Station 837, due to its remote location, had a much more defense-minded platform design. Ships were to land inside large square docking bays that opened from the top and could be sealed shut to defend their cargo, or to trap it. The entire station was a floating safe.

Matt lowered the Hyperion into the largest bay as delicate as a butterfly, with only feet of wiggle room to spare. With the expressions on their faces in clear view as they watched him work, Matt could all but feel his companions insides clenching when the Hyperion swayed dangerously towards a wall before he made the slight adjustment necessary to avoid collision. It was the work of a few minutes but it felt like an hour before they felt the ship groan and shift as it settled on its landing gear.

"I was happier when I didn't get to see the spaces we landed in!" Jayce exclaimed nervously as she strode towards the exit, followed closely by Stetmann.

"That's why I'm the captain." Horner smirked at the remaining men in his company, smug.

"Don't I know it." Raynor smiled slightly, appreciating the mood lightener.

Walking down the hall together towards the lift that had been connected to the station, Jayce glanced at Stetmann before questioning thoughtfully. "Doc. Where'd Swann go?" Indeed, Swann was not present during their little gathering and it left Jayce curious.

"Swann? Oh, ah." Stetmann fell behind slightly as they passed through a hissing door, letting her go first. "He's fine, but he's in the Lab until we leave the station. We couldn't find enough flow intensifiers for the last scrambler, so he isn't wearing one for now."

"Oh." Perking up visibly, Jayce shifted her data pad to be pinched between her cast and chest so her good arm was free, they were almost at the lift. "Should have asked me! Small parts inventory was one of my duties, I'm sure I can find a pile of them once we're done here."

"Yeah, about that actually." Stetmann wavered as they walked up to the lift, Jayce took her place at the center and leveled a questioning look at him.

"What about it?"

Quickly, Stetmann held up an innocuous badge that showed the Hyperion's logo on it, offering it. "Look, the commander wants you to wear this so we can keep track of you while you are down there. I don't think you'll do anything, personally!" It became clear that he was simply nervous and Jayce smiled, Stetmanns manner had always been endearing to his female co-workers.

"Clip it on quick, I can't do it with one hand." Smirking, she enjoyed the poor mans stammering as he clumsily pinned it to the side of her arm after her hand quickly redirected his path from her chest.

Collecting himself, Stetmann stepped back to stand by the lift console and focused his gaze on Jayce as he gripped the lever firmly. "You could stay there, you know. Doesn't seem like there's anything stopping you. Just a thought." His voice had lowered slightly, conspiratorial. Jayce gave him a noncommittal shrug.

"We'll see doc. In the meantime, pull the lever. I got a date and don't want to be late." Smiling and winking, Jayce thoughtfully watched the scientist as he pulled the lever and the platform she was on lurched downwards through the long shaft that linked the ship to the station and kept the atmosphere of space at bay. It was a long way down through the dark.

As soon as she felt the lift touch ground the doors in front of her snapped open, the bright light of the bay leaving her blinking owlishly and stepping off the lift into unfamiliar territory. With a note of finality the door closed behind her immediately and the subtle hiss of the lift leaving came shortly after. Adjusting the data pad resting on her arm, Jayce took in the sights. Three men were there in front of her, dressed in the Station 837 standard brown work suit, and each looking up from their given tasks with mild curiosity.

The bay that the Hyperion was resting atop of was mostly empty, wide open with tidy rows of racks for cargo to be placed. While there was generous amounts of rust and signs of wear and tear, it seemed at a glance that the controller for the station ran a tight ship, which was nice.

Focusing on her silent hosts, Jayce tilted her head slightly. "Are you the welcoming committee?" Before anyone could answer, she barged on. "I'll need to see the controller about our transaction. Ship needs refueling and a round of rations, so two of you get on that and one of you bring me to your boss." Jayces attempt at being authoritative seemed to fall short, as she was rewarded with a few smirks and chuckles in response.

"Right." A thickly muscled man with a clean shaven face and head spoke up, stepping away from the console that he had used to raise the shaft that connected to the Hyperion and towards her. "Boss said we were going to have a little lady visiting us, allow me to give you our hospitality." He was grinning and the other men were smirking and smiling, all mirthful. Jayce did not feel overly threatened, it was a display she was well accustomed to, and so took a step forwards of her own accord towards the man who had spoken.

"Right, lets go cowboy." His eyebrows quirked up in surprise for a moment before he made an expansive gesture for her to follow. The other two men, sensing the fun was over before it began, turned away to get on the tasks assigned to them, Jayce assumed.

Aboard the Hyperion, all four men were watching the display playing out on the console, and hearing every word of it. Going rigid and leaning forwards slightly, four pairs of hands rested on all the decorative sides of the machine as each man looked at one another and to the three who were posturing towards their chosen ambassador.

"If we go down there to save her from whatever trouble she gets into, this station will go on lock down faster than you can skewer them." Horner's tone was dire as he straightened and crossed his arms, but before they could discuss any action to be taken Jayce had already taken the situation by the horns.

"Girls got spunk, gotta hand that to her." Warfield remarked, expressing the impressed feeling that each man was displaying.

"Not out of the woods yet, General." Raynor had quickly returned to a neutral expression, privately scrutinizing every move Jayce made and word she spoke like he had been the moment he first saw her. If anyone would recognize Kerrigan acting through a puppet, it would be him.

"Looks like they got the fuel truck going." Horner remarked, looking at a small diagnostic he had kept running on the corner of the console. "I need to go make sure we get hooked up with it properly. Don't do anything rash, please." Giving each man a pointed look before he left, Horner set off.

"How many of you boys do they have working this joint? Can't be more than a skeleton crew in a place this remote." Jayce remarked offhandedly, walking beside her quiet escort. He had taken on a grim countenance, the poor lighting casting deep shadows on his face.

"Hundred tops. Not my job to count, though." His lip quirked up slightly, Jayce missing the gesture.

"Right. Names Jayce, by the way." Content to make some small talk, Jayce felt more secure now than she had since this entire zerg misadventure began, even with the questionable company. At least shooting them would work.

"Markus." He seemed content to let the conversation land on its face, leaving Jayce trying desperately to think of something else to say. The longer they walked in silence though, the more wrong everything felt.

On the bridge, everyone was watching with rising concern. Raynor pulled up a small schematic of the station out of curiosity and checked to see where Jayce and her escort were, lips pulling into a tight frown.

"They aren't heading to the controllers office. He's takin' her to the ass end of the station." Warfield and Tychus were looking at Raynor then, features tight.

"Before you say anything." Jim interjected quickly, heading off any arguments. "I'm not just going to leave her there if shit hits the fan, which is looking like it's about to. But we're not going down there unless we absolutely have to. Understood?"

"You're right. No need for the cavalry unless absolutely necessary, given the current situation." Warfield nodded slightly, grimly watching the 3d image of Jayce and this Markus.

"Oh I sure hope the cavalry does get to go, partner." Tychus was watching the image too, looking all too hungry for a fight.

Huffing slightly, Raynor waved them off. "Move to the side, we're makin' a call." Quickly, he tapped a few keys and sent a wave to the controller, stepping out of view just before the man's severe face popped up.

"Yes, Hyperion?" He seemed confused, no image of the person who called him appearing.

"Yeah, 837, we got a problem." Jim spoke smoothly and with authority.

"Jim Raynor? Pleasure to speak with you, though I can't help but wonder why you aren't actually there?"

"Preoccupied right now, but you've got a situation that needs attention. One of your boys is leading my girl into the ass-end of your station instead of to your place to make our transaction. You need to get a leash on him and get this under control before it goes bad." Even as Raynor was speaking, Jayce had gleaned that the man beside her really wasn't some maintenance worker. He was walking with the stride of a man who was used to killing, predatory. It was something she had become used to seeing as of late.

"Sorry Raynor, can't do that. These men are at the edge as it is, if I go taking away their fun- they are gonna take away my life." He both looked and sounded bitter, as if Jayce being fed to his wolves was some unfortunate, distasteful circumstance.

"Are you for real?" Jim was stunned at the mans incompetence. "So you can't even control what few men you have, and you are also so cowardly you don't even warn us to send someone more physically capable than a half-disabled woman?" Struggling to keep from yelling, Raynor clenched his fists and forced himself to breath before continuing. The controller was silent, lips pursed in anger.

Horner had arrived at the section of the massive ship that contained the lion share of the fuel tanks, where the fuel truck should have connected already. His eyes narrowed in suspicion when no such thing had happened, and the fuel truck had not moved from where it's driver had initially placed it. Keeping abreast of what was going on with Jayce, Horner made a quick decision.

"Listen. We're not going to let one of our own get messed up by your rabid dogs, and if we have to come down there to fix this ourselves you're gonna have a few less men and a few more bodies to take care of. Your choice." There it was, Raynor had laid down the ultimatum. The controller had other ideas though, as far as he could see he held all the cards.

"Actually, Mr. Raynor, you will remain on your ship. When my boys are finished your girl will complete the transaction, all of your credits by the way, and then you may take your ship and limp out of here like the sack of sorry shit you and your Raiders are. You might want to thank me for not just locking you in here until Mengsk can come get his hands on you personally, in fact." Bristling, the controllers angry look mutated into smug pleasure: the Hyperion and it's crew were at his mercy, and so easily. "Oh. And she stays with us."

"Listen here you piece of-" Raynor was promptly cut off, the image of the controller disappearing and Jayces transmission resuming. "Son of a bitch!" Looking sharply at Warfield and Tychus, one who was poised and grimly ready while the other was almost grinning savagely. "Get moving!" There was a flurry of motion- guns being readied and feet hitting the ground running, as the three ran towards the lift.

"How much longer until we get there?" Jayce questioned, trying to keep the suspicion out of her voice.

"Almost there." Markus looked increasingly agitated, and Jayce subtly made distance between herself and him as they walked, thinking hard. Her hand had drifted towards her gun before she thought better of the action, it would be a very easy disarm- even she knew that. When a small bathroom hub came into view on her side of the hall, she swallowed hard and tried not to look relieved- it was a plan at least.

Warfield had brought his data pad with him so they could track Jayce and continue to watch and hear the feed. They were going down the lift, pale light of the hologram illuminating them as they watched it, when Warfield murmured. "No no, don't do that girl." Tensing as he saw the subtle shift towards her gun, Warfield relaxed just as quick when she clearly thought better of it. "Good."

As the woman's bathroom came up on her right, Jayce had drifted just far enough away from Markus so that her movement would set the door to open. Though he had been paying attention to her drifting, he hadn't thought much of it- at best she could try to run or pull her gun and neither would work well for her. When the woman's bathroom door hissed open and she leaped into it, realization struck him hard and fast- he dove after her but collided with the door hard as it closed in his face. It would not open for a man.

Leaping into the bathroom so the door wouldn't automatically open at her proximity, Jayce jumped fearfully when Markus pounded on the door and cursed loudly. Stressed beyond belief, Jayce yelled and gave a stall door a halfhearted kick with each word. "Kiss. My. Ass!" Taking a breath and closing her eyes, she leaned against the stall and cradled her throbbing arm, speaking softly into the one-way pin on her sleeve. "I know staying here and taking whatever shit comes at me might very well be the best thing, but I'll tell you right now- I'm a Raider, always have been and always will be, even if you don't trust me Commander."

Sullen, she faced away from the banging door and thought about what that Protoss said with new clarity. "You helped me when I had nothing, saved me, and I believed in your cause. I'm not gonna leave you to rot if I can help it, not a chance. So, please, lets get the hell outta here."

"Just gotta save you again, of course." Raynor grumbled as the lift hit the ground.

"Thought that was your thing, Jimmy." Tychus mocked as the three of them strode through the door, weapons raised.

"Who knows how long we got, better make this real fast. You go find the girl, I'll guard the lift." Tossing his datapad to Tychus, Warfield took up a defensive position near the door and its console- he wasn't about to let them lose the only link they had to the Hyperion.

As they ran through the empty halls towards where Jayce was trapped, Raynor concentrated his thoughts. It was distasteful, but he could not argue against the usefulness of mental communication- especially when they were liable to be listened in on.

Stetmann.

Commander?

I'm sure you've been watching the feed. We're on the Station and I need you to get on that fuel truck and have us ready to go by the time we're back.

Sir, I've never operated a fuel truck!

Swann, who had been alternating between looking at the holding container for the sparking Protoss crystal formation, watching the feed of Jayce, and very pointedly ignoring Shlassa on the other end of the room, made himself known.

I'll help with it, just get your ass down there pronto.

Good man. Raynor jerked slightly as he brought the mental conversation to a close, leaving Stetmann to scramble for the lift as Tychus and Raynor closed in on Jayce and her attacker.

Elsewhere on the station, the controller was sitting back in a comfortable chair- waiting for his call to Emperor Mengsk to go through. Anyone who had a grip on the Hyperion and its contents was privy to a direct line to their greatest antagonist. His communication room was dingy and full of cigar smoke, one of which he had lit up in celebration. An old plaque, which had been repurposed as a paperweight, read "Lark" in worn white lettering on a black background, and he smirked at it. "You clever son of a bitch." When the door to his room hissed open, he straightened up and turned to look towards the intrusion angrily. "What the hell do you want?" His voice died off as he saw the ever crisp looking captain of the Hyperion looking at him direly, one hand casually pulling off a glove.

"Never cared much for men with no integrity." Horner sounded calm, even looked it, but there was something sinister behind the simple gesture of removing his gloves and pocketing them. Before he could take a step further however, the familiar face of Mengsk appeared on the large screen in front of Lark.

"You said you are in possession of the Hyperion and its- ah. Hello captain." Ever superior and smug, Mengsk gave Horner a very pointed look over. "I see Kerrigan has treated you well."

"Kerrigan?" Lark, the poor bastard, whispered in confusion. He had been reaching for his firearm but held still then.

Shlassa, who had for the most part remained completely unobtrusive until now, bristled and went rigid. Swann heard the chitinous clacking and turned sharply, feeling a chill run up his spine looking at the broodmother. Something was terribly wrong.

"You have no idea what is going on, do you Terran?" Though busy, Shlassa took the time to verbally mock Swann, confirming his feelings of wrongness.

In the time it took to blink, Horners entire demeanor changed. When his eyes opened they held a dull orange glow, which Lark had failed to notice as he was staring at his Emperor. Stepping forwards and smiling a fraction too widely, Horner firmly planted his hand on the back of Larks neck. Alarmed and offended, the man made to stand up but found himself unable to move, such was the strength behind the hand.

"Oh Kerrigan treated us all very well, Mengsk." The Emperor glanced at Lark with feigned sympathy before focusing on Horner.

"Kerrigan? You'd do well to keep away from me and the Koprulu sector. That includes your new pets." Mengsks suspicion was confirmed when Horner let out a light laugh- one that did not belong to him in the slightest.

"Remember when I told you I'd let you live just so I could watch your Empire burn down around you, Mengsk?" Horners grip on the mans neck perceptibly tightened, Lark letting out a pained groan. "I have decided I want a front row seat." Without further warning, Kerrigan flexed the new muscle inside of Horners arm with deadly efficiency. Lark could only gasp in a horrified breath as tendrils ripped through the back of his neck, through his spine and vitals and punched out of his chest, writhing obscenely as gore sprayed onto the image of Mengsk.

Mengsk's face turned away sharply in disgust, unable to hide it. "Always knew you were a monster, Kerrigan. Not surprised you made more. Your new pets wont get off that backwater station alive."

Withdrawing from the mans thoroughly shredded insides, Horner flicked the blood from his tendrils before pulling them back inside his arm. Smirking through him, Kerrigan chuckled. "See you soon, Mengsk." Casually closing the comm with the disgruntled emperor, Horner walked out of the room as though nothing was amiss and Lark was left to cool in his juices.

The feeling of wrongness had come and gone so quickly, Raynor had no time to focus on it when him and Tychus rounded a corner and came into view of the three men who had first saw Jayce banging on the bathroom door angrily.

"Could just shoot it."

"We'd wake everyone up, no."

"Go get one of those gas cutters, it ain't hard." Their conversation died off when, as one, the three men turned to look at Tychus and Raynor and gaped in horror. They might as well have been demons.

"The zerg- the zerg are here!" Markus' voice raised an octave, his eyes bugging as the giant Findlay strode with purpose towards them, flanked by the spiky Raynor. If these cretins didn't want to fire off a gun, they sure as hell didn't either. As one, Markus' partners turned and made to flee, but he grabbed a wiry dark haired man by his shoulder and yanked him back violently- reaching for the only gun between the three of them that was fastened to the man's leg.

"Hell with this and hell with you Markus!" The man he had grabbed all but threw his gun at Markus and shoved himself away, breaking into a run. Two quick crunching sounds echoed through the hall beneath the pounding of their retreating feet- followed by the sharp whistle of projectiles flying and bodies falling. Markus' two friends had not gotten far- and Raynor had no intention of aiming for anything but the kill. His spikes had found their home buried neatly into their now ruptured hearts with dull thuds.

"The Raiders are here." Raynor corrected Markus, staring grimly at him.

As soon as Markus raised the gun to take aim at Findlay, the big man launched forwards in a flurry of motion- the thick claws tipping his toes clattering against the cold floor. Tychus caught the man's right forearm with his left hand and squeezed so hard his muscles couldn't even tighten to pull the trigger. In immediate and immense amounts of pain, Markus attempted to fall to his knees but was held up as Tychus wagged a clawed finger at him. "Ah ah. You wait there." Leaning towards the woman's bathroom door, Tychus knocked three times casually.

Knock knock knock

Jayce had heard the struggle outside, muffled by the heavy door, but still jumped slightly when the door was knocked on.

"Occupied?" Tychus' playful drawl came as an immense relief and she almost ran at the door, all too eager to leave. When she saw Markus being held at Tychus' mercy as soon as the door had slid open, her eyes were icy chips.

"All done, actually." Keeping her tone even, she glanced from Tychus to Markus, morbidly curious about what was going to unfold. She had seen the still warm corpses of the other two men in her peripheral vision already, and had no illusions about what was going to happen to this sniveling man. She couldn't find it in herself to feel pity. Raynor watched the exchange, coughing slightly to remind Tychus of their time constraints.

"I didn't mean any harm, please!" Markus blubbered, the gun dangling from his deadened fingertips as he frantically grasped at Findlays armored arm. Looking directly at Jayce when it was clear Tychus had no intention of believing him, he pleaded. "Jayce, please, I don't want to die! I wasn't going to kill you! I swear!"

"No." Jayce cut in coldly, Tychus and Raynor curious to see what her verdict would be- not that it would change their own choice about the mans life. "You were just going to oh, I don't know, beat me, probably rape me and most likely keep me chained up in some room for however long I may live. Better than being killed though, right?" She bared her teeth slightly, glaring.

"Ladies spoken." Aware of their time ticking away, Tychus decided to cut the play short, much to his regret. Pulling back his right arm and closing his fist tight, Jayce took a long step backwards- she knew what was coming. Popping out of the indent in his arm, the long blade swiveled and snapped into position. Raynor did a double-take, arms loosening from their crossed position on his chest, he had yet to see this particular new feature of his old friend.

Genuine tears leaked out of Markus eyes and he redoubled his struggling, whispering frantic and repeated "No!" and "Please!" right up until Tychus swung his arm down and upwards, driving the blade through the man's guts and up into chest, lifting him as his flesh hit the base of the blade violently. Jayce watched the whole thing with a grim determination- as if she was delivering the killing blow herself. Markus hung gasping and twitching for a moment before Tychus quickly jerked free and dropped him like the sad sack he was.

The smell of fresh blood hit his nose, harsh and coppery, and Tychus froze looking at the dripping blade he was holding aloft. Before either Jayce or Raynor had realized what happened, and Raynor had honestly been transfixed himself, Tychus ran his tongue up the side of the blade and took a taste. Jayce quickly clapped a hand to her mouth and attempted to stifle a gag, breaking the moment.

Tychus knew now nothing would ever taste sweeter than blood and flesh, it had tasted like what a high-class meal had when he was still human. It was no wonder everything else tasted like ash now.

"Tychus. What the hell!" Broken out of his own reverie, Raynor exclaimed in disgust.

Shaking his head quickly, Tychus didn't allow himself or them time to think about what he had just done, flipping the blade back into its sheath and turning away from Jayce and Raynor- hiding his shame.

"Get your asses moving." Tychus rumbled, glaring down the hallway at nothing.

As if on cue, a bored security guard who had been sleeping through his shift slammed the emergency button on the console in front of him when he saw three corpses laying in a hall and the grainy images of three people- no, zerg- leaving them. Fearful, the man turned on the intercom and yelled "We're under attack by zerg! Sector 4 and 3! Battle stations!"

"Ah hell!" Raynor didn't need any further encouragement, he was off running with Tychus and Jayce at full tilt. Unfortunately it was quickly apparent Jayce's full tilt was well behind theirs. Tychus swung back and ignored any cries of protest she uttered as he scooped her bodily into the crook of his left arm and ran hard to catch up with Jim. "Didn't risk everyone's ass just to leave you in the dust on the getaway, sweet thing!" Tychus laughed.

Stetmann was currently under Swanns control. As soon as the station alarm went off he frowned tightly, staring hard at the fuel levels and hoping he could squeeze a lot more out before the crew got back. Warfield had dragged a few cargo containers near the lift door for cover purposes and was waiting, hoping it would be three familiar faces running at him instead of marines in full gear.

"Don't like this one bit." Swann muttered to himself, through Stetmann. When the tip of a Ghost rifle materialized right beside his temple, he froze.

"Me neither. Stand up and step away from the vehicle."

Taking a quick breath, he followed the Ghost's directions as closely as he could while Stetmann practically buzzed inside his head. He was standing beside the truck and staring down the barrel of the Ghosts gun when Stetmann forcefully ejected him from his body. Fighting to stop himself from jerking and getting prematurely shot, Stetmann whispered. "Please go. I don't want to hurt you."

Frowning from behind his suit mask, the Ghost wasn't quite convinced. "I think you are confused. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Warfield had obscured his view of the fuel truck and only had eyes for the entrances of the bay- which would make sense, but left Stetmann vulnerable to the hidden enemy. He would not be getting help from Warfield until it was too late, and the thought filled the young scientist with grim purpose.

"Okay. Okay. Hands where you can see them, got it." Stetmann brought his hands together, palms outwards, in the classic gesture of surrender. The Ghost didn't think anything of it, and it spelled his quick and brutal end. Warfield leaped into view immediately after the immensely loud clap sound- misconstrued as a gunshot- and a flash of white-hot light.

The Ghost, what was left of him, fell to his knees. His entire body from the rib cage up and between his shoulders had been incinerated, only some gory chunks of cooked flesh and smoking bone remained. It was so much worse against humans.

"What in the hell?" Warfield was flabbergasted, unable to articulate anything greater. Stetmann almost vomited on the spot, but quickly relinquished control to Swann who took a quick step back in shock but recovered quickly. Leaping back into the vehicle and looking over his shoulder, Swann was filled with relief when he saw Tychus, the woman in his arm and Raynor tearing through the bay doors. The gunfire chasing them was less welcome, and sensing time was officially up he severed the fuel vehicles connection with the Hyperion and ran for the lift with Warfield in tow.

"Time to go boys!" Raynor yelled as a squadron of Marines spilled into the bay after them, firing continually. Jayce was quietly thankful that Tychus' armored body was between herself and that gunfire- knowing full well he had taken some hits already, and held on for dear life.

As the door to the lift opened and they spilled into it, Warfield caught sight of something. "Hold! Holy shit, that's Horner!" Warfield returned fire at the Marine squad and forced them to take cover, Raynor joined in and Tychus put Jayce down behind the three of them before hefting his gun and doing the same.

Matt was running full tilt at them through the large bay doors, and nothing short of a Goliath was chasing him. Waving an arm frantically as he ducked under a spray of bullets and weaved past empty containers, Matt yelled as loud as he could over the gunfire "Wait for me! Hold that lift!" The Marines were in communication with the Goliath and turned to face the easier target, Horner was about to be filled to the brim with Gauss spikes if they didn't do something real fast.

"Ah hell!" Warfield threw his gun down- receiving are you crazy? Looks from every person in the lift with him before he charged out of the small area and head first into the entrenched Marines. They were caught surprised when an entire cargo container lifted and bowled over three of their six members, temporarily trapping them face down. Reeling to fire on Warfield, he closed in on a combat suit with frightening speed, slamming a fist into and through the visor of the man's suit and scraping his talons across his face.

The maimed marine cried out in pain as blood filled his vision, but he would have lived had the other members of his unit not fired on his back to try and kill Warfield. Tychus and Jim had slipped around the cargo container behind them and brought their small fight to a decisive end- tearing out chunks of machine with their fists and rendering the marines unable to move in their combat suits, but alive.

Horner had made it up to them running at full speed. Without another word they all piled into the completely packed lift and watched as the Goliath opened fire just as the heavy door slammed shut. A collective breath of relief went through them as Swann raised their lift from above.

"Did even a single part of this misadventure go as planned?" Jayce panted, more exhausted emotionally than physically, and rested her head against Tychus' bloody back with a dull thunk.

"We got the fuel, maybe even more than we were going to pay for." Stetmann added perkily.

"Still gotta get the Hyperion out of here before this whole place goes on lock down- surprised it hasn't already, actually." Raynor muttered, checking the ammo of his rifle reflexively.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Horner piped up in a cool tone, swiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "When I saw the fuel truck hadn't moved I suspected we were being played and went right for the controller, Lark."

"I thought we weren't supposed to do anything rash?" Raynor smirked, not entirely blaming Horner for the situation- everyone had acted rashly after all.

"Boys!" Jayce had been listening to the cannons of the Goliath firing into the door below them with growing alarm.

"If that Goliath gets through the door it's gonna put holes in the chute, and I don't need to tell you what is going to happen when the atmosphere of space gets into this little death tunnel!" They all went silent, listening to the muffled firing for a second before lurching into action.

"Alright, look." Raynor was looking at the walls. There were horizontal ridges spaced every few feet to give the otherwise fabric-like chute a form and it was the best plan he could think of. "Jayce, you're gonna hold onto my back and we're all gonna climb up!" Raising his voice to cut off any kind of protest Jayce was about to raise about piggybacking off of her Commander "That's an order!"

Warfield, Tychus, Stetmann and Horner had already sprung upwards, leaping as high as they could before grasping at the solid steel edges. That left Raynor kneeling for Jayce and exposing his spiny back to her.

They were angled downwards at least, she wouldn't be impaled if he happened to jerk around. Steeling herself, Jayce leaned over him and gingerly curled both her broken and good arm around Jim's thick neck and only had a second to adjust her grip before he had leaped up and began scrabbling up the makeshift wall, outpacing the lift easily.

With nothing left to do but look down, Jayce was filled with rising alarm as small beams of light were shining up around the lift beneath them and the sound of gunfire became audibly louder. "It's getting through."

Huffing and looking upwards, Raynor could see Tychus and Warfield leaping into the safety of the Hyperion and helping Horner and Stetmann, both who didn't have claws, get in. "Almost there darlin', just hang on." Worry coiled in his guts when he keenly heard the hissing of air being sucked out of holes that were being made down below. With luck the Hyperion would be sealed before the shaft was ripped to shreds.

Swann had stepped back in surprise when Tychus and Warfield all but leaped up out of the hole in the ship and pulled Horner and Stetmann up with them. "What the hell is going on? Why aren't you on the lift?"

Gulping in a breath, Warfield waved Swann off. "Atmosphere is going to collapse any second, can you speed this damn thing up?!"

"She ain't designed to do that, it's a slow ass hydraulic system, champ!" Swann was defensive, scowling.

"Won't matter soon. Can you feel it?" There was a notable breeze, but it was really air being sucked away in increasingly large volumes. Horner looked dire as he peered down at Jim and his cargo. "They are too far down."

Tychus leaned forwards and called down, voice echoing through the shaft. "Jimmy hurry your ass up! You're runnin' outta time!"

"Gonna get the ship ready to go!" Horner announced before running off, his shoe-clad feet pounding against the grated steel as he made for the bridge.

Raynor was acutely aware of Jayce gulping air in his ear and holding tighter as the vacuum of space began to howl and pull. The chute rocked unsteadily, slowing him down until he was giving away precious seconds, but the opening in the ship was right there. "Hang tight!" Warfield and Tychus were yelling at him, the words being pulled away. Steeling himself and hoping she was secure enough, Jim began leaping upwards, redoubling his pace and closing the gap between them and their goal.

When Raynor and his cargo leaped into the Hyperion, Jayce was plucked from his back and yelped as Warfield went hurtling down the hall with her in his arms at max speed. He threw her bodily into a small maintenance locker, not having time to see what exactly she crashed into before he locked the door and sealed her in- temporarily safe from space and not a moment too soon.

Everyone braced themselves as the shaft crumbled away, space stealing their oxygen. The Hyperion's emergency lights enabled and their hall was sealed tight, protecting the atmosphere of the rest of the ship. What was seconds felt like minutes before the lift finally ground to a halt and sealed the ship tight against space. A loud hiss went off immediately as the adjutant opened vents and flooded oxygen back into the halls while everyone lay on the floor grasping at it and gratefully gulping air.

No sooner had the door closed than the ships thrusters roared to life, Matt focusing on getting the Hyperion out of the death trap.

As the ship trembled and all four of them laid there recovering, Jim croaked. "Where's Jayce?"

"Down here! Got her in the maintenance locker." Shouting, Warfield gave them a halfhearted wave. Tychus began chuckling; Jim paid it no mind but Swann and Stetmann were staring at the man like he'd gone insane, especially as his voice rose into boisterous laughter.


And that is why this was a whole new chapter! Had fun writing it though, hope you had fun reading it too.