Earthlings view of space combat was so oversimplified Deathbird thought as she watched her fleet converge on the apparently helpless Starjammer. They had such difficulty comprehending the three dimensionality of space, and it showed in Corsair's operations of the ship along a two dimensional playing field. Silently the last fighter slowed to sit within the correct coordinates of the containment grid formation she had planned around the ship. In a way it was too easy...it was too bad. For all that the crew and the X-Men both had been nothing but an ongoing annoyance for her for the past few years they were effectively worthy opponents. The warrior in her felt they deserved a more fitting death in battle than simply being destroyed while stranded on a lifeless vessel. The pragmatist in her disagreed.

"This suits you." The voice from her left stated, watching too as the fleet's weapons arrays powered on and locked.

"Battle always has."

"I was thinking more along the lines of politics." Mird'lan turned away from the screen to focus solely on her. "What change has occurred in my absence to cause the Lady Death to suddenly play by rules other than her own?"

"Nothing has changed," she smiled viciously, "I still only follow my own wishes."

"But your deference to the Empress..."

"You are correct Mird'lan, politics suits me." She shrugged and returned her view to the screen. "As my mother once taught me, one cannot hold the staff of office and rule concurrently. My sister holds the staff and so long as I keep her under the assumption that I wish to take it from her I continue to effectively rule. Let her be bogged down in mindless council sessions and court functions." A familiar glimmer shown in her eyes, "So long as she continues to follow my lead I see no reason to be rid of her. You, Mird'lan would be wise to follow her example."

"Far be it from me to question your motives." Mird'lan returned his attention to the subject at hand. "This almost seems too easy. Did the Empress not say the Starjammer was a threat?"

"Not the Starjammer," Deathbird gazed intently at the screen as if looking for something she knew was there but could not locate. "Those aboard the Starjammer...X-Men have a rather annoying habit of staying alive when you'd rather they didn't."

"And for those that are not aboard the Starjammer?"

"Justice." Neither expected the voice from the back of the observation deck, causing them to spin in what Deathbird would normally consider a very undignified manner.

"It cannot be." Mird'lan whispered.

"It is." She stated where stood, carrying with her the brightness of the heart of a sun. "Turn back your ships, Lady Deathbird. This is not your battle to fight."

"I think not, Phoenix." Deathbird stood, shock replaced by outrage at the being who had time and again ruined her most carefully crafted plans. "I am here on specific orders from the Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire. I will carry those out, one whom we both have long fought is believed to be aboard the Starjammer. Today I end this!"

"My authority supercedes that of your Empress." The Phoenix stated as slowly one by one Deathbird's battle fleet vaporized on the screen in tiny spots of light. "The battle will be fought...but you of all mortals will not steal my chance at vengeance." The interior of the ship began to heat up as the visible energy signature the Phoenix carried flared. "I will not ask again, I am telling you turn back Deathbird. A good warrior knows when a battle cannot be won." And just as suddenly she was gone.

Mird'lan was visibly shaken as he turned back to Deathbird. "Do we leave?"

Reluctantly Deathbird turned back to the control deck. "We leave...and I must break the news to my sister." Punching a few codes into the panel she finished by punching the deck board next to it. "And I must hope I do not have yet another banishment to endure thanks to this damn Phoenix."

"So how did we get in here to begin with?" Bobby asked, leaning against what he had dubbed the far wall of the storage room they had found themselves dumped in. "Did we get drugged or something?"

"Indubitably," Hank commented from where he was inspecting what looked to be an entry hatch close to the ceiling. "Gas through the air system my friends. It would account not only for the loss of consciousness but also for the vocal soreness and dry throat that I am sure you all are currently experiencing."

"But what it doesn't account for, Hank is where the Professor is." Cecilia stated in her matter of fact way from her seat cross legged on the floor.

"Or Corsair." Hepzibah added snarling.

"Non, or how we gonna get outta here." Gambit remarked while he continued running his hands along the seams in the walls. "Ch'od," he shouted for the large alien, who lumbered over to his side. "Dis 'ere is your ship. What room we be in, mon ami?"

Ch'od looked around for a moment, pondering slowly. After a moment, his ear flaps pulled back flat against his head. "We're in the bulk storage I would guess. It sits on the bottom of the ship, underneath the living quarters."

"It got a straight exit into de marvelous depths of space out dere?"

Ch'od shook his head, "No, it definitely does not."

"Why out into space you be wanting to go?" Hepzibah asked curiously.

"Dat's just it chere, I don'!" Gambit replied a mischievous smile gracing his face. "Dat means de door M'sieur Bete be examinin' can lead t'only one place, de inside of dis ship. I ain' gotta worry I openin' up a hole into the great void beyond out dere."

"Just how, Gambit, are you planning on opening up that door?" Cyclops asked, shooting the Cajun a skeptical look.

A spark lit in Gambit's eyes. "I always got a card up my sleeve."

"Well," Betsy stated from where she stood on the surface of the moon. "This seems to have gone horribly wrong."

"Worse than I'm afraid you can imagine," Storm turned to look at Logan. "We have lost her again."

"She's a fighter darlin'." Logan stated, staring again into the depths of space above and beyond him. "She'll come back."

"But how do we get back, Wolvie?" Kitty asked. "I still have enough fuel to get us back to the Starjammer. But I'm not hauling you all back there just so we can all get blown up."

They all looked up in time to see the first explosion, and their hearts sank. But then a second somewhere farther off, then a third. "Way to go Red." Logan smiled. "Looks like she's clearing us a path, folks. Any luck gettin' through to Chuck Betts?"

Betsy shook her head. "Nothing. There's too much bloody interference from this stupid rock. I haven't the foggiest clue what is going on aboard the ship."

"It looks like Jean has taken care of ze threat for now. Ze last ship is leaving." Kurt pointed one three fingered hand toward the sky where the largest of the interceptors was currently making its way back to the Imperial cruiser. "I say we go back to the Starjammer. I am sure zat everybody knows Jean has again merged with the Crystal. Ve should see what ve can do from zere."

"She ain't merged with the Crystal."

"Sam!" Rogue shouted, turning to look at him where he still stood with his back against the Crystal. He looked...different somehow. He looked wiser, but not necessarily older, like he had been tried in some ultimate test and forged into a stronger version of himself. "Boy, what in tarnation happened to you in there?"

Sam shrugged, "What happened to you, Rogue?" He watched as she blushed and turned away. "She ain't merged with the Crystal. She cain't. Cain't defend somthin' and be part of it at the same time. Don' work that way. Wolverine's right, we gotta get back to the Starjammer. Let 'er fight this thing her way, we fight it ours." He pulled himself away from the faceted stone and walked towards Kitty. "But we ain't headin' back to friendly ground. We gotta be on our toes."

"Why is zat?" Colossus asked, walking up to Cannonball with a newfound respect.

"Donno, just a gut feelin."

"Kid's probably right," Logan nodded. "Something's gotta be wrong if Corsair let himself get surrounded like that and didn't do anyting."

"I am sure you are both correct." Storm nodded. "We go back, but we must be certain to be prepared for the worst." That said she grabbed Kitty's hand as the rest of the team formed a line on either side of their transportation.

"Ride's gonna be a little bumpy guys." Kitty said as she again felt that click of pressure dissipate along the line of bodies. "Hang on tight." and she hit the power on her pack.

"You've got to be kidding!" Corsair shouted, and pounded again on the door in front of him.

"I believe he is far from kidding." Charles stated calmly from his chair not far from where the pirate stood.

"After all I...and we even...TRAITOR!" Corsair shouted louder towards the cockpit. "If we get out of here alive Charles, I'll kill him."

"When, Corsair. It is only a matter of time."

"You seem awfully sure of escape for a man in a wheelchair locked in a closet, Xavier."

Charles smiled. "My students are on this ship, one of them being your son. They are all fairly resilient and rather clever."

"And if they aren't on the ship, Charles? What then?"

"They are still alive, Corsair. I have no doubt of that. But just in case I have already alerted the Empress that we are in danger, if she has come back to her senses and calmed down Lilandra will send a vessel after us."

"I didn't know Lil was a spook too." Corsair smirked.

"She's not," Xavier tapped a small section of the control panel on his Shi'ar designed chair. "But she does have the receiver for my emergency homing beacon."

For the first time since regaining consciousness a true smile crossed Corsair's face. "And just where does an earthling get his hands on a direct signal homing beacon linked to the Empress' private frequency?"

Xavier smiled back. "Consider it payment for services rendered."

It was a funny thing, how fast a world could fall apart before one's eyes. Just this morning Lilandra had been wondering what she was going to do about getting the M'kraan Crystal under control. Now she sat and watched Charles' personal emergency homing beacon flash pathetically on her vid-com panel while Imperial battle cruiser vaporized before her eyes as the Phoenix danced her dance of death through this small corner of space. Absently she ran her hand across the soft fabric of her chair in her chambers...a gift from Charles.