new advantage as well as devising up a way to combat our own Titans."

"So we basically are going to be fighting ourselves?" Asked one Pilot, confused.

"No, but until we learn the capabilities of that Titan, our Vanguards are the closest bet." Commander Briggs explained.

In an uncommon spark of insight, Barker turned to their scared lieutenant. "Any chance you could get him to let you look over that Titan?"

The woman in question blanched. "No."

"Come on, you know the guy. Had history with him. That's gotta count for something!" He complained, now the gathered individuals were all looking at her.

"My point exactly." She stood her ground. "I never wanted any of this to happen. If I knew re-joining the Militia would have turned him into… this, I wouldn't have signed back up." She took a breath before she continued, "I don't want to ruin what little I have left of my relationship, for the Militia." Lieutenant Saei stood her ground.

"You're risking the fate of the Frontier in an attempt to salvage a relationship you might not even have?" Briggs asked confused and upset.

"Well if I look at it your way, your plan is doomed to fail, seeing as how it's a relationship I 'might not even have'. I've said my position, that's final."

Briggs sighed in frustration, but relented. Gates shook her head in disappointment whilst Barker shrugged who then took control of the situation, starting off by asking, "So, what are the biggest problems with the Vanguard?" With his question he seemed to break up some of the tension within the group, slowly getting everyone back on track.


It had been a long three weeks, but Wraith had finished his job of Ferrying the Militia back into their own territory. It was some backwater, but regardless of that he was still met with a small group of Militia soldiers when he docked at their port.

"Quitethe warm welcome." He chuckled lowly as he stomped his Monarch down the massive side panel he was using as a makeshift gangplank.

"State your business." One of the armed Militia yelled at the white Monarch.

"Just finishing up my last job." Wraith replied as cordially as he could manage.

"We've got to check some things out. Stay where you are or we will shoot." The Militia man warned.

Wraith burst into heart laughter, his voice modulator giving him an unnatural cast to his voice. "You sure about that?" He replied, punctuated by the large array of his ship mounted weapons training on the group of Militia. "Now, get the hell away from my ship." He growled, all pretenses of civility gone.

The freelancer watched as the Militia slowly but surely filed off his ship. Eventually it was just him and a lone Militia pilot on the gangplank. "Get going." He grunted.

"...So… this is it, huh?" The scarred asked.

"You know how to find me." He grumbled.

The woman opened her mouth to speak, paused, then smiled. "I guess I do. I'll be seeing you around."

"Mmhmm." He grunted again. "Don't get caught in the jet wash." He instructed as he turned away to walk back into his ship.

Heeding his instructions, she jogged down the ramp and away from the ship. Moments later, the Cargo Freightliner retracted its door as the engines began to spool back up with a series of clicks that cresendoed into an ear-splitting roar. The 6-4 lieutenant watched as the ship rocked through the sky and into the clouds before the bassy scream of a warp jump engine firing preceded a sudden silence.

With no other reason to watch the sky she made her way back to her allies. She offered herself a faint little smile. She would definitely be seeing Wraith again, and much sooner than he thought.