Author's Note: This chapter was tough, but I finally got it ironed out. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of "Storm Hawks", nor am I making any type of profit from this story. It is a work of fan fiction, for enjoyment only.

Chapter 12 - Traitor

Stork mentally cursed his own gullibility for the hundredth time that night as he nervously glanced from side to side, checking for the guards. Absently he rubbed his aching leg, stretching it out to relieve a cramp as he watched the guards' progress. Once he was certain that they had both rounded the corners of the building, he took a deep breath and, in a limping run, took off for the air vent Piper had identified on her blueprints. "Come on, come on, come on…" he muttered as he rapidly undid the retaining screws, then pried at the grate with his screwdriver. To his infinite relief it was as loose as it appeared, and came off easily in his hands. Staring for a moment into the undefined darkness and trying not to think of the germs that might line the duct walls, he screwed up his courage and hoisted himself inside. He snapped the grate back into place behind himself with a snikt just as the nearer guard came around the corner once more. The Merb shrank back from the beam of the man's flashlight as it played on the ground before him, and mentally thanked Piper for her attention to detail; she had timed the guards' course to the second.

He shuddered internally and savagely repressed all hygienically-based concerns as he tentatively felt the walls for the first turn, after which it would be safe to activate the headlamp on his helmet. Creeping slowly forward, he nevertheless swore he could feel the germs seeping through the thick lining of his rubber gloves. Finally, with a sigh, he rounded the corner and flicked on his light.

And gasped. Stork had expected the air vent to be dirty, but not 'grow-potatoes-in-the-corners' filthy. A good quarter-inch of grime covered every visible surface, with spidery husks of ancient insects hanging from the cobwebs on ceiling. Here and there, out of the corner of his eye, he would catch sight of a small rodent scurrying away from the illumination as if burnt, causing him to jump in the opposite direction. The Merb closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down, inordinately grateful for the triple-filter face mask he had worn as a precaution. No way any of this foul matter would make its way into his lungs…

Piper's whispered voice came to him over his earpiece. "Stork? You OK? Did you make the vent yet?"

The pilot jumped, startled, then forced himself to calm down before he triggered his mike. "Umm…yeah. I'm there. Umm…Piper? Do you have any idea how dirty it is in here?"

He could almost hear her wince. "I'm guessing…pretty awful?" A pause, then, "If you can't do it, Stork, I'm sure we can…"

He gulped and interrupted her before she could complete the sentence. "No, no. I probably already have Rutharian Plague or Flesh-Eating Bacteria. No point in sacrificing anyone else." Truthfully, there was nothing he'd like better than to turn around, go back to the Condor, and sterilize his skin for the next six hours. But that would be letting his team down, and they needed him. Besides, he wanted to catch the guy who had sabotaged his home.

He closed his eyes once in resignation, then screwed up his courage and began to inch forward. Due to the earlier activity, his ribs now ached along with his leg. This mission couldn't be over fast enough for him.

After a seeming eternity, he rounded the final bend in the ductwork and saw light up ahead. Reluctantly dousing his own lantern, he crawled laboriously towards his goal. Upon reaching the grate, he peered through the slats to be certain that the control center was vacant before testing the grate itself. Piper had done her preparations thoroughly; the meshwork was just as loose as the one outside. Stork found that he could easily dislodge it with a gentle push.

Slipping into the room, he noted that the edge of the duct was only three feet from the floor; he didn't even have to jump to get down. There was a large control panel directly in front of the grate, about four feet from where he had emerged. Careful examination revealed it to be the main recharging station. "That means…most of the activity will be directly in front of my face tomorrow…" He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

The main door to the room was to his left; there were no windows or other entrances to be found. Nodding in satisfaction, Stork returned to his duct and hoisted himself back up, dragging the grate up behind himself.

After pulling it back into place, he signaled Piper, then curled up to await the arrival of the Eye of Siam in the morning. His injuries still throbbed abominably, and the cramped nature of the ventilation duct prevented him from stretching out. His leg was particularly problematic, so he tried gently massaging his thigh in the hopes of relieving some of the spasm, to no avail. He finally gave it up as a lost cause, and rested his head on his knees for a moment.

To his surprise he dozed off, for the next thing he knew he was awakened by the sounds of people milling about the control room, getting set up for the annual installation of the Eye. Keeping well back in the shadows, the Merb watched the bustling workers as they hurried about their appointed tasks, then dutifully departed. Each time someone approached his hiding spot, he cringed back as far from the opening as possible, certain he had been discovered. Time after time they bypassed his locale, and he finally began to relax and observe the proceedings more carefully.

Unsurprisingly Thrush was at the center of the activity, with Piper by his side. The Gnossian plan involved Trob coordinating security at the pick-up point in the Senate, Thrush arranging matters in the refueling center, and Chukar overseeing the transport between the two sites. The Storm Hawks were relying on Junko at the start, Piper in the control room, and Aerrow and Finn en route. Stork sighed quietly behind his mask; he was their 'ace-in-the-hole' if problems developed, but right now he was so stiff he wasn't sure he could crawl out of the ductwork should the need arise, much less jump out dramatically brandishing a weapon. He patted his belt to make certain that the gun was still there, just in case.

As Stork watched, Thrush's hand suddenly flew to his earpiece, and he listened intently. Nodding, he gave a single word response, then turned to address the room. Clapping his hands for attention, he spoke up, "All right, everybody. This is it. Everyone but Controller Wash, Miss Piper, and myself needs to finish up whatever you're doing and exit the building. The escort team will be keeping the Eye in lobby until I give the 'all clear' signal, so hop to it!"

A brief flurry of activity ensued under Thrush's watchful eye as Piper glanced furtively toward the ventilation shaft. She subtly winked at her invisible teammate, then turned her attention back to the activity in the room. Stork gulped nervously behind his air-filtration mask.

Once the last technician had exited, Thrush keyed his mike. "All right, bring it up." Piper forcibly calmed her nerves as she waited; a glance at Thrush revealed him to be unruffled, but ready for anything. Her eyes narrowed as she observed Controller Wash, who, on the other hand, was so anxious that he was visibly shaking. The gray-haired man's hands trembled as he readied the refueling station in the center of the chamber. She noticed that he stood just a few feet from the vent, with his back towards Stork. Piper sincerely hoped that this recharging procedure didn't involve Wash holding the crystal; in his present state of mind he would likely drop it.

Suddenly the door slid open, revealing Aerrow, swords out and ready for action. The Sky Knight quickly inspected the room from the entrance, then, reassured by Thrush's solemn nod, gestured back to someone in the hallway. He then entered the room, followed by Chukar, Finn, and the technician transporting the Eye itself in a shock-proof, blast-proof chest.

To Piper's dismay, the tech headed straight for Wash, handing off the secured box to the older man with a grateful sigh. Wash reverently set the container on the worktable to his left, then produced a key from his jacket which fit the lock perfectly. The lid sprung backwards, revealing the Eye of Siam in all its fiery glory. Wash's gloved hands gently lifted the crystal from its velvet-lined home, cradling it like a precious newborn.

"Is that the real crystal?" asked Thrush, skeptically leaning over to study the object in the tech's hands.

"Oh, yes," replied the man reverently as he swung towards the recharging station.

"Let me have it."

Wash stopped and turned to stare at Thrush, confused. "What? But…"

A lethal-looking weapon suddenly appeared in the security chief's hands, and his mouth quirked. "Oh, but I insist." He extended a hand towards the wide-eyed Wash, who blinked at him owlishly.

"Wait just one second!" exclaimed Aerrow, moving towards them. The weapon immediately pointed toward the young sky knight.

Gesturing with the gun, Thrush shook his head. "Tut, tut. No heroics. I want everyone but Chief Wash here to raise their hands and move over to that wall." He pointed to the wall farthest from the door, to Stork's far right. From where he crouched, the Merb had an excellent view of the entire scene. He growled softly in realization that they had suspected the wrong man all along.

The man in question suddenly spoke. "Captain Thrush?!?" sputtered Chukar, indignant. "But…you…what…?"

Thrush chuckled. "You naïve idiot. Up until now, you were the perfect distraction. Your normal abrasive attitude had everyone suspecting you of treason, keeping me in the clear." His grin widened. "Isn't that right, Aerrow?"

The redhead ground his teeth in frustration as he joined Finn and Piper against the wall farthest from the door. "Yeah, it is. We knew it had to be an inside job, but we suspected the lieutenant, not you."

"Chukar, time to join your friends." Thrush jerked his head towards the group, somehow managing to keep everyone covered with the gun.

"Hmph," grunted the soldier, stomping over. "You'll never be able to show your face on Gnossus again."

Thrush actually laughed aloud. "With the fortune they're paying me for this crystal, I never need to see this desolate hunk of rock again." His face became grim. "Now raise your hands as well; if no one moves, no one will get hurt." All four captives reached for the ceiling, glaring silently at their betrayer.

Finally satisfied that the storm hawks and his own lieutenant were neutralized, he moved over to the tech who was still cradling the Eye of Siam against his chest. Making certain that he still had his weapon aimed at the prisoners against the far wall, he held out his hand demandingly. "The crystal, if you please."

Aerrow smirked to himself as he noted the traitor's position. While Thrush had managed to face everyone in the room, his back was not two feet away from the air vent where Stork should be hiding. Aerrow held up three fingers, hoping that the Merb was there and noticed the silent countdown. Three…

Meanwhile, Wash gazed regretfully at the stone and sighed. "Can't I at least recharge the…" he began earnestly.

Two… Finn and Piper had noticed the fingers and grinned at each other.

"No, I'm afraid that Master Cyclonis wants a fully charged crystal; I'd lose money if I let you use it first. Hand it over."

One…

Wash sighed and stretched out his hand just as Aerrow's last finger disappeared into his fist. Suddenly the room was a flurry of activity. First, the grate covering the air vent behind Captain Thrush exploded outwards as if kicked with great force, striking the traitor square in the back and causing him to stumble forward. While trying to keep his balance, the man threw his hands out to catch himself, losing the gun in the process. Aerrow, Finn, and Piper rushed him from the far side of the room, while a pair of thin, wiry, green arms grabbed him from behind. Wash clutched the stone protectively to his chest and dove beneath his console, while Chukar, momentarily stunned by the turn in events, recovered and rushed over to help. Thrush elbowed Stork violently in the abdomen, causing the Merb to gasp and fall back, trying to catch his breath. The delay was enough; by the time Thrush spotted his weapon, Aerrow had arrived with a hard right hook.

It was over almost as soon as it had begun. Moments later Thrush was subdued and his hands handcuffed behind his back. Aerrow had a rock-hard grip on one arm while Chukar had the other. Wash tentatively peeked over the console and sighed in relief. "May I?…" he asked, holding out the Eye.

Aerrow grinned. "Please do. The sooner we get that stone to safety, the better off we'll be."

Wash hurried over to the station and inserted the crystal, nodding as the meters began to rise. He was quickly lost in concentration as he minutely adjust the flow from one chamber to the next.

Aerrow grinned at his pilot, who was busily trying to brush the night's grime off his clothing and skin. "Nice job, Stork. You saved the day."

"Yeah, well, it was Piper's idea. I'm just glad he stopped so close to the vent where I was hiding. It was…convenient."

"I would have gotten away with it, too," grumbled the Captain. "I would have walked out of here with no one the wiser. By the time they got this room unlocked, I'd have been long off the terra."

"Where were you meeting Dark Ace?" demanded Aerrow, his attention back on his prisoner.

"That loser? Ha! I was supposed to go straight to Cyclonia; my one-man ship's fueled and waiting just outside of town."

"Really? We'll see about that," growled Chukar. He thumbed his radio, "Sgt. Bates? I need you and a few of your men to come up here and escort a prisoner." He nodded towards the Storm Hawks and gruffly began, "We owe you a debt of gratitude…"

"…that we can never repay," echoed Trob at the official ceremony two days later. The Eye of Siam had been returned to its secure vault after the recharging sequence was complete, and word had spread rapidly of the high-ranking traitor in the Gnossus security force. A thorough investigation was underway, but so far it appeared as if Thrush had acted alone. The Senate courtyard was packed with people eager to glimpse the heroes who had preserved their way of life.

Aerrow solemnly shook the Councillor's hand and smiled at the crowd. "Just doing our job," he replied. "After all, we're the Storm Hawks."

The cheer that went up was deafening.

Epilogue

"Surprise!!!!" cried the group of assembled teens as the lights clicked on in the previously pitch-black kitchen. The Merb stood blinking in the doorway, rooted to the spot, wondering at the sense of déjà vu.

The teens parted to reveal a large sheetcake emblazoned with the words "Happy Survivor's Day" in black frosting. His mind flashed back to the birthday party, and he smiled contentedly. "I…don't know what to say…" He had planned on celebrating by quietly meditating later, but, all-in-all, after their experience on Terra Gnossus, a loud party was somehow appropriate.

"Say 'Thank you' and cut the cake already - I'm starved!" exclaimed Finn. Radarr nodded excitedly at his side, causing the Merb to snort in amusement.

A smiling Piper handed him a knife as he approached the table. "Um…" he pointed in confusion. "Why are there seven candles?"

"One for each of our survivors," answered Aerrow with a grin.

"Um, Aerrow…there are only six of us." Stork began to tick them off on his fingers. "You, Piper, Finn, Junko, Radarr, and myself." He held up his six fingers in demonstration.

"Ah, but you're forgetting the most important survivor - the Condor herself," the Sky Knight replied smugly.

Stork found himself nodding in agreement. "So I did." Staring at the candles, he continued, "I think we all need to blow out the candles together."

"Fair enough." Aerrow turned to the group, "OK, everyone, make a wish. We'll blow at the count of three…"

Stork closed his eyes. 'Same wish…that we all survive safe and sound to gather here again next year…' he thought as he listened to the countdown.

"Three…two…one…blow!!!"

The candles didn't stand a chance.

The End