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

Hello all, I'm on an inspiration spree at the moment, don't expect it, my free time for writing to last, we're coming up to Halloween, one of the busiest times of the year for where I work. My shifts have already gone up an hour and I expect that to continue as the 31st of Oct draws closer, so there's going to be a lull between October and December as I get less and less time to write, and possible that lull will stretch on a bit into early 2018

Come Feb 2018 though I'll be back in the saddle to finish this story - if I haven't already done so - for now though, I'm getting in as much writing time as I can while the inspiration spree lasts. If my current chapter production holds, and taking into account the end of year lull, I should be finished about spring-summer 2018

But enough of that, BACK TO THE ACTION!

So last time we left the gang, Lark was having nightmares, which - along with the stress of being hunted by ALF, as well as an overload of power - caused her to snap and almost turn on our heroes, nearly resulting in the loss of our favorite Tactics Specialist. Piper and Starling had a small spat concerning Lark's well being, but quickly came to terms, knowing they could better help Lark together

And help her they did, thanks to their efforts, Lark was able to confront the first of her demons and win (and yes I did say first, Muhahahahahaha), and now seems to be on the mend (for now)

Meanwhile, Azula and Zuko caught up with Scabulous and the Murk Raiders... and OBLITERATED them, what does this mean for our heroes... you'll just have to wait and see

Finally, the Chapter songs, for those of you who are confused, I listen to music when I write, helps me focus, while writing the last chapter I put the song in question on at one point, and it just clicked with me for some reason, so that's both why I started it and chose that song

SPEAKING OF!

I really liked how this one turned out as well, and it's only PART 1, so here we go

Today's Chapter song is... Every Breath You Take, By Chase Holfelder (This is more for Azula and Zuko's scene than anything else... you'll see Muhahahahaha)

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, sit back, relax, enjoy, and welcome back to... The Storm and the Hawk

Chapter 9: Terra Mesa – Part 1

The next morning

The whole gang was having breakfast after what had been a restless night for most. After narrowly escaping ALF forces the other day, they'd tried to get as far away from their last hiding place – and Atmosia – as possible. It hadn't worked, ALF had hunted them relentlessly, they thankfully, hadn't had another confrontation, but for the remainder of yesterday, and all of last night, they'd had to stay on the move, constantly avoiding ALF cruisers

This had resulted in everyone but Lark taking shifts on the bridge to keep an eye out and either fly –in Stork's case – or monitor the auto pilot and adjust it as necessary, meaning Lark was the only one who'd gotten a full night's sleep. She was now happily sketching away, a finished plate of breakfast lying beside her, while everyone else was still groggily munching through theirs

Only once everyone was finished, was the silence broken, by Aerrow, "No offense Starling, but I don't think I could go through that every night."

"Entendu, and I had to watch over Lark as well last night," Dove said tiredly, eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake

Starling sighed exasperatedly, "Look I get it, we're all tired, and last night was rough, but we can't afford to be captured."

"We get that Starling," Piper said, "But being this out of it also means we're not going to be as alert right now when we most need to be."

"I second that," Stork called weakly from where he lay slumped over the table, "How am I supposed to fly in this state?"

Junko had already given in to his tired state, as an abrupt snore attested to. Lark looked up from her pad here, "Well, I can monitor the auto pilot by myself for the morning while you guys all catch up on some sleep, it's the least I can do since I was in the Med-bay all of last night."

Piper smiled at that, "Thanks Lark, we appreciate that, but what we really need is to lose these ALF cruisers," Lark opened her mouth to speak, but Piper beat her to it, "And no, we're not going to go around blowing them up."

Lark pouted, "I was going to say we disable their engines and make a break for it."

Piper chuckled, but it was Starling who responded, "Even if we could, they'd just repair them and get them back into the sky, and the only effective method we have for doing that right now is for Piper to bind Firebolt energy to you, which I'll remind you both is dangerous with prolonged use," she said sternly

Both Piper and Lark glanced away sheepishly at that, "We know Starling, don't worry, we'll only use the Binding in emergencies," Piper replied

Starling nodded at that, before sighing and leaning back in her chair while running a hand through her violet locks, "What we really need, is a place to lay low until the heat dies down, if ALF can't find us, they'll assume we've made it back to the resistance and will give up the chase." Starling paused here as she forced her tired brain to run through all the options and risks, "It'll also give us time to decode the map and actually find the resistance, the only problem, is where."

Aerrow nodded sombrely, "Yea, after our run in with the Murk Raiders, ALF seems to be combing every uninhabited Terra from Atmosia to the great expanse."

Piper suddenly sat up straighter as a thought occurred to her, "What if we hid out on a habited Terra instead?"

Everyone's eyes turned to her, looks of incredulity plastered across their faces, "Are you, OUT OF YOUR ATMOS DAMMNED MIND!?" Stork shouted, jolting Junko awake, and shaking the sleep out of everyone else too. Next to Piper, Lark also jumped, before looking at her pad forlornly

Starling clapped the Merb round the back of the head, "Volume Stork," she said crisply, to which Stork sank back onto the table. Then Starling sighed and turned to Piper, "That said, I agree, why would you even suggest that, our faces have to be on wanted posters on every Terra in the Atmos by now, not to mention the Condor is probably in the databases of every air traffic control station as a stolen craft," she stated sternly, "The moment we land, we'll be arrested, kind of defeats the point of escaping Piper."

Piper rolled her eyes, "I'm aware of that, and I wasn't suggesting we land in sight of everyone, there are multiple Terra's with wilderness areas that would provide the perfect hiding place, if we can reach them undetected, we can hide out, and travel into the settlements for supplies," she explained, "Anyone already on the Terra will simply assume we've come from somewhere else on the Terra and won't give us a second glance, so long as we're careful about hiding our faces, and ALF wouldn't dare uproot a whole Terra just to search for us, and would just as likely assume we'd stay away from such places, for the exact reasons you just stated."

Silence followed her explanation as the idea began to settle and take shape in everyone's mind, "You know, it's not a bad idea actually," Junko said tiredly

"Alright, supposing we actually did this, which Terra would we hide out on?" Aerrow asked

"It would have to be somewhere close, we cannot do a long flight right now," Dove said

"Somewhere with places to hide," Starling added nodding

"And somewhere we can get all the necessary supplies," Stork put in

Piper took a breath, she knew a place that fit the bill perfectly, but convincing everyone else would be difficult because of which Terra it was, "What about Terra Mesa?"

All eyes now turned to her again, she continued before anyone else could speak, "It's close, probably the closest habited Terra with a large population that still has areas where we could hide out, there's even a way we could approach the Terra undetected, and it has all the usual shops and dealers to maintain, repair and even upgrade ships, not to mention a fully stocked general store for food and other essential items."

"It also has a large, natural, underground reservoir that they draw water from for ships that stop there, even after using seismometers to measure it, they still haven't found the bottom, meaning it would be easy to tap in and take some water for ourselves without anyone noticing. After all we need it, we're almost out," This from Lark which surprised everyone as they turned to look at her, "What, I've done some reading the last couple of days, found a book labelled 'Travellers Guide to the Atmos'," she explained

"Okay," Starling replied, "But what was that about the water, you said we're almost out?" she asked

Lark nodded, "I don't know how much we had in the tank to begin with, but seven people using the water for various things means we down to our last gallon, and it's a hundred gallon tank," she explained

Stork gave a small cough, and now all eyes turned to him, "Did you check the secondary tank?" he asked nervously

Lark nodded, "Bone dry," she stated simply

Starling rolled her eyes, then brought her gaze back to Piper, "Piper... you're aware this would be us hiding, not going back for a family visit?" she asked tiredly

Piper nodded, "I'm aware, as much as I want to see them again, I know the risks of us even going to Terra Mesa, I'm not about to put all our lives in danger just because I'm homesick, or worrying about my parents," she replied

Starling nodded, then sighed before turning to Stork, "How long would it take us to get to Terra Mesa?"

"Depends on how many ALF cruisers are between us and the Terra, could be a couple hours, could be half a dozen, could be never if it's really bad," he replied

Starling nodded again, "Alright, help Lark set up the Auto pilot, then the rest of us will get some sleep before we reach the Terra, I want us all to be as alert as possible for our approach."

Everyone nodded to that, then everyone began dispersing and heading to bed, they were stopped however when Lark spoke up, "One last thing," she called

Everyone turned to her as she held up her pad, it had an unfinished sketch of a hawk, with a jagged line running through it, Piper recalled that Lark had jumped when Stork had his little outburst, she gave a groan of defeat, and Stork had likewise gone very green as well

"Next time you cause me to ruin one of my sketches; you get a spark up your backside, are we clear?" Lark stated sternly, Stork nodded, before fainting and falling off his chair

Starling groaned, "Couldn't you have waited to do that until after he'd set the auto pilot for you?"

"Nope, this way is more fun," Lark said cheekily, a broad smile stretched across her face

Starling shook her head, "Junko, help me wake him up please."

Condor Bridge, 30 minutes later

Lark sat in one of the chairs at the table just behind the controls on the bridge, the auto pilot set, and the Condor cruising through the air towards Terra Mesa. Stork – after he recovered from fainting at Lark's little joke – had set the auto pilot to take them through an area unlikely to have any ALF cruisers searching it currently, due to tight spaces between a collection of rock stacks and proximity to the wastelands

Perhaps not the safest route, but he had been insistent that the Condor's systems would detect any danger and alert Lark, while also giving her an alternate route to avoid said danger. After that, Stork and the others had gone to bed, leaving Lark alone on the bridge, confident she wouldn't be spied on, Lark pulled out her pad and flicked to a page near the middle

On it was a rough sketch of a face, for the moment, it was just basic outlines, a rough framework, but with time to kill, Lark wanted to continue working on it, without interruptions by the others. She carefully laid out her pencils and other drawing equipment out beside her, before turning to the pad, and picking up a freshly sharpened pencil

She began adding to the framework, gradually expanding on it, as she did, a face slowly began to appear

Before she could continue any further however, the Condor's controls began beeping, heaving a sigh, Lark went over to investigate. The early warning systems had picked up a large heat signature up ahead, indicating some sort of eruption had occurred in the wastelands below. Three possible routes had been provided by the computer for them to take

The first just barely skirted the eruption before continuing on, the second took a wide detour around, taking them temporarily back onto common flight lanes, the third wove through a small labyrinth of rock formations that would take time to get through, but was a more direct route

Lark mulled it over, the first was risky, if the eruption got any worse it could damage the ship, and they'd be too close to correct with the auto pilot, meaning she'd have to wake Stork up, so that was a no go. The second ran the risk of encountering ALF cruisers, also a no go, they had to reach their destination undetected, so the third it was, it would take longer, but once they got out of the labyrinth, they'd be just a 30 minute straight shot from the Terra

Lark selected the third route, and the auto pilot adjusted, the matter settled, Lark went back to her drawing. She moved on from the face and decided it was time to start drawing the torso, being careful to get the proportions correct, she started at the shoulders and neck, connecting them to the head, she started off lightly, making it easy to erase any mistakes without ruining the finished product

She had been going for about 45 minutes, when the ship's controls began beeping again, a frustrated groan escaped Lark's lips this time as she went back to the controls. The ship had detected a life form in the labyrinth, a big life form, big enough to do some serious damage to the ship; they could either head straight past it in the most direct route, or skirt around it and add another half hour to their travel time

Lark was getting annoyed from having been pulled away from her drawing twice now, and a few sparks travelled up and down her arms as a voice whispered in the back of her mind

"Let's just find this thing and kill it, it's in our way and it will mean we get to where we're going faster."

Lark shuddered at the words spoken in her own voice, but layered with hate, malice, and cruelty, then a second voice joined the conversation

"Just go around, so what if it takes longer, that gives us more time to draw, and the others more time to sleep, and wouldn't it be easier to sneak onto the Terra when it's dark anyway?"

The dark voice began belittling the second for weakness, but Lark ignored it, and chose the detour, the dark voice began belittling her as well after that for her decision, but Lark continued to ignore it as she went back to drawing, the feel of a pencil in her hand and the paper on her skin comforting her, causing the dark voice to fall silent

By the time the controls began beeping again, she had finished the torso and moved onto the arms and legs, with small additions as to the scenery surrounding the subject of her sketch. Now thoroughly ticked off, Lark stomped over to the controls, noting it had been another 30 minutes since she'd been called up to the controls. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was in front of them

The Condor had stopped at the exit to the labyrinth, which was being blocked by a large flying creature. It had to be almost as big as the Condor itself, it had a streamlined, torpedo-shaped body and a horizontally flattened head and two cloudy eyes on either side of it. Four large tentacles emerged from the back of it, a small dorsal fin rose from its back while two pectoral fins flapped languidly at its side. The skin looked smooth and was bluish purple in colour, its mouth hung ever so slightly open, and inside, Lark could make out egg-shaped, irregularly implanted teeth

She stared in amazement at the creature in front of her, before the computer reminded her that the creature was blocking their way out. The dark voice returned

"Now we have no choice, kill it and let's move on, quickly now, time is of the essence."

"NO!" the second voice cried, "It's not doing anything to harm us, it's just curious, we are in its home after all, there's no need to kill it."

Lark listened to the two voices squabble, then suddenly she felt a tug, a pull on her mind. Not really knowing what she was doing, she walked out onto the balcony in front of the bridge, standing so that the pilot controls were directly behind her on the other side of the glass

The two voices went silent, as the creature, with a couple small flaps of its pectoral fins moved closer, without hitting the ship. Within seconds the creature had brought one eye right up to Lark, staring straight at her

Lark became lost in the colours swirling within the milky orb, and felt her mind drift away from her, to a place filled with light. Then she heard a new voice

"You intrigue me little one, I sense the power thrumming through you, like a great fire blazing through the air, you bring the potential of great destruction with you wherever you go." The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, while also sing through her entire being, as though it were both separate, and a part of her at the same time

"A pall of death also hangs over you, blood stains your hands many times over, you have killed dozens already, both man and beast, and more blood lies in your future."

Lark felt the dark voice shift and swell inside her at the words, almost as if it was proud, while tears formed in her eyes

"But there is hope, a small spark of the innocence you once possessed remains, the child who was stolen."

Suddenly the light vanished, and was replaced with a scene of death and destruction, blood spattered snow covered the ground, buildings burned all around her, and two bodies lay lifeless in front of her. She reached a shaking hand out towards them, trying to see their faces, but the snow blurred her vision, along with her tears

She heard a crunching of snow beneath boots, she looked up, and saw around her the charred corpses of soldiers, the men who had killed the people in front of her, would have killed her as well had she not fought back. Then the crunching stopped, and she turned with tear filled eyes towards a man dressed in black robes with a gold trim, he had black hair that had retreated from his scalp, but hung down from his head in a long ponytail, and a neatly styled and pointed moustache-goatee combo framing a greedy and malevolent smile

"Take her, we'll bring her back to the facility on Atmosia, she'll be the crown jewel in my collection."

Lark then heard a scream, it took her a moment to realize that it came from her, then she was back in the chair, pain coursing through her body, the black haired man, Long Feng, standing nearby, that malevolent grin still plastered across his face

Then it was over, Lark was back on the Condor, standing on the bridge balcony. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks, the memory still made no sense to her, the only clear thing had been Long Feng himself, but this recall had been the clearest, it hadn't just been flashes, or half remembered images, but a steady and stable memory of a moment that had occurred so long ago in her life

"You have suffered greatly little one, that much is clear, but you must not give up, for you have now found the Hawk, she will help you, she will guide you, and your Storm shall wipe this world clean of its corruption, and spare the innocent."

Lark looked back up, to see the creature was still in front of her, the cloudy orb still fixed upon her, "Trust in her, trust in her friends, and you will be whole once more, I cannot promise an easy road, but when you reach the end, you shall find the happiness you seek."

With that, the creature left, flying over the Condor and back into the labyrinth, with the path now clear, the ship's auto pilot resumed their course, and the Condor flew steadily from the labyrinth

Lark looked back one last time at the labyrinth as the ship turned and began making its way to terra Mesa. She had no clue what that creature had been, nor what it had just done, or why it had induced those memories, but she was now more confident than ever, that she was on the right path

Unbeknownst to Lark, a man stood at the top of one of the labyrinth walls staring after the Condor as it left. He was dressed in a hooded, multicoloured robe which gave him the look of some form of brightly coloured bird, in his hand he held a cane, his arms crossed as he stood atop the wall

"You were right, she is a conduit of fate, she will change much, her friends too," the creature said, as it emerged from the labyrinth to float behind him

The man nodded but did not speak, simply stared after the Condor, his plan had to work, he'd failed once, and now the world was covered in darkness, he could not fail again

It has to work, it must, or we are all doomed

30 minutes later

After leaving the labyrinth, Lark had gone to the kitchen and made some tea for everyone, the smell of freshly brewed tea had the desired effect, rousing Starling, Piper and Dove from their rooms, the boys, woken by the sounds of the girls moving around and chatting, followed shortly afterwards

Piper had wanted to make everyone a quick bite to eat as well, but Lark had insisted she do that herself, she was no cook, but she could do sandwiches. With both some food, and a refreshing cup of tea, everyone was both looking and feeling much more chipper than when they'd gone to bed

Now everyone was gathered on the bridge, prepping for their arrival at Terra Mesa, as they did, Starling examined the auto pilot and noticed the time it had taken them to arrive

"Lark, what route did you take us on exactly?" she asked

Lark continued with her drawing at the table as she replied, "There was an eruption of some sort, so I told the auto pilot to take us through a labyrinth to avoid it and ALF patrols, took us a while but was a quiet trip all things considered."

Everyone looked at one another, before all eyes fell on Piper who was sitting next to Lark, Piper glanced down at the pad, on it was something Piper had never thought she'd see

A Purrgil?

Piper was at a loss for how to respond to this, there was no way that Lark could know about a Purrgil, they were so rare they were considered myth. The only way she could know, was if she had seen one, and the only time she could have seen one without the rest of them knowing, was when she had been monitoring the auto pilot

Piper was aware the others were still staring at her, so she looked back up and just shrugged, the others all looked at one another again, before turning back to what they were doing. Piper then lowered her voice to a whisper, "You didn't hurt it did you?"

Lark paused, and Piper noticed she had become tense, "No," she replied

Piper just nodded and smiled, "Good, then whatever else happened is between you and it."

Lark started at this and looked up at Piper, she saw Piper had a knowing smile on her face, Lark frowned at her, "Have you seen one?" she asked

Piper shook her head, "No, but I've heard stories, and read a lot about them, consider yourself privileged Lark, their incredibly rare, and also very intelligent, they'll only ever let you get close if they consider you worthy, at least, that's how the stories go."

Lark felt herself swell with pride at that, and a broad smile spread across her face. Then Starling spoke up, pulling her thoughts away

"All right gang, we're here," as she spoke, everyone turned to see Terra Mesa appear from the clouds

As it did, Piper felt a small tug at her chest, I'm home

"So, how do we get onto the Terra without anyone noticing us?" Dove asked

Piper got up from the table here and moved round to the controls, she began scanning the Terra's edge, searching for something

"There," she suddenly said, pointing towards a large bank of clouds that almost looked trapped against the Terra's edge, "Take us into that, fly low to avoid us being spotted from the ground, we need to enter in under the Terra's rim."

Stork looked a little skeptical, but a nod from Starling and he was directing the ship towards the cloud bank, taking them as low as he dared

As they neared the cloud bank, the radar began warning them of approaching danger; Aerrow was examining the screen in an instant. "Ok, you want the bad news, or the really bad news?"

"What's the bad news?" Junko asked

"The bad news, is there's an ALF light cruiser on patrol around the Terra, and it's about to get round to this side," Aerrow said

Starling swore, as the others looked nervously towards the left where the Terra curved round beyond sight. "And the really de mauvaises nouvelles?" Dove asked

Aerrow stared ahead into the cloud bank, "The edge of the Terra in the cloud bank is riddled with jagged rock stacks capable of skewering a ship," Aerrow replied

All eyes turned to Piper, who bore a simple, determined look on her face, "We'll be safe for the first 50 metres, just get us in," she said, her voice unwavering

Starling looked back to Stork, who's eye twitched as Starling nodded for him to take them in, "Yep," he said turning back to look at the cloud bank, "We're doomed."

Going slightly faster than necessary, Stork guided the Condor into the cloud bank. They had just entered when the ALF ship came round the corner; they were close enough to the edge that they could still see out. However, this also meant it would only take one person aboard the cruiser to look towards the cloud bank to see them

"This is FOU!" Dove hissed

"Just stay calm, Stork, power down all non-essential systems, nobody make a sound," Piper responded, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder

"How can you be so calm Piper!?" Lark exclaimed in a hushed voice

"They're expecting threats and fugitives to come towards the Terra, not to have already made it past them. All the inner ALF security forces have had to deal with for the better part of the last 30 years are common criminals," Piper explained

"Making them sloppy, which means they make mistakes, like not checking the Terra behind them, which they think is one of the safest places in the Atmos," Starling said, a wry grin spreading across her face, "Nicely done Piper."

Piper smiled back at that, as the cruiser calmly moved by, and the Condor went completely unnoticed, once it was out of sight Aerrow breathed a sigh of relief, he wasn't the only one. "So the cloud bank was to hide us as the patrol came round, but how do we get onto the Terra itself?"

Here Piper turned to the controls, "Do we have sonar on this thing?" she asked turning to Stork

"Are you kidding me, of course she has sonar," he responded haughtily

Piper nodded, "Good, power it up, but only the sonar, that cruiser might be round the corner, but we don't want to risk giving our position away with a power signature."

Stork didn't argue, and powered up the sonar, Lark jumped into the control chair as it did, and once it was ready, looked to Piper for instruction. "What am I looking for?" she asked

"There should be a small gap between the spikes, on Mesa, their known as the Dragon's Fangs, but there's a gap in the middle, we go through that, once we're through, we're looking for a cave, should just be big enough for the Condor to fit through," Piper replied

"This sounds like an old smuggler's legend," Starling commented

Piper nodded, "It is, but it's so old, most people believe the cave doesn't exist anymore, and it was never officially confirmed, so ALF doesn't bother policing it, either because they don't know, or believe it exists."

"Then how do you know about it?" Junko asked

Piper gave a wry smile, as Lark gave directions and instructions to Stork as they navigated the Dragon's Fangs, "Me and my friend Finn did a lot of exploring when we were young, one day we were exploring some pot holes near the Terra's edge, I fell in, almost got trapped, but I found the main cave, and that helped me get part way back to the surface."

"I was rescued about halfway between the cave and the hole I'd originally fell down, so of course no one but me saw the cave, and no one believed I'd seen it, I was just a kid at the time," Piper said

Now everyone was staring at her, even those who should have been keeping an eye on where they were going. As a Fang loomed out of the clouds, Piper gave a gentle nudge to Stork's controls to get them back onto the correct path

"Focus please guys, I'd prefer not to get us stranded down here," Piper chuckled

Several minutes later, the wall of the Terra loomed out of the clouds, but centred almost perfectly in front of them was a cave entrance leading into the Terra

The entire group was silent as the Condor hung in front of it, then Starling broke the silence, "Stork, take us in."

Carefully, Stork maneuvered the Condor into the cave, as they entered; Lark flicked the external lights on, flooding the cave with illumination. Despite still being on the smaller side as far as caves went, it was still easily big enough to house the Condor, the floor was even wide and flat enough to land on, which Stork proceeded to do. Only once they'd touched down, and the engines had been shut off, did anyone begin to relax

"Nice flying Stork," Starling said, before turning to Piper, "And once again Piper, nicely done."

Piper nodded, smiling, "Thanks."

That night

"Okay gang, it's too late to do anything tonight, so for now, let's just focus on making sure we're hidden, I want a preliminary sweep of the cave, make sure we're secure, we'll also want an easy way out tomorrow morning," Starling stated, "After that, we get some rest, I don't know about you guys, but after the last few days we've had, I sure could use a full night's sleep."

There was a chorus of 'Here here's' to her words, "Then let's get this done quickly, starting first thing tomorrow, we begin repair and resupply, water takes priority, then parts, we also need weapons, Aerrow and I can't do all the fighting, fate won't be so kind as to make that our only option."

More nods and mummers of agreement, "I highly doubt we'll be able to, but if we can snag some more skimmers, that would be a real boost to us, and finally, if we can, we should get our hands on more crystals, fuel crystals, shouldn't be a problem, but Piper, Lark, any utility crystals you can find for enhancing our combat strength would be a real asset.

"On that note," Lark said, catching everyone's attention, "How are we avoiding detection, while in town?"

Everyone turned back to Starling here, "While we're still this close to Atmosia, cloaks will have to suffice, however, I would suggest we find changes of clothes, it'll make us harder to spot the further out we go, and that goes double for you little sis," Starling replied with a grin

Lark frowned, then glanced down at the prison uniform she was still wearing – Junko and Stork hadn't been well stocked on feminine attire upon leaving Atmosia – "Oh haha, very funny," she drawled, then levelled a pointed glare at Starling, "And don't call me sis."

Starling just shrugged, before turning back to everyone else, "If there's nothing else," Starling paused, waiting for anymore questions to arise, when none did, she continued, "Then let's get that sweep done before heading to bed."

No one argued with that, and in no time, they'd ascertained that the cave was safe and secure, and had turned in for the night

Un-named Terra – Crash site of ALF Cruiser Daedalus

The ALF commander examined the butcher's bill before him, nearly 60 service men and women lost to that She Devil. He himself had been badly injured and had already been patched up by the ship's physician

Overhead, the cruiser Terminus kept careful watch, currently, they were vulnerable, an attack now would finish them, which was why the commander was thanking Atmos that the rebels had not returned

Suddenly, his radio buzzed, "Yes, what is it?" he asked despondently

"There are two skimmers approaching sir, they say they're from the Senate," came the reply

"Did you check for authentication?" the commander asked

"Yes sir, their codes check out, they've asked to speak to you sir."

The commander considered things for a moment, if these two visitors were from the Senate, likely they had been sent to check on the progress of the rebel's capture, which meant he was about to receive the chewing out of his life. On the other hand, no one had told him an individual with such power had been on that ship, and they were supposed to capture them alive

Well maybe I should do some chewing out of my own

"Tell them I'll see them, and tell them I'm very pissed," the commander finally answered

"Yes sir," came the reply, before the radio cut off

A few minutes later, the sound of skimmer engines approached his tent, and the commander caught a glimpse of a jet black Slip-Wing fighter through the tent flap, the rider was wearing jet black combat armour to match

A little odd for Senate agents, but he wasn't going to question if their codes checked out. He then heard voices outside, before the sound of three people began approaching his tent. The flap was pulled back by one of the commander's lieutenants

"The Senate agents to see you sir," the woman stated crisply

"Thank you Grace, you're dismissed," the commander replied

"Sir!" the woman returned, saluting as she did, before leaving the commander with his guests

The Commander scanned his eyes over the two of them, one was a young woman, the other a man, both with dark hair and eyes, the man's looked dull and lifeless, while the woman's in comparison, looked sharp, intelligent, and dangerous

The commander indicated the only other chair in the tent, which the woman sat in, the man moved to stand attendant at her shoulder

"I'm Commander Firebrand, what can I do for you miss...?"

"Azula, Crystal Mage and Senate agent, I'm here regarding a certain group of young rebels that escaped from Atmosia three to four days ago, we were tracking them when we came across your ship's... predicament," the young woman replied

Firebrand glanced at the man behind her, "This is my brother, Zuko, he aids me in all of my duties, and is also a Crystal Mage," Azula informed, Zuko simply nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't offer further input

Firebrand turned his attention back to the woman in front of him, "Miss Azula, very well, those rebels your tracking, we had a run in with them, almost had them dead to rights as well, then one of them blows one of my ships clean out of the sky and badly damages my own personal cruiser."

"You mean you let them get away," Zuko stated rigidly

Firebrand glared at the young man, "No I did not just let them get away, weren't you listening, they destroyed one of my ships, and badly damaged another, not to mention killed a large number of my men!"

Azula's eyes narrowed at this, "How exactly, did they destroy one of your ships?"

Firebrand's glare rounded on Azula now, "You tell me, you're the agent, all I was told was that there was a group of rebels in the area that had to be brought in alive, but no one told me about an overpowered Crystal Mage who could pluck a ship from the sky with a beam of red energy!" he replied angrily

Azula's eyes now widened a look of awe on her face, "Really... she did that?" Azula breathed

If anything, Firebrand's rage only grew, "So you did know about her before sending us after them, you're the reason I have nearly 60 families to explain why their loved ones aren't coming back to them!" he ranted

Azula however, was no longer listening, instead, she was marvelling at the power wielded by their Master's creation

She might actually succeed

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Firebrand suddenly roared, breaking Azula out of her thoughts

"No," Azula stated simply as she stood, "You've already given me all the information I need." With that, Azula turned to leave

"Oh no you don't, those men deserve to have someone answer for their deaths, and if I can't have the b**** that actually killed them, I'll take the one that sent them to their deaths!" Firebrand shouted as he grabbed hold of Azula's arm

Zuko had gone into a fighting stance, but had frozen at a raised hand from Azula, "You tread on thin ice commander," she said, her voice calm, deceptively so

"I don't give a damn if you're a Senate agent or not, my men are dead because of you and I will have someone answer for it!" Firebrand replied

Azula smiled sweetly, too sweetly, "You know what Commander, you're absolutely right," the commander blinked here, perplexed, "Now, how many families did you say wouldn't be reunited with their loved ones?"

"I believe he said 60, sister," Zuko replied, deadpan

"Ah yes, that was it, 60... let's see how much higher we can take that number... shall we," Azula said, a cruel malevolent smile revealing her bright white, perfect teeth, her canines, looking an awful lot, like fangs

Before Firebrand could react, lightning sparked around a crystal held in Azula's free hand, and flew up to her shoulder, across the top of her back, and back down her arm, connecting with his. Firebrand's screams filled the tent

Some of his soldiers came to investigate, but Zuko cut them down with a sword of flame. Finally, Firebrand collapsed to his knees as Azula let go of the now dying man

The two siblings left the way they came, killing anyone in their way, after reaching their rides they took off back into the air, a massive lightning bolt stabbed out towards the Terminus' engines, a bright blossom of flame lit the night sky

Seconds later, a second explosion erupted from the direction of the Daedalus, and the entire camp and its occupants, were consumed in flames

And that's a wrap, constructive criticism is as always, welcome, and stay tuned for part 2, it won't be far behind this one

French Translations

Entendu = Agreed (Not sure on this one, I was given several choices, one of which I've used before for a different word, if anyone knows for sure, please give me a shout and I'll make an edit)

De mauvaises nouvelles = Bad news

Fou = Crazy (also not sure, I don't actually speak french, ; P )

That's all folks, see you next time ; )