Chapter 29- Collateral Damage

"It became necessary to destroy the town to save it."

-Unidentified US Officer, regarding the battle at Ben Tre, Vietnam (veracity disputed)

"We are in a stable orbit, sir," said the officer at the helm.

"Good," said Oakes. "Any word from the embassy staff, comms?"

"Yes, sir, they're preparing to dock now."

He frowned. "That's quick. They're already ready for launch?" In his experience, diplomats did nothing quickly.

"No, sir," said his communications officer. "I mean they're approaching the hangar bay right now."

Oakes stared at him. "They were already launched?"

"They apparently launched as soon as we approached Terra, sir." The communications officer shrugged her shoulders. "I guess they were in a hurry."

"What do they know that we don't?" mused Oakes.

"Conn, sensors. Detecting transit signatures. Three- no, four transit signatures."

There hadn't been any ships preparing to transit to Terra from Wolf 359, so that meant- "Drex?"

"Transiting now." Lieutenant Cho, on Sensors, scanned his board. "That's confirmed, sir. I make it three Trout-class troop transports and-" he paused. "Sir, it's a Shrike-class strike cruiser."

Oakes grimaced. The class names had been assigned by High Command- it wasn't what the Drex called them- and were chosen to avoid being intimidating. The Shrike-class was a miss, in his opinion- it sounded scary. And was scary, for that matter. It was easily a match for the Nike, at least in a fair fight.

But that light carrier was still in orbit as well. Which meant it wouldn't be a fair fight, at all.

"Sir, the embassy shuttle has docked. Ambassador Castell is on his way to see you."

"Very well," said Oakes. "Have the Drex ships made contact?"

"No, sir."

"Open a channel. I want to know why they've sent a moderate-sized task force into what's supposed to be neutral space."

After a pause, the comms officer nodded at Oakes. "They've acknowledged the signal, sir."

"This is Captain Jonathan Oakes of the HSF Nike," said Oakes. "Please state your intentions."

"This is Sector Commander Quintillus Sabinus of the Commonwealth star cruiser Centurion," came the confident answer. It was a voice-only signal, but Oakes could practically see the smug look on the Drex's face. "We are here at the request of our allies, the Terrans. Terran space is now under our protection."

Oakes muted the connection. "Sound general quarters," he said calmly. As soon as his order was acknowledged, he re-connected. "Allies? The Terrans are friendly neutrals, last we heard."

Sabinus continued as if he hadn't spoken. "We understand you have some embassy staff to pick up. You will be allowed to do so, but then you must leave the system immediately."

"Commander Sabinus-"

"You have two hours to comply. Your continued presence will constitute an act of war. Centurion out."

There was a long silence. The door behind Oakes opened, and Castell walked through. Oakes stood and turned to him.

"What, precisely, is going on, ambassador?"

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"This had better be important," said Maximus. He had been pulled out of an important meeting by an urgent request to meet with the Drex ambassador, and was feeling all the weight of his seventy-plus years.

Octavius as sitting at the conference table where they had last met with the human ambassador. Six more Drex stood behind him. Octavius stood respectfully as Maximus entered the room, closely followed by his aide, Phillip.

"I assure you, Premier, it is of the utmost importance." Octavius picked up a folder on his desk and handed it to Maximus. "Please, read this."

The elephant, somewhat irritably, opened the folder and looked inside. He snapped it shut almost immediately. "This proposal again?" he said, truly angry now. "You pulled me out of a meeting with the Defense Board for this?"

"Your excellency, the humans are-"

"The humans are gone. For now." Maximus shook his head. "We are not going to allow Drex troops to land on Terran soil unless the need is truly dire. Simply pulling their embassy staff out is not enough of a threat."

Octavius frowned. "I wish you'd reconsider, your excellency."

"I haven't time for this, Ambassador. We will consider your proposal at-"

Philip was looking at his phone, a shocked expression on his face. "Sir-"

"Not now, Philip. In due course, Octavius, we will-"

"Sir!" said the opossum, more urgently. "I just received an urgent message from the National Observatory."

Maximus looked down at him quizzically. "The National Observatory?"

"Yes, sir. They've detected four more ships entering the system. From the Drex wormhole."

The premier stared at him, then slowly transferred his gaze to Octavius, who looked pained. "We thought that it might be necessary to act quickly, your excellency. We have the troops intended to protect your planet enroute already- there wouldn't be time if we waited much longer."

"Send them back," growled Maximus.

"I'm afraid that's not an option," said the Drex blandly.

"What?" Maximus rose to his full height, towering over the Drex below him. "Not an option? Even the humans didn't try to station troops on Terran soil-"

Octavius took a step forward. "Your excellency, the Council of the Commonwealth has decided that Terra- being a link between our territory and that of the Human Stars- is a strategically important location. We are going to protect you, whether you like it or not."

"If you think I'm going to allow Drex military to land-"

"It's not up to you, sir." Octavius's voice was hard. "The decision I'm asking you to make is not whether troops land. It's whether we land as allies- or as invaders."

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Tavi knew that Nick and Judy were in orbit- the news had announced the arrival of the Nike in system a few hours ago- so she sent off a quick email to them. What was next?

Shepherd had Hunter. She wasn't sure how, or why, but it seemed Khabat was in control of the tank. Who did she know that could help her track the tank- wait a minute.

She dialed a number. "Scruggs," came the wary answer.

"Scruggs, I know you never trusted Shepherd- always thought he'd go rogue or something-"

The ocelot's tone became concilatory. "Yeah, and I'm sorry, Tavi. I'm sure he's just off, I don't know, recharging his batteries or something. I mean, he's been a good tank for this long that I-"

"He's gone rogue," said Tavi, breaking in.

"I knew it!" shouted Scruggs, without missing a beat. "I knew that lousy robot was up to something!"

"Listen, did you ever attach a GPS tracker to him? It's important."

"Um." There was a long pause. "How did you know?"

"It seemed like something you'd do. And that means you would have been tracking him, right?"

"Yeah, but the contact is intermittent- lost him at the garage, then picked him up briefly near the spaceport-"

"Are you tracking him now?"

There was a slight delay, and she could hear keys clacking in the background. "Um, yeah, but he's not- wait a minute. It's showing up again. East of Zootopia, moving at- wow, a hundred and thirty klicks an hour? That thing can move."

"It's a flying tank, Scruggs." She jumped into her car. "Tell me where to go."

"Um, shouldn't you have, I don't know, back-up? I don't think you can take on a tank."

"I did before," said Tavi. Granted, I had a lot of help from my friends- but Hunter was in trouble. "I'll do it again."

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Maximus glared down at the Drex. "We won't stand for this. How many troops are you going to bring, Octavius? A hundred thousand? We've got billions of mammals on Terra."

"And if you were Drex, you'd have me worried," said Octavius. "But there's something that you have that we don't have. Fear. If we kill enough of you, the rest will stop fighting." He shifted his stance, bringing one hand close to his waist. "Are you going to accept our offer? Join us as allies?"

"Philip," said Maximus, not taking his eyes off the Drex. "Call security. I want the Drex delegation escorted out of-"

As Philip pulled out his phone, one of Octavius's men moved. His hand moved under his jacket, came out with a short-barreled pistol. The opossum squeaked in alarm and tried to duck, but the shot caught him full in the chest, knocking him backward over the chair he was sitting on.

Maximus trumpeted in anger, and charged forward. Octavius dove out of the enraged elephant's way, but two of his men were caught flat-footed. Swinging his great tusks around, the elephant caught them both up and threw them against the wall, so hard their bodies cracked it. And more than the wall broke- both crashed to the ground, shattered and lifeless.

Octavius had his own gun out, a rail pistol whose power belied its small size. He fired repeatedly into the elephant's side, staggering the gigantic mammal.

The other Drex likewise fired, pouring rounds into the premier. Maximus bellowed in anger and fear, yet still managed to lunge forward, smashing a Drex between the wall and his head. There was the crunch of bones and the Drex sagged forward, blood pouring out of his mouth.

But it was the aged elephant's last effort. He sagged to the floor, one paw clutching at the pattern of bullet holes in his side. He rolled his eyes up to Octavius as the Drex moved forward.

Octavius was panting from his sudden exertion. He scanned the corpses of his men, looked down at Maximus. "Impressive," he admitted. "Most impressive. Once your people have been tamed, they will make an effective addition to our forces."

"Killing me won't get you the planet," wheezed Maximus. Blood was slowly pooling under his body.

"No," said Octavius, raising the pistol. "But it's a start."

He fired.

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"I thought the Drex said they were reinforcing the planet," said Tossetti slowly. She was studying the sensor readouts at her console.

"They did," confirmed Oakes.

"Then they're lying. Look at the dispersal pattern. That's not how you land troops on a friendly world."

Oakes looked, saw what she saw. "It's an invasion."

Castell walked up next to them, glancing cursorily at the sensor screen. "As expected," he said dismissively.

Oakes glanced at Tossetti. "Have the Terrans report to the bridge." He turned his attention back to Castell. "What do you mean, as expected? And where's Khabat- the ranger?"

"We all knew what would happen if the Terrans chose to cozy up to the Drex, Captain. And Khabat is still on Terra."

The doors slid open, revealing the three ZPD officers, as well as Wu. They stopped as they saw Oakes staring intently at Castell.

"Staying behind, is she?" said Oakes icily. "Let me guess, she's got some kind of resistance cell she's created? Lead the guerilla war?"

"Some Terrans do understand their place in the galaxy, Captain," said Castell. "They're not all against us."

"What's going on?" asked Judy, looking around. The tension in the bridge crew was palpable. "What's the human ambassador doing here?"

It was Tossetti who answered. "The Drex are invading Terra," she said simply.

"What?" said Nick. He rushed to the sensors station. Cho, manning the station, hesitated but let him look over his shoulder at a wave from Oakes. "Oh, my God."

"It was to be expected," insisted Castell. "You Terrans had your chance to ally with us, and you threw it away. This is just- collateral damage."

"We threw it away?" snapped Barker. "You kidnapped innocent civilians and fought a pitched battle with the ZPD."

"Rogue elements-"

"Enough!" shouted Oakes, slamming a fist on his chair. They all fell silent, looking at him. He turned to Castell. "There's no time to argue about this. What we need to do is figure out how we're going to respond."

Castell shook his head. "Your orders are to proceed back to Alphacen. There is to be no conflict with the Drex."

"Our orders come from High Command," said Tossetti frostily. "Not the Ministry of First Contacts."

"Your orders come from your captain," said Castell. "And his orders come from me. Isn't that right, Captain?"

Oakes grimaced. "We can't just leave them to Drex control," he said. "If nothing else, that's a whole planet the Drex will have gained- one that's only two jumps from Alphacen."

"And we won't, Captain," said Castell soothingly. "The Drex will overextend themselves with this conquest. In five, maybe ten years, we'll be back with the troops and ships to liberate Terra from their invasion. After they've bled a while."

"After who has bled a while?" said Nick angrily. "The Drex? Or us?"

Castell shrugged. "Both."

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"It's still going east, towards the Deadlands," reported Scruggs.

Tavi was racing along the highway, weaving in and out of the increasingly sparse traffic. "He," she corrected. "Shepherd's not an it."

"It's gone rogue, Tavi. I'm not worried about its feelings."

"Maybe that's why he went rogue, Scruggs? Ever think of that?"

There was a long pause. "No," said Scruggs, finally. "I honestly hadn't considered that the massive robotic tank went crazy because I failed to use the right pronoun for it."

"Wait a minute, you said it's going into the Deadlands? The highly radioactive region around that big crater?"

"Yes, I was about to expand on that."

"Expand? How?" She gunned the engine- she had just passed the last small town for miles, and there was hardly any traffic to be seen.

"It's highly radioactive," said Scruggs. "You can't go in there."

"Oh, come on. How bad could it be?"

"It's called the Deadlands, Tavi. You figure it out." He sighed. "Besides, the freeway doesn't go close enough to the crater for you to get there on foot."

She slowed down. "Oh, right."

"Tavi, if it takes Hunter to the Deadlands, then-" She could almost hear his shrug. "There's not much we can do."

"Look, I'm on Highway 109, eastbound." She peered out the window, seeing the savannah giving way to desert, and in the distance-

Sand and dirt. Gently rolling hills with rocks, a few straggly trees and bushes, but not even many of those. What were present looked stunted and deformed.

Probably from the radiation.

"How close can I get on the freeway?" asked Tavi.

"Wait a minute," said Scruggs. "I just lost tracking again on the tank. Did you say you were on 109?"

"Yeah, about ten miles east of Hedgefield," she said. "Why?"

"Because- and bear in mind that I lost contact, so where the tank is now is anyone's guess, but-"

Tavi felt a shadow cross over her car, as if a cloud had just covered the sun. She looked up.

Not a cloud.

A tank.

Tavi swerved, trying to get out from under the flying armored vehicle, but Shepherd easily paced her every move.

"Scruggs! Shepherd is here-" the phone slipped from her grasp as two of the tank's manipulating arms latched onto the speeding car. There was a loud crunch and then suddenly she felt herself and the car being lifted into the air.

Almost immediately, the car slowed, the tires no longer on the roadway. She started to roll down the window-

The passenger side window was suddenly smashed, and a third arm shot through, grasping her firmly- yet gently- around the waist. She tried to wriggle away, but found herself pulled through the window and placed on top of the tank.

She managed to get loose and prepared to jump off the tank to the ground below.

Arms windmilling, she barely managed to keep from falling off. The ground was now below, all right. Far, far below.

Shepherd was soaring through the air. Gently, one of the manipulating arms tugged her further back onto the hull. "Please do not move around, Commander," said the tank. "You will not be harmed."

"Shepherd! Where's Hunter?"

"Officer Hunter is currently in my cockpit." The tank's hatch opened. "I suggest you go inside as well. The radiation levels will rapidly become dangerous to you if you are not protected by my armor."

She hesitated. "Radiation levels? Where are we going, exactly?"

"It is called the Deadlands by Terrans. Please enter my cockpit, Commander."

She stumbled toward the cockpit, instinctively grasping the barrel of Shepherd's main gun- wait a minute. "Shepherd, you have a gun turret on you." She was amazed at how calm she sounded.

"Self-repair algorithms were activated by higher authority," said the tank. "I am now fully operational."

"I", he'd said. Not "this unit". It was a small thing, and he had just kidnapped her her from her car, and was "fully operational"- which likely meant the evil-looking gunports now concealed machine guns- but he still seemed to remember some of the things she had taught him.

Trembling, unsure, she slipped inside the hatch, which closed behind her with a clang.

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Bogo heard his intercom beep, pressed the button. "Yes?"

"Sir, we have reports of alien invaders landing in multiple locations throughout the city," said Clawhauser.

"Who is reporting that?" asked Bogo, glancing through the form he had been reading over. "Old Mr. Tabbishire? Because he does that every time he gets off his medication."

"Um, no, sir. We have a lot of reports. Including from several officers."

Bogo sat upright. "Who? The humans?"

"No, sir. The other ones- the Drex."

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The Drex dropship landed right in the center of Sahara Square, giving just enough time for the pedestrians to scatter before it touched down. Immediately, the ramps opened and dozens of heavily armed Drex troopers marched out.

Sub-tribune Valentinus was the last to exit, eyes scanning. The sapient mammals were scattering, for the most part. Several had some of the communication devices held up. He squinted. Were they seriously filming the Drex invasion?

"Fire a warning volley," he ordered.

The centurion in charge of the unit nodded and barked orders. A scatter of shots flew over the mammals that had remained- except for one round that struck a giraffe. The mammal fell to the ground, feet kicking spasmodically.

Valentinus clucked angrily. "Take that man's name, centurion." He raised his voice. "Remember, these creatures are of varying heights and body types. Watch carefully where you are shooting. I don't want any more casualties than are absolutely necessary."

"Yes, sir!" snapped the centurion. He turned to bawl out the offending legionnaire, but stopped at a raised hand from Valentinus. "Later, centurion. Take your century to the city hall. I will move to the ZPD headquarters. Do not engage any civilians or local law enforcement unless necessary."

The centurion acknowledged and Valentinus gestured to the praetorians, the elite guard. "Come with me."

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"Yes, mayor, that's correct, there is currently an alien invasion in progress," said Bogo with strained patience over the phone. He stopped to listen.

"The Drex, sir." There was a longer outburst from Procyon. Bogo frowned. "Sir, I'm not saying we should go out guns blazing, but I'm not certain we shouldn't put up some sort of resistance- I could at least get a few squads together, show them that we can protect ourselves if needed-"

Bogo winced as the mayor's voice became louder. He glanced up and noticed Clawhauser standing in the doorway, looking worried. He motioned to the cheetah to come inside.

"Sir, I already have reports of civilian casualties- what do you mean, they promised they wouldn't hurt anyone?" Bogo stood so fast he jerked the phone off the desk, leaving the base hanging from the receiver. "Mr. Mayor, did you have prior knowledge of the Drex invasion?"

Clawhauser's eyes widened.

Bogo looked at the phone and slowly replaced both the base and the receiver. "He hung up," he said, almost to himself. He looked up at Clawhauser. "What is it?"

"Sir, a unit of Drex soldiers was seen approaching the station."

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You were on the phone with the mayor! You said never to disturb you when you were on the phone with the mayor!" said Clawhauser, wringing his paws.

"I said unless it's a dire emergency! An alien invasion applies!' Bogo started towards the door, only to find his way blocked by a tall Drex in armor, painted with an urban camouflage color scheme. The Drex had a pistol strapped to his waist.

"Ah, you must be Chief Bogo," said the Drex. "I am Sub-tribune Valentinus. I am here to discuss the terms of your cooperation with the Commonwealth of Drex."

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"You knew," said Oakes, his eyes on Castell. "You knew that as soon as we withdrew our embassy, the Drex would make their move. That's why you launched as soon as we arrived. You wanted to be off the planet."

"The Terrans made their bed," said Castell. "Now we're going to let them lie in it." He shrugged. "Based on past Drex occupations, they probably won't lose more than twenty, maybe thirty percent of their population."

"That's billions of mammals," said Judy. "Sweet cheese and crackers!"

Everyone on the bridge looked at her. Nick rubbed his forehead with his paw. "Really, Carrots?"

"What?"

"I think an alien invasion calls for something more than 'cheese and crackers'."

"Look," said Judy angrily. "The point is, you can't just leave them to die!"

"That's exactly what we're doing, Ms. Hopps," snapped Castell. "Because they had a choice. Of their own free will, they chose the Drex. They have sowed the wind, and now they will reap the whirlwind."

"We didn't even know what we were choosing between," protested Barker. "I mean, none of us knew anything of the Drex."

"We told you-"

Oakes held up a hand. "Told, ambassador?'

Castell looked at him, surprised. "Yes, of course. We told them that the Drex could not be trusted."

"We have extensive video documentation of their attack on Luyten. Of the occupation. Of the millions of humans who died there, most of them innocent civilians," said Oakes, his voice even but cold. "Did you provide them with this documentation?"

Castell hesitated. "They never asked-"

"How are we supposed to ask for something we don't know exists?" demanded Barker.

"That information was classified," said Castell, as if playing a trump card. "It contained vital military and strategic information."

"The Federal Broadcasting Service shows a documentary based on it every anniversary of the Third Battle of Luyten," said Tossetti, her voice dry. "I hardly think it's classified if they show it on the television."

The human ambassador glared at her, but then looked back at Oakes. "You have your orders, Oakes. Or do you want to take a second chance at the firing squad?"

"Captain, it is within our remit to engage Drex forces engaged in aggressive activity against friendly assets," said Tossetti. "It is a matter for command discretion."

"It is a direct order!" shouted Castell. "You made a deal, Oakes!"

Tossetti's eyes narrowed as her captain avoided her eyes. "Deal, sir? What's he talking about?"

"Oakes is working with us, Tossetti," said Castell. "The Ministry of First Contacts is under the Security Directorate. And Oakes- to avoid execution- agreed to abide by the orders of the Security Directorate."

"Sir, he has no authority over you-"

"As you said, Commander Tossetti," interrupted Castell, "It is a matter of command discretion. And our advice, then, is to leave the system and allow us to handle the matter in our own way." He crossed his arms. "I strongly suggest you follow my advice," he said with a sneer.

Oakes glared at Castell, but finally hung his head, defeated. "Tossetti, chart a course back to the Wolf 359 transit," he said quietly.

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Tavi found Hunter, strapped securely into the front seat of the tank's cockpit. "Zach!" she shouted, scurrying up to him. She stopped short as she saw he was slumped over, his head lolling to the side- but then saw his slow, even breaths. She put a tentative paw on his knee. "Zach?"

"Officer Hunter is currently unconscious," said Shepherd impassively. "He will remain so until the nanites used to sedate him are instructed to allow him to wake."

"Nanites-" she frowned, thinking. Nanites were tiny- microscopic- little robots that the humans used for various purposes- mostly medical, she thought. She'd never heard of sedative nanites, though. "Wake him up! Tell them to wake him up."

"Unable to comply. Conflicts with standing orders."

She glared up at the roof of the cockpit, where Shepherd's voice was coming from. "Shepherd, I'm your commander, aren't I?"

"You are my immediate superior, Anila Tavi," acknowledged the tank.

"I am giving you an order." She crossed her arms. Hunter didn't budge. "Well?"

"Orders precluded by standing orders from High Command."

"High Command? Who?"

"High Command," repeated Shepherd. His voice sounded toneless and dull. "We have arrived," he announced. Tavi stumbled slightly as the tank abruptly decelerated. She jumped up onto Hunter's lap to look through the tank's front viewscreen.

They were nearing the center of the vast crater at the center of the Deadlands. Instead of being round, like most impact craters, it was far more oval, extending some ten kilometers, and only about two kilometers wide. Tavi remembered, vaguely, that the odd shape of the crater had excited a great deal of controversy- most scientists tended to believe that something, maybe an asteroid, had struck at a highly oblique angle, causing the odd shape. No one could get close enough to resolve the issue, of course- the high radiation levels precluded that.

The center of the crater was full of crystal clear water, with no signs of life- as they got closer, she noted how the water was still, with no flashing fish or ripples from insects. Radiation again- the water must have been as sterile as a the surface of the moon.

Then the stillness of the lake was suddenly broken. Her eyes were drawn to a ripple in the center of the crater. The ripple grew, the rose into a wave that rolled outwards toward the edge of the crater lake. A metal column broached the surface, sending water splashing, more water rolling off the smooth top and falling to the surface of the lake far below.

Shepherd angled his flight, moving to the top of the column, which opened to allow the tank access. The tank settled into the opening. Tavi looked up to see the door closing above them, slowly shutting out the light.

Just as the last of the sun winked out behind the inexorable metal doors, lights came on in the chamber they were in. "Can I get out now?" she asked the tank, not sure whether she wanted to.

"Negative. Currently evacuating air. Replacing with non-contaminated air."

She nodded slowly. An airlock. To keep out the radiation, presumably. But how had anyone- presumably Prometheus- built such a thing out here, with the radiation levels so high? Without anyone noticing?

Then she nodded to herself. He hadn't built it out here- he had been here the whole time. It tracked with what she had half-realized when she read the title of that book. Prometheus was ancient. Dating back- how long? At least since the Drex had been around.

She shivered.

Tavi nearly lost her balance again as the whole structure shifted, then she felt the lightness she associated with elevators. "Are we descending?" she asked, a bit nervously.

Shepherd's voice was still bland. "Affirmative. Descending below the lake's surface." The tank seemed to hesitate. "Soon, you will be briefed regarding your role, Commander."

"My role?"

Another opening in the floor appeared in front of them. Shepherd gently rose off the ground and eased forward. "All questions will be answered by High Command."

Refusing to speak further, the tank slowly lowered itself deeper into the bowels of the structure.

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It was dark outside the tank, now. Tavi squinted, wishing she had Nick's night vision. She could dimly see shapes, a flash of color, a blinking light here or there. She got the impression that they were in something constructed- an underground base, perhaps. One with rooms that were built, not dug- there was no indication of the organic shapes she associated with burrows such as those that bunnies usually made for themselves.

Still craning her head to try and get some sort of bearing, she realized Shepherd had spoken. "What?"

"We have arrived, Commander," said Shepherd. "Please exit now." She looked back to see his hatch was open.

She looked at the open hatch, then at Hunter. "What about Zach?"

"The nanites have been deactivated. He should awaken-"

Hunter snorted and shook his head muzzily. "What-" His eyes fell on Tavi. "Tavi? What- the last I remember, Amna was-" He looked around, slowly recognizing his surroundings. "Well, damn," he observed. "I was really hoping that was some kind of nightmare."

She jumped up into his lap and hugged him tightly. "Zach! What happened?"

"Amna is working with Prometheus," he said. He patted Tavi's back absently. "We're in Shepherd's cockpit, aren't we?"

"Affirmative, Officer Hunter."

Hunter cocked an eyebrow at the ceiling. "And why exactly are you working with Khabat? She's not in your chain of command."

"She is now," said the tank. "Orders were received from High Command." There was a slight pause. "I received the orders some time ago, but only received confirmation of their source shortly before Ranger Khabat met with you."

"Wait, High Command?" Hunter frowned. "You received orders from the Human Stars?"

"From High Command," said the tank patiently. "Commander, you and Officer Hunter should exit now."

Hunter peered out the viewscreen. "Seems dark," he decided. "You sure we have to leave?"

"I have anti-intruder capability," said the tank impassively. "This includes non-lethal options."

"Okay, so out of the tank we go," said Hunter hastily. He helped Tavi up the ladder and followed her out of the hatch.

The two police officers scanned the darkness as they made their way onto Shepherd's hull. Hunter slid down onto the ground, wincing slightly as he hit the ground. He turned to give Tavi a hand, but she had already dropped into place beside him.

They looked around. "Okay, so what now?" asked Hunter.

He suddenly shielded his eyes as lights came on in the room. They flickered on soundlessly, though now he suddenly noticed a very low, almost subsonic hum that rumbled through the room. Squinting against the sudden bright light, he made out a figure walking towards him- "Amna?"

"Zach," she said, her voice relieved. "How do you feel?"

"Well, blind right now," he said. "What the hell, Amna? You're working with Prometheus?"

She shrugged. "He and I share the same goals. To see humanity safe, happy, and prosperous. It should be your goal, too." The last statement was reproachful.

Hunter shook his head. "It is, Amna. I'm just not willing to sacrifice a few to save the many."

The ranger stepped closer. "You're not, Zach? So you wouldn't be willing to, say, take away the freedom of one person for the good of all?"

"I see what you're trying to say," said Hunter. "But not if they were innocent."

"Oh, come now, Hunter," said Khabat, exasperated. "You make sacrifices all the time for the greater good. It's part of being a cop. Do you go to the disturbance call or the robbery in progress first? Even though the disturbance could end up with one person dead?"

"Yeah, you have to prioritize," said Hunter, "But that doesn't mean-"

"The whole idea of the law is that some freedom is sacrificed so that everyone can live a bit more securely," continued Khabat, talking over him. "We transfer our individual rights to justice- or vengeance, if you prefer- to society as a whole. We give up certain other rights- such as where we can carry firearms or other weapons. In a sense, we even give up a 'right' to steal, kill, or assault others- even if they 'deserve' it."

Tavi eyed her. "You didn't kidnap us to lecture us on civics."

Khabat smiled at her. "Miss Tavi. How very good of you to join us- it was a last minute decision to bring you as well, but a good one, I think. I commend you for your loyalty to Hunter." She nodded to Hunter. "But you're right. You're here for a very different reason."

"Which is?" asked Hunter.

She gestured towards a corridor. "Come and see."