Star Fox: The Harmony of the Many

by NamaFox

The Aparoid Wars are over, and the Lylat System is recovering. Team Star Fox receives a distress call from just beyond the edge of the Lylat System. What starts as a rescue mission soon becomes something much more than the team anticipated. Fox McCloud soon finds himself contending with horrors beyond imagination, and it will take all his wits and courage just to survive.

16. Chapter 15 - Espionage

Fara might have been a bit over her head at this point.

Of course, she knew the task was going to be difficult. Nothing had been simple since this whole mess started. She couldn't even remember how long ago it had been. It felt like she had been trapped in this nightmare for months, but she knew for a fact that things hadn't really fallen apart until about a week ago, perhaps not even that long. Ever since then, time seemed to have no meaning. Every moment was agonizing, one struggle for survival after the next, a never ending fight just to stay alive, to stay free.

Now here she was, trying to infiltrate the new intruders, the so-called "Venom Dominion."

Were the circumstances different, she might have risked being seen. She might have hoped that the Dominion was there to help, to assist in easing the plight of the poor souls trapped here on the Von Dross.

She knew better.

SAI-TEP had warned her of what they wanted here. It didn't surprise her. In truth, she had been a little afraid that whoever found them first might have less than noble intentions. After all, this was a powerful starship loaded with all sorts of valuable experimental technology. She knew better than most, as she had flown around in some of it in the test flights. It turned out that she was right. These intruders were not here to help. They were here to take. She had no intention of placing herself at their mercy.

She moved carefully, creeping up the hallway while remaining in a crouch, sticking to the shadows. While she was a little better at stealth than most (She was certainly better than Fox was), she wasn't an expert either. Still, she had a keen sense of hearing that served her well, warning her of oncoming danger. Besides that, she was equipped with a piece of experimental technology that SAI-TEP had directed her to, a device that allowed her to track movement well before she might otherwise detect it. It had saved her life more than once since this ordeal started. Rather than having to fight the forces of the Many, she had managed to evade them more often than not, only fighting when she had no other choice. When it did come down to a fight, she was skilled enough. She could hold her own in combat, and she had never been more grateful in her life that she had kept up with her close quarters combat training.

She continued to creep down the hallway, moving as quickly as she could while still remaining almost silent. The halls were deserted, a far cry from what they had been just days before. She remembered a time not so long ago when she hung out with Raphael and Josh, playing a few games and sharing a few drinks as they relaxed for the evening. It felt like such a distant memory now.

Even though it hadn't been all that long, it felt like an eternity. It was as though she had lived an entire lifetime in the last few days. It had been nothing but raw adrenaline, horror, and a desperate bid for survival that felt as though it were never going to end. This moment was no different.

SAI-TEP had sent the vixen some rather specific instructions for what she needed to do next. It was difficult for Fara to wrap her head around what had happened back there with Fox. She never would have guessed that Aiten was dead. It explained so much. It explained why the doctor had been acting so strangely, why his personality had suddenly shifted. It explained why he had barricaded himself inside and never let anyone see him. It explained how "Aiten" was able to think so quickly and lead the resistance so effectively. He, or she, or whatever it was, was a particularly intelligent machine, far faster and more efficient than anyone else aboard. While she wasn't entirely sure she should trust the AI, it had been working with her all along. The only difference now was that Fara was aware of who she was truly dealing with. She was more than a little rattled at the thought of the doctor being dead and her path being manipulated by a machine masquerading as someone she knew.

She believed SAI-TEP when it claimed no part in Aiten's death. She saw the body herself. He had taken his own life, there could be little doubt of that. She didn't know why he had done it. The AI's story was certainly plausible. Others had done the same, taken their own lives rather than risk becoming one of those things that now controlled the ship. It did seem to be a fate worse than death.

She knew that it was in her best interests to continue assisting SAI-TEP. It was the best chance they'd had up to now, and Fara believed it would continue to be such.

The mission was simple enough, though she admitted that she didn't fully understand it. Her instructions were to sneak past the Dominion forces, never giving them any indication of her presence. Once she had managed to get around them, she was to find one of the pods they used to breach the hull. SAI-TEP had apparently scanned the things as they entered, and she knew a great deal about them. If the information Fara had been given was correct, and she had no reason to doubt its legitimacy, then the pods worked two ways. They were primarily designed for a breach in a boarding operation, but they were also built to be launched back, to return the boarding party in case something went wrong or they accomplished their objective.

That was Fara's task. She had to sneak aboard of those pods, reprogram it, then jettison it. What was more, she had to get out before the pod launched. Evidently, it needed to be empty and it needed to be programmed to go to a specific sector of space. She had no idea why SAI-TEP had chosen these precise coordinates. The AI undoubtedly knew something that Fara did not.

That wasn't really her concern right now. For the moment, she just needed to get there, preferably in one piece. She didn't like this. She wanted to stay as far away from the Dominion as she possibly could. Things were about to get complicated.

According to the data she had, breacher pods had landed in several locations across the Von Dross. She didn't know how many had boarded, but she knew they had landed on Deck 5 somewhere, possibly at more than one point.

Fara had no idea how she was going to sneak in there. These were trained soldiers she was dealing with, who were undoubtedly wary of the new environment they found themselves in, likely a hostile one. They'd be looking for people who didn't belong, like her. According to SAI-TEP, they would likely shoot on sight without even bothering to ask for her identification. She believed the AI was right about this. She did not want to put that to the test. She'd do what she could to avoid detection for now.

As she crept down the corridor, all was eerily silent. She didn't like it. Much of her time in the last few days had little in the way of silence. She could always hear the infected crew wandering around, talking to themselves. Sometimes there was the sound of distant gunfire and screaming. Sometimes there were loud footsteps pounding down a hallway, forcing Fara to hide in case it were an enemy.

This silence unnerved her. She didn't know why, she had no real reason for this feeling, but some part of her was convinced that something bad was about to happen. Something awful.

The stillness was soon broken. There was the sound of a high powered weapon being discharged, followed by a series of distant voices, shouting, yelling, screaming. A number of blasters could be heard going off in the distance. She had no idea who was involved, but she knew she needed to stay away from whatever it was. Unfortunately, the commotion was in the direction she needed to go. She could double back and take a much longer route, but there simply wasn't time. This had been impressed upon her by SAI-TEP. Every second counted, and she'd need to try to get past whatever was happening ahead.

She took a deep steadying breath, keeping herself calm with a number of breathing exercises that she had made good use of in the past few days, trying to clear her mind and refocus, not to let the fear get to her. When she found her confidence again, she opened her eyes and shook her head rapidly, trying to pump herself up. She set forward.

She found herself in one of the bars located on this deck. There were two, actually, she was in Joe's, which curiously enough was run by a cat named "Whiskers." She didn't know why the bar hadn't been named after him. She had never thought to ask.

One thing she had to be careful for was the security system. She glanced at the upper corner of the room, where a security camera had always rested. Though the crew had gotten along for the most part, there were occasionally situations that had to be dealt with by security personnel. Those situations often took place at one of the two bars. Both of them had cameras installed within the facility. Right now, the cameras worked for DARIUS, and DARIUS worked for the Many. DARIUS was the Many's eyes and ears. He would alert the Many and their forces whenever someone was spotted by the cameras. She'd seen it too many times. Even Fox had stumbled into that trap.

She peeked around the corner to catch a glimpse of the camera. It appeared to be inactive. It was not a threat to her, at least not at the moment.

The room was everything one might fantasize about a bar found in a story or holo-film. The bar was made of a rather expensive looking wood, with quite a few stools all around to comfortably seat a good number of people. There were several tables that groups could relax at and enjoy themselves, a couple of game-tables with holographic setups that could be shifted at a moment's time, allowing anyone there to play any game they wanted, so long as they could agree on the game to play. There was a target board that people enjoyed throwing darts at. She'd played once with Raphael. He had boasted an awful lot about how good he was at it, and she made him eat his words after she trounced him. That said, Josh had gotten an absolutely perfect score. Every single throw of his was a perfect bullseye. She and Raphael had both been shocked, and she still could remember Josh's wide smirk.

Back when the place had life, it had truly been a wondrous place to be. She didn't go there often, but maybe once a week she'd spend some time there with Raphael and Josh. They'd have a few drinks at the bar, sit down at one of the tables, maybe watch the holo-screen in the upper corner of the room, opposite the security camera. The bar even served food. It was mostly just light snacks and tasty treats that weren't so filling, but it was still good. It had been so lively. The people aboard were generally a good sort, so she always felt safe and comfortable even in public settings like this. She had to admit, the drinks were great. They didn't serve anything too strong, as everyone aboard was technically a member of the crew, thus drunkenness was rather discouraged, but they still had some rather exotic brews from every corner of the Lylat System.

It was so strange seeing it like this, so empty and dark. It filled her with a quiet dread, a deep anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her. The place felt wrong somehow. She didn't like being here. At the same time, she knew it well enough, and there was no one else here. There were a lot of places to take cover in or even hide. She wasn't sure where would be safe right now, but this seemed as good a place as any to pause and come up with a plan, to decide her next move. If she was lucky, they wouldn't even know she was here and would just pass her by.

She reached into her pocket, withdrawing her PDA. She had made some extensive modifications to the thing. She was glad she had, too. What she had shared with Raphael in their quarters when this whole mess started had just been the tip of the iceberg. She had any number of tools she could make use of now, including the rudimentary scanner that Aiten...well, SAI-TEP had provided.

After fishing it out, she pressed a few buttons, swiping the screen a few times. She was scanning the area around her now with her device. On her PDA, there was a display of blips representing the soldiers that had boarded the vessel, the ones nearby her anyway. They were moving slowly, cautiously, just as she expected. By the way they were moving on her scanner, she guessed that they were checking all of their corners, ensuring that nothing caught them by surprise. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to slip past them. Perhaps it was possible that they might instead pass her?

She had to think about this for a while. She could retreat, try to find a way around. She could also remain here, stay hidden. There was a lot they'd have to check in here if they were going to be thorough, and she had a feeling they weren't going to be. They seemed to have a specific destination in mind, and she believed that they would only check for immediate threats, not poke around looking for trouble. This was, of course, just a guess on her part. She hoped that she was right about this.

The blips were getting closer. Closer. They were almost to the other entrance of the bar by now. She ducked down, waiting. She took deep quiet breaths as she listened, her ears flitting up as she sought to take in every noise, every sound. They were close enough now that she could hear their footsteps. The soldiers were heavily armored, and they could be heard long before they would enter the bar. She continued to watch the scanner, waiting for them to pass her by.

One of them paused at the entrance of the bar. Fara immediately crouched down, just barely peeking over. The light flashed through the room, and she ducked out of sight when it moved in her direction. Her heart leapt in her throat, wondering if she had been detected. The light lingered above her for a moment, then turned back. "All clear," they said.

Fara breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the heavy footsteps plodding away. Looking at her scanner, she saw that they appeared to be circumventing the bar rather than going through it. Thank goodness. She was going to be okay! That could have been much worse!

"Wait!" A voice rang out, a voice unfamiliar to the vixen. It sounded firm and authoritative. Perhaps it was the leader? "The lieutenant says she detects movement in the room next door, the bar. Investigate."

"I was jusssst in there ssssir." Another voice, more feminine. The 's' sounds were all drawn out, which made Fara immediately imagine either a lizard or a snake. "There issss nothing there. Unlessss it'sssss hiding."

"I don't want to be surprised by someone ambushing us from behind. Get in there and found out what's moving."

"Yesss ssssir."

Now Fara was in trouble. They had some kind of motion detector somewhere! This was bad. This was very bad. What was she to do?

She could hear the heavy footfalls again. They weren't alone this time. At least two of the Dominion soldiers had entered the room, maybe more. She had a feeling they weren't going to leave until they found her. She was lucky they hadn't seen her already. If they had a tracker, they should have been able to pinpoint her precise location. Either she was just barely out of range of whoever was scanning, or perhaps her own equipment provided enough interference that they couldn't tell where she was exactly.

It didn't matter now, though. They were getting too close. The flashlights on their helmets and weapons were illuminating the room, casting shadows as they temporarily dispelled patches of darkness. They'd find her soon. They were checking under tables, searching for traces of movement.

What could she do? She could try to make a run for it. It was possible that she'd be able to evade them. If she were quiet and quick, maybe she could get out without them seeing her. What about the other soldiers? The whole squad wasn't in here, she might run into rest of them if she bolted. If the ones in here saw her before she escaped, they'd probably blast her. What could she do?!

A thought entered her mind, a thought that she normally would dismiss outright. It was crazy. Insane. It might get her killed. It was also the only thing she could think of that might get her out of this mess. She took a deep breath, hoping very much that this went better than she was afraid it would. She then brought out her PDA again.

She did have one program that might help in this situation. She quickly swiped the screen a couple of times, pulling up a special interface that she'd only used twice so far. There was a way to hack the cameras, to temporarily blind DARIUS to what was going on somewhere. However, she had only succeeded at this once. The last time she did it, she accidentally triggered the alarm when she made a mistake, inputting the wrong command at the wrong time.

This time, though? She wasn't trying to shut down the system. She was trying to tell DARIUS exactly where she was.

Just as the light was passing over the very counter she was hiding behind, she pressed the initiate command on her device. The sound of the camera activating was immediate, announcing itself with a soft whirring noise and mechanical clicking. The light shining just above Fara turned to the side. She heard a voice from one of the other soldiers. "What's that sound?"

None of them seemed to know what was happening. But Fara knew. She peeked up over the bar table, looking at where the camera was. There was a faint green glow emanating from a couple of small lights on it, indicating that it was online. It turned to focus on one of the soldiers, zooming in. The greens lights turned red.

"Sir?" The soldier called out. "Oh shoot, I think that's a..."

Before he could finish that sentence, loud alarms blared. A crisp voice with a faint accent spoke, one very familiar to Fara. DARIUS. "Intruder alert on Deck 5. All available security personnel please report to deck 5 immediately. For your own safety, all crewmen on Deck 5 should vacate the area. Intruder alert on Deck 5."

"Crap!" One of the soldiers backed up as the alarms continued to blare. "Sir, what do we do?!"

"Fall back, find a defensive position!" The one in charge barked to the others. "We handled the security team, we can handle whatever else comes!"

The security team? Fara wondered who he was referring to. She didn't know there was a security team in this area. The only security left were Dreyfus and his men, and he didn't have any reason to come down here. Did he?

She couldn't worry about that right now. She could hear the heavy footsteps of the soldiers as they withdrew, presumably to find a more secure place to defend themselves. This was her chance.

As they retreated, Fara emerged from her hiding place, running to the door before slipping outside. She couldn't follow them where they went, but she knew of a way to beat them. At least, she thought she did. She'd cut through the ball court! If she were quick, she could make it!

It didn't take her long to find the place, it wasn't all that far from the bar. The location was rather convenient, as anyone interested in the game could grab a few drinks from across the way and then cheer on with their friends. Or they could just make fools of themselves. Raphael did that a lot.

The door was not locked, which was good. Had it been locked, Fara wouldn't know where to go next. She had to be quick, to take advantage of the window of opportunity she had created. With any luck, the alarms would draw the two forces, the Dominion and the Many, against one another, and the clash would keep them distracted from what she had to do. That was the plan. If she wasn't quick, she'd either make it too late to take advantage of the situation, or worse, get caught in the crossfire. She had to make sure that didn't happen.

The door to the ball court hissed open as she approached. Maybe it was just her imagination or the intensity of the situation, but it sounded so much louder now than she had ever known before. She hoped it didn't alert anyone to her presence.

The court stayed dark and nothing stirred inside. There were no lights on, so she couldn't see much. She had been in here a few times in the past, so she knew the way. The court was mostly a flat surface, it had to be for most of the games played here. As long as she didn't trip over the bleachers, she'd be fine. While she moved quickly, she also made every effort to maintain silence. She couldn't imagine anything being interested in her right now with the alarm blaring, but she did not want to take chances.

It only took a few moments for her to cross the area, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She could see the large door on the other side, only lit up by a dull flickering light above it. That was all she needed, though. She was close. Very close. As she continued to move forward, she tripped over something. She almost lost her balance, then caught herself just in time to avoid a nasty fall. She hadn't thought she was that close to the bleachers. She mumbled something to herself about being more careful, then let out a heavy breath as she reached the door. This door was a manual one, for whatever reason. It actually swung outward. She wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it was to add a bit of authenticity to it feeling like a real ball game back home, or maybe it was just cheaper. She didn't know and she didn't care, she'd only used the thing once. She gave the door a push, ready to get out of there.

The door moved, but only a little. There was a "thunk" sound as it struck something. Blinking, Fara tried again. She pushed and strained against the thing, but the door barely moved. There was something big on the other side. Something heavy. She kept straining against it, but for the life of her, she could not get the thing to budge. Frowning, she dropped down to her knees, pressing her head against one side of the door, pushing on it and trying to get a glimpse through the crack created between the two surfaces.

There it was. Something big and heavy was on the other side, blocking her path. She could not get through here. Someone had barricaded this door for some reason. There was no way she could push through, it was far too heavy. If she and Fox worked together, -maybe- they could move it. He wasn't here. She couldn't get out this way.

Thinking fast, she started to come up with another route. This way would have been the fastest, that was true, but that was before she knew the door had been barricaded. There was another way, through the locker room. It would lead her to the other side. If she hurried, she might still be able to head the others off, to get to her objective before they could detect her.

She turned around, looking for the door to the locker room. She couldn't see it in the darkness, the lights weren't on. She thought it was to her right, a good few paces away. She didn't want to fumble around blind when she could just use her light. That PDA of hers had so many uses.

As she reached into her pocket in order to fish it out, a question passed through her mind. Why had the door been barricaded? She supposed someone had been attacked here, or they had retreated and tried to buy precious time. Though they had gone through an awful lot of trouble to barricade that specific door.

She swiped through the various programs on her PDA, eventually finding the program she needed and reached out to tap the screen with a single finger. Just before she hit the button, she froze. The door had been barricaded to keep something out. Or rather, something in. With her. She had just tripped over something she hadn't seen just a few feet away from her current position. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but now...

Was there something in here with her?

She had almost turned her light on. She had been less than a second away. It would have been bright, enough for her to clearly see the court. She now had a feeling that it would have been a horrible idea. Very slowly, very carefully, she lifted her PDA, turning it ever so slightly. The light was not on, but the screen emitted a faint glow, just enough to illuminate a short distance in front of her.

As she turned the device in her paw, she saw it. It was laying there right in front of her. She had literally tripped over the thing. It was huge. It was massive. And it was breathing. She hadn't heard a sound up to this point, but she could hear it now. It was quiet, almost inaudible. Its chest was rising and falling as it breathed, as it slumbered.

She had never seen anything like this monstrosity. It was bigger than she was, much bigger. It was at least twice her size. She didn't have a good look at it, and she wasn't about to stick around in order to get one. Whatever it was, it looked horrendous, like a mass of flesh expanding and contracting on the floor. It must have been in a very deep sleep not to have been awakened by Fara's movements, or the alarm for that matter. Thank goodness for that, she thought. That thing looked as though it could rip her in half.

It made a sound, a mixture of a grunt and gurgle. She quickly turned off her PDA, putting it back in her pocket, remaining still for a few moments. The breathing stopped. It wasn't moving, not as far as she could tell. She feared it might have awakened. At the very least, it may be emerging from its dormant state.

Fara moved as quietly and slowly as she could, pausing and waiting with her ears flitted upward in order to take in even the slightest indication of movement. There was nothing. She waited again. The breathing started, and it sounded as though it were slumbering once more.

She needed to get out of there. Now.

She steadied her breathing, trying to make herself as quiet as possible. She was ready. The next few steps felt like the longest she had ever taken in her life. Each movement was agonizingly slow, every muscle in her body tensed up and ready to bolt at even the slightest disruption. She wondered how the thing hadn't heard the alarm going off, but then she remembered that this room was sound proof, or very close to it. The management didn't want the roar of the crowd to disturb the patrons of the nearby bar or any of the other facilities. The alarm must not have sounded in here for some reason. She was grateful regardless.

Closer now. Closer. She was getting closer to the exit, she could feel it. She was having to rely purely on memory to take her where she needed to go, but she was confident in her ability to navigate, even in total darkness. She knew this ship well. She had studied it extensively, she had months to explore it and learn the ins and outs. That was certainly paying off now.

Almost there. Even in the darkness, she could see the very faint outline of the door, or rather the red lights that slipped through the cracks, emanating from an electrical sign on the other side. She could almost touch it. She was so close!

Just a little more! Just another step!

She made it! Just as she got in front of the door, it slid open! There was a quiet, customary hiss as it did so, and Fara turned around to check if the thing heard her. Whatever it was did not respond, it remained resting where she had left it. Good.

The tension only started to ebb when the door was shut behind her, when she was confident the creature could not hear her anymore. Now she could cut through the locker room and emerge on the other side, continuing her mission to the Dominion craft. She wasn't far now, that was certain! At first, she moved slowly and cautiously, but gradually picked up her pace when no more immediate threats emerged. Being that close to such a slumbering monster had unnerved her, and she just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

"They hear you..."

She stopped short, gasping as she heard the voice. She couldn't quite place who it belonged to, but it sounded familiar to her. As she looked around, she could find no one. There was no one here! At least, she couldn't see anyone. Someone was definitely talking, though. Where were they talking from, and to who? Were the addressing her? Someone else?

Rather than continuing forward, Fara chose to duck down, propping her shoulder against one of the nearby lockers, giving her some cover if the person should be up ahead of her. She reached for the blaster in her holster, pulling it out and making sure it was ready for use. She had just charged the thing up. She wouldn't let anyone or anything stand in her way. She had to get this done. If SAI-TEP was to believed, it was the only way any of them would get out of this nightmare alive.

Still, confrontation was best avoided. She waited there in the dark, wondering when she would hear the voice again.

"They can sense you...run! Run!" The voice was distorted in the way that all of the Many's puppets were. The words still sounded genuine. The speaker, whoever it was, sounded like they were desperately trying to warn someone.

She saw him. He walked right past her, didn't even look in her direction. It was as though he somehow knew she was somewhere nearby. She didn't get a look at who it was. A dog, she knew that by the shape of his snout and muzzle. She couldn't make out other details. The voice was so familiar, yet so distorted at the same time. It was that way with all of the infected crew members. It was them, yet it was not them. She'd seen it before, just as she was seeing it now.

Whoever the canine was, he was holding a shotgun in one paw. He had it resting on his shoulder as he walked, scanning the room around him. She was grateful for the fact that these things couldn't see much better in the dark than she could. She waited a few moments, waited for him to pass on by. He continued to speak on occasion, though it was still difficult to figure out who he was talking to. She thought he was talking to her, but she couldn't be sure. He never used her name.

His words soon seemed to contradict what he had just said, the warning and plea for her to run shifting into one much more threatening, the voice lowering in pitch, now dark and menacing. "You are alone...we will find you. The Many are strong..."

She waited for a few more moments, then darted forward, rushing past the lockers she was hiding behind and attempting to escape down the corridor.

In that precise moment, the lights in the locker room suddenly activated. It so startled Fara that she almost stopped in her tracks. She heard the thing behind her mutter, heard the sound of his boots squeaking on the clean tile floor as he turned around. "The Many sings to us..."

She managed to dive out of sight just before he would have seen her. She turned her dive into a roll, then lurched up to her feet, hurrying to the door. If it was locked, she was in big trouble. It was not. The door simply opened before her. That was when her luck seemed to run out. The noise of the door opening caught the attention of the infected crew member who now seemed to be in hot pursuit, as heavy footfalls could be heard approaching Fara from behind. "Join us!"

Fara dashed forward, sparing a glance behind her to try and catch a glimpse of her pursuer. He was at a bit of a distance now, so she still wasn't certain exactly who it was. He bore the terrible signs of infection, a massive worm buried deep in his chest. Whoever it was had become nothing more than a pawn of the Many. The hybrid of worm and canine raised his shotgun, leveling it at Fara. She had no time to think. She dove to the side, right out of the way of a barrage of shotgun fire.

She was nearly at the exit, but she couldn't barge outside with this creature chasing her. She'd have to kill it first, then continue with her mission. She had no choice here. It wasn't as if she hadn't done this before. She'd had to kill more than one crew mate since this nightmare began. It never got any easier, but at least she knew how to make it quick.

She took cover behind another row of lockers, waiting for him. He made no attempt at subtlety, he didn't even try to hide the volume of his footsteps as he charged. Fara waited, listening closely, picturing in her mind where he was, where he was going, where she needed to aim. He got closer, closer still. Right when she believed he was in the sweet spot, she stepped to the side, lining up her weapon and firing in the same moment of peering around the corner.

The first blast caught the assailant in the chest, the second in the head. She knew it wasn't likely to kill it even with such precise shots, though it did send the creature reeling. The shotgun had fallen from its hand, clanging harmlessly to the floor. Disarmed, the thing looked at her with a glazed over look in its eyes.

It did something then that Fara did not expect. It caught her so off guard, so completely by surprise, that her mouth dropped open and she could not move.

It said her name.

"Fara?"

Only now, to Fara's horror, did she recognize who it was. The voice. The face, as twisted and horrific as it may have become. It was someone Fara had liked, a good friend. Someone she had secretly hoped would have escaped this hell.

Josh.

He was wheezing now, panting for breath. He stared up at Fara, his expression blank. Maybe he couldn't control it, couldn't smile or frown. He spoke again. "Fara?" Was it really him? It bore so little resemblance to the canine she once knew. The mischievous smile that he had whenever he was about to tease either her or Raphael, the sparkle in his eyes as he laughed and joked with his best friend and Fara. He had been such a wonderful friend. Her heart felt as though it were breaking to see him this way. She couldn't move. She had lost several friends since all this started, but she had not lost any of her closest, like Raphael and Josh. Until now.

"Fara...why did you...shoot me?" He asked her, lowering his head and studying the wound in his chest. He had a small scorch mark there. She had also shot him in the head, but he'd been wearing some kind of helmet, it seemed that her weapon didn't quite pierce it. That would be why he was still alive. For a brief heart-stopping moment, Fara wondered if she had indeed shot him prematurely. What if he was still in control? What if she had murdered her friend when there was still something left of him inside?

She was wracked with guilt. She wondered if there was another way. There had to have been another way! Or was there? It had come down to her or him. If she had not shot him, he would have killed her. She knew this. Even in that certainty, she could not dispel the remorse. Her weapon remained leveled on Josh, shaking a bit as she grew more unsteady.

"Fara...you should have...you..." He was struggling to breathe. She may not have killed him outright, but he seemed to be terribly wounded. He tried to get to his feet, but he simply couldn't do it. He grunted and groaned from the combination of pain and strain as he struggled to move, but then slumped back against the wall. "You...you shot me. You..."

He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling in a more subdued manner, his breath slowing. He didn't have much time left.

She had to be sure that he wasn't about to get back up. She knew firsthand how resilient these things were. She didn't want to do it, but she had to finish him off. She leveled her weapon at him, aiming directly at his head. It's what he would want, if there were any part of him still left. That's what she told herself.

She didn't get the chance to fire. Before she even managed to pull the trigger, Josh lurched forward with unnatural speed. She fired a moment too late, hitting the wall where his head had been a mere moment before. He plowed into her legs, sending her tumbling to the floor. She had to move quickly and not allow him to gain the advantage. As she fell, she managed to jerk her knee up and kick him in the face as hard as she could. Unfortunately, he was still wearing the helmet, so she didn't do much damage to him.

He snarled as he got back to his feet, and she turned just in time to see him face her and kick at her viciously, causing her to roll away from him. She was still holding the laser pistol in her hand, but he was atop her now, wrestling it away from her, sending it flying to the side, clattering down the locker room far out of reach.. By now he was straddling her, pinning her paws just over her head.

"Always was...envious of Raphael..." The thing that was once her friend continued to speak, using his voice in a hideous perversion of what was once Josh. "But now he's gone...I'm here. We're here. Join us. You can be one of us. It is so...magnificent." He groaned and growled, his teeth bared and his fingers curling out like claws. "You cannot imagine...what it is like! You would experience such pleasures...such delights. Such purpose! We are...we are the FUTURE!" He drew out that last syllable long and loud, his voice vibrating in such an unnatural manner.

"Get off me, Josh!" The vixen screamed at him, tried to punch him or roll him off, but he was bigger than she was, and a whole lot stronger than she remembered him being. She knew that this parasitic organism could enhance the strength and speed of those it took control of. Josh was a clear example of this now.

"Join our ecstatic union...join us!" The canine's paws wrapped around her throat, and she felt him starting to squeeze. His grip was like iron. She desperately squirmed beneath him, trying to breath, trying to do anything. She tried to fight him off, beating on him with her paws, but he would not relent, would not let her go. Her vision was starting to fade, everything was going dark! Her struggles began to slow. Her paw fell to the side...

On top of the shotgun. She had almost landed on the thing. She knew what she had to do. Her eyes opened, and she stared up at Josh. His eyes were unfocused, even as he strangled her. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking through her. She looked upon him with eyes wide with fear, trembling as she all but lost consciousness. For a brief moment, Fara saw something shine through. Something of her old friend, some part of him that was left inside this thing that had taken control of him. Even as he sought to kill her, she saw tears forming in his eyes. "I'm...sorry!"

Those would be his last words. She had managed to angle the shotgun to his side, the barrel lined up to his head. He was so focused on strangling her that he didn't even notice as she readied the weapon. Just before she would have blacked out, she pulled the trigger.

The resounding roar of a combat shotgun firing at point blank range filled the room. In that same moment, Josh's grip on Fara loosened. His entire body jerked violently away from Fara, a geyser of blood spurting from what was once his head. As the body rolled lifelessly to the side, the head fell forward and landed right next to her. There was barely a head left. Half of the skull had been blown into pieces, bits of brain and meat dripping from the cavity. Part of the skull had been exposed and shattered, with blood and clumps of fur settling upon it. He only had one eye left in its socket. It stared at her blankly, the body twitching a few times before going still. His eye was dead and empty now, cold and accusing for the murder she had just committed.

The vixen could only stare at the horrifying, sick sight. She couldn't move, her strength had deserted her. She hacked, coughed, and gulped down deep breaths of air. She had come so close to passing out. As soon as she had enough strength, she sat up, trying to get away from the corpse. Just as she began to recover, she felt a wave of nausea coursing through her. She turned from the remains of Josh, then began to dry-heave a few times before she vomited. Her legs and hands were shaking, and she felt so sick, so overwhelmed. After emptying what little contents had been left in her stomach, she continued to heave, over and over again, as though her stomach were desperate to find something, anything, that it could remove in order to make her feel better.

At last the wave of nausea came to an end. As it passed, she had hoped that her breathing would stabilize, that she'd start to feel better. It didn't. She found herself panting still. Her eyes burned, and she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She was blinded by those tears, she could not see. Even with the wave of illness gone, she still couldn't breathe! She emitted painful, ragged gasps as she struggled to gulp down air that simply wouldn't come.

She couldn't fall apart like this! Not now! Get it together, Fara! She tried scolding herself, tried wrestling with her emotions in a desperate struggle to regain control. It had to be done, she needed to get through this! She needed to get it together right now!

It wasn't that simple. She felt like the walls were closing in on her. She had almost died, had just blew one of her best friend's brains out. She couldn't breathe! She gasped, over and over again, taking choked gulps of air, her wind pipe feeling all too narrow. Her heart hammered in her chest, beating at a frantic wild rhythm. She couldn't calm herself, couldn't quiet the feelings of raw panic and horror!

At long last, her heart beat grew more steady, her eyes no longer stung with tears, and the sense of terrible panic and fear gradually began to ease. Slowly. So slowly. She pulled herself back until she was sitting upright, eyes closed and just concentrating on breathing, one breath at a time. One breath at a time. She kept telling herself this, over and over and over again. One breath at a time.

One breath.

One.

One breath...

At last, it was gone. No, that wasn't accurate. It was not gone, but it was manageable now. She had no idea how long she had been there, struggling to control her breath and her emotions. It could have been seconds, or it could have been minutes. In a way, it didn't matter. She could breathe again. Slowly but surely, the world slid back into focus. With every passing moment, she grew stronger. She opened her eyes, surveying the area around her.

While it was still horrifying and disturbing on many levels, it no longer produced the earlier level of panic. There was blood everywhere. That shotgun was powerful, and she had just proven it. She'd never have thought it would be this messy. Of course, she'd never tested it on a living target, nor had she seen it tested. It was a top of the line military grade combat shotgun built not just to rip through fur and flesh, but to penetrate armored targets, such as robots. They had been testing it on the Von Dross, attempting to improve the design, probably to sell it to someone, since that was most of what they did here. She didn't know how Josh had gotten a hold of it.

It took her a while to get her bearings, to recover enough to return to the mission. She looked for her pistol, then found it in the corner. It must have been knocked or kicked there during the struggle. It only took her a moment to pick it up and return it to its holster. She looked at the shotgun again, wondering if she should take it or not. On the one hand, it would be useful to have the extra firepower. On the other hand, her mission was supposed to be stealthy, she was trying not to draw too much attention to herself. A shotgun was anything but subtle.

Fara emitted a quiet sigh before scolding herself. Well done, Fara. Marvelous job. You should have been a Cornerian Agent. That shotgun had been loud. She was just lucky no one was nearby to hear it.

In the following moment, a piercing roar filled the hall and locker room she was in, a sound so loud and powerful that Fara winced from the volume. The roar was deafening, primal and furious. The roar stretched on, surprising Fara in both its raw intensity and power. She knew that this was no engine being fired or a weapon being discharged. Something else was making that sound, in the very direction Fara had come from. Shortly after the roar ceased, she heard a series of loud thumps. Something was moving nearby, something big. As she listened, the sound grew faint. Whatever it was, it appeared to be moving away from her. If her ears did not deceive her, it was going away from where she needed to go. That was good. She didn't want to run into whatever had made that noise.

She was tempted to look down at Josh again, but she couldn't. She wasn't even sure what the reason was. Maybe it was because of how completely she had destroyed his form, how bloody and shattered his corpse was. Maybe it was because she wanted to remember him as he once was, as the friend she once knew. Perhaps it was simply that she did not want to face the fact that she had just killed him. Even though that thing was sick and disgusting and evil, too far gone to really be considered her friend, it also knew who she was. She didn't doubt for a moment that it meant what it said. That he, Josh, had once cared for her, that he'd been jealous of Raphael. While she never would have known that before, this parasite could not have known such details unless it was indeed linked with him.

All she could do was remember him for who he was, not the abomination that he had become.

With her weapons secured and doing a doing a quick check to make sure her PDA was still in its proper place, the vixen turned from the body and exited the room. She was a bit of a mess herself, she knew she was covered in blood and, well, little bits of Jacob's brain matter. She did not have time to clean herself right now. There were far more important matters at stake.

She finished just in time. She heard more footsteps, originating from the direction she had just come from, where Josh had chased her from. She was having second thoughts about getting his shotgun, but it was too late now. She rushed for the exit. The door slipped open, and for just a brief moment she allowed herself to glance backwards. There was another of those things there now, another infected hybrid crew member, staring at the body of Josh. It spoke, and for a brief moment Fara believed that perhaps she had misheard it. Maybe she imagined what it said. But it seemed so clear as it addressed the corpse of its comrade.

"You are...free now..."

She did not hear anything else. The door shut, and the hybrid seemed unaware of her presence. If it was aware, there hadn't been enough time for it to act. She wasn't about to wait around for it to discover her. She needed to move, and fast!

She soon found the exit from the locker room into another corridor of the ship. She reached for her PDA, checking her map to confirm her location. The lights were still out, and it was difficult to see much. With her device, however, she was easily able to ascertain where she was and the direction of her objective. She was close now.

So were they.

Little blips appeared on her screen, indicating the presence of other forces nearby. She knew for a fact they didn't belong to the Von Dross security detail, so that meant it was either the Many or the Dominion. They were just far enough way that she believed she could cut past them, race towards her destination without them knowing about it. People were depending on her. She wasn't going to let them down!

She braced herself, flexing her paw pads as she got ready to bolt. Then she took off, racing down the corridor and keeping her head down, moving as fast as she possibly could.

Her PDA suddenly started beeping like crazy, a red alert sign flashing on it. She paused in order to see what was going on. It was warning her of activity just ahead. There was something attempting to scan her, and it would only be growing stronger with the next few paces. Of course, she should have expected this. The Dominion coming in with such force would surely mean they would provide some basic recon equipment to help organize them. That was likely what had almost gotten her caught in the bar earlier.

The vixen came prepared.

Of course, she had no way of fully cloaking herself. She wasn't sure anyone could do that, though she'd heard some rather wild stories about the experimental technology in the cybernetic implants that were being tested in that division. The same kind that Fox had grafted on him. What she'd heard about them must have been exaggerated, as she hadn't seen Fox use any unusual abilities. That was probably why they were still prototypes.

While she had not the ability to cloak herself, she did possess the means to mask her signal to any scanners in the area. It wouldn't hide her from people watching her directly, or even watching from a camera, but her PDA possessed a very minor personal jamming device on it. She had brought all manner of programs and other such things aboard. She'd manage to sneak it all through their rather rigorous security sweeps too. Once again, she was glad she had.

She didn't feel any different, but the warning on her PDA stopped. They probably couldn't see her, or at least her signal should be masked enough that they'd have a really hard time tracking her. If she was lucky, they'd think it was a glitch in the system. If she was really lucky, they wouldn't even notice it at all. She hoped for the latter to prove true.

At last she found herself at her destination, the long viewing room along this side of the rec deck. She'd gone here more than once with Raphael, just sitting at one of the benches and gazing at the stars.

There were some newcomers here now. Several heavily armed troopers and a much lighter, more lithe woman perched at a console, her fingers working rapidly as she stared intensely at her screen. Fara had a feeling that this girl was the one running the scans.

The guards all had their backs turned. She heard something in the distance, something coming from the other side of the room. A rumbling sound. She had no idea what it was. Neither did the soldiers, apparently, as they were all staring in that direction, seeming just as curious as Fara.

This was her chance.

---

Ginger was hard at work to get everything set up as quickly as possible. They needed so much more data now, as much as she could give them. She was running multiple scans, every type that she could imagine, in order to get as clear a picture as possible of the surrounding area. Gradually, the map she possessed of the ship was growing, becoming more clear and revealing far more detail than it had before. If she was able to keep this up, before long they would have enough information to accurately assess any part of the ship they might need to go before they even went there. That sort of information might not just save time, it might save lives.

Some of the processes were automatic and didn't require her assistance, but there was a lot of interference. The scans were incomplete and constantly interrupted, and she had to adjust and compensate over and over again. If she left her work unattended, she doubted very much that anything would be accomplished in her absence, which was a pity. She could use a break. While it wasn't physically intense, she could feel sweat forming at the top of her head, dribbling down her fur and making it damp as she worked. She had to move fast to compensate for whatever was interfering with her scans.

Part of it seemed to be the shields themselves. She had never seen anything like them before. They were powerful things, and they did far more than simply deflect or absorb enemy fire. Whoever built this ship had obviously been very concerned with keeping secrets, as it was almost impossible to broadcast through it. If she had to guess, it was designed to limit any sort of transmission through anything but secure channels, channels that belonged only to those who were in charge of the Von Dross.

The Dominion was equipped with some of the best technological wonders in the Lylat System. Even so, it was difficult to establish and keep a link. She had gotten lucky earlier, managing to get through to the Bulwark for that brief window of time. She was struggling now to keep the link strong. No matter what she tried, something seemed to interfere and block her. This was unacceptable, and she knew it. It would not be long before Lieutenant Commander Noellap or one of the other squadron leaders would want to contact the captain, or vice versa. Communicating within the Von Dross was simple enough, she didn't think there would be any problems with them communicating with one another, at least not at the moment. Linking back to the Bulwark could be troubling, and she might not be able to make any communication last long. She would need access to the communication systems of the Von Dross in order to correct this. That would make her job much easier. Hopefully that was a goal they were working toward. That or getting in and out quickly enough that it wouldn't matter if they had communications or not.

Despite her difficulties, she was making progress. More and more of the ship was being revealed to her. And while she didn't have exact readings regarding what each room was (She couldn't seem to get access to the ship's computer in order to ascertain that), she was able to make a variety of educated guesses. They were indeed on Deck 5, which seemed to be dedicated to the crew's rest, relaxation, and recreation. She wasn't detecting anything unusual in terms of energy or power readings here, so she was beginning to doubt that what they were looking for was on this deck. She'd have to keep running scans.

Over time, the results became more clear, revealing more and more to the junior lieutenant. Whoever the agent was had sent some rudimentary data to the Bulwark, and Ginger had access to it now. But the data was incomplete. Perhaps the message was rushed and the agent didn't have time to send everything they needed. They had a rough map of the ship, including basic labels for each deck. They were on Deck 5, Crew Quarters and Recreation. It seemed to have precious little of note, certainly nothing that the Dominion would be interested in. However, it did seem to be the most secure place to land, with the least of amount of activity detected here.

Deck 6 was the flight deck, just above them. Near as she could tell, there were two large hangars up there. That's about all she could detect. She was unsure as to whether there was anything else of value up there.

Immediately below them was Deck 4, Operations. That seemed promising enough. It was also close, close enough that she could get some more accurate readings on it with the equipment she was using now. Her fingers moved at near blinding speed as she input rapid commands and corrections into whatever the computer was trying to do. She had always loved what she did. She had a gift for it, or so she'd been told. Her mind worked faster than most when it came to technology, programming, hacking, mathematics, being able to work towards any specific goal. It had only been recently that her talents had finally been recognized, first by the Dominion as a whole, then by the captain and his lieutenant. It was a great honor to be here. She was more than a little nervous, as her abilities had never been put to the test quite like this before. She also now knew that there were lives depending on her. She'd been involved in several missions up to this point, but never anything as serious as this. She had to make them proud, she had to go above and beyond their expectations!

The first thing of note on Deck 4 was the communications equipment. Too bad they hadn't landed there, she thought wistfully. There appeared to be a lot of terminals and electronic equipment all throughout that deck, much more so than on Decks 5 and 6, but she didn't know what it was all used for. It was likely for simple day to day operations of the ship; the presence of so much equipment did not inherently indicate anything significant.

There were some objects of interest there. There were a few personal offices of some researchers aboard, that might be a good lead. There seemed to be a number of important facilities there, including a security hub. Much of the deck seemed to be locked down, potentially making it quite difficult to effectively search. She decided to look for more promising leads.

Shifting her scans back upward, she examined Deck 7 next. It didn't take long for her to realize that that this was much, much more promising. She started to focus her scans there, straining her instruments to get as much data as possible. Research and Development. It was broken up into four separate wings. Weapons technology, advanced robotics, psionics (Whatever that was), and...artificial intelligence.

This was the one. This was what the lieutenant was looking for. She'd run a few more sensor sweeps over the area and get what information she could. Then she'd send it to Noellap. He'd be pleased, she thought. Or so she hoped, anyway.

Something rumbled nearby, giving her pause. It sounded a little like a low but powerful growl. She looked up at the soldiers. They had apparently all heard the same thing she had, and they looked toward the door that it seemed to come from.

The two closest to the source of the disturbance signaled the other two guards, then approached the door as carefully as they could. With the armor they were wearing, it was impossible for them to be completely quiet, but at least the sounds were subdued. One reached the door, peeking his head out and looking from side to side. He then straightened up and turned to the group, shrugging his shoulders. He hadn't seen anything.

She was a little on edge from all this. She hadn't been in any real combat situation before, and their communications earlier had definitely indicated hostility aboard.

Blip

A faint sound emanating from her scanner caught her attention. She turned as soon as she heard it, but was already too late by the time she looked down. It was gone. It might have been a malfunction. With all the interference and trouble she'd been having aboard this ship, it wouldn't surprise her. Still, she could have sworn she saw something move on the scanner, something close. Very close.

There was something in the room with them.

She looked around wildly, her ears flitting up to full attention, her whiskers twitching as she scanned her surroundings. There was no sign of anyone, yet this did not ease her suspicion.

She looked at one of the soldiers, biting her lip before raising her paw, waving at him to come over. He didn't notice her at first, he was turned and whispering to one of the other troopers. She looked around again, wondering if someone was hiding nearby. There didn't seem to be. Even so, it would not be right to be suspicious of something and say nothing, not when so much was at stake.

Ginger was not an aggressive or commanding woman by nature, she preferred to stay out of people's sight, just doing her job and doing it well. It wasn't easy for her to speak up. "Excuse me," she squeaked, barely able to get the words out. They didn't notice her, of course. She barely could hear herself.

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, then opened them and had a renewed sense of purpose evident on her face. "Excuse me, we have a problem." She stated, this time loud enough to hear.

She was almost afraid the soldiers would laugh at her. They were proper combatants, they had all seen action and been trained for this sort of situation. She had not, at least not in the way they had.

They didn't laugh. In fact, one of them even straightened his back and attempted to look more formal as he faced her. "Yes, ma'am? What's the problem, ma'am?"

His attitude made it easier for her to continue. "I'm not certain, but I believe I saw some movement on the scanner. Someone or something is in this room with us."

"What?" Another one of the troopers spoke up, approaching from the other end of the hallway. "How? How'd they get in?"

"I'm not sure,but I detected it around the time we all heard that noise nearby. Perhaps it got in while we were distracted with that?"

The guard closest to her barely hesitated. "You heard the lady. Let's sweep the place, make sure we're secure." A couple of the other soldiers nodded, beginning to wander the room and check the darker corners for where something might be lying in wait. The remaining two waited, one of them at the far door, the other one near Ginger. He kept an eye on the closest door. Ginger had to admit, she felt safer with him standing so close to her. Perhaps that was the idea.

If someone was here, the soldiers would find them. She was certain of that. She returned her attention to the scanner. She couldn't see any signs of life, outside of the Dominion's presence. They were alone here. What was it she had detected? If they weren't in the room now, where had they gone?

Just on a whim, she decided to check the status of the pods themselves. It was the only place that would offer any shelter in this room, there was nothing else to hide beyond. All three checked out normal, nothing of note.

Wait.

"Trooper? Check breacher pod 3."

"The pod? Why?" The trooper asked. He wasn't resisting her, he was already moving to obey her order. He seemed only curious as to what he was looking for.

"Something's wrong with it." She stated. There was a faint glimmer of something in that pod, like a faint energy reading. She wasn't sure what it was. She had almost missed it, it was practically invisible. She saw it now, though. There definitely was a signal coming from it. Something was in that pod.

That wasn't all. She soon realized that someone was interacting with the pod's computer. She tried to access it, tried to lock it down and override whatever was being done, but she was too late!

"The pod is being launched!" She shouted!

---

Fara was amazed she hadn't been caught yet. And now, thankfully, she was done here. She just had to wait for the computer to accept the new command, and then she'd be on her way. She was in the back of the pod, where she would be most likely to evade detection. Now she just needed the computer to confirm and she could get out of here.

The confirmation soon came. "Command accepted." There was a pause. Fara's heart soared at the sweet, sweet sound of success. It plummeted a mere moment later. "Hostile life forms detected. Extended launch timer deactivated. Launch commencing in ten seconds."

Oh no.

"Ten. Nine. Eight."

So much for nice and easy. She bolted upright, then sprinted for the back. She tripped halfway there over a bit of cargo that was jutting out, something she had easily managed to navigate before when she wasn't in such a panicked hurry. She landed with a loud bang, but it didn't stop her. She scrambled forward, crawling toward the exit until she could get to her feet. She had to get out of here, now!

"Seven. Six. Five."

She made her way to the pilot's compartment. There were voices shouting nearby. They could hear the pod powering up. They were coming. There was nothing she could do about it. She had to get off the pod now, and she had no time for subtlety. The pod was sealing itself, the pilot's console sliding back into place. Once it reached its destination, she would be sealed in. She had to beat it! She just rushed forward, the mechanical voice continuing the countdown behind her.

"Four. Three. Two."

There were two troopers waiting for her at the entrance. To her relief, they didn't shoot at her, at least not immediately. They certainly saw her coming. Their weapons were raised, watching her as she attempted to escape. She couldn't get out of the way, she had no room to maneuver. She simply leapt forward, just getting clear of the pod before the doors sealed behind her, narrowly evading her tail getting caught. One of the troopers reached for her as she was coming toward them, the other one kept his rifle up. She couldn't see either of their faces, they were wearing helmets with visors that currently covered them, making them appear as two faceless soldiers.

"One. Launch."

No sooner was that last word uttered by the machine than the ship fired its engines. It blasted the soldiers backwards, knocking them off their feet and propelling Fara away with them. She narrowly had evaded their grasp. Even as she was launched with them, she scrambled to get to her feet, trying to find a grip so that she could get away. One of the soldiers tried to grab her, to prevent her from escaping, but she just managed to slip from his grasp.

She heard another voice shouting, one of the other soldiers in the room. "Shoot her! Shoot her!"

By now, the pod had cleared the ship, leaving a gaping hole in the hull. In that moment, Fara felt herself thrown to the ground, slamming her head against the hard floor as she was jerked backwards. The pod had left a hole in the ship, and she was getting sucked through it. She was going to be launched into space!

Mere moments before that might have been her fate, an emergency force field activated over the hole. Instead of getting sucked out, Fara found herself rolling and bouncing hard along the floor until she slammed into the side of the wall with bone jarring force, causing her to whimper in pain. A flood of agony welled up within her body. She had been really banged up. She might have broken something. Or several somethings.

It took a while, but eventually she managed to find the strength she needed in order to stand. When she did at last rise to her feet, she had those same two troopers standing over her. This time, there was no getting away from them. They had her trapped against the wall. This was it. They were going to shoot her and that would be the end of it. Her eyes twitched as she looked back and forth, scanning the room and trying to come up with a way to escape this situation, to come up with a plan. Nothing came. There were several heavily armed soldiers aiming at her, and there was nothing she could do to get away. She had a laser pistol that likely wouldn't pierce their armor. Even if they didn't shoot her as she drew it, what damage could she do? If by some extraordinary good fortune she managed to kill one with an impossibly well placed shot, the others would blast her in that same moment. Her weapon was useless here.

Two of them were drawing close to her, guns at the ready. One of the two closest to her leveled his rifle at the vixen, lining up what she assumed would be a headshot. She didn't turn away. She didn't close her eyes. She just stared back at him, waiting for him to pull the trigger.

---

"Sir!"

Captain Kamille turned toward the ensign that was shouting at the far end of the bridge. "One of the pods just launched from the Von Dross!"

"What?" Kamille rose to his feet, immediately alarmed. "You are certain it was one of ours? It was not just some escape pod jettisoned from the ship?"

The ensign shook his head. "No sir! It was one of ours, pod 7. It has been jettisoned from its breaching point and is now drifting through space."

"Who authorized it?" Kamille demanded. He had planned for and anticipated many things that might happen after the invasion of the Von Dross began. This was not one of them. "Was the system compromised? Was it hacked somehow?"

"I don't know, I-" The ensign studied the data, then turned to Kamille. "Sir, it would appear an old access code was used and accepted. The primary navigation system was completely overridden. We can not verify authorization"

"How in blazes did someone get one of our codes?" Kamille clenched his fists, hissing through his teeth as his anger momentarily got the better of him. He didn't know what this meant. Did they have a leak? Was there a traitor aboard? Had the other party acquired this information through some other means?

He approached the console, and the ensign simply got out of his way. Kamille studied the code used. It was indeed an old access code, issued some months ago. It was an incredible breach of security that their pods had such a vulnerability in them. An oddly specific one, at that. This troubled him. It troubled him greatly. He would uncover this mystery and deal with it as he saw fit.

"Destination?" Kamille demanded.

"Unknown. It is not coming towards us, and we cannot currently determine its final destination."

"Who is on board?"

"Uhh..." The ensign cleared his throat, looking at his computer console screen before looking at his commanding officer. "It would seem...no one."

Kamille raised an eyebrow. "They jettisoned an empty pod?"

"Yes sir. We are reading no life signs aboard. It is simply hurtling through space, away from both us and the Von Dross to an unknown destination."

"Can we intercept?"

The ensign nodded. "Yes sir, however due to its speed, we would need to break orbit with the Von Dross in order to do so."

The captain found himself in a rather unpleasant position. His first instinct was to either destroy the pod or capture it. Yet to do either of those things, he would have to reposition the Bulwark. This appeared to him like a tactical choice that someone on the Von Dross was making to get the Bulwark to veer off course. Were he to follow the pod and recapture or destroy it, it could leave a narrow opportunity for someone or something to get off that ship without the Dominion being able to stop them.

That was not acceptable. The risk was simply too great. There was only one way to know what that pod was for, and only one recourse that he believed acceptable. He turned to another crewman. "Ensign, get in contact with our team immediately. I want them onscreen now!?"

"Yes sir!" The communications officer turned to his console and pressed a rapid sequence of buttons in order to reestablish the channel of communication between the Bulwark and the boarding party. It was the junior lieutenant who answered him, as he expected. Ginger.

"What's going over there?" Kamille crossed his arms and stared hard at the screen. She seemed alive and well, though a bit rattled. He wasn't entirely certain whether he was pleased to see them alive or not. While their survival was important, their competence was equally so. While he was most always in control of his emotions and he never allowed them to influence or interfere with his judgment or decisions, it was barely contained now. Someone or something had just breached their security. Already things were going wrong. That had to stop. Now.

Her answer was quick, though somewhat meek. She appeared as though she were embarrassed. "S-sorry sir! Someone...someone snuck through our perimeter and activated the pod somehow, I don't know how. We're just about to execute-"

"Do not shoot them." Captain Kamille gave her a direct command. "Do not dare shoot them. What they just did should be impossible, and we need to know who they are and what their purpose is. Do you understand me? Do NOT shoot, or your own lives will be forfeit."

That certainly got a reaction out of her, as she turned around and started yelling at the others. "Don't shoot her! Don't shoot, we need her!"

Kamille could not see the others react to her voice, but he knew how it had turned out. In part because they were trained to follow the orders of their immediate superior, and in part due to her own reaction. She seemed to calm down after a few moments, likely after she had ensured that their prisoner was not about to be executed. After taking a few shaky breaths, the recently promoted junior lieutenant looked up at Kamille, or at least the hologram that appeared before her. "Okay. She's a bit beaten up, but she's alive. Your orders?"

Kamille closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. For a brief moment, he had allowed uncertainty to creep into him. Doubt was a poison that seeped into the mind if it was allowed, soon spreading to every corner of the body and soul until the mind was riddled with it. Though this had been an unwelcome surprise, they were still in control. He was confident they could make this saboteur, whoever she was, give up her secrets. "Interrogate her. You are authorized to use whatever means you deem necessary to extract information from her. Then load her into one of the pods and send her back here with two guards. We will deal with her."

"Yes sir." The lieutenant nodded. "We'll do that right away!"

"Good. Find out what you can now." Kamille signaled the technician to end the transmission, and it was done. The lieutenant faded from view. All was silent once more, save for the men and women working at their stations.

Kamille sank down into his chair, closing his eyes and rubbing at his forehead. He would never let the crew know of the uncertainty that had grown and festered within him. With every passing moment, things became more difficult, in part due to the situation they found themselves in, and in part due to the orders regarding that situation. Keeping the enemy at bay rather than destroying them. Infiltrating with a small team as opposed to a large-scale assault. Pressure to move as quickly as possible. The strain was growing. He had to carry out his orders, he had no intention of doing otherwise. Yet, despite his best efforts, he was beginning to contemplate the many ways their mission could fail. Things could unravel so very easily. Was it already beginning? He did not know.

Perhaps this was nothing. Perhaps it was an isolated incident, nothing to be concerned over. Until he had some answers, he would not rest easy. He would consider this as a serious security threat to be treated with utmost gravity and urgency.

A thought occurred to him then. It would be prudent to check on the other squadrons, and he soon approached the technician himself, standing behind him before issuing his next order. "Get me in touch with the other teams."

"Yes sir." He hit a few buttons, beginning another transmission to the junior lieutenant. She did not appear this time, as he was not talking to her, but rather using her own transmitter to contact the others. Before long, he had contact with the different teams. When he was certain they could hear him, he spoke. "This is Captain Kamille. I want status updates on all teams immediately."

There was only a slight delay before they started sounding off, one after the other.

"Alpha squadron, no trouble. Took out a few more hostiles. Charged us, but we sustained no casualties. Proceeding with mission objective."

"Beta squad, all quiet here. We're nearing the science lab on deck 2, no sightings."

"Delta squad, three more confirmed kills. Armed and returning fire. No casualties, no wounded."

"Gamma squad here. It's quiet. Real quiet."

Nothing to be alarmed about thus far. Kamille closed his eyes, a rumbling sigh escaping his lips. He was not prone to worry. Yet this was a situation that merited no small amount of concern. "Lieutenant Commander, your status?"

"Sir, some kind of alarm got tripped and we're regrouping. If they didn't know where we were before, they know now. We've dealt with a few more hostiles, but nothing serious. It almost feels like they don't consider us much of a threat."

"Understood. Do whatever you deem is necessary. All squadrons, proceed to objectives as quickly as possible. Double time."

"Yes sir!" A number of voices rang out through the comm system. He knew he could count on them. With the exception of Noellap's team tripping the alarm, the others were all proceeding quite smoothly. The captain did not blame his subordinate for whatever happened there. He was a fine officer, and he was certain that whatever happened had likely been beyond his control. There were too many unknowns on that ship, which itself was far too big. They could all be grateful that things had gone as well as they had thus far.

One thought remained clear in his mind above all others. Whoever had tampered with the pod needed to be questioned as soon as possible. He would send another communication to Junior Lieutenant Ginger. He would simply have the saboteur transported here, then begin the interrogation. They would make her talk. He was confident of that. He turned to address the technician again. "Get me in touch with the junior lieutenant immediately."

"Yes sir."

Soon he would have his answers. The interloper would be dealt with.

---

"Lieutenant, I need a report."

The voice crackled over the comm system. Fara looked up, taking note of someone who appeared to be in an officer's uniform, adorned with some light armor. The other woman, the technician that Fara had seen on entering the room earlier, appeared to be a rodent-girl of some kind. She was watching Fara, studying her intently before turning to her console. She had been the one to stop the soldiers from shooting her. Fara was certain she was about to die. Then the woman ordered the men to stand down. Now she seemed to be in contact with someone else. "L-lieutenant? We've captured what I believe to be a member of the crew. She jettisoned one of the pods."

There was a short silence from the other end before a response came. It sounded like the same person who she had heard giving orders while she was hiding under the bar. "Is she secured?"

"Yes sir, she's not going anywhere. The captain wanted us to interrogate her first, then send her to the Bulwark."

"Very well. Find out what she knows. Then contact me. I want to know what's going on here, and why-"

The voice abruptly cut off. The rat girl frowned, then adjusted her instruments. "Sir? I didn't catch that last part. Please repeat."

There was nothing but static on the other end.

"Sir! Please repeat! Are you reading me?"

Nothing.

Fara wasn't sure what to make of this. Neither was the other woman. She stared at the communications unit, her eyebrows furrowed, then turned her attention to Fara. The rat-girl studied the vixen for a moment before speaking. "Why did you tamper with that pod?"

The vixen remained silent. In part because she had no desire to cooperate, and in part because she didn't know the answer to that herself, not really. At last she did choose to give a response. It was more or less honest. "Because I was told to."

"Who told you?" The other woman asked, approaching Fara. The other two soldiers held her at gunpoint, ensuring that she didn't try anything. She wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to go. Even if she somehow evaded these two, there were at least two more soldiers in the room, not counting the pilots. There would be no way she'd get out of here in one piece if she tried to run. "How did you even manage to launch it? There's no way to do that without access codes."

Fara gave no answer.

The woman opened her mouth to say something else, but there was a loud, rapid beeping noise emitting from the communication equipment. The woman blinked before turning around, hitting a button that caused a holographic image to display. Fara found herself staring at a projected image of a person she had never met or even seen before, at least not before today. He was some kind of lizard, tall and imposing. He had his arms folded across his chest, and he was wearing a helmet that had a large letter "A" emblazoned on the top. He had a commanding presence. Just looking at him, even through the holographic display, she knew he was the one in charge.

"Your orders have changed. You are to send her on a pod immediately. No delays."

"Yes sir." The rat-girl quickly saluted her superior officer before continuing. "I'll tell the pilots immediately and-"

A loud roar echoed throughout the room. It sounded as though it were from some great primal beast. Fara had only once heard a sound anything like this before, and that was in a short vacation she had taken to Sauria. There amid the dense jungles and lush rivers, she had heard a mighty roar of some distant creature, a massive being that some called a "Sharp-Tooth." She had never heard something more intimidating in all her life. It came from some distance away, but it felt like the ground rattled from the sheer force of it.

This was no different, save for one small detail. Whatever had roared was much, much closer than what had made that sound back in Sauria.

"What the heck was that?" One of the troopers asked.

"Report, Lieutenant." The holographic image demanded.

The woman gulped, then looked around anxiously. All of them looked nervous, on edge. The sound was so loud, so clear. Fara herself was not sure where exactly it had come from. "Sir, I...I think there's something..."

BANG!

Fara jumped as one of the massive doors that led out of the hallway suddenly bulged out, as though struck from great force from the other side. There was a brief pause, then it happened again, a loud crash as something slammed into the door, bending it even further. The troopers readied their weapons, taking aim at the door. For the moment, Fara seemed to be forgotten. Before she could scramble away, one of them, the one nearest to her, took aim and shook his head. "Don't even think about it."

"Lieutenant! What's going on over there? Report!"

"Sir, someone's trying to break-"

Another crash echoed throughout the room, only this time accompanied by a loud metallic groan as the door caved in, falling forward and revealing what was on the other side.

Fara immediately recognized it. She hadn't caught much more than a glimpse before, but she could still tell. This was what had been sleeping in the ball court. The thing she had almost tripped on. It was HUGE! It was a massive, monstrous thing, made of nothing but thick pulsing muscles, savage looking claws, and wicked teeth. It had no fur, no flesh. It looked as though a giant creature had been skinned, and that creature was now walking and very, very angry. It stood on two legs, towering over everyone else in the room by at least a good two feet. It wore something that vaguely resembled a uniform, but now it looked like little more than torn and bloody rags.

"OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE!" One of the soldiers shouted, his voice immediately drowned out by a hail of gunfire. All four of the soldiers started shooting at the thing. Fara recognized their weapons. They were state of the art blaster rifles, the most refined and lethal of any military rifle. Powerful laser bolts pierced the air between the soldiers and the creature, filling it full of holes. Nothing could possibly survive this level of punishment.

But survive it did. It shrugged off the blaster fire as if it were nothing. It focused on the soldier nearest, then charged. One of them had been positioned near the door before it started banging on it, and he hadn't retreated to the rest of the group. That would prove to be his last mistake. To her horror, she saw the creature rear its arm back, then deliver a vicious slash. Only now did she see the spikes extending from its hands, some of the fingers having fused together and elongated to create dreadful and wicked looking blades. The soldier was wearing top of the line military grade armor, capable of stopping a direct hit from a blaster. Even the sharpest knife would struggle to cut through. This creature sliced through him like his armor was made of butter. He screamed as it cut halfway through his body, not going all the way through because the claw got stuck on the far side of his armor. He had been torn in half and the creature's claw was buried inside him. Screaming in agony and terror, the soldier flailed wildly as the creature lifted him up before it flung him violently at the nearby wall. Even from where Fara was, she could hear the crack of his bones as they snapped against the metal wall. She wasn't sure if he was dead or not, but he sure as heck wasn't getting back up.

Everything fell apart fast after that. One of the soldiers, one of the two that had apprehended Fara, advanced toward the creature, blasting it while yelling. "Bring it, you freak!" He just kept shooting the thing, sending so many blaster bolts into its muscled body. It didn't even flinch. It charged toward him, roaring. As it moved, the very floor seemed to rumble in response. The soldier yelled, continuing to fire. It didn't bother slashing him. It simply bowled into him like a living battering ram, sending him rolling away.

The soldier that had been guarding Fara had fled by now. He had joined the rat girl in the center of the room, providing her with cover. They seemed to be retreating, toward the far door on the other side of the room. The monster turned toward Fara, regarding her while growling. She had no way of fighting back. It took a step toward her.

One of the other marines started shooting, the one that had been knocked backward. Roaring, the thing turned its attention to the shooter, once again moving with surprising speed as it rushed toward him. This was Fara's chance. She had to get out of here, now!

She scrambled away from the monster and its prey, hearing him yell as the thing slammed into him again. As she tried to get to her feet, she turned to look at what the thing was doing to the poor soldier. It had lifted him up before turning him sideways. One of its arms grabbed his head, the other grabbed his waist. At first, it didn't seem to be doing anything. Then she heard the man scream. She heard a sickening crunch, followed by the sound of flesh stretching and ripping. Before her eyes, she saw the man's body get torn in half. The screaming stopped after that. The creature roared again before throwing the two halves to the side, blood and gore gushing from what had once been a living thing. The face and paws twitched a few times, but nothing more

"I'm getting out of here!" One of the pilots yelled, rushing for one of the breacher pods. That seemed to get the creature's attention, as it immediately turned towards the voice and followed it. It charged in that direction, crushing the communication equipment as it ran, sparks showering from it as it crashed through.

Fara wasn't sure what happened next, as she was still scrambling away. She was running at full speed now. All she knew was that screams began to fill the air. She had no idea what happened to them. Maybe some escaped in the pods. Maybe some panicked and ran to other parts of the ship.

Maybe they were all dead.

She didn't know where she was going. Even though she knew this ship so well, in this moment all she could think about was getting away from that horrible thing, to put as much distance as she could between herself and it. Reason was gone, plans were gone. She just ran, gasping for breath, her legs burning as she ran faster and harder than she ever had in her life.

She heard more screams fading behind her. They soon gave way to only the sound of her rapidly beating hard and the heavy footfalls she made as she fled for her life.

---

"Report! Report, lieutenant!"

Everything had happened so fast. There were gunshots, the roar of the creature as it charged. Their security footage only got a glimpse of the thing, but it was enough. It was some kind of monster, nothing less. Two of the soldiers were displaying flatlines on the screens that were monitoring them. Two deaths in less than a minute. Contact was being disrupted. "Get them back online. Now." He gave the order to the technician.

"I'm trying sir, the signal is badly damaged, I'm having trouble getting through to anyone!"

Kamille went to say something else, but he was interrupted. Voices echoed over the communication system. Every single person on the bridge stopped what they were doing as they heard the sounds coming through. Horrible sounds. Screams, frantic orders, accompanied by absolute chaos.

"Requesting backup, they're overwhelming our position! This is Alpha Squad, we're being over-"

"Delta squadron, huge wave of hostiles, they're using grenade launchers, I've lost a man already, we cannot-

"Beta Squadron! Lots of robots! Counting two advanced security mechs! We can't hold them, requesting immediate assistance!"

There was no report from Gamma Squadron. As Kamille studied the monitor, he realized that they were all gone. Every single one had flatlined. Whatever killed them had done so fast. None of them could hear him, no matter what he tried. Their yells and screams and frantic orders could be heard over the comm system as the situation deteriorated. The technician was working furiously to fix the problem, but there was nothing he could do.

Kamille could only listen as the chaos continued, the sound of roars, screams, gunfire, and other noise echoing through the Bulwark's bridge. It all ended with static, leaving them blind and deaf to what was going on over there. It did not necessarily mean the teams were dead, though they were most certainly in dire straits. Rather, it meant that the link they had established with the vessel had failed. Now there was nothing. He had lost multiple squadrons, including his second in command, a trusted officer.

He could not allow himself to be weighed down by such matters in this moment. Noellap was intelligent and resourceful. Kamille was confident that if there was any possible way to survive, the lieutenant commander would find it.

The captain did not wish to abandon the men to their fates. He certainly could not reposition the Bulwark now. It was more important than ever that they remain where they were, ready to act on a moment's notice. He could not afford to simply send another squadron that might get overwhelmed as soon as they landed. He would have to be patient, to wait. If anyone was alive, they would attempt to make contact with the Bulwark.

"Sir! The pod has just exited our weapons range."

Kamille blinked, realizing that in all the chaos, he had neglected to properly consider what to do about the pod. He looked up at the bridge crewman who had brought this to his attention. His fears, his doubts, all the concern he had in this moment had to be pushed down as he focused on the immediate situation. The rest of the crew, though deeply concerned, had resumed their duties. They were professionals, and though they had undoubtedly been rattled by what they had just heard, they had full faith in their captain and their cause. Kamille would find a way to turn the situation around.

When he reached the crewman's station, he studied the screen. The pod was indeed out of firing range. It was moving rather fast, and it seemed to simply have been launched in a random direction. Under any other circumstances, he would either destroy it or capture it. It was not that simple this time. He could not afford to reposition. There was no telling what the enemy was planning to do now that they had overwhelmed the Dominion's initial strike force. The timing of it all was a little too remarkable to be dismissed as mere coincidence. The launch of the pod, the capture of the unknown saboteur, and then the assault. Perhaps it was simply bad luck. Kamille did not make decisions based on luck. Until proven otherwise, he would have operate under the assumption that something larger was taking place on that ship.

He turned toward two of the troops on the bridge. "Get the men ready. Prepare several squads, but we are not moving in until we have heard from someone aboard. I will not have more men be taken off guard by the enemy aboard that ship."

"Yes sir." One of the guards saluted before ducking into the elevator, disappearing from sight as it descended.

Kamille reached up and massaged his forehead. This was precisely what he feared would happen. They had acted before they were truly ready, but they had also acted on orders. He knew that the decision to act early could have catastrophic consequences. That was precisely what they now faced. Kamille would not give up, however. He would not abandon his task. It was time to approach this in a different manner.

The enemy aboard that vessel was more cunning and powerful than Kamille had given them credit for. He would not make that mistake twice. Besides, though he could not hear them or speak to them, a number of those troops were still alive. Their vitals were still coming through. If they survived long enough, perhaps they would provide some useful information for the Bulwark.

What they did not know, what none of them could possibly know, is that even now, things were proceeding within established parameters. Even Noellap had been unaware of the true extent of their orders. Sacrifice one pawn to relieve pressure on another. While he had certainly hoped things would go better than this, Kamille had been warned by the Great Commander of this possibility. Kamille still believed that his men, the best of those sent, would make it back alive. Whether they did or did not, it would not compromise their mission. They still had an agent aboard. If nothing else, the Dominion's assault may at least have proven a distraction for the entity that had taken control of the ship.

Now it was time to see how to best deal with the Von Dross and its new management. They must prepare for the inevitable engagement. There was a possibility that the mission could fail. Were that to be the case, his orders were clear.

If they could not acquire what they sought here, then they would ensure that no one else would either. By any means necessary.

He turned to one of the men at their station, a pale thin simian who was awaiting his orders. "I want the weapon charged. Bring it online."

"Yes sir." He affirmed, asking no questions. He simply did as he was told, beginning the process of bringing their primary weapon systems to full power. He hoped he would not have to use it. At this point, however, he needed to prepare for all possibilities.

He turned to one of the other crew members, a white furred cat that was on the scanner, taking over for Ginger. "Scan the Von Dross. I want to know precisely where to concentrate our fire, points that may cause the most extensive damage as well as other points that may not. I need to know where that parasitic growth is concentrated, I need to know how extensively the ship is compromised, the status of their weaponry, and I need to know now. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." She nodded her head. "I'm on it."

It was regrettable. He had very much hoped that his men would be able to handle whatever was going on over there. As it stood, he was not certain whether they would return alive or not. He hoped for their success, but he prepared himself for whatever outcome that may yet be.

There was another matter to be handled. As he returned to his seat, he pressed one of the panels to his right, on the armrest of the chair. A light blinked on and off for a moment, then someone spoke from elsewhere on the ship. "Your orders, captain?"

"Inform the pilots that a stray pod has escaped the Von Dross. Send two interceptors to retrieve it immediately. Do not bring it on board. I want scans run first. Is that clear?"

"Aye sir. We will prepare the ships now."

"Very good." With that, he pressed another button to end the transmission, closing his eyes as he reflected upon all that had happened. He hoped that he would hear from Noellap soon, that he had somehow survived that ambush. Better still would be the news that he had secured his objective. He rubbed his head a little more, hissing at the sharp pain now emanating from his forehead. He did not relish the thought of sacrificing such a promising officer. He would do everything he could to avert this. He still believed in the men and women that he had sent aboard the compromised vessel.

But if all else should fail, if he should have no choice but to destroy the Von Dross and everything aboard...

Then he would ensure their sacrifices were honored.