After being relentlessly pursued by several Asgardian ships, we arrived behind our own lines, just. This was the world where our base, Base 26 was located. The locals, a group of Dark Elves called the Hekari named this planet something unpronounceable, the Midgardian forces called it Grenada, I just called it Hell. This was the very edge of Midgardian space, and there was about five miles straight up between our lines and the Asgardian lines. That meant that this planet was bombed to oblivion more than Kat and I would be on a Saturday night. That was what took the good old Blackbird down.

Artillery took us down. Inwardly I groaned. I had the distinct feeling that this was our artillery from a ground to air missile battery about fifteen clicks away, trying and failing to take down the Asgardian ships. By the inaccuracy of the shooting, I was probably right.

I grabbed my king around the shoulders and ushered him off the Blackbird, which Frank had landed on a small ridge. We jumped down into a ditch, and I forced him to the ground just before a tiny tree line. It was rocky and pointy, but I stayed down, and held Loki firmly to the ground.

Kurt was to my side, with the rest of my team. He had a problem with his 'gift'. He could only teleport four people at a time, and today that was Kat, Lars, Frank and MJ. That was a real bummer when the team numbered five. I guess Kurt knew that I could look after myself as well as protect the king, and he was right.

"How long must we stay like this?" Loki whispered to me hoarsely as another explosion shook the sky near where we were.

"Until the shooting stops," I whispered back, "keep down!"

After a few moments that lasted forever, the shelling stopped, and I looked up, then I got up slowly to take a look at the damage.

"Aww, Man," I moaned, getting shakily to my feet as I pulled myself out of the ditch. The others followed my example.

The Blackbird would have been able to fly even with the damage that she had taken on before landing, albeit not very far. That would have been fine to get back to base, but then they would have needed to take on some emergency repairs. That was out of the question now. I shielded my eyes from the flames as they burned.

The Blackbird was in pieces. One of the artillery shells had hit it, and the fuel blew up.

"Where's the Blackbird?" MJ asked dumbly.

I pulled a face, "there, there, and, oh yeah, there," I pointed out the bits of Blackbird that I could see with my naked eye, and most of them were burning with jet fuel. The smoke was acrid, and took the paint off my lungs when I breathed it in.

"Forge is going to kill us," Kurt said simply.

"Easy for you to say, Kraut," Frank shot back, "you aren't responsible for it. I am! I signed it out. My head's gonna be the one on a stick, Pal."

"And who is going to help him fix it?" Lars shot back, "certainly not you, Flyboy."

"Oh, Lord," Kat sighed.

Fortunately MJ didn't say a word. He didn't speak when it wasn't appropriate. He narrowed his eyes at me, waiting for me to defuse the argument, one of my key duties as commanding officer.

King Loki approached me, slightly flabbergasted and a little distant as he stared at me, "are they always like this?" He didn't want to show it, but I could tell that he was getting a little distressed.

I arched an eyebrow at my king, unsure of what I could say to him, "Uhh... only when they're awake." I knew the feeling. I was starting to get impatient myself. "Listen up," I shouted at the top of my lungs. I knew that the veins in my neck were starting to stick out of my neck because of all the tension and I knew that would bother Lars in particular.

The fighting boys were silenced, "sorry, Boss," Frank said.

"Good. So you should be," I narrowed my eyes at the lot of them, "we're on Grenada, the base is twenty clicks from here. If we move now, we can get back to base before nightfall."

"Like you can tell the difference on this planet," Lars replied snidely.

"Shut it Cheese," I shot back.

"Twenty miles?" It was Loki, his slightly shell-shocked look had been replaced with his trademark look of indignation and fury, "surely you jest."

"Nope."

"There must be another way."

I turned on my heel, and narrowed my eyes at him, "that depends," I said hoarsely, "are you hiding a pair of wings underneath that fancy cape?"

"How dare you-."

That was when I really lost it, and I narrowed my eyes at him, "How dare me what?" I snapped back, "Call you out on your stupidity? In case you hadn't noticed, the Blackbird's been shattered into more pieces than Rain Man can count. I don't wanna walk twenty miles in this half light; the dogs come out about this time. I've been jumping around all day trying to defend your sorry backside from Asgardians, Skrulls, all sorts, and you thank me with righteous indignation and sass? Act your age, not your shoe size."

Loki's mouth hung open for a minute, "careful Mate," Frank said, "someone's liable to trip over your jaw."

"I can have you executed for that!" Loki informed me in a scathing tone, "and I can also do much worse to you."

I spread my arms, "go ahead! It can't be any worse than this stupid war. I see the war, I hear the war, I eat the war, I drink the war, I dress the war. I'd sleep the war if only I knew what sleep was!" I sighed, "I'm tired, cold, hungry and have an almost constant pain in my head like someone's trying to countersink a railway spike through my brain, and then you tell me that I'm an insolent little Wench that has to work harder for you," I was fuming, and I just knew that vein in my head was sticking out again, "Worse? What can be worse than rats mating in my bed? What's worse than cockroach races at the Cesspool every week?"

"I thought you liked the races," MJ said simply.

"Whatever you could possibly do to me will be no worse than the Mess Tent dinner we'll all be served when we make it back to camp," I snapped, "Any torture that you could possibly come up with would be a walk in the park compared to what I have been forced to deal with or even eat since I got drafted, so screw you and your insults. And you can take that promotion of yours and shove it up your ass."

"You are an insolent little wench!" he shot back.

"How original," I narrowed my eyes, "you hired me to protect you, so right now the chain of command stops with me. You can kill me later, providing we get out of this alive. Kurt, MJ, keep an eye on his royal heinie."

I turned away before king Loki got to give me the chewing out I probably deserved and pulled a compass out of my pocket. Every planet has a north pole and a south pole; they were called different things and located in different places. However misleading that was, an old human compass could still lead a team right even on an alien planet. My father had given me this one before I had left home, so I could always find my way back home, he said. However between government upon government instituting mutant hunts from the ruthless MRD and this damned war, I had never got the chance to use this compass the way Dad always wanted.

I mentioned wordlessly for my team to follow me, and they followed as I forged a path through the half light and rocks.

"It has been a long day," Kurt said.

"That is no excuse for her actions," Loki bit back at him.

Kurt sighed, "She did not mean to be rude, meine Konig, but she has been under a lot of pressure recently. She did not wish to insult, but to let off some steam."

"I do not care," he said hoarsely.

"She cries herself to sleep," MJ said suddenly, "it's not pretty."

"Enough chatter," I hissed through gritted teeth. Blew up a peace talk, a plane and a promotion in a single day; Boy, I am good.

"My feet hurt," Loki moaned.

I sighed. It was the third time that he had complained, and that was in the last five minutes, "I will serve you, Sire, I will even carry your books, but I will not carry you." I glanced at Loki with narrowed eyes, and then looked straight ahead, "besides, we're nearly there. The camp's just over the ridge, and so my future doom."

"That is the nicest thing that I have heard this day," Loki hissed.

I glanced at Loki again. He was trudging across the rocks, looking far tireder than I had anticipated. Frank was in his early sixties and still kept up a better pace than him, and despite his age, he didn't limp either. That was more than I could say for Loki.

"Sire?" I asked cautiously, "Are you alright?"

"No, I am not alright! I have been walking for hours!"

I drew back slightly, "you don't have to bite my head off," I narrowed my eyes, "we're nearly at Casa De Up-Chuck, so soon we'll part ways. However, if you're really desperate for a break we can always stop here for a couple of minutes."

He sighed himself, and his gaze became a little softer, "no, we keep moving. You are correct."

I raised my eyebrows and glared at him for a moment, "is that a joke?"

"No."