Spyrro lay in the darkness and felt the corridors of the Vortex twist, wrapping around her like coiling, metal tentacles. She was trapped in a maze of metal, running through the dark tunnels within the Vortex. The walls were lined with giant, razor- toothed skulls, their jaws yawning, dripping with obscene slime, hissing and snarling.

"Spyrro."

She looked up. At the end of the tunnel, past the snapping jaws, stood the GhaRan-S'i-Ka, her eyes flickering flames in the dark.

"Spyrro!"

She turned and saw her Father standing in the shadows, his arms folded around him like a forbidding statue. "My youngest one," He said, fixing her with his bright, yellow gaze, "My little spirit of vengeance."

"Mei'Savir!" She cried out and sprang towards him but, somehow, she could not reach him.

"Your Mother's name must never be spoken," He snarled, rearing above her.

"Where is she?" Spyrro said, "Where is Mei'Varsi?"

"Do not forget Spyrro, you must remember…"

"Mei'Savir!" She said, "Please – "

"You should be grateful, Spyrro, that you have a mother who treats you so gently, so compassionately…"

"I am," Spyrro gulped, "I am grateful, but where is she?"

"You stole your Mother's ship," He intoned, "You have caused her considerable anxiety."

"Mei'Savir," She stared at him "Why are you so angry? I just want to see her."

There was a long, deep growl from her Father, "Mei'Saithi… you forrrget… you must remember…"

She felt tears prickle her eyes, "What Mei'Savir? What did I forget?"

He opened his arms and Mei'Varsi raised her head, emerging from Mei'Savir's shadow as if from a cocoon, her face a smooth oval, pale against the dark mass of her hair, "Spyrro, my daughter! Come back to me."

"Mother!"

Spyrro lunged forward, but now she could not move. The GhaRan-S'i-Ka was gripping her shoulders, "You arrre not weak." Said the croaking voice next to her ear, "Not like a half breed."

At her words, Mei'Savir exploded with fury, letting out a wordless roar that shook the walls around them like a thunderstorm but her Mother's eyes were huge and shining with wetness. Her slender fingers stretched out towards Spyrro like tree branches.

Spyrro tried to break free, but she could not shake off the talons of stone, reaching for her Mother, who stood as if rooted to the spot. For her Father, on fire with rage. Spyrro's chest ached as the tears bubbled up from inside her.

"Mei'Savir – do not leave me! Mei'Varsi!" She screamed, "Please Mother!"

Panic choked her as she was dragged backwards and all she could see was the acid burn of her Father's eyes. Then the blackness swallowed them up.

Halkrath hefted the grapple to his shoulder, searching for the tiny speck that was Varrik, "He has probably drifted many clicks from here by now!"

The airlock door slid open behind him and he turned to see the short, helmeted figure emerge, "Rika?"

The other nodded, "They are taking us back towards Varrik – we must be ready to get him." He clipped his own safety leash onto the vessel and stood behind Halkrath.

"Selim, Isaac, we can see nothing." He said through the commlink, "You must tell us when we are near to Varrik."

There was a pause "Hold on," Selim's voice said in both their ears "Isaac is trying to bring us closer."

Both Rough Skulls shrank back inside the airlock as the enemy ship strafed them with plasma again, the bolts going wide but still causing the Chameleon to veer wildly in its course.

"We are approaching him, coming around again," Selim's voice came again, "In the northwest quadrant, stay alert!"

Both Rough Skulls looked up in that direction, straining their eyes, "I cannot see him."

Rika hissed andboth of them saw it; the glint of Varrik's visor. Halkrath shifted the gun up to his shoulder once again,

"Varrik?" Rika tried to raise him, "Varrik can you hear me?"

There was no answer but the hiss of static.

"He is too far away," Rika barked into the commlink "Isaac, get us closer to him."

Both of them clutched the anchor rail as the Chameleon accelerated, able to make out the shape of Varrik, growing larger as the ship sped forward. Outside the airlock, the attacking ship curved back on itself and came around for another pass.

"Isaac," Halkrath said, eyes fixed on the enemy vessel, "Reactivate the stealth generator."

"I cannot. It still will not… function."

"Then hurry up and get us closer."

"We are trying!" Isaac snapped, "We are coming up on Varrik now."

Then Selim's growl came over the link, "I will lay down covering fire – be ready!"

Bright blue tracers lit up the blackness around them as Selim let loose with the full complement of the ship's guns, a barrage of harsh light that caused the enemy craft to divert from its approach and curve away, spiralling up into the blackness as the Chameleon zeroed in on Varrik's somersaulting body.

Able to make out Varrik's arms and legs now, Halkrath lifted the gun to his shoulder – knowing he would not get another chance – and fired. The grapple shot out of the barrel, the chain snaking out behind it as it hurtled towards Varrik. He saw the Rough Skull captain's body shudder as the grapple struck him in the shoulder and flicked the switch to activate the electromagnets, praying they would clamp onto Varrik's armour before he could be launched off even faster into space.

Quickly he secured the other end of the grapple inside the airlock and he and Rika began to reel in the chain, hauling hand over hand to drag their clanmate closer, pulling as hard and as fast as they could. Varrik was unmoving, his body limp and Halkrath wondered whether he had lost consciousness or if he was dead.

Another fusillade of blue white light burst from the Chameleon towards the enemy vessel, curtailing its approach and causing it to peel away from its attack course and soar away from them again.

'Is it possible they have managed to drive them off?' He thought, as he and Rika continued to haul Varrik closer; he was only a ship's length away now.

The commlink crackled, "We need to reseal the airlock." Selim said, "They have launched guided explosives against us."

Rika snarled "We nearly have him, just – "

Selim yelled at him through the link "Impact in sixty seconds unless we can take evasive action!"

Halkrath did not stop pulling but he did turn to look at Rika's helmeted form "Rika, we must cut him loose!"

"No!" The smaller Rough Skull gave one last desperate heave on the chain, dragging Varrik's limp body through the airlock door. Halkrath smacked a fist against the door control and the hatch slid shut. Seconds later, all three Rough Skulls were hurled violently against the side of the chamber, crashing into the wall and each other, Halkrath's shoulder smacking into Rika's stomach as the ship dramatically altered its course. The smaller male held on doggedly to Varrik, while Halkrath was pinned to the wall, unable to move or even turn his head, knowing the ship must be executing a high velocity manoeuvre. He waited for the pressure to lessen, straining to lift his hand to the control for the inner lock, "We are under attack, those hybrids need someone experienced to guide them."

"Halkrath, I cannot leave him!" Rika bellowed behind him, still clinging to Varrik who lay, utterly inert, a dead weight in his arms, "I must get him to the medipod!"

The klaxon screamed down the corridor, bludgeoning Scar into consciousness. He was sitting up, blinking sleep from his eyes before he even realised what he was doing.

Next to him, Lex raised herself on her elbows, eyelids flickering, "What is it?"

He shook his head, rising from the bed "I set a number of alerts on the console. Let us go and see which one it is."

He threw himself down in the pilot's chair and she came quickly into the cockpit behind him, pulling her bloodied vest on as she slid into the co-pilot seat, "What is happening?"

"I set the ship's scanners to find the Chameleon… and it has done so."

"The Chameleon?"She leaned forward, even though the ship's position was displayed on the giant screen.

"See for yourself," He tapped the controls. The three-dimensional map sprang up around them and he reached out with a talon to pinpoint a dot, "There."

"Do you think the boys are onboard? That they managed to escape?"

"I pray that they have." He reached for the comms button, "Let us find out."

"Wait," She grasped his wrist, "You said the Rough Skulls went after them before we got knocked out. What if they didn't escape and there are Rough Skulls onboard the Chameleon?"

"Then, we attack and recapture it. The Chameleon is ours, Lex."

She frowned, "You know we would be announcing our presence to Nar'Jat."

"Good." He growled, jaws curling up, "Then he will know who has fucked him."

She was silent for a moment, then she nodded, "Hail them."

He pressed the control to transmit audio only, "Chameleon. This is the Rough Skull vessel, Fury. Do you hear us?"

She was still frowning, peering at the speck that represented the ship, a firefly in the darkened cockpit, "Look Scar…" She stretched out a finger, "There is another ship in pursuit."

"I see it." He pressed again, transmitting both audio and visual this time, "Chameleon, this is S'Kia. Mei'Sika, do you hear me?"

"Isaac! Selim!" Lex leaned towards the console,"Please respond! Are you in trouble?"

Both of them stayed frozen, staring up at the blank blackness. Then the display lit up, and Isaac's face appeared on the screen, teeth bared, brow beaded with sweat. In the background, the shrill keening of alarms.

"Mom? S'Kia?"

"Mei'Sika!" Scar burst out at the same moment as she cried "Sweetheart!

"We are under attack – " The boy spat.

"Mei'Savir! Mei'Varsi!" Another voice broke in and the screen split, showing Selim's pale face.

"Darling!" Lex gasped "Are you both alright?"

S'Kia growled, "Mei'Sika, what is happening?"

"We are hit – our stealth generator failed. Guided explosives." Selim said, "They have damaged the rear thruster."

"We've gotta land before they do more!" Isaac broke in. "We're headed towards this planet – "

Scar tapped one talon enlarged the glowing bead of a planet, "You are headed for U'amea {Pron: OO-may-YA}. "

At the name of the planet, Lex's head came up and she turned sharply towards him.

"Hang on, we're coming to get you!" She was already programming a course into the console's navigation unit, "We can be at your position in ten units, maybe less."

"The enemy ship is shadowing your course towards U'amea," Scar said quickly, "When you land you must abandon the Chameleon – take weapons, take supplies. It is a forest world. Get into the jungle. Stay hidden until we come. If the yautja craft follows you there do NOT engage them. It is very important that you do not allow yourselves to be captured. I know you know how to do this, my sons."

"S'Kia, we're not alone," Isaac said urgently "The Rough Skulls – "

At that moment there was a flash and static consumed the picture of the boys' faces, the transmission cut out. Scar leapt to his feet and turned to find Lex standing too, one hand half stretched out towards the screen, as if she might pull their sons back through by her will alone.

She gulped, turning huge eyes on him, "U'amea." The word came out as a whisper, "The D'AKv'var …."

Scar said nothing, the blank horror in her face mirroring the sinking of his own pulse. They both knew of the D'AKv'var {pron: DAH-kuv-VAR}. They were an offshoot of the Bad Bloods who haunted the fringes of Rough Skull space and U'amea was one of their occasional bases of operation. They had no command ships, they were hardly a clan at all, but a loose-knit tribe of marauders, pirates and raiders. Like himself and Lex, they preyed on any ships that crossed their path but a Rough Skull unlucky enough to be taken alive by them could expect a very grisly fate. Somewhere in their dark and bloody past, the D'AKv'var had developed a taste for their own kind – and they flaunted their depravity. In the Bad Blood dialect, 'D'AKv'var' means "Flesh Eater".

He and Lex had crossed swords with them before and come out victorious, but they were a dangerous enemy. Scar had strung their flayed bodies up on U'amea, leaving them to rot in still air of the jungle, staring from empty eye-sockets. He had carved his name into their flesh; a warning to any of their kind who might think to attack the Chameleon. Now he ground his jaws and wished he had been able to kill more – to kill all of them. He realised he was growling softly and brought himself back under control,

"We have to get to them before that other ship." She said flatly. "And what did Isaac mean about the Rough Skulls? Are there Rough Skulls on the ship with them?"

"I hope… not." He took hold of her outstretched fingers, pulling her towards him, "We go now. With all speed. You have already initialised that course?"

"Yes." She switched back to English,"But the twins… Scar, I can't bear to think of them in danger – "

"Then do not think of it." He said, stubbornly turning his own mind away from the thought, "Remember instead that they must have managed to escape Nar'Jat and they have kept possession of the Chameleon. Our sons are warriors. They will deal with whatever comes to them."

"We have to get to them." She said, "Before the D'AKv'var – "

At once, the growl rose up in his throat and he put his hands on her shoulders looking into her eyes, "We will destroy them, demon. We will fall on them like the wrath of gods and raze them to ashes. When we are united, none may stand against us. Are we agreed?"

"Yes." She said softly, "Death to all our enemies, right?"

He nodded and released her and she leaned over the controls, exhaling slowly "We're on the best route." Then she looked up again, her face pale, "What about Spyrro?"

The cold knot inside him twisted a little tighter, but he overrode the feeling, "Isaac and Selim are under imminent threat. We cannot ignore their distress call. Spyrro is my Mother's only female descendant. As long as she does not discover her half-breed status, she will want to keep her alive."

She shut her eyes for a moment, "Let's just get there and find them. Then we go after Spyrro."

His jaws clenched, "Then we go after Spyrro. And if we recapture the Chameleon, we will have the stealth technology to infiltrate my mother's ship."

"We're going to need weapons."

"This ship was used to bring us… to To'Phet. Maybe… the things they took from us… are still stowed onboard."

"Your swords are here, in that locker." She waved a hand, "I took them from Sek'Met"

"Of course you did, infernal female." He lifted the swords out, feeling the weight of them, then turned to her, "I will put on my armour and then dig out as much useable gear as I can for both of us."

She gave him a tight smile, "I'll stay here. One of us should, in case the boys contact us again."

He went back to the sleeping pod and began putting on his armour, fitting the metal plates over his chest and shoulders, 'My sons will survive, they must do. They are strong and clever.' He paused in the act of tightening the strap on his breastplate, 'But what if the Rough Skulls have infiltrated the ship – or taken control of it somehow… what then? And U'amea… of all places…"

A surge of dizziness swept through him, vision blurring, sweat prickling his skin that was suddenly hot. 'No,' He told himself, 'I will not give in to fear. I have been preparing them against this every day, for months…'

The wave of light-headedness passed, ebbing as quickly as it had come. Scar shook his head, once, twice and again. Then he slapped an armoured gauntlet into place on his wrist and jerked the strap taut.

"Mother!"

Spyrro awoke with a gasp, bolting upright in bed.

Around her there was only blank blackness. She blinked rapidly and rubbed her face with her hands, trying to drive away the dream.

"Mei'Varsi – it felt like she was here! Like they were both here." She gulped back a sob, "I really wish they were…"

Now her eyes were adjusting to the gloom, she made out the contours of the sleeping chamber and Ito, sitting on the other bed, watching her. Spyrro said nothing, just stared, wondering if she had called out in her sleep and if Ito had heard her. For some reason that thought filled her with shame and worry so she stared back, face scrunched up in a scowl. Ito did not speak and the silence continued until Spyrro, unable to bear it any longer, said, "Did I wake you?"

"Yes." Ito's voice was low.

Spyrro continued to scowl, her brows drawing down further, "She is secretly laughing at me for squalling in my sleep, like a baby!"

"Did I…" Spyrro didn't want to ask, but it was like picking a scab, "Did I… say anything?"

She expected the older girl to say something mean, but Ito looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if thinking.

"You cried out." She said, finally, "But it was a word I did not understand. Why did you do that?"

Relief poured through Spyrro, turning her arms and legs wobbly, "I do not know," She lied, "I was dreaming, but I do not remember it. Only that it was…. bad."

"It is better not to remember." Ito nodded thoughtfully, "Warriors are not held prisoner by dreams."

Spyrro stared at her. She could not get her Mother's anguished face out of her head, nor the echo of her Father's words, "Remember, Spyrro…"

When had he said that to her before?

'What did I forget, Mei'Savir?' She thought, furious with herself, 'What did you and Mei'Varsi want me to remember?'

A slight frown was creasing Ito's brow, "So…" She said, slowly, "What language was it that you were speaking?"

"The ooman language."

"You speak it?"

Spyrro nodded, her mind still full of the dream, "Of course I do."

The other girl peered at her in the blackness, "The… witch taught you to speak her tongue?"

Something about the girl's sharp tone set off a little tingle in Spyrro's brain but she was beginning to feel sleepy again and a yawn overtook her, forcing her jaws apart, "She did," She muttered crossly, "And she is not a witch. And I did not understand why you believe all this nonsense about magic and witches when everybody knows it is not real."

She laid herself back down on the bed and humped the covers over her shoulders, turning her back on Ito's quiet, inquisitive face.

'If I could just remember,' She thought, 'If I knew what Mei'Varsi and Mei'Savir were saying to me, this would all make sense – I know it would!'

"They are alive," Selim whispered to himself, "My Father and my Mother are alive."

He shifted his hands on the gun controls, eyes darting between the glowing dots representing the guided explosives. The two missiles closed in and he swung the controls, his breathing and heartrate slow and steady as he squeezed the trigger, once and then again. Pockets of fire burst on the screen as his shots went home, detonating the explosives before they could hit.

Beside him, Isaac held onto the controls of the Chameleon, forcing the ship down into the planet's atmosphere. Heavy turbulence bombarded them, sending violent quakes through the ship.

At that moment, Halkrath and Rika burst into the cockpit, the rocking of the deck sending Rika smacking into the wall, "What in the many hells is happening?"

"Strap yourself in!" Bawled Selim, "We are landing!"

Halkrath staggered over and strapped himself into the second co-pilot seat while Rika buckled into one of the spare seats on the wall, "Landing or crashing?"

"We're into the troposphere," Isaac called to Selim, "Are they still on us?"

Selim squinted at the display that showed their surroundings. Above them the sky was bright blue, but beneath them were mountains of billowing vapour, towers of grey cloud, covering the planet's surface, "I do not see them – but they may be cloaked."

He turned to Halkrath in the other co-pilot seat, long, taloned fingers already weaving a complicated pattern across the controls as he brought up displays and made numbers dance across the screen, "Where is the enemy ship?"

"Still following," The scientist barked, "They have not yet launched more guided explosives. Too hazardous during re-entry."

"Or they think killing us on the surface would make better sport!" Rika interrupted.

"I'm going down into the cloud cover, try to lose them." Isaac pushed at the controls and the ship sank, battered by more turbulence.

"What about the damage to the thruster?" Selim's eyes were huge as the burgeoning grey clouds blotted out everything on the viewscreen, the cockpit shuddering and shaking.

"We can land without the thruster, Sel." Isaac gritted his teeth as he pulled on the controls, "But not if they shoot us out of the sky!"

"Something is wrong," Halkrath was still working the console, frowning, "Our instruments cannot map the planet's surface – something is interfering with them."

Isaac hit switch after switch, "We are blind!"

"You are inexperienced." Halkrath said "Transfer control of the vessel to me."

Isaac's head jerked round briefly as he caught Halkrath's words, "This is our ship!"

Halkrath spread his jaws in a snarl, understanding Isaac's refusal, "Stupid child! How many times have you made planet fall without instruments?"

"I have landed the Chameleon… many times!" Isaac did not let go of the controls.

Halkrath lurched forward, his muscles straining as he reflexively made to lunge at Isaac but his harness kept him in his seat. Isaac turned towards him, his lips drawn back to show sharp, white canines, eyes glowing.

"There is no time for conflict!" Rika snapped.

Selim turned to his brother "Ize, maybe he can help you – "

"Do it then!" Isaac bawled back.

The scientist quickly moved his talons in a complicated motion over the console, "I am trying to find somewhere to land that has cover, to at least try to stop them destroying our ship from the sky."

"Mei'Savir said U'amea has forests," Selim said quickly, "Can we hide the ship in the jungle?"

"Perhapsssss, but the scanners are still not working! Once we have shut down the drive we may be able to escape detection if whatever is blocking our instruments blocks theirs also."

At that moment they emerged from the bank of cloud, onscreen, a foggy veil parting to reveal the dark green vista of the forest world, much closer than they had expected and swathed in a strange darkness.

"We are coming in too fast, you must increase the down-thrusters to slow our descent."

Halkrath watched the display as Isaac touched the controls, trying to bring the vessel back under his control. Halkrath's hands clenched as they accelerated, "Slow down!"

"I cannot." Isaac spat.

"Do it!"

"The down thrusters are… malfunctioning!"

Halkrath stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the console. Meanwhile, Selim's gaze was riveted on the screen, "We are going to hit the ground in a few clicks – "

"I see it." Isaac's fingers swiped the console, rerouting power from the engines, trying to find a solution, the misty treetops getting bigger, a large grey-blue shape now dimly visible on the shuddering screen "That's a lake coming up in the top right?"

Selim's eyes skimmed the display, "Yes."

Issac's lips spread in a grin, "Hold onto something, boys!"

Selim barely had time to translate his warning but the ship was still diving like a falcon, swooping out of the sky. Green alert buttons began to flash on the console.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Rika snarled behind them, "We are going to crash!"

Isaac didn't answer him and the ship didn't slow down, plunging towards the surface of the lake; the glittering shape growing bigger and bigger, less than a click away now.

Selim looked over at Halkrath; the scientist was watching his twin, eyes enlarged and glinting, jaws slightly apart, he made no second attempt to wrest control of the vessel from him. Isaac's knuckles were white and his lips pulled back to show his sharp teeth as his fingers still searched for a way to slow their descent. For a second his brother's eyes met his and, in that moment, Selim felt calm, 'I trust you, Ize.'

Thank the gods it's Friday. Now I can go for a long mountainside run... or I may just sit on the sofa. If you enjoy this, please follow, favourite, review etc. If you do, more people get to see it on the site. I think... look, I don't know how the algorithm works, ok?

LovyDovy7 - slightly longer chapter this time. Spyrro is still having an identity crisis, poor girl - but the boys also have hybrid identity stuff to go through.

Tenjp - Oh no, one should never assume. I am enjoying writing Scar and Lex back together though, it's more fun :) They don't much of a rest though, sadly.

lexia the beautiful wolf - bit of a longer update this week so hope you like it!

.Queen - Yeah Spyrro is getting to appreciate her mother a whole lot more being away from her. I wouldn't call Scar cute, he wouldn't be pleased - Lex's sharp tongue is definitely necessary!