AN: 10/7/2016- Wow, it's been a long time since I've worked on this! Not too many reviews; shame, I figured you guys would like this story more than that. Oh well, I'm gonna write it anyway. So, nyh :P

Big Deke sat down to eat, hunkering over his food and guarding it from anyone who would dare look at him wrong. One arm wrapped protectively around his tray while the other shoveled food into his mouth as fast as he could chew it. An empty table on the far side of the mess hall was more appealing than trying to cram in with a bunch of strange ducks. His attention half focused on the food while he kept an alert eye out for any approach.

He shoveled peas and rice into his mouth faster at the appearance of a young drake sliding into the seat directly across from him. The unwanted companion was somewhere in his early twenties or, most likely, still a teenager. Dark eyes sparkled with hidden mirth from under unkempt, brown hair. His chocolate feathers were only a shade lighter than his hair.

"Whoa, boy! Slow down before you choke!"

Big Deke ignored him, taking a large gulp of his water before returning to devouring his meal.

"Seriously," he cocked an eyebrow and reached over, laying a hand on the tray to pull it away. "Slow down. I don't want to see you puke all over the place. The smell kind of ruins the ambiance."

He reacted instantly, slapping the hand away and shooting to his feet.

"Back off," the lawduck growled.

"Whoa…" The young duck raised his hands in surrender. "Puck's yours."

Big Deke kept one hand protectively planted on the table between his food and the potential thief. His brandished the fork in his right hand like a weapon. "Don't ever touch my food."

"Okay. Chill." He continued to hold his hands up, palms facing the querulous drake.

He paused a little longer, ensuring his point had been made. Satisfied that the young duck was sufficiently afraid of him, he sat down and hunched over his food. His eyes never left the youth as he continued to eat at an astounding pace.

"I take it you're fresh from a camp," the youth tried to start up a friendly conversation. "I'm Bico, by the way."

A grunt was enough of an answer. He tore the biscuit in two and shoved half in his mouth, then followed the dry bread with a large swig of water.

"Okay. Not much of a talker." Bico slowly ate his peas, savoring each morsel. He chewed the first bite of peas until it was a pasty mush in his mouth and almost as liquid as if he had drank it. Fresh vegetables were becoming harder and harder to obtain and he was going to enjoy them as much as possible.

"I'm from Autle. Don't know if you've heard of it or not. It's a tiny little town on the other side of the continent, not to far from Cydion, actually. I just started school in Rooklyn— Fisher Academy. Where are you from, oh devourer of fine foods?"

A massive belch escaped from Big Deke when he opened his mouth to answer.

"Hahaha!" Bico laughed warmly. "That's what you get for eating too fast. At least the food stayed down."

"You're obnoxious," he growled.

"So I've been told. Never stops me."

"How'd a punk like you get into Fisher Academy? Your parents rich?"

"Nah. I worked my tailfeathers off and saved for two years so I could afford tuition. Once you get in, you can find some jobs on campus and maybe get a professor to sponsor you. Guess I'd have been better off spending that money on a trip to Zabare after all. Then again, it probably wouldn't be much fun being stuck in a country where you don't know the language during an invasion. And I think we held out longer than them, anyway."

"Nobody held out," Big Deke's words were dismal. "Scum took over everything in less than a week. What's it matter if some country was free for one more day than another?"

"Guess it matters to those ducks who had one more day of freedom," Bico shrugged. He pinched off a small piece of his biscuit and popped it into his mouth, once more chewing slowly and savoring the wheaty goodness.

"Whatever." The white drake settled back into silence as he polished off his meal.

0000

"Hey! Big Deke!" Canard gave the white drake a congenial slap on the shoulder as he slid his tray on the table next to his newest rescue and sat.

Lt. Pato took the open seat across from Canard, followed by Laysan.

"Looks like you're not in the brig." Deke's tapped the tip of his fork on the empty tray. "Didn't get yourself in trouble bringing me in?"

"Always with the questions." The tan duck shook his head. "Nah, Gargany wouldn't dare do anything after I got back from that last mission. I'm her star player for now."

"Hah! Book-boy does no bad," Ailyssa slid in next to Canard, nudging him with her hip playfully before scooting over to give them a little more space.

"Maybe you should study more," Bico teased. "Then you'd know the phrase is does no wrong."

"Bad, wrong. Same." She shrugged and dug into her rice.

"I'm surprised they let you out of the infirmary already," Canard said around a mouthful of salad. "Most newbies get stuck in there for at least a week."

"I didn't have it so bad," Big Deke shrugged. He stared down at his plate, wishing there was more. "Actually got to sleep indoors. Found some fish food they didn't know we had access too."

"Ate fish food?" Ailyssa made a face. "Stinky."

"I doubt he even tasted it, with how fast this guy eats!" Bico motioned towards him with his fork. "He devoured that entire plate in under a minute."

"Hey," Laysan broke in, "You're hungry enough, you'll eat anything."

"You in the camps too?" Big Deke queried. "You don't look scrawny or scared enough to have been trapped there."

"No," she shook her head. "But, I've taken information for enough former slaves and heard their stories to know. I worked here in Vanadium before the invasion. If you can believe it, I haven't been above ground since those Raptors and Monitor Towers showed up. I'm hoping to get out of here on a mission soon."

"Worked here? What'd you do?"

"Same thing I do now. Say hello to everyone who comes in, get their information, and keep track of how many and who's in here. Vanadium may be a self-sustaining city, but it does have its limits."

"Speaking of which," Lt. Pato interrupted. "You might get that trip out of here sooner than you thought, Laysan."

"Oh?" Her eyes lit up hopefully. "I can't tell you how much I miss actual snow and ice. And the sun! Ya'la, I've forgotten what it looks like."

"Not much snow or ice out there right now." Canard eyed his dinner roll before picking it up and moving it to Big Deke's plate. "Planet's getting too warm. There's frost in the mornings, some sticks around into the afternoon in the shade or shadows. We don't even have the first layer of folia forming yet."

"Know-it-all," Ailyssa teased with a smirk.

"Zaban," he teased right back.

"Yeah; proud of it!" She tapped his head, "Anak's empty here."

"Don't make me send you two to quarters," Lt. Pato joked. "Doesn't matter what country we're from. Whoever gets rid of those lizards could be from Araka for all I care!"

"I swore off relationships until this is all over," Canard reminded. "Remember?" He smiled cheekily at Ailyssa, "Not that I wouldn't mind spending the night in your quarters."

"Dream on, book boy." She took another bite of peas, dismissing his advances.

"As if we could forget." Laysan took a drink of her water and made a face. "This tastes like fish food. Must have been fine wine to you, Big Deke!"

"Tastes better than rain water or snow melt that's been trampled all day," he agreed.

"What's this mission you were hinting at?" Laysan tried to bring the conversation back to more serious matters, not that she minded the playful banter of her friends and fellow soldiers. The Great Mother knew they needed any levity they could find, even if it was as silly as joking over fish flavored water.

"Water purifiers, actually," Lt. Pato said. "The techs need parts or we're screwed."

"Worse than already," Ailyssa confirmed. "Two, maybe three weeks left. Then, down to one."

"Ooh, yeah," the commanding officer nodded vigorously. "Problem is, the techs who are keeping things running are needed here; meaning, they can't leave to find the parts. They're going to have to draw up what's needed and a small group is going out to find them. We'll figure out where to get things when I know what we need."

"Water treatment plant?" Big Deke offered. "Wouldn't city water plants have what you needed? If they can turn sewage into drinkable water, I'd think they could manage what Vanadium produces."

"That's an idea," the lieutenant nodded. "But what about the ducks who might still be accessing that water? We don't want to contaminate the supply for any slaves depending on it."

"Hm, hadn't thought about that," Big Deke picked at the roll, not sure if he wanted to accept the obvious charity or not. His stomach made the decision for him by rumbling loud enough for everyone around him to hear. The expected jokes and jabs didn't appear, but another roll from Ailyssa's plate did. He smiled at her in thanks and she pretended not to notice.

"Pool supply?" Canard mused. "Maybe we can go into Rooklyn and find a pool supply company. They might have something."

"Would stuff for a pool be big enough?" Big Deke always had a question. "If size isn't the problem, would we be able to carry enough supplies?"

Bico leaned back, one hand around his cup. "I'm stronger than I look. Get a good sized team together, I'm sure we could carry anything."

"Fish!" Laysan started laughing, coughed on her water, and cleared her throat before continuing to giggle to herself.

"Yes, the water tastes like fish," Canard agreed. The river he'd filled his canteens with while searching for the Mask was preferable to this sludge.

"No, an aquarium," she clarified. "All the sea life in those is dead by now and the filters have to be pretty big. Why not get what we need from there? Or a fish hatchery? I think there was one not too far from where I grew up."

"Actually," Lt. Pato nodded, "That's a really good idea. But the nearest aquarium is almost two hundred kilms away in Ovank."

"Wrong," Big Deke laced his fingers together and leaned forward, elbows resting on table. "The nearest aquarium is in the middle of Rooklyn, about two days away."

"There's one in Rooklyn?" Canard frowned. "I don't remember seeing one."

"At the zoo."

"Ooh…" Realization spread across Canard's face and he a small smile grew. "I knew saving you was a good idea."

"You're sure they'll have what we need there?" Lt. Pato pressed the matter. "I don't want to risk running into any snow lions if we're wrong."

"I think I'd know," he leveled a hard stare at the enlisted officer. "The zoo was turned into a slave camp, Bursan. The parts you need were in my enclosure," Big Deke offered. "Saw them, plain as day. I was one of the lucky ones, got to sleep inside of the aquarium. All the fish are dead now, or eaten by saurians. They don't need the purifiers anymore. Those aren't used for the slaves, so we're not hurting anyone by taking them. Trouble is, how do we break in?"

"We could try asking nicely," Bico offered. He ignored the glare Lt. Pato leveled at him.

"Hm." Canard scratched his beak, deep in thought. "I hate the sounds of getting captured; but, that's always an option."

"Could sneak in when they're coming back for the night," Ailyssa suggested. "We just slip into the lines, hunker down, and get in with everyone else."

"Won't work," Big Deke refused. "Unless you've got one of those slave bracelets, you're not getting in unnoticed. That's how they track who goes where and if they've got everyone. I'm sure as hell not putting one of those back on."

"Underground tunnels?" Lt. Pato mused. "There's got to be some sort of sewage system."

"You really think that won't be watched?" Canard rolled his eyes. "If it's not being watched, it's probably booby trapped. I don't mind getting blown up if it's for a good reason; but, I'd really rather not get blown up in a sewer."

"Then how the fuck are we supposed to get in?"

"I might have an idea," Big Deke muttered, leaning back in his chair. "The supply shipments. They come in every other week. If we can hide in the crates of food being delivered, we could get in. Getting out, that's a whole nother mess. I doubt there's going to be some cocksure, crazed teenager searching for his best friend running past to pull our feathers out of the fire. Once we're in, we're stuck."

"Why not out same way in?" Ailyssa shrugged. "Hide in empty crates."

"You really think they won't notice the extra weight?"

She lifted one shoulder and dropped it, looking off to the side. "Have something better?"

"We could blow the place and let everyone out." Canard leaned forward. "Take them all with us."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Pato joked. "You really think the saurians won't notice that and send half their army to kill whoever they catch?"

"Well…" Canard rubbed his neck. "There's always the sewers."

"Booby traps?" Ailyssa reminded. "Thought you didn't want to go boom down there."

"At least nobody would have to clean up the mess!"

"Bico," Lt. Pato pointed a finger at him, "I'll give you plenty of messes to clean if you don't knock it off."

"If I get to take out some drones or saurians, I'll clean any mess you can make," Bico said with a cocksure smile. "Unless it's in the latrines. Then you can take care of that yourself."

"Private," Lt. Pato glared at him, dead serious. "If I order you to wipe my ass, you'll do it."

"Uh…" His mouth hung open in shock.

"Knock it off," Canard tried to steal a forkful of Pato's rice. "He didn't enlist."

"Hah!" Lt. Pato's firm frown melted into a smile. "Can't let them get away with everything, Canard. Don't forget, you need the respect of your team- Hey!" He glared at the missing rice. "So much for respect."

"Yeah." Canard shrugged.

"Whatever."

Conversation turned to other matters before they each returned to their evening duties or bunks.

0000

Canard stood straight, hands clasped behind his back. Lt. Pato mimicked the pose next to him. They had been called to Gargany's office, presumably for their next assignments.

"Hello, boys." The general stood from her chair and came around the desk to meet them face to face. She picked up two folders from her desk and held one out to each of them. "Canard, I want to see you gone by tomorrow."

"What?" Canard frowned as he took the folder. "But, I just got back."

"Hm." She crossed her arms and leaned back on the desk while they looked things over.

"Water filters?" Lt. Pato opened his folder to check on the mission he'd just been handed, expecting the rumors from last night to be confirmed. Upon skimming the details, he too frowned and looked up. "This can't be right."

"Ma'am," Canard held the folder back to her, "There has to be a mistake. This is Pato's mission."

"Don't make me doubt my judgment of you, Canard." She shook her head. "You need to put your team together and start testing that mask of yours."

"I still need to figure out how DuCaine pushed those handbags into Limbo to begin with! I've found hints about worms and sky doors, but nothing concrete. And then there's Little Deke. Loria's going to flip out if I leave again this soon."

"I'm going to do more than flip out if you don't follow orders, Captain," she snapped. "This is your mission."

"Wait," Canard held up a hand at the new title. "Captain?"

"Congratulations, Captain Thunderbeak, you've been promoted. You have your pick of the ducks here and at Wesande. Who is going to be on your team?"

"Uh…" His brain glitched and he shrugged. "Can I get back to you on that?"

She raised an eyebrow and turned her attention to Lt. Pato. "What about you? Are you going to start complaining about taking our world back?"

"No, ma'am. I'm just…" Lt. Pato looked over the orders again and shook his head in amazement at the mission he'd just been handed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want you to take leadership of Rooklyn."

He whistled sharply. That was more than he'd ever bargained for.

"We need someone with your experience in training and combat. I've already selected several techs, medics, weapons experts, and engineers to go with you in addition to foot soldiers. Our information on Fort Lident is solid. Once you get the drones out of there, you should be able to defend the position. It's unknown if the saurians have discovered the potential weapons store there.

"Secure the base. It's located on a peninsula; other than air, the only way to it is one of two bridges or the five kilm hike around the mainland. It's easily defensible and was one of the strongest forts two hundred years ago during the River Wars. Granted, things have likely fallen into disrepair since then. You'll need to scavenge what you can and rebuild. There's housing enough for three thousand; once established, your force could easily be as large as Vanadium's.

"After the base is repaired, I want you to free as many ducks as you can find and take them there. Train them for war. It's time we took our home back. The only way we can do that is with increased numbers. This skulking about in the dark is slowly killing us; I won't allow that. General Randam may have had us fall back here, but I'm not keeping us underground.

"Go out there and help save us, Lieutenant."

"That's a tall order, ma'am." Pato let out a puff of air as he swung his head to the side in astonishment. "What's the timetable? What are we up against?"

"Deep snow's setting in soon. The sooner you're there, the better. You'll have a force of five hundred. Vehicles and supplies are being requisitioned as we speak. Your movements will be obvious; it's impossible to hide a force that large from hunter drones. Be prepared to defend yourselves at all times and move as quickly as possible. The enemy can't know our intentions as of yet. If you go straight to the objective, you should have the advantage."

"I'd like Canard along for the ride. The Mask could be useful for something like this."

"No. I have other plans for him. I may send him along to assist at a later date. For now, he's better off moving with a strike force— small, maneuverable, and difficult to track. Canard, you'll be keeping those lizards so occupied they won't be able to mount a large scale assault against Fort Lident until after it's established."

"Sounds like fun," Canard smirked. "I'll speak to a few ducks and get back to you on my team tonight." He closed the folder and held it under one arm. "But someone needs to keep working on how we get rid of those scalies."

"Canard." The general stared him straight in the eye, letting him know she was dead serious. "You are not the only one who can do that. Talarico is an excellent archivist and scholar. If anyone can figure this out, it would be him."

"But I'm the one who decoded where the Mask was hidden! Nobody else has managed that in almost a thousand years!"

"You have your orders, Captain. I expect you to carry them out."

His eyes narrowed and he nodded once. "I will."

"Dismissed." With a wave of her hand, she turned and walked back to her chair.

0000

The small Resistance force crouched in the shadows of a warehouse. They had worked their way in to the city unseen under the cover of darkness. Intelligence had reported the warehouse directly across the street was one regularly used for storing and shipping supplies to various slave camps, Bursan amongst them.

Big Deke had come along, despite Canard's misgivings about his physical ability to handle the mission, not to mention the mental issues that were sure to crop up when returning to the place of his enslavement. The white drake had darkened his feathers with body paint and now blended into the shadows almost as well as the darker feathered ducks.

Laysan crouched next to Big Deke. At least they had a medic along for the mission. If anything happened, she'd be able to patch them up. Yalda forbid anything happen to her.

"How many think inside?" Ailyssa patted her gun, eager for action.

"Not sure," Bico glanced towards Canard, hoping he'd give them an answer.

Canard pulled out the Mask and put it on, wincing slightly at the static that filled his mind as it turned from pearly white to gold. The sacred object had a presence to it that he wasn't familiar with. It was eager, willing to help, but they didn't speak quite the same language. It would take some time to fully learn how to work with it. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his knuckles to his temples in an effort to focus his thoughts.

Red covered his vision as he scanned the warehouse across the street. Suddenly, everything cleared and he could see through the walls. Hunter drones moved large boxes back and forth, their mechanical arms and legs unhindered by the weight of the crates of food. The crates were easily large enough to fit each one of them. The problem lay in how to get inside them.

A trim figure in the rafters caught his attention. The outline of a duck moved in what he assumed were the shadowed parts of the warehouse. He watched with interest as it dropped from the ceiling and into the middle of a pack of drones. In several quick movements, a sword had appeared and sliced through the mechanical menaces. The sword vanished and the figure began going through the boxes.

"I think our problem has just been solved." Canard smiled at his small team. "There's a duck in there, and he just took out eight drones single handedly."

"Sounds like someone I've got to meet," Bico grinned widely. "Might need him for the Resistance. He could be your newest recruit! Then Big Deke won't be the rookie anymore."

"If I'm a rookie, you're an egg," the painted duck growled.

"Be careful," Ailyssa warned. "Don't know him, don't know trusting."

Canard nodded. "We move in together. I've got point," he easily took control. "Bico, you're next, followed by Big Deke, then Laysan and Ailyssa."

Each soldier fell silent and followed their leader's instructions to the letter. Canard went first, bent over and running to the corner of the warehouse. Glancing around to see if it was secure, he waved Bico over. Bico followed right behind him, gun out and ready. Big Deke, untrained as he was, moved with the grace and speed of a professional. Perhaps being a detective had skills better suited to this than Canard had assumed. Laysan came next, followed by Ailyssa, who was just itching for a fight.

Canard moved to the next point, right next to the doorway. He held his gun up and waited for the rest of his force to move up. Holding up a hand, he let Bico know to wait for the next move.

He scanned the warehouse again and was satisfied to see that the lone duck was still the only thing moving or giving off any kind of heat signature within. Kicking down the door and quickly stepping to the right, he made room for Bico and Big Deke to come in behind him. They moved to the left while Laysan rushed in. Ailyssa stayed by the door frame, providing cover if needed.

The mystery duck had his back to them when they entered, but quickly rolled out of sight. A golden light shimmered and a blade appeared as he rolled.

"Friend or foe?" a heavily accented voice demanded from the shadows. The accent was typical of ducks who lived in Rooklyn; it sounded almost like he was talking around a mouth of marbles. Maybe he dropped the 'g' on the end of words, maybe he didn't. It was as impossible to describe his accent as it was to say exactly who he was.

"Friends," Canard called out. "Why don't you come out and we can talk like civilized ducks?"

"Why don't ya put down your guns and I might consider it."

Everyone looked to Canard for confirmation. At their nods, the guns pointed to the ground. Canard put his back in its holster.

"Look, I know you don't want to hurt us," Canard tried to reason with him. "We'd be dead by now if you did. Come on out."

"Got that right." Somehow, the drake had managed to work his way unseen to the catwalk above them. He stepped out of the shadows. He was tall and slender, with a fighter's build. A light streak ran through the gray feathers of his long bangs and a chip marred the otherwise handsome beak. A sinister red glare from what was most likely a prosthetic eye shone from behind an eye patch. "These supplies are mine. You want your own, do the dirty work yourself. Now get, before I make you." His sword was pointed to the ground, and, incidentally, at them, and held out to show its length and his comfort using it.

"We need these supplies to get to the camp they were intended for."

"Nah. Nothin' happening. Those slaves'll get their food, I'll see ta that. But this is mine."

"Hey!" Big Deke shouted. "I know who you are!" He glared at the one eyed drake and lifted his gun towards him again.

"So?" the gray drake scoffed. "Whatchya gonna do? Arrest me? Cops can't catch me, Saurians don't know I exist, drones can't track me. And I doubt your friends there'll let you shoot me."

Canard glanced over his shoulder at Big Deke's raised weapon. "Cool it," he growled as he put a hand over the barrel and pushed it down. "We won't. I'm Canard and this is Bico, Big Deke, Laysan, and Ailyssa. We're part of the Resistance."

"Don't care. You've got thirty seconds ta get your tailfeathers outta my warehouse."

"Can't we make a deal?" the masked duck tried again.

"No dealin' with cops. I know who that Detective Longbeak is just as good as he knows me. He knows I can do what I say. Twenty seconds."

"Look," Big Deke barked, "I never saw you here, Duke, and I got no bone to pick with you, not any more. We need to get into the camp these supplies were supposed to be delivered to. If we don't, the Resistance is going to fall apart."

"Oh?" After a moment, the sword vanished and the gray drake placed it on his shoulder. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Don't see how the five of you volunteering ta work for the enemy's gonna save the Resistance."

"Equipment's on the inside," Ailyssa spoke up. "I'm in, get it, get out. Quick."

"Hm." He scratched the bottom of his beak, considering. "So, none of you want what's in these boxes?"

"No," Canard assured. "In fact, you'd be doing us a favor by taking whatever was inside five of those boxes and getting it out of here. Leave the crates for us and take anything else you want. Unless Dragaunus has parts to fix water filters in here, we're not interested in it."

"Liar," Laysan whispered. "The Resistance needs these supplies more than he does."

"Bet you do." Duke stepped up onto the bar of the catwalk and jumped over, landing on some boxes not too far away and climbing down with the agility of an acrobat. "Kay. I'll help ya."

"We don't need your help," Big Deke growled. "Just stay out of our way and we'll stay out of yours."

"Oh, I don't think so." The one eyed drake laughed with more irony than mirth. "S'not every day a cop needs a thief's help. An don't think I'll forget this, Detective. You owe me. One of these days, I'm gonna call in that favor."

"There's no favors being traded," Big Deke argued. "Just you and—"

"I said cool it," Canard broke in. "Big Deke, Laysan, go open the crates we'll need. Ailyssa, help Duke here load up whatever's inside them. Leave enough for us to cover ourselves with." He met Duke's eye and leveled with him. "I don't see how we owe you and you don't owe us."

"I took out those drones and disabled the alarms. No way you coulda done that without bringing half the Saurian army down here."

"Like the Saurians are going to put alarms on a warehouse when they control the entire planet. Right, I believe that." Canard's smile held as much mirth as Duke's laugh. "We just happened to be in the same place at the same time."

"If you want to join the Resistance," Bico broke in, "We could use you. Someone with your skills could do an awful lot to help free Anaska."

His eyebrows shot up and he looked ready to choke when a full out laugh burst from the swordsdrake's mouth. "Oh, hahaha! That's just too good! No," he laughed some more. "Not if I had an all expense paid ticket to the Firelands. Bein' in a groups what's gonna get you bunch caught. Travel alone and light, make hits where you can; that's the only way to avoid capture an' actually do any good."

"What are you going to do with all these supplies?" Canard thought about scanning the uncooperative duck to see what other weapons he might be hiding when the Mask did it for him. Before he knew it, he could see outlines of lock picks, knives, and a couple of explosives, as well as the saber resting on his shoulder. In a flash, the highlighted details were gone and only the gray drake stood before him once more. He was thankful the Mask hid all expressions on his face, because there was no way he could have hidden the surprise at the Mask doing things on its own.

"That's my business," Duke retorted without any hint of what had just happened. "What's with the Mask? Think you're Drake DuCaine or something?"

"Something like that," Canard kept his voice level and cool. There was no way he'd allow this drake to know what the relic actually was. Something told him the dusty drake could take it right off his face and be gone before he knew what happened.

"It's a good way to put a little fear into the Saurians. Don't you think?" Laysan added her own obfuscation to the matter. "Let them see someone going around with a golden mask. Maybe they'll start to think twice about being here and leave."

"Or maybe it's a good way to piss them off an' get a lotta innocent people killed. If that's not DuCaine's mask, you're a damned fool for wearing it. Might as well paint a target on your back and run around naked on their shooting range."

"Not a bad idea," Canard smirked. "I might try it some time."

"Hah! Not bad kid," Duke clapped him on the shoulder before turning to inspect the goods he'd just stolen. "I like you."

Big Deke and Canard glanced at each other, both confused at the sudden change in demeanor.

"What's your way out?" Duke asked.

"That's our own business." Canard didn't want to give out any details they didn't need to. He didn't know if Duke could keep his beak shut if captured or if he was the kind to give up a stranger to save his own feathers. He was most likely the latter.

"Just sayin's, all." Duke shrugged. "Security there's tight. Sneaking in by hiding in the supplies? Not a bad idea, but not the brightest either. Drones know the exact weight of everything they pick up; those crates are off by even a quarter durm, they'll know. Some can sense heat signatures. Boxes full of flour don't give off heat. Least, not unless they're lit on fire." He smiled darkly and half smiled at something. "Good way ta blow up enemy convoys, actually. Find where the flour is, hit it with a non-explosive puck to make a nice dust cloud, then light a match. Boom."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Canard muttered.

"Nah, you guys are fine. Good 'ol law-boy over there, though? Him I'd watch out for."

"How do you two know each other?"

"I'll let him tell you. Course, half of it'll be lies. Then again, most of what anybody knows bout me's lies."

"These should be good," Laysan thumped the side of a crate. "They're big enough for us, and are already marked for Bursan. If Duke here will be kind enough to seal them up from the outside, all of us can go inside instead of me staying behind."

"Nuh," the chipped beak swung sharply to the side in refusal. "I ain't about ta close up someone as pretty as you in one a those boxes and let the Saurains keep you. You five are gettin' in that camp, but not this way."

"Who put you in charge, L'Orange?"

"Deke," Canard spoke his name sharply. "Drop it. That's an order soldier."

"In case you forgot," Big Deke stretched to his full height, the feathers around his neck puffing out slightly to give him a larger appearance. "I haven't enlisted."

"But you're in this unit," Canard growled. "And you're on this mission. So you'll do what I say, or you can go back to sleeping in that aquarium."

"Wait a minute." Duke slurred the words together. "You," he stressed as he pointed to Big Deke, "Were in there. Ya somehow got out, and now you're going back? Hah!" He threw his hands up and walked away. "Now I've heard it all." He turned back to the former slave. "What'd they do ta ya? Brainwashing? Mind control?"

The detective narrowed his eyes and refused to participate in the conversation.

"Doing this or not?" Ailyssa was tired of waiting. "Lizard's gonna get here soon. Or robots. Not gonna be standing out in the open when they do."

"Zabet?" Duke asked, picking up on her accent.

"Yi," she nodded. "Y cu?"

"Rooklyn." He fell into what was obviously her native language with practiced ease. "I speak a little. Don't trust the cop. He's bad news. I'll get you guys in, but you'd be better off leaving him there."

"And I'm going to listen to you, why? You're on the wrong side of the law from what I can tell."

"Doesn't make me wrong."

"Whatever the fuck you two just said." Canard interrupted. "Lyssa's right. We've got to get moving. So if you've got a better plan, Duke, I suggest you share it with us."

"You get in through the access tunnels," Duke shrugged. "Most of it's rigged to blow if ya step wrong. I know the way. I'll get you in and out, easy. No need ta hide. In exchange, you help me carry most of this out."

Canard crossed his arms in thought, mulling over the suggestion. The young captain hadn't yet mastered the relic he wore. Assuming they followed this duck's advice, they might end up in a worse situation than if they followed the original plan. As much as he wanted to trust this drake, he couldn't bring himself to. He'd just met him, Deke obviously had something against him, meaning he was probably on the wrong side of the law. And, he wasn't sure if he could follow his own sense of someones internal trustworthiness anymore. Not after Lucretia. Shit. How he wished Wildwing was here. He'd know what to do. No, best to play it safe.

Canard shook his head no before extending an arm.

"Thanks for the offer, but we're sticking to our original mission."

Duke clasped his forearm. "Good luck. I'll hide all of ya best as I can. Those drones won't know what they're carrying. Now, come on, we don't have much time."

They all quickly set to emptying several crates and hiding each other inside them. Laysan was the first to crawl inside, curled up into a tight ball as oranges were piled on top of her, the packing material replaced, and the lid nailed on.

Canard was the last to be hidden. It was down to him and Duke. He climbed inside the crate full of canned beans. That was going to hurt if anything shifted wrong. Duke dropped a shipping blanket on top of him before neatly layering more cans on top of the solder. He made sure to leave space for him to breathe, but not enough to move much more than an arpen in any direction.

"Don't trust the cop," Duke hissed to Canard as he sealed the lid on the final crate. He grabbed the bags he'd brought and began stuffing the goods into them. He took them outside and loaded them onto the pack bourica he'd brought to carry things around. Going back in, he threw several crates on their sides, making sure to spill them and make a huge mess on the opposite side of the warehouse from where the soldiers were hidden.

When a new set of Drones showed up, they loaded the shipments onto supply trucks and cleaned up the mess, never checking to see what extra cargo they carried.