Skyla wanted to sit down and cry, was there nowhere she could go where Baen would not follow? No friend she could make who would outlive her and go untouched by Baen and his men? She wanted to stay where she was and never leave. She wanted to live and die where she stood so that she could bring no harm to others. But, even as she thought that, Maia's voice echoed in her ear, 'don't give up, Sky, you're so close...you can do it' She couldn't quit now, not when she'd lost so much and gained so little. She had to try. She had a job to do.

So she shook her head of emotional thoughts, scrubbed her eyes to eliminate any tears that had threatened to fall and focused. She had to get into that settlement, somehow, it was the only way she could get help. But how? Right now, she needed to scout the area, see if there was anything she could use to her advantage. Then she had to find a way in and out of the settlement. She glanced at the deer-like creature Lhach had left her, Aesuithiel, there was a chance she would come in handy if Skyla found herself in need of a getaway.

First things first, however, and top of the list was scouting.

Taking Aesuithiel deeper into the forest, she tied her up in a secluded spot, away from Baen's men. She gave her slack enough to graze, and told the creature she'd be back as soon as she knew what she was going to do. The Medisalch probably didn't understand her, and simply looked at her solemnly before starting to snack on the shrubs around them. Skyla patted the creature somewhat awkwardly before moving away again.

She took up her former position behind the tree, this time remaining upright and glancing around the tree for the best view. Her eyes flicked backwards and forwards as she studied the settlement and its surroundings as fast as she could.

Directly in front of her was a medium sized building. It was old and made of a dull yellow metal, slightly faded with rust. It was rectangle in shape and had only one visible storey. Attached to the roof were a couple of old dishes and an aerial, so at least she knew it had communication capabilities. From where she stood, she could see one entrance with a platform just outside it forming a semi-circle. On this platform stood three guards, two Snivelakians and a Reaper. If that was the only way in, she had a problem.

Three quarters of the building was encircled by the forest, except for the area in front of the building which was bare ground. To her far left, there were three ships parked and behind them what looked like a cliff. On the other side of the cliff she saw more buildings, indicating there was more of the settlement. The remains of a bridge that may have at one point breached the cliff edges could be seen on either side, but there was no way across now unless you could fly. The ships were medium in size, able to hold 1 pilot and 3 large passengers by her estimation. That made 12 of them, at the most. She could see some other guards lounging around the ships, they looked bored. What were they doing here anyway? Lhach had said something about the Enyd village being attacked, was that Baen as well? If so, that meant there were more on the planet, and she had no way of knowing when they would be back.

Slowly, she retreated amongst the trees and began circling around the building to give herself a 360 degree view of it. To her delight, she discovered there was a back entrance to the building in the form of a large archway. From where she stood at the very back of the building, she could see right through the building and out the other end. She had a way in, but the downside was that she could easily be seen by the guards so stealth would be everything. From what she saw, the building was split into two rooms. The one nearest to her appeared to contain technology in the form of screens and electronic gizmos, and the one furthest from her seemed empty.

Once she'd finished her surveillance scan of the area, Skyla went back to where she'd left Aesuithiel. The creature was grazing peacefully and gave her a light huff in greeting before returning to her dainty nibbling. Skyla patted her in an absent minded manner as her mind whirred in thought. Piece by piece she assembled a plan of action, taking everything she'd seen into account. The back entrance, the technology, the guards...nothing was overlooked. When it was complete, the Lombax smiled. She had a plan. It was simple, but with expert execution and a dash of luck...it might just work.

Skyla moved towards the back entrance of the building with all the grace and stealth of an Aquatos Sea Tiger. She slipped into the settlement like a shadow, making absolutely no noise so as not to alert the guards to her presence. They seemed to be chatting idly, not particularly interested in anything at the present. That wasn't necessarily a good thing; bored guards were either a blessing or a curse depending on how eager they were for action.

Once in the building, the Lombax tiptoed over to the nearest terminal, just out of sight of the guards. She looked over the workstation before her. There was a screen and a series of multicoloured buttons. It didn't look active, but there was a low humming in the air that told her something around the place was alive with electricity. Skyla ducked behind the terminal which was thankfully not positioned up against the wall and sure enough, there were wires disconnected. Establishing which wires belonged to her terminal, she began following them with her fingers, plugging in the wires where they were needed (most were colour-coded making the process a lot more easier). Finally, there was just one last wire to rig up, the main plug for her terminal. Skyla slotted it in and froze in anticipation, silently praying it wouldn't make a loud noise. To her immense relief, the machine only gave her two small bleeps and a light hum began to emanate from the workstation. It was working.

Sliding out from behind the terminal, Skyla saw that the buttons had lit up and the screen flickered to life, displaying a list of commands. With a quick glance to check the guards were still oblivious, she pressed for 'Transmissions – New Transmission'. It came up with a box, asking for either a typed or recorded message. Selecting typed message she jumped slightly as a keyboard slid out in front of her with a 'shluck' sound. Her eyes instinctively flicked back to the guards at the noise before returning to the keyboard. She began to type, thanking her lucky stars once again that Maia had taught her how to read and write.

Skyla kept the message simple but clear, carefully re-reading it before she clicked the 'send' button.

'Request help immediately. Location – Eudora, Baran Forest. Co-ordinates attached. Contact authorities – need assistance – armed forces attacking. Please help. Lives at risk – slaves on Florana. Request help immediately. End.' It was basic, but contained enough to alert anyone who picked it up. Once she'd made sure the co-ordinates were attached and selected 'Off-World Transmission – Scatter Radius', it was ready to send. Then she had a thought, what if someone didn't pick it up immediately? If she sent more than one transmission, she would stand a better chance of being heard. Navigating the controls she found the command for 'Repeat Transmission' and set it to resend every 10 seconds. That way, even if it was transmitting for only a minute, at least 6 messages would be sent. She clicked send.

A red box popped up flashing the words 'Passcode Required For Off-World Transmission'. Skyla's eyes narrowed dangerously and she just kept herself from swearing out loud, instead forcing herself to calm and concentrate. This was an obstacle, but one she could...and would, get over. She didn't know the passcode and guessing wouldn't get her anywhere and would probably set off some sort of alarm, so she'd have to override it manually. Diving back behind the terminal, she searched for the wires she needed. Finding the ones that were labelled 'security' and coloured red she pulled them out and began prying them apart to find the bare metal wrapped into the plastic. Holding the ends of two wires in her fingers, she touched them together, the fusing of the currents causing sparks to fly. She sent up a quick prayer this would work, hoping that what Jaymz had taught her about electrics would be enough. There was a small 'putt' sound like a light going out and a thin trail of smoke curled up from one of the plugs. The machine beeped once again and Skyla swung around the workstation, hauling herself upright and staring expectantly at the screen. The passcode box flickered and disappeared, replaced with the message 'System Override – Sending Transmission'. A bar appeared on the screen and began rapidly moving towards completion. Skyla felt relief flood her as a moment later it flashed 'Transmission Sent'. She'd done it!

"Hey!" her head snapped up at the voice. One of the guards was standing in the next room and he was looking directly at her. His mouth hung open in mild shock for a moment as his brain slowly registered her presence, then he seemed to regain his voice.

"She's..." he began to call but Skyla was on him like a shot before he could finish. She pummelled his stomach with her fists, winding him, then kneed him fiercely in the chin as he double over, causing his head to shoot back with the force. She took a small step back and swung her leg in a roundhouse kick, driving her foot into his gut and shoving him back where he fell to the ground.

"Oi!" called another voice and the two other guards leapt to their feet. Skyla took one look at them and made a split second decision. Instead of staying to fight, she turned and ran. Thankfully, the guards followed her straight out of the building, neither of them stopping to see what she'd done on the terminal. She sprinted through the trees, ears turned backward as she listened to them coming after her. One of them was yelling into a radio, asking for back up. That was good and bad. The less of them there were at the settlement, the smaller the chance of them discovering her transmission, but that meant there would be more to pursue her and consequently, a greater chance of her getting caught.

Being significantly faster than both guards, Skyla made it to Aesuithiel without hindrance and rushed to un-tether the creature, leaping onto its back when it was free. Copying what Lhach had done with the reins she pulled it left sharply and gave it a swift kick in the side. The creature began cantering in that direction, adjacent to the settlement and Skyla grinned as she heard the angry howls of the guards as they watched her disappear into the trees. A moment later, she heard the sounds of more guards entering the forest and there was a lot of shouting going on. She spurred Aesuithiel on into a gallop, satisfied they would be working out how to pursue her and not bothering with checking the settlement. If she could just keep them occupied for a small amount of time, someone would be more likely to pick up her transmission and come to her aid.

Skyla slowed the Medisalch with a pull on the reins once they'd gone a significant distance from the settlement. She was at a distinct advantage atop a steed, and unless the guards had some form of speedy transport, they weren't going to catch her any time soon.

Almost immediately after she'd thought that, she heard sounds of pursuit that most definitely were not footsteps. A quick glance back confirmed her fears and she cursed loudly, yanking Aesuithiel around and kicking her into a fast gallop. She knew those noises and they didn't bode well for her. They had hover-bikes, and were rapidly gaining from the sound of it.

The Lombax struggled to keep her seat as her mount hurtled on, bounding over shrubs and undergrowth. She thanked her lucky stars Lhach had left her Aesuithiel, as this gave her just that much more time to outrun the guards. Alas, the Medisalch was fast, but the guards were faster and all too soon she heard them right behind her. Jerking the reins, Skyla turned the Medisalch right, hoping to throw them off. They simply looped around and proceeded to gain on her once again. Following a few more random turns Skyla realised she couldn't get rid of them. They were always on her tail, and getting closer with each passing minute. As she leapt over a fallen log she saw, from the corner of her eye, the tip of a hover-bike. Then all of a sudden, he was alongside her, matching her pace with ease. A quick glance the other way told her she was now sandwiched in-between the two vehicles as they sped through the woodland. Going faster was not an option, as Aesuithiel was already running at full pelt, her animal instincts sensing Skyla's fear and giving the creature a rush of adrenalin, and slowing down would be useless to both of them.

They continued to journey like this for another minute or so, and then one of the guards drew out a gun and terror gripped Skyla's heart as he pointed it at the Medisalch. Reacting impulsively, she lashed out at him with her fist, knocking him off balance and nearly losing her own seat in the process. Righting herself, she kicked her mount, trying to lose them once again, but to no avail. The guard the other side of her moved dangerously close to her and she was nearly smashed into a tree. He made to grab her and pull her off but she ducked his blow, practically flattening herself against the Medisalch's back to maximise their speed. Thankfully, the one advantage of being chased through a forest was that branches and shrubs were everywhere. This terrain was obviously foreign to the guards and they had to concentrate more on driving then catching her. Aesuithiel was born to run through these forests, and compared to her, the guards were riding bumbling elephants. But despite this, they had speed and fuel on their side, not to mention numbers. And Aesuithiel couldn't run forever.

Then the moment came when one of the hover-bikes just hooked under Aesuithiel's side as she leapt over a log and her back legs were caught, causing her to trip. The creature fell headlong into the ground and Skyla was thrown from the saddle, over the Medisalch's head and sent crashing into a clump of shrubs. Pain shot through her as her arm flung hard against a tree trunk and she heard something snap in her wrist. She was badly winded, and one breath told her her ribs were badly bruised and one or two might even be broken. But she didn't have time to recover her breath and forced herself to move, shoving aside the branches as she hauled herself to her feet. Agony racked her body and her left hand felt oddly disjointed and she knew she had practically snapped her wrist bone in two. Hobbling over to the Medisalch she took one look and knew it was helpless. The creature was lowing in pain, not even bothering to try and get up as its front right leg was jutting out at the wrong angle. Aesuithiel wouldn't be going anywhere.

Skyla's ears picked up noises and she realised the hover-bikes were turning around, heading straight for her. Ignoring her screaming body she took up a defensive position, feet apart and at the ready. It was useless to try and flee. The bikes slowed and stopped in front of her and the guards swung off. She recognised them but couldn't put names to their faces. They began to advance on her and she tensed, raising her fists in preparation for battle, though she grimaced slightly as her left hand protested at the movement. One of the guards laughed,

"No point in fighting, Lombax. You've lost." Skyla scowled and backed up as they approached,

"It isn't over until it's over," she growled.

"Don't fight and we promise we won't hurt you," the guard said, his voice laced with menace as his eyes flashed dangerously. Skyla smiled grimly and she knew that even if she didn't fight, they would still find ways to hurt her,

"Like that's going to happen," she muttered. Then they attacked.

The Lombax put up a good fight but with a broken wrist, battered torso and two to one disadvantage, she was quickly overwhelmed by the guards. They roughly set her on one of the hover-bike seats, not even bothering to restrain her as they hadn't been gentle in handling her. As they began to speed off, Skyla heard Aesuithiel give a low moan and she winced, praying that death would find the creature soon and ease her suffering. She felt her cuts reopen and bruises begin to blossom all over her body once again, courtesy of the guards. All Heryn's careful treatment – wasted.

In no time, they were back at the settlement and the bikes stopped outside the building. Skyla was shoved unceremoniously onto the ground where she growled at the jarred impact and just kept herself from vomiting in pain as waves of nausea washed over her.

"We got her, boss," one of the guards said, pride evident in his voice as if he'd achieved something great, and not just beaten an already wounded creature half his size.

"Well done, thanks, Snakar," came the reply. Skyla recognised that voice and sure enough, when she looked up she saw Drako looking down at her, a mixture of emotions in his eyes. He shook his head somewhat sorrowfully,

"You should never have left, Sky." The Lombax's eyes narrowed and she slowly stood upright, taking care not to show how much pain she was in. She didn't have to look around to know she was surrounded by guards, but over Drako's shoulder she saw that 5 more ships had arrived since her departure. The others had returned.

"You killed the Enyd," she spat at the Snivelakian, anger beginning to blaze in her heart and filling her with an odd new energy that wasn't adrenalin and seemed somewhat more potent and deadly. Drako shrugged a little apologetically,

"Orders," he said simply.

"I'll kill you," Skyla said in a low, threatening voice, her eyes like cold steel, "I'll kill all of you...for what you've done. You murderers," she glanced around the gathered guards as she spoke, making eye contact with them all so they knew how serious she was. She was itching to attack them all right here, right now, and tear each of them to bits of flesh and bone. That was the least they deserved. But they'd stop her before she even took down one. Her revenge would have to wait. Drako sighed heavily,

"It's over, Sky." The Lombax gave him a hard look,

"No, it's not," she murmured.

As if on cue, there was the sound of gunfire and two of the ships exploded. Several forms swept past in the sky and immediately began to circle back. The force of the explosion had knocked a couple of the guards over and Drako immediately began yelling, quick to react to the rapid change of situation.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! PILOTS, TO YOUR SHIPS AND TAKE DOWN THOSE ATTACKERS. EVERYONE ELSE, FALL BACK TO THE SETTLEMENT!" The reptiles hurried to comply, their training kicking in at the military authority in Drako's voice. Skyla looked up into the sky as guards began to run all around her, searching for the source of the gun fire. She quickly found it, three ships circling above them, preparing to make another fly by.

Arms wrapped around her and began pulling her away. Without thinking, she lashed out, elbowing the person in the gut and wriggling free from their grasp. She broke free just in time to see several rockets being fired by the oncoming ships and she threw herself to the ground as the rest of Baen's ships exploded in one enormous fireball. Heat washed over her head, but she was mainly protected by the body of whichever guard it was who had grabbed her. Skyla glanced up to take in the damage. Those guards who'd made it to their ships had been fried on the spot while those still trying to reach them had been thrown back by the fireball and lay on the ground, unmoving.

Skyla ducked as one of the ships nearer to her had a delayed explosion and bits of metal flew over her head. Crouched low on the ground she searched the sky for the flying ships to see if they fired again. As she watched, several forms leapt out of the ships from right above her and began a rapid descent. She couldn't see who or what they were but didn't have time as more arms grabbed her, hauling her towards the settlement. She struggled fiercely, limbs flying as she fought the reptiles. One of them clasped her shoulder firmly and she immediately twisted, sinking her teeth into the scaly flesh. The guard gave a cry of pain and pulled back, giving Skyla time to yank herself free. But she was outnumbered yet again and surrounded. Her ears lay flat against her skull as she hissed like an animal at her attackers, her eyes positively blazing with energy. She may not be in peak fighting condition, but she was NOT going down without a fight.

The reptiles leapt at her in unison and Skyla had to call upon every ounce of her training skills not to succumb to them then and there. She fought them tooth and claw, biting anything that came near her mouth and scratching any bare skin that came into view. Yelps and growls of pain told her she was doing damage, so she kept going, rage coursing through her veins and filling her with a potent power. Two strong hands grabbed her arms and she kicked out with her legs, pushing off from her captor and barrelling into another guard, knocking him over.

There was more shouting all around and she vaguely registered the falling forms land a little way away, running towards her, but she paid them no real attention. If they were the enemy, she'd take them on like the others. If not...she'd get to that later.

Some of the guards around her turned to meet the oncoming attackers while others doubled their effort to overpower her. Three of them caught her at once, pinning her arms and legs. But she refused to hold still and struggled for all she was worth, fuelled by the strange energy that felt like a mixture of rage, anger, fear and grief. Needless to say, it kept her going.

Suddenly, one of the guards holding her fell to the ground with a grunt. The other two only gripped her tighter, sinking their claws into her flesh and drawing blood. One of them had a grasp on her injured wrist and she yowled in pain as it tightened, spots of pain blurring her vision. Then they weren't holding her anymore and she fell to the ground with a thud. From the corner of her eye, she saw the guards who'd been holding her fighting something, or someone, but then they too were on the floor. Another pair of hands grabbed Skyla and she lashed out once again, subconsciously wondering how much longer she could go on resisting them.

"No! It's alright, I'm here to help!" She frowned at the voice in her ear and stopped struggling for a moment . That wasn't a reptilian voice. It sounded young, and male and...mammalian. Twisting where she was, she pulled away from her captor, body tensed to fight if they proved unfriendly.

She froze.

Standing before her, with wide green eyes and unmistakeable features...was a Lombax.