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

HOLY CRAP I LIVE!

Yes hello everyone it's been a while, apologies for the long delay but this chapter really, really, REALLY, did not want to get written. Various stages of writers block, new inspiration (which culminated in an entirely new story over on the Code Geass section of this site, go check that out if you're interested), and just simple lack of motvation meant this one took a HELLA long time to write

But it is FINALLY done, chp14, and I gotta say, despite the time it took I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, SO

despite it now being past midnight at the time of me writing this, I'm not delaying this one any longer

Before we start a special thanks to DARKPHANTOM13 for their review, don't worry my friend, lots more to come we're only about half way through this ride, so buckle up

A general thank you as well to everyone else who's reviewed thus far, I do hope you're all enjoying the story, and I hope this chapter satiates your appitite for more for the time being. Additionally I'd like to announce that as of last Thursday, this story finally broke the 3000 views mark, and like I said, we're only half way through this... so yea, big milestone, let's see if we can break a few more

But now, without further ado

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

P.S. Triton's speech mannersims were both fun and a gigantic PAIN in my backside, you'll see

Chapter 14: Tritonn of the Neck Deeps, Part 2

Terra Mesa

Azula sat back in her chair, all smiles, "Thank you for your time Mr and Mrs Peregrine, this information has been most helpful... and please, if you think of anything that might help our investigation... and subsequently, you daughter's chances, please let us..."

The door burst open before Azula could finish, O'Neil taking long strides into the room, "We found them!"

Azula quickly brought her attention to him, the Peregrines forgotten, "Where!" she barked

"Terra Aquanos, the head of security there just put the whole Terra into lockdown, and from the information we've been able to gather, it's on their last known heading," O'Neil replied, not missing a beat

Azula brought a hand to her chin in thought, "That's still surprising... why would they risk going to such a heavily defended Terra?"

"Does it matter," O'Neil pressed, "We know where they are, what's more, they're stuck there, no ship, and no skimmers."

"What?" Azula replied, eyebrow raised

"They arrived on the Terra aboard a merchant freighter, and got spotted trying to get through customs," O'Neil explained

"Perhaps their ship was more damaged than the Raptor's realised," Zuko ventured

"Perhaps," Azula agreed, before making her decision, "Colonel, have our skimmers prepped, my brother and I need to get to Terra Aquanos on the double."

"Already done, I gave the order the moment the news came in," O'Neil replied

Azula nodded, "Good, then in that case," she turned to Zuko, "Time to leave, we have some dissidents to catch."

"My Piper is innocent, I know she is," came Cecilia's voice from behind them, "Please, I know the evidence against her is damning, but I just know she's innocent."

Azula looked back at the sobbing woman, biting back the urge to scoff or mock her, diplomacy, diplomacy is key here. "We'll find your daughter, I promise, and if our investigation proves her innocence, we'll bring her home, safe and sound."

Cecilia nodded gratefully, as the tears continued to stream down her face. Azula turned and marched from the room, her brother hot on her heels, O'Neil watched them go, and only once they'd left did he turn back to the Peregrines. "If you think of anything else to help with Agent Azula's investigation... pass it on to me, okay."

The two of them looked up at him, and the serious expression on his face, "You don't believe her?" Ren asked

O'Neil turned towards the door again, "No I don't, and you shouldn't either... I don't know what's going on, but I intend to get to the bottom of it." As O'Neil marched from the room and made his way to the skimmer yard, Repton fell into step beside him

"Their gone?" he asked

"About to leave, yes... the moment their gone, I want you and your boys to find that battle site, and scour it for anything that can shed some light as to what actually happened," O'Neil replied. They stepped from the building, just in time to see the two sleek black skimmers take off, and make for the north-east. "I just pray those kids can hang on until we find out the truth," O'Neil muttered

"Surprisingly, I actually agree with you," Repton said beside him

Terra Aquanos

Starling's eyes were shut as she turned her face to the cascade of water from the shower head, letting the warm water wash over her. She'd already cleaned up, now she was just lost in thought, we were almost captured... again... we were saved, by someone whom I considered an enemy... again

Her head finally came to rest against the tiles in front of her, what is wrong with me... I'm better than this... I'm the granddaughter of Master Cyclonis for Atmos' sake... I've been trained my entire life for stuff like this... and yet I keep failing, keep needing to be rescued... WHY!?

These thoughts had been plaguing her since Tritonn had helped them out of the cistern he'd dropped them into, in order to avoid capture by ALF forces. Once again, her poor judgement had nearly caused their entire mission to go up in smoke, and they had only made it, because an Atmosian... a Skyknight... had come to their rescue. Starling gritted her teeth, and thumped a fist into the wall

Then a voice broke her from her thoughts

"Starling, you alright in there?" Piper asked

"O-oh, yea, I'm okay Piper, just got a little lost in thought," Starling replied

"Okay then, just came to tell you that Tritonn is getting supper ready, be about fifteen minutes," Piper called

"Right... thanks Piper, I'll be right out," Starling answered

"No rush... I left some fresh clothes for you just outside the door."

"Thanks," Starling called back, and then listened as she heard Piper's footsteps retreat. Once she'd gone, Starling turned back and shut the shower off, climbed out, grabbed a towel and began to dry off. Once she was dry, she wrapped herself in the towel and stood in front of the bathroom's mirror, "No more mistakes... I' am not some damsel in need of rescue... I' am the heir to Cyclonia... and I will complete this mission... no matter what."

A few minutes later found her in the living area of the hideout that Tritonn called his home. It was a hidden base that the Neck Deeps had used as a base of operations when Aquanos had been under siege from Cyclonia. The Neck Deeps hadn't fully trusted the ALF troops who'd broken the siege, so they had kept the place a secret. It was little more than a collection of rooms that had been made habitable, nestled at the centre of a gigantic warren of tunnels and sewers beneath the city above. The tunnels ran to every part of the city, and there were various outposts where it was possible for those hiding underground to spy on the surface, which was how Tritonn had discovered them, and enacted his subsequent rescue

"So you've been down here since the Neck Deeps were forcibly disbanded?" Starling heard Aerrow ask as she entered

"Pretty much boyo, it's kept me safe and out of ALF's notice, though I do occasionally venture onto the surface for supplies," Tritonn replied as he stood at the kitchen stove, cooking something in a large pot

"Why have you not left...? I mean what is it you are even doing down here?" Dove asked

Tritonn did not reply straight away, staring straight ahead at nothing, "If I'm being honest lass... waiting, mostly... staying alive... staying free."

"Hiding, in other words," Starling stated crisply, as she sat stiffly at the table, next to Lark

Tritonn gave her a sideways glance, "That's one way to put it lass."

Starling gave him a hard stare, before turning away, "How are things looking?" she asked Piper

"Tritonn let me borrow his radio, and I was able to contact Stork and Junko. They said repairs are going well, but with the amount of ALF cruisers surrounding the Terra, it will be impossible for them to approach until the repairs are complete... even then, it's going to be absurdly dangerous."

"Which means lass, that for the time being your stuck here, so you may as well accept it," Tritonn called from the stove. Starling glowered at the back of his head, while he began removing what was in the pot, and putting it onto plates

"Finn my boy, could ya give this old sky-sailor a hand," he called. Finn glanced in Starling's direction, but she just sat there glowering

Heaving a sigh, Finn got up to help, meanwhile, Lark nudged Starling, "What's wrong?" she whispered

Starling's eyes flicked to her, before looking away, "Nothing," she replied, before looking away, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Her attention was brought back to the table however, when Tritonn and Finn began setting plates. On them was one shrimp each, along with an assortment of veggies and dips

"Eat up kids, this be the finest Aquanos Shrimp on the whole Terra," Tritonn proclaimed

The savoury smell of garlic butter filled Starling's nostrils as the others began to dig in eagerly, Starling however, hesitated. "Now that's just insulting lass, what honest reason would I have to poison ye after pulling ya all out of that cistern?" Tritonn stated, as he began munching on his own shrimp

Starling gave him a hard stare, "Maybe not poison, but a sleeping draft would work just as well, get us all locked up while we're sleeping, then bring the authorities here for the reward."

At her words, the others all stopped eating, eyes going wide. Tritonn however, just roared with laughter, "They'd never let me get a word in, ALF has got orders to shoot me on sight, I'm a dangerous dissident remember, just like ya all."

"Anonymously then, only appearing after, or perhaps bypassing ALF altogether and going straight to their command... I don't doubt for a second that you don't have a way past the guards," Starling countered

Tritonn now sighed, all amusement gone, "Look lass, I get it, I'm a Skyknight, ya sworn enemy... but have ye ever stopped to consider, that we Skyknights got it almost as bad as ya Cyclonians?"

Starling snorted, "As if... you were Atmos-damned heroes after the war, I doubt you wanted for anything."

"Aye, ya right... the people saw us as heroes... the Senate saw us as relics, and Long Feng... saw us as rivals," Tritonn replied, his words causing complete and utter silence to fall over the room, as he stared at the table, food forgotten. "I wasn't much older than the lot of ye at the time, a young lieutenant, fresh out of training, and just in time to catch the end of the war. I remember being so proud of finally earning me wings and joining the Neck Deeps... then, came the siege of Cyclonia... and that pride, turned to ash in me mouth."

"I'd seen some horrible things committed by the Cyclonians during the siege of Aquanos, but that battle... we took, everything that was bad about the Cyclonians, and turned it on them... some called it, poetic justice, me and my squad mates, called it genocide." Tritonn picked up his mug and took a long swig of ale, before continuing, "We tried to limit the damage and loss of life as much as we could... but ALF, the force that was meant to save the Atmos... had become just as bad as the Cyclonians ever were. I watched innocent people get cut down in the streets, Talons fighting bravely and valiantly to the last, because their offers for their surrender had been ignored."

Tritonn now finally looked back up into Starling's eyes, "After the fighting, my commander tried to get humanitarian aid for the Cyclonian people, but he was ignored, and instead, the people were shipped off to those camps. And for speaking out against the authority, my commander was stripped of his position... that was the start of it. After that, our squadron was watched 24/7, any sign of treason or disobedience was met with swift punishment, and despite our continued service, the Neck Deeps began to dwindle... not from losses on the field... but to members being arrested by Long Feng's attack dogs."

"I soon found myself as Commander of the Neck Deeps... but it was a farce... an ALF officer actually ran the squadron; I was simply a figurehead. And when yet more of me squadron went missing, I finally decided I'd had enough. I took everything I thought would be of value, told the few remaining members to disperse, including me brother, then I hid here." Tritonn took another swig of ale, "And my squadron wasn't even the worst off... others weren't as lucky as mine... I lost many friends to Long Feng's tender mercies." He chuckled now, "Trust me lass... we had it hard, just as ye did."

Starling stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open, eyes wide, before her face contorted in a look of anger. "Serves you right for trusting a man like Long Feng!" she snapped

"Starling!" Piper exclaimed

"No Piper, not this time," Starling countered, before whirling on Tritonn again, "This is their fault and he knows it!"

"The Skyknights were not the ones to accept Long Feng, lass," Triton replied, as he began picking at his food again

Starling now stood, hands slamming onto the table top, food forgotten as her face became a visage of rage, "But you didn't do anything to stop him! You just stood by and let him do as he pleased, you let him waltz right in and take over, even though you KNEW the danger that would cause!" Starling's voice rang through the room, her friends leaning away slightly; none of them ever having seen her like this. "Because of YOU, Long Feng created ALF... because of YOU, he used it to destroy my nation, and turn my people into slaves... because of YOU, and your incompetence, my father was forced to fight against him and the Senate... and that fight cost him his LIFE!... Because of YOU, my sister was kidnapped, experimented on, tortured... BECAUSE, OF, YOU!"

Starling stood panting after her rant, tears running unchecked down her cheeks, Tritonn simply sat across from her, staring at the table, quietly eating. Starling's glare intensified, "You did nothing to prevent this," she hissed, "Not one of you, ever did anything to prevent this... and look where it's gotten us?" she waved her hands around at the hideout, before settling her attention back on him, "A washed up Skyknight Commander, squatting in a sewer, praying that ALF doesn't find him," she scoffed, "At least my people are trying to change things... while you're just sitting here, rotting, like the beaten down prisoner you are!"

With that, she whirled from the table, and marched out, Aerrow made to follow her, but Tritonn spoke up before he could. "Let her go lad, she needs time to clear her head, let her cool off," Aerrow glanced in Starling's direction, before catching Piper's pointed stare, he nodded, and they all resumed eating

Unnamed Terra

It had taken several hours flying for the Claw, but they'd finally reached the coordinates that O'Neil had given them. What they saw below them, was nothing short of a massacre. The initial wreck was obvious; two pieces of hull, on the far end of the small plateau, wreckage strewn around it, while the second looked as if something had torn its way out of the inside, and gutted the ship in the process. Of the third, the only evidence to suggest it was ever there were a few extra engine and hull parts that couldn't have come from the other two ships, suggesting it had fallen into the wastelands. And throughout the camp, which lay between the ships, were hundreds of charred corpses

Repton wrinkled his snout as the old smell of burnt flesh invaded his nostrils, "This definitely looks like the work of a Crystal Mage boss," Spitz commented

Repton agreed, but with his new perspective of his encounters with the dissident brats, he had his doubts as to whether it was them who'd caused this... and even if it had been them, it gave Repton a new respect for them. "We don't assume anything, now get down there and investigate, start with the black boxes, I want the latest logs of each ship," Repton ordered

His men didn't argue, and hopped on their skimmers, and headed for the surface. Repton carefully landed The Claw on the only available clear spot. Once it was secure, he hopped on his own skimmer, and took off, flying above the graveyard below him, observing. He decided to start with the first wreck, flying along the side of the ship, examining the hull, trying to piece together what happened. The ship had crashed, that much was clear from the trench the two pieces had ploughed into the plateau, the reason as to why it had crashed was also obvious. A massive hole had been put in the ship's hull, whatever had hit it, had torn straight through, and if the additional damage was anything to go by, this had caused a number of secondary explosions that had spread throughout the ship, shearing it in two. Whatever hit it, had been a one shot KO, so it had to have been very powerful, Binding level powerful

"Looks like Agent Azula's story matches up for this ship at least," Repton muttered to himself, "But what about the others?"

He turned his skimmer around and began examining the second ship. It too had crashed, but it had also been more controlled, the furrows caused by its landing were not nearly as deep. In addition, there was no giant hole rent into the side of the ship. Instead, there was evidence of energy scorching along the side of the ship, starting from about the middle, and getting more severe towards the engines. No doubt this is what caused the second ship to crash, damage to the engines, would have made it hard to stay in the air, so they'd been forced to make an emergency landing. If that was the case though, then what had caused this ship's destruction? Repton moved to the portion of the ship that looked like it had exploded outward. The damage was located towards the top, and as Repton approached, he noticed that it was the exact position where the engine core should have been

Only it wasn't there anymore, it had been completely disintegrated in the explosion. Repton frowned, there were very few things that could cause the complete destruction of such a large piece of military grade hardware, even in terms of crystal magecraft. It was possible that two mages using the Binding could have done it... but if that were the case, where was the massive hole that the first ship had. If the brats had attacked this ship in the same way as the first one... then where was the damage that provided the evidence of that? The hole in the top, seemed damming at first glance, but the metal at the edges was bent outward, suggesting an explosion from within. It was possible that the brats had fired on the ship from above – it had been enacting an emergency landing after all – but that didn't sit right with Repton. As he and O'Neil had surmised, the brats had had plenty of opportunities to finish him off during their confrontations, and hadn't taken it. If they wouldn't kick a Raptor when he was down... why would they do the same to these ships? It couldn't be because of their allegiance, the kids could not be so naive, they had to know there were innocent men and women aboard these ships... so why?

"Found anything yet?" Repton demanded into his radio

"Not yet boss," Spitz replied

"Uhh I got nothing" came Leugey's response

"Horek?" Repton pushed

"I'm on the bridge of the second ship boss, you should come see this yourself,"

Repton gunned his ride immediately, making for the ship's bridge. Upon his arrival, he saw Horek working on getting the ship's main computer running, Repton had just walked up when he succeeded. "The thing was running on partial power when I got here, I hooked my ride up to give it some extra juice," he explained, nodding in the direction of his ride, which was jury rigged to the control console

Repton nodded in satisfaction, "What is it you wanted me to see?"

Horek turned to the computer, pulling up a video log, the moment it began, Repton pushed him out the way, staring at the screen. The log showed how the first two ships had cornered the brats on this Terra, how they had attempted to make it through the brats stalwart defence. And then, it showed how the brats had broken out. Repton watched in morbid fascination as their two Crystal Mages tore through the hull of the first ship with a red beam of energy, their ship taking off immediately, upon the cruiser's destruction. One of the young mages had then turned their attention to the second ship, and Repton watched as the red beam flew past the view of the camera, and the static that consumed the screen as the ship was hit... just as it happened though, something caught his eye

"Wait, go back!" he exclaimed

Horek rewound the log, to a few seconds before the second beam, Repton stared carefully at the two figures he could see on the runway of the Condor. Despite the poor quality of the feed, there was no mistaking what occurred. The second mage deliberately threw off the aim of the first, and if what little he could make out was correct, the second mage was the brat called Piper. Which could only mean that the one to fire the beams, had been Lark

"Was there anything else on this log?" Repton asked

"I'm not sure, let me see," Horek replied, he began working through the computer. It was tough going thanks to the damage, but finally, he managed to get somewhere. "No other video logs unfortunately, but I can confirm that this ship made a successful emergency landing, and orders were sent out to the third ship to cover them, rather than pursue the brats."

Repton started, "Wait, the brats fled after grounding this ship?"

"Looks that way... you don't suppose they could have come back and finished the job, do you?" Horek proposed

Repton brought a hand to his chin, and began pacing, his tail flicking back and forth, "What day was that log dated?"

"Erm, seven days ago," Horek replied

Seven days... it took us only several hours flying to get here, but we did take a direct route and we didn't have to worry about ALF spotting us... they probably took a less obvious, more convoluted route in order to avoid the patrols... which means they'd had to have flown almost directly to Mesa upon leaving this place... there wouldn't have been time to go back

"Have everything on that computer saved, I want to bring it back to Mesa," Repton ordered, before marching back to his ride. As Horek got to work, Repton got onto O'Neil's frequency, "O'Neil, you there, this is Repton, come in, over."

"Repton, what's up, have you found something already?" came O'Neil's reply

"Yea, I wanted to ask you something," Repton began

"What's that?"

"Were those agents, by any chance... Crystal Mages?"

Silence, then came O'Neil's response, "You think they destroyed those cruisers?"

"I'm not sure yet, all I do know is that the kids only shot one out of the sky, and that might have even been a mistake, or accident. Either way, the second cruiser was only damaged by them and made a successful emergency landing, and had the third cruiser take up a defensive position over the Terra while the second got repairs underway. Then they both get totalled themselves," Repton explained, "And before you ask, no I don't think the kids returned to finish the job, timescale doesn't match up if they did... no, I think someone else finished these cruisers off... someone who didn't want any loose ends."

The meaning behind Repton's words was clear, and over in Mesa, O'Neil felt a lead weight settle into his gut. "Keep looking, find me some concrete evidence, and then get back here as fast as possible," O'Neil ordered

"Will do," Repton responded, before hanging up

O'Neil sat forward, head in his hands, the more he uncovered about this, the more he felt like he was on the wrong side. Suddenly, his secretary called in, "Excuse me Colonel, but there are two people here who are requesting to see you."

O'Neil frowned at that, it couldn't be Azula and her brother, they'd left just a few hours ago. "Show them in," O'Neil replied

His secretary showed in a man who O'Neil recognised instantly, "Commander Traven?"

The man smiled, "Just Traven now, old friend... how are you?"

"Okay I guess, this whole mess with these dissidents is getting to me though... Piper was always such a sweet girl," O'Neil recited his practiced line, then he noticed Traven smiling

"You never were a good actor Jack."

O'Neil now frowned, "What's that supposed to mean... what's going on?"

The person with Traven, a woman about the same age as him and Traven, now spoke, "It's time, Operation: Redemption is a go."

O'Neil's eyes widened as he looked from her and then back to Traven, who still just sat there smiling, "When?"

"Soon," Traven replied, "We're gathering everyone who's still able right now, we just came to give you the rendezvous coordinates." As he spoke, Traven handed O'Neil a small slip of paper

O'Neil memorized the contents, before pulling out his cigarette lighter, and burning the slip over his office bin. "I'll be there," he stated, Traven and his companion both nodded, and prepared to leave, but O'Neil spoke up before they could. "Incidentally, you should go and see the old captain... there's a good chance he's having a spot of trouble with a bunch of unruly young birds... who are being chased by a couple of wolves," O'Neil said

Traven frowned for a moment, before comprehension dawned, and he smiled again, "That was in fact going to be our next stop, thanks for the heads up though."

O'Neil nodded, as the two of them left. Once they'd gone, he stood, and went to an old cabinet at the side of the room. He opened it, revealing an old and tattered uniform, it was a light brown, with blue highlights, and stitched into it, on the right arm, was the heraldry, of Terra Mesa. "Hello again, old friend... it's been a while."

Terra Aquanos

Aerrow found Starling later that evening in the sparring room, where she was beating the crap out of one of the training dummies. Scratch that, the last training dummy, the rest all lay in a heap at the side of the room, totally destroyed. "I do hope Tritonn doesn't make us pay for those," Aerrow commented

"What, it's not like he's getting any use out of them!" Starling replied, delivering a vicious uppercut to the dummy, causing its head to come flying off, and bounce off the far wall. It rolled to a stop at Aerrow's feet

"You don't know that, and besides, this is his home, I doubt he'd appreciate you wrecking it," Aerrow stated

Starling huffed and turned away, grabbing a nearby water bottle and drank greedily from it, when she finished, she spoke again. "Serves him right for rescuing us, if we weren't here we couldn't wreck his stuff," she growled

"Starling, if it hadn't been for Tritonn we'd have been captured," Aerrow said, exasperated

"And whose fault is that!?" she yelled, whirling on him, "Whose idea was it to come to Aquanos in the first place!?" her eyes were blazing, but Aerrow could also see the tears threatening to spill again

He stood resolute, Starling might have been the leader, but Aerrow had become her second, he would not be cowed, especially when she was clearly not thinking straight. "Starling what's wrong, you've been acting aloof and aggressive ever since Tritonn pulled us out of that cistern?" She turned away again, and proceeded over to the weights, she sat on a bench and began working a dumbbell. Aerrow followed after her, "Starling please, I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"Leave it alone Aerrow," she hissed

"No, I won't, not until you tell me why you're acting like this!" Aerrow exclaimed

"I SAID LEAVE IT ALONE!" she screamed, tossing the dumbbell aside and getting in his face, the tears had returned, and was it Aerrow's imagination, or did she look... scared. He probably wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes

Suddenly, movement in his periphery caught his attention. He glanced towards the door, as did Starling, and they saw the others peeking into the room. Starling backed off from Aerrow, turning away and wiping her eyes, when she turned back, she had regained the stony look she'd had all day. "I won't say it again Aerrow... leave, it, alone." With that, she marched from the room, the others scattered out of her way, all except Tritonn. Their eyes met, before Starling marched onwards, but Tritonn blocked her path. "Out of my way," she growled

Tritonn just gave her a small smirk, "Ya want a real way to blow off some steam lass?" Starling glanced at him, her brow furrowed, Tritonn just chuckled, "Follow me, and try to keep up." With that, he began walking down the hallway, not stopping to see if Starling was following, he did call back though. "Ya know where everything is now Piper, I'm leaving ye and Aerrow in charge until we get back... shouldn't take long... or maybe it will, but we will be back." With that, he rounded the corner and was gone

Starling stared after him for a moment, before glancing in Piper's direction, "Looks like you and Aerrow are in charge... keep everyone safe." And before Piper or anyone else could protest, Starling had hurried after the old Skyknight, leaving the rest of them standing there in confusion

Starling followed the old Skyknight through the maze of tunnels and sewers that stretched beneath the city above them. Finally they came to an outflow, which had a small platform running along one side, just above the water line. Outside, the pipe quickly came to an end, with the water flowing off and down into the wastelands below. One side of the pipe however was damaged, and allowed access to a natural ledge, which Tritonn proceeded to jump to, before starting up a small worn pathway, that led upwards. Still having no idea where this old Skyknight was leading her, Starling followed

They walked in silence for about twenty minutes, the fresh cool night air a welcome change from the foul sewer. Finally, they crested the rim of the Terra, and found themselves on a small plateau, overlooking the city below. Upon realising where they were, Starling began looking around frantically, expecting an ALF cruiser to show up any second. Strangely though, they weren't anywhere near the patrolling cruisers, and after watching them for a few minutes, Starling determined that they wouldn't approach this area

"What is this place, and why don't the ALF cruiser's patrol here?" she asked, only to see Tritonn staring forlornly at the city below

"I once stood here in my youth, the commander put me on lookout duty. I was to stand here and observe the city, and the Cyclonian death squads that patrolled its streets, keeping the populous down." His eyes swept the lights of the city, tears brimming in their corners, "Then as now, we were trying to survive against an occupying force... oh the Cyclonians never took full control of the Terra, but they had everything important. The government buildings, the docks, the armouries, and they worked night and day to bring the rest of the Terra to heel."

Starling felt a stab of guilt at hearing about the siege, but she forced it down

"It was my duty to watch and report on the enemies positions, warn our forces ahead of time, always keep us one step ahead... it was the greatest honour of me life... I was too young to fight then... but I could do this... and afterwards, the commander had me inducted as a cadet, and trained as a Skyknight." As he spoke, he seemed to straighten up, his back stiffened and he carried less of the air of a broken man, and more of the warrior he'd no doubt become

"Fascinating... I still don't understand what we're doing here?" Starling interrupted

Tritonn chuckled, "I know what's bothering ye lass."

Starling blinked, before turning away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"There's no sense hidin it lass, it's as plain as day... so what was it... being rescued by a Skyknight... being rescued at all... perhaps it was the failed plan, and near cap-" he was forced to stop and block the wild punch Starling threw, her eyes blazing. "Aye, there it is... it's not just one thing... its all of it, isn't it lass. After all, you're a Cyclonian princess, you have standards to keep, a reputation to uphold."

Starling lashed out again, but Triton merely dodged, backing off and getting some room. "Shut up and tell me why we're here!?" Starling snarled

"Alright lass... ye've been patient enough," Tritonn replied, "A contest... ye against me."

Starling barked a harsh laugh, "You against me, really? Come off it old man, you don't stand a chance."

"Then I guess ye've got nothing to fear do ya lass?" Tritonn responded

Starling gave him a feral smirk, "Alright... let's do this," she said, squaring off into a fighting stance

"Before we do lass, one last thing," Starling raised an eyebrow at him, but let him continue, "The loser has to stay here for the night, and watch the city."

Starling blinked at that, but then smirked, "Then I suppose it's a good thing you enjoy the view." With that, she lunged forward, lashing out with a series of quick jabs and kicks, intending to end this fight quickly, and crushingly

Tritonn dodged everything she threw at him, moving much faster than she had anticipated a man of his age and size to be able to. "Let me guess... you're grandmother instilled in ye the idea that a Cyclonian princess must always win, no matter what... that ye need to always show strength, never weakness... that ye are the guiding light, the shinning ideal that every Talon looks up to," he stated between every flurry of blows

Snarling, Starling switched tactics, she went low, trying to sweep his legs out from under him, but Tritonn showed off his agility now, dancing around her, and swinging a few blows of his own, which forced Starling to abandon her strategy in order to block his attacks. "And I'll bet ever since... ye've held yeself to her standard... telling yeself that ye need to be exactly like ye grandmother, for there to be any hope for ya people."

His words were steadily grating Starling more and more, her teeth were gritted as she tried to find a way to take him down. "But where has ye grandmother gotten you're people eh? When she was crowned, she could have ended the war, then and there... but she didn't... she continued the fight... as ye've done... continued to uphold the sacred Cyclonian Monarchies traditions... and where did it get ye?"

"SHUT UP!" Starling roared, her punches wild now, all coordination lost, she let out a feral roar as she tried desperately to land a blow. Her new attack pushed Tritonn to the edge of the plateau, and Starling tasted the sweet nectar of victory. Only for Tritonn to suddenly sweep her feet out from under her, while catching her on one side with a light punch. The move sent her spinning round, while also collapsing to the ground. She landed with a thud, the air knocked from her lungs in an explosive gasp, before Triton pinned her to the ground

"Get off!" she growled, trying to force him off, and get back to her feet

"Yield," Tritonn said simply, "Ye've lost."

She glared up at him, "Not yet I haven't, I'm going to beat you bloody!"

"And ye wonder why this exact attitude from ye grandmother's resistance, hasn't won the Cyclonians any favours with the people of Atmos?" Tritonn stated

His words caused Starling to freeze, no... he couldn't be implying?

"Tradition is worthless lass, if all it does is get ye killed... which it would have done, had I been a real enemy," he said, breaking through her thoughts. Suddenly, he stood, releasing her, before marching back towards the path that led to sewer outflow. "Think on all this while ya on watch why don't ye," he called

Starling quickly scrambled to her feet, and stared after him, "Heh, we're not finished here!"

"Yes we are lass," he called back, as he fiddled with something on his back

"And what's stopping me from just making my way back on my own!?" she countered

He gave her an amused look, "Oh, ye know the way back by yeself do ye?" he asked, before opening up a pair of glider wings, the kind used by commanders when their rides were taking out of commission. Starling's eyes widened as she realised what he was about to do, she rushed forward intending to stop him, but he'd already jumped off the edge. She stood at the edge, watching as he glided back smoothly to the outflow, where he landed neatly at the entrance. He turned back and waved up at her, "I'll be back for ye in the mornin lass... don't forget what we talked about." And with that, he was gone

Starling stared at the outflow, flabbergasted, before she grabbed a rock and hurled it at the outflow, "BASTARD!"

Aerrow was leaning against the wall of the main corridor that led into the secret Neck Deeps base, when Tritonn came back. Aerrow instantly frowned in suspicion when he noticed Starling wasn't with him, "Where's Starling?" Aerrow demanded as he stood upright

"Keep ya shirt on lad, she's on watch for the night," as he spoke, Tritonn activated a nearby terminal, and brought up the security cameras, "See."

As Tritonn stepped to one side, Aerrow approached the console, and saw a rather irate Starling tossing rocks around, she then glanced up at the camera and lobbed a rock at it, and the screen filled with static. Aerrow jerked back, then glanced at Tritonn, "What did you do?"

Tritonn gave a sly smile, "Handed the young princess a slice of humble pie... don't ya worry lad, she'll be fine, the cruisers don't patrol where she is, dangerous updrafts... or so they think." With that, he walked back into the base, chuckling to himself as he went

Aerrow stared after him, before shaking his head, "Well, maybe this will give her time to cool off." With that, he followed Tritonn back inside. As he approached the door, Radarr walked out to meet him, Aerrow lent down and scratched the little guy's head, before going inside. Radarr looked back at Aerrow, before turning towards the tunnel, he looked back once more, before heading down the tunnel, following Starling's scent

Starling had been fuming and screaming for the better part of an hour, before she finally ran out of energy to throw rocks. She sat at the edge of the plateau, staring out at the city below, her mind in turmoil. That bastard... I'll make him pay for this insult... I'll... Starling gripped her head, teeth gritted. She wanted to hit something, to punch something, she wanted to find Tritonn and wipe that smug smirk from his face... but she knew none of it would help. Because he's right, all her life, her grandmother had told her how she must always show strength, how any weakness needed to be kept buried, hidden. She was the heir to the Cyclonian throne, she had to set an example, needed to be perfect, in her planning, in how she fought... everything. And okay, she had a couple of minor victories, against a pirate and a bounty hunter... but they'd been forced to run from the ALF cruisers, and her first real mission had turned into a disaster, and she'd been forced to abandon her entire team. She didn't even know if they'd made it out or not

What if they're now Long Feng's captives like Lark was... what if they're being tortured... experimented on... it's all my fault... why did I leave them!

Starling's thought process was interrupted, when something small, and furry crawled into her lap. She glanced down to see Radarr, who was now curled up in her lap, purring softly. She relaxed, and began to stroke the little guy's head. As she sat there, Tritonn's words came back to her, "Think on all this while ya on watch why don't ye." Starling lent back on one hand, while the other stroked Radarr's head. What did I do wrong... what could I have done differently? Nothing really came to mind; she'd waited, prepared and planned for nine years. Trained both herself and others how to fight, along with a myriad of other skills she thought they might need. The only thing she could think of for why the mission had failed... was that Long Feng had known they were coming

No, that's not possible, we took every precaution, there's no way. Starling didn't know what was worse, the idea that they'd not been cautious enough and Long Feng had caught word of them and their plan... or that they hadn't prepared well enough, that she hadn't prepared well enough. Then there was the fact that she seemed to still be failing at being a leader, she kept making mistakes, kept nearly getting them all captured, or worse. The tears welled up as she thought of how her grandmother would react, when she learned that her eldest granddaughter was a failure

"Tradition is worthless lass, if all it does is get ye killed... which it would have done, had I been a real enemy."

Tritonn's words echoed in her head, she had fought her absolute hardest, and according to how she'd been trained... so why... why did she lose... how did Tritonn beat her so easily. She'd looked for a swift and crushing victory... well that was exactly what it had been, but it had been Tritonn's victory, not hers. As the memory of the fight surfaced in her mind, so did the frustration and anger it had created, but this time, Starling forced those aside, to study the fight with a clear head, and a startling realisation occurred. I let myself lose control... I was unfocused... undisciplined

The thoughts caused Starling to let out an exasperated sigh, the hand that had been stroking Radarr, now coming to grip her purple locks. Damn it I'm such an idiot, I let him goad me, well that wouldn't be happening again

"And ye wonder why this exact attitude from ye grandmother's resistance, hasn't won the Cyclonians any favours with the people of Atmos?"

Yet again, Tritonn's parting words filled her head, and this time, she knew exactly what he meant. The common people view us as terrorists... to them, we're no better than when we actually had an Empire... perhaps worse. As Starling sat there staring at the city, her thoughts began to move to what could be done to change this, what could make the people of Atmos view the Cyclonians, not as criminals or terrorists... but as fellow victims. After all... if the Senate had left the Skyknights out in the cold... then who was to say they hadn't done the same to the rest of Atmos... and the only reason she hadn't seen it, had been her contempt and arrogance. She had never thought or considered that the rest of Atmos might be suffering under the Senate and Long Feng... but after learning how the Skyknights had been treated... she couldn't help but wonder

Starling heaved a heavy sigh, before glancing down at Radarr, who was now looking up at her, with big eyes, which seemed to ask a question. She chuckled, "Yeah Radarr, I'm okay now," the little guy gave a soft chirp in response, Starling now laughed, "Yea I was being a bit hard headed wasn't I." She then looked back up, gazing out at the city below, its lights twinkling in the darkness. Okay, so maybe the view was pretty good, she admitted. A sudden breeze, reminded her that she was going to be here all night, and the temperature was dropping fast. She glanced around, and finally saw a small stash, underneath the now wrecked camera

She grimaced as the memory of her rock throwing came back, I'll pay the old coot back later, she thought, before going to retrieve a blanket or two, along with some food that she shared with Radarr. It was going to be a long night, but at least she wasn't alone

Azula and Zuko approached Terra Aquanos, just as the sun was beginning to rise, as expected, they were intercepted by the defence fleet. A quick flash of their false ID's however, saw them past the fleet, and being escorted to central command for the Terra. There they found a rather nervous looking officer waiting for them

"Ah, agent Azula, I didn't know we'd be getting a visit from the one of the Senate's right hands," the man said congenially

"You can dispense with the pleasantries," Azula snapped back, "Where are the dissidents?"

Here the man began to sweat, "We erm, don't have them in custody quite yet, they slipped by us just yesterday."

"You mean you let them escape!" Azula hissed, getting right in the man's face, despite being a head shorter than the man, the officer looked to be near pissing himself

"N-no, they're still on the Terra, hiding somewhere, we're just trying to find them... don't worry I've put the entire Terra on lockdown, so they have no way out," the man said hurriedly, hoping he hadn't just botched his entire career

Azula heaved a sigh and backed away from him, "I suppose that's better than nothing... have you made any headway in your search?"

"Not yet I'm afraid, we're combing every building in the city looking for them... but so far it's like they just vanished."

Azula glanced at her brother, who just shrugged, with that blank expressionless look. "Alright, take us to where you last saw them."

Starling jolted awake as a hand shook her shoulder, she looked up into the grinning face of Tritonn, "Sleep well did ya lass?"

Starling cursed under her breath as she got up, "I closed my eyes for a second," she said, rubbing the sleep from them, before she saw Aerrow, standing a little behind Tritonn, a sleeping Radarr cradled in his arms

Tritonn chuckled, "Not to worry lass, the little Lemur kept watch while ye slept, and I feel pretty confident that if there'd been a problem, he'd have woken you."

Starling glanced towards Aerrow, who was smiling, she smiled back as she approached them. "Well I'll have to get the little guy some treats later won't I," she said, while running the backs of two fingers over the little guys head while he slept

Both Aerrow and Tritonn began to chuckle now, before Aerrow gave her a serious look, "You feeling better?"

Starling nodded, "Yea, a little..." her look now turned sheepish, "And I'm sorry about last night Aerrow."

Aerrow simply shrugged, "Water under the bridge," he replied

Starling smiled at that, before Tritonn called over to them, "Unless ya two love birds want to stay here all day, let's get moving," he said, while standing at the start of the path back to the sewer tunnel. Both Starling and Aerrow rushed to catch him up, while trying to hide the light blushes they were now sporting

After returning back to base Tritonn gathered everyone in the briefing room, where Piper had already set up the radio. She and Lark looked up as everyone entered, "I got Junko and Stork on the line," Piper called

Starling rushed over, and after a brief look of apology towards Piper, picked up the receiver, "Stork, please give me some good news."

"It's you're lucky day then Starling," came the Merb's reply, "Engine repairs have been completed and we are 100% operational again."

The others all cheered at the news, "Great," Starling breathed in relief, "In that case, we just need to figure out how we're going to get off this rock."

"Hold ya horses there lass," Tritonn said, "Even fully repaired, ya ship is gonna have a hard time getting through the blockade."

"Tritonn's right," Piper added, "We've been on his cameras all morning, the blockade has tightened and ALF is tearing the Terra apart looking for us."

"Aye, best to let the heat die down a bit," Tritonn agreed, "With how fast I've been told ya ship is, it won't take em long to get here if an emergency arises."

Starling was about to argue, but Aerrow stepped up to her side, "We can't afford to waste time though, the agents chasing us likely have already heard what happened yesterday, they could already even be here."

Starling nodded, "Aerrow's right, we don't have time to sit around and wait, we need to leave, and fast."

"Stork and I still need to run some tests to make sure we haven't missed anything," Junko stated, "If everything's in order though, we should be able to get there by nightfall."

"Aye, that would work better, the darkness will hide ye ship from sight, and they can approach the plateau you kept watch on last night," Tritonn put forward

"Won't the blockade still pick them up on radar though?" Lark asked

"Aye they will, but if ya ship comes in low, below the cloud cover, and swings wide of the Terra to approach from this side," Tritonn continued, pulling out a map of the Terra and indicating the path the Condor should take. "Then they won't pick it up till they reach the plateau, so long as ye kids are there by the time ya ship arrives, ye'll be gone before ALF can mobilise a reaction."

"Risqué," Dove muttered, "But it could work."

"Stork, Junko, did you get all that?" Starling asked

"Yep, just give us the location of the plateau and a time for the rendezvous," Stork replied

Starling nodded in satisfaction, and with Piper's help, began giving the two of them all the information they needed to pull off the extraction. Once that was done, Stork and Junko hung up to run through the last of their tests and prepare. Starling turned to the others, "In the meantime, we should prepare ourselves, maybe get some training in."

"Don't forget the code breaker," Finn called out, "It is the entire reason we came here."

Starling mentally kicked herself for forgetting, and turned to Tritonn, "Right yea, we need a code breaker, you wouldn't happen to have one laying around do you?"

Tritonn smiled, "As it happens lass, I do," he said, before heading over to a nearby cabinet and retrieving a small box. "It's a little on the old side, but I kept it updated and upgraded for modern codes," he stated, setting it on the table. Starling reached out for it, about to thank him, before Triton placed his hand atop it, stopping her, "But before I give this to ye lass, I want to make sure ye aren't going to get yeself captured again."

Starling felt her cheeks heat up in indignation at his words, but forced it down, she would not be goaded a second time. "What exactly did you have in mind?" she asked, her friends staring at her incredulously at her acceptance

Tritonn smiled again, "Follow me lads and lasses," with that, he turned and marched out of the room, Starling following, and after a moment, the others following her

The alley they'd been led to looked like any of the other alleys that crisscrossed, behind the streets of Terra Aquanos. So ordinary was this alley, that Azula's patience was beginning to wear thin, how in Atmos' name did they lose them here!? She walked up and down the alley a few times, over the location that the ALF troopers had expected to find their quarry yesterday afternoon, trying to put herself in the mind of her prey. I'm looking for an escape route... I have enemies coming up behind, and enemies in front... so, where do I go?

She looked up and down the alley, Zuko and the officer standing off to one side, with a majority of the troopers. The more she thought about it though, the more she was agreeing with the officer, escape should have been impossible... unless. Her eyes suddenly darted downward, and she squatted down, peering carefully at the paved stones beneath her feet, then she saw it. A tiny scuff mark where someone had tripped, and over what had they tripped. A thin black line, a gap, running perfectly down the middle of the alley, and in a square around the central line. Azula smirked as she stood, "Get your men to stand against the wall officer," she barked, while pulling out a lightning crystal, her eyes remaining intently locked on the paving stones

The officer got the hint, and had the men press up against the wall, or move away from the area that Azula was staring at. Once the area was cleared, Azula began to charge up the crystal, lightning crackling around her, before she unleashed it at the ground in front of her, causing it to erupt in an explosion of rubble. Once the dust had cleared, it revealed a large hole leading down to a cistern below, one of the doors that Azula had just blown apart, had remained mostly intact, and had fallen down to land along the rim of the cistern, now forming a helpful platform directly beneath the new opening

Azula looked towards the officer, who was staring at the hole, completely dumbfounded, "Get a winch and some cable, we're going down there." She ordered

The officer glanced up at her, then back at the hole, before his eyes returned to her once more, and he gave a shaky salute, "Yes ma'am, right away ma'am."

"Again," Tritonn instructed

Once more, the six of them in their pairs went through the motions Tritonn had just shown them, a set of combat moves that the Neck Deeps had practiced and refined for decades. Occasionally Tritonn would adjust their stances as he walked around them, Radarr perched on his shoulder, munching on another honey coated breadstick, what amounted to the little guy's breakfast

"We've been going at this for hours man…" Finn complained, "Can't we take a break."

"We're only here for the day Finn," Piper called, while blocking Lark's attacks, "We need to learn as much as we can while we're here."

Starling nodded as she completed her set against Aerrow, "That's right, and even then, we're going to have to practice what Tritonn shows us… just a single day isn't enough to fully learn what he teaches us."

"Well said lass, and good form, ye and Aerrow can take a breather for a few minutes, grab a drink," Tritonn said. Starling and Aerrow nodded in thanks, their faces slick with sweat

"We had some intensive training at the Academy, but this is brutal by comparison," Aerrow panted, grabbing a water bottle and beginning to chug

Tritonn gave a hearty laugh, "You call that circus they run at the Academy Skyknight Training?"

Everyone paused now to look at Triton, "Quoi?" Dove asked, after having caught Finn's surprised fumble rather awkwardly

Tritonn chuckled, "Neither the Senate nor Long Feng wanted new Skyknights with potentially disruptive ideas running around, so they had the Academy water down the training." All six of them stared at him incredulously, "Both of them wanted ALF to be the only true military force in Atmos, because they controlled it. Historically, the Skyknights have never answered to anyone, because every Skyknight, upon the completion of his training takes an oath to serve the people." The incredulous stares grew in intensity, "So tell me, what do you think might happen if say, the Senate, Atmos' governing body, started taking advantage of the people?"

Aerrow's jaw dropped, and the others didn't look much better, Dove finally broke the silence, "No wonder your dad left to join the Cyclonians."

Aerrow shook his head, trying to clear the shock, he was about to speak, when another voice interrupted him, "He was a coward and a traitor, he deserved a far worse death than what he got."

All of them whirled to see a young woman with dark hair standing at the far entrance of the long room they were in, just behind her was a young man with a burn scar around one eye, also with dark hair. Behind them was the ALF officer from yesterday, accompanied by two squads of ALF soldiers. "Just like you it would seem, Commander Tritonn," the woman finished, spitting Tritonn's name as if it were a derogatory word

"Better a traitor than a Long Feng lapdog," Triton retorted, as he moved to stand between the ALF soldiers and the kids

The dark-haired woman smiled maliciously, "You might be singing a different tune, after my brother and I have, disciplined you." She then gave a nod to the soldiers behind her, who began to advance forward, weapons at the ready

"Tritonn, what do we do?" Starling asked, as they began to back up

"Run" Starling glanced at the old Skyknight and saw him palm a spherical object in one hand. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned around

"RUN!" she shouted to the others, making instantly for the far entrance, the others didn't need telling twice, following behind her as Tritonn pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed it towards the ALF soldiers

Azula saw the grenade flying towards them, and calmly pulled out her lightning crystal, before firing a bolt at the grenade, causing it to explode in mid-air. The ALF soldiers were all forced to jump away from the explosion and shield themselves from the shrapnel. Once the smoke and dust had cleared, she saw that their quarry had fled. She whirled to the ALF officer, "Find them, tear this entire place apart if you have to!"

The officer nodded and began barking orders to his men as Azula and Zuko followed their quarry

The race back to the main area of the base was frantic, and didn't really stop after reaching it, already they could hear the ALF soldiers tearing through the tunnels, searching for them. "Grab ya things and get to the plateau, now!" Tritonn said, as he pushed the code breaker into Piper's arms

"What about you?" Aerrow asked, grabbing his swords

"Don't ye worry bout me boyo, I'll be just fine," Tritonn replied as he donned his armour and picks up a bow staff

"Merde, you cannot fight them alone!" Dove exclaimed

"She's right, you're outnumbered, you'll never make it," Finn added

"Don't ye kids worry, I got some tricks up me sleeve," Tritonn said, "Besides, someone needs to buy ye kids some time so they can't stop ye getting off this rock."

"But we need you," Piper cried, "You've got experience, you know the other terras places we can hide."

Starling felt something twist inside her at Piper's words, but the recent memories of all her failures loomed in her mind, causing her to fight through the feeling as she spoke. "Piper's right, as much as I hate to say it, we need a real leader."

Tritonn now turned to her with a smile, "I'm honoured lass, truly, but your merry little band already has the perfect leader," he said, placing a hand on Starling's shoulder. "She just needs to have a bit of confidence in herself and remember. A good leader listens, to her team, to her instinct, and to reason, and never lets fear or doubt consume her."

Starling stared at the old Knight, stunned, humbled, yes, but as she processed what Tritonn said, she felt determination rise inside her. She gave a curt nod to the old Skyknight, returning his smile, before slinging her nun chucks and grabbing Lark by the elbow. "Let's go, we need to get to the plateau now."

"Wait Starling hold up," Aerrow called

"Now Aerrow, or we'll never get off this rock, besides," she glanced back to see Tritonn pulling out the radio to call the Condor, "We got what we came for." With that, she led the others around the corner and out of sight before any of them could argue

Tritonn meanwhile made the call to the Condor, ensuring that upon the kid's arrival at the plateau, their ride would be waiting for them. Then he turned to his base's computer, and began typing in a very specific code, a code he thought he'd never have to use. Once he'd finished, he ran a hand along his desk, "fare thee well old friend, it's been an honour." With that, he turned and proceeded to meet his foe, behind him on the computer screen, a countdown had begun

Azula and Zuko wandered through the corridors of the Neck Deep's secret base, around them in various rooms, the ALF soldiers were tearing the place apart, searching every nook and cranny for their quarry. "To think this has been down here all this time," Azula spat

"Ye'd be surprised at what secrets this old Terra holds."

Azula's attention snapped ahead, along with many of the ALF soldiers, there ahead of them, stood Commander Tritonn of the Neck Deeps

"Sorry lass, but this is as far as ye and ya minions get," he stated, drawing his bow staff and twirling it about, before assuming a fighting stance

"Predictable Skyknight," Azula drawled, "Always one to sacrifice for others… how's that working out for you by the way?"

Tritonn smiled as two ALF troopers advanced on him, batons held at the ready. Just before they reached him, Tritonn whipped the staff around, catching the leg of one, and sending him tumbling into the second, as the two collapsed to the floor, the staff came round again and knocked both their lights out, and they crumpled like marionettes. "Just fine lass, just fine indeed," Tritonn replied mockingly, gesturing for them to bring it

Azula scowled, before drawing a firebolt crystal, beside her, Zuko did the same. The officer saw this and instantly had his men retreat behind the two of them. Tritonn readied to fight, but quickly changed tactics when the siblings launched a massive fireball at him down the corridor. He only just managed to avoid being chargrilled, ducking down a secondary tunnel before the flaming ball of death could reach him. Behind him though, he could hear his pursuers coming after him

Well I wanted their attention

Wasting no time, he sprang to his feet and took off down the corridor

Having done the route twice now, it didn't take Starling long to lead the others to the outflow that led to the plateau on the Terra's rim. Upon reaching it, she ushered everyone through, only Aerrow hung back with her. Both looked round back down the tunnel they'd just come, as the sound of an explosion reached them

"I hate this," Aerrow grumbled, Radarr giving an agreeing whimper from his shoulder perch

"You and me both, but we don't have a choice, we can't risk being captured," Starling replied

Another explosion echoed down the tunnel, "We should go back, help him," Aerrow said

"We do that and everything he's done for us up until now will have been in vain," Starling countered. Before Aerrow could retort, she went on, "He's buying us time Aerrow, we can't squander it… besides, if I know that old coot… he'll have a plan for his own escape ready."

Aerrow was silent as they listened to a third explosion echo through the sewers, "And if he doesn't?"

"Then it was an honour knowing him," Starling replied

Aerrow looked to her in surprise, just yesterday she'd been brawling with Tritonn, screaming and yelling at him. Now she treated him as a comrade

Starling chuckled, "It was a very big slice of humble pie he served me," she said smiling, before ducking through the exit and following the others to the top

Aerrow stared at the space she'd occupied for a moment, before shaking his head and glancing at Radarr, "Learn something new every day, huh buddy." Radarr gave him a smile and a nod in response, before Aerrow ducked through the exit himself.

Upon reaching the top he saw everyone gathered around staring off into the sky looking for the Condor. "You're sure he got through to them?" Lark asked

"Positive," Starling replied

"Well they better step on it cause we're about to have company," Finn called. Everyone turned to look at what he spotted, and saw the entire blockade fleet moving towards them

"What!?" Azula exclaimed into her radio

"A single ship just swung wide of the Terra and seems to be trying to make an approach from behind," The operator back at air traffic reported

The Condor, Azula's hand tightened on the radio. Of course, her official mission, the one that ALF believed her to be on, dictated the capture of the young dissidents. While her true mission, hinged on making sure they got away, while keeping up the appearance that she was trying to capture them. So, this rather timely report left her in a difficult position. If she told the blockade to hold off, questions would be raised, but if she gave them the go ahead to break formation, there was a chance they'd succeed in capturing the dissidents. Triton was not making this decision any easier for her, constantly harassing and hounding them across his own base. Finally, though, an idea struck

"Track the ship and determine it's precise course, I don't want to risk a them pulling a ruse and slipping through our grasp," she ordered

"At once ma'am."

Piper peered carefully through her binoculars at the approaching fleet, "They're not traveling at full speed, and their spread out, it's almost like their searching for something."

"But why, they must be able to see us?" Lark asked

Starling stared at the ships herself, then realised where they were facing, "They're not looking at us, they're looking beyond us."

"What for?" Finn asked

The welcome sound of the Condor's horn was his answer as it rose majestically from the clouds surrounding the Terra. The team cheered upon sighting it, "Everyone on board now!" Starling cried, having noticed that the fleet had picked up speed upon the Condor's arrival

Just as they were about to board however, the Terra was rocked by an explosion, and a whole segment of the Terra's rim wall was torn asunder

Azula and Zuko had finally cornered Tritonn, the old Knight was panting, back to the wall, covered in soot and scorch marks. And yet, he was still smiling, "Got to say, ye two sure know how to handle yeself's," he chuckled

"Enough games," Azula snarled, "Where are they!?"

Tritonn simply smiled, "Sorry lass, but I'm afraid we're both out of time."

And then, the base exploded

Starling and the others had leapt onto the deck of the Condor to avoid the worst of the explosion, now they scrambled to the edge, looking over to see the massive hole in the side of the Terra where Tritonn's base had once been

"Can anyone see him!?" Starling yelled

No one answered for a moment, then Aerrow pointed down at some shifting rubble, "There!"

Out of the rubble crawled Tritonn, he was battered, bruised, and with blood running down one side of his face, but still walking. He heard the distant yelling above him and looked up to see the kids aboard their ship trying to get the pilot to go down and get him. Then the prow of an ALF cruiser appeared overhead, and behind him, he could hear more rubble shifting. He looked round to see his opponents crawl out of the rubble behind him, both holding personal shield crystals

Ah well, worth a shot

As the two siblings faced him once more and the kids above - heedless of their own peril – continued to yell, he spotted movement below him. Before he could investigate that, the young agent in front spoke

"You'll have to do better than that, old man," she drawled, "Got any more surprises?"

Tritonn glanced to the kids, seeing their pleading faces, then he looked back at his foe, making sure to meet her stare. "Just one," he answered, before tipping backwards and throwing himself into the clouds below

Starling wasn't aware she'd cried out, until the others pulled her back to stop her from falling over the edge. She was vaguely aware of Aerrow yelling to Stork, and afterwards felt the Condor begin pulling away from the Terra, leaving the oncoming cruisers in the dust

Azula watched the Condor leave, this had been closer than she'd have liked, but their mission was a success, the young dissidents were once again on the move, running towards the resistance. She looked down at the clouds below her, as she did, Zuko stepped up beside her, "Should we begin a search?"

Azula thought for a moment, staring hard at the clouds, almost expecting the stubborn Aquanosian to coming soaring out of the clouds on the back of a Purrgil. After several minutes had passed however, she turned to her brother, "No one could have survived such a fall." With that she began to walk towards where a cruiser was manoeuvring alongside the gaping hole to begin a search for survivors. Zuko cast one last look at the clouds, before following

Several hours had passed since their flight from Terra Aquanos, in all that time, no one had said a word. Finally, Piper broke the silence, "He wouldn't want us to give up… we have to keep going."

A mutter of agreement swept round the bridge, before all eyes drifted to Starling. The young Princess took a deep breath, "I've never thought much of Skyknights…" she glanced at Aerrow, "Your dad was different, he never carried himself like one of them, so I never saw him as a Skyknight… but Tritonn…" she trailed off

"He was an honorable warrior, we would not have made it without him," Dove stated, to another murmur of ascent

"He honoured his code, even after everything that had happened to him and the other Skyknights," Aerrow said, "We cannot let his sacrifice be in vain."

Silence reigned for a while after that, before Stork spoke, "Next course Commander?"

All heads turned to Starling again, who took another breath, "Get us out of the inner sphere, head for the outer Terras, we need time to crack grandmother's codes, and we can't do that with ALF on our tail."

"Aye, aye," everyone chorused, before setting off to their stations

As they got to work, Starling gathered herself, before moving to stand just behind the helm, where Stork was busy plotting the ship's course

No more mistakes, no more doubt, no more fear… we're a team now, we'll get through this together, one way or another

As these thoughts solidified in her mind, her team formed up either side of her, as they forged ahead on their journey

And that's a wrap for tonight folks

Don't forget to leave a review as they encourage more, and as always, constructive critiscim is welcome

See you all next time

French Translations

Risqué = Risky

Quoi = What

honorable = honourable

P.S. if anyone finds any instances where I forgot the second N in Tritonn's name, please let me know