Ion and Astha had found the parachutes and were mostly buckled into them when Abel ran into the cargo bay. His hair was blowing around loosely about his face, and his jacket was in tatters on his back.

"Nightroad! Over here!" Astha called to him at the back door of the ship. When he approached she tossed him a parachute and his bag, her eyes full of questions to his disheveled appearance.

"Do you know how to use it?" He asked as he buckled on his parachute and clipping on his bag.

"Not a clue but it seems like it should be easy enough, pull a cord and we get to keep our bones intact." She quipped as she helped Ion with his last buckle.

"The pilots are done in?" Ion asked.

Abel nodded and reached over to Astha to check her parachute, he had a bit of experience with them and wanted to make sure they wouldn't get hurt badly from the harness. She looked at him quickly then studied what he did and adjusted Ions.

"Looks good, this here is the cord, I'll tell you when to pull it. These things here," he pointed at a rope with wooden handles that were by their shoulders, "help you steer but we don't have a lot of time for more than just floating down…. I should be able to find you even if we are separated."

They nodded and grabbed their bags, clipping them with the carabiners on the harness like Abel had done. Astha gripped her spear since it wasn't something to put in a bag easily.

Abel ran over and hit the door switch and rushed back to them. "Ok, we are closer to trees than anything so be careful, getting staked on a tree is not the plan. Grab my hands it will help us stay closer together."

They each grabbed his hands and readied for the jump.

"Alright! Here we go!" Abel yelled as he pulled them alongside, his long strides taking them to the edge quickly. At the edge of the door he gathered up and leapt upwards, his hands gripping theirs as they became airborne.

In the dark it was hard to see how close to the trees they were, but it took moments for the trio to clear the ship and hang in free fall.

"I'm going to let go of your hands, count to 5 and pull the chute cord." He commanded them, saw each nod and he released their hands.

He could hear their shouts of surprise once they didn't have his momentum, and he waited to see both open their chute without an issue.

Ion was ok, drifting down to the earth… Astha's chute didn't open properly! The ropes snagged and the silk didn't billow out, instead it inverted and pulled her roughly around. She flailed around trying to stay upright. Abel leaned forward to guide himself closer to her, hoping to avoid the canopy of her chute.

"Abel!" Astha called out as she continued to fight her parachute. Abel looked at the oncoming trees and decided it was best to save her quickly. He closed his eyes briefly as he spoke.

"Activate Crusnik 02 level 80%."

Instantly the nanomachines sprang to life within him, his wings pushing through parts of his unopened parachute harness. Electricity crackled all around him in the darkness, illuminating his black wings to Astha. His heightened senses could hear her panicked gasp when she saw his wings, and then he could hear her spear power up.

"No! Astha don't shoot!" His deepened voice startled her more but she held back her charging spear.

Abel reached out and grabbed her parachute, letting his wings pump them upwards until he felt her descent stop. Once the recoil was done he pulled more of the parachute up until he had the ropes in his hands, Astha was about level with his feet and was looking up at him. He tilted his wings a bit and they started coasting downwards. Abel could see Ion was nearly to the ground by now, his parachute was snagging on branches as he dropped through the evergreens.

"Pull me up Nightroad! I can't stand this dangling!" Astha called up to him.

Abel shook his head, the crusnik was behaving right now, having her closer might be a problem.

"No, you're safer there." He could hear her huff at his reply, but he was busy concentrating.

Soon they were glidning in amongst the branches of the thick forest, a short distance away from where Ion landed. He hoped he didn't hit Astha with too many branches but it couldn't be helped.

As soon as her feet touched the ground Abel let go of the ropes and landed about fifteen feet away. He urged the crusnik to deactivate quickly while she was busy getting untangled from the parachute.

"Hey! Come on this is ridiculous, get this damn thing off me!" She snarled from under the mess of silk and ropes. Abel reached over to help pull the parachute off of her.

Astha's heart still pounded from the flickers of fear she felt when she had seen the wings, fangs and red eyes on what was Abel. What the hell was that?! Surely the darkness was messing with her eyes, the wings… maybe it was some device he had on him. It had electricity shoot around him so that was possible… nothing else made sense. A bionic device, yes it had to be. The other stuff she glimpsed must have been just the adereline of a failed parachute and almost free falling to her death.

Once freed of the parachute, she stood stiffly as her mind processed what had happened, her eyes stared unseeing at Abel's feet.

"Um… Astha are you ok now? We need to go find Ion, he should be on the ground now." Abel's smoothing normal voice reached her.

Her eyes snapped to him in the gloom, searching for signs of what she had seen…. nothing except for the torn harness that barely held his bag to his frame. Looking down she saw her bag was still clipped to her harness as well, thankfully since it had a transmitter, and her spear was on the ground near her feet, dropped in her panic to get out from under the parachute.

"I'm still alive, no thanks to that damn parachute… it was lucky you have whatever flying device you're outfitted with." She said, watching his reaction to confirm her mental explanation of what happened.

He had reached back to unclip himself from his harness and paused when she said flying device. His eyes held a touch of confusion before darting back to the buckle he was working on.

"I'm glad you're ok. Now we need to find Ion since with the silver nitrate he might not be as durable as you."

She quickly grabbed her bag and spear as he strapped on his gun. The moon was starting to filter through the clouds better and she could see him. His clothes were torn more on his back, two long holes from the top of his shoulder blade to base of his ribs, pale skin would flash as the fabric flapped with his moments. Silver hair gleamed white in the blue luminescence of the moon, pooling around his shoulders that made him almost glow.

"Where did he land? Can you see without a light?" She asked to distract herself from staring at him.

Abel looked about, extending his arm towards the east when a loud explosion could be heard a short distance away, the surrounding areas was lit up with a white orange light momentarily.

"Hopefully whoever was shooting at us will be looking at the crash site and not where we jumped." He commented and started walking to where had Ion landed.

She followed him, looking around for a sign of Ion as much as watching her tovarish. He was evading questions but perhaps it wasn't the right time… and there was a lot she apparently didn't know about him. Looking at his ruined clothes she couldn't see any buckles or equipment for a flying harness but… perhaps it's something really advanced and it blended in really well. She had seen the killing doll, Tres and honestly the technology was around.

Abel felt the curious gaze from her golden eyes, could almost hear her mind whirl with questions and the guilt of possibility ruining his friendship with her, tore at him. How was he going to answer the questions coming up? She was coming up with assumptions as she copes with seeing his alternate side but he could only dodge her so long before she would demand answers. His only solace was that, being well fed the crusnik behaved more in the manner he was used to and not the raging beast it craved to be. Given now that it might be a day or so to get rescued… His eyes widened and he stopped suddenly, turning around to face Astha.

"Tell me you have...oof! Your sun gear?"

She crashed into his chest as he had about faced so quickly and had to step back to look up at him.

"My what? Sun gear?... Oh! Yes I do it. Once we find Ion I will put out a call for help. It shouldn't take more than a day for another ship."

He nodded, glancing at her momentarily before turning back to the trail.

"He shouldn't be much further."

Ion dangled only a few feet above the ground, his parachute having caught finally on a large branch. He couldn't see anything as he was in a shadowed area, the evergreen trees clustered thickly around him. He struggled against his harness as he worked at the releases on the clips, after a few moments he fell the last few feet to the ground in a noisy thud. Looking back at the harness his bag was just out of reach for him to pull down, so he would have to wait for Astha and Abel.

Ion felt the coolness of the air quickly, his system still weakened with the silver nitrate so he walked around some trees, rubbing his arms and stamping his feet a bit to keep himself warm. He found it funny how much colder he felt with his body reacting more like a Terran, it just proved his point how superior the methuselah were in his mind.

The crunch of twigs and underbrush being pushed aside reached him. "Astharoshe, Nightroad!" He called out.

Nothing answered him and the noise ceased. A cold chill climbed up Ion's spine and he reached for his short dagger he always kept at his waist. He crouched down beside a large evergreen, searching the gloom for movement.

"Did you hear something?" An unknown deep male voice could be heard to Ion's left.

"I thought so, in that thick of trees just up from the draw." Another male voice replied closer to Ion than the first. Ion gripped his dagger and pushed back into the tree a little more for cover.

Suddenly the blast of the ship crashing into the forest encompassed him. The flash of the white orange explosion temporarily lighting up the area, showing him a very large human less than 60 feet away. The other man had ducked down with the noise and light but otherwise no sign of seeing Ion.

"Wow that ship must have been carrying some hot stuff!" The closer man said after he straightened up.

"I haven't a clue what was on it, the guy just said shoot down anything that was on the flight path of the Empire. That damn ship took 4 hits to come down."

"Let's hurry up to the crash site and see what we can take. Any survivors he said to notify him."

Ion could hear them moving away and slumped down the tree in relief. At full strength he might have been able to beat them but the drawbacks of the nitrate was keenly felt.

It wasn't long before the sounds of two more people moving in the brush alerted him. Being more careful this time, he waited till he could see whoever it was clearly.

Abel's silver hair gleamed in the moonlight, Ion sighed in relief and stepped out from his tree.

"Over here!"

"Ion! You're ok? We found your parachute and grabbed your bag." Abel walked quickly over to him, looking for any obvious injury.

"I am fine, but we are not alone. Two men were here a little bit ago and I overheard them say they shot us down and were looking for survivors."

"That's a bit odd, but given the explosion I'm sure they will see there's no chance of anyone walking out of that… we need to be careful."

"Perhaps we should bury the parachutes?" Astha said as she joined them.

"Maybe… if I can remember where we landed at."

"The one guy said there was a draw nearby, could toss them down there?" Ion suggested. He knelt down and opened his bag to get out a heavier coat, as his teeth were starting to chatter.

"Ok, I'll go grab the parachutes, you two wait back in under that thick of trees." Abel turned and walked back the way they came.

"Is he alright? Did you have a rough landing?" Ion asked as they settled against the trunk of the tree.

"My parachute didn't open right… so he had to help me. I… think he's ok, at least with all his training this isn't that unusual a situation for him."

"How can he see that well without night vision? Or his glasses?"

Astha stared at Ion for a moment trying to remember if Abel had answered her question earlier..

"He didn't tell me but maybe he's got some bioengineered stuff on…"

"Ah ok, that would make some sense I guess, he had time before we jumped... I hope my system recovers quickly from the injections as I am so weak. Lord Walsh said I would be back to normal within 48 hours of the last dose… so like tomorrow evening."

"Hopefully we are in a ship going back home by then."

Abel retraced their steps and gathered the parachutes, tucking them under his arm until he found a hole under a tree to easily sweep the needles and soft loam over them. Walking carefully back he couldn't help but think that the Orden was behind this attack. They had so many hidden contacts… truly they probably had agents in the Vatican as easily as they did in Londonium, for all he knew the driver of the car was one. He hurried back to Astha and Ion, worry written clearly on his face.

"So what do we do now?" Ion asked, Abel could see he was a bit antsy.

"We need to find shelter… and call the Empire." He looked around a bit more and decided to take them more north, away from the crash site and hopefully some place they can hide.

Almost an hour later, the sky was starting to lighten up when he found what looked like an abandoned trapper's shack. It was quite old but a tin roof and decent frame made it workable. Abel grabbed some downed logs to cover the larger holes and branches filled in the rest. Inside was a small canvas cot and a table with a stool, anything consumable was long gone by various wild animals. It wasn't a tall shack, both Astha and Abel had to duck to move about.

"This should do for now… Astha do we have enough signal?" He asked when he walked back in from adjusting the deadfall outside.

She was kneeling on the floor with the transmitter sitting on her bag. A few lights blinked on and off as she clicked on the control pad.

"It might get through but it will be sketchy."

"Do we even know where we are?" Ion asked, rubbing his arms again, looking a bit chilled again.

"I usually had Tres with me and he was equipped with a locator… given the heavy trees and type of evergreen I'd say we are north and west of the Empire."

"If I can get signal, the transmitter should be able to give me our location." Astha commented as she looked at the screen a bit more.

"I've blocked the walls as much as I can for sunlight, we should be ok here for a while. I'll scout around once we get in contact. Ion you look cold again, do you have more clothes you can layer over with? I'd give you my jacket but… it's seen better days."

"I can imagine, I'm sure I have something…so what happened to your clothes anyway?"

Astha looked up to see what he would say, curiosity openly apparent on her face.

"Some… uh technical difficulties with my gear when I had to help Astha with her parachute."

Ion nodded and went looking in his bag. Astha looked at Abel, an eyebrow quirked.

Abel coughed and looked a bit embarrassed.

She was going to press him but the transmitter chipped with an error message.

"Damn, not enough signal to pick up anything. We will have to find higher ground."

"I'll go out and see if I can find anything… and perhaps some water? If you have any bottles I'll take them."

"I have one, it'll be enough." She dug into her bags again and brought out a small thermos and her small bag of snacks she had picked up for Abel.

"Here, take the snacks too, I'm sure you will need it more than me with all the hiking."

He smiled warmly and took the offered items.

"You should change back into the Albion clothes… they are less noticeable in the bush than your… ah Empire attire… it would help, and likely keep you warmer."

She smirked a little, looking down at her body hugging ensemble of white and blue. "I suppose my nice clothes are not the best for the woods."

He chuckled a little, shaking his head and went back outside of the little shack, leaving the two methuselahs alone while as he scouted the valley.

In the morning light he could see the plume of smoke coming from the crash site. Not much else could be seen even with his vision, and no motors could be heard yet in the quiet of the morning. Ion said he saw two men, so more could be in the area on foot, and with the heavy tree cover, well hidden. Abel decided to keep going north to the ridge that would hopefully be high enough for signal.

The quiet and easy exercise was refreshing for him, soon he had taken off his tattered coat and was comfortably walking in his light shirt. So far the buzz of the crusnik was silent, 02 was satiated still and Lilith's presence was also subdued. He almost felt lonely after the last few days of a constant mental awareness with the two of them.

After a while he came across a small brook babbling away through the trees. He filled up the bottle and took some time to dunk his head in the cold water, his hair was a mass of tangles and the water at least kept it out of his face till he could find another tie. Watching the water he thought he could see fish. It had been a long time since he caught one. In fact it was William who tried to teach him… and it ended up with more drinking than fishing and a lot of wet socks. He smiled as he reminisced before the tang of sadness roused him, as those days were long gone now. Shaking his head ruefully, he gathered up his things and turned back the way he had come.

Early evening would be alright to travel again, the path he had followed seemed to go up the ridge without issue. As still no engine sounds could be heard, he felt confident in thinking the men had likely gone home none the wiser of the trio.

Astha had changed into a more serviceable set of Albion clothes and Ion was sleeping on the cot when Abel returned.

"Any luck?" She asked as she nudged a wooden crate over for him to sit. It was pretty low and as it was his knees were higher than his hips.

"I got some water and a path we can take in a few hours to some higher ground." He took the bottle out and placed it on the table.

"Any sign of the men?"

"No, I think they saw the damage and decided no passengers were aboard so left soon after.

She dug around in her coat pocket and produced a pill bottle, and selected a small capsule.

She grimaced as she set the pill on her tongue and took a quick drink of water.

"Ugh, I hate taking the aqua vitae like that but it's best to conserve the water as Ion will need to take some when he wakes."

"How often do you need to take them?" He was genuinely curious having never had the time to ask before.

"I space mine out more than others, but I'm like every third day sometimes fourth. Most people are every other day and if under heavy work then everyday."

"Any reason for that schedule?"

"I seem to not need as much to keep myself at a comfortable level. Either my tolerance is high or my needs are lower than most I guess. And no, since my Change, I have not had an inkling to bite anyone ever, I'd rather just hit them."

Abel nodded, a small grin tugging at his lips at just how Astha that seemed. He never had to wonder what she was thinking, she was so straightforward and easy to read.

"You should rest as well..: it will be a two or three hour hike and unless either of you know how to fish… there won't be much supper."

"You don't have training on hunting and fishing?" She asked incredulously.

"Hunting yes, foraging for roots, berries and other edibles yes but fishing was not taught since where I was sent to had no fish… and Tres usually did that for me on missions."

"Well I could cook up a small animal and some roots… I did take some classes once upon a time on rustic cooking."

"I'll see what I can find if you go rest."

"Alright… hey Abel, what did I actually see last night? You keep dodging my questions… and I am… unsettled by it."

Abel dropped his eyes from hers and she could feel his immediate discomfort radiating from him.

"It's… not something I am ready to… talk about yet… you're not entirely wrong calling it a flying device if that helps you any?" He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Astha felt guilty seeing him withdraw so much at her question, she reached over and placed a hand on his arm.

"Ok, take your time, I'm good with knowing it was some kind of technology" she paused a moment before adding,"But don't you need your glasses?"

He looked up at her, his eyes soft with gratitude for a moment. "How could I have forgotten them this long?" He moved away from her hand and dragged his bag over to retrieve them.

"No wonder my head was hurting so much."

She looked at him curiously as he had flipped back to his more easy going self.

"My uh vision is well… augmented I guess you could say and Uv light causes me a lot of issues." He settled his glasses on his face, blinking several times and adjusting the nose pads a little.

"So you're not that blind?" She was quite surprised.

"Oh heavens no, I have excellent distance and low light vision, which makes close up a bit of work sometimes but my glasses are mainly to cut the strength of light."

"Then why were you so clumsy before your coma?"

"People relax a lot around someone they feel is dumber than them. It has been a treasure trove of information gathering by being That uncoordinated. It took me years to perfect it."

"Well you have to so perfected that you being in charge and steady seems weird." She smirked again, shifting back on the stool.

"I would have been a great actor is what you're saying?"

"Hmm, I don't know about that tovarish." She grinned teasingly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now please rest up, I'll do what I can outside." He stood up and picked up his bag, heading for the door.

"Happy hunting." She smiled and watched him leave.