Rulok and Lirak, along with Trannak and Caseya, headed to the transit platform – it took a momen or so for a car to find its way there once called, so everyone climbed aboard as soon as it arrived. Caseya sat on the front row of seats by the control console, watching everyone board – as soon as they had done so and sat down she asked "Will we be collecting the others of your team, si-Rulok?"

"I'll comm them now we're underway" Rulok replied, nodding "and since I picked up your indecision over how to address me, just call me by name unless I tell you otherwise". Caseya nodded and promptly got the car on its way to the hammond flight deck – I am trusted more now, I do not need to address officers by rank unless they insist on such a mode of address, and I am permitted to exercise initiative if I know what is needed to be done and can do it myself. She cast her mind back to her time on Kalian and remembered always having to ask permission from a superior to do almost any task – I am glad that part of my life is past, Caseya decided, especially since now I am being trusted with important tasks in a real mission and actual Scarrans will be trusting me with their lives. That, especially, is something that has never happened to me or anyone else I have known before.

Hellbolt was talking to Liz, trying to teach her a few words of his own language – she's adjusting more easily to me than any of the other non-humans except Koronna, he decided after a while. She's quite good looking as well, he noted, but she doesn't know me that well yet...

Further speculation about Liz's state of mind was brought to a halt when his comm started bleeping.

"Hellbolt..." he answered, and was surprised when Rulok's voice came on the line and told him "Get along to the hammond flight deck, mister. We have work to do".

Sounds like a real mission, he decided as he checked his personal gear quickly before turning to Liz and smiling a little and telling her "Mission call for me, Liz – I should go before someone comes looking for me with a frown on their scaly faces".

Liz smiled briefly before nodding and replying "Yeah, I know Dad was never pleased if anyone was late when he gave 'em orders to be somewhere at a certain time. I'll go find Dad and see what's going on a bit later...".

Annik answered the comm first when Rulok called – though they were surprised when he discommed and called "SCRAMBLE!" at the top of his voice before adding "Rulok just gave us deployment orders – and I mean all of us! We're to get to the hammond flight deck and the Switchblade now!" at a slightly lower volume.

"Let's hope it's something more interesting than the plok we've got so far..." Krynak growled softly "I know it's work... but it's easy work any of us could have done right out of training if not before".

"We won't know until we get to the Switchblade and get briefed" Murea, a medic and also one of the few women in the group, replied as she grabbed her pack "So we'd better pick up the pace" – everyone piled into one car, even though there wasn't a lot of room, and as soon as Krynak saw the doors close behind him, he called "All OK!" and Annik got the car moving as fast as it could go without causing an accident.

Trannak and Caseya, along with Rulok and Lirak, were now standing beside on of the Switchblade's landing pads and waiting for everyone to arrive. Caseya was looking around at anything and everything – I see older craft, Intruders I believe, and assault landers and even a few large bulk haulers further away, as well as these newer-looking craft Captain Trannak tells me are mark-2 Strykers. They do not look like the few I saw back on Kalian, Caseya decided – those were most likely older mark-1 models, though I have seen assault landers and those Intruders before.

Her nose started to twitch a momen or so after that, so Trannak asked "Is someone coming, Caseya? Can you identify them by their scent if so?"

She sniffed again before thinking and deciding "It is not a human or Sebacean scent, Trannak – I think it is Hellbolt, the Nebari. He does not smell quite like anyone else. The smell is still quite faint, though".

"He is supposed to be coming" Lirak reminded Caseya "It's good he arrived promptly. The sooner everyone arrives, the sooner we can get started".

Caseya nodded, though she replied "I did not know if I was meant to bring any equipment – I am not sure what my own role will be. Should I go and fetch anything in particular?"

"No, Caseya" Trannak replied, shaking his head "The Switchblade is quite well stocked. After you submitted your report to the Commander anything missing was provided".

Caseya smiled a little at hearing that – I did well with that report, she decided, I have helped others here by exercising the natural skills of my people. I received a commendation for it as well, she remembered with a little more pride, and I have received precious few of those.

Now I am to be tested again – this time people I know will test the knowledge I remember, in conjunction with what the Commander and Sub-Commander have decided, and we will see if there is an installation devoted to this project that resulted in what was done to me, Rulok and his people, and the Commander as well. Perhaps there will be test subjects to be freed as well – this, on its own, would be a worthy mission and one I could be proud of taking part in.

Caseya proved to be right, with Hellbolt running in from the transit platform a microt or two later.

"Please tell me we're not on night patrol or on sweep-and-clear around the port again..." he pleaded once he came to a halt beside Trannak.

"We are not doing either of those things" Trannak replied, shaking his head "We are going to be heading outsystem. Until the others arrive, that's all I will reveal". Hellbolt just nodded and sat on the deck, leaning against the landing pad itself.

Maybe a momen or two after Hellbolt's arrival, Caseya called "More people are coming! These are Scarrans... and I think they are some of your teams, Rulok".

"All of my two teams are going to be coming" Rulok confirmed "As soon as they are here, we will board the Switchblade. Once everyone is settled in quarters, we will take off - and once we are outsystem either Captain Trannak or myself will brief everyone on the mission". Hellbolt's ears perked up and he smiled a little, glad to hear even this tiny nugget of information, before Lirak nodded towards the transit platform door and bellowed "GET OVER HERE, ALL OF YOU! TIME TO GET MOVING!" before lowering the drop ramp.

Caseya giggled slightly when she proved to be the first aboard, and Trannak smiled when he saw her do so – good, he decided, she is relaxing more. The more she is relaxed, the more proficiently she will be able to play her part in this mission – and she will likely find her part the hardest of all of us.

"Everyone to their usual quarters" Rulok told his own teams "Nothing's been changed, it's all as you left it – just cleaner. Briefing's in a few arns once we're on our way. Once you have your gear settled, someone check to see what the supply situation's like in the galley. Annik – get Hellbolt and Keyah settled in to quarters near you. Caseya, Capain Trannak... if you would come with Lirak and I to the bridge, please...".

Caseya's eyes flicked from the coloured navigation line on the ceiling to people with her and back again as their small group headed up through the Switchblade to the bridge on deck 1 – eveything is as I remember it to be, no major refitting work has been done. Good, I will not embarrass anyone by getting them lost, nor slow us down in this mission at any critical juncture.

"For Caseya's benefit…" Rulok announced, when they reached the bridge "…Captain Trannak, as the senior officer and mission commander, has the right to be on the bridge – but I also know Caseya has shown some interest in this ship or flying in general. It may, then, prove useful if she observes the takeoff from here – none of know what she will be trained to do yet, but since she seems to actually like flying…".

Caseya paused for thought for a few microts before she nodded and replied "I find it interesting to watch those on bridge duty on the Cry Havoc perform their duties when we need to manoevre – the Commander permits me to watch and listen to anyone at any bridge station and ask questions about what they do there. I do not know if he plans to have me trained in any part of flying the huge craft we all live in, but I do my best to learn from whatever I see and hear in case he does have such a thing in mind for the future".

"One thing at a time" Rulok reminded her, though he smiled just a bit as he watched her eyes flick briefly towards the helm controls again "The task of the microt is taking off in this ship. You are here, Caseya, primarily to learn and observe – though we may give you things to do here to test you, of course" before he turned to Trannak and said "Captain… if you could sit at the astronavigation console there, please. Normally others of my team would occupy that station and the flight engineer's station, but for now we will not need them there – and you can control the comms from there as well, which leaves Lirak and I to handle the takeoff".

"Caseya…" Trannak added when Rulok and Lirak fastened their crash webbing "If you do not want to sit at the flight engineer's station then stand behind me at this station and shift to the floor. You should be able to stay on a stable footing this way as well as watch what I do". Once Trannak sat down at the astronavigation console, Caseya did indeed walk over and stand behind him and slightly to his treblin – she did not say anything, but when Trannak looked over his shoulder to see where she was, Caseya did smile briefly and tell him "Despite the mission, I feel happy and curious about learning how this ship works – what will you be doing?"

"I will most likely be setting our course" Trannak replied, bringing up a star map of the sector of space they were in "Lirak or Rulok will supply the coordinates of our destination and I will enter them, after which I can modify the computer's suggested course to suit our needs".

"There are possible enemies between this place and our destination?" Caseya asked next, though it was Lirak who replied with "There shouldn't be any warships, if that's what you mean… but there's a Sebacean outpost on Watrukaria, so we need to bypass that system. The Captain will adjust our course so we can do that, and you should watch so you can learn how to do it as well".

The first thing Trannak did was comm the Cry Havoc's bridge for takeoff clearance.

Caseya nodded immediately when he explained why this was done, though Trannak also added "If the entire unit was on a mission, or if we were under attack, we could open the flight deck doors ourselves, Caseya – but we do not usually do that".

"An option for emergency use only" she said, nodding understanding "We should not endanger others who may be on the flight deck by taking off without following proper protocol unless it is unavoidable".

"Bridge, Captain Trannak…" Trannak called over the comms, Caseya watching his every move "Requesting takeoff clearance for the Switchblade".

"Clearance granted, Captain" Talannah replied almost immediately, though she also added "A smaller-scale mission like this should be more like what you are used to, Trannak – use it to teach Caseya about what we do in addition to the primary mission goals as well, though. The more she learns, the more useful she becomes – to all of us".

"I will" Trannak agreed, nodding slightly "I think Caseya will do well, Sub-Commander. I will be with her, of course, and so will Keyah – and the rest of us too".

After discomming, Trannak smiled a little before whispering to Caseya for a microt or two – though she let out a brief squeak of excitement, she told Rulok and Lirak "The Sub-Commander has given us takeoff clearance – look, the flight deck doors are opening now and the containment fields to keep the atmosphere inside are on".

"So they are" Lirak confirmed, nodding, after which he called "Prepare for takeoff! Loose objects to be properly secured! Three… two… one…" and Rulok fed in vertical thrust slowly enough as to not cause too much instability.

"This ship is quite big, as you know" Trannak told Caseya again once the Switchblade was airborne and turning on its axis to face out to space "especially in relation to the available space on this flight deck. That is why Rulok and Lirak are being extra careful".

Caseya nodded, not wanting to disturb Rulok and Lirak in their duties, though she whispered "One of our earliest classes at the Organisation was about the importance of proper protocol and procedure for various situations we may find ourselves in. I was never permitted to attend any specifically related to piloting, but I expect they would involve matters as you describe them to me". Along with much discipline and wary looks from the overseers or advisors, Caseya remembered.

Caseya smiled and gasped in awe as Rulok made a slow flyby of the Havoc.

"Our home looks even more amazing when seen from the outside like this!" she told everyone excitedly, even bouncing a little on the deck as she did so "Even though I know it requires a transit car system, I had not thought it would be this large! Truly amazing…".

"Destination coordinates coming across, Captain…" Rulok called, interrupting Caseya's thinking aloud – she stopped talking and watched Trannak as he entered the coordinates and smiled again briefly as the course appeared on the star map.

Trannak pointed to one planet and told her "That is Watrukaria, where the Sebacean outpost is. We do not know how strong their surveillance sensors are there, so we will avoid that system altogether" before he suggested "To deviate from a suggested course… tap a place on the course line where you wish to start, then again each place you turn, until you reach the course line again at another point. You might, of course, set a totally new course – but you can be taught how to do that another time when you have learned more".

I am being trusted with even more important things, Caseya thought to herself, than I ever was back at the Organisation on Kalian – real Scarrans are placing real trust in me on a real mission and my work will help them if done well and correctly the first time. She looked at the map for a momen or so, then tapped several locations carefully to mark out an alternative course around Watrukaria – she then looked at Trannak for approval, and he smiled before nodding and pointing to a button on the console.

"Course received and locked in!" Rulok called a few microts later "Lirak… all ahead two-thirds, lock the autopilot in… then we can all head to deck 3 and our quarters for some rest, or the galley if you like".

"I should call Keyah" Trannak decided, unstrapping from his chair as soon as the Switchblade had started moving on the new course "and have her see Caseya settled in suitable quarters. None were assigned to her before we left the Havoc".

"Keyah's actually in one of the staterooms near the bow" Annik explained when Rulok commed to ask him about that "Crew quarters are full with just our usual teams, Lieutenant".

After Annik discommed, Rulok nodded and said "Captain… you'll need to head forward and get settled in one of those rooms yourself. If you're not hungry just yet, you may as well get some rest before we enter Scarran space and the mission begins in earnest".

"Some sleep would be welcome, I think" Caseya added when Trannak asked her about it as the two of them headed down the stairs to deck 2 "This mission will quite likely be very taxing, and I will perform better if properly rested".

Trannak commed ahead to Keyah, asking her to meet them at the bottom of the nearest staircase to the staterooms on deck 3.

"I am outside my own assigned quarters at this time, Captain" she replied "The stairs in question are not far. I will be there when you and Caseya arrive" before reciting the short location code on the wall when she arrived there.

The two of them arrived a momen or two later to find Keyah standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting.

"Captain… Caseya… this way, please" she announced, nodding slightly towards Trannak – Caseya was very surprised to see the décor of her temporary quarters when she arrived and said so at length.

Keyah smiled a bit more warmly then and told her "So am I, Caseya. I have not been on a ship of this type nor in quarters on them of this kind. I expect that if the ship was under Hierarchy command then these quarters would be reserved for officers or dignitaries requiring transport. Any Kalish permitted aboard would be in quarters on deck 4 with the rest of the crew" before showing her around the small suite.

"The emergency food store in this cupboard should sustain me for one eating time if required" Caseya explained with both interest and relief "So if our resources are stretched, Captain, and we are away for some time I will not need to take food for myself at the galley which may be needed by others".

"Everyone is important in the Irregulars" Trannak explained, nodding assurance of this "Keyah will tell you. Species does not matter. Motivation and loyalty matter. You have demonstrated both" before pointing to another stateroom and adding "I will be in there if I am needed – I am going to follow Rulok's advice and sleep for a few arns. I suggest you both do the same, and preferably soon" before entering and locking the door behind him.

After removing his uniform and personal equipment, then putting them to one side out of the way, Trannak lay back on his bed and simply thought about the mission and the people that were part of it for a while. An unusual mix, he thought to himself Tactical Command and Skulker Command joint operations may not be that uncommon in this movement I now find myself a part of… but having former Praetorian serve alongside those of other species would, I think, be a tricky situation at the best of times. Is part of their testing meant to show how well they respond to serving with non-Scarrans in combat? – before something else occurred to him and he added Perhaps this is a test for me as well… a test to see how well I command a mission where I am the highest ranking officer, and also where non-Scarran personnel are part of the force available to me in his mind before scratching his chin a little, rumbling briefly, then dropping off to sleep.

The flight passed without incident leaving the Talzenadar IV system, and indeed for much of the time after that as well – though when Caseya noticed the course was changing to avoid Watrukaria shortly after waking, she smiled and reminded herself I set this part of the course. I, a Kalish who these new comrades of mine do not know particularly well, have done something important in this mission already and now we will see if it has been done well or if I have missed some detail along the way which leads to us being detected.

She decided she would find someone in charge and see if she could observe this part of the flight from the bridge – Perhaps I will be needed to help fly she thought with quite some interest and excitement perhaps, even if we are not detected, it might be considered a good time for me to learn some new thing about this ship and how to make the most of its functions on a real mission. How do we know if we have been detected or not? Have the Peacekeepers placed sensor satellites in positions to cover where the outpost itself cannot see? Maybe I will be able to find someone who can tell me about these things.

The first person Caseya met on her way to the bridge was one she had not had too much contact with before now – a heavily-scaled and strongly-ridged low-caste Scarran male called Krynak. He has his head, and indeed much of his upper body, inside a service tunnel when she first found him – his big feet were poking out into the corridor, and Caseya squeaked in surprise when she saw him there.

This brought on a brief bout of Scarran swearing until Krynak backed out from the tunnel and saw her there – Caseya started the required Organisation method of apology until Krynak grumbled briefly and said "No need for that – I heard about that stuff, I know what it's for, we're not in some Organisation place now" before he peeked back under the tunnel. After a few microts and a few technical sounds, Krynak came back out and fastened the cover back on the floor before stamping on it hard, then grinning briefly and asking "Is something wrong? You need to eat? Galley's not too far away an' I don't think anyone here except Keyah knows when your eatin' time might be".

"I am not hungry at this time" Caseya replied, shaking her head before telling him "Though I have laid a course, which Captain Trannak approved of, to avoid this Peacekeeper outpost, I was curious to learn how we might tell if they have seen us or not – and if they have, how they have done this. I did not know, when I laid this course, of any space-based sensor systems they may have available which might find us. Do you know?"

"Doubt they got too much that can see out this far" Krynak replied, snorting briefly "But this ship isn't a stealth vessel - so good course or not, we might be seen. I know enough about that stuff to tell if they found us".

"Can you show me, please?" Caseya asked, curious and interested again "I know some things about this ship, it is true, but comparatively little of that is about its operational capabilities. I might be aboard it some other time and be the first one to reach the bridge in time of crisis – but I have little knowledge that I could use to make my presence useful at such a time right now".

Krynak laughed a little before saying "You want to know what this ship can do by, as the humans say, 'picking my brain' " – though he also had to take more time to explain the human idiom he'd used as well.

Ah Caseya realised Picking someone's brain means to ask for guidance or practical instruction on some matter. I doubt, even to humans, that use of this expression implies the person hearing it has sufficient medical knowledge to scan someone's mind to find the knowledge required. As she thought about this and the other confusing things she had both heard and seen about humans during her time living among the Irregulars she followed Krynak up to the Switchblade's bridge and stood behind him and watched as he sat at the console she now knew to be the astronavigation console and keyed in a number of commands.

"Here's a map of nearby space" Krynak explained, pointing to the holo displayed over his console "Watrukarian system territory is marked, that's what the blue dotted line's for, it means Peacekeeper or Sebacean-held space".

"What do those yellow cones mean that I see moving from side to side?" Caseya asked, pointing to one – Krynak nodded and said "Good, a practical and useful question – what those cones show is estimated detection area for a ship or satellite. If it's yellow it just means it's looking for something and isn't preparing to shoot – assuming it has weapons at all. We'd get an audio warning if we got a search cone like that come over us too".

Once Krynak played this audio warning for her from the main archive, Caseya asked "What would happen if we had been detected and someone or something was going to shoot at us?"

"Cone would stop right over us" Krynak replied, nodding "Then we'd hear a loud shriek an' that detection cone would go from yellow to red. After that we get shot at. Getting out alive depends on how many people we got at their posts an' how good we are. Bit of luck too sometimes, of course".

Krynak then went on to explain a little of the basics on electronic surveillance and electronic warfare, and Caseya found it interesting to hear that the location of an enemy could be determined simply by examining their active sensor scans – Krynak grinned and replied "Yeah, it's good to find out where they are by doin' that – but anyone else can do the same. Good gear helps, but all the gear in the world won't help if you don't know what it's tellin' you".

"Much instruction is required, then" Caseya replied, filing this interesting fact away for later use before asking "Is this why we are not using an active scan now? Would we be detected in the ways you have described to me?"

Krynak smiled with genuine apprecitation before nodding and saying "Might be. Don't know. Best to stay quiet an' hope no one finds us – an' that there's no new sensor satellites this far outside marked Watrukarian system space".

To Krynak's surprise, Caseya showed no sign of wanting to leave the bridge – so they both watched the displays for most of the solar day that it took to bypass the outpost's known sensor scanning range. A few of Rulok's team stopped at the bridge during that time and seemed very interested when they heard Caseya was curious about more things concerning how their ship worked and how it was used.

"Good, you are expanding your knowledge and learning new things" Keyah told Caseya with praise when she appeard at the bridge door one time "Excellent. I would not, initially, have thought you would have this much of an interest in how a large military ship is operated… but it is good to see you showing the natural aptitude of our people in the desire to learn new things".

"Flying is interesting" Caseya replied, smiling just a little bit "I have spent large amounts of my time on our home ship's huge flight decks as you know, Keyah Karimu. I have never received flight training at the Organisation during my time there… but I like the prospect of being in control of a flying vehicle, of being able to go wherever I wish to. Perhaps I might be trained to fly some of the craft we have at some later date. I hope I am, it would be show I am making myself more useful to others…".

"…and you would find it fun as well" Keyah finished, and Caseya grinned and replied "I would find it fun as well, I think – yes".

Once Trannak found out about this interest of Caseya's, he smiled and nodded before suggesting "Perhaps I should take her to the small flight deck her report says this ship has. If there are Strykers aboard, she can show us how much she knows about them – how to use the systems, anyway. Perhaps someone has shown her how to start the engines and make ready for takeoff before".

"Lirak…" Rulok called "You're on bridge duty for now, mister. If Caseya has learned anything about Strykers then Captain Lazarus will want to know about it when we get back after the mission. I'm going with Captain Trannak to find out – if something happens, comm us".

The two men, plus Caseya, spent some time on the Switchblade's small flight deck drilling Caseya in what she knew – every so often she would turn to look up at Captain Trannak, and he nodded and called "Well done so far, Caseya" before reminding her to answer the rest of the question or finish the task assigned to her. For all that I am being made to do the menial tasks like cleaning the flight deck and checking for anything left loose by others Caseya thought during one rest break I am also being shown the reasons why these things are necessary as well. This happened less often than anyone liked back on Kalian and likely even less on Scarras Prime…

"The flight deck has been cleaned of potentially dangerous small objects or rubbish again, Captain" Caseya reported the following day after cleaning the flight deck again "A FOD check, I believe Captain Lazarus calls it. I remembered what I was told about commanding the small number of DRDs we have here and instructed them to do much of the work... this does not upset or anger you?"

"It does not" Trannak confirmed, shaking his head before smiling briefly "We teach you things like this because we expect you to use the knowledge gained to fulfil your orders and help others. That you used what you learned on your own initiative shows you are doing well".

Caseya smiled briefly and cast her mind back to see if she had been told this before – Others have told me this as well! she remembered after a few microts This is good, then – acting on one's own is encouraged as long as what one does assists the mission we are on. From what Captain Trannak says, it is considered a good thing for normal shipboard duties as well – so I should learn more new and useful things so I can be an asset to even more of the unit, whatever duties we have been given.

The Switchblade left the Watrukaria system without being detected, a situation everyone was relieved about.

"Good..." another of the few women, a slightly slimmer low-caste Scarran named Novia announced "Out of that system without being found. Sebacean outposts are tricky, you can never tell exactly what they should be able to do simply by looking at one – that Watrukaria's almost covered in jungle only makes it worse!"

"I have not studied such ecosystems in detail..." Keyah replied "...but it would be expected that the profusion of trees and other growing things would hinder the likelihood of detecting the outpost. This is quite likely why one was placed here".

Rulok just nodded before adding "There's ruins of some kind a good way off from the outpost as well... they look to be Scarran... but in a jungle, especially that one, we can't tell who made them from orbit well enough to say for sure".

"We don't have the time to check now in any case" Trannak said after that, before adding "OK... so we've managed to make our way around the Watrukarian outpost. What is the next likely item of concern?"

Lirak got Novia to bring up the course on the astronavigation console before pointing to a red triangle with a circle around it. No markings of the kind usually present on star charts for most planets Caseya thought I do not know yet what the coloured symbol means, but perhaps it means our destination is there.

"Here" he replied, confirming Caseya's guess "Miclatze military fortress – and the closest place to Tal IV that might give us useful data on how much of the alteration project the Hierarchy has resurrected in some detail. There will be some spatial defences... but with us coming in aboard a Scarran military ship it's not likely we'll even be hailed until we get close to wherever the lab complex is".

"We are about to enter Scarran space, then?" Caseya asked a few microts after Lirak stopped speaking – Lirak nodded before telling everyone "Caseya is correct – we are about to enter Scarran space. We can avoid Chena'ia altogether, which I think we'll all be happy about, but with Rulok's approval I suggest we keep at least all the bridge stations manned before we get close".

"Agreed" Rulok replied with a nod – before turning to look at Hellbolt as he stood lounging against the bridge door and calling "Get in here, mister – I really hope we don't need you to actually fly this ship at any point, but I'll show you the basics now. The Sub-Commander says you have practical experience if not a rating in large craft, which I hope means you can manoevre without crashing into a passing satellite...".

"I'm plenty good enough, Rulok..." Hellbolt replied, raising one eyebrow "I want to get back out of here alive and without any more scars to add to my collection just as much as you do. Just show me where all the controls are and we'll all be fine" – Caseya actually shifted up onto the wall, and from there to the ceiling, so she could watch Hellbolt's brief introduction to manoevreing the Switchblade, though only Keyah noticed this before Rulok ordered everyone back to quarters to get some sleep while they could.

"It is good to see you use the talents of our people to learn new things" Keyah told Caseya with approval as the pair of them returned to their respective quarters "It is good to see you relax enough to do so without worrying about punishment for actually shifting aboard the bridge of a warship without official permission as well".

"To be honest, Keyah Karimu..." Caseya replied once she realised that was true "...I had not even thought about that until you told me just now. I remember that the Commander has encouraged me to learn new things about potential duties I may be given, or even just things that are interesting on a personal level – I still wonder why he does that, even though I have been told he simply likes to see those under his command to be both expanding their skills and being happy".

"It is not common" Keyah replied, shaking her head "but it is a most welcome change from what we both knew before. Our Commander is human, of course, which should explain most of the reasons why things are this way quite neatly, I think" – Caseya giggled a bit when Keyah told her that, after which both of them entered their own quarters and locked the doors behind them.

Hmmm... Trannak thought as he watched from a little further down the corridor Keyah's odd behaviour towards me is most likely just caused by me being a Scarran not behaving in the way she is accustomed to, then. Knowing personal information on any Scarran would not have been encouraged by their Advisors or lower-ranked Organisation administrators – so even if she had encountered any like me before she would simply have considered it too unwise to enquire further about, especially since I doubt she has seen my own people acting kindly towards her own unless it served their own interests to be doing so. He scratched his chin a little more as he thought about that a little longer, then nodded once before heading to his own quarters.

Caseya was actually on the bridge when the navicomp announced the ship's entry to Scarran space – and since Hellbolt was asleep in the copilot's chair, Caseya frantically scanned the astronavigation console for any internal comm controls, since that was the console she knew most about. This is important Caseya reminded herself as she looked around Better I take care now and find the controls on the first attempt rather than move hastily and look right past them... before eventually finding them – Trannak himself was the first to arrive, though Rulok was barley a microt behind and simply called "Report!" on arrival.

"Sir..." Caseya replied, her voice wobbling a little with unease "...the navicomp sounded an alert that we are about to enter Scarran territory. I would have managed to alert you with more speed, but I am still comparatively new to this ship and know little about how to use most of these bridge systems. Thus I took a momen or two longer to alert you".

"Very good..." Rulok replied "Caseya... since you're already at that station you can stay there – Novia, watch her, help if needed, but don't take over unless she's going to get something dangerously wrong or we have to go into combat".

A quick "Sir.." was the only reply Novia gave, though she also thought I hardly know anything about Kalish... though this one's shown more tolerance of us, or at least lets her curiosity overrule her fear. It'll be to everyone's benefit for me to get to know the two we have, I think before standing behind the astronavigation console's chair.

Hellbolt did get a minor reprimand for being asleep on watch duty, though Rulok finished that with a weary grumble before telling him "Get some stimjuice down your throat, mister, or you'll likely fall asleep right when we need you the most".

"Once the ringing in my ears from you screaming at me has faded..." he grumbled back – Shellek sat down at the flight engineer's station, which caught Caseya's attention since she had not seen him very often, while everyone else except Trannak returned to their assigned duty stations or quarters. Little enough happened until Caseya called "Sirs... there is a yellow cone in my display. I have been told this means a ship or fixed installation may be looking for us. I do not know enough to decide which of these I have found".

"We are on the border of Scarran space" Rulok replied "What would you think would be here?"

"I would expect a ship under police command to be here" she replied after a half-momen of thought "People try to smuggle to and from Hierarchy space, we were taught in the Organisation, no matter how often they are caught. We were always taught we would benefit more if we obeyed Hierarchy law and our orders – we were told at length what the punishments might be if we disobeyed, of course".

Novia tapped out a few commands on the console's keyboard, with Caseya watching with much interest.

"The computer has decided it is a border patrol frigate" Caseya told Rulok when Novia had finished "It does not appear to be moving at any great speed, nor does it appear to have any small craft flying along with it. What should I do? Do you have any orders for me?"

"Not for now" Trannak decided "Rulok... if you could take us around the frigate so it doesn't see us, please. They may not have state of the art firepower but border patrol frigates usually have very good sensors".

"Lirak..." Rulok called across the dividing console between the pilot's and copilot's chairs "All ahead one half – no faster, that frigate might get a heat trace off us then. No need to make their job easy for them. If they hail us, I'll find something to reprimand them for, it won't be hard – especially when they see my face...". Caseya let out a brief giggle at that, which made Trannak smile before he whispered "Note the time, Caseya, as well as both our position and the frigate's when you detected it for us – if we are hailed, Rulok may find this information useful".

"He can use it to embarass the frigate's Captain and officers" Caseya agreed, sending the information to Rulok's HUD "Police on Kalian always seemed to take delight in interpreting the law in the way that brought the most harsh punishment to a Kalish whenever they could... I will not deny it would bring some personal satisfaction should we manage to embarass them".

It took fifteen momens before Lirak called "We're being hailed!" and Caseya's console started beeping.

"The frigate is actively scanning us, but not preparing to shoot" Novia explained to Caseya "That is why the yellow cone is a brighter shade and remaining centred on us – they are using an active scan, they are trying to find out as much as they can about us and don't mind if we know they're there. Since our transponder was turned off, someone will try and question Rulok when he answers the hail".

"Don't stop or even slow down" Trannak ordered "If they want to turn and follow, let them – for now. They might have a tougher ship but it's almost certain we have more firepower as well as far superior speed and manoevreability. The advantage lies with us – and if anyone on board that frigate identifies our ship type they'll know that".

Rulok nodded before answering the comm.

"Unidentified ship!" came the voice of a fairly annoyed Scarran in the tone Caseya had always associated with Kalian police "You're entering Hierarchy-controlled space! State your reason for entry, turn your comm's visual mode on, and activate your transponder – or prepare to receive a boarding party!"

"Plok to your boarding party!" Rulok snapped after adjusting the camera so it only showed his face and not anything or anyone else on the bridge "If you've got anyone half-way intelligent on the bridge you should be able to identify my ship without me telling you about it – and then you'd know what kind of people we are! Personally I think at least half your bridge crew are drunk..." before telling the Scarran on the other end when Caseya detected them. Some very unhappy growling came back across the comm – Caseya smiled briefly before whispering "I cannot tell with certainty, Captain... but I think one of that frigate's bridge officers just said something in the Charrid language which corresponds to the human saying 'I told you so' in something of a smug tone" to Trannak.

"We still detected them sooner than they detected us" Trannak replied, smiling "Which was down to your timely alert, Caseya. Well done". Caseya smiled more easily then, though no one except her saw the slight blush on her cheeks for the microt or so it was there due to being both praised and smiled at by Trannak in front of others.

"I still don't like this..." the frigate's captain decided eventually "But the smart-eema on nav duty right now happens to be right, even thought he's also stupid enough not to do what I did in his position and hide it until he was safely out of my hearing range. People who got Switchblades tend to get angry with people who ask questions about them, even when it's our job to ask 'em... so get out of here an' be about your business so I can remind this lot not to even tell their mothers what they just saw" before discomming.

"Border patrol..." Lirak rumbles with mild amusement "Technically quite important duty, but I can't name one crew that ever likes doing it. Since they think this is a Praetorian ship they can't report details, and that means they'll get their eemas kicked as much as their superiors can get away with doing".

The flight proceeded more cautiously from that point, with Lirak getting Novia to take over the astronavigation console and help him find their way – Caseya relinquished her place readily enough and stood beside Trannak before shifting to the floor.

"I imagine that was fun..." he whispered, smiling again "I know that before I came here, my squad and I liked to embarass the police and regular army whenever we could...".

"It was, Captain..." Caseya confirmed, adding I know he prefers that I do not address him by rank... but we are around others and on a mission as well, so I had best do so in order not to arouse suspicion among others we might come into contact with in her own mind "I do not mean to upset anyone... but many Kalish do not trust the Scarran police, and many like to have small victories like these when they can do so safely".

"You will find many of your comrades aboard the Havoc don't like the police much either" Trannak explained "Since my history and theirs is different, perhaps you can ask some of them about things like this when we get back".

A quite lively discussion between them was only brought to a halt when Novia called "Active scan! Probably an automated sentry station – but those always have someone watching the sensor feed somewhere!"

"All crew to naval combat stations" Rulok called over the intercom "It looks like we have found Miclatze – or at least their outer sentry satellites. Let's act like what we used to be and we should get to where we need to go without being found out".

Everyone reported in when they reached their duty station – even Murea and the other medic called in when they reached the sick bay.

"Watch the displays..." Trannak whispered to Caseya as everyone got to work in earnest "Listen to people give and receive hails from the Miclatze base itself. But don't speak, Caseya – the voice of a Kalish, even if someone only hears it over the comm by accident, will bring too much suspicion our way". Caseya nodded seriously, which earned her another brief smile, before looking around and watching everyone closely and with much interest. Hellbolt was now standing behind Lirak's seat with a very wary look on his face and not making even the slightest sound – Has he fought against Scarrans before? Caseya thought Is that what brings this mood on him? Or does he always act this way in when fighting is a possibility?

Rulok picked his way through and around maybe six more satellites or manned outposts before he actually got hailed.

"I don't know who you are or where you're from..." the woman growled "...and to be pleebin' honest I don't much care either. Switchblade ship or not, you'd better have a good reason for being here".

"Cargo drop" Lirak replied "Orders said drop cargo off at some research station and gave us coordinates for here".

"What kind of cargo?!" the woman replied suspiciously, to which Lirak responded by grumbling and telling her "No one told us and we were told not to even think about it! Just bring it here, make sure some high-up science type signs for it, then get out again" while Rulok scanned for lifesigns. A low and almost constant grumble came back from the other end of the comm transmission while Novia signalled a group of four mark-2 Strykers had arrived and was forming up around them.

"The doctor's going to be pleased someone actually brought him what he wants..." one of the Stryker pilots commed in "He's gonna like you – at least for a while, or unless you brought sub-standard cargo. Let's get you landed so we can find out if he likes you or not...".

"This lot aren't stupid" Lirak told Rulok as soon as the comm went silent and two of the Strykers flew ahead while the others dropped back behind the Switchblade "They most likely know pilots coming to the research station don't know where they're going – but I'd lay some pretty safe crindars they're loaded with either some very heavy conventional missiles or small nuclear ones".

"More likely conventional warheads" Rulok mumurmured as he watched his instruments for lifesigns in unusual places "Nuclear warheads produce radiation... and radiation will, to one degree or another, affect whatever experiments go on here. Not good, I think" before turning to face Caseya and adding "Caseya, Captain Trannak... it's time for both of you to go and prepare for your respective parts in this mission".

"Come with me, Caseya" Trannak told Caseya, nodding "We'll pick up Keyah from her quarters and proceed to the drop deck from there. Those who are coming with us will already be there – except for Rulok and Lirak, who will join with us after we land but before we lower the drop ramp. Then we will proceed".

"I hope this does not upset anyone..." Caseya said uneasily as they all came off the stairs at deck 2 "... but I am not at ease in confined spaces, like these specimen boxes I am to go in" before smiling briefly and adding "Oh, I can tolerate if not like the service tunnels aboard the Cry Havoc well enough when I am required to go in them... but even then I prefer to use the regular corridors or the transit system".

"There are many things I don't like either" Trannak replied, nodding "but you need not worry – your fellow Kalish, Keyah, will be close by; the others you have seen aboard this ship during the flight will be close by – and, of course, I will be close by as well. I will be doing my best to see our false identities as Praetorian will hold long enough to complete our mission – and perhaps you might learn some new things while we are here. There will be many opportunities to practice moving quietly, or observing the smallest details about what you see and reporting them to others, or maybe even other things as well. We will decide what things you will do well with as we go through the mission".

Further discussion stopped at that point, since they had reached Keyah's quarters – Caseya nodded to Captain Trannak, then knocked on her door and called "Keyah Karimu... it is time for us to prepare for our first part in this mission. We should go to the drop deck now. Captain Trannak is here with me" – she felt a little more at ease knowing he was there as well, her mind briefly recalling how he had seen to her safety before she was in the Irregulars.

He considers me to be worth something, she decided as Keyah came out of her quarters already ready for battle, and for his own reasons seems to actually like me as well. I do not know how much I mean to him, but he likes me and wants to keep me safe and even seems to want to help me learn new things and become more useful to others – and I have come to enjoy his company and appreciate the things he teaches me.

Caseya thought about this more as the three of them continued on to the drop deck. He is the first Scarran who does not consider it beneath him to associate with Kalish and even become friends with us that I have met, she realised with a smile, and for reasons of his own he likes me and wants to help me and spend time with me, whether to teach me or simply to relax. I have come to like him as well, and even more to trust him – something which I never would have thought to happen even so much as two or three cycles ago. But here I am, after perhaps a cycle aboard the Cry Havoc, with one of my most valued friends being a Scarran – and more than that, a high-caste officer!

The sight of the majority of the crew clustered around the two specimen coffins on the drop deck brought her mind back to the present. I do not like those things, she thought to herself, but I will be safe – I will be in the company of those I know at all times, and another Kalish will be going inside the other specimen coffin as well. If Keyah, someone who I now know is a Master of the arts of our people, will go in one of these things then so will I.

Caseya actually giggled a bit when Trannak lifted her up and lowered her into the specimen coffin – it feels comforting and it feels safe when he holds me, she realised with surprise, I do not know why, but it does.

When Trannak had set her in the coffin, he smiled briefly before saying "You will need a weapon in there with you – and since even if we become discovered the presence of a Kalish can be explained as that of a technical specialist then you do not have to use of of these larger weapons-", and paused for a few microts so Annik had time to lift his G8C for her to see, "-unless you really want to – but with this being a low-impact mission we must use suppressed projectile weapons. So you could use the same larger weapon as we do, or the smaller one which you may have used even before coming to be with us".

"I will use the small one" Caseya decided "The large one looks to be very effective – but I have never used one before, not even to train with, and you are correct in deducing that I have seen the smaller ones before and completed the basic levels of marksmanship training".

Krynak tested her hands to see if she could hold his pistol as well, and while she found him to be a little rough he seemed to be pleased.

"Change must have given her bigger hands" he told Trannak when he asked for an explanation "Considering how big she is now, she'd have been too small pre-change to hold a Viper like this".

"Get her one, then" Trannak replied, nodding "Holster, spare ammunition, everything Caseya will need" – when it was brought over, Trannak helped her get the holster adjusted properly to fit her before quickly drilling her on the controls.

"They are standardised controls, I think" she replied, which made Krynak smile briefly "I expect they are made the same way across many weapons to minimise training time. The markings are the same as those I have seen before, during my basic Organisation defence training" before loading her pistol under Trannak's supervision, after which she nodded with satisfaction and put it back in her holster again. The rifle and its ammunition, along with a few other basic items, went in a small scanproof compartment – and then the coffin lid was lowered over her and sealed.

I am not going to die Caseya reminded herself Keyah is in another coffin like this one and we both have a number of armed Scarrans with us, including Captain Trannak. We will find anything useful that is here to be found and then we will leave and all of us will be alive afterwards.

"I am still here" Trannak's voice announced softly over her comm "Rulok is currently bringing us in to land at the science command portion of the fortress – Lirak has just told us that this is not part of the main base itself and is underground right under the main port, though our entry will not be made there. We are being guided to what I think is am auxilliary entrance some distance away that the main base cannot see".

This scientific base must be important enough Caseya decided that making it secret even to other soldiers is more important than making it more secure by incorporating it into the main base. Perhaps we may even find out other things, over and above that which we came here to find – I will have a part in that if it turns out to be the case, which may earn me a positive report – and I have had few enough of those before.

"Strykers have moved off" Rulok called a short while later "I'm getting a landing beacon... and camouflaged blast doors are opening. Big landing field in there – easily enough for us to land in".

"Copy that" Trannak replied "We're ready down here. Both coffins are sealed and the internal air supply is good. Caseya is mildly agitated but not enough to scrub the mission. She will do her part and do it well, and I will help her".

"Good, Captain" Rulok replied, grinning a little at how Trannak seemed so attached to Caseya "Give me a momen, we're being directed to land – right out in the middle of the landing field here, which works just as well for them as well as us since I can see defence turrets and soldiers on all sides".

"Turn the ship around so the bow faces outward" Trannak replied immediately "It will take longer to land but may make the difference between life and death for our people when we leave".

"Already being done" Lirak replied as Rulok manoevred the Switchblade to land "Landing control doesn't like us deviating from orders doing that, but we don't care – and by what I'm hearing from the security units' comms, they find the discomfort of the science command staff over this very amusing as well".

A slight thump marked the landing pads contacting the ground, after which Rulok motioned for Hellbolt to take over his seat.

"I hope you can read Scarran well enough by now not to get confused about the controls, mister..." Rulok said "The Commander thinks you're good enough... let's hope we won't have to find out, yes?"

"I want to get out of here alive and with all my arms and legs working as well" Hellbolt replied "I got water an' rations here, I'll be fine – you can go running around an' grabbing whatever it is you came here for. I'm as close to this place as I want to get". Rulok and Lirak both grumbled a bit but nodded before grabbing their guns and running for the drop deck.

"OK..." Trannak told Shellek as last-microt adjustments were made to the suit of Praetorian battle armour he was now wearing "...that should be fine. You will need to wear the helmet – at least for now – since few Praetorian officers ever take theirs off outside of their home garrison or personal quarters in any case". Trannak took his place beside the specimen coffin which Caseya was in and everyone else moved to their assigned positions – just as Rulok and Lirak reached them.

"Good, everyone's ready" Rulok announced "Captain... I'd suggest letting me lead here, Lirak and I know more about how things usually work in this kind of place than you do...".

"Fine..." agreed Trannak, nodding "I'll comm you if I need you to do anything specific, Rulok"

Perhaps fifteen microts later someone outside banged three times on the drop ramp – Lirak shouted "STAND CLEAR!" before lowering it, chuckling slightly as several security troops had to move out of the way. On Trannak's order, Rulok led the column out of the Switchblade – the security officer in charge wasn't particularly pleased when the drop ramp was raised and the entrance sealed again, but he just grunted briefly and said "You got cargo for us, that's what flight control said. Let's have it".

"Orders say..." Rulok growled back "... that we go with it right up to when a field-grade or higher science command officer signs for custody of the cargo. So stop being a right pain in the eema about this and get us – and the cargo – to one. Fast!"

The security trooper in charge of the landing field might not have liked his job but he wasn't stupid – he led one small squad ahead while another came in behind Trannak and the two specimen coffins.

"We're going to have to move quick when the time comes" Trannak whispered on short-range comms "Security troops in front and behind. From squad sizes either side I'd say regular Army".

"Confirmed" Annik replied "Ten plus NCO, and almost no comm discipline. Shellek's got us past their comm encryption as well and this lot mutter back and forth until the NCO hits one or two of them – which shuts them up for a few momens before it starts again".

The group prceeded along a considerable number of metras of corridors and three levels before arriving at a secured entry station.

"Stand by..." Trannak whispered to Caseya's comm and Keyah's, taking a risk that the security here wouldn't be listening "We have arrived at a security checkpoint. Security units are here. A science command official has arrived".

"I was instructed to come and take custody of cargo we need" the scientist announced "This is the cargo?"

"Doctor Telfan..." Rulok replied, reading the man's ident tag "...this is the cargo. Your ident lists you as having sufficient clearance to sign for it. Want to do that here or at your lab?"

Thanks to her change, Caseya could just hear what was going on outside – and wondered what this scientist would prefer to do. He would separate us from Captain Trannak and the others if he signed these fake papers now, she decided – but would then have to move the coffins Keyah and I are in himself. Both logic and proper security would dictate he sign here and move them himself or call lab assistants to move the coffins for him – but ego might make him wait and sign at his lab door, so Rulok and his people move the coffins for him.

"Lab" came the eventual reply, much to Caseya's relief – though he did check the lifesign readouts and cargo idents himself right there.

"We need that one right away" Doctor Telfan said, to Caseya's surprise "A post-change subject of that species for examination? Maybe once we find out how it affects their lot we can use what we find for leverage with their Organisation – they probably want this process for use with their paramilitary commandos as much as we do for our own soldiers". So the coffin internal idents are telling that much of the truth, then – a risk, Caseya decided, but one that seems to be paying off if it means we all can move as a group past this secured area and closer to the lab itself.

Barriers were raised and then the guards and Rulok's group proceeded beyond the secured checkpoint. Trannak looked around as he walked but otherwise said nothing – the more I memorise about the layout he decided the more chance we have of returning to the Switchblade unharmed. The levels seem to be labelled in the normal way, so the route should not present a problem – only the people we find on the route will.

Trannak looked around more when everyone had to make a more complicated change of direction and pass across a major crossing point between, Trannak decided two separate but connected project areas. We need to make sure we don't get lost he reminded himself The lower down through the levels we go the more complicated the layout becomes! Once we reach the computers the first thing I need to find is a map!

"Doctor Crassich, Doctor Telfan..." Doctor Telfan announced into a wall intercom "We have a cargo delivery – one priority one item, one priority two item. Which I secured for us before our competition here got hold of either of them! The ...escorts... require a senior official to sign for custody – do you wish to do so or shall I?"

"Sign for them yourself!" came the immediate and at least comparatively pleased reply "I'll open the doors from here, you sign and get the cargo inside, and whatever Praetorian detatchment that got conned into delivering what we need can be paid their bounty and be on their way! Just check the contents before signing for it".

Caseya heard her own coffin lid being unfastened and frantically grabbed for her Viper as soon as she had room to do so. She did her best to calm down and feign unconsciousness again, since only the upper lid section had been opened so far – but Doctor Telfan must have been pleased, she decided because he commed "Confirmed possession of priority one cargo item. Skin affects subject species as it does our own".

"Transfer that subject inside now!" came Doctor Crassich's reply "Get the coffin open, I'm sending two orderlies to help you!"

The entire mission depends on my reactions now Caseya realised with an almost terrifying certainty The lives of other Kalish and friendly Scarrans depend on whatever extra speed and accuracy these changes give me. I am no commando as Keyah is, but for everyone's sake I must be as fast as one if not faster.

Caseya's Viper moved along with the lower half of the coffin lid as it was raised – and as soon as it was all the way up she pointed it right at Doctor Telfan's face and pulled the trigger half a dozen times. Three of the shots missed, but the others caused enough damage to drop him if not kill him.

"Out, out, out!" Trannak urged in her ear, calmly but firmly "Open the other coffin! Get Keyah out and help her get ready! I will retrieve your other weapon and supplies for you".

Caseya nodded, glad to hear him staying calm and controlled, before moving as fast as she dared to open the clasps on Keyah's coffin. Keyah has a G8C with her – the muzzle of this came up and pointed at Caseya until Keyah realised who she was, after which she nodded and passed Caseya the more bulky weapon before getting to her feet and leaping nimbly out of the coffin.

"Inside!" hissed Trannak over the comm "Secure the lab security centre! The alarm must not be raised!"

"Two lab orderlies approaching" Krynak reported, to which Trannak replied "Shoot them and put the bodies in a cupboard somewhere. Salvage anything you think you might need as long as the extra weight won't slow you down".

"Targets nullified" Krynak reported again after two pff's from his suppressed sniper rifle "No cupboards that weren't locked, so we had to cut them up a bit and throw 'em down the recyc chute".

"One has a key on him" Annik added "Hopefully for somewhere useful".

Caseya felt distinctly queasy at hearing how easily the messy disposal of the two orderlies was being handled, but decided These are soldiers, as well as being my new friends and allies. This is their job, it is what they do – my own skills are not like theirs, I cannot do what they do and they cannot do what I do. That is why we are all here and not just one or two other personnel. If I vomit because of what I just heard, it should be after we complete our mission successfully and return home – not now, where it will slow us down.

Trannak found Doctor Telfan and put a single shot from his own G8C through the man's treblin eye, killing him, before looking around and nodding with approval and saying "Keyah, Caseya – let Annik take point, but you two follow him. There may be Kalish working here and you would be able to put them at their ease more readily than him".

"We will" Keyah replied, her treblin hand signalling for Caseya to put her Viper away and unsling the smaller-model suppressed slugrifle Trannak had given her.

"We are to protect Annik while he leads the way in finding an office or computer control room" Keyah whispered to Caseya once she had done that "It is an unusual place for us to be, yes? But this is how it is where we are – and in this place it will be expected to see a Scarran leading, even though at the Organisation it would have been expected for a Kalish to be the guide".

"Captain Trannak is right behind us" Caseya replied more happily "We will not even need to use the comms to pass on information – look, he is only a few metras behind us".

"He is" Keyah confirmed when she turned to look briefly "It is good to see he trusts Kalish people with important mission tasks. I have seen this before, at the place where we first found you – but it is good to see it again, I think" before signalling for them both to shift to the wall on their side to more easily cover the two corridors that appeared to split from the current one after a locked door.

"Caseya..." Keyah decided "You will pick the lock. It is a mechanical lock and you will need these picks. I have the skill to do this myself, but you should learn while you can. I will watch" before passing over her own lockpicks. It took considerably longer than it would if Keyah had done it herself, but eventually – with Keyah's supervision and occasional whispered instructions – the door was opened.

"That was hard" Caseya replied, shuddering a little as the adrenaline left her system "Your guidance was much appreciated, Keyah Karimu. I am still not of sufficient standard to do similar tasks unsupervised but it is a good start, I think".

"It is" Keyah decided "I have more skill – but you have your change. This will help you in many mission tasks".

Annik went to push the door open, but Caseya called "There is a lump on the roof of the corridor I can see along... I do not know if it is a security turret or a monitor turret. It is turning from side to side slowly".

"There is one on the hammond corridor as well" Keyah added "I think they are monitor turrets. The corridor proceeds for some metras before turning 90 degrees and going down either stairs or a ramp to a lower level. I cannot tell which it is from here".

"What are they scanning?" Lirak asked "It is watching the door? A set area of the corridor? Can it see the walls and ceiling as well?"

Caseya thought about that – it means I will be needed to exercise the skills of my people to ensure the mission progresses again! she told herself more happily Keyah and I are needed for our uniquely Kalish nature, we are valuable specialists! before she decided While Keyah has many skills she can use to make the most of our species' special talent, I have comparatively few and should do my best to learn more at every opportunity.

"I do not think the one on the corridor I can see covers the ceiling..." she replied "... nor the top ...quarter?... of the wall – at least not once I approached to within a few metras".

"Disable the monitor turrets" Trannak ordered imediately "Both sides! Rulok, Lirak, and I will decide what to do next while you do this".

I must move fast Caseya decided as she watched the monitor turret turn Keyah may be able to remove certain parts from them, but I do not have that kind of training – I will have to use my rifle and put a few bullets into the camera from close range and hope an alarm is not sounded. As soon as the turret turned away from the door, Caseya leapt around the door and immediately shifted to the wall before running as fast as she could. At one point she had to press her body flat against the ceiling while the monitor turret's scan swept past her – but since no alarm sounded she leapt for a better position as soon as she can before reaching the camera. It is not an advanced and fortified military model she decided Certainly a monitor with simply a thin plastic cover on it would never have been used in the Organisation compound on Kalian! It would become a target for the less conforming and end up disabled ten times a weeken or more! Caseya promptly put two shots from her rifle into it before running back to Annik again.

Keyah was already there when Caseya returned, though she nodded and said "A good use of your current skills – disabling the camera would have been preferable to destruction but you have not been trained how to do that, so you used what you have and what you knew. Well done". Caseya bowed briefly, adding a smile when Trannak let out a very soft rumble of approval as well.

"We will stay here" Rulok announced softly "Captain Trannak will recon each corridor briefly to see if there is a room with a terminal on it we can use to get a map. The less stumbling around we do, the less chance we are found and the higher chance we find what we came for".

With the monitors disabled or destroyed, Trannak only had to contend with people's hearing. There are either labs or offices with entrances here he decided as he crept down the corridor Keyah was watching, though after peeking through the windows he discovered all of them were occupied and most of them were locked. Locked ones I can handle Trannak grumbled Occupied ones I can handle... but rooms both occupied and locked are more of a problem than we can deal with on a mission primarily for infiltration! I must try the other corridor, then one Caseya watches before he scratched his chin in thought before deciding She is coming to trust me and like me more now... perhaps now would be a good time to test her movement skills and see how quietly she and I can check the corridor together.

"An interesting idea, Captain..." Rulok replied when Trannak suggested it "...if you think it's going to be doable without getting us detected".

"The other corridor is too heavily secured for a low-impact mission" Trannak explained "If we came for something already located and we were prepared for a heavy assault this wouldn't be a problem – but seeing as we have to find our own way to something we don't know a lot about I need to check the other corridor – and Caseya responds well enough to me for it to be worth the risk".

I am to receive another training opportunity and chance to prove myself Caseya decided as she listened, her changed ears allowing her to pick up what a normal person would not and alongside Captain Trannak as well. I have been trusted to learn much about our home... but this is the first real mission where I have played an important part. The Captain and others will evaluate my performance and the Commander will decide what is to be done with me and what further training I might receive. Whatever other orders I am given, I must protect the Captain and see he comes to no harm – he likes me and seems to consider me his friend, and he is the first Scarran to consider me worth that much. This trust needs to be repaid.

"You and I will see if there is a room in the corridor you were watching with a terminal in it we can use" Trannak explained to her "It will be a chance for me to test how good you are at moving quietly as well, of course-", a tone only mildly proud and boastful in his voice as he added "-and I am a Scarran known to be very good indeed at that, and even earned a special name for it along with a number of commendations and even medals".

I am to be taught new skills by an expert in the field Caseya decided with interest Captain Trannak must truly place great worth in me to teach me personally, especially since others must surely know enough to teach a new student themselves.

Trannak started off by testing Caseya on what she already knew or had seen others do – he smiled and nodded when she did well, but corrected her gently and showed her how to improve when she did not.

Interesting... Keyah thought as she watched Captain Trannak treats Caseya well, as if she is a valued advanced student or even a member of his own family. He genuinely likes her and does not simply value her for her potential worth to the unit.

Trannak's hand came up fast, so Caseya came forward.

"This room is occupied" he whispered softly "But you, unlike me, have this change which the Hierarchy is trying to resurrect – can you hear what is happening inside? Are the people close to the wall or in a room further away, perhaps beyond an open doorway?"

"I can hear a number of people" Caseya whispered back, nodding "I think... two are over there and one more is over there" before holding up a hand for quiet and even peeking over the lower edge of a window.

"Two are heading out of the room" she explained when Trannak asked what she saw "They said earlier they are going elsewhere to find refreshment. The one remaining must wait until their return before doing likewise".

"Watch me" Trannak instructed her "I will sneak up behind this person and subdue them – but you, Caseya, must see if the room is clear and signal me to proceed" before something else occured to him and he asked "Are they leaving the room by this door or by another one?"

"There is another door on the other side of the room" she replied "It is partly open. They were turning to face that door when I heard one speak. It was a Scarran female. Low-caste, I think".

"Good" Trannak said "We can examine this room safely. Watch until they leave, then tap me twice on my treblin shoulder – that will be my signal to proceed".

Caseya waited until she heard the door on the other side of the room shut and lock before signalling Trannak to proceed. He opened the door far faster than I could Caseya decided with a little disappointment in herself but also awe in Trannak He moves so quietly and carefully – and yet is a large Scarran! I must watch and learn and make the most of any opportunity that becomes available for me to learn from him. She did squeak a little in surprise a microt or two later, but Trannak poked his head out and smiled before waving her inside and saying "He's only knocked out, not dead – so we have a few momens only".

Trannak brought the desk terminal out of hibernation mode and spent a momen or so trying to find a map – but grumbled and told Caseya "I know little of how these things are organised and would take too long to find what we need! I don't know if you know how to use that terminal better than me... but try your best. We need a map".

I am good at this Caseya thought happily I will show Captain Trannak just how good I am by finding the map we require quickly before her fingers started moving across the keyboard and even the virtual holoscreen controls with increasing speed.

"We have what we need, Captain!" Caseya called quietly but happily "Come and see!"

"Very good" Trannak replied, rumbling softly in approval "Download it to my PDA, but print out copies for each person of our team as well".

"You think your PDA may become nonfunctional, Captain?" Caseya asks with uneasy surprise, but Trannak shook his head and squeezed her shoulder briefly before telling her "No, I do not – it is in good repair. But it is wise to prepare for all possibilities – this facility may have means to suppress portable data devices like mine and with printed maps we will not become vulnerable if it does".

Caseya immediately printed off maps as required, smiling a little as she did so – negative reports for nonconformity or not, my proficiency ratings for computer operation and information retrieval are good, even though I was not top of my class. Once all the copies were printed, she showed Trannak – who nodded before a groan from the floor made Trannak hit the clerk again.

"Return to Rulok" Trannak told Caseya next "and tell him we should proceed this way! Then pass everyone a copy of the map as they come to meet up with me. Pass the last one to whoever is on rear guard, then come back to me – you don't have much time, this one will wake up again unless I kill him".

Caseya ran back as quietly as she could, where she passed on Trannak's orders to Rulok and gave him a copy of the map.

"Good" he told her, nodding "Some solid information at last. Captain Trannak downloaded electronic copies of this to all our PDAs – but he thinks like Lirak does, he likes to have these printed maps as well" before telling her "Stand by the door, give each person their map as they go to the Captain. Once you give Keyah hers, run to catch up with the Captain as well – he obviously wants to keep you with him and train you himself" Caseya did wonder about that, but eventually decided to delay her curiosity in that area until after the mission.

"All OK..." Keyah whispered when she arrived, and Trannak nodded before saying "Caseya has found us a map which we got hold of without too much trouble. Since this is a Scarran operation, we head down – beyond that I'm not sure".

Shellek spent a half-momen or so scrolling through his map on his PDA before marking a location with a target symbol and calling "There. The map marks it as a lab area belonging to Doctor Crassich – but it's location also makes a good site for the central computer – or, if the doctor's especially security-conscious, actual paper documents detailing the project's current status or a stand-alone computer which has the same information".

Caseya traced this suggested route out on her own printed map, looked over it twice, then rolled the map up and put in in the small pack she had with her before nodding up at Trannak before saying "I have the eidectic memory of my people, Captain – and I have memorised the route to this Doctor Crassich's office and personal lab complex. I expect Keyah Karimu has done the same".

Trannak looked over at Keyah, his facial expression clearly asking if she had – when Keyah nodded back, Trannak said "Caseya, stay beside me. Keyah, you're on point. Judduk, take over on rear guard" before telling Rulok "The less time we lose stopping to check PDAs for directions the quicker we can leave, so Keyah's on point and Caseya's with me". Rulok and Lirak just nodded and smiled before making sure everyone moved off in proper order.

What did slow everyone down was security patrols as they got further below ground – there were few to none on the upper levels of the complex, but lower down there were roving patrols which the group lost precious momens avoiding.

"Level 8..." Keyah announced as everyone crawled out of a service tunnel and into a hallway "Should be one level below this one, and that is the one with Doctor Crassich's personal lab in it. If he is not in charge of the entire facility, he has influence with those who are. The information we seek will be there or close by".

"Rulok..." Caseya called "I do not know if you can smell it as well...you have what I have, after all... but I think there are others like you on this level. I can smell sweat that smells much as yours does and the air currents are clean here".

Rulok growled briefly before coming forward and sniffing.

"Lirak!" he called "Your nose is even better than mine! Tell me if I smell what I think I smell!"

"Confirmed..." Lirak replied softly after a few microts "Praetorian are present on this level. Probably not too many, but enough to make leaving all the harder".

"You will be safe" Keyah assured Caseya "The Captain seems to have decided you are his favoured student, and in addition to that we are all members of the Irregulars – so we will not leave you behind. We will escape and evade as much as we can, fight as little as possible, and return to our ship with what we came for".

"I will do my part, Keyah Karimu" Caseya promised, nodding "The presence of these Praetorian frightens me, but the natural talents of our people may be what makes the difference between a successful mission and an unsuccessful one. For once in my life Scarran lives are depending on what I do – part of me feels smug and proud, but more of me than that feels scared".

"Do not let your fear rule you" Keyah cautioned Caseya in response "Kalish people should be calm and objective – sometimes that comes naturally to us, but sometimes we must make more of an effort to remain calm and in control. Not as much as those of other species would, of course – but more than we might do normally"

"I have been taught that before" Caseya agreed "I should do my best to make it so now".

Progress became much slower as the team attempted to reach a means of accessing level 9 and Doctor Crassich's personal lab – most of the lab workers and security guards were avoided, but four lab workers and two guards had to be killed and their bodied dumped down a recyc chute or hidden.

What none of them expected was Doctor Crassich putting out a call to find his missing lab clerk – the one Caseya had shot on the way down.

"We have a few momens, maybe a quarter-arn at most..." Trannak hissed "...before that body gets found and security goes onto general alert! Since none of us have found an unbarred rampway or staircase, or seen a working levelator this far down, we have a problem!"

"Could this be made to work in our favour?" Keyah suggested, and although Trannak was sceptical he replied "What are you suggesting...?"

"We do not need to hide when the body is found" Keyah replied, shaking her head "When the alarm is sounded, we find a wall comms somewhere and one of you Scarrans calls Doctor Crassich – he would appreciate part of the Praetorian guard force stationed here coming to keep him safe, would he not?"

"Perhaps a 50% chance of that" Annik replied, rocking his hand back and forth in the human gesture Caseya now knew meant he wasn't sure "He'd appreciate the ego boost, but he won't like the idea of Praetorian guard wandering through his lab – especially if what he's doing is either highly classified or completely unsanctioned".

"If it means a higher chance of him getting out alive..." Rulok growled "then he'll likely swallow his pride, grab the last data backup, and run to whatever spacecraft he has here – and purge the datafiles before he goes!"

"Then we must shoot him before he can do that" Caseya said, to everyone's surprise – including her own "We came for that data – it shows if the Hierarchy is trying to make more like our Commander or not, it may show other interesting things. We need to find out about them before he destroys them" – perhaps two more momens later she realised what she had suggested and started shaking and crying.

"Do not be afraid" Trannak told her softly, resting his hands on her shoulders and rumbling softly – when her fear made her press closer to him as the nearest familiar and safe person she knew he was very surprised but continued with "I know such ideas as the one you spoke to us about upset and scare you – but none of us truly like them, even though we are skilled in doing such things. Sometimes they simply need to be done. We will try and get to the data before Doctor Crassich – but your suggestion is nonetheless the correct one, we must be prepared to kill him if a better option does not present itself".

Loud sirens started wailing ten momens or so later, sounding a general security alert. Annik shot another security guard and stole his comms before calling "Doctor Crassich? Doctor Crassich?! Your senior clerk has been found on one of the upper levels – dead! One half of our force has gone with the lab's own security units to hunt down the intruders – we are to come to you and ensure you are ready to be safely evacuated!"

A very annoyed grumbling came back across the line before a voice announced "Very well! It's not like I don't already have two squads down here already, pretty soon there won't be any room to breathe – let alone work! Thanks to this project's security ranking I can't even get any Kalish down here to help any more, not since the last one got nullified for political instability by your previous commanding officer!"

"Your problem's with him, then" Rulok replied bluntly "and not me! Open up an access ramp or levelator and let us down!"

Eventually a location code was given – both Keyah and Caseya nodded, so Rulok told Crassich "On our way" before discomming.

"The good news is we have a way down to level 9" Rulok explained as Keyah led the way "The bad news is there's at least some guards already down there – and the doctor wasn't kind enough to mention if they're regular security or Praetorian. The result – once we're down there, we'll have to fight. The question is when, not if".

"If we have to fight changed Praetorian..." Trannak added "then it's almost certain that multiple hits to critical locations will be required to kill. This was the case on the mission where we met you and it will be the same now" before he turned to Krynak and told him "You are our only sniper, Krynak. Put your shot in an eye or an ear and you will be as successful as you would be on any other target. If you hit the body or leg, you might exhaust a magzaine or more for your rifle before the target is nullified".

"Prob'ly means I lose some effective range as well" Krynak grumbled "While we're this far down it won't matter, the corridors are short – but the close we get to the landing field the more strung out and longer they get. Another thing – lab security may not be wearing heavy armour, but if there's our former brethren around then they most certainly will be".

"We should move" Lirak insisted "before a search team finds us here talking!"

The security force got thinned out a little more as everyone made their way to the location assigned to them. Krynak checked one of the bodies and learned that the regular lab security was lightly equipped when it came to armour.

"Their job is recapturing lab specimens, not stopping soldiers" Trannak reminded Krynak "We should hope we escape from this place without encountering Praetorian". Plok-all chance of that, Krynak thought as they moved on Since Praetorian are here, either we'll find them or they'll find us. Not all of them were that intelligent, true, but no one I've ever seen in the Hierarchy beats their persistence – we either have to kill our way back to the Switchblade or run really quick.

"We see them, Doctor" a rough voice announced "Right where you told them to be".

"How many?" Doctor Crassich snapped from his lab terminal keyboard – the man clearly didn't like being seconded to science command one bit, but kept relatively calm while he said "Eighteen Scarrans - plus two smaller ones, most likely sanctioned Kalish tech specialists or forensics".

"A little less than the half force they stated..." Crassich replied "But it'll do. Unbar that ramp access. The rest of this data has to be compiled and sorted for delivery to science command and the longer I have here to do that the more likely all of us are not to be scheduled for loyalty reassessments ahead of schedule". The ramp was unbarred swiftly after that since no one wanted a loyalty reassessment, ahead of schedule or not.

Even in the comparatively short time it took for Caseya, Trannak, and the rest of the Irregulars to make their way half way down the ramp, sightings of most of the guards they had killed on the way in and not dumped down recyc chutes had been called in. This had sufficiently unnerved Doctor Polla, head of the other major project at this particular complex and one of Doctor Crassich's most vocal critics and enemies in science command, that she commed in for advice on the crisis.

"Oh, so now you want my help..." he crowed, before calming down and adding "Get anything you can't afford to do without ready to move, woman! Whatever I might think of you right now, you have your own influence in science command and it won't look good for either of us if your work is lost and you end up killed. Get to the main base's spaceport, pit 34, and wait for me and as many of my guard force as don't get themselves killed on the way". Doctor Polla snorted softly once she discommed – You used as much influence and markers as you did to secure Praetorian to guard your project and you don't trust them to do their jobs?! she thought Why waste the effort getting them here, then?

"Get our sole remaining test subject ready to be moved" she told her aide "The priority rank 1 item is still over at Crassich's lab for the second examination Crassich's friends forced on me – he'd better make sure he brings it with him! The amount of effort the Ministry used to get that from theory to reality truly beggars belief – how they managed it I still don't know or want to know, which for everyone's safety is how it had better stay! Get today's core backup and wait at the first standby exit point for me. Whether it's Hierarchy politics or external enemies coming in here doesn't really matter at this point – we have to leave, our data has to leave with us, and the computers must be destroyed beyond hope of recovery".

"Yes mam" came the reply, before rapid and heavy bootsteps disappeared slowly into the distance.

Annik called a halt when he made it to the bottom of the ramp and onto level 9 itself – then he removed his helmet and sniffed before calling Lirak over.

"Confirmed" he told Annik before nodding – Annik then called Trannak who told everyone else the news.

"Lirak has confirmed Annik's scent trace – we have a confirmed presence of Praetorian here. We don't know how many at this point, but there's likely enough to crew a smaller ship, at least for essential functions, so that gives us between ten and thirty total. If our guess of half the force being on search duty is right, that gives us maybe eight to fifteen down here somewhere – let's hope they aren't all dug in around Crassich's office and his computer terminal".

"Caseya..." Trannak told her softly, trying to encourage her and inspire hope and courage "You are both the smallest person here and you have the change... so you are needed for observation duty. Stay on the walls or ceiling where possible, few Scarrans will think to check there first, use your improved senses to find out where any guards or lab technicians are, and report what you find back to me or to Rulok. This is important and taxing duty... but I know you can do it".

"You have trusted me with so much already, Captain" Caseya replied, bowing slightly and briefly "Trusted me with important tasks and with people's lives. I do not know why I have been singled out for accelerated combat training, I have never been given any training beyond basic marksmanship and protocol training at the Organisation – and every student except the completely inept are given that level of weapons training, and even they are made to take the protocol classes as many times as it takes for them to achieve proficiency".

Keyah smiled briefly before telling Caseya "You have not been singled out for accelerated combat training, Caseya, at least as far as I am aware – but since the Captain seems to find your company relaxing and has come to trust you, I expect he wants you to be a part of his command. Since we are an elite unit even among the Irregulars, you must be tested and trained – where better than on a mission such as this one?"

Ah Caseya thought, relaxing just a little bit I am being tested for admission to Captain Trannak's own unit within the Irregulars in addition to whatever other duties I may be assigned to as part of the unit as a whole. Caseya did smile a little more proudly when the rest of what Keyah said started to sink in – They believe I can achieve the proficiency required of the elite of the Irregulars. Both Captain Trannak believes this and Keyah Karimu believes it. A Master of the art of my people believes I can find a place among the very best of those who sneak around, who complete their missions by stealth and subterfuge, whose best missions are completed without, perhaps, anyone even knowing they were there! That would be a level of skill worth striving for, a level of skill already attained by the Captain and by Keyah Karimu...

Caseya nodded and said "I will do as you order, Captain – I must not risk letting you down for your trust in me" before climbing up the wall and onto the ceiling. Caseya still takes refuge in what must be Organisation protocol Trannak thought to himself as he watched her move ahead though admittedly only when she is under a lot of stress – and such times are becoming fewer and further between. I am helping her to become more confident in herself, I am passing on my skills to her, and doing so in a way I think father would be proud of and encourage me to continue with.

She came to a fast halt a few more momens later, her hammond hand moving through a rapid sequence of signals without conscious thought while her treblin hand kept hold of her weapon. I still do not know why or how I know those signals she thought after doing them I expect it came along with these changes, that someone knows enough about these things where I was changed and tested to encode some knowledge they considered useful into my genetic structure. Why that kind of effort was made, I do not know. Perhaps Doctor Nrakal knows.

"You cannot narrow it down more than 'greater than three', Caseya?" Trannak asked hopefully – Caseya bowed her head for longer this time before replying "I am sorry, Captain, but this has been the first time I have needed to use the abilities given to me by this change outside of a test environment. I do not mean to disappoint, I am truly sorry I cannot tell you what you wish to know".

Caseya was surprised, though not as much as Keyah, when Trannak actually hugged her and said "Do not worry too much about that, you will become better in time and all of us will help you and test you. We all care about you and trust you, you are a part of our special family aboard the Cry Havoc – a very odd family at times, this is true, but our Commander wants us to form close bonds so trust and loyalty among individuals increases".

I am being held and not killed by a Scarran Caseya realised A Scarran, a high-caste Scarran, a high-caste Scarran officer, trusts me and cares for me and wants to train me – and even, it seems, wants to stay close to me simply because he likes my company and wants my friendship. I have never met a Scarran who would do even one of these things before coming to the Irregulars – but here Captain Trannak does all of them for me without needing any kind of reward, it appears, and continues to give me more chances to prove myself to others and himself. She let herself stay there like that, being held, for a few microts before climbing back on the ceiling – Keyah was clearly not used to seeing a Scarran treat a Kalish like this and was clearly wondering why Trannak does so, but her scent Caseya decided suggests that she is simply protective of me. I am glad this is the case, that another of my people wants to keep me safe.

Keyah eventually unslung her G8C and joined Caseya on the ceiling, a situation Trannak approved of.

"Good idea, Keyah" Trannak said when she suggested it "Join your fellow Kalish on the ceiling. Show her how to make the most of her position there to cover us and find our enemies. I cannot move as the two of you do. Keyah, so I need you to be up there with her and help her".

With that in mind, Keyah pointed to a number of places and told Caseya "My own training suggests those places as good defensive positions for potential enemies, Caseya – can you smell any people at any of those points?"

"There and there" Caseya replied, nodding slightly to each of two points she had selected "At least two at the first one, the scent is faint but has the odd edge to it that Rulok and Lirak and their friends have. I cannot tell with certainty how many people are at the second place" before her brow furrowed and she moved further along the ceiling.

Caseya has found something or someone else Keyah decided If she has found a living person at this range, in a lab where there are other smells, and where we cannot see too many actual people... then they do not have the change.

"Caseya has found something – or someone" Keyah reported back to Trannak "She stopped briefly, then moved off on her own and has not stopped or called back yet".

"Move to support her, Keyah" Trannak ordered immediately "I will follow at ground level, and Rulok will bring the rest of our force behind me. Krynak should lead, I think we need his marksmanship at the front more than Judduk's heavy weapon at this stage". Rulok nodded his agreement and started signalling everyone into position.

Krynak's treblin hand came up in a fist to signal ~Enemy seen!~ some momens later.

"Confirmed Praetorian presence" he told Trannak when asked "I don't need my change to recognise the one I found – Krebith's change didn't take all the way and it affects his scent and left him permanently a bit on the fat side. He's a good heavy-gunner but not got a lot of book-smarts, so he won't advance more than he has already. He's over there, close to that desk and next to the door".

"Where he has a field of fire covering most of this part of the lab..." Trannak grumbles "Tell Keyah and Caseya – they should try and avoid him, but if they must then kill him fast". Krynak did that, after which he alerted Rulok as well.

"I remember Krebith as well" he said "If he's assigned to the same unit as he was when we last saw him, he's with Latho's team and likely spread around behind those desks and that lab counter and terminal. Beban's team will have the other side covered, from there to there. I don't know if their CO will be here as well, but if she is then shoot her on sight".

With Krebith's location as a guide Krynak thought to himself as he scanned the lab then Beban's heavy should be right behind that... yes! Seen him! Effective setup... but by-the-book predictable... before waving Annik forward and passing on his theory. Annik nodded, then passed it back to Captain Trannak and Rulok.

I will go down the hammond flank Trannak decided There is better cover there and I know I can move from point to point undetected even by the changed until I approach to within five metras where even the most inept Praetorian can smell me unless he's changing his power pack – when all you can usually smell is hot shakan oil residue in the spent pack. The microt they fire, however, their pulse fire will reveal their locations – while our own return fire will not do the same to us.