And We have a threepeat! I'm on a roll today! I have to make it up to you guys somehow don't I? And I'm still going on this caffeine high so we'll see how much more I can get done tonight. I may have overshot when I said I'd finish Phase two tonight. But I have tomorrow off so we'll see what I can get done eh? Anywho... Enjoy!

-Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

The officers gathered around the door as Dirk had asked them to. It was 6:30, just 3 and a half hours after he'd cracked the firewalls.

"And why are we here General?" Officer West was the one who said this. Dirk was in high enough moods to ignore her jest. She knew he hated being called General.

Dirk didn't say a word. He just smiled as he hit the y on the keyboard. Within seconds, lights were flashing and the sound of metal scraping filled the room as the lockdown doors began to lift. There was an audible gasp in the crowd. Or there would have been without the scraping of the metal doors.

Soon the room began filling with shouts of triumph similar to Dirk's from the night before. The other officers began approaching Dirk to congratulate him. He shook hands and accepted the praise graciously. When the din died down to a murmur, he stood in front of the doors.

"Your attention please." The crowd quieted and all eyes trained on Dirk. It was time for him to show why he had been made their leader.

"This is just one hurdle in our way. We have many more ahead of us and that is just for this battle. This was a large hurdle for us but we have bigger ones still. We must take this momentum and push forward with it; add to it. We are on the verge of truly starting the war for humanity. We may lose brothers, sisters along the way. The only way we win is perseverance. We will not lay down before this enemy. We will stand and fight. The days of biding our time are almost over. The hour to strike approaches fast.

"We must stand strong in these following hours. You will feel the urge to run, the urge to give in. This is only human, but you must reject those urges. You must fight for your home, fight for your planet, fight for your life. Today we prepare, tomorrow we embark, the next day we strike!" The room cheered at the end of his speech. "Now get to work!"

As the crowd dispersed to their various tasks of getting ready, Dirk spotted Dave making his way to him.

"So you figured it out finally?" Dave said inspecting the tunnel in front of him.

"I had a little help." Dirk smiled. "How did it go with your group?"

"They're all in. Karkat's moving this morning. He wants to take a look at the ship." Dave looked away from the tunnel and into Dirk's eyes. "Are you sure it's safe for him to be out around the base?"

"I can't stop the glances but everyone should be busy with the preparations. That being said, I wouldn't leave him alone."

Dave nodded and turned to Jake. "You have your team ready?"

"I have. I've told them to meet us at the ship." Jake took a deep breath. "I want them to meet Karkat before the mission. I also want to meet him. If we want this operation to run smoothly, we'll need to have some level of understanding between all of us."

"Agreed. Who did you select?"

"The Johnson twins and Mira."

"The twins I get but do you think Mira will have enough space for her ranged skills?" Doubt showed

on Dave's face.

"She's even deadlier up close, believe me. What about your troll friend? How is he in a pinch?"

"Up close he'll handle himself easily. I don't know how he is with a gun. We'll find out soon."

"That we will."

"Look, you two should go meet with your teams. I have to organize this invasion." Dirk interrupted.

The three nodded at each other and went to where they were needed. Dirk looked back at the open doors. He felt as if a weight had lifted off of his shoulders. H knew they still had a lot ahead of them but he felt it was all manageable now. These trolls wouldn't know what hit them.

…...

Karkat walked into the hangar where the ship was being kept. He let out a sigh of relief. It was as he'd hoped. The ship was identical to the one he'd flown to escape the ship when Gamzee had saved him. He could fly this easily.

"I take it little gray man here is our friendly troll?" A bulky, redheaded man stepped out from under one of the ship's wings.

"He is tiny." the voice came from an identical body. Both of the men were sporting crew cuts and were

muscled to the nines. Karkat took them in.

"And what are you two? The Brawn of the operation, cause you clearly aren't the brains." Karkat spat.

"Wicked tongue on this troll." This voice came from a tall, lanky figure lounging on top of the wing.

"You might wanna chain it. The Johnson boys don't take kindly to insults." She hoped down, her black hair cut short in a pixie cut. "Name's Mira, these two are Hank and Mark. We're going to be accompanying you on this suicide mission."

"Hey, Mira, I thought we agreed to not call it that." Hank spoke up. "You know how much that scares Mark"

"Fuck off Hank."

"How do we tell them apart?" Karkat tilted his head at the twins.

"If he's carrying the grenade launcher, it's Mark. If he's carrying a minigun, it's Hank." Mira held up her rifle, equipped with a high-powered scope. "My thing is range. What do you bring."

"I'm good with blunt weapons." John mused. "And I'm decent with a gun."

"I fly the ship." was all Karkat said.

"I've been working on my aim since I was 6." Jade stepped through the door "If we're bragging."

Dave chuckled as he and Jake entered the room. "I just hold them all together."

"Oh I know what you're capable of Strider." Mira winked at him. Dave's mouth pursed in a thin line.

"Mira, stop it." Jake sighed.

"Yeah, you've been barking up that tree for years girl." Hank smirked.

"We all know he ain't biting." Mark snickered. Mira "accidentally" hit him in the shin with her sniper

as she walked by.

"Look, I'm technically in charge of this mission but I'm no idiot. I know we're combining two different groups, but we need to work together on this one. There is only one way we get through this and it involves working as one unit." Jake stood at the entrance of the ship. "Karkat, you can fly this?"

"Yeah. It's practically identical to the one I landed on this planet in." Karkat stepped past him and sat at the controls. "It should handle nicely too. The scout ships were meant to get in and out easily."

"Good. Do you need a test flight?" Jake inquired.

"Maybe just as a refresher. It's been a year or so since I last flew one." He thumbed the controls and they came to life. The displays came to life with the troll language. Karkat slowly lifted the ship off the ground. The ship moved just as easily as he remembered. He hovered it around the room a bit, then set her down again.

"Just like I remembered." He stood from the controls. And stepped back out of the ship. Jake's crew was staring at him.

"I knew it would take a troll touch but I didn't expect to ever see it move. Wow." Jake shook his head.

"Okay, so, Mira, you and Jade take Karkat to the shooting range. We need to test his skills with a gun. The rest of us will set the ship up for the trip."

"I can help with the ship too!" Mira protested.

"I know you can Mira, but you and Jade are our best marksmen, therefore you should be the ones to get him trained." Jake gave her his look that said 'don't argue.'

Mira sighed and lead the way to the shooting range, Karkat and Jade hot on her heels. Karkat could feel the stares as he passed. He ignored them. None of them would come after him. They needed him.

Once at the shooting range, Mira thrust a rifle into Karkat's hands. "You point and shoot." She turned and marched down the range to set up the targets. When she came back, Karkat readied himself.

"Shouldn't we warn him about the..." Jade was interrupted by the sound of Karkat firing the gun. He

took aim and shot at each target in quick succession. "Kickback..." she finished.

"Can we be done with this now? I'm pretty sure that all of those were kill shots." Karkat put the gun

down. Mira went to check the targets. She was shaking her head when she returned.

"Not the best marksmen I've seen but whoever wasn't killed instantly would have bled to death." Mira smirked "Where'd you learn to shoot?"

"My matesprit taught me when we learned we'd be going on one of the ships for him to serve. He wanted me to be prepared." Karkat shrugged "I practiced a lot."

"And you've been doing what since you landed here?"

"Hiding. I wouldn't have survived this long if I went after the trolls here." Karkat answered her.

"And what has changed now." Mira sighed, shaking her head.

"Numbers."

"That is true." She smiled. "come on, we should get back and help those idiots pack the ship. If we let the twins do too much packing, they'll find a way to fit a nuke in there." Mira lead them back to the hangar. Karkat smiled a Jade.

"I guess I passed that test."

"I guess you did." Jade gave him a light push. "Let's get back."

Karkat let her lead the way. He was starting to get antsy now. It wasn't so much a nervousness as an eagerness. He wanted to hit them. They took him from his normal life. They took his matesprit. He wanted to make them pay.