Hurray for reviews!

Hotshot – Yeah, family is family. You have to respect it.

Pyro – Well if you insist, who am I to argue? No other stories yet, but there are a few in the pipeline.

Pickles – Someone has to ask the tough questions in life.

April – As to how I do it, I don't know, I just think these things up and sit down and write them. As for more Rob/Star action…you have a little bit coming in the closing few chapters. But remember, Star is ill, she needs her rest.

Twisted – Thanks for the Opera reviews. Just to let you know, Speedy didn't mix up resent and resemble. Remember, he's a redhead. He would, in fact, resemble Jinx's remark. And I don't mind you skipping chapters. Any review is a good review, even if it's a bad review.

Samanthe – I put you and Hotshot (and would others if there were) together because I want to thank you guys for reviewing but I don't have any specific reply for either of your reviews. Today I do, though. I will try to avoid this in the future, please forgive me if I have offended you.

Ramiro – Jinx rocks. She's been one of my favorites from the get go. And you're going to love this chapter, most likely.

Does everyone remember their directions? Port, starboard, dorsal, and ventral? Good. That said, on with the show and I don't own the Titans.
Chapter Eight: Man Down

Aqualad shifted uncomfortably in his space suit. He had insisted that everyone get into his or her gear in case the ship suffered hull damage and depressurized. He pushed the crew through the systems checks, constantly aware that the time was slipping away from them. They had less than five hours remaining now. Starfire was in the crew quarters getting progressively worse. Robin was near the breaking point, something that the Atlantian had never imagined he would see.

At that point, Speedy walked purposefully past him and sat at Jinx's console before moving to his own. He was the last to report in and his voice was steely and determined. "Navigation and stellar cartography are up, calculations for the slingshot jump around Barrean are confirmed. Helm is responding and tied into the navigational computer for the jump, manual control will be restored when we are clear of the Barreanian gravity well."

Aqualad nodded. "Hit it."

In the engine bay beneath and behind them, Cyborg watched the engines glow to life and increase the pitch of their hum as they accelerated. Jinx and Blackfire stood in the relatively cramped confines of the airlock, awaiting their cue. Jinx was testing the counter hex on her gloves by forcing them to glow bright pink with a particularly intense curse. The spell was holding just fine.

Titan One cleared Barrean and whipped across the face of the enormous planet. With a flash of the engines, it peeled off, headed directly towards Tamaran. Aqualad decided to waste no time. "Terra, begin scanning the Gordanian fleet, try to find that control ship. Beast Boy, prepare to fire on the ships as Jinx takes out their shielding. Disable them, don't destroy."

Beast Boy nodded. He opened a line to the plasma cannon turrets. "Mas, Menos, you guys hear that?"

Two voices replied in concert. "Si. Incapacítelos, no los soplan arriba."

All was quiet on the command deck for a few minutes, then a chime was heard from Bumblebee's console. "We're receiving a signal from the Gordanian blockade."

Aqualad nodded. "Trace it, that's as good a place to start looking for the command ship as any. Put it through."

The screen in front of them changed from the quickly moving starfield to a very ugly looking blue…well…something. Aqualad cringed. He was used to the strange looking creatures of the deep but this was, as Starfire would say, just plain freaky. It addressed them in a deep, angry voice. "This is admiral Melccch of the Gordanian fleet ship Ulc. This planet is under military siege, identify yourself or be fired upon."

Aqualad smiled as best he could and straightened up in his chair. "This is Aqualad, commander of Titan One, operating under the blessing of the Green Lantern Corps medical division. We are transporting a Tamaranian back home for lifesaving medical treatment. We have no interest in your trade dispute, we just require safe passage."

The Gordanian made the Gordanian equivalent of a laugh. "Heh, Centauri smuggler can forge one of those insignia on the hull of a ship. I am not impressed. Besides, one less troq to deal with. Turn around now and you will not be destroyed."

The insult caused everyone on the bridge to grip their consoles a little tighter, their glares piercing through the screen onto the Gordanian bridge. Aqualad flew from his chair, his voice barely containing his anger. "You will grant us safe passage and grant it immediately."

The Gordanian snarled and terminated the connection. Aqualad turned to Bumblebee. "Any luck tracing the signal?"

Bee shook her head. "I got it coming from the north polar region, but I couldn't find the ship. It's like it wasn't there."

Speedy looked back. "It might be hiding in the polar magnetic field. I'll aim for it and if there's a ship there, we'll start with that one first."

Terra spoke up, the nervousness in her voice plain as day. "If we can make it there. I'm reading a dozen ships breaking orbit and making an intercept course for our position."

Aqualad glared. "Showtime. Jinx, Blackfire, time to do your thing. Bumblebee, keep communications open on them at all times. Raven, shields up!"

It was very quiet in space, Jinx realized. She was standing on the leading edge of the hull of Titan One with Blackfire flying not twenty feet away. If she looked behind her, she could see the dorsal plasma cannon turret that was occupied by Mas. To her sides were the two forward fusion torpedo launchers. But she was looking ahead of her, at the twelve Gordanian ships that were approaching at high speed. Blackfire broke off, swinging wide to come around and flank the ships while Jinx stayed put, her gloved hands glowing pink. She dropped her gold foil visor and waited. "Come on, boys. Time to play."

Speedy was almost directly below her, he had called up two different displays in addition to his helm control. One was from one of the exterior cameras, trained on Jinx. Second was a connection to her suit computer. The helm controls in front of him flashed back from red to blue. "Helm is under manual control. Shall we engage?"

Aqualad nodded. "Let's go."

Jinx watched as a stream of bright yellow pulses flashed from behind her. The plasma cannon fire struck the nearest Gordanian vessel, leaving it totally unscathed. It returned fire, narrowly missing the ventral hull of the ship as Speedy evaded the incoming fire. As it flew past, she could see it's shields rippling from the cannon fire. To her right and left, fusion torpedoes flew through space. They targeted in on a different ship and exploded, again leaving the ship unharmed. Jinx smiled and cast an arc shaped hex. It struck the Gordanian vessel amidships. "Let's see how tough you are now."

She followed the ship as Mas tracked it with the plasma cannon. He fired a short burst, hitting the engines and causing them to explode in a fireball of unrestrained energy. Jinx clapped her hands happily as the ship cartwheeled through space without main power.

She cast another, wider hex and hit another ship. This one aimed its forward cannon at her. It began to glow a dangerous red before it exploded in a purple starbolt. She heard Blackfire speaking over the communication grid. "Who's the troq now, clorbag?" She fired a long purple bolt into the Gordanian ship's engine, causing it to shut down. She flew off, headed after another ship. "You're so not worth my time."

The fight continued, the titans whittling away the Gordanian ships one by one, always disabling and never destroying any of the ships. Slowly, the pink and white orb of Tamaran began to grow closer and closer. The fighting grew more intense as Titan One battled through the fleet. Soon they were in the thick of it. At the helm, Speedy noticed a ship to port targeting them. He quickly flipped the ship, exposing the ventral side and protecting Jinx with the body of the ship. The ship shuddered with the impact of the enemy weapon and klaxons blared. Menos fired his plasma cannon into the enemy ship's engines, leaving it a drifting hulk of debris.

Jinx let out a sigh. "Thank you, darling."

Speedy smirked, jerking the helm to avoid two Gordanian ships trying to perform a cut and run. "Any time, dear."

Raven looked over to Aqualad. "As chivalrous as that was, it also knocked ventral shields down to fifty percent. We need to knock out that control ship and we need to do it fast."

Aqualad shuddered with the ship as it sustained another hit. "Speedy, distance to Tamaran?"

"Approximately three hundred thousand kilometers. A little closer than the moon is to the earth."

Their discussion was interrupted by an alert from Speedy's console. A computerized voice spoke from the speaker. "Jinx, suit integrity compromised, air supply sixty percent."

Speedy paled. Aqualad didn't miss a step. "Go, now."

Speedy nodded and ran. Aqualad rose from the command chair and took the helm, flawlessly piloting the ship through a triad of Gordanians. He spun the ship around, giving orders from the helm. "Beast Boy, fusion torpedoes, full spread. Fire!" He was rewarded with three glowing fireballs and flaming hulks spinning off into space.

Speedy raced into the airlock, closing his helmet and listening to his and Jinx's suit voices as he cycled through. "Speedy, suit seal one hundred percent, air supply one hundred percent. Jinx, suit integrity compromised, air supply twenty percent. Replace your oxygen canister immediately."

The airlock door opened into the pitch blackness of space, interrupted only by bright pinpoints of stars and the glowing yellow blazes of plasma cannon fire. He stepped out onto the hull of the ship and began to move as fast as he could towards Jinx. He carried with him two items, a roll of duct tape and a spare oxygen canister. He trudged along, the grip of his magnetic boots making speed virtually impossible.

Blackfire listened to the drama unfold, and when she approached the ship she could see Jinx on the outer hull of the ship, a white gas venting from the back of her helmet. Speedy was approaching Jinx's position on the hull as rapidly as he could. She moved to fly down and help, but at that moment, a bright green blast of weapons fire passed over her, singing the top of her head. Blackfire growled and flew off towards the offending ship.

Speedy already had the duct tape ready and as soon as he was behind Jinx he began to place strips of duct tape over the damaged part of the helmet. The escaping oxygen slowed, but didn't stop. He couldn't replace the oxygen canister without the helmet being patched, otherwise the new tank would drain just as quickly as the last. Jinx had been frantically waving, trying to reach the leak, but recently had become disturbingly calm.

He worked faster as he heard her suit voice through his headset. "Jinx, oxygen supply depleted." He placed the last strip of tape over her helmet and ripped off the back plate of her backpack. He replaced her oxygen canister and spun her around, listening as the suit corrected itself. "Jinx, suit integrity compromised, air supply one hundred percent."

She was unconscious and looked even more pale than normal, the usual blush to her cheeks was absent. He pulled her magnetic boots from the hull of the ship and pushed her down onto her back. Inside the ship, Speedy's nervous voice came through the communications system. "Terra, what's her status?"

Terra pulled up Jinx's medical readout and cursed. "Speedy, she's in cardiac arrest."

Speedy planted his magnetic boots on the hull of the ship and placed his hands over Jinx's chest and pushed down hard. Two times, three times, four. His tears were starting to float in the confines of his helmet. "Come on, Jinx. Don't do this to me." He raised his fist high above her and slammed it down onto her chest. He was rewarded with a sharp gasp and a series of coughs as the tiny body beside him curled into the fetal position.

Speedy rose and grabbed her, hugging her tightly before carrying her in bridal fashion to the airlock door.