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.

22. Chapter 21 - Sidetracked

Fara found herself crouched down, hiding once more from the monstrous things that had infested this vessel. This time was worse than usual. Sure, Fara had faced these things right from the beginning, right when the Von Dross had fallen into absolute chaos. Even as bad as that was, even as the Many grew more powerful and bound more and more of the crew to their will, it had never been quite like this.

The place was crawling with them now. Dozens at least in her location alone! They seemed to be everywhere. No matter where she went, they were there waiting. She'd already experienced several close calls. Each time she had almost been seen, she managed to slip away, hiding until those things passed by. They weren't particularly adept at searching for her, though that was in part because they may not have known she was there. They seemed to detect things that didn't belong, as some had remarked on sensing "discord" whenever she got too close. Whatever it was they sensed, it didn't seem to give them the precise location of where she was. They simply seemed to know that someone or something was nearby that shouldn't be. Even though they might not know precisely where she was, she was still surprised that they hadn't managed to catch her. Maybe her success was owed to what she had learned about staying alive since all this began.

It occurred to her that they might not just be looking for her, either. The Dominion was still here, or at least some of them were. While the Many were winning the battle, she knew how well equipped the Dominion had been, she had seen their weaponry first hand. There had to be some left elsewhere, and any survivors would likely be putting up quite the fight.

There was also that monstrosity that had torn through the Dominion troops that had nearly captured her. She didn't know what that thing was, she had never seen anything like it before. She hoped that she never would again. The thing was terrifying, and the strength it possessed was unreal. The thought that she had almost tripped over the thing back in the gymnasium made her shiver. If she had woken it up, there was no doubt in her mind that she would not be standing here now. It would have likely done to her what it had done to that poor Dominion soldier that got ripped in half. While she was hardly sympathetic to the Venom Dominion and what they were doing here, she also didn't believe that even they deserved so terrible a fate.

Her ears were perked up, listening from where she hid, a makeshift barricade that had been placed in the middle of the hallway some time ago. There were a couple of hybrids in front of her, on the other side of the barricade. They weren't looking at her. They were just wandering around, their weapons drawn. They were looking for trouble, and she knew it. It would be best to avoid them for now if she could.

She waited for them to depart, hoping that they wouldn't notice her, hoping they wouldn't linger around too long. She looked down at the laser pistol she was holding. It was a powerful enough weapon in its own right, certainly enough to handle any standard foe. These infected creatures were far from standard. They were remarkably resilient. What was more, for whatever reason, they seemed resistant to traditional energy based weaponry. Those worked great against robots, security turrets, and so on, anything mechanical. They worked fine on any foe she had encountered before the Von Dross. Not so here. It would kill them if she fired enough times, but it was almost as though they had a natural protective layer on them, something that shielded them to some degree from such weapons.

She could use her pistol. She was good enough, she could probably take down both of those things without them managing to hit her. Even if she did, the commotion would undoubtedly cause trouble. She wasn't sure precisely why the Many was so focused on this deck. Maybe they were trying to prevent any other Dominion ships from landing, perhaps trying to keep the area secure. All she knew was that it had been a slow, painful slog to get from one end of the deck to the other. No matter where she went, there were a few hybrids waiting for her, or perhaps more accurately, waiting for any potential enemies.

She took a deep breath, tightening her grip on her weapon. She couldn't sit in one place for too long, she'd have to risk it. She had to get to moving. She would need to get back in contact with SAI-TEP or Fox soon. She peeked over her cover again, trying to see what the enemy was up to.

Curiously, the hybrids seemed to both be staring at something, something that wasn't Fara. They seemed agitated. Without saying a word, they both hurried off in a different direction from her.

Fara didn't come out right away. She had to make sure they were really leaving, not just checking something out a few feet away before coming back. As she listened to their footfalls fade into the distance, it seemed apparent that they weren't going to return.

Just as she decided it was time to move, her ears flitted upward, reacting to a distant noise. She heard gunfire. There was a series of short repeated bursts from a weapon she didn't recognize. She also could hear the distant boom of a shotgun. Someone was fighting elsewhere on the deck. That must be what had drawn the two hybrids away from her. She didn't know who was fighting, but she didn't think it would be Fox, he had no reason to be on this deck.

She needed to take advantage of the opportunity she now had. She'd have to move forward. She needed to get off this deck. She didn't know where she would go precisely, but anywhere would be better than here. She had accomplished what she had been sent here to do, there was no reason to linger.

She crept forward, listening for even the slightest indication that trouble might be coming her way. Aside from the distant gunshots, which had now grown silent, she heard nothing else.

Time to go.

She started forward, creeping silently down the empty hallway, on full alert as she went. She was careful not to make a sound, not to move too quickly. She checked her corners whenever she came to a turn or intersection, always making sure it was clear before proceeding on.

She knew where she was. She was in the eastern sector of Deck 5. There was an elevator around here that would take her wherever she needed to go. She still hadn't decided on what that location would be, but she'd figure that out when she got there.

A loud burst of static made her jump, eyes wide as she frantically looked from left to right for the source of the noise that startled her. There was no one around, she was still alone. She only calmed when she realized the sound was coming from her, or more specifically, her PDA. Someone was trying to send a signal of some kind. She wasn't sure if it was directed toward her or not, but there was definitely a message being broadcast.

Taking a look around, Fara ducked into a small dark room to hide for a bit. It was a gaming room, filled with all sorts of activities to enjoy. There were a couple of pool tables set up in the middle of the room, old fashioned and genuine. Despite the technological marvels of the future, many still preferred the satisfaction of playing a good game on a real table with real balls. It had been quite a popular activity back when things were more normal on this ship. She'd even played a couple rounds with Raphael. There were also a number of electronic games lining up the walls, including some virtual reality sets. Some of the screens were still lit up, a couple of demos playing on them, demonstrating the game to entice any viewers to try their paw at it. There was no sound though, which made the room feel more than a bit ominous to the vixen.

Ducking down behind one of the pool tables, she raised her PDA, fiddling with it and adjusting the frequency. It had been difficult to send messages as the Many had gained control of the ship. DARIUS had been turned against the crew, and very few messages managed to get past him, he interfered and jammed almost every signal sent.

Someone was managing to send a message even so. She didn't know how. She had noticed that DARIUS had been uncustomarily silent for some time now, though there could be any number of reasons for that. Still, it did give her hope. Maybe something was wrong with him. Better yet, maybe his hold was weakening. More specifically, maybe the Many's hold on the ship through DARIUS was weakening. That would be a nice change.

As she continued to fiddle with her PDA, altering the frequencies detected and received, she finally managed to get a clear message to come through. It came from a most familiar voice, and the tone and urgency in it made her heart feel as though it had leapt in her throat. The speaker sounded hurt and was wheezing for breath, coughing in between choked, strained words. He sounded in a bad way, like he had been severely injured.

She knew exactly who it was. Lieutenant Dreyfus.

"...ken down. I've lost...my squad. They were...slaughtered. On Deck 4. Security headquarters. I'm holed up nearby. Communications. I don't have long left. But...hope does not die here. To anyone who can hear this...DARIUS has been compromised. Someone has...someone has beaten him. The Many have killed me...they're killed my team. But somehow...some are still fighting back. We have...hope. Resist. Resist. Everyone who hears this. Every member of this crew that still has their sanity...resist! Fight! Fight with all you have! This is...this is bigger than us! This is bigger than this ship! Bigger than my life, your lives! Resist! We will not let them...we will not let them take...Corneria! Resist!"

He emitted a grunt, and the transmission was terminated.

Fara hadn't known where she was going to before. She knew now. There was no question in her mind. She had more respect and admiration for Dreyfus than for anyone else on this ship. He was loyal, determined, principled, and unyielding. He commended and rewarded those who displayed integrity and ability. In truth, he had reminded her a bit of her father, who she had lost years ago. While she didn't exactly see him as a replacement or even a father figure in general, he was a firm but fair soldier who had been very courteous to Fara, and had encouraged her when she needed it. She had to find him.

She came out from behind the pool table, staying crouched as she moved forward. She checked the halls again, but saw nothing to alarm her. She seemed to be in the clear, at least for the moment.

This time, as she made her ways down the halls of Deck 5, she moved a little faster than before, her pace quickened with worry and concern for Dreyfus. He sounded as though he were in a bad way, and she needed to reach him fast.

The path to the nearest elevator seemed almost unguarded. Something had drawn the Many away from their current position, though she had no idea what. Maybe she'd find out later, but for now it just didn't matter. It was far more important that she get to Deck 4 before it was too late.

She did stop short as she rounded the next corner, finding herself in a hallway that seemed to have been home to a particularly bloody battle. There were corpses strewn everywhere. Most of them belonged to the hybrids, now lying still on the ground. The rest of the corpses belonged to the Dominion. There were three of them. She could tell who they were by the rather distinctive armor that they wore, complete with an insignia that seemed to proclaim the presence of the Dominion. They all had helmets on, so she couldn't see their faces. Based on their tails and what little was visible of their bodies, they appeared to all be lizards, likely the reptilian natives of Venom itself. They had not gone down without a fight. They must have taken out a dozen or so of the Many's forces just in this spot alone, but ultimately they had been overwhelmed. Fara found herself saddened by the sight. She didn't like the Dominion very much, but their presence was infinitely preferable to that of the Many.

She could not linger here. She picked her way through the bodies, doing her best not to disturb any of them. She did stop for a moment when she passed by one of the Dominion soldiers, slumped with his back against the wall. She noticed the communicator still attached to his head. It was likely that he had been tied in with the rest of the Dominion forces on the ship, assuming there were any left. She knelt down to examine the thing, but she quickly discovered that it was broken. It was useless now.

Well, almost useless. The thing was currently tuned into a very specific frequency. While the communicator wasn't receiving any signals and could not transmit, it was still tuned to whatever they had been listening to last. She lifted the headset off, examining it for the proper code. When she found it, she punched in the numbers into her PDA. She assumed that it was the channel in which the Dominion forces had been communicating prior, but she didn't know that for sure. Perhaps she could make use of this later. She saw nothing else of interest, so she continued on her way.

It didn't take her long to arrive at the elevator. Once again she found herself grateful that she knew the ship as well as she did. She didn't even have to consult her map during all of this, she simply knew where to go and how to get there. Now to get to Deck 4 and find the lieutenant.

Just as she was about to reach the elevator, she stopped short as she heard a bone chilling roar. It had been close. Very close. Fara slowly turned around, careful not to make any sudden movements, taking a step back towards the elevator and slowly reaching for the call button, pressing her finger against it. It was on its way, no lockdown or anything like that to bypass.

She wasn't paying any attention to the elevator, though. Instead, she was just looking in the direction she thought the roar had come from. She couldn't see anything yet. The corridors curved and twisted, and whatever had roared was somewhere beyond those turns.

The floor seemed to rumble after a few moments, causing her to look down with wide eyes as loud, heavy stomps approached. Her worst fears had just been realized.

The monster was back.

Even as she looked up, she saw the massive thing emerge from around the corner at the far end of the hallway. She didn't know if it was the same one as before or not. It certainly looked the same, a massive creature with a triangular mouth, razor sharp teeth, huge claws, and rippling with raw muscle. It was much, much bigger than Fara. It seemed like its head could strike the roof of the deck as it moved! It paused only for a moment, looking in her direction before throwing its head back and letting loose a deafening roar, the sound making Fara wince. She grit her teeth and covered her ears, feeling like her ear drums were going to shatter from the sheer volume of it all! The roar soon ceased, and the creature charged!

Fara had less than a moment to decide what to do. Fighting was not an option. She'd get killed if she tried to fight the thing. She'd have to either retreat or try to get in the elevator, hoping the doors would close before it could catch her. She knew what it would do if it got its claws on her.

Her decision was made in the very same instant as the elevator dinged, announcing its arrival. Fara took that moment to dart inside, slamming her fist against the button that would lead her to Deck 4. She heard the creature snarling as the doors shut, she even caught a glimpse of it just before the doors closed. Luckily, they shut before the thing could get at her. She'd made it! Another close call.

She yelped as something crashed against the elevator, causing the door to bend and contort as something heavy slammed into it. The creature must have rammed the door. The metal groaned, bent and twisted from the sheer force of what had just struck it. The lights flickered on and off. Fara stared at the lights, praying that they would remain on, that they would soon be on their way.

Her hopes were dashed when the door was pounded again, bulging inward, even giving a little crack that allowed her sight of the terrible creature on the other side. A warning light flickered on the elevator panel, warning her that the lift was no longer operational. The thing pounded on the door again, roaring as it tried to get inside, slamming against the door before trying to pry it apart with its arms. She was trapped!

Fara had to think fast. When it opened those doors, she was dead. She could shoot it through the crack in the door, but she knew she wouldn't be able to kill it in time. She might have had a chance if she had something stronger, like a shotgun or a high powered rifle. She did not. She had a pistol. Fighting was not an option. She couldn't just wait for the elevator to resume, it clearly wasn't going to at this point. In fact, as the creature tried to get inside, the elevator suddenly lurched downward, almost throwing Fara off balance. It was dipping down! That stupid monster was going to bring the elevator down!

What could she do?! She didn't seem to have any options! Her eyes frantically went from left to right, searching for something, anything, that might help her out of this!

Her eyes zeroed in on the little screen, showing that the elevator was damaged. It also displayed a picture of a hatch up above, and a safety reminder to only use it in an emergency.

If this didn't qualify as an emergency, she had no idea what did.

Looking up, she saw the hatch. It was in one corner of the elevator, thankfully on the opposite side from the door, making it a bit more difficult for the monster to reach her. The hatch was a fair bit higher than she was, and it was not going to be easy to reach. She needed to get the hatch open first. Normally, she might try to open it herself, to push it open in the way it was intended. She didn't have that kind of time. Raising her pistol, she took aim and fired again and again, peppering the hatch with laser fire. She got a lucky shot or two, eventually causing the thing to pop open, giving her access to the roof of the elevator.

She took a quick glance at the elevator door, the metal groaning as the monstrous creature of muscle and flesh pushed against it, straining against the door and slowly forcing it open. It was almost inside now, it could almost reach her with its massive hand.

Fara took a step back, took a deep breath, then rushed forward, leaping as high as she could into the air. She just managed to get her paws on one edge of the emergency hatch. She dangled there for a moment, struggling to maintain her grip. She heard the door groan again as the creature forced itself deeper inside the elevator, causing the whole structure to shudder and rock up and down. Using all of her might, Fara slowly pulled herself up, bringing her head up to the hatch before shifting her grip, pulling herself up through the emergency exit bit by bit. She felt something brush against her leg, which caused her to reflexively kick her legs up. It had tried to grab her!

The whole elevator suddenly shifted downward, almost making Fara lose her grip and tumble down. Luckily, she managed to keep her hold on the top of the elevator. The creature had forced its way inside! She managed to pull the rest of her body up before it could attack her, narrowly evading its grasp. Even as she managed to secure herself on the roof of the elevator, she was nearly hurled backward when the thing slammed its fist against the underside of the roof! It was still after her!

The elevator gave a little more, and she saw sparks fly from it as it lurched downward. It wouldn't take much more punishment. It groaned in protest as it was forced to take far more weight than it had been designed for, alongside a serious beating. It started to give again, dropping a few inches in a moment's notice, causing Fara to yelp in fear. She was barely holding onto the thing at this point. The elevator was going to fall, it was at the breaking point. If she was still on it when it fell, that would be the end for her. She didn't know just how far it would go, but she knew that the fall would be terminal.

She could hear the sound of metal shrieking as it started to shift downward again, the emergency brakes failing. Something started to snap, likely some of the metal that kept it upright and attached. The creature was still trying to get to her, slamming its fists against the top of the elevator, trying to dislodge her. The thing didn't show any degree of self preservation or intelligence. It seemed to have no idea that it was going to kill both of them if it kept it up. She heard another sound of metal snapping and giving way, and she knew she was out of time.

The elevator dipped again, and as it did so, it revealed a gap. Since the creature had forced its way inside and the elevator had lowered, she could crawl into the gap that was between the roof of the elevator and the floor of the deck she had just been on. It would be a tight fit, but she could make it.

She heard something crash beneath her, and she knew it was now or never. She quickly rolled to the side, squeezing in between that gap and falling heavily to the floor with a loud thump. She winced as she banged her hip, pain shooting through it as she hit it hard, but at least she was off the elevator.

Fara looked up just in time to see the creature still punching the roof hard in order to dislodge her. It seemed to sense after a moment that she wasn't there, and it turned toward her. Fara tried to get to her feet, struggling to rise with the pain that was still shooting through her body. She couldn't get away from the thing like this!

Roaring, it started to charge, extending its arms as it lumbered toward her. Before it could make it out of the elevator, the poor transportation unit finally gave way. It happened so fast that Fara could barely register it. One moment that monster was there, reaching for her as it moved forward, and the next the creature was gone.

Well, not entirely gone. Those massive clawed hands had been severed, completely sliced off when the elevator collapsed. They flopped and twitched on the ground a couple of times, then went still. Fara could hear the pained roar of the creature grow more and more distant as it plummeted down the shaft. She didn't hear the crash. It must have fallen too far to be heard. As far as she was concerned, that was a good thing. She hoped the monster would be flattened like a pancake when it hit the bottom of the shaft.

She couldn't believe she was still alive and in one piece. That thing had been terrifying, and her mind ran wild with all the gruesome possibilities of what would happen if it had managed to grab hold of her, if it had seized her leg with those monstrous arms, to slice through her body with those claws, or rip her in half like that poor soldier she had seen earlier. She knew she was safe now, that the thing was dead, but her heart still hammered so loud in her chest. Gradually her breathing calmed, and her mind began to clear. It had been another near-death experience, one of several she had since this mess started. While she was recovering from them a little faster, she would never be able to get used to being this close to death. It wasn't death that she feared though, at least not death alone. In this case, it was the horror that awaited her if she should fall, either to be ripped apart in a gruesome manner or corrupted by this "Many."

Fara remained where she was a few moments, just massaging her hip while clenching her teeth. The pain was getting worse. It cleared her head a little, making her focus on something other than the horror she had just experienced. As she rubbed her hip, she didn't think it was broken, just banged up. Under normal circumstances, a bit of rest would be all she would need to recover. These were no ordinary circumstances. She reached into a pouch strapped to her waist, withdrawing a small hypo before tugging her pants down just a bit, exposing her hip. The area she had hit was swollen and puffy. She had bumped it a little harder than she thought. Fortunately, a med hypo would suffice for an injury like this.

Placing the hypo in the center of the injury, she braced herself before jamming the needle in, hissing through clenched teeth as she injected herself with those healing enzymes. While the initial pain was terrible, it quickly faded and turned into a dull, distant throb. Looking down at the area, she could actually see the swelling go down. Within a matter of moments, the injury had been all but eliminated. She removed the hypo and dropped it on the floor, shifting from side to side as she tested herself, making sure the wound was sufficiently healed. She felt no pain, though her hip did tingle a little bit now. Satisfied, she readjusted her clothes so that she was fully covered again.

She wasn't using that elevator now, that was for sure. She'd have to find another way down.

Just before she left, she took another look at that creature's severed hands and claws. They were huge. They were the same claws she had seen slice through a soldier's armor and body. They weren't quite so intimidating when detached from the beast, though. She approached the claws, then kicked them both into the elevator shaft, peeking down as they banged against the walls before disappearing into the darkness below.

She drew some satisfaction from that act. She wasn't entirely sure why or where it stemmed from, but it was there nonetheless. She just hoped that the creature was the only one of its kind aboard. She didn't want to meet another one.

She withdrew her PDA, holding it in front of her face and interacting with the interface, making the map of the Von Dross appear. While she was confident that she knew the ship inside and out, she was a little rattled at the moment, and it would be wise to ensure that she was doing the right thing, going to the right place.

She traced her precise position on Deck 5 using her scanner. She'd need another elevator, and she did not want to run all over this deck trying to find one. The Many were here in force. She had just dealt with one of their rumbling brutes, she didn't want to deal with any more if she could help it.

Eventually she settled on her next destination. There was another lift not far from her position, it was only a quick walk away. She was grateful that there were a fair number of elevators on the ship. On a vessel of this size it was all but necessary. After all, with hundreds of people aboard, it was natural that many would want to travel to different decks at the same time. Still, the system the elevators used was complicated. Some of them reached almost all decks, being general purpose lifts that could take one anywhere. Others were a bit more specific, only allowing the person to go to certain decks from certain places. Of course, the crew knew where these all were, and it wasn't a ship open to the public. It was one of those details that made life aboard the Von Dross needlessly complex and confusing at times, not to mention finding the elevators themselves. Most of them were in relatively obvious places, but some were not. She had gotten lost so many times the first couple of weeks she had been here. Nothing about the ship's layout made sense to her, not at first.

By now, she understood it much better than when she had first arrived. It was a good thing too, as that knowledge had saved her life at this point, and she had little doubt that it would save her again.

Now that she know where she was going, Fara gave herself a look over, making sure she still had her equipment and it was all intact. After a quick check, she was satisfied that everything was in order. She could proceed now.

She moved as quickly as she dared, hunching her body forward and moving fast, trying to limit the noise of her movement while simultaneously getting as much speed as possible. She just wanted out of here.

This part of the ship seemed to be one of the absolute worst places to be right now. The Many were everywhere, those hybrids wandering the corridors and talking to themselves incessantly. Whenever she chanced upon one, she ducked down, waiting for it to wander away. They didn't seem to be aware of her presence, as they didn't even seem to be looking for her. They just walked on, none of them standing around for more than a moment or two.

As she approached her destination, she could hear the sound of footsteps and of something heavy being dragged. She ducked behind a corner, leaning against the wall and peeking out to see what was going on.

Her eyes were greeted by the sight of a hybrid shuffling down the corridor. He was dragging a corpse with him. Fara had no idea who the body belonged to, but she recognized the armor it was wearing. Whoever it was had been a member of the Dominion force sent to the Von Dross. This one was now just a lifeless corpse, being dragged along and leaving a trail of blood behind him as the hybrid moved. Fara kept very quiet and very still, not wanting to attract his attention.

It was only now that Fara realized what the hybrid's destination had been. It stopped in front of the elevator, pressing the call button. It waited, still holding the corpse by one leg.

Of course, Fara thought. Of course he's using the elevator that she needed to use. She stayed where she was hidden behind the corner, not wanting to attract his attention.

Fara had hoped that the elevator would come quickly, and the hybrid would simply get on and leave, but there was a delay. This particular elevator seemed to be tied up somewhere else.

As the delay continued, Fara grew impatient, realizing that Dreyfus might be running out of time. If she didn't hurry, it might be too late to help him! Withdrawing her laser pistol, she checked the charge on it. Still good. She was still using the crazed doctor's personal laser pistol, a rather powerful weapon. She wasn't sure how he had gotten access to it, but she was grateful for it now. It seemed to be modified to deliver a lot more punch with each blast. What was more, it was rather efficient when it came to energy use. She still had plenty of charge left.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the hybrid started to speak, seemingly to himself. As usual, the voice was terribly distorted in such an unnatural manner, pitch rising and falling. "The Many sings to us...they sing to us..." He was quiet for a few moments, then said one other thing. It asked a question, its voice strained, sounding lost and confused. "What happened to me?"

Fara closed her eyes, balling one of her paws into a fist. That was what she hated the most about all of this. The people who were corrupted, they still possessed a shred of themselves in that horrific transformation, a piece of who they once were. That thought terrified her. To be trapped in such a hell, to be doomed to be an unwilling slave to an alien entity, to hate what you've become, but to be unable to do anything about it. She could think of precious few fates more disturbing than that.

If anything, though, it gave her some comfort when she had to fight against the things, when she was forced to kill them. If the situation were reversed, it's what she would want. Death would be a mercy compared to being an unwilling slave of the Many.

"We are, we are, we are, we are..." The hybrid murmured to himself, still quite oblivious to the fact that he was being watched. Fara looked up at the light above him, the indicator of the elevator's current status. It was on the way. She did a quick survey of her surroundings, making sure they were alone. Fortune was with her at the moment. The hallways were otherwise deserted. No one was around to disturb them.

There was a loud ding as the elevator arrived, the doors opening up. As they did so, Fara's face lit up. It was empty, just as she had hoped!

The hybrid started to move inside, dragging the body with him. As he took his first step, Fara closed the distance between them, her laser pistol drawn and leveled at the hybrid's head. Now that she was close, she had a good view of that thick, pulsing worm wrapped around his neck. It was a hideous thing, bloated and fat. It made the skin under Fara's fur crawl.

Not for long. "Hey!" She whispered, just loud enough for the hybrid to hear.

It paused, then turned to face Fara, reaching for a pistol strapped to his belt. As it did so, it spoke, the voice still distorted. "The Many will triu-"

Before he could finish that thought, she had aimed at his head and pulled the trigger, a powerful laser bolt launching from her pistol and striking the hybrid in the head. Screaming, he fell backward against the elevator wall.

Anyone else might think that the thing was dead already, she had hit it right in the head. She knew better. She wasn't going to stop shooting until she was sure it was dead. She fired again and again, planting both of her next two shots directly into its head. It let out a pained, pitiful wail as she shot it gain, twitching violently before its head slumped forward and it went still.

Now it was dead, but she still had to be sure. She got in the elevator, kicking the body he'd been dragging away so it didn't block the door, then pressed the button to send her to Deck 4. As the doors closed, she leveled her weapon at the worm, then fired directly into its slimy bulk. There was a high pitched shrieking noise as the worm was pierced before it split in half. That was the only way to be sure. She had to kill the worm itself.

The doors shut behind her, and the elevator was soon moving down to the Operations Deck. She studied the body for a bit before shaking her head and sighing.

She wished it were possible to kill the worms and set the person free somehow. She wished it so much, she would make it her absolute priority to rescue people that way if she could. But she had seen what the worms did. Every time she had tried to remove one, or seen someone try in the past, had ended in disaster. If the worm were removed, it invariably killed the host. It seemed like the worm somehow made the host absolutely dependent upon it. Aiten had explained it to her. Well, it might have been Aiten, maybe it was SAI-TEP the whole time. Either way, they apparently shut down most of the vital organs of the host, making the worm, and thus the Many, the entire reason for their continued existence. Should one be cut from the other, they would both inevitably die. It was horrific. As Aiten had described it, there was no feasible way of removing the worm once it attached to the nervous system. At that point, the host was already dead. Killing the worm simply removed them from life support.

She had not wanted to accept that, not at first. She tried more than once to save some of the victims, but it had always ended the same way.

It was the single most terrifying enemy Fara could possibly imagine. It made perfect sense that they had somehow come from the Aparoids. The Aparoids were able to do something similar, turning people against one another, making soldiers fight their own forces. She had witnessed the horrors perpetrated on Corneria. Somehow, this was worse. There was something so sick about this thing, about the Many. About what it was doing to them, its twisted purpose.

Killing Josh had been hard on Fara. It still weighed on her mind. Even though there was absolutely nothing she could have done differently, she still felt a heavy sense of guilt, as though she could have saved him if she tried. She hoped more than anything that she wouldn't have to go through that again. She could not imagine what it would be like to have to do something like that for Raphael. Or for Fox.

The elevator chimed as it reached its destination, sliding open and allowing Fara entry into Ops. She checked her map, verifying her position and destination. The call that Dreyfus had sent had come from Communications. That's where she had found him last time!

It was only after she closed her map and turned off the PDA screen that she realized that she was standing in the aftermath of some rather bloody carnage. There were a great number of bodies all around her, most of them belonging to the hybrids. She had to wonder who had been responsible for all of this. There was only one answer she could think of, as she remembered SAI-TEP instructing him to remain on Deck 4. Fox McCloud.

He'd been busy. She was glad to see it. She knew she didn't have to worry about Fox, he was a lot more skilled in combat than she was, but it was good to have it confirmed. One thing was for sure, he was definitely giving the Many a fair challenge.

Good.

She wasn't far from Communications, and aside from all the bodies everywhere, the place seemed deserted. Hopefully she could make it in time!

Delaying no longer, Fara went down the familiar corridor that would lead her to Communications. The last time she'd traversed this corridor, Fox had been with her. This time she traveled alone. The only sounds she could hear were those of her boots as they struck the surface of the metal floor with each step.

It was too quiet.

She came to the door that led to the security room just before the primary communications terminals. Pressing the button to the side of the door, she waited for it to open. Nothing happened though. She glanced up at the vents, remembering that Fox had climbed through those himself when the door hadn't opened. She thought she heard something coming from those vents, a chittering sound.

No way was she going through there.

She pressed the the panel again, then pounded on the door a few times. "Dreyfus? Dreyfus! It's Fara! Let me in!" She wasn't sure if he could hear her or not. The door didn't open, so it certainly seemed as though he hadn't heard. She tried again. "Open the door, sir! Please!"

Still nothing. She looked at the vents again, once more weighing her options. Was she seriously considering crawling through those things?

Before she made the decision, the door hissed open. Dreyfus had heard her, or someone had, anyway. Fara drew her weapon, proceeding with caution. She didn't know for certain that it was Dreyfus who had opened the door. As she poked her head through and looked around, she soon saw a familiar looking figure with his back against the wall, a grizzled old dog in a military uniform. Lieutenant Dreyfus. He wasn't looking at the door or at Fara. His head was bent downward, eyes closed as he rubbed at his neck.

"Sir! I'm so glad to see you're alright!" Fara offered the lieutenant a warm smile as she approached him. "I thought you might be-"

He raised his gun and pointed at her, all without ever looking up to face her. Fara's eyes went wide, and she gasped as she stepped backward. "Sir? What are you-"

"Stay back." He commanded. His voice wavered, and his breath was coming out in ragged gasps, sucked between clenched teeth. It was only now that the vixen realized how wounded he appeared to be. He had multiple injuries on his body, scorch marks where his armor had been pierced, along with a few bullet holes. He was in a bad way.

"Sir, you're hurt! Let me-"

"I said stay BACK!" He growled, looking up for the first time since she had entered the room, his nostrils flared and his eyes burning with rage. "Get back!"

"Sir, it's me! It's Fara!" She tried to make him understand, holding her paws up in a peaceful gesture, her voice laden with worry. She was careful not to approach him, as he seemed very agitated. She wasn't sure what was wrong. Maybe he wasn't sure if it was really her. Maybe he thought she was one of the Many by now? She couldn't blame him. There were so few left who resisted the Many's call. "I'm alright, I'm not one of those things yet! I got your message, I want to help, sir!"

"Help?" Dreyfus blinked, staring at her as if her words were only now registering. He then shook his head. "You can't...it's too late. You can't help me. It's too late."

"Sir, you're still alive, I have some medical hypos!" Fara started toward him, reaching for the supplies in her pack. "These will treat you until..."

"Fara..." Dreyfus looked at her again. Only now could she see his expression. He was wounded, yes, but there was a forlorn and hopeless sorrow in his eyes. He looked vulnerable, moreso than she had ever seen in him before. He gazed at her for a moment, then shook his head with a sigh. "No. You don't understand. You can't help."

"Why?" Fara asked, almost pleading with him. "I'm right here, I can..."

That's when the lieutenant moved his hand. It was in that precise moment that Fara knew what he really meant. She couldn't quite stifle the gasp that escaped her mouth, her eyes going wide. "No! No! How?!"

The lieutenant lowered his head. The worm was there. One of those things had buried into his neck. It wasn't as big as the others, it hadn't made as solid of a connection yet, but it was enough. It was starting to take control of him, but he seemed to be fighting it with everything he had. He twitched occasionally, growling and hissing between wheezing gasps. "Got...wounded. Worm got inside...while I was down...my team is gone. Dead. We're all that's left."

"I got your message, sir." Fara murmured. She moved toward him again, though with much more caution now. She now knew why he had warned her away, why he wanted her gone. With that parasite in his body, it was only a matter of time before he turned completely. He might as well already be dead. "I came to help. I...I'm sorry. I was too late."

"No." He shook his head firmly. "Don't apologize. You've gone above and beyond the call of duty, Fara Phoenix. I am...I am proud of you. You are the finest pilot we have ever had. It was an honor to be your commanding officer."

Fara said nothing. She wanted to tell him it would be okay, she wanted to assure him that she'd find a cure, that she could get him out of this somehow. She knew it wasn't true. He knew it too. It would be pointless to lie. More than that, he deserved better than simple platitudes. "I should have done more..."

"You're already doing it." He managed to offer her a weak smile, despite his obvious pain and discomfort. "You'll go down fighting. You and Fox. And whoever is left. Fight to the end. Kill this thing. Obliterate it. Destroy it all. You have...you have to fight. Just...keep fighting..." She wasn't sure if he was even talking to her or himself at that point. He groaned again, obviously in a great deal of pain, his back arching as he winced. "There are others. You can find them. There's other survivors. They need help. You can...you can help them! I-" He trailed off, groaning as a fresh wave of pain wracked his body.

"Please hold on, sir!" Fara implored him. "Please fight it!"

He was quiet for a bit, just breathing heavily before looking up at Fara again. "Fara...I'm glad I...saw you again. Need to tell you something. It's important. Very important."

The vixen shuddered, taking in a deep breath as she tried to keep her emotions calm. She hated this. She hated losing Dreyfus. He had been so kind to her since she had arrived here. She respected him, she looked up to him. Now he too was succumbing to the influence of those things. It was the worst fate she could possibly imagine. She hated the Many even more for it. After a few moments, she managed to get her thoughts ordered again in order to respond. "Yes sir? What is it?"

"Aiten...Aiten is..." He coughed, groaning again. "Aiten...sent us to die. Used us. We're expendable. He found a new toy. Fox. Don't trust Aiten."

Fara debated telling him that she knew that Aiten was now an AI, but she wasn't sure that would matter at this point. She didn't want to confuse him in his final moments, so she simply nodded her head. "Okay. I've already gotten that impression. I'll be careful."

"One other thing." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small data disk and offering it to Fara. "Take this."

She peered at it with her head tilted, frowning. "What is it?"

"Fox is in danger." He said simply. "I saw those implants. I was in touch with the team that made them. Experimental. Top of the line. Very dangerous. Fox had them. Did Aiten put him in those?"

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. There was no way she was telling him that she had a part in that. "Yes, he did."

"Thought so. This contains some information on those implants. Specifically..." He wheezed, interrupted by a loud cough before continuing. "Aiten...will have control of an emergency shutdown. He'll be able to kill Fox at any time if he wishes."

"What?!" Fara's jaw dropped, and she stared at Dreyfus in shock. "No! No way, there's no way that he could have..."

"I verified the information myself. Whoever has control can kill the implants, and they'll send signals to shut down the brain. At best, he'll go into a coma. It is much more likely that it will kill him outright. A rather efficient way of disposing of a tool, don't you think?" He let out a low, dark chuckle, devoid of mirth of humor, the laugh turning into a terrible cough.

He didn't seem like he expected an answer. Fara had no answer to give. The thought horrified her. Not just because of what might happen, but for the fact that Fara had assisted Aiten...no, SAI-TEP, in installing those on Fox. If that AI intended to harm him, that would make Fara complicit in the crime. She had no doubts as to the AI's capability here. She still clung to the hope that this would all end peacefully between SAI-TEP and Fox, but there was absolutely no way she could take a chance with this. She would need to take a look at this data, then get to Fox and help him somehow!

Dreyfus was still holding the data disk, still offering it to her. Fara took it, then placed it in her pocket. She'd examine it at the first available opportunity.

"Thank you, Fara." The lieutenant smiled at her, despite his growing agony. "You would do the Cornerian Army proud. Now I have one last favor to ask of you. Then you may consider yourself dismissed."

"Yes sir?"

The lieutenant withdrew his firearm, a powerful revolver of conventional ammunition. It was a rather remarkable instrument, not just for its killing power, but for the way it was designed and decorated. It was more than just a gun. It was the weapon of a proud military officer. The handle was custom made, displaying the emblem of the Cornerian Army, and the weapon was of the finest material. He was offering it to her now. "It only has one last bullet in it. You will only need the one."

Fara suddenly realized what he wanted her to do, why he was offering her the weapon. Her ears pinned back behind her, and she rapidly shook her head. "No! No, please, sir! Don't ask me to do this! Don't ask me to-"

"Please, Fara. Do not make me give you a direct order." His tone became a bit more firm now. "This is your final duty under my command. I cannot do it myself. I...even if I wished, I feel my control slipping. It..." He closed his eyes, hissing. "It won't let me die."

Fara stared at Dreyfus for a while, motionless. At last she reached for his gun, her paw trembling as she took it. She didn't want to do this. Anything but this. Part of her realized, of course, that this was necessary. What Dreyfus was asking was perfectly understandable. She would feel the same were she in his position. Yet it was so difficult to make herself do what needed to be done. A storm raged in her mind. Conflicting voices screamed inside of her, each of them urging her to do something different. Time seemed to slow down, every breath labored and slow as she took the revolver, as she turned it so that it faced him.

As she did this, he offered her another smile, then groaned in pain. "It's...I can't...they're...singing to me!" He clenched his fists, slamming them against the floor as he struggled with all his might to resist the call of the Many. He was losing. The worm was growing more powerful, the Many's will becoming absolute. She took aim at him, cocking the weapon as she prepared to fire a shot. She wouldn't miss.

In a last moment of clarity, Dreyfus struggled for control and spoke again, for the last time. "Thank you, Fara...thank you...and God save the Cornerian Army!" His head fell back, and as he moaned his voice started to change, started to shift in pitch as he became one of the Many. It was as though another voice was merging with his. The transformation was nearly complete.

She didn't let it go any further than that. "I'm sorry," she whispered, then pulled the trigger. The resulting gunshot was louder than Fara had anticipated, making her ears ring from the sheer volume as the weapon fired at near point-blank range. The thing that had once been Dreyfus let out an uncanny agonized squeal as the shot connected. The lieutenant's body jerked backwards, twitching a couple of times before he sank to the floor, slumping forward.

That was it. The lieutenant was dead, freed from the corruption of that which had taken the ship. Fara thought she was going to be sick for a moment. She looked down upon his now lifeless corpse, his eyes staring unfocused. She knelt down and pressed her paws against his eyes, closing them, hoping he would fine peace in whatever lay beyond.

She hurt inside and hurt terribly. This had been the worst thing she had experienced since she got here. There was a gaping hole in her heart now, a void that she had never felt quite so keenly in all her life. She didn't feel sick inside. She didn't feel anger, hate, or remorse. It was as though there was nothing inside her at all. She felt numb.

Now was not the time to grieve, as much as she would have liked to. She rose to her feet, then crossed one arm over her chest and lowered her head, offering Dreyfus one final salute. She shuddered, her throat hurting very much as she struggled against the pit growing in her stomach. She felt her eyes water as tears started to flow. She wanted to give in. She wanted to just sob, cry, scream in absolute devastation and mourn the loss she had just suffered, the loss of a great man aboard this dying ship.

If she succumbed to grief now, it would not stop. She could not afford that. She couldn't let her emotions take over. Fox still needed her help, along with anyone else who might still be alive. She sniffled one last time, then shook her head stubbornly, willing herself to regain control. It took every ounce of willpower that she had, but she succeeded, burying the emotions away for the time being. She'd had to do so much burying lately. If she survived all this, she feared all those emotions would burst forth in an uncontrollable storm. That was a problem for another day.

She had a few things to take care of now. She'd need to see if Dreyfus had been right, if there were any other survivors she could locate and assist if possible. She'd need to get in touch with Fox and somehow find a way to use this new information to make sure he stayed okay. She had a lot to do. The communications equipment was still not in great shape, but she'd make do. From the security station, she'd look for survivors, then she'd use the communications equipment to do whatever she needed to do. She would not let Dreyfus' death be in vain.

---

The Dominion squad marched in grim silence, none of them speaking to each other. Eden and Buckley were in the front, both keeping an eye out for potential threats. Noellap was in the middle of the group, with Ginger right behind him. Rangu brought up the rear. The place was eerily silent, and no one dared to break it.

Noellap knew the reasons for their concern. It was two fold. One was the fact that that they had lost Jenkins. His loss still stung all of them, Eden most of all. Noellap was keeping his eye on her. He got the impression that she was a bit unstable right now. The two of them must have been closer than Noellap had surmised. It was equally possible that she simply believed his death to be a personal failure on her part. He did not know. Perhaps later he would ask her about it.

They soon found the door that led to the rest of Deck 7, still blasted open from their explosive charges. There were scorch marks and remnants of explosions littered throughout the area, along with what was left of Jenkins. One would hardly believe he had once been a person.. There was so little left of him, just bits of metal of the armor that he wore, some of his body having fused with it, the rest completely disintegrated.

Eden twitched as she walked past, and Noellap thought he saw her clench her fists, hissing with fury. She said nothing, though. No one said anything. They just kept moving. They were trained Dominion soldiers. The mission came first.

That was perhaps the second reason for the silence. After everything they had done, everything they had experienced, and even securing their mission objective, they knew the mission wasn't over. That was most disheartening. In truth, even Noellap could feel the bitter sting of disappointment. It was true, they had accomplished one of their primary tasks. The Dominion would benefit from this information immensely, assuming they could get it to them in one piece. However, the fact that there was more yet to do presented an incredible complication. He did not wish to let the Dominion down, of course. He had no intention of doing that. He would serve to the end. He was simply growing more and more concerned for his team and for the state of the mission in general. He was convinced that they should simply leave with what they had seized thus far.

He wouldn't admit this to any of his men, but there was something else bothering him, something that had troubled him from the very beginning. With every passing moment, he became more and more convinced that there were still innocent souls trapped on this vessel somewhere. He understood not making them a priority, that made enough sense to him. After all, this wasn't a rescue mission. The future of the Dominion mattered more than a few lost lives. That was logical enough. However, to ignore or actively interfere with the survivors? That was something he didn't agree with.

Admittedly, they had run into very few survivors thus far, just the security team. He still wasn't sure what had happened there. He had not ordered that shot fired, and his team claimed they hadn't been the ones to do it. He believed them. If they hadn't fired that shot, then who did?

All he could remember was that flash of red behind them in a curious pattern, what he had assumed was a stray laser or blaster bolt. The more he had thought about that encounter, the more he began to think that there was more to it than that. Ginger had told him that nothing was there, but he knew where the shot had come from. It just didn't make any sense to him at all.

The hallways they now trudged through were empty. The droids that had been rigged with explosive charges were now either destroyed or had retreated. The entire deck seemed to be deserted. It was a pity that the pod couldn't land here. Decks 7 and 8 were not viable places for the pods to breach.

Decks five and below were compromised, they were the ones the Dominion had landed on. He hadn't heard from any of those teams in some time now. Occasionally a signal made it through, usually indicating a flatline. At least 80% of the other soldiers had been wiped out. They had been overwhelmed in Deck 5, there was no way they were going back there unless they absolutely had to. They had little reason to believe that any of the other decks below would be safe.

However, no one had landed in Deck Six. That was the flight deck, which held all of the hangars, most of which were destroyed and filled with debris. Still, it was their best shot. The incoming pilot, which Kamille had promised to Noellap, could bore a hole through the ship if they needed to. That's what the breacher was for, after all.

The group filed into the elevator without comment, not even needing an order to do so. Once Rangu and Ginger were inside, Noellap pressed the button to take them to Deck Six. The doors closed, there was a faint 'ding,' and the elevator was on its way.

The group was still quiet, all of them wrestling with their own thoughts. After a time, Buckley turned toward Noellap. "So...what now? Who's going to stay and who's going to go?"

"I'm sssstaying." Eden growled, not even pausing for a moment. "Going to make thesssse freakssss pay. Gonna kill every lassst one of them!"

"We are not here simply to eliminate hostiles," Noellap reminded her. "We have a task to perform, and that will be our priority. If you feel you will have a problem with that, then I suggest you be the one to leave first."

Eden paused, looking conflicted, and she even opened her mouth to say something in retort. Before anything came out, she seemed to remember her place, forcing herself to act calm before nodding.. "Yesss sssir. I shall ssstay in control."

"Good." Noellap took a deep breath before continuing. "Gentlemen, we still have a job to do. We'll meet with our pilot first." He turned toward the rat-girl, nodding his head at her. "I intend to have you oin the pilot with the data we have collected, Ginger. Of all of us present, you possess the least battle experience, and I would not have your life risked unnecessarily. Once aboard the Bulwark, you may deliver your report to the captain, and he will provide your next orders. Perhaps he will have you remain. Perhaps he will send us reinforcements. Either way, you delivering this is paramount."

Ginger looked a bit hesitant, chewing on one corner of her lip before asking, "I...do I have to go? I don't mind staying. You might need me, and I want to help!"

Noellap was impressed. He had thought that by this point she would be looking for any sort of excuse to get away from this madness, yet her devotion to the job was just as deep rooted as his was, a fine quality for any soldier of the Dominion. The thought was almost enough to make him smile. Nevertheless, he had to shake his head. "Of all of us, I fear you are the most indispensable."

The rat-girl became more defiant, narrowing her eyes. "But that's the very reason you need me here! You're going to deal with the AI, and you might need a technician like myself in order to interface with it. You'll need my assistance! Without me, you might not even be able to succeed at your mission even if you do survive!"

She had a point. He didn't know much about AI. He had hoped that it would be a simple matter, perhaps downloading it onto a disk and being done with it, but there was a good chance it wouldn't be that simple. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. She might well be essential for what was to come.

"Alright." He said after a long pause. "Alright, you can stay."

"Thank you sir." She gave him a warm smile, her long rat tail swaying a bit to the side behind her.

"Don't thank me yet." He warned her. "You may well regret your decision before we are done here."

"Uh..." Buckley cleared his throat. "Then, um...do you want me to go, then?"

"If you are volunteering, soldier, then I will allow it."

"Oh, okay. Well, um, I think maybe..." The rabbit's voice got quiet, and he stammered as he tried to get the words out, his voice little more than a whisper. "I, um...think maybe I'll go with the pod. If...if no one else does!"

"Pfft, pathetic prey." Eden scoffed. "Coward."

"I'm not a coward!" The rabbit drew himself up to his full height, trying to match the glare that Eden was currently leveling at him. He was a bit shorter than her, so it didn't help him out much. She never even blinked, just stared as though she were challenging him.

To his credit, the rabbit never backed down either. He just stared right back. He looked nervous, a little unsure of himself, but he stood his ground. After a moment, the snake grinned at him before turning away, her tongue flicking out again for a moment as she hissed. The rabbit mumbled something to himself about not being a coward, but was otherwise quiet.

Noellap turned to look at Rangu, but he didn't even have to ask the big ape. Before he opened his mouth, he caught the look that Rangu was giving him, narrowed eyes and a stern expression. Noellap didn't bother to question him. Rangu was not leaving.

All of them seemed to have reason to stay, though Buckley was perhaps the most willing to depart. He'd decide when they made contact with the shuttle. No sense in worrying about it now.

The elevator dinged again as it came to a stop at the proper deck, allowing Noellap and his team to get out. He gestured forward, and Eden and Buckley went first, each of them covering a different side as they exited the elevator, ensuring the coast was clear. There was nothing to alarm them nearby, just some more empty corridors. He wasn't sure what the Many were up to right now, but they didn't appear to be here. In truth, this concerned him a bit. He couldn't help but wonder if the reason they weren't here was because they were dealing with what was left of the Dominion squads. The thought made him feel guilty. Noellap's team might be alive and proceeding with their mission, but at the cost of their fellow soldiers' lives.

He saw few alternatives to deal with the situation. They didn't know where any of the squads were, and even if they did, they didn't know their status. They didn't know how many enemies were between themselves and whoever might yet live. There were far too many unknowns. Still, he was hoping that if he ever did hear from any of them, he might be able to assist. It would be preferable to get at least a few more soldiers out of here alive.

"Ginger, how far are we from the rendezvous point?" Noellap asked.

She checked her equipment before answering him. "Not far, sir. If we follow this corridor, it should take us right to it."

"Good. Let's move."

The group proceeded in the direction Ginger had indicated. They were cautious, with Buckley and Eden watching the front and Rangu watching the back. Noellap stayed beside Ginger, occasionally glancing either forward or backward in order to make sure the others were well.

"Strange..." Ginger murmured.

"What is it?" Noellap asked.

"Movement up ahead." Ginger was staring at the device that she used for communication, scanning, and the like. "Just one. They were heading towards us, then just stopped." She looked back up at Noellap. "They're still there."

Noellap nodded, then turned to Eden. "Eden, cover me. We're going to check it out."

"Yesss sssir." Eden acknowledged. She fell in step behind Noellap, shadowing him and ready to offer firing support at a moment's notice.

Noellap had no idea who or what was waiting for them. It could be another combat robot. It could be one of those explosive droids. It could even be a member of one of the lost squads. Whoever it was, they were alone. Very few of the Many's forces seemed to travel on their own. Could it be a survivor?

They came to the end of the hallway, which opened up into a lobby area. There were two elevators in here, opposite each other. One of the elevators, the one ahead and a bit to the left of Noellap, was open.

Noellap couldn't believe what he saw inside. He thought he might just be imagining it at first. He only caught a glimpse, as the doors were already beginning to close. The other figure wasn't looking at him. In fact, he had his eyes closed and he appeared to be resting against the far elevator wall as the doors shut.

"Is that...?" Eden asked, sounding quite incredulous herself. That only confirmed it for Noellap. He had indeed seen what he thought he had.

Fox McCloud.

He couldn't believe it. He was leaving this deck mere moments before Noellap's team had arrived. If Noellap had moved just a few seconds sooner, they would have bumped into each other. Noellap wasn't sure whether that would be a good thing or not.

Shaking his head, he beckoned for Eden and returned to the rest of the group. They were all waiting for them. "What did you see? What was it?" Buckley asked.

"Fox McCloud." Eden said quietly. "He wasss here! He wasss leaving, he didn't ssssee us!"

"Whoa! Fox was here?!" Buckley's eyes bugged out as if in shock. "Holy mother of daisies, I didn't know he was actually here! I mean, I knew he was around, but I didn't think we'd actually run into him! So, uh..." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Is he as tall as they say he is?"

"Meh. About average." Eden shrugged her shoulders. "Had ssssomething on his face, though. Metal. Implantsss."

The bunny seemed to be quite thrilled at the thought of coming so close to meeting McCloud "Oh man, I wish I had seen him! I heard he once took out a hydra while piloting a crippled ship and using only a single laser cannon!"

"Pfft, there'sss lotsss of stories about McCloud. Mossst of them are jusssst talessss."

"Hey, he's a big hero! I really looked up to him! I just can't believe he's here! Oh, I wish I could have said hello!" The bunny was actually bouncing up and down a bit with raw excitement. Were the situation not so serious, Noellap might have been amused with his behavior.

Unfortunately, their circumstances did not permit them to lower their guard. "Tone it down soldier, we still have a job to do. You can gush about McCloud later."

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Buckley was quiet for a bit, then spoke up again, his voice a bit hesitant in case he was overstepping his place. "What do you suppose he was doing here?"

"That I do not know." Noellap said. "He must have come to this deck for a reason, but I have no idea what that reason would be. Either way, he's gone now. I don't know where he went. And it doesn't really matter. It's best we avoid contact with him."

"Agreed." Eden nodded. "We should get to the rendezvous. If McCloud wasss here, I sssussspect trouble might have followed."

"An assumption, but a warranted one." Noellap took a deep breath then gave the order. "Alright, you lot. Let's move to the coordinates and wait for our pilot. We'll then decide what we're going to do.

Everyone seemed to agree with his proposed course of action. If they didn't, they kept silent about it. They moved on, approaching the coordinates they had been given. It didn't take them long to reach them.

They found themselves in a long hallway with a elongated viewport that allowed one a view of the stars. It was beautiful. He wasn't entirely sure how many of these types of rooms were on the ship, but there seemed to be a fair number of them, at least on the two decks he had explored thus far.

Now they had a moment to rest. The pod hadn't arrived yet, and there really wasn't anything to do but wait. Noellap regarded his squad before speaking. "Take five, but stay alert. We don't know what else might be waiting for us here. Eden, Rangu, you keep watch."

The snake and ape both nodded their heads and took their positions, watching either end of the corridor they were now in and ensuring they didn't get surprised. Both Ginger and Buckley repositioned themselves so that their backs were against the large viewport. Ginger slid down until she was resting on her rear, head slumped forward and gently massaging her forehead with one paw. The rabbit just rocked back and forth, staying silent as he stared into space.

They were all worn, but these two most of all. Noellap trusted Rangu and Eden to hold it together no matter what they might face. Ginger and Buckley, however, were far less experienced in these matters, and both were clearly bearing the weight of the ordeal they had gone through. They had held up well so far. Ginger was proving quite resilient despite the fact that she was not as experienced in ground combat. While Buckley was still nervous and fearful, he certainly seemed to be exhibiting some growth, no longer quite as timid and weak as he had been at first. He still had a ways to go yet, but progress was progress. Noellap was pleased with both of them.

"How are you both holding up?" Noellap asked.

Ginger blinked as he asked the question, as though not certain whether he was talking to her or not. She and Buckley looked at each other for a moment, then she turned back to face her superior. She offered a tired smile, then shrugged her shoulders. "As well as can be expected, I guess."

"Indeed." He turned to Buckley. "And you, soldier?":

"I, uh..." Buckley hesitated, then took a deep breath. "I'm..I'm nervous about the future, sir. I mean, I knew there was danger when I signed up, but I never thought I'd face anything like this. It's...It's so much worse than I imagined."

"Aye, this has been a rather unusual mission. It is far worse than the intel suggested it would be, and by far the most difficult assignment I've ever faced."

"I just...I don't know." Buckley bit his lip, then looked up at Noellap. "I just...I'm scared. I know I should be better than this, I trained to be better than this, but...I just...I'm terrified that we won't make it! That I won't make it..."

Noellap was quiet while he listened to the rabbit speak, offering no words of comfort nor any body language that might indicate that he was sympathetic. He just listened. Buckley seemed to take this as encouragement for him to proceed. That or maybe he simply couldn't hold it back anymore. Either way, the rabbit kept talking.

"I...I wish I hadn't volunteered for this. I'm not..." He paused, at a loss for words, searching for the right way to articulate his feelings and failing. "I'm not particularly brave or strong or talented. I just joined up because I wanted to make a difference. Now it feels like...like it won't matter. Like I won't matter. I'm going to die here. And no one will even know or care."

At last the rabbit went quiet, lowering his head and hugging his shoulders, rocking himself back and forth, teetering on the edge of despair.

There were a number of ways Noellap could deal with this situation. He could reprimand the soldier, tell him to get it together and get those feelings under control. He could remind him of the duty that he had, the oaths he had sworn to the Dominion and its purpose. He could say nothing, just leave him to figure these things out for himself. In truth, the lieutenant didn't know what the right answer was. Perhaps it was something else entirely.

He approached the rabbit, kneeling down beside him. He watched Buckley for a few moments, then gently placed his hand on the rabbit's shoulder. Buckley twitched, then turned ever so slightly to look at Noellap, still rocking as he did so. Noellap spoke to him in a hushed tone. He was not whispering, as what he had to say was not private.

"I cannot assure you that we will come out of this mission alive. I cannot promise you that all will be well in the end. Your fears are quite natural. Some of which I share." Those words made the rabbit pause, and he looked up with one eyebrow raised, not seeming to understand where Noellap was going with this. The lieutenant continued. "However, do not for a moment believe that what you do is irrelevant. Do not think that your actions do not matter." He paused, then gestured towards Ginger. "We have the data that we seek because of our efforts. Despite the hardships that we have faced, we have not only survived, but we have accomplished our primary goal. So do not think yourself weak. You have proven yourself here today. All of us have."

The rabbit simply stared at him for a while, blinking occasionally as his words sunk in. He eventually lowered his head, still not responding. Noellap pulled his hand away from the bunny, then rose to his feet. "You are braver and more skilled than you know. All of you. The Dominion should count itself honored to have soldiers like you." He took a look around the room, gauging the reactions of the rest of his men. Eden nodded at him from her post, then resumed overlooking the area. Rangu never turned his head, so Noellap had no idea what he was thinking about, but that was nothing new. Ginger was smiling, evidently moved by his words. She seemed to have calmed down a great deal.

So had Buckley. After a few more deep breaths, he raised his head and squared his shoulders. Noellap could even see a bit of fire return into the rabbit's eyes. Noellap was proud. Not of himself, as he knew that he was not responsible for such. Rather, he was proud of Buckley. Whatever strength he had, it came from within. No one else could create it. It could be drawn out perhaps, but that was true of all of his men. It was not to be created here and now. The courage, skill, and strength was already there. With it, they yet had hope.

"Ssssir!" Eden turned to Noellap as she got his attention, pointing at the viewport. "Our pod isss approaching!"

"I see it." It was indeed getting close, close enough to be in visual range. It was moving slowly, which was expected. The breacher pods weren't particularly fast compared to, say, interceptors or fighter craft. They were also designed to hold more people and in relative comfort.

The pod was adjusting its course, angling itself so that it could penetrate the hull. It seemed to be aiming at the viewport, about where Noellap and his team were.

"Move back," Noellap commanded. "Prepare for contact."

The team immediately fell in, moving to the far side of the corridor as the pod leveled itself with the Von Dross. It reached the viewport and hovered there for a few moments, the mouth of the ship opening up and revealing what looked to be a giant drill alongside other technological devices. Unlike the earlier breaches the Dominion had made, this one was in no hurry and could approach slowly and carefully. Noellap had a view of it from here.

The pod moved until it was pressed against the breach. The drill impacted the surface, boring a hole into the hull. However, at the very same moment a force field appeared in the breach as it was made, ensuring that the integrity of what remained beyond the hull was not compromised. As the pod drilled, it continued to maintain a force field in the hole that it was creating. Eventually, the drill and laser cutting technology managed to breach entirely, the pod now being truly connected to the Von Dross. The drill and lasers powered down. The breach was now filled entirely with the pod, with a faint force field emanating around it to ensure that the vacuum of space was not allowed to breach the hull. It was a remarkable device. To be able to board the enemy ship without crippling it or exposing it to space was an incredible ability. Granted, it also could be done messily and cause a full hull breach if it was desired, but surgical precision was far more practical in most situations. This one was no exception.

Now that the pod was docked, the drill retracted before the front of the ship split open, revealing the pilot sitting at the controls. However, he wasn't looking at the team. He was staring at the screen in front of him, his mouth open as he murmured to himself. It was as if he were unaware that anyone else was there. He didn't even seem to realize that he had just docked.

Noellap didn't recognize the young pilot, though he matched the brief description the captain had given him. "You are Hawke?"

The brown feathered bird blinked, slowly looking up and turning to the side to get a look at Noellap. He said nothing, just stared.

This was proving to make Noellap a bit uneasy. There was proper protocol to be considered, and the pilot appeared to be violating all of it. "I asked you a question, pilot. And you will answer your commanding officer."

"I..." Hawke started, but stopped in mid sentence, hanging his head. He just sat there, staring at the floor, breathing heavily.

Enough was enough. "Hawke, I need you focused now. Did you come here with orders or did you not?"

Hawke blinked again, then mumbled to himself. "Orders...orders..." His voice was low, practically a monotone. "I...sir...I regret..."

"Regret what?" Noellap demanded, losing his patience. "Speak up. What are the captain's orders?" When there was no response from the pilot, Noellap started to grow more irritated. "Put me in touch with the Bulwark immediately."

Hawke's eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them again, he stared directly at Noellap with a blank look on his face. He spoke clearly for the first time since he arrived. "There is no Bulwark."

"What?" Noellap didn't understand what he was saying. He glanced to his side, noting the confusion on the rest of his team. Evidently they didn't know what he was talking about either. He turned back to the pilot. "Make sense, man. What do you mean there is no Bulwark? Did you lose communication? Were they perhaps forced to retreat? Are you-"

The bird interrupted, practically shouting. "They're dead! They're all dead! Star Fox blew up the Bulwark, they're all gone!"

A collective gasp ran through the team, punctuated by sheer silence. Ginger's eyes had widened with shock, as had Buckley's, both of them looking absolutely crestfallen. Even Rangu reacted to this news in an uncustomary manner, lowering his head before shaking it slowly back and forth, as though in mourning. Eden didn't believe what she had heard, hissing as she leveled her weapon at the pilot. "You are LYING!"

Noellap was frozen, couldn't move. He just couldn't react! The words simply weren't registering properly. He couldn't comprehend them. It was impossible. The Bulwark was supposed to be invincible. If it were outgunned by a few dreadnoughts, maybe it was possible the shield could be compromised, or perhaps if overwhelmed by an absolutely massive force. That had not been the case, not from what he knew! He shook his head, trying desperately to get his thoughts in order. "You...say again? You are certain?"

"Sir, I saw it myself! The Bulwark is gone!"

Noellap stared, incredulous. He knew. He knew that the pilot wasn't lying. Even knowing this, he gave the order to Ginger. "Use the computer on the pod. Confirm the report." His entire body trembled, and he clenched his fists hard. He could feel something sharp digging into his hands, and it took him a moment to realize that it was his own finger nails. There was a torrent of emotion in him, all mixed together in a maddening blend. Confusion. Anger at himself for not being there, for not helping. Regret that the Dominion had lost so much with the destruction of that ship. Sorrow for all who had perished with it. Hatred, blazing hatred at Star Fox for what they had managed to accomplish. Most poignant of all, he felt a deep sense of loss for his captain.

He remained silent, motionless as Ginger did as she was told, boarding the pod and walking past the bird pilot. He never reacted to her, he had gone quiet again, staring into nothingness. As she disappeared into the back, Noellap tried to pull himself together. He felt such a hollow space in his chest. It felt like his heart had been ripped out, leaving a gaping hole where there had once been something complete. All of those people. All of those fine officers and soldiers. All of their ships, their technology. The captain. Captain Kamille. Gone.

"How..." Noellap started to ask, barely managing to get the words out. "How did it happen?"

"I...I don't know." Hawke answered. "I don't know, I just saw the tail end of it. I had just cleared the hangar when the fight started. I don't know what happened, it just...they went crazy! There was a lot of radio chatter, everyone was talking all at once. Then I saw the Bulwark get hit. Like a big cannon or something. Then everything went quiet."

Noellap rubbed his forehead, contemplating his next move. He wasn't sure what to do now. He had prepared for many possible scenarios in his head, but this was not one of them. Never in a thousand years would he have suspected that the Bulwark would have been destroyed by Star Fox. He still didn't understand how. How did they get the shields down? How did they hit the ship hard enough to penetrate its armor? It didn't make sense!

Ginger soon emerged from the back of the pod, a somber expression on her face. When she appeared at the cockpit, she gave Noellap a sad nod. "He's right. It's all been recorded here. The Bulwark is destroyed, along with most of its crew."

Buckley fell to his knees, clutching at his head with both paws, "It can't be," he whimpered, overwhelmed by black despair. Eden glared at Ginger as though she was somehow responsible for the news she had brought, then slammed her fist repeatedly into the hallway viewport, making a loud banging sound as she did so over and over again.

Rangu uttered but a single word, a word that perhaps echoed what they all felt. A word tinged with sorrow and pain. "No."

Ginger didn't seem to want to say anymore, but she proceeded with the report regardless. "Shortly after engaging with Star Fox, there appears to have been some sort of energy discharge within the Bulwark, crippling the shield generator. The scans are inconclusive as to what precisely caused the discharge. However, a shot was immediately fired from the Von Dross as soon as the shields were down. A cannon on this deck. The trajectory is traced to here." She pointed on her holographic map that had popped up. It was on this deck, and it was close. Very close.

A thought suddenly struck Noellap. A terrible thought. "Fox McCloud. He just left this deck. When was that shot fired?"

"According to the scanner, almost fifteen minutes ago."

Noellap closed his eyes, stifling a growl. That must have been what Fox was up to on this deck! They had crossed paths with him mere minutes after he had murdered Noellap's compatriots! All of his sorrow and pain now transformed into singular hate.

Only now did he understand what Kamille had been trying to impress upon him. Only now did he realize how dangerous it was to admire one's enemy. Fox McCloud may have been many things in the past. Hero. Savior. Role model. But now? Now he was a murderer. Noellap would never forgive him for this. Never.

McCloud would answer for what he had done today. Noellap swore this.

However, there was another thing that Kamille had taught him, one far more practical and something he desperately needed in this moment. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out. Then he did it again. Calm thoughts. Calm thoughts. Eventually he managed to clear his head. He still felt rage and pain over what had happened, but he could not allow those thoughts to color his actions right now. He could, for instance, immediately order his people to hunt down McCloud and kill him no matter the cost, but that would be exceedingly reckless. The captain would not want that. He would be disappointed to see Noellap so blinded by emotion.

Now that he had calmed somewhat, he asked another question of Ginger. "Any final orders? Do we have any last communications from the Bulwark?"

Ginger shook her head. "No sir. The interceptors that were out at the time immediately fled. They are regrouping and sending a distress signal to Dominion Command. However, they have since passed out of range for communications. They cannot make it all the way to Venom alone. They will be gathering here..." She used a map of the Lylat System, showing a small area on the edge, not far from where they currently were. It blinked repeatedly as she indicated it. "They can send a signal to one of our outlying outposts, which will communicate to Dominion Command."

"I see." Noellap mulled over this for a moment. "Good, at least they'll be recovered. That still leaves us."

It was only at those words that Hawke decided to rejoin the conversation. "Hey, uh...you guys just load up, I'll fly us to those coordinates, then we can wait for the Dominion to rescue us."

Noellap considered this. Perhaps it would be the wise decision. After all, the Bulwark was gone, as was Kamille. The mission had been compromised in the worst possible way. They couldn't be expected to continue their mission now. They had succeeded in their original objective. It was highly unlikely that anyone could question his team's loyalty and competence, as they had retrieved their objective in the face of tremendous opposition. And yet...

"I mean, we gave it our best shot, right?" Hawke continued on. "We did our best, now we got whatever you guys found, let's just get out of here and go home."

All eyes were on Noellap now. Everyone was waiting for his decision. Noellap looked between them all. Buckley had his head tilted to the side, rubbing the back of his neck as he awaited Noellap's orders. Eden was staring at him, her tongue flicking out as she hissed occasionally. She seemed agitated. Rangu was as stoic as ever. He gave no indication of what he was feeling.

Ginger was the last one he looked at. She was watching him with wide eyes, filled with equal parts nervousness and hope. She was looking to him as though he had all the answers, that he would say what they needed to hear.

He didn't know what to tell them. He didn't know what to do. They were lost. There would be no reinforcements, as the Bulwark had been destroyed. He would have no advice from the captain, as he was gone. All that was left of the chain of command was Noellap. It only hit him now that he was effectively the commander of the entire mission, the ranking officer. He had never wanted to be in that position, not under these circumstances.

What should he do?

He was quiet for a long while, closing his eyes and ignoring the stares. He had to come to a decision. He had to come up with a plan. Running would be the easy thing to do. In fact, one might argue that it would be the smart thing to do. They had already endured tremendous losses. The sensible thing would be to retreat and salvage what was left of the mission. Or he could do his duty, attempting to carry out the last command he had been given, but he was no fool. The chances of them surviving such a mission were slim at best. Retreating was the tactically sound option. Even if that were so, did that make it the right choice? Should they retreat with what they had managed to acquire? Should they risk it all for one final gamble, likely ending in their deaths? Was this the way of the Dominion?

Before he could give a proper answer, there was a loud repeated high pitched beeping sound emanating from Ginger's device. She looked down in surprise at her communicator and scanning device as it flashed over and over again. She looked up at Noellap. "Sir, it's...it's a private transmission. From somewhere on the Von Dross. Someone is trying to contact us."

"What?" Noellap raised his eyebrows. Who could that be? "How are they contacting us? Is it one of our troops? Perhaps one of the missing squads?"

Ginger shook her head. "No sir, no identification. It's not from one of our squads. But they have sent some sort of emergency code. I'm not sure I recognize-"

"Let me see it." Noellap ordered. "Transmit it to me."

"Yes sir." Ginger tapped a couple of buttons on her communicator, and soon Noellap's own device started to flash. Accessing it, he scanned the information available. Private transmission directed to Dominion forces. It was accompanied with a security code.

Just before his team had left the science lab where they discovered the mission critical data, the captain had sent him a message containing the code that would be used by the Dominion agent aboard the Von Dross. This was that code. It was old by now, a few months at least, but it checked out. Their agent was trying to contact them.

"Ginger, I want you to establish a link, now."

"Yes sir." Ginger immediately got to work. As she started to fiddle with her communicator, she looked up at Noellap and bit her lower lip. "The signal is weak. The communication won't be very clear."

"Just get it done." Noellap ordered.

"Yes sir." With that, she tapped a button on her communicator before nodding at Noellap. "Transmitting."

"This is Lieutenant Noellap of the VDF Bulwark, Third Fleet of the Venom Dominion." Noellap identified himself before proceeding. "I presume you are the contact aboard?"

There was no answer at first, but lots of radio static. Something was wrong with the transmission. There was a lot of noise and hissing static sounds, but no words. In time, a voice managed to break through. It was rather distorted. The words could be understood, just barely. But it was all but impossible to know who the speaker was. He couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman.

"-gent ident-tion 0A31-ding by."

Noellap wasn't sure precisely what was said, but it seemed to be trying to identify itself. "Can you hear us? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

There was a burst of static, lots of loud noise. A voice broke through. "-can hear you. Yes."

"Good. Why are you contacting us? We have something of a situation here." Noellap looked at his team, who all seemed to agree with his assessment. "We are considering a withdrawal. We have sustained critical damage. We are no longer certain if our current goals can be achieved."

Once again, there were no words to answer. Just static. When the voice came through again, it was just a little clearer but still distorted. "...ust stay! I'm very close. I've identified the AI, and I just need a little time to acquire it. The Many's defeat is essential, or we will not-"

They cut off again, the signal weakening. Noellap gestured towards Ginger, who did her utmost to boost the signal and clear it up. If it didn't work, he knew it wouldn't be her fault. Considering how bad the transmission was, it was amazing it had gone this well. Still, if he understood the speaker's intentions, they were asking the impossible. "Negative. We cannot confront the Many. That is not a fight we can win, not without reinforcements, which we do not have. I recommend we destroy the Von Dross upon contacting Venom Command."

The voice came through a little faster than before. "-o! Don't! Just need time! We don't need you to kill the Many. Just distract it for a little while longer. McCloud will destroy the Many. He just needs time."

The thought of benefiting Fox in any way right now repulsed Noellap, but he pushed his personal feelings aside for the moment. "Distract it?" Noellap sighed, shaking his head. "We don't have enough men to distract it, and I'm not going to throw away the few that are left for nothing."

"-are children still on board!"

Noellap blinked. "What? Repeat?"

"There are children aboard, they have not been corrupted yet! Sending video feed."

Noellap held his wrist-computer in front of his face, narrowing his eyes. An image appeared, apparently belonging to a camera somewhere on the ship. It was difficult to see at first, the video feed was dark. As the camera swept the room, Noellap managed to pick out some shapes huddled inside. There were a number of them, most of them small. There was a larger figure in the center, a woman. She had her arms around the smaller forms as they were huddled against a wall.

The lights flickered for a moment, revealing more clearly what lay within. The children were of all different shapes and sizes from any number of species throughout Lylat. A pig, a fox, a bird, a couple of dogs, a lizard, and even a young ape. They looked terrified, all of them trembling and holding each other, some of them crying softly. The woman, a lynx wearing a uniform that indicated that she was a nurse, was holding them close, shushing and whispering things to them. He could only imagine what it was she was telling them. There was someone else there, too, a wolf. He was with the nurse, he also seemed to be trying to comfort the little ones. They both were likely whispering the same things to them. Things like "everything is going to be okay", "there will be help any moment", "someone is going to get them out of there", or "we just have to make it a little bit longer."

A faint memory triggered within Noellap. A memory of another child huddled in another tight space, an adult whispering to him that it would be okay. That everything would be okay. That someone would save them.

No one ever came.

Noellap had to bury those memories once again. He had to refocus. He could not let emotion of any sort influence his decision. He would have to do what was right, regardless of how he felt about the matter.

The voice continued. "Get those children off. I swear I will get what you need. Just save them first."

Noellap paused, considering the other's words before shaking his head. "I appreciate your position, and I would like to help. But we only have one transport pod, it's not enough to hold that many people. We would have no way of getting them off this ship even if we did attempt a rescue."

"I see." There was a pause in the communication, but only for a moment. "There might be a way! The hangars are all shot, there's almost nothing left intact, but there's an emergency evacuation shuttle located on the bridge, intended for the executive staff. You might be able to use that to get out!"

Noellap lowered his head, considering this new option. Another transport? That would be useful, he had to admit that. There was a problem, though. Even if he should agree to this plan, he'd have to take the agent at their word. He knew nothing about them, he didn't know who they were or how loyal they were to the Dominion, if they were loyal at all! He knew nothing of their background. He felt as though he would be taking an awfully big risk by agreeing to their request.

Yet he could not bring himself to simply deny it. He would have to at least consider the matter. After a short pause as he mulled over all of this information, he responded to the agent. "Alright. I will take it under advisement. I have not decided-"

There was a dull roaring sound from the communicator. "Shoot, they've found me. Sending their coordinates, and I'll send more data soon. Ending transmission."

That was the end of the communication. Sighing, Noellap regarded the sent coordinates for a moment, taking note of where they led. It would appear that the group was holed up in someone's private quarters on Deck 5. That was the deck where the Dominion had first been overwhelmed by the Many. He did not relish the thought of returning. He turned to the rest of the team. They were all watching him now, each of them appearing more anxious than before.

Many thoughts raced through Noellap's mind as he came to a decision. He did not have to stay. It would be wiser to leave. To remain was likely to end in their death. They had been specifically ordered to avoid contact with the crew. Kamille had made it very clear that this was not a rescue mission. They were there to get a job done and get out.

Kamille wasn't around anymore. He was gone, and now Noellap was in charge. While he had understood his former orders, he also had felt a degree of regret over not rescuing anyone involved in this terrible incident.

"What do we do, sir?" Buckley asked, his voice timid. The others were also looking to him for direction. Even Eden and Rangu appeared to be awaiting his decision.

"I'm ready to go whenever you all are." Hawke said, eager to leave.

Noellap looked down again, the video on the security feed replaying, allowing him to see the trapped ones again.

The answer became crystal clear. He was not sure how he didn't see it before. How could he not? It was the reason he had joined the Dominion in the first place. It was the reason why he ultimately believed in the cause, why he thought it was worth fighting for. It was the reason why he fought on, even in the face of adversity, not abandoning his courage or his duty. It was the reason why he had maintained his faith in the Dominion throughout this whole ordeal.

They were there to make the Lylat System a better place. True, that would sometimes call for unpleasant decisions. It would sometimes mean that dark deeds might have to be performed in order to ensure a brighter tomorrow. It was the reason why Noellap had followed his earlier orders to avoid any contact with the crew. Those orders no longer bound him, not anymore. He was in command. He would do his utmost to ensure the Dominion accomplished its ultimate goal today. Today, the Dominion would save lives. He would not merely complete his objectives, he intended to see what was left of the crew rescued.

His mind was made up. Squaring his shoulders, he looked at his men. "Gentlemen, we have a choice before us. I'm not going to force any of you to follow me on what is, in essence, a suicide mission. We have our orders. We were to retrieve that AI no matter the cost. Now we have some civilians in need of rescue. They are not of the Dominion. If our agent is correct and our actions buy them time to accomplish our primary objective, then I say it is worth the risk. I would prefer to help these people regardless of our orders. Now we have an opportunity. An opportunity to make a difference. To save the lives of the few left on this ship, and to secure the future of the Dominion as well." He let out a heavy breath before continuing. "However, I have already asked far more than any of you were expected to give. This data must be returned to Venom Command. If anyone wishes to volunteer, you will still be given full commendation. I would not have it said that anyone who departs now is a coward." He looked between them all, waiting for their response. "I intend to go and commence a rescue myself. Anyone may remain who wishes it. Or you may return to the fleet."

The pilot, Hawke, was watching the group eagerly, waiting for whoever would step up first. In truth, Noellap wasn't certain of what to make of the bird. He seemed a bit cowardly. He didn't know why Kamille had sent him on this mission in the first place. Admittedly, Hawke had seen the destruction of the Bulwark, which would rattle any of the Dominion's forces. Still, he trusted the bird would follow orders, whatever they might be.

Ginger stepped up first. She stared at Noellap for a moment, then saluted. "I'm with you sir. Until the end."

Noellap gave her a nod, grateful for her support. He wondered if anyone else would join. It was to his great surprise that Buckley spoke up next. He rose up, straightened his back and talked with a firmness and conviction that Noellap had not expected. "I request permission to stay aboard and join you for the rescue mission, sir!"

"What?!" Eden gasped, glaring at Buckley. "You are NOT besssting me, prey! I will sssstay assss well!"

Noellap didn't even have to ask Rangu. They had an understanding. He turned back to the pilot, who seemed absolutely stunned by their decision. "But..." He stammered. "But we can...we can leave now! We can just go, get out of here!"

"You can leave if you like, Hawke." Noellap stated. "But we intend to go. We'll find our own way out if we have to."

"I...well..." The bird closed his eyes, then grumbled something to himself. "Maaaan, I can't leave without you guys! So I'll just...wait here, I guess. I'll just keep her running while I wait for you guys to get back. Just hurry up, will ya?"

Noellap folded his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow. His expression had turned stern in the space of a moment. "Is that how you address a superior officer, pilot?"

"What?" He blinked again, then jerked his head back and forth when he realized what Noellap meant. "Oh! No sir! I'm sorry sir! I will wait here until otherwise ordered sir!"

"Good lad." Noellap turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, we're not going for even a hint of subtlety anymore. We make our way toward these coordinates. Deck 5." He tapped his wrist-mounted device, projecting a map and their destination. "Kill hostiles on sight. We're going in loud. We want the Many to know we're here. We're going to move fast, and we're taking a different route out. Here." He pointed out a route that they would take, which would lead them to the children and then take them out by another elevator. "We will then circle around to this position. We'll try to keep them guessing." He stopped in order to turn to the pilot. "I need you to take the ship out and circle the Von Dross. Stay in communications with us. We may need you to form an emergency breach if things go badly."

"Yes sir, I can do that." Hawke still looked a bit disappointed that he wasn't allowed to just leave now, but he wouldn't be in any real danger. In fact, the pilot was probably the safest out of all of them, so long as he remained in the pod.

"Alright, check your weapons, people. We're about to get moving."

As the team began to inspect their equipment, Noellap looked them all over. Save for Hawke, none of them seemed to be overly afraid. He wondered what it was exactly that gave them their courage. Perhaps it was his own example, he tried his best not to show any hesitation or doubt. He found it more likely that they instead knew that they had a greater task to perform, a duty that was far more important, something worth fighting for, worth dying for.

In truth, however, he suspected it was the fact that they were about to do a real rescue mission. That was something to be proud of, especially with the lives of children on the line. Perhaps this, as much as anything, had provided them sufficient motivation.

He checked his own weapon, the pistol that he was so fond of. He had an extra battery pack, ejecting the nearly spent one in his pistol before replacing it. Eden had reloaded her shotgun and removed some ammo from her pack, clipping it to her sides for easy access. Buckley had his rifle and sidearm, which he was now checking to make sure it was in good condition. Rangu wasn't doing anything, but he didn't need to. Noellap could tell he was supremely confident in his equipment. He'd probably already checked it.

Ginger, like Noellap, was only equipped with a sidearm. Also like Noellap, her sidearm was a powerful laser weapon, surprisingly deadly considering its small size and weight. She smiled at Noellap as he looked at her, offering him a thumbs up.

Hawke watched them all as they prepared, shrugging as he went back into the cabin, sitting in the pilot's chair and prepping the pod for launch.

Just as Noellap was about to give the order to leave, the pod lurched back and forth a couple of times, seemingly of its own volition. The pilot stared at his console for a moment, then looked up at Noellap. "Uh, sir?! I think something just hit me. I mean, hit the pod."

"What?" Noellap turned back to look at the pilot, narrowing his eyes. "What do you mean 'hit the pod?"

"I'm not sensing anything on the scans." Ginger offered. "Are you sure?"

The pilot didn't answer. He just lowered his head for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. After a moment, he jerked his head up. "Hey! Did you hear that?!"

Noellap glanced at Ginger, who was also looking at Noellap from the corner of her eye. He then turned back to Hawke. "I did not hear anything. Are you certain you're alright?"

"No no, seriously, come up here, I hear something!" The pilot insisted.

Noellap sighed. "Look, we really don't have time for this. But I will humor you." He approached the cabin of the pod, stopping just before the ramp. He listened for a few moments before shaking his head. "I still don't-"

"Shhhhh!" Hawke held up one wing, silencing Noellap. If the situation were anything but what it was, Noellap would have him disciplined. That could wait for now.

Noellap tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed as he listened. Odd. He had heard something that time. Something metallic. He wasn't sure what it was. A clanging sound that seemed to be right on the other side of the pod's wall, on the hull. It was moving around, too. The sound traveled from the top of the pod all the way to the back.

The back of the pod could serve as another door. It could open on either end. That was one one of the reasons why the pods weren't particularly fast, as they didn't have traditional engines on the back. Whatever it was that was out there was trying to get through that door. Noellap took a step back, then gave an order to the pilot. "Get out of there, Hawke! Get away from the back!"

Hawke was staring at the back door, then turned toward Noellap. "Sir, I...this is our only way out, we can't leave it like this!"

"Get out!" Noellap shouted. "Get out now!"

The strength of Noellap's tone ultimately seemed to have the desired effect. Hawke ran to the front of the pod to join the others on the deck of the Von Dross.

It was at that same moment that some sort of beam pierced the far door of the breacher pod, a beam of bright blue energy. There was a shower of sparks, and Noellap could see as the metal of the door began to melt from the extreme heat. As the molten metal gave way, it revealed a tall and thin dark cloaked figure with an elongated head. In that very same moment, the emergency force field activated, cutting Hawke off from the rest of the team. It must have malfunctioned somehow! The bird looked at Noellap with panic written on his face, and he slammed his hands against the field. "Hey! Get me out of here!"

"Ginger, get this force field down!" Ginger was already complying before the order even left his mouth. She grabbed a small electronic strip from her pocket and placed it along side the pod's door. She was trying to override it!

As she did that, Noellap continued to watch the newcomer that had breached the pod. Noellap recognized the weapon being used. It was a prototype that he'd heard whispers of, a powerful laser rapier that could slice through the most durable objects as if they were nothing more than paper. They had never made it past the prototype stage, as they were considered far too dangerous and risky to be used by most combatants, being just as likely to cause grievous harm to the user as they were to whoever they were fighting against!

Once the hole was big enough, the stranger grabbed hold of the door from the melted part in the center, then demonstrated incredible strength by prying the doors apart, causing them to break off of their hinges and get sucked into space, along with almost everything else in the cabin.

Including Hawke.

Hawke shrieked, stumbling to the ground as the breach caused the air to get sucked out of the cabin. Various pieces of equipment were flying past, being hurtled into the vastness of space through the new hole. The newcomer pulled himself in with his hands and feet, seemingly unaffected by the sudden vacuum. Slowly but steadily, it moved forward, pulling itself along by latching its hands against the roof, somehow gripping it in a way that prevented it from being pulled away. As it did this, Noellap got a look at the thing's hands. They were made of metal, like robot claws. This had to be some sort of robot, but it wasn't like any he had seen before.

By now the team was in position. Hawke was desperately trying to keep his grip, and Buckley was yelling for him to just hold on. Ginger was still working at the override. "I've almost got it! I've almost-"

Noellap put his hand on her shoulder, and that caused her to stop. She looked up to see the very same thing that the rest of the team did.

The door that had been breached was now sealed with another emergency force field, thus ending the vacuum that had threatened the pod's interior. This made Hawke fall heavily to the floor. Groaning, he scrambled up to his feet, reaching for the button that would take down the force field from his side.

Before he could touch it, he let out a stifled gasp as his chest was pierced, impaled by the energy weapon that the other creature was using. It had closed the distance between them, then rammed the blade into his back. Hawke tried to speak, but nothing came out. He just stared at Noellap and the rest of the team, still stuck on the other side of the force field. He gurgled something, his eyes rolling up before he sank to his knees.

The effect was gruesome. The cloaked figure never moved the blade, it simply held the rapier where it was. As Hawke sank down, the weapon cut through his chest, his neck, and then even sliced his head in half as he continued to descend. His body was split almost in two, from his chest all the way to the top of his head.

After the bird had been sliced in half, the killer pressed a button on the blade, causing the energy beam to retract. It then turned to regard the rest of Noellap's team.

Only now did Noellap get a good look at it, or at least as good a look as he could get considering what the thing was wearing. Dark tattered clothing covered most of its body save for its hands, feet, and a small amount of its head. Most of that was covered by its hood, but the little bit that was visible appeared to be made of metal and little else. The most distinguished feature of it was the red "V" that it had for eyes. It appeared to be glowering at them. It must have been some kind of advanced combat robot. He'd never heard of anything as sophisticated as this one appeared to be.

It regarded them for another moment, and then it said something. Noellap blinked, as the words didn't register to him. He knew it had spoken, but he had no idea what it said. It was gibberish, electronic. Was it malfunctioning, perhaps?

"Get away from the door." Noellap ordered his team.

As they all backed away, their guns trained on the force field, the robot walked right up to the field. It paused when it got close, raising its hands and placing them against the field, holding them there for a second, causing the entire force field to light up at the contact. It seemed to be staring at Noellap and his team, then turned to the side. Noellap thought it might just rip the circuitry out, or use its energy blade to slice through it.

It didn't need to do anything so crude, though. It simply hit the button next to the door to deactivate the force field, which was easy now that the ship no longer had a hull breach. It then turned back to Noellap and his team.

He wasn't sure what it was waiting for. It didn't move right away, just watched. It was as though it were testing them, measuring them as opponents before striking. Perhaps it was trying to decide whether they were worth killing in the first place. He had no idea what the thing was thinking, if it was thinking at all. He certainly had an answer for it, though.

"Fire." He commanded, then raised his weapon and shot at the thing. He managed to score a direct hit in its torso, causing it to stagger back. His team quickly followed his example, shooting at the thing over and over again. They were all scoring good hits, and they seemed to be doing well.

While the mechanical foe staggered and reeled from the assault, it wasn't falling, nor did it seem as though it were suffering any significant damage. He could her the sound of their bullets ricocheting off the thing's body, could even see some of the energy from their laser weaponry being deflected off of it. Whatever this was made of it, it was tough!

It had let them fire at will before. That was about to end. It abruptly moved forward at lightning speed, ducking under their attack and charging toward Noellap first, bringing out its energy blade and swinging it at him. Had Noellap not had the good sense and quick reflexes to dive out of the way, he would have likely been sliced in half. As it was, the robot merely slashed through the wall that Noellap had been standing beside, leaving scorching, sparking metal behind.

Buckley and Eden were both shooting at it now, Buckley using his assault rifle and unloading on the thing, and Eden using her shotgun. Both of them hit with almost every shot. Again they made it stagger, but accomplished little beyond this. It soon turned around and charged toward them, bringing the energy blade down in a vicious low-aiming sweep. Buckley managed to get out of the way, stumbling backward just fast and far enough so that the swipe missed.

Eden was not so fortunate. The blade didn't go deep, but it sliced right through her armor and into the scales and bone beneath, cutting through half of her right leg. She screamed as it cut through her, falling backwards onto the ground, her shotgun clattering beside her. The robot didn't even pause, bringing its weapon up in the air to deliver a coup de grace.

Buckley had returned to his feet, charging and screaming at the thing as he fired. Perhaps his shots had an affect on the thing, because Eden was able to roll out of the way just before the blade would have pierced her heart, instead embedding into the floor, piercing the metal. The robot tugged the blade upward, not at all deterred. It was just shrugging off every attack they made. How were they supposed to kill it?

As the robot pulled its blade back up, it spun and did a kick that caught Buckley square in the jaw. He emitted a loud yelp as he sailed backwards through the air, crashing hard against the floor and bouncing painfully down the hall. When he finally rolled to a stop, he began to stagger to his feet, though his movements were now slow, clumsy, and pained.

Noellap had never stopped shooting, but it wasn't making any difference. Their opponent was too heavily armored! The robot loomed over Eden again, raising one foot in the air to bring it down and finish her off, attempting to crush her skull with unfathomable force.

That was when a massive blur of raw muscle and armor slammed into the robot. Noellap hadn't even known that Rangu was capable of moving that fast. The ape had thrown away his gun and charged into the fight, ready to go toe to toe with the monster. He tackled it, his sheer weight sending it sprawling to the side, thrown off balance. Even as it fell, Rangu grabbed for its hand, the one holding that powerful energy blade. They grappled with each other, both struggling to overpower their opponent. The robot was incredibly powerful. Then again, so was Rangu. The large ape grunted and strained from the effort, slamming the thing's hand against the deck over and over and over again. Noellap could hear the sound of something snapping. With a roar, Rangu yanked his arm back. The robot's own hand, complete with the laser rapier, had come with it! Rangu had ripped it off!

Before Rangu could take further advantage of his victory, the robot abruptly shifted its weight, heaving at the ape with an overwhelming amount of force. The ape yelled as he was thrown clear of the robot, striking his head against the floor as he rolled past Noellap. It wasn't defeated yet. Even with one severed hand, the thing still seemed unstoppable!

Eden had managed to limp away from the robot, trying to get to a safer position. Ginger had shrunk back against the pod, her weapon drawn but not firing. She seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Noellap, that conventional weaponry wasn't doing much to this thing. It wasn't paying any attention to her at the moment. She was trying to get over to Eden, who clearly needed medical attention, but she didn't dare to anything that might risk drawing its attention.

Eden and Buckley were on one side of the robot, Ginger, Noellap, and Rangu were on the other. Even though they had the thing flanked, it seemed like it had more of an advantage here than they did! The robot was now advancing toward Rangu, perhaps deeming him as the greatest threat. Rangu was still struggling to get to his feet, grunting from the exertion and pain. The robot was getting closer, electrical energy sparking from where its hand had been severed.

As it advanced, Noellap glanced downward, his attention caught by something on the floor. The energy blade was there, it must have fallen from Rangu's grip when he had been struck. Noellap had only a moment to come up with a decision. He decided to charge.

Bending down as he ran, he scooped up the weapon. He had never used the thing before, but it seemed quite simple in practice. There was a single button in the center, the most prominent one. He hit it as he raised his arms, a beam of energy erupting from the hilt. He could feel the heat on his face even as he held it.

It had only taken him half a moment to grab the weapon and bring it to bear on the enemy, but the robot was so fast. It bent backward, lifting its foot at an impossible angle to catch him in the chest, using his own momentum against him as it sent him sailing through the air. In the flurry, he lost his grip on the weapon, and the robot caught it with its good hand. Instead of charging with the thing, it simply deactivated the blade and reattached it to its waist., inside the cloak it was wearing.

That's when it pulled out something else, something Noellap had never seen before. They looked like little black star-shaped things, projectiles that were sparking with energy. It raised what appeared to be a single star up, then flicked its fingers, revealing no less than five more projectiles. It pulled its wrist back as it aimed. Noellap dove down, but it wasn't aiming at him. It was looking behind him.

Noellap turned just in time to see it. Ginger had reached Eden, she was trying to dress the snake's wound. The robot was capitalizing on that fact. It threw the weapons in rapid succession, one after the other. Noellap could only watch in horror as they streaked toward their intended target.

They didn't hit Eden. With a shout, Buckley slammed into her from behind, pushing her down to shelter her from the attack. Had he done so just a moment earlier, maybe he would have made it too, but he didn't. The energy weapons caught him, all five of them hitting his body. Two in his chest, one in his shoulder, two in his belly. He screamed in absolute agony as the projectile's terrible payload coursed through his body. Noellap could smell burnt fur and flesh.

"NO!" Eden screamed, watching Buckley go down in horror. The rabbit's eyes were already unfocused, staring at the ceiling as his body convulsed. The snake threw herself over him, as though to offer him shelter for whatever was to come.

The robot advanced, merciless and cold. It had no sympathy, no pity. To his despair, Noellap knew that he was about to witness the death of more of his men.

"DOWN!" Rangu shouted. Noellap looked just in time to see the ape knelt down with his rocket launcher armed and ready, aiming it at the bot. Even as he yelled, he pulled the trigger, causing the launcher's deadly projectile to hurtle towards the target. The robot seemed to sense it, turning around in order to face the attack. Its movement caused the rocket to collide directly into its chest piece, resulting in a deafening explosion. The floor itself seemed to shake, and Noellap could feel the heat from the source of the blast wash over his scales.

The room was filled with smoke, and Noellap could hear the others coughing. They were alive at least.

So was the machine.

It stood there before them, still at its full height, those 'V' shaped eyes glowering at them, brighter than ever. The only real difference was that the clothes that it had worn were now shredded. The cloak was gone, along with most of its mask. Its body was revealed in full. It was not at all what Noellap had expected.

Much of the body was machine, he had known that from the beginning, but it wasn't just circuits and wires that made up the guts of the machine. Beneath its steel carapace lay something far more vulnerable. A series of organs, complete with a heart, lungs, and others beside these. The protective encasement had been damaged by the rocket blast. This thing wasn't a machine, not entirely! There was something living inside of it! It was a blend of a living organism and cold machinery. A cyborg!

The thing clenched its remaining fist, withdrawing its energy weapon again. It wasn't finished with them yet. Rangu was reloading his rocket launcher, but it wasn't going to be fast enough. The robot had its sights on him, and it extended the blade, activating it before stepping forward.

Then, seemingly for no reason at all, it stopped. It twitched, jerking it head to the side as if it heard something. Just as Rangu was getting the rocket launcher aimed again, the thing charged forward. Before the ape could pull the trigger, it was on him, but it didn't attack. It used him almost as a spring board, leaping in the air, landing on him, then propelling itself away from him. Noellap took a few shots at it once it got clear, and Rangu tried to aim the launcher at it, but it was too fast. It soon disappeared around a corner, sprinting away.

Noellap followed it a short distance. He wouldn't go far, he just wanted to make sure it was leaving. Rangu was following, still holding the massive launcher on his shoulder as he ran.

The cyborg stopped at the elevator, glancing behind it to track Noellap and Rangu as they moved. It then turned towards the door, activating the laser rapier and slicing a hole through it. It kicked the door in before leaping inside the shaft. As Noellap and Rangu approached, they could hear it moving above them, climbing up the walls of the elevator shaft, its movements hurried and rapid. The noise faded into the distance, and it eventually could not be heard anymore. It had retreated and was moving to the upper decks.

For the life of him, he didn't know why. It could have killed them. Granted, that rocket had done some damage, and maybe if Rangu had managed to fire a second shot they could have killed the thing. Still, he was not convinced that was why it retreated. He believed something else had influenced that decision, but what?

It didn't matter now. He needed to tend to his men. He needed to figure out what they were going to do next.

He and Rangu returned to corridor with the pod attached to it, finding the group huddled together. Buckley was breathing, but his chest was rising and falling rapidly, far faster than it should have. He looked terrible. Eden was behind him, keeping him propped up while Ginger examined him. Eden seemed to be taking this hard. She kept shaking her head, hissing out words. "Sssstupid prey! You should have let me get hit! It wassss not meant for you!" Glancing down, he could still see that her leg was injured, but she seemed unaffected. Perhaps it hadn't been as bad as it looked, or maybe she had already been given some meds to treat it.

Ginger had taken out a couple of med hypos and applied them to Buckley. While his breathing did seem to stabilize, Ginger's expression told Noellap a grim tale indeed. "Sir. I think he'll live for now, but...if we don't get him treated properly, I...I don't think he's going to..."

Noellap nodded. "I understand." He took a deep breath, then turned to Eden. "Eden. You're wounded."

"I'll be fine!" She snapped at him. "I will ssstay with him! He...he shouldn't die for me."

"That's what I intended. I want you to join him." He gestured at the pod. "You two will make your escape. Take the data, return to Dominion territory. Get him to a Dominion facility immediately."

"We...don't even know if it workssss anymore!" Eden protested, referring to the pod that the cyborg had damaged.

Noellap turned toward Ginger, who was rising to her feet. "Make sure it will fly."

"I'm not an engineer, but I can at least do a systems check." Ginger started for the pod. The back doors were gone, but the force field was in place. She quickly ran a diagnostic on the pilot's terminal, then nodded at Noellap. "It's still fully functional, but the force field won't last forever. There's no way we can repair the doors."

"Will it make it to the rest of the fleet?" Noellap wanted to know.

"It should, yes. I think it'll be fine. These things can drive themselves so long as there isn't any trouble. So...yes. It should be okay."

"Good." He regarded the big ape for a moment before saying, "Can you help him on the pod? Get him on there, carefully."

Rangu immediately moved to assist, helping Ginger to lift the incapacitated bunny up and lay him inside the pod, moving some of the scattered equipment to give him some space to rest. He then offered Eden his paw and gingerly helped her up as well. She sat in the pilot's chair, wincing at the pain she was having to deal with whenever she moved.

Before leaving, Ginger set some medical supplies on the seat opposite of where Buckley was laid. "Painkillers for both of you. If you need it."

"Thanksss." The snake woman sighed, then stared at Noellap for a few moments. "Ssssir...issss thissss what we should do? Should you not come with ussss?"

"I appreciate your concern, but we've still got a job to do here. And I don't intend to abandon those children to the fiends that infest this place." Noellap straightened his back, clasping his hands behind him. "Believe me, I will rest much easier knowing that this data is being brought to the Dominion." He offered the data disk to Eden, and she accepted it, holding it gingerly in her hands before placing it in her pocket. She would take care of it. He knew this. "Now it's time for you to go. Contact the Dominion. Tell them what you can."

"Yesss sir." Eden replied. She seemed about ready to begin the launching process, then suddenly jolted up right. Hissing in pain, she got to her feet and staggered toward Buckley. She removed a few extra ammunition clips from his armor, then offered them to Noellap. "You'll need thessse." Noellap accepted the clips. Eden's idea was sound. Buckley wouldn't be needing his weapon, and the team that was left here could use all the firepower they could get. He handed the ammunition to Ginger. "Get Buckley's weapon. Use it."

Ginger hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded as she accepted the clips from Noellap. She then went for the fallen rabbit's weapon, laying on the floor where he had dropped it after being hit.

When Noellap turned back to the snake woman, she was offering him her own weapon, that shotgun that she favored. He frowned. "You are certain you do not need this?"

She shook her head, tongue flicking out for a brief moment. "No. You need it far more than I. I sssstill have my ssssidearm. I will be fine." After she insisted on him taking the weapon, she also gave him a pouch filled with extra ammunition. It had been a while since he had used a shotgun in training, but he remembered how to use it effectively. It would certainly be better than the pistol he'd been using up to this point.

The snake woman turned away from him, returning to the pilot's seat before sitting down and manning the controls. She regarded Noellap for a few moments more, then managed to offer him a salute. "Godsssspeed, sssir."

"And to you." He saluted her back. Once he and the rest of his team were safely away from the boarding pod, he saw her enter a command into the console. The front door began to seal, the pilot's chair moving until it was once again centered in the front of the pod. Ginger waved at Eden, then the pod slowly retreated from its position. Eventually the pod completely extricated itself from the Von Dross. The breach was sealed behind it, and Noellap and his team simply watched as the pod drifted away, moving toward the distant stars.

The data had been secured. If all went well, Buckley and Eden would both survive. He inspected the last remnants of his team, of the entire Dominion fighting force left aboard this vessel. Ginger, the rat girl technician whose expertise and intelligence had been invaluable since their mission began. Rangu, the strongest and bravest soldier that Noellap had ever known. Together, they would mount a rescue mission against a foe that was seemingly unstoppable, all in a desperate hope that they would survive long enough for their agent to retrieve the new AI.

He had only two words for these brave souls standing before him. Two words to impart to them as they both awaited his command.

"Move out."