"You know, I never really figured it out, but why did you decide to join the army?"

Kayleer perked up nervously, realizing one of his squadmates had addressed him.

"Me?" the pirate inquired.

Anderson nodded. Shendra and Toni both looked up from their pacings, intrigued by the question themselves.

Kayleer pondered for a moment, surprised to feel a sense of curiosity from all three humans around him.

"I came here…" Kayleer paused, uncertain of how much he should reveal. "Because I saw your war and wanted to aid the effort to end it. That's all," he answered.

"Yeah, but any of us could say the exact same," Anderson cocked a brow. "I mean what made you suddenly care?"

Kayleer turned his gaze to the floor. "My people have done great evil to the human race. I had never known the extent of it until the Federation came to Aether. I think it's my inborn duty to help undo their damage."

Anderson nodded along, a bit disappointed with the vagueness of the answer.

"What about you?" Kayleer returned the question. "What motivates a human to go to war?"

Anderson laughed. "That's a pretty broad question. Some come because they feel it's their duty, just like you. Some join because they're bored, or because it's the only job they know how to do," he replied. "Some come for revenge. A lot of us have lost family, or friends. When the war hits close to home, it's one hell of a motivator," he gestured to his human teammates.

Shendra only shrugged. Toni seemed to take it as an offense, and cast a dour gaze on her squadmate.

"I haven't lost anyone yet," she replied indifferently. "She was only taken prisoner."

Anderson smirked, bemused by her reaction. "Prisoner? Since when do pirates take prisoners?"

Toni didn't answer, but Kayleer knew the words had elicited a reaction. Her mind was clouded with guilt, fear and denial, and Anderson's words only served as a trigger.

Anderson raised his hand in a gesture of dismissal. "Sorry, struck a nerve," he sighed. "Didn't mean to-"

"Be quiet," Toni spat.

"Hey no need to get hostile, we've all lost people. I was just trying to-"

"No, I mean it, be quiet," Toni repeated, her voice raised in alarm. Her eyes were locked upwards, and her three companions soon followed her ominous stare. The dull grey sky alighted with orange and yellow, tiny pinpricks of light scattered across the horizon like short-lived stars.

"What the-"

The team didn't have long to ponder before the hangar began to flash red, followed by the harsh, blaring sound of an alarm.

"Shit!"

Their assignment flashed across their HUDs, telling them where to go. They didn't stop to ask questions, following dutifully as their orders were given to them. The fire-lit sky began to bombard the planet's surface with various spacecraft; pirate fighters followed by their human opposition.

The silence and mundanity of a peaceful planet was soon swallowed by the cacophonous sounds of war. Fighter engines and plasma fire filled the air with deafening blasts, turrets rose from their rest and began to fill every enemy within range with weapon fire. The tandem calls of Kayleer's human teammates rang across the bridge as they coordinated their efforts, ready to defend. More troopers flooded in to join the barricade. Pirates roared in hate and bloodlust as they made planetfall, eager to sear human flesh.

Kayleer sneered right back as he raised his rifle to greet them. His shock dissipated as he readily came to terms with what was happening around him;

Norion was under siege.


659 waited impatiently as the ATC broke the planet's atmosphere. War was almost upon him, and the pirate's mandibles twitched in anticipation.

The aircraft kept a constant movement, dodging rounds of plasma and phazon as it scanned the area for its target.


Kayleer fell back with his squadron as a legion of pirates drove them against the generator. The invasion force was far stronger than any other he had fought before, and for the first time he began to fear defeat.

But the Commander and two other marines had been outfitted with PEDs, and easily turned the tide of battle with every bout of Hypermode.

Yet despite the power of Hypermode, they were vastly outnumbered. Only now did it become apparent just how much the pirate forces dwarfed those of the Federation. They easily outdid the humans in size, scale, and firepower, and it was only thanks to the PED that the Federation even stood a fighting chance.

Kayleer let loose a sizable barrage of plasma shots. It mattered little where he aimed it, for he was at the front line, and nearly surrounded. In every direction, his blasts met a mark, doing little else but slow the impending assault.

Kayleer was surprised to see his empathic tendencies stretched even to pirates. Every individual felt exactly the same; hateful, angry, sadistic and violent. It was a great contrast to the menagerie of emotions from the human side, and only augmented his will to fight back.

Very rarely did he feel fear from them. They did not doubt their strength, and Kayleer could easily imagine why. The phazon coursing through their veins lent them extraordinary power, and clouded their rational doubts.

The endless wave of pirates slowly began to dissipate. The bridge was scattered with bodies, human and pirate alike. For a brief moment Kayleer thought perhaps the worst was over, until he realized the pirates were mere grunts compared to what they had brought to follow.

The bridge began to shake with the footsteps of a titan. The doorway on the far side was blasted apart as the brute forced its way through. It let lose a menacing roar, casting its gluttonous gaze upon the human soldiers.

"BERSERKER KNIGHT!"

The panicked warning of one of Kayleer's squadmates rang clear across the bridge. His eyes widened in fear as he realized the creature was the very same he'd encountered on Sinensis, though far more complete and well-armored. It easily grabbed the nearest trooper and threw him off the bridge. The soldier's screams became quieter and quieter as he plunged to his death. The Knight began to rush the main troupe of marines, shaking the brigade off their footing with every step.

"Defend the generator!" the Commander called. The squad remained steadfast, concentrating their fire.

The Commander rushed ahead and punched in a code on his rifle. In an instant, his pack of phazon pulsed itself into his armor, lending him incredible strength. He unleashed a newly-powered round of phazon blasts straight at the Knight. It staggered backwards, but quickly regained its footing and came back full force.

Brady continued his assault, confused as to why his Hypermode shots had little effect. Very few rounds seemed to actually affect the Knight, and he was forced to retreat as the beast continued to come closer. He barely managed to dodge it as it lunged its arm forward to grab him.

The commander could see the Knight was mere moments away from laying waste to the entire squad. He was about to call out an order for them to fall back, but one of his teammates rushed forward from the brigade, launching herself straight at the Knight.

Shendra's armored form leaped onto the neck of the Berserker. She clawed her way upwards and dug her heels into its eyes. She pulled the phazite armor clean off its neck and rammed her rifle into its exposed flesh.

The Knight roared in rage, struggling to get the tiny human off itself. But its bulky arms were too long and muscular to even reach its face. Shendra dug her plasma rifle deep into its neck and unleashed a rapid succession of rounds. The Knight cried out in pain as blood bubbled up around Shendra's gun, flecked with luminous blue.

The Berserker began to sway, teetering towards the edge of the bridge as its sense of balance failed it. Shendra struggled to free her arm, finding the task was made nearly impossible by the constant movement of her opponent.

The Knight fell over the guardrail just as Shendra managed to free herself. She jumped off as it plunged down into the canyons. But her reaction came too late; she was not close enough to the bridge.

Her arm reached out desperately to grab the edge of the platform, but Kayleer could see she would not make it. Acting on pure impulse, he launched himself towards the edge and reached out his own hand to meet hers. His swift pirate reflexes lent themselves greatly to the task, and Kayleer felt a strain against his prosthetic pull him downward as he clasped his hand around Shendra's wrist.

She returned the grip and held on for dear life, glancing nervously southward at the gaping canyons far below. Kayleer tried to pull her up, but found her armored body far too heavy.


659's gaze widened. 215 was isolated on the far edge of the bridge. The pod opened to grant him his opportunity. He leaped forward from the ATC and onto the nearest platform, making a stealthy beeline through the girders towards his now-vulnerable target.


"Hang on, I'll come up under you," a voice called through their transceivers. Kayleer looked around frantically to find the source. Something black and distant shifted its course to come towards the bridge. A blast of blue light erupted from its extremities and felled two pirate ATCs, driving them into a collision. Despite its airborne disposition and powerful weapons, its movements seemed to indicate to Kayleer that it was a lifeform, not a craft.

He didn't know what it was, but knew from its actions that it was an ally. Heeding its words, Kayleer held on tightly and ignored the mounting pain in his shoulder as the marine weighed him down.

He could just barely make out the human's face beneath her cyan visor. She kept looking down, and then back to him. He could see the signs of fear in her expression. The black creature had nearly reached the bridge, and Kayleer counted down the moments for its arrival.

3, 2, 1...

Suddenly Shendra's eyes widened and her voice rang through his communications as well as through her helmet.

"Behind you!" she cried.

0! Kayleer felt an icy chill waft upwards as the creature came to a steady speed beneath him. He finally let her go, and let out a breath of relief as the bulky beast easily caught her and carried her away under the bridge.

As soon as he released her, Kayleer tried to reel around and heed her warning, but he was not fast enough.

He felt a scorching pain in his chest as something red and luminous penetrated the front of his armor; a blade had torn straight through his torso.

It lifted him upwards, into the air. He gasped in disbelief. The realization of what had happened hit him full force before even the pain did. He heard hollow laughter from behind him as the pirate taunted his victim. He pulled Kayleer away from the edge and kicked against his back to loose him from his energy blade.

The scythe retracted. Kayleer fell to his knees and clutched at the gaping hole it had left in his chest. Blood poured from the wound, blackening the steel beneath him. The sounds of the battle fell as incomprehensible noise upon his ears as he fell to the floor, desperately trying to deny what had happened.


659 watched in terror as an infected pirate withdrew his energy blade from the body of 215; he knew the death of his target meant his own.

He growled in frustration as the voice of 387 blared furiously through his transceiver.

"You incompetent bastard! You were too slow!" 387 roared, his fingers tempted to punch in a fatal command to his nanites.

He stared with disbelief through 659's visor, nostrils flaring with the strain of his panic. But the scientist's eyes brightened as he observed the scene more closely, and took in the full medical significance of the wound.

The left side of 215's chest was agape and filled with blood. A lung had been punctured, perhaps more. But his heart was unscathed, and 387 clung desperately to the idea that he could be salvaged.

"Now! You need to inject him NOW!" he cried to his servant.

659 frantically leaped down onto the platform. He held back in fear as a horde of infected rushed past him, towards the human barricade. But he reminded himself that he was not a target, and that they were the only things granting him an opening.

The Federation-armored pirate lay facedown on the platform, black blood pooling beneath him. With an urgency fueled only by a desperate sense of self-preservation, 659 thrust his modified rifle into 215's wound, being careful not to do any more damage than had already been done.

387 rapidly punched in commands to his nanites. 659 had successfully injected them, but it wouldn't matter if 215 perished before they had a chance to take effect. Responding to his remote orders, the tiny machines began to take up the purpose of gauze, slowing 215's bleeding and staving off the inevitable.

"Should I retrieve him for extraction, sir?" 659 inquired, eager to complete his task.

387 hissed in frustration as his machines gave him feedback. The wound was severe, and the escort had no way to treat it. His nanites could only do so much.

"No," he answered spitefully. "The flight back would take at least 43 hours. He will be long dead by then," he growled, digging his claws into his palm. He thought for a moment, planning the best course of action.

"Surrender yourself to the humans, 659," he ordered.

"What?!" 659 roared in disbelief. "I would sooner die by my own rifle than allow myself to be captured by Federation scum," he hissed.

387 met his disobedience with a swift order to his nanites. 659 roared in agony and clutched at his head. His vision hazed as the machines in his head forced him from the conscious world. He finally collapsed , falling to the platform in a shallow pool of 215's blood.


The last pirates on the bridge were soon filled with phazon rounds from the defending troopers. Brady and the other PED marines quickly laid waste to the rest of the assault, and with their defeat the battlefield grew quiet. The remaining marines rushed to aid those who had fallen.

Anderson's familiar voice rang in Kayleer's ears as he tried to help his comrade to his feet.

"Kayleer, can you hear me?" he asked. "Can you stand?" He offered his hand to the pirate.

Kayleer gasped for air, but felt every effort choked by a bloody spasm. He pushed Anderson aside as he willed his visor to pop open. He felt a rush of blood wretch forth from his throat, thick and black like tar.

"I need a medical assist!" his squadmate called.

Kayleer's mind was lost in a haze of confusion. He had felt something else puncture his body shortly after he'd been stabbed. Something cold and numbing that had spread out from his torso and dulled his sense of pain. He could barely feel anything anymore, but was fully aware that he was slowly suffocating.

What had happened? Had he been infected? No, there was no telltale feeling of burning.

Why was he still awake? Why was he even still alive? The pirate struggled to think and to breathe, but the amount of oxygen getting to his brain and body was woefully inadequate. He could feel himself start to slip. The feeling terrified him, for it only ever happened to a pirate close to death.

Yet something kept the pirate's sight and senses from failing him, and the hapless soldier found himself staring listlessly upward as he was carried away by his human comrades.