There was a wrestling match underway when Bob and Davic fell out of the Portal onto the deck of the Saucy Mare II. Davic fell on top of two binomes struggling to pin Matrix's legs. Bob landed with both kneepads in Wayne's back. Wayne gasped and fell across Matrix's chest.
Bob grabbed Matrix's waving gun hand and threw it to the deck with all of his weight behind it. Matrix's fingers clenched, and his gun went off. The shot screamed across the deck and splintered a significant section of the railing.
"Copland! Containment field!" Turbo's command was sharp. The Prime Guardian sprinted to the deck ladder and slid down even as Copland threw out its glowing red strands.
The restraint field wrapped itself around Matrix's arm from wrist to elbow, and twined its way up Bob's silver gauntlets. Matrix thrashed, and his gun went off again, this time blowing up a bucket on the deck in a shower of potato peels.
"We're gonna need something stronger than that, Turbo!" Davic yelled as he dodged a kick that tossed a crewman into a gun mount. The Net Guardian flickered and faded, and his eyes shaded from crimson to green and back again.
"Davic!" Bob cried. "Get out of here, go recharge before Caen offlines!"
"Surfr!" Dot was handling several different vidwindows at once. "Let him go! Get out of the Web!" She stretched up on tiptoe to look over the vidwindow. "Bob, be careful!" she cried in an agonized tone.
Matrix heaved, and his free hand threw Wayne off his chest. Still blank-faced, the slaved sprite reached toward his captive hand.
"Oh, no," Bob tugged at the restraint field, then gave up and put a foot against Matrix's chest. "I could use a little help here!" he shouted.
"Don't worry, Bob," AndrAIa was suddenly there, her face grease-smudged and tense. She touched Matrix's bare arm with two fingers.
Matrix's eyes rolled back into his head, and he went limp.
Davic rolled off of Matrix, panting. He blinked at AndrAIa. "Has anyone…ever told you you're a real knockout?" he asked hoarsely.
AndrAIa smiled.
"Copland! Release field!" Turbo sprinted up the deck. "Bob, situation!"
Bob ignored the Prime Guardian. "Captain! Get out of the Web! Now!" He sat back on his heels, threw his head back, and chittered out a trill that ululated up and down the scale with an unmistakable urgency.
Websong came back, high and complex.
"Mr. Andrews! Divert all power to the Portal Generator!" Captain Capacitor roared.
"It's an unmapped address, captain!" the helmsman cried back. "There might not be a system—"
"We haven't time, Mr. Andrews! The Portal! Now!" Captain Capacitor had drawn his sword.
"Ray, get back here!" Mouse screeched at one of Dot's vidwindows. "That station's going to blow!
"Somebody get Caen to a recharge!" Bob commanded, dragging Davic to his feet. "We've got to get Davic and Wayne to the galley!"
The Websong layered into wailing chords punctuated by feedback.
"Brace yourselves for emergency download!" Captain Capacitor's voice cut momentarily through the din.
The ship's lights went out and her engines died as her Portal Generator drew in every amp in the ship. The Portal opened barely a ship's length ahead of the bowsprit, and the ship thundered in blind. She was followed by hundreds of straining bodies, before the shock wave from the exploding station shattered the Portal, along with everything else in its path.
Silence. The temperature in the darkened ship dropped noticeably. For a long, frozen moment, no one aboard moved. Then the wail of a stray Web creature penetrated the thick shields, and there were sighs as everyone let out a held breath. The lights came on, dimmed, then brightened again.
"Are we…still processing?" Mr. Christopher poked his head out from under the wing of Turbo's ship.
"It would seem so, my lad," Captain Capacitor answered softly. "Mr. Andrews, status."
The helmsman relaxed his grip on the wheel. Several vidwindows opened in front of him. "All systems reporting in, sir," he replied. "Primary generator near redline."
"I'll get right on it, Captain," AndrAIa promised. She rose from Matrix's side and went below.
"The Web Riders seem to be okay," Dot reported. "They're sorting themselves back into their pods."
"Where's Ray?" Mouse demanded, watching the scanners.
"I don't see him, Mouse," Dot answered soberly. "He was a long way out. He might have gone into another system."
Mouse watched the scanners, her jaw working.
"What happened out there, Bob?" Turbo asked. He bent, and lifted Wayne to his feet. He looked at Davic, who was leaning heavily on Bob.
"Doc's got the infection," Davic mumbled. He raised his head long enough to look Turbo in the eyes. "Went into a game. Craziest infection I've ever seen. Kidnapped." He shuddered as his body nearly disappeared, then flickered back into dim existence. "Caen can't hold us both. Overload." His eyes went from crimson to green again, and he shook his head.
"They're file-sharing, Turbo. I'll explain once we get Caen recharged," Bob said hurriedly. He turned and half-dragged Davic toward the hatchway.
"I help," a hoarse female voice said. Princess Bula lifted Davic and settled him into the crook of her arm like a baby. Then she did the same to Wayne.
"Thank you, Princess," Bob said gratefully. "Davic and Wayne both need to eat. Take them down to the galley and give them as much food as they can hold."
"No problem. I good cook." Bula stumped off with her burden.
"Now," Turbo said, "for you, Caen." He bent and lifted the erratically-pulsing keytool off the deck where it had fallen. He carried it back to his ship and opened the canopy. "Recharge pad," he told the ship.
Bob knelt beside Matrix's motionless form. "Glitch. Scan."
It was a moment before Glitch beeped, and its processing hum was lower than usual.
"I know, old friend. You're next on the recharge pad," Bob soothed his drained keytool. He watched the data flow across Glitch's screen.
"How is he?" Dot asked, coming up beside Bob.
Bob looked up at her, and his face was exhausted and sad. "Not good," he replied. He pushed Matrix's dark hair away from his right temple, revealing a glossy black plate. "Megabyte used Matrix's brainware to get access to his action codes. If he'd gone through the icon I could use my icon as a template—" he broke off as Dot's face clouded with confusion. "I can't do this, Dot. It's beyond my abilities."
Dot's face crumbled, and she dropped to her knees beside Bob.
"It's not beyond Wayne, though," Turbo said.
Bob put his arm around Dot's shoulders and looked up at Turbo. "Turbo—"
"Sir!" a crewman interrupted. "We have a problem."
"What? Show me," Captain Capacitor ordered.
A vidwindow opened in front of the captain. Turbo tied into the transmission and opened a second vidwindow.
There were murmurs as the image on the screens registered with the crew. The sprite who hovered in front of the ship certainly did not appear threatening. She was dressed in a long skirt and a top tied in the middle, along with an assortment of jewelry. Her gold hair was loose over her shoulders, and her deep blue eyes were serene. She rested one hand on the Saucy Mare II's armored bowsprit, as if her touch alone could restrain the powerful ship. The delicate, ethereal image was broken by the glowing keytool buzzing on the sprite's left wrist, and the yellow-and-black Guardian icon holding her shirt closed.
Back to full strength, Caen zipped off into the hold, doubtless headed for Davic.
"I am Aria, Guardian of this LAN," the hovering sprite stated in a rich musical voice. "Who are you, and why have you brought Web creatures to my domain?"
An undefinable expression flitted across Turbo's face, and his jaw tightened.
"I am the Crimson Binome, Captain of the Saucy Mare, and the Web Riders are under my protection," Captain Capacitor declared.
Websong thrummed through the ship's plating, and the LAN Guardian clapped both hands to her pointed ears. "If they are your friends, then kindly ask them to moderate their volume!" she shouted.
Bob continued to hold Dot, but lifted his chin and wailed out a three-note phrase punctuated by sharp clicks. The Websong hushed.
"Will that do, my lady?" Captain Capacitor asked courteously.
"It will," she replied. "Why have you come here, Captain Gavin Capacitor? If it's plunder you seek, I warn you that it will come at a high price."
"I see my reputation has preceded me," Captain Capacitor answered. "And I am sure you would be a fine adversary in battle."
"Relax, Aria," Turbo interrupted. "I'm keeping an eye on the captain."
Aria smiled at him. "Welcome, my Prime."
"Thank you, Aria," Turbo said with careful formality.
"Has the notorious Crimson Binome surrendered to you, then?" Aria asked.
"I surrender to no one!" Captain Capacitor roared, drawing his sword.
"Stand down, Capacitor," Turbo ordered. His voice was not loud, but it carried from stem to stern, and brooked no argument. "Put up your sword, Gavin," the Prime Guardian said.
The Crimson Binome locked eyes with the Guardian on the deck. After a long, breathless moment, the pirate sheathed his sword.
Turbo turned back to the vidwindow. "Aria, we've got trouble. Is there someplace the ship can tie up for repairs while we talk?"
Aria smiled again. "With you, there is always trouble, my Prime," she said. There was laughter in her voice. "If you cannot find any, you go out and make some."
Turbo's lips tugged into a half-smile even as his cheeks reddened. "Guess I can't go against my programming," he said ruefully.
Aria chuckled. "Come to the router, then, and we will talk of this new trouble of yours."
Mr. Christopher, now perched on a crate beside Turbo's ship, leaned over to the penguin sitting beside him and murmured, "I think we're missing something here."
The penguin nodded vigorously.