When others hesitate, we act.

Where others break, we endure

Should others fail, we succeed.

We are the knives in the shadows

The axe above the neck

We shall live without honor

We shall die without recognition

Unmourned, but necessary

Survival is irrelevant

Victory is paramount!

Creed of the STAMP Brigade

Chapter 16: Boxed

The team stood before two crates amongst others. The cargo inside them had been relocated, leaving both hollow. Most of the team's incidentals were merged with the rest of the cargo, like Leilong's pack, Mara's case, and Cade's rifle. They'd be traveling in light. Now they just had to work on the arrangements.

"…So, how are we doing this?" Mara asked.

"Boys take one, girls take the other?" Cade suggested.

Mara bristled. "Absolutely not," she hissed.

"Cade and I can take one," Eddie offered. "You and Leilong can take the other."

Leilong's back started to act up. Trapped in such a confined situation for who knew how long already made his body ache at the notion. He looked over to Mara, a full-figured woman in her own right, and pondered how the endeavor would play out. Things could get real awkward real quick. Speaking of awkward…

Jim stood at the center of the group, staring at both crates. "…We couldn't just have picked three?"

"And leave you unattended?" Cade asked. "That would be irresponsible."

"This is the best way to save your friends," Leilong offered.

"Oh, so now you want to save them," Jim scoffed.

"Considering who they're with, going after them now would come off as redundant," Cade offered, much to the derision of the rest of the team.

"What Cade means," Mara began, "is that it is in our interests to keep them safe and alive," she explained as Cade rolled his eyes.

"So here's the plan," Eddie offered. "Cade and I b-line it to secure the Outlaw Star, while you guys find the crew and spring them out of wherever they are."

"And where am I going to be?" Jim asked.

"Your call," Leilong stated. "You can ride with Mara and I or join up with Cade and Eddie. I'm sure you'll make yourself useful either way."

Jim looked between his options. Leilong had proven in the past to be honorable, and he claimed to take his promise to try and protect Jim's crew to the best of his abilities. Mara, however, was another matter. She was still intent on hurting Mel, and Jim wasn't able to let the notion go.

On the other hand, Eddie had proven to be a rather… interesting character. At first, he thought she was obnoxious and annoying. Come to think of it, he still thought that. However, that was roughly his assessment of Gene himself, and he trusted his older brother with his life ever since the Wolf incident. With that in mind, Eddie came off as something of an… acquired taste. Something you'd get used to after a while. Like black coffee.

Jim's eyes then met the other pair staring him down. Every other person on this ship had made some attempt to be accommodating to him with one notable exception. Cade had hardly spoken two words to him since he was "invited" on this ship. If it was just a matter of not feeling friendly it would be of no issue to him, Jim figured. No, what bothered him about Cade was the predatory look in his eyes every time they passed. Jim didn't think Cade struck him as someone with… peculiar inclinations, and as much as he resented the rest of the team, he figured they were all scrupulous enough to avoid dealing with someone like that. So why was it that his blood ran cold every time Cade stared him down?

"…Guess I'm joining you two," Jim said as he looked towards Leilong and Mara. Leilong immediately began stretching, seeing as he'd likely get no spare space now. Mara creased out her blouse and braced herself for the tight space. Eddie looked away, trying to hide her dejection. Cade smiled.

Three hours later.

The fuel tanker had pulled alongside the stranded grappler ship as its interceptors patrolled the tight perimeter. Saiyo sat on the bridge as the rough looking crew of the hauler entered, their suspicious-looking leader dusting his hands. "Well, looks like we've found the problem. One of your sub-ether engines was all kaput," he explained as he blew a short raspberry to emphasize.

"It's a small miracle you showed when you did," Saiyo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, talk about mutually beneficial," the leader crowed. "You get saved and we get paid!"

"Wait, what?" Saiyo balked.

"Some of the boys helped themselves to the cargo. Compared to what we just did for you, we're being pretty generous that we're just taking stuff from the hold. Consider it a servicing fee!" the leader grinned.

"YOU… You're no better than pirates!" Saiyo growled.

"Hey, even Good Samaritans got to eat!" the leader shrugged.

Saiyo grumbled as the interloping crew waved goodbye, snickering as they left with the majority of the cargo in the hold. As they left and the tanker broke off, Saiyo sat at the console and exhaled. So far the plan went off without a hitch. All five were on the tanker and headed back to rendezvous with the Dredholk. Still, Saiyo couldn't relax. Too much of this "plan" was up in the air. Saiyo kept the ships on his scanner as he powered away in the other direction. Amongst the cargo that had been offloaded also contained a beacon that Saiyo would be able to home in on. He wasn't going to lose that tanker, even if it took him straight to the Dredholk itself. Worst came to worst, he had to at least attempt to extract them if things went wrong.

As the crate settled onto the ground, Mara took a few extra hits on the rebreather before passing it to Leilong. As her misfortune would have it, she found herself sitting on his lap, with the added indignity of having a growing child straddling her as his face was almost buried in her chest. She wasn't much for claustrophobia, but it was legitimately hard to breathe in this position. Leilong took a few hits before passing it to Jim.

"…This is the stupidest plan I've ever been involved with," Jim growled. "And I've been involved in some garbage."

"I'm sure this ranks up there for me, as well," Leilong admitted as he tried to shift his legs under Mara's rear.

"…If nobody dies," Mara muttered. "…it'll be worth it."

Jim and Leilong shot looks at one another. "…You doing OK?" Leilong asked.

"I'm just fine," Mara replied. "Could use a bit more room, though. Seems like you're really thrilled to have me on your lap, huh?" Mara chuckled.

"Very funny," Leilong replied as Jim rolled his eyes. Now wasn't the time to think about hooking up, not like there was enough room to do anything anyway. At least that was what he told himself.

"How long have you been working with those two?" Jim asked.

"…Better part of two years. Why?" Mara asked.

"…How likely is it that they'll leave my friends alone if they get what they want?" Jim asked.

"…If she's distracted enough, Eddie probably won't pull anything," Mara said.

"And what about the other?" Jim asked.

"… He's trustworthy," Mara said, though her statement was tinged in bitterness.

"I mean, he seems easier to get along with than Eddie most of the time," Jim said.

Mara had to stop herself from laughing. She managed to squeeze a hand to her mouth to stop the derisive snort from giving away their position. In truth, what she wanted to do was scream.

"…That's what he wants you to think, kid," Mara explained. "He thinks that after making someone deal with Eddie long enough, he'll come off as reasonable. Kid, Eddie is just a bitch. Cade is a monster."

"What did he do to you?" Jim asked.

Leilong could feel the heat coming off of Mara. "Drop it, Jim," Leilong advised. "Just focus on learning your new toy and using it to find your friends before the other two do."

"He doesn't trust you," Cade said.

Eddie sat with her back turned to him, staring off into the dark as Cade went to work on her.

"Don't bother wasting any more time on that "trust" crap, the kid barely likes you," Cade continued.

Eddie just sat and listened, nursing the rebreather to her face as she tried to calm herself.

"And if he ever did trust you, you'll never be able to trust him," Cade kept up. "Would you tell him about the things you've done? The things you are?"

Eddie passed the rebreather over her shoulder. Cade took it and breathed a few whiffs. "He'll judge you. Anyone else would. That's what I do for you, Eddie. I never judge. I never look down on you, prattle about redemption or forgiveness. What you've done, what we've done, is set in stone and will never, should never, be forgotten."

Eddie nodded, gripping her batons in a fist as she let Cade's words fill her mind. When left alone for long, her mind tended to… busy itself with unhealthy thoughts that often led to unhealthy actions. Her last overdose was three months ago, and Cade was barely able to bring her back. He had been furious, but it was all the more reason to pledge her life to the only person in the universe who cared enough about her to go through that much trouble for her. Cade was the one person she trusted above all else.

"Don't waste time wallowing in guilt. I mean, look at all the good that's done for Mara," Cade said. "She wanted an extraction, she got an extraction. "By any means necessary." Imagine being so bitter about getting exactly what you wanted," Cade scoffed.

"She didn't know," Eddie replied.

"…Excuse me?" Cade asked.

"She knew nothing about how you operated," Eddie repeated. "When she said that, she didn't have any idea about what that entailed. She didn't ask for that massacre, that was your decision," Eddie shot back.

"I did exactly what she wanted," Cade hissed.

"The way you wanted to do it," Eddie added. From the way he was breathing, she could tell Cade was furious. In all their time working together, Eddie never dissented from whatever tangent or strategy Cade proposed. This was not entirely due to her limitless loyalty, but also because she believed Cade was always correct in his ultimate judgments. But something about his treatment of Mara and recently of Jim began to awaken certain… nascent thoughts about how their partnership was supposed to work.

"It was the best possible outcome," Cade growled. "Maximum efficiency, minimal risk."

"…If you wanted to be efficient, why didn't you invite me along?" Eddie asked.

"…You're reckless, you take too many risks," Cade answered, hesitating.

"But that never stopped you before," Eddie replied. "After all the jobs we've done together, why did I sit home for that one?"

"This conversation is over," Cade snarled. "Get your head in the game and stay focused."

Eddie realized she had inadvertently struck a nerve. Normally, Cade would snap at her if he thought she wasn't focusing or giving her utmost attention to whatever endeavor they were about to undertake, but this was the first time he'd reacted like this to a personal question. Cade was usually rather private, keeping mostly to himself, but Eddie had felt he trusted her on some personal level. She never expected this much resistance to someone who took pains to be as honest as possible.

"We ain't supposed to be here, Reggie," one voice spoke up.

"Shut up, boss'll have enough spoils to divvy up when we get back to the rest, no one's going to miss some stuff from the top."

"He's been eyeing that saber for a while," Reggie said as his partner Anji dug through the cargo. "What are you looking for, anyway?"

"Just… curiosity," Anji explained as he eyed a suitcase the size of an artillery piece. "The guy was traveling by his lonesome, right? So why so much cargo?"

"Courier ships be like that," Reggie shrugged.

"Problem with that, Reg, that ain't no courier ship. And I didn't read no manifest anywhere," Anji explained as he eyed one of the containers. "So I just have to ask what exactly they were carrying if he wasn't going to fuss about losing it."

Anji got behind one of the containers and swiftly gave it a kick in the side, knocking it over. The sudden force caused the occupants to slam into the lid, all three sprawling out onto the hull floor as Reggie trained his submachine gun on them.

Leilong's eyes suddenly adjusted to the light as two rough-looking outlaws stared down the stowaways. The one called Reggie was a stout and surly-looking brawler-type, while his shifty, rat-like partner appraised the three newcomers.

"Thought we was hiding something uninvited," Anji laughed as he drew out his pistol. "You three had better have a real entertaining story before I throw you off the ship."

Leilong, Mara, and Jim all looked at one another. The thought of being caught early wasn't something they had expected to deal with. At worst, they figured they'd have a few hours to themselves in the cargo hold. That being said, no one panicked. Clearly, all three of them had found themselves on the wrong ends of guns before.

"…We're refugees," Jim spoke up.

"Refugees?" Anji repeated as he cocked his brow.

"Y-yes," Mara nodded. "This is my little brother Charles. We're traveling with our Dad."

"Uh…Kids, shut up," Leilong decided to add. "Let me handle this." Leilong took a moment to catch his breath. He pulled from all the recent events he'd been following. "We're from Cascadia. Things got really bloody and I had to spend most of the wong I had to my name to book this flight. Looks like the other guy screwed us over. We just want passage, that's all."

"That so?" Anji said as he grabbed Mara by the arm and dragged her up. "Well, how about I ask you all the details privately, starting with this fine piece of ass?"

Jim started forward but was blocked by Leilong's arm. "That won't be necessary," Leilong shook his head.

"It won't, huh?" Anji grinned. "Tell you what, then? I'm going to count to three, and when I do, you all tell me where on Cascadia you're from. Ready? 1…"

Leilong acted as quickly as he could. He bolted forward, knocking Mara out of Anji's grasp and sending him flying into the cargo hold. As he moved to strike Reggie, he felt the stock of the weapon crack against his skull, the other thug prepared for someone to make a move. What he was not prepared for was the sudden blow between his legs, the blond kid's fist expertly finding its mark, a skill he'd used many times over the years.

As Anji struggled to his feet, something buried in the cargo came crashing to the ground. Seeing the stock, Anji scrambled to pick up the weapon. Grabbing it, he pointed it towards the three as Mara and Jim moved to restrain Reggie.

"NOW NOBODY MOVE!" Anji screamed. A moment later, a realization hit him. This weapon he was holding was familiar. "…What the…" he said as he unconsciously lowered his weapon.

The lid to the other crate gently creaked open. The tip of a revolver slowly peeked out, planting two slugs into Anji before Eddie flung open the hatch and threw a fully charged stun baton into Reggie. Cade dragged himself out of the box as Eddie went to retrieve her baton. "Eddie, take Leilong and secure the ship. If you find a guy who looks like a weasel, take him alive," Cade instructed as he shot a third slug into the head of Anji. "Mara, follow those two. Patch them up if they get hurt, don't waste any material on the crew."

Eddie immediately stormed into the corridor, and the noise from shouts and gunfire was muffled through the walls. Leilong immediately went to collect some of his equipment from his pack. "What about you?" Leilong asked.

"I'm going to have a message for the captain when you bring him back," Cade said as he pulled out a knife. He looked over to Jim. "You want to help or what?"

Jim shot a look between the sniper and the assassin. "…I think I'd rather be with the rest of them," Jim said as he took off after Eddie and Mara.

Cade shrugged. "Suits himself," he said as he began carving the scalp. Leilong turned away in disgust at the desecration. Cade was a strange one, to put it mildly. He wanted to trust him, at he certainly came off as reliable, yet there was something about him that bothered Leilong to the core. All the more reason to get this job done as soon as possible.

"YOU TRY THAT IN THE FIELD AND I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" Ashur screamed over the intercom as he watched the STAMP brigade navigated their way through the training arena. It was an urbanized setup, close quarters, and multiple vantage points. The objective was simple. Elimination of all opposition.

Against them were roughly a company's worth of Strum troops, the armored gunners who were some of the finest heavy infantry in the Federation. They'd been instructed that this exercise was to be treated as a live-fire drill. Therefore, the soldiers were all armed with live ammunition.

Against them, watched over by their commander, were the STAMP brigade. Masters of CQC, and specialists in anti-magic combat. Of course, by now Ashur had seen to the deaths of nearly every mage Einhorn asked him to kill, and he was eager to retrain his soldiers in other matters.

His soldiers wore gas masks, were lightly armored, and focused more on aggressive maneuvering and tactics. Ashur watched as a squad climbed up through the narrow walls, jumping from the ledges even as two were brought down by rounds. The survivors beset themselves on the fire team on the top floor, their stun batons at the ready as they viciously brought down the gunners.

"DON'T STOP NOW! I WANT ALL OF THEM ON THE GROUND BEFORE THIS IS OVER! WINNING IS ALL THAT MATTERS! DIE IF YOU HAVE TO!" Ashur screamed. In truth, the STAMP brigade was his pride and joy, his contribution to the Strum Korp, and his legacy. His children, more or less. Not that any of them would know, he grinned.

"Sir, there's a line for you," one of his attendants spoke up. Ashur reluctantly dimmed the viewer as another STAMP squad surrounded and beat down another team of troopers. He glanced at the transmission's signature. He turned his lip up in disgust. Commander Ruebryn.

"What do you want, Connor?" Ashur snarled as he opened his line.

"New orders from Count Welles. Priority one. We got a hit on Phil Howard."

Ashur raised his eyebrow. "Do we?" his mood began to raise.

"That's the good news. The signal from his ship popped up near the Black Ether Sea."

"Still waiting for the bad news," Ashur replied.

"Along with a small armada of unregistered rogue spacecraft. One of them seems to share a registration with that of a lost Ouranos-class super-frieghter."

"Ah, so these outlaws got some serious hardware?" Ashur smirked. "Good, I was afraid it would get boring."

"Cmdr. Osterman and I are moving to your position as we speak," Ruebryn relayed.

"Too bad, I won't give you the opportunity to take my prey from me," Ashur snarled as he sat up and got back on the intercom. "ATTENTION ALL PERSONEL IN THE TRAINING ARENA! THE EXERCISE IS CANCELLED! ALL STAMP MEMBERS ARE TO HEAD TO A BREACHING VESSEL, YOU SHALL BE BRIEFED ON THE OPERATION AS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE! ALL OTHER PERSONEL NOT TENDING TO THE WOUNDED, MAN YOUR STATIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!"

"Send me all the info you have about the Ouranos class ship-type. I'll have my staff look it over," Ashur said as he prepared to leave.

"What about you?" Ruebryn asked.

"I'm going to take my personal squad with me to the Raptor. You know what I do best?" Ashur asked, rhetorically.

"Kill whoever Welles tells you to kill?" Ruebryn answered.

"Aggressive reconnaissance, as you would call it," Ashur grinned. Or as my last job put it, raiding, he thought to himself.

Under the Praetorian, a V-shaped grappler ship sat docked in its hanger. Waiting in the loading area were six of his most dedicated and talented STAMP troops, his personal bodyguard. Uniformly, they all turned as he passed by them and joined him in the bowels of the Raptor, Ashur's personal craft. It had been a while since Ashur had been in a proper dogfight. He hoped that someone amongst these new faces could put up a fight worth a damn. And, he figured as his ship unlatched from the heavy assault cruiser, if Mr. Howard was still in contact with his hired help, he would very much like to finally get acquainted with them. Or reacquainted, he thought with a smile.