DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, locations, equipment etc used in this story, it exists purely because I want it to

WARNING: This Story contain themes of violence, torture, segregation, slavery and death (not necessarily in that order). Graphic content has been kept to a minimum to avoid M rating, even so, viewer discretion is advised

SURPRISE!

I wasn't kidding when I said I was almost done with this part, still I'm gona pay for this in the morning, ah well, my shift isn't till this afternoon, late afternoon, and I'd have finished this before going anyway so yea, here it is, Part 2 of Ghosts and Raiders

This one picks up pretty much directly where we left off last time, as I said last chapter, this was originally going to be all one chapter, but I was pushing the 8500 word mark BEFORE splitting them, and this one still ended up almost 7000 words long even without the authors note. So yea, glad I made THAT decision

Gona be a lot more action in this one, and a LOT more French (I had WAY to much fun with this, WARNING: some words WILL be censored to keep my T rating), I'm actually really happy with how this one came together, I haven't watched Storm Hawks in a while, but I still remember a lot about it, and I'm hopeful I managed to portray the action, like it is in the show. BUT OF COURSE, that's what reviews are for, so please, tell me what you think, and I promise, I will take your thoughts into consideration

Now that that's out the way, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers (and Mortals) all, welcome back to... The Storm and the Hawk

Chapter 7: Ghosts and Raiders part 2

As the sun rose to noon, the Condor lifted from the small Terra, leaving behind its small scar of war. After leaving, everyone dispersed, Junko said something about keeping an eye on the engines, Dove wanted to inspect the med-bay and get her supplies in order. They'd found a large number of crystals aboard the shuttle, and Piper wanted to make sure they were safely stowed away, Lark went to help her. Starling stayed on the bridge to begin deciphering the map they'd found in the shuttle's computer, while Stork flew, not really having a course yet, just trying to keep them away from patrols and other dangers.

Aerrow meanwhile went to the room he shared with Dove, the room had a single Crystal Computer, an advanced model, freshly installed, and it took no time at all for Aerrow to download the CSD's data onto it. Once done, he found only a single file, entitled "To Aerrow"

Aerrow, hands trembling, accessed the file; it was a letter, which had never been sent

Dear Aerrow

I'd understand if you hate me, I'd deserve it, I left you, abandoned you some might say, all because I was too proud to play things the smart way. The truth is though; I left for you, to try and give you a better future, and to ensure you would never have to make the choice that I did

I knew that if I did nothing, you'd grow up in a world that clashed with your morals, or worse, it would twist you to its way of thinking, either path was unthinkable to me, and even though I knew leaving you would have consequences, for both of us, I felt it was the only way I could really help make this world a better place

How did I know this, because you are so much like me, like you, I wanted to be a Skyknight from an early age, was enamoured at the thought of joining their ranks, of upholding the ideals of peace and justice. Only once I had joined their ranks did I realize the mistake I had made, the Skyknights I idolized, are long dead, those that are left, are either willing puppets, or frightened kittens cowering before the Senate and Long Feng

And I watched you start down the same path as me, idolizing the Skyknights, mistaking them for the warriors and heroes of old. Then there was the suffering I saw everyday around me, that the Skyknights refused to do anything about, even applauded, why... because it was Cyclonians who were suffering

The war ended thirty years ago, and yet still we persecute them, we have let hatred consume us, fester in us, and now the children of our enemy pay the price, the innocent pay the price. I look to you, and I think about how easily we could have been on the other side, how it could be us in their place, and I feel sick

Traven offered me a way out, but his plan involved letting the suffering continue, and I couldn't allow that, I had to do, something, but it was hard, the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I grappled with the decision for days; finally, I made up my mind. I sent letters to Traven and your aunt, asking them to look after you, make sure you were safe, that nothing I did would ever find its way back to you, the good or the bad, a safeguard, to keep Long Feng away from you

Your mother would call me a fool for being so reckless, she'd be right, if you're reading this, that means I never got the chance to tell you any of this myself. I'll send her your love if that is the case, though considering the things I've done, I rather doubt I'm going to the same place as her. We'll see

Aerrow was interrupted from reading as the ship gave a sudden lurch; he quickly steadied himself, before running to the door and making for the bridge. When he got there, everyone else was already gathered, "What was that!?" he exclaimed

A dark shadow answered him as a ship came into view; it had a long hull, with a raised tower bridge near the back. Sprouting from both sides, level with the bridge, were the main engines. At the front were six stabilizer fins, three on each side, the prow was decorated with a skull that, to the horror of everyone on the bridge, opened up as it approached, revealing a large quantity of Murk Raiders gathered on a platform at the back. In the centre of them, a large harpoon launcher turned towards the Condor

"Stork, get us out of here!" Starling yelled

The Merb didn't need telling twice, yanking on the controls while gunning the engines, Stork took the ship in a tight turn while quickly gunning away from the horrific ship. The speed at which the ship turned caused everyone but Stork to go sliding across the bridge

The Murk Raider ship was quick to respond, turning after them in a heartbeat, cannons firing in an attempt to slow them down, meanwhile Stork swerved the ship from side to side to avoid the blasts. "Erm I know this isn't the best time to get into the semantics of who's in charge, but would someone please... MAN THE CANNONS SO WE CAN LOSE THE BLOODTHIRSTY MURK RAIDERS!"

Starling nodded and turned to Piper and Aerrow, "How's your aim?" she asked them

"Not bad, we'll give it a shot," Piper replied as she and Aerrow headed for the cannons. Upon arriving they immediately began shooting back, the Murk Raider ship was undeterred however, the blasts from the Condor barely scratching the silver skull prow of the ship, it's only reaction was to close, to prevent any blasts from hitting the inside of the ship

"This is no good!" Aerrow shouted, "That armour is too thick!"

Dove turned to Stork, "I thought you said this was the most avancee ship in the Atmos!?" she exclaimed

"She is!" Stork cried back, then gained a guilty look, "But we may have skimped on the cannons and bought standard crystal cannons from a discount dealer."

"Oh that is just genial, just splendide, how exactly are we going to lose these odeurs de grenouilles!?" Dove ranted, slipping slightly into her native tongue as she did

"I've got an idea," Piper called, "Dove take over for me, aim at any weak spot you can see, Lark come with me, we've got some crystals to cook up."

Lark didn't argue as she quickly raced after Piper, "Wait Piper come back!" Starling cried

"C'est bon, J'ai eu ca," Dove responded as she jumped into Piper's place on the cannon

Starling, having no idea what Dove just said, rolled with it as she turned to Junko, "Keep us in the air, at all costs, if they catch us we're done for." Junko nodded in response before heading back to the engine room, then Starling turned to Stork, "Answer me truthfully Stork, can we outrun them?"

"Not with them shooting at us, I can't build up enough speed if I have to keep dodging attacks and if we take a hit..." he trailed off, his face going sickly green again

Starling nodded grimly, "Then all our lives depend on Piper and Lark."

Piper rushed into the crystal lab, Lark hot on her heels as the ship took another tight swerve to avoid more cannon volley's, "Stork, I'm okay with evasive manoeuvres, but under no circumstances are you to perform a loop the loop, or barrel roll!" Piper exclaimed into the radio on the wall once she'd righted herself

"What's a Barrel-" Lark began

"No promises, and its better you don't know Lark," Stork answered

With that Piper moved over to where the crystals had been stored, "Okay, let's see, we've got Firebolts, Solaris, Paralyzers, frost, a whole three crates of cooking crystals," Piper moved some boxes out the way, as she dug into the back of their collection, she pulled out two small boxes, both looked like they could hold about half a dozen crystals each. She opened them, and did a double take, "And two boxes of Strikers and Hanzos."

"What's this one?" Lark called as she pulled out a tightly sealed box, before reaching for the clasp on the lid

Piper felt her stomach flip, "Wait!" she cried

Lark flinched back from the crate as Piper rushed over examining the box, it wasn't made of the same material as the others, while the other crystals were all kept in wooden crates with metal linings, this one was all metal, and as Piper got close, she picked up a faint smell of paint. She quickly backed off, the only paint used in crystal storage were lead based ones as they helped to contain crystal energies, that plus the box itself told her exactly what was inside

"Leechers," she hissed, pushing the box as far into the storage area of the lab as it would go

Lark went a few shades paler than she already was, "Glad I didn't open that one," she said, her voice shaking slightly

"Yea," Piper chuckled, "Stork would never have forgiven you." Then Piper blinked, an idea sparking, "And neither would the Murk Raiders," she said, a sly grin spreading across her face

Lark raised an eyebrow at her, "I don't follow, whatever you put Leechers into explodes when you try to use it."

"Yes, but not if they were shielded..." Piper trailed off, "No, still wouldn't work, we'd need the shield to drop as they flew to their target." Piper began to pace deep in thought. The ship then gave another lurch and the two of them were forced to grab hold of the table to stay upright

As that happened a Frost crystal clattered out of its box and landed next to Piper's foot, she stared at it, then her eyes sparked with inspiration, "How long does it take for a Frost crystal's effects to wear off?"

"Erm, depends on how much power you put into it, can be anywhere from a few minutes to a whole hour, why?" Lark answered before looking at Piper curiously

Piper snatched up the Frost crystals, "Well, what if the Leechers were covered in ice when we fired them, we could even form the Ice shield into something that could punch through the armour of the Murk Raider ship."

Lark stared at Piper, then at the Frost crystal in her hand, then back to Piper, as a grin began spreading across her face, "Let's do it."

Stork pulled the Condor through manoeuvres that Starling would never have thought possible with a cruiser before, but she wasn't complaining, so far, they hadn't taken a single hit, they couldn't keep this up forever though, and the Murk Raider ship was easily fast enough to keep pace with them while they were busy dodging

Come on Piper, Lark, what's taking so long?

"I'm out!" Aerrow suddenly called, causing a lead ball to drop into Starling's stomach

"Moi aussi!" Dove cried, before a string of French curse words began emanating from her side of the ship

The Murk Raider's noticed that they were no longer firing back, because they began to intensify their own cannon volleys, now they were taking grazing hits. "Stork!" Starling yelled

"I'm trying, but there's too many of them!" he yelled back

"Slam on the brakes!"

Everyone looked round to see Piper and Lark, returned from the crystal lab, Junko in tow, carrying a large crate of what looked like icicles, it was what was embedded in the icicles though, that really got everyone's attention

"Are those?" Aerrow asked, trailing off while pointing at the crate

"Yep, a little surprise we've whipped up for the Murk Raiders," Lark replied, a mischievous grin reaching from ear to ear

"Fantastique, Je vais prendre vingt!" Dove exclaimed

Piper nodded, and then turned to Stork, "Now slam on the brakes, get us behind them!"

"Do it!" Starling ordered

Stork nodded and yanked on his controls while also using every flap on the ship to kill their speed, the Murk Raider ship suddenly began approaching them at a horrifying speed. Before they could impact though, Stork yanked the Condor into a turn causing the Murk Raider ship to fly straight past them, now they were the ones doing the chasing

They loaded the cannons with the iced Leechers, "Aim for the engines, we take those out and it should buy us enough time to escape," Starling said, Aerrow and Dove both nodded as they began firing

The Murk Raider ship gave a lurch as the first volleys landed and began disabling whatever systems were close to the impact points. Starling turned to Lark and Piper, "How?"

"we set the Frost crystals into the icicles as well, when their fired, the Frost crystals shatter, once separated from their source, the ice begins to melt, we put enough power into their formation for that to take about a minute, just enough time to hit its mark and leave the Leecher embedded in the hull," Piper explained

"Prenez que vous gemissez!" Dove yelled

"For real, what is she saying?" Starling asked exasperated

Piper's face went slightly darker than usual, "Better you not know."

Then Aerrow scored a direct hit to the port side engine, about a minute later, the Murk Raider ship began to slow by a small amount. "Not enough, you need to hit them with more," Lark said

"It's not exactly a big target," Aerrow replied, gesturing at the small engines sticking out either side of the ship

"Reste encore batard!"

The Murk Raider ship suddenly began taking evasive manoeuvres of its own, "They know what we're up to," Piper cried, "You have to hit both engines with at least three shots, before we run out!"

"Can't you just make more?" Junko asked

Piper and Lark gained a sheepish look, "We still have Leechers left, but..." Piper trailed off

"No more Frost crystals," Stork finished deadpan, to which Piper and Lark just nodded

Starling grit her teeth, "Dove, Aerrow, make every shot count."

"Now she tells us," Aerrow muttered

"Putain de genial!"

As they continued to chase the Murk Raider ship, hatches opened in the top, out of which appeared several skimmers

"That's not good!" Junko cried

"We don't have enough ammo to take care of them as well," Aerrow snarled

"Your right, but we have other weapons," Starling replied and turned towards the door, "Piper I'm leaving you in charge, Aerrow, come with me, Junko take over for him."

Aerrow and Junko looked at one another, before switching places, Aerrow then followed Starling out as Piper took command on the bridge, just as the first crystal blast from the Murk Raiders skimmers slammed into the ship

Starling took Aerrow down to the hanger where they'd stored the skimmers they'd found on the shuttle, there were three of them. One was a Heliscooter; the other two were an Air Skimmer III Ultra and a Slip-Wing Fighter Ultra. Starling headed straight for them drawing her Nun-chucks as she did

Aerrow hesitated though, Starling noticed, "Aerrow, we need to respond to the Murk Raiders, otherwise they'll use the skimmers to begin boarding us and take out the cannons, if that happens this fight is over."

"I know, I just... I've never flown a skimmer before," Aerrow admitted

Starling just smiled, "Well if you really are your father's son, then you'll be a natural."

Aerrow quirked a brow here, "You knew him?"

Starling nodded, "He joined us shortly before I left with my team to go rescue Lark." Aerrow registered the faraway look in Starling's eyes as she spoke

Aerrow took a breath, then looked at the skimmer he was standing next to, the Air Skimmer III Ultra, "Okay, but I don't even have a weapon-"

Aerrow was cut off as Starling held something out to him; it was a pair of short dual blades, "Already taken care of," Starling replied smiling

Aerrow strapped the blades to his back, after fitting some armour they'd found in the supply crates, Starling had done the same. Once they were ready, she spoke into her ride's radio, "Stork we're ready, open the hanger doors." In response, the large doors at the far end of the hanger opened with a metallic groan, revealing the sky beyond, and the Murk Raiders, coming straight at them

Aerrow and Starling both nodded to one another then gunned their ride's engines. Starling shot out of the hanger first aboard the Slip-Wing, Aerrow was right behind her. Aerrow watched as Starling went straight for the end of the runway, before unfurling her wings and soaring into the air, he'd never seen a more amazing sight than that of Starling beginning to dance through the air atop her Slip-Wing

Then he saw the edge of the runway come racing towards him, on instinct he unfurled the wings, and shot into the sky himself, giving a whoop as the thrill of flight coursed through him. Then he was level with Starling, who just smiled at him

"See I told you, like father, like son," she said

Aerrow smiled back, and then focused on the Murk Raiders heading for them, at their head was a large figure riding his own custom Skimmer. He wore a leather jacket that had patches of metal armour attached, he had only one hand, the other having been replaced by a functioning metal claw hand, we was also missing an eye and had black hair hanging from either side of his head

He smiled a toothy grin as he saw Aerrow and Starling coming for them, "Well boys, looks like we're going to get some fun on this job after all!" he called to the cheers of his men

"Captain Scabulous," Starling snarled

"You know him?" Aerrow asked

Starling just nodded, "He's your typical mercenary, will work for anyone for enough gold, now I understand what they're doing all the way out here."

Aerrow looked at her confused, "They ran into the extraction team by mistake, they're here for us," Starling clarified, as a look of grim understanding washed over Aerrow's features

Then his eyes hardened, anger filling them, "So they're the reason dad is dead, they'll pay for that," he snarled, then gunned his engines. Starling was right behind him as they both drew their weapons

Despite being new to aerial combat, Aerrow still knew how to fight, the rest almost seemed to come naturally as he flashed by two Murk Raiders on Scabulous' left and sliced through their wing joints, causing their rides to begin to plummet

Scabulous snarled as his men pulled their chutes, before turning around after Aerrow, he hadn't gone far before Starling sliced across his path, only just blocking her own attack

"Aim for Scabulous, we take him out, we cut the head off the snake!" she yelled

Aerrow nodded, his jaw set as he came around for another run

Scabulous knew a novice flyer when he saw one, to him Aerrow had some natural talent, but that was about it, he smiled, "Keep her Highness busy, I'll take care of the brat!"

Aboard the Condor, Piper watched as the aerial battle began, heart in her throat as Starling and Aerrow danced around the Murk Raiders, "Come on, we need to take that cruiser down quickly, so we can get out of here!"

"J'y Travaille!"

Junko gave a grunt as he fired three rounds in quick succession, two hit the main hull, but one connected with one of the engines, making two hits, one to each

"Piper, we're starting to run low here!" Lark called

Piper gritted her teeth, then turned to Stork, "Isn't there a way to improve our targeting?"

Stork thought about it while making sure it was as difficult for the Murk Raider ship to turn around and flank them as possible. "I could wire a pinpoint system through the Condor's main computer, won't do much, but should increase our chances by a significant margin."

"How significant?" Piper asked

"Well... about 10-20%... but I'd need someone to mark the targets with something that the ship can lock onto," Stork replied

Piper's mind whirled, then inspiration struck, "Do we have any spare Radio transmitters?"

Stork shrugged, but Junko called from where he was manning his cannon, "Should be some down in storage, why!?"

"Because I'm going to stick them to our targets," Piper replied as she turned and made for the door, "Run Lark through what you need to do to get the system up and running, I'll get you your signal!"

She was gone before anyone had a chance to argue, once she'd left, Lark turned to Stork, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Stork nodded, "Get onto the main computer, I'll run you through what you need to do."

Aerrow gave an angry growl as Scabulous came at him again, Aerrow was finding it difficult to get in a decent shot, and Scabulous attacks were relentless. Meanwhile, Starling was stuck fending off four opponents at once, two she could have handled easily, but as it stood, they were tag teaming her in pairs, meaning she had almost no opportunity to do anything more than defend herself while Scabulous chased Aerrow down

Scabulous dove again for Aerrow's skimmer as their aerial battle moved so that it remained perfectly centered between the Condor and the Murk Raider ship. Aerrow brought his blades up this time to parry the blow, causing the two to becoming locked for a moment before Scabulous broke off

"You've got some skill, but raw talent alone, means nothing against training and a lifetime in the skies," Scabulous taunted

Aerrow scowled at that and gunned straight for the Raider, as he did, Starling gave a desperate cry, "Aerrow no, don't!"

Aerrow glanced to the side just in time to see one of Starling's opponents coming straight at him; he yanked on his handle bars to get him out of the Raiders path. This was the opening Scabulous had been waiting for

While Aerrow was focusing on avoiding one attack, Scabulous anticipated his flight path, and intercepted him. Aerrow's eyes widened as death rushed up to greet him, before they hardened once more, and Aerrow, flipped his skimmer around as Scabulous reached him, at the same time, Aerrow brought his sword around to meet Scabulous' claw hand, deflecting the blow, before gunning his engines and putting some space between himself and his attacker

Scabulous stared after Aerrow in mild surprise; The boy is good, pity he won't be making use of those skills for much longer

Piper rushed into the hanger, transmitters rattling in a satchel hung over her shoulder, she saw the Heliscooter and rushed over to it. On any other day she'd have gushed over the vehicle – she'd always wanted one – but today, her friends needed her, and speed was of the essence

Firing up the engines, she sped out of the hanger, the moment she was clear, she spun up the rotor blades, and took to the air, making straight for the Murk Raider ship

Lark and Stork watched Piper take off, from the cannons they heard Dove yell "Que fait-elle!?"

Lark and stork both looked at one another confused – neither of them spoke French – "She asked 'What is she doing?'" Junko translated

Lark and Stork both rolled their eyes, as if this was obvious, "She's getting you some targeting data!" Lark called, as she continued to modify the ship's computer software for when Piper succeeded

Aerrow brought his skimmer around as he completed his evasive manoeuvres, and aimed straight for Scabulous, the sword he'd used to deflect the Raider's last attack, held out and ready to strike as he gunned the engines

Before he could reach him though, the Raider who had attempted to assist Scabulous moved into Aerrow's path, Aerrow came on undeterred, diving at the last second, in order to slice one of the wings from the Raider's skimmer, sending another of Scabulous' men falling before the chute was pulled

"Not bad, but you can't hope to beat me boy, I've been going easy on you, but playtime ends now," Scabulous drawled

The two rushed each other again, and once more clashed in midair, as they broke apart, the sound of whirring reached their ears, they both turned to see Piper flying as fast as she could through the aerial battle towards the Murk Raider ship

"Oh no you don't lass!" Scabulous growled

Before he could intercept her though, Aerrow came back for him, "We're not finished here Captain!" Aerrow yelled, the last word oozing with scorn

Scabulous snarled as he parried Aerrow's blow and broke away again, by now, Piper was well past them. He looked to his men, "One of you, get after her, before she sabotages the ship!" he yelled, before turning to face Aerrow again

One of the Raiders fighting Starling broke away and raced after Piper, now there were only two for Starling to contend with, she gave a grim smile. "Alright boys, whose first?"

The two Murk Raiders looked at one another, before nodding and flew at her together, "Fair enough," Starling said, as she came around to meet them head on, dodging and swerving as they began shooting at her

Just before they reached one another, Starling set her handle bars and engine throttle all in one move, before jumping up to stand on her Slip-Wing and drew her Nun-chucks. Then, with only feet to spare from her opponents – who now began to pull away, not wanting to crash – she leapt, twirling through the air, Nun-chucks whipping around her as she came down on the opponent to her right, the Nun-chucks slamming into him and knocking him off the skimmer

Starling meanwhile landed neatly on the back of his skimmer, but didn't dawdle, quickly making for the back of the skimmer, she leapt off, and back onto her Slip-Wing. Once she was seated again, she pulled around to face her last remaining opponent, who was now desperately trying to get away, knowing he was no match for her

Piper's focus was entirely on the ship in front of her, so much so, she wasn't aware of her tail until he attempted to shoot her out of the sky. As the crystal shots flew past, she looked wildly over her shoulder to see the Murk Raider chasing her

"Not good!" she yelled and began using her Heliscooter's superior maneuverability to avoid his attacks, "Guys a little help!"

Aerrow grimaced, both at the sound of Piper's desperate yell, and the pain in his right shoulder where Scabulous had just grazed him. Scabulous in turn was also grimacing in pain from the shallow wound Aerrow had inflicted on his right leg

Unfortunately for both of them, neither could turn away from this fight; they had to finish it first. Knowing that, both of them gunned their engines again as they sky jousted once more

The second Raider ducked dodged and swerved away from Starling, but her Slip-Wing was not only more agile, it was also faster. Giving the engines one final burst of speed, Starling flipped herself upside down and above the Raider. Said Raider looked behind him at the noise, but not up, seeing nothing but air behind him, he looked around confused, until Starling spoke, "Look up."

The Raider did just that, as Starling's Nun-chucks came down on his head, causing him to tumble from his ride as well. Five down, one to go, Starling now spun herself upright again, and spun around after the last Raider

"Crap, crap!" Piper panicked as she desperately tried to stay ahead of her pursuer

Unfortunately, while her Heliscooter was more maneuverable, the Raider's skimmer was faster. He chuckled as he caught up with her, cutlass raised to strike, "Bye bye girly."

Piper flinched in response, but just as he swung, a volley of crystal shots flashed through the air between them, forcing the Raider to swerve away. Both Piper and the Raider looked round, the latter in annoyance, the former in confusion, which was quickly replaced by relief at the sight of Starling

"Get going Piper, I got this guy!" she called

Piper nodded, and yanked her Heliscooter away, the Raider attempted to follow, but Starling stopped him with another volley of crystal shots, "Oh no you don't, your fight is with me!"

The Raider snarled, as he pulled round to face Starling. The two of them then rushed towards one another, Raider with cutlass drawn, Starling with Nun-chucks at the ready. As they neared, Starling pulled her skimmer into a barrel roll, while dipping down at the same time

Startled, the Raider was unable to respond quickly enough to Starling severing his fuel line with the energy shivs on the ends of her Nun-chucks. With the fuel line cut, his skimmer spluttered and died in a matter of moments, before plummeting from the skies

Piper watched the Raider fall, after having successfully attached the first of the transmitters to the Murk Raider ship's engines; she then quickly made her way over to the second engine and repeated the process before speaking into her radio, "All set!"

As Piper's voice announced her success, Lark finished with the software rewrites, targeting data began pouring across the computer screen, she quickly refined it and made adjustments for the cannons. Once made, she gave a thumbs up to Stork

"Fire!" he shouted

Dove and Junko both fired a round each, Dove's landed, and Junko's missed his mark by mere inches

"That's three," Stork said

"Three to go, how many more do we have?" Lark asked

"Five," Junko called

Lark grit her teeth, "Making corrections, ready next volley... corrections made... FIRE!"

Dove and Junko fired again, this time they both hit, "Yes, that's five!" Stork crowed, the Murk Raider ship was now visibly listing, as the leech crystals drained the engines

"Three shots left, three chances to land the killing blow," Lark breathed, "Ready next volley."

Scabulous noticed his ship was in trouble, about the same time that Starling and Piper joined Aerrow, bringing him to the realization that his men had all been bested. He gave an angry snarl, "You brats are starting to really piss me off!"

Then he rushed them again, Piper broke off, knowing she was of little use in a combat situation. Now that she was here, Starling took the lead in the fight, letting Aerrow catch his breath while staying on the side lines

Scabulous and Starling clashed in mid air, before breaking apart, Aerrow then dove in and scored a grazing hit to Scabulous' ride, causing him to snarl in anger again, swiping at Aerrow as he passed

"Fire!" Lark yelled

Dove and Junko fired their rounds, to the despair of all four; neither shot hit the mark, as at the exact moment the cannons had fired, the Murk Raider ship pulled sharply to the right. Doves's shot still landed, but on the hull, and nowhere near the engines

"EST-CE QUE TU ME PLAISENT!" a further string of angry French began spilling from the Starboard cannon

Lark and Stork both glanced at Junko, "You don't want to know," was all he said

Stork glanced at Lark, "One shot left."

"Don't remind me," Lark replied

"Donnez-le ici, je vais obtenir ce Batard!" Dove yelled while leaning around her cannon and glaring at Lark and Stork

Stork and Lark looked at one another, "Not like Junko's aim is any better than hers," he said shrugging

"Heh!"

"QUELLE!"

Lark nodded, "Okay, Dove, you're up, but remember, this is our last shot."

"J'ai seulement desoin d'un!"

As Dove loaded the last icicle, Lark began lining up the shot, "Stork, get us as close as you can, even if it means they can attempt to get behind us again on the starboard side," Lark said

Stork looked at her in shock, but quickly recovered, as he saw the determined look on the pale girl's features, he nodded, before pushing the Condor as close to the Murk Raider ship as he dared

Scabulous only just managed to break away from his opponents again, when he noticed the Condor coming up fast. A toothy grin spread across his face, Fools. "Eyeball, sharp Starboard turn, NOW!"

"Eye eye Captain," came the reply from the radio

Then the Murk Raider ship began to turn, once it completed it, the Condor would be lined up perfectly with its jaws. Scabulous now looked to his prey triumphantly, "This is check and-"

"-Mate," Lark said smiling, "Fire!"

Dove fired her last round, and Scabulous could only watch as it sailed for where the engine connected to the ship, the only way for the fuel conduit to reach it. The aim was perfect, it was much easier to hit where the engines connected to the ship, it was a far larger target, thanks to the turn

"ELLE TIRE, ELLE MARQUE!"

"BULLSEYE!" Junko cried

"Huh, we did it," Stork chuckled nervously

Lark meanwhile simply sat back in her chair, a breath of relief leaving her, over the radio came Piper's voice, "Sweet aiming Lark, nice job."

"Thanks Piper," Lark replied, a happy smile on her face

The Murk Raider ship shuddered as the final leech crystal went to work, the engines whining and dying as the ship began to lose altitude

Scabulous gave an angry yell at the sight, "If I were you, I'd go take care of your ship, unless you like camping out in the wastelands," Aerrow called as he and Piper fist bumped as they flew with Starling back to the Condor which had already begun to turn away, ready to flee

"Better luck next time Captain!" Starling called, giving a mock salute as they left

Scabulous gave another angry scream, as he turned and raced back to his ship

Several hours later

After Aerrow, Piper and Starling had returned to the Condor, Stork had made all haste to get away from the disabled Murk Raider ship. Having now successfully lost them, everyone was now gathered on the bridge

Dove was tending to Aerrow's injuries, though she was only half paying attention to what she was doing, like the others, they were all stunned by what Starling had just told them

"Bounty hunters?" Piper breathed, her voice shaky

Starling simply nodded, "It's not uncommon for the council to hire Murk Raiders to perform some dirty work for them, comes with the added bonus that if something goes wrong, they can throw the Raiders under the bus, and no one would bat an eye."

Aerrow's fist clenched, "And because they were out here looking for us, they ran into the extraction team, and slaughtered dad and his crew as a result." Aerrow's eyes brimmed with tears as he spoke

Silence settled over the group, and then Junko spoke, "So what now?"

Starling took a breath, "Same as before, we get back to the resistance, only now, we're on our own."

"Do we even know where the resistance is?" Lark asked

Starling sighed, "No, but Lightning's shuttle had a coded map, the code is designed so that only someone in the resistance's higher ups can crack it," here she paused and looked up at the others, "Luckily, I'm included in that group, grandmother, taught me everything I'd need to know before I left, it'll take me a few days, but I will crack it."

"And until then?" Piper asked

"We stay safe, lay low, buy ourselves as much time as we can, and we train while we do that, like it or not, we're a crew now, that means we have to work together in order to survive," Starling smiled here as she looked at each of them, "Thankfully, we've already established our roles."

"We have?" Stork asked, eyebrow raised

Starling nodded to him, "Indeed, Cruiser Pilot," Stork smiled at this, then she turned to Junko, "We also have our engineer," next was Dove, "And our medic." Then she looked to Aerrow "We have my wingman," Aerrow chuckled at that, "And finally our Tactics specialist," she said, nodding to Piper, "And our Operations Officer," she completed as she looked to Lark, "Both of whom also double as our crystal experts."

This run through caused everyone's mood to lighten, they already had their roles in the crew, were perfect for them in fact, they could do this. Then Aerrow chuckled, "All we're missing is a dedicated Marksmen, and a co-pilot for my skimmer."

That got a laugh out of everyone, "Well, it is going to be a while yet before we get to where we are going, who knows, maybe we will find them along the way," Dove said smiling (once again calm enough to stop the constant string of French)

More laughter filled the bridge at that, once it had died down, Starling turned to Stork, "You think you can find us an out of the way Terra to spend the night?"

"I'll get right on it Commander," he replied smiling, placing emphasis on the last word

Starling blinked at his use of the Skyknight military designation for a squadron leader, strangely, she was perfectly fine with it. She then turned to the others, "As for everyone else, we should take stock, check to make sure the ship is undamaged, and what supplies we have left, dismissed."

That night

Aerrow returned to his room, fully his room now, as Junko had helped Dove to finish the room next to the med bay, so now she was bunking there, now that they had more space. Aerrow sat heavily on the bed, rubbing his sore neck. His injuries gave a light throb of protest from the movement, causing Aerrow to grit his teeth

Thankfully, they were only scratches, nothing serious; he should be healed within a matter of days. As he reflected on the day's events his eyes were drawn to the computer, still turned on where he'd left it, the screen still displaying his father's letter

Sighing, he got up and moved over to the computer, he sat in front of it, and stared at the letter his father had never sent. We got them back for you dad, we taught those Raiders a lesson, we won

For reasons Aerrow could not fathom, the thought did not give him as much joy as he thought it would. He then thought about what they were doing, the mission they were on, to reunite a family, and end a war that had gone on for far too long, the same mission his father had left on

Ok... I get it now... but this is the path I chose, and I'm going to follow it... no matter where it leads... but I understand... you have nothing to apologise for... cause I'm going to finish what you started

With that, Aerrow pulled the CSD from the drive, with a sigh, he opened a drawer in the desk, and dropped it in. "Goodbye dad, say hi to mom for me."

Terra Atmosia

Long Feng stood at the large window that dominated the office of his home, just outside of the capital, the window in fact looked over the city - it's lights illuminating the sleeping Terra - giving the illusion that Long Feng was its ruler, and he was watching over it, well... he intended to be, one day soon

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his butler, "Master Long Feng, your guests have arrived."

"Good, send them up," Long Feng replied, all without turning around

A few minutes later the door opened again, admitting a young dark haired woman, followed by an equally dark haired young man, who bore a vivid burn scar on the left side of his face. The girl had dark intelligent eyes, while her companion's eyes were dull and distant in comparison

They walked up to Long Feng's desk as the man in question turned to face them, they bowed once they had reached it, "Master Long Feng, you summoned us?" the young woman said while remaining bowed, her voice spoke as much as her eyes did of her great intellect, but also of a deep seated cruelty and malice. Her companion, remained silent

"Azula, good to see you, thank you for coming on such short notice, and for bringing your brother," Long Feng replied smiling

"But of course, we are your humble servants," Azula answered, as she rose from her bow, her brother mirroring her

Long Feng smiled as he sat at his desk, while indicating the seats next to them. Once they were all seated, Long Feng leaned forward, steep-ling his fingers in front of him as he spoke, "The plan is in motion, but the Senate is attempting to interfere, I need you to make sure they fail, and that the plan goes on, unhindered."

DUN DUN DAAAAAAAAAA! To be continued dear Mortals, MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Told you I'd bring it back eventually) ;)

So... all the shout outs in this chapter, see if you can spot them all, I await your answers in your reviews ; P

Now, for the moment your ALL waiting for, what the heck was Dove saying throughout this chapter (yea I had WAY too much fun here)

French translations

Avancee = Advanced

Genial = Great

Splendide =Splendid

Odeurs de grenouilles = Frog suckers (This is only the beginning, it gets worse, much worse haha)

C'est bon, J'ai eu ca = It's okay, I got this

Moi aussi = Me too

Fantastique, Je vais prendre vingt = Fantastic, I'll take twenty

Prenez que vous gemissez = Take that you lousy F(again, this is here for a reason)

Reste encore batard = Hold still bastard (this one isn't that bad)

Putain de genial = F(Nope)ing great

J'y Travaille = Working on it

Que fait-elle = (wait what am I doing, the translation is right with it) ; P (on the plus side, looks like their getting better)

EST-CE QUE TU ME PLAISENT = ARE YOU F(whoops spoke too soon)ING KIDDING ME (wow Dove's a foul mouth isn't she) ; P

Donnez-le ici, je vais obtenir ce Batard = Give it here, I'll get the bastard

QUELLE = WHAT (almost there)

J'ai seulement desoin d'un = I only need one

ELLE TIRE, ELLE MARQUE = SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES (There, finished, whew, never again I promise you)

Thank you all for stopping by, I'll see you all next time ; )