Hope gazed out through the windshield, taking in the spectacle before her in awe. While she was used to spaceports from her home system, the traffic above Corneria was in a different ballpark. Private leisure craft and military vessels mingled with passenger cruisers and interplanetary container ships, some of which were kilometres in length. A blue and silver space station that somewhat resembled a space crab took centre stage: the Beltino Orbital Gate.
"There it is!" The short, green toad piloting the shuttle grinned from ear to ear. "Isn't it awesome?"
Hope squinted, trying to see if there perhaps was another ship hiding behind the ugly vessel they were approaching. If so, it was indeed awesome-at hiding. This Great Fox that was the destination of their journey seemed neither great nor much like a fox. Painted in different shades of grey with some red accents, it had a flat fuselage that looked like two squashed tubes joined by another piece in the middle. The aft was thicker with wings and four antennae sticking out at odd angles, making it look like some sort of weird bug with two huge nostrils to Hope. It certainly lacked the elegance of The Pristine, the superyacht owned by the notorious crime lord The Merchant, someone Hope used to work for on Kew.
"Well, to be honest..." The shuttle banked slightly as Slippy lifted his cap with one hand and scratched his head with the other, letting go of the flight controls in the process. "This is the second Great Fox, and it's not quite like the original."
"Ooh..." Hope raised her eyebrows. "Mr Star Fox has two motherships?"
"Don't let Fox catch you calling him that. He hates it." Slippy snickered. "The original Great Fox was sacrificed during the Aparoid Invasion."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."
The amphibian got something dreamy in his eyes. "Now that was a thing of beauty. Light-speed capable thanks to its three NTD-FX9 plasma engines, launch bay with four catapults, twin T&B-H9 laser cannons, gravity diffusion-"
Goodness he can talk, said Kayuq in Hope's mind.
The snow fox took a gander over her shoulder at her older companion. The red vixen sat in the jump seat with her eyes closed, looking quite relaxed. Hope smiled. They both had taken an instant liking to the friendly and bubbly amphibian, who Fox had said was his oldest and best friend, but Hope found herself tuning out of Slippy's sometimes lengthy and technical chatter.
He had kept Hope and Kayuq amused since they had been smuggled aboard the shuttle at Yamaria Airport, a regional airfield close to the McCloud's residence, and crucially with less security. Officially, Slippy was transporting provisions and some of the family's personal belongings, and the flight manifest said nothing about any passengers. If SIRIUS had not found out about the two vixen by now, it was imperative for the plan that it stayed that way.
Still talking, Slippy eased the shuttle in through the starboard plasma gates, turned the craft around 180 degrees and set it down on the flight deck. The trio squeezed through the narrow passage between boxes and crates while the loading ramp lowered, and stepped out into the hangar. It was larger than Hope expected, housing two fighter craft and with space for several more. The nearest craft with its pterosaur-like design made Hope's heart beat faster. Slippy walked up to Krystal, who was unloading duffel bags from a storage compartment. She wore a worn flight jacket with a winged fox insignia over a black tank top and blue stretch jeans. Hope's gaze ran along Krystal's toned legs as she bent over to check something in a bag, her blue tail done up with charcoal tail bands, waving like a plume behind her.
"How's the Cloud Runner handling?" Slippy asked with a grin.
"Great, thanks for going over her." Krystal closed the hatch and gave her craft an affectionate pat. "I was starting to wonder if I'd ever get to fly her again."
"No worries". The toad beamed. "She sure needed a tune-up after sitting in storage for so long."
Krystal hoisted a bag on her shoulder and turned to Hope and Kayuq with a friendly smile. "Welcome aboard. Let me give you a tour of the ship."
She led the way to the nearest door in the hangar wall, where a short corridor intersected a longer one. Krystal pointed towards a door with a danger symbol.
"In the bow we have a weapons room with three missile cells."
"But on your expedition they will be launching long-range probes of latest the Space Dynamic design," said Slippy with a smug grin. "They are heat resistant to 8000 Kelvin and can withstand class G5 stellar flares. With early warning against coronal mass ejections, you will be safe." He scratched his chin and looked towards the ceiling. "Unless they attract the attention of those enemies of yours."
"The Wolven," Kayuq offered.
"Thanks for the reassurance," Krystal deadpanned and rolled her eyes. She started walking along the corridors towards the aft, pointing out rooms as they went along. "Here are store rooms, the infirmary, the armoury..."
She ducked down another side corridor, which opened up into the port flight deck, where another two ships were docked. The colour scheme and angular fuselage and wings were reminiscent of the Cloud Runner, but these craft were a little smaller and dart shaped. A short female lynx with long ears, dressed in a magenta flight suit and Star Fox-branded jacket, stood with her arms crossed, leaning casually against the fuselage of one ship. Another person, dressed similarly except in an aqua green flight suit, was only partially visible, their head and half their torso disappearing through an open hatch, while a fluffy white tail wagged back and forth.
The feline smirked and gave the other person a light slap on one buttock, followed by a muffled yelp from within the fuselage. Two large ears flapped about as the canine spun around with a spanner in one hand. The spaniel had grease on her white muzzle and flight jacket, and to Hope's surprise a big, red bow-also slightly soiled-that kept the dog's white hair up.
"I'd like you to meet Miyu and Fay, old friends from the Academy." Krystal pointed with her hand to the lynx and the spaniel in turn, before introducing to the foxes. "This is Kayuq and-"
"Ooh, what an honour to meet another Cerinian." Fay dashed forward and shook Kayuq's hand with vigour. "Krystal told us about you."
Miyu on the other hand narrowed her eyes slightly, looking somewhat reserved, before offering a hand to Hope. "And you are...?"
"I... I'm Hope," she said, receiving a firm handshake from the lynx. "From Kew."
"So, how'd you two meet?" Miyu glanced at Krystal.
"Just business," said Krystal slightly too quickly and forced. Hope's heart sank a little, while Miyu cocked an eyebrow and gave Krystal a quizzical look.
"Krystal's friends are our friends," said Fay with a squeal and pulled Hope into a tight hug, enveloping the surprised vixen in an odd combination of scents: floral perfume and hydraulic fluid.
Krystal led Hope and Kayuq further down the hangar, where a cat and a bird were busy loading boxes from a large stack onto a trolley. Hope was mesmerised by the cat's hot pink pelt, which she at first assumed was dyed, but if so it was meticulously done. Either the feline spent a small fortune on dye, or there were actual pink-furred cats in this system. Obviously, there were blue-furred foxes, she thought, glancing at Krystal, so pink cats and blue birds made sense.
"Woulda loved to come with you," said Falco after Krystal introduced them. "But we've got our own mercenary business to run."
"We've leased this ship for a couple of years, so we're just helping you get ready for your journey"-Katt waved a thumb in Falco's direction-"and clean up after my fiancé."
"Hey!" Falco protested and raised his wings. "I'm not that messy."
"Wait, what?" Krystal's eyes popped open. "You're engaged?"
"Yes, he finally did it." Katt held up her hand, showing off a gold ring with a sapphire coloured a darker shade of her pink fur. "We had a job on Aquas, and Falco complained about being burnt out and wanting some time off. Next day we're on a tropical island drinking Pina Coladas, and going for a sunset walk on the beach, when suddenly he drops down on one knee and all that. Here I thought he didn't have a romantic bone in his body."
"Only the best for my lady," said Falco with a smirk.
"You'd almost think he was coached." Katt glanced sideways at the bird.
"Bah!" Falco stuck his beak in the air, pretending and failing to look offended.
"We'll wait with the wedding until you've returned from your voyage." Katt turned to Krystal. "It's your turn to be maid of honour, Krystal."
"May the spirits bless your marriage," said Kayuq with a genuine smile on her muzzle.
"Speaking of marriage." Falco picked up another carton and dumped it on the trolley. "Where's that hubby of yours? We could use some help stowing all these supplies the CDF have just dumped here."
"Having his hands full with Marcus, no doubt." Krystal sniggered. "I'll be right with you as soon as I've got Hope and Kayuq settled in."
Slippy led the way through another door back to the centre corridor, where he had to duck for a miniature black and red fighter craft that zipped past overhead. Marcus ran past a moment later with a remote control in his hands, squeezing between Slippy and Krystal, blue tail fluttering in his wake.
"Birthday present from Star Wolf," Krystal grumbled. "Of course they had to give Marcus one of their toys."
"Don't worry, it's got the latest LiDAR sensors and won't crash into anything." The toad wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "My kids have an Arwing and an Intruder III in the same series."
Marcus returned, beaming at Hope as he held up his toy. "Look what I've got!"
He giggled and skipped around between the adults, making swooshing noises with the toy in his hand. It had taken over from Hope as his centre of attention, for once, but she didn't mind. The kit always made her laugh, and she could always hand him back to his parents when he got overbearing.
He stopped in front of Krystal and held up his hands, and she picked him up without hesitation, smiling as their noses touched for a brief moment. Hope could feel the aura around them, and she couldn't help feeling a little envious, not of Marcus but of the unconditional love between mother and child. A small part of her longed for a kit or two of her own, a desire to be the parent her own mother never was.
"Anyway..." Krystal continued walking, carrying Marcus on her arm. "Next are the living quarters. Since this is an old assault carrier, there's plenty of room for everyone, even if the cabins are small."
She opened one of the doors, revealing a brass-coloured android with a red visor, and a round robot vacuum doing its best to remove cat hair and feathers from the carpet.
"Here's our resident robotic operator ROB," said Krystal. "He can do everything from navigate the ship to make beds."
"I am pleased to meet you," ROB buzzed while his telescoping hands tucked the sheets in with ease, hospital corners and all.
Hope peered inside the room, which was spartan but seemed comfortable enough. There was a bunk bed, a small table and a closet. It would suit her just fine, she decided. She had grown up in the slums of Kew, after all, and had never seen the luxury of The Merchant and the 'clients' he brought her as anything more than one of few perks with a questionable and dangerous profession.
"You're getting heavy, little guy." Krystal put Marcus down. "Can you help Kayuq?"
The kit nodded and his behaviour suddenly changed. Gently, he took the old vixen's hand and led the way down the corridor, his eyes peeled on Kayuq to make sure he didn't walk too fast. Only his fluttering tail gave away how excited he was. The toy, forgotten for the moment, hovered behind them, obediently following the remote in Marcus's other hand as if on a leash.
"That's the elevator to the bridge," said Krystal when they reached the ship's aft, just as a sliding door opened and Fox stepped out. Krystal crossed her arms. "I thought you were supposed to watch Marcus?"
"Umm, I have been." Fox scratched his next. Marcus took cover behind Kayuq's leg. "But I haven't seen him since a fighter ship turned up from nowhere. Star Wolf didn't abducted him again, did they?" Marcus giggled and poked his head out from under Kayuq's arm. Fox put a hand to his chest. "You rescued him! Such a relief."
Krystal just rolled her eyes and muttered something about "boys" as she continued walking. Fox followed them into a larger space with kitchen appliances filling one half and an assortment of mismatched furniture the other.
"This is the galley and common room," said Fox. "It's where we like to just hang out and relax."
Behind him, Slippy asked to try the toy, and Marcus handed over the remote control with a big grin. Whatever fighter flying skills Slippy once gained had seemed to have been lost again, because the miniature Wolfen started flying erratically around the room. Marcus squealed and giggled as he ran after it around the room, including across a worn old couch because it was the shortest route. The fun ended when the fighter zipped through the doorway to the kitchen, followed by a loud crash.
"LiDAR sensors, can't crash, huh?" Krystal put her hands on her hips and side-eyed Slippy.
"Umm..." The toad looked sheepish. "It must've run out of battery or something."
Krystal checked her wrist communicator and turned back to her guests. "Feel free to explore the ship as you please. We'll meet here in an hour to discuss the journey and the Cerinian extraction."
"You foresee complications," said Kayuq calmly.
"We're dealing with Cornerian intelligence." Fox shrugged. "We have to expect as much, but I don't know what they might get up to."
"Wise." Kayuq nodded. "I have some ideas and will help as best as I can."
Metal clanked on metal as ROB walked into the kitchen, turning to Kayuq. "Your quarters are ready, ma'am."
"Although I could do with some rest first." Kayuq turned to ROB. "Would you be so kind as to guide an old vixen?"
"I am programmed to please." ROB offered her a mechanical arm to lean on.
"Well, we'd better get back to work." Fox clasped his hands. "There's lots to prepare if we're gonna be ready to leave by the end of the week."
"Killjoy," Krystal teased and pulled Fox in for a kiss. Hope closed her eyes.
"Let me show you the long range scanner upgrades," said Slippy and headed for the elevator followed by Fox.
"I want to see the bridge again," Marcus squealed and ran after his father.
"Welp, I'd better go and make myself useful." Krystal turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway. Her ears drooped and her long, fluffy tail hung limp. "I can tell even without using my telepathy, you know." She turned around and locked her gaze onto Hope. "You're jealous."
Hope didn't know what to say. How could she not be, seeing the woman she loved with someone else?
Krystal shook her head. "You fell in love with Kursed, not me."
Hope begged to differ as she looked up at Krystal's face; her muzzle white enough to be a snow fox's, but surrounded by blue fur and that striking indigo hair. Kursed's ever-present scowl was gone, replaced with a concerned expression, but those sea green eyes were still full of the same strength and determination. She had thought Kursed was hot, but Krystal was... beautiful.
Krystal pulled up her tank top a little, showing her flat and muscular midriff, which didn't help Hope at all. But there was also that long scar-hardly more than a ridge in the pelt-that Kursed had refused to talk about.
"It was a Star Fox mission," said Krystal. "I was hurt, badly..."
Krystal shuddered, and a knot formed in Hope's stomach, affected by the strong aura of pain from the blue vixen. Hope could sense that there was more to the story, but she didn't press the matter.
"Fox kicked me off the team to keep me safe, which I thought was completely the wrong thing to do. But we both already had severe trauma to deal with, and communication broke down." Krystal sighed. "Kursed is someone I thought I had to become when I was lost, my worst sides dialled up to eleven. I simply didn't allow myself to be attached to someone, even less to love."
"And if you had?"
"If I'd been in a better state of mind, I would probably not have left Lylat, and we would never have met. There's no point asking 'what if?'"
Krystal moved closer and put her hands on the snow vixen's shoulders.
"Hope, such a good name," she continued. "When I had nothing, you gave me hope. I didn't realise at the time, but protecting you gave me a purpose, a meaning to live."
Hope couldn't tear her eyes off Krystal's face. When she had met Kursed, she had thought they could be business partners, perhaps friends with benefits, but she had fallen head over heels in love with the strong and independent blue vixen.
"Fox and I found each other again. We have a family. I love you too, but not as much as I love Fox and Marcus." Krystal bit her lip. "I know how hard it is for you to see us together. I can feel it. You know... you don't have to come with us."
"And where would I go?" Hope burst out. "I know no one on Corneria, and I can't go back to Kew, not on my own. You're the telepath. You know what I've been through."
She tapped her temple with a finger, and could feel an odd tingling sensation, one that she now knew was a sign of a Cerinian reading her mind. Hope pulled up memory after memory: growing up in Kew's red light district, doing house work instead of going to school while her mother walked the streets, having no idea of who her father was, the ever present abuse and drugs, The Merchants business, and about to be assaulted by a client when a furious blue vixen appeared and threw him out. Tears welled up, flowing over onto Hope's cheeks.
"I understand." Krystal wiped a tear off Hope's face. "I promise to help you make a start in Lylat once we've returned. I'd love to have you as a friend. But that's all I can offer."
Hope rubbed her eyes and tried to stop sobbing. "I... I could do with a friend."
Krystal pulled her into a tight hug. Hope wrapped her arms around Krystal in return, resting her muzzle on Krystal's shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. They were together again. Not the way she wanted, but the awkward silence, the avoidance, was over.
"Fay and Miyu meant what they said." Krystal stroked between Hope's ears. "My friends are their friends."
Hope settled down a little. Friends would be nice. She'd never had a friend, except perhaps Sharon the kangaroo. She opened her eyes and got a fright. Fox was standing in the doorway with his maw wide open.
"He knows about us." Krystal broke off from the hug, holding Hope at arms length. "He can't keep any secrets from me"-she tapped her temple-"so it's only fair that I keep none from him. And he keeps his dirty thoughts mostly in check."
Fox's jaws snapped shut and he blushed a little, while Krystal rolled her eyes. Hope suppressed a giggle.
"We do have things to do, though." Krystal had a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure you're up for it?"
Hope nodded. Getting busy helping her new friends seemed like a good idea to keep her mind off the heartache for a while.
The cloud cover reached all the way towards the horizon several hundred kilometres away, only a few tall peaks poking through the sea of white. With steady hands, she piloted the standard-issue Cornerian shuttle down into the opaque layer.
"I've lost visual," said Fay's muzzle on the comms screen. "Ugh, I'd feel better if I was there with you."
"I'll be fine," said Krystal, trying her best to sound convincing. SIRIUS had demanded that Krystal come alone, but they'd agreed to an escort staying in orbit over Fichina. "Besides, you're close enough if I need backup."
"I guess..." Fay sighed. "Over and out... for now."
Surrounded by the white outside and with the comms screen gone dark, Krystal turned her attention to the flight instruments. The cockpit layout was different to an Arwing, but most of the basic controls were the same. On the other hand it was more spacious, and there were some comforts, even cup holders. Grasping her spill-proof thermos, she took a sip of the still hot and strong brew. While her first ever shot of coffee had sent her sixth sense into overdrive, she had gotten somewhat used to caffeine lately, the substance sharpening her perception for a while, but she tended to crash and burn afterwards.
With one eye on the auto-pilot, she leaned back and relaxed. It had been a busy morning with General O'Hare and his bodyguard as well as a large entourage of CDF public relations as well as public media had swarmed the Great Fox. A bespectacled, white-furred dog with red hair and her cameraman from the Cornerian News network had followed Fox and Krystal around the ship, asking a thousand questions. They had plastered their best smiles on their faces, talking about the generous support from the Cornerian Army: fuel, provisions, long range scanners, probes developed to replace the GF2's three missiles and whatnot. Krystal was relieved when they finally disembarked, and she could set off on the most crucial preparation before their departure: picking up Ryuga, Kabura and Mitsuru.
The clouds parted in a last flurry of snowflakes, and a landscape covered in blinding white lay before Krystal. She turned a dial and the windshield gained a yellow tinge, highlighting contours as she headed towards a complex in the distance, flanked on both sides by low mountains. Descending between the jagged peaks, she recognised the silhouette of the Fichina Climate Control Centre, a familiar sight from the Aparoid Invasion years ago.
The comms chimed their signature tune and a person in CDF uniform appeared on her screen. "State your designation and purpose."
"Krystal McCloud of Star Fox," she replied, feeling a little proud of her reinstated mercenary status. "Requesting permission to land for a prearranged personnel transport, code SFX3."
The traffic controller tried and failed keeping a straight face, a smile spreading under her schnauzer moustache. "Mrs. McCloud, you are clear to land."
"Roger."
Following the flight path plotted on the HUD, Krystal rounded a column of luminous air that rose from the control centre's main structure, dispersing the storm clouds above to let Lylat shine through in her full glory. Steam rose from hot springs scattered throughout the landscape, where the heat from the planet's inner rose to the surface, fighting the eternal snow, the same geothermal power that fuelled the Climate Control Centre.
A sensation from years ago returned, a sort of psionic static induced by the climate generators, which had made it slightly more difficult for her to pick out the Aparoids in the storm at the time. Still, her telepathic link with Kayuq was strong.
An opening became visible in the rock face in front of her, somewhat sheltered from the weather by an overhanging cliff. She slowed down and entered the hangar door, setting the shuttle down on the rock floor with a soft thud. Exiting the craft, her breath burst into a white cloud of steam in the cold air, but she didn't feel the cold. The thermal regulation in her old black and blue flight suit from her early Star Fox days was still excellent, but it sat a bit tighter over her hips and thighs than it used to. Darn Fox, she thought with a smirk, feeding her and Marcus too much candy.
She was met by two armed CDF soldiers, each with a hand resting on their carbines, although the guns were not pointed towards her.
"Please leave your weapons here, ma'am", said the canine female while motioning towards the trolley her coworker-a burly bulldog-was pushing.
Krystal surveyed the hangar, spotting several more soldiers including two on either side of windowed sliding doors, leading towards what resembled an airlock. "There's a lot of security for a research station."
The soldier just shrugged while Krystal unclipped her blaster from her belt and placed it on the trolley. "Your staff as well, please," she said, and when Krystal cocked an eyebrow added, "I'm just following standard protocol."
The grunt seemed at unease, but a quick scan of her mind revealed that all she knew were the orders she'd been given.
Kayuq made telepathic contact. Is something wrong?
I'm just smelling a trap, that's all.
I'd expect as much.
Krystal pulled the staff out of its holster on her back and held it in her hand for a moment, reluctant to let go of her one item from Cerinia, apart from that skimpy outfit she'd arrived on Sauria in. The guards probably wouldn't let her keep that either, she mused; bikinis were explosive stuff in Lylat, she'd heard, and it had disarmed Fox after all. She was sure SIRIUS would like to get their hands on it to dissect the weapon, unless they already had Ryuga's staff, of course. Slowly, she put it down on the trolley, careful to point it towards the doors ahead.
More soldiers saluted her as she walked across the hangar, little clouds forming in front of their muzzles as they exhaled the cold air. The glassed doors slid open, revealing a second set of doors. Perhaps it was to keep the cold out, she thought as she stepped into the chamber, but she doubted it. The doors behind her closed with a firm thud, but she waited in avail for the inner doors to open. Instead, a screen on the wall flickered to life.
"Ah, Krystal, such a wonderful sight you are," said Panther in his sweetest voice, a pleased smile on his muzzle.
"Cut the crap," she spat back and glared at him. "What the fuck are you up to?"
To her delight, he seemed slightly startled by her cussing. "Well, this is a most awkward situation."
"Cut to the chase."
"You were not here then, I'll give you that, so you have no idea what the Cerinian Crisis was like." He leaned in towards the camera, a sincere expression on his face. "I know that you are true of heart, but Kamuy and her followers were most certainly not."
Krystal pointed a finger gun towards Panther, unable to suppress a little smirk at watching his Adam's apple move up and down as he swallowed. She was sure he remembered that time back in Quango; his fear had been tangible.
"I saw it all, experienced the atrocities firsthand." He put a hand to his chest. "We can absolutely not let that happen again. Eldey and thousands of her loyal telepaths are still at large, no doubt gathering reinforcements to exact revenge on Corneria, as well as yourself."
"You're still not saying what it is you want." She tried to scan, search for his thought patterns, but the climate generator's static made it difficult. She thought she could sense him somewhere nearby, but she wasn't sure.
"Taking Ryuga and his companions to Cerinia would be a grave mistake," Panther pleaded, lowering his voice and leaning in ever closer to the camera, his eyebrows raised and his pupils dilated. "What if The Protectors are there, waiting for you? Please, let us finalise a countermeasure first."
"Do you really expect me to help you?" Krystal deadpanned and crossed her arms.
"We're wasting our time," said another voice. The camera zoomed out until it showed a black poodle with curly hair sitting next to Panther. "The subjects cannot be released. That's not negotiable. We already have stunt doubles for Fox and yourself ready, so the question is whether you will assist... voluntarily?"
"Please, Krystal, this can work out for the best of everyone," Panther continued. "Once the research program is complete, you're free to take them to Cerinia."
"Do you really think the good cop bad cop shtick will work?" Krystal snarled, while she reached out to Kayuq. Did you hear the thing about stunt doubles? Fox is in danger.
Loud and clear, the old vixen replied. We're on it.
"We're wasting our time." Jackson waved a finger in the air, turning to someone off screen. "Put her to sleep."
Krystal heard a hissing noise and looked around the airlock for the source. She spotted an air vent spilling a fine mist, and a slightly off smell reached her nostrils. Holding her breath and pinching her nose with a hand, she reached out, sensed her staff, commanding it.
Jet! Ice blast!
She crouched down, covering as best as she could. There was a loud crash, and shards of frozen glass rained down around her. Still at speed, the staff smashed into the barrier in front of her and clattered to the floor. Even as she lunged for it, she ordered it to charge, its blue gem glowing bright.
She dove and rolled, snatching it off the floor in one motion. Scanning the hangar behind her, she found them getting their blasters ready, so there was no time to lose. Spinning the weapon in her hand, she held it still for just a second, feeling it vibrating in her hand before she slammed its butt end first into the barrier in front of her. The super quake was too much for the blast proof window, which shattered in a million pieces.
She dove through the newly made opening head first, and tucked and rolled on the landing, while her suit and prosthetic hands protected her from the harp glass shards. Sensing more soldiers approaching, she stayed on her knees and raised the staff above her, letting it envelop her in a hemispherical forcefield.
Plasma blasts bounced off the barrier, ricocheting dangerously in all directions, until there was a brief pause. She sprung into action, shaped the forcefield into a shield and used it to deflect the next blasts back towards their source, seeing soldiers ducking for cover. Recalling the schematics she'd memorised, she ran towards an elevator, blowing the doors off their hinges with a rapid series of fire blasts. Without hesitation she jumped into the shaft and engaged the jet blast, letting it control her descent, with the glow from the staff lighting the way as she fell.