Chris grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair as he passed through the dining area. "I'll see about getting fuel, fresh water and the like. Ben,
you want to get the cargo ready to unload?"
"I can think of worse ways to pass the time," Ben replied, tapping Fiona on the shoulder. "Could you give me a hand?" Fiona nodded, and
they followed Chris down to the cargo bay, where he opened the main doors and stepped out into the hanger bay.
"Morning there," called out the man walking towards him. "Welcome back to Ragol. Captain... Wood?" he asked, checking the datapad in his
hand. As Chris nodded, he continued. "We've got you listed as hauling goods for Ragol Global Foods and Trauma Team?"
"That's right. We should be bringing out the produce first. We should have the quarantine seals ready for examination in about ten minutes."
"Good, good." He pointed up and along the hull. "Run into a bit of trouble?" Chris followed where he was pointing, seeing a streak of
energy burn running along the side of the ship.
"Something like that. We found a stasis pod in a bit of ship wreckage." He scowled, looking over the damage. "A few security bots left over
tried to do something about us." He chuckled. "Didn't do that much. Anyways, we opened the pod. The girl's on board, so you might want to
send a wave to Immigration." He walked along the side of the ship, eyes tracking the scar above him. "Doesn't look too bad. It'll probably
scrape right off-" he paused, noticing a point where the burn seemed to flare outwards. "Hey, have you got a lift or a ladder or something?"
"I've got a hoverloader over there, you can use that," the man replied, pointing towards a storeroom along the far wall.
***
"Son of a bitch!" he spat as he pried the hull plate loose, revealing a burnt mess of wiring, crystals and assorted other machinery.
"How bad is it?" Ben called out from below, while Fiona talked to the Customs officer that had arrived to take her statement.
"Looks like one of those drones got in a lucky shot," he responded. "Managed to get a shot in through a crack in the hull plating, messed up a
part of the slip-point manifold." He unhooked a projector crystal from its slot, looking at the warped materials. "If I had to say, I'd class it
as slagged."
"As in, replace?" Ben asked.
"Bingo," he growled, looking at the crystal in his hand, then shrugging and putting it back where it belonged for the time being. "It's been
acting up for the last two jumps, which means we've probably got faults in other parts of the system."
"It would explain why that last jump was rough," Fiona said. "If they only damaged that manifold, each jump might well have made the problem a
little worse."
"Good bet," Chris said as he finished refitting the hull plate and lowering the hoverloader back to the ground. "I'll have to go through the
whole damn thing," he added, scowling. "Who knows how much it's going to cost."
"We should have the spare cash for something like this," Ben said. "I hope."
"You've got trouble?" asked a soft voice behind him, making the man jump slightly. Spinning, he saw a slender, blue-eyed woman standing there,
pointed ears emerging out of her light purple hair. "Hey Ben," she said with a smile.
"Hi Amy," he responded. Next to him, Fiona tried not to stare. Amy certainly presented an interesting sight. Apparently in her early twenties, it was
obvious from the ears that she wasn't entirely human, something she'd rarely seen on her mostly human planet. That, and she certainly dressed unlike
anything she'd ever seen, with light blue boots, a surprisingly small pair of dark blue shorts studded with some metal she didn't recognize, and a
long-sleeved blue shirt, again studded with metal, and a bulky arm bracer on her left forearm.
She looked between the pair for a moment, then noted the looks they were giving each other. Glancing over at Chris, she raised an eyebrow at his smile.
"So, Amy," he said, unhooking the safety railing and climbing out. "I take it you got that text?"
"Yeah," she said, looking over Bens shoulder at him, then over at Fiona. "You must be Fiona," she guessed, holding out a hand.
"I'm Amy Rose."
"It's a pleasure," she replied, returning the handshake.
"It occurred to us that neither Ben or I really have a clue about women's clothing," Chris chuckled. "So we put in a call to an old friend,
figured she might have a better understanding." Fiona blinked and looked at the two men.
"We could hardly leave you in coveralls for a few weeks," Ben responded. "You sure you can handle it Amy?"
The woman took on a mock-thoughtful pose. "Hmm... I think I should be able to pull it off," she grinned.
"Well then," Chris chuckled, "while you ladies take care of that problem, Ben and I have to pay a visit to middle-management and take care of
some paperwork. Amy, did you want a credstick or just bill us?"
"I'll take the later option," she said. "Unless you've got the right amount in Meseta right off?" Chris did the mental maths, then
shook his head.
"We'll have to visit the bank," he muttered. "League Credits are probably the best bet for the exchange rate."
The Ragolian shrugged. "Bill you it is." She would have continued, if Fiona hadn't yelped in surprise. As the other three, along with the dock
worker and Customs Officer all looked over at her, the cause of the yelp became clear. As she'd been watching her two shipmates and their friend talk, what
looked like a black, metallic, chibified cat had dropped down out of nowhere and simply hovered in front of her face.
"Sato!" Amy scolded, a stern look on her face. "What've I told you about doing that?" The creature turned to look at her, chirping
slightly, then floated over to her, parking itself above her right shoulder. "I'm sorry about that," she said to Fiona, "but Sato seems to
enjoy startling people like that. He really needs to stop it," she added, giving it a brief glare.
"What... what is he?" she asked, looking at it as it hovered there, idly spinning slowly.
"He's my Mag," Amy said. "Think of it as a little droid assistant that's always there. Every Hunter has one. I've had Sato here
since I first joined the Guild." She reached up and patted the Mags head. "Say hello Sato."
The younger woman watched as the Mag moved forward, stopping about a foot away from her and chirping a greeting. "Hello yourself," she replied,
patting it gently on the head (Which, she noted with slight amusement, was actually bigger then its tiny body). Sato chirped again, hovering in a little
closer.
"Once again Amy, your companion manages to make a friend so easily," Ben noted.
"Yeah... it's a talent I wish I had," she chuckled. "So... you've been taking care of yourself?"
"More or less," he responded. "A little bit of action, but nothing too intense. I've mostly just been flying Duskwalker. You on the other
hand... I get the feeling that you've been in more adventures then me."
The woman shrugged, her ears twitching slightly. "It depends on what you call an adventure really," she admitted. "Hunting wild animals
isn't always thrilling action. You should know, you've come on a few runs with us before."
"Most people would class your kind of hunting as military action," Chris noted, watching as Sato flipped upside down so Fiona could scratch his
underside.
"Well, yeah," she conceded, "but even there, things have been rather mundane lately. It's like most of the creatures are figuring out that
it's not worth the risk to go near the settlements, you know?"
"Smart animals?" Ben asked. "Sounds a little odd, doesn't it?"
"Evolution at its most brutal," Chris suggested. "Any Booma or Hildebear that goes near the settlements meets photonic death. Sooner or later,
it occurs to the survivors to look for food somewhere else." He turned back to talk to the dock worker for a moment.
"So," Ben asked. "Aside from Guild work... have you been looking after yourself?"
"I guess so," she replied. "There's always something to do in the City in the Sphere," she chuckled.
Ben grinned. "Seeing anyone?"
"No, not really," she said, frowning slightly. "Most men aren't exactly eager to go after a Hunter... a bit too strong for their tastes, if
you know what I mean. And the ones that are... not the kind of people I go for myself. What about you? I mean, I know you and Stacey didn't get
anywhere."
"Too clingy. Can't figure out why," he muttered. "She knew I was a spacer..."
"People tend to ignore the obvious?" she offered.
"That works," Ben said, leaning against the hull. Amy did the same, and they just remained there in silence for several minutes, before Chris
finished with the dock worker and came back over.
Clapping his hands together, he looked over the small group. "Okay, while Amy solves the dilemma of the cute girl with very few clothes," he said
with a slight grin (and ignoring the mock-glare from Fiona), "Ben and I need to pay a visit to Trauma Team and speak to a middleman about some money
we're now owed for our services."
The local girl grinned, putting an arm over Fiona's shoulder. "Time for a girls day out," she said, getting a grin from the other girl.
"Don't bankrupt us!" Chris called after them, getting a laugh in reply. "Good kid," he said to Ben.
"Oh yeah," his old friend replied. "She took Sato pretty well."
"Yeah, little surprise at first, but adjusted fast." He scratched his chin. "All things considered, she's handling space pretty well."
"Hmm." Ben was silent for a moment, then straightened. "Well, let's go talk money."
***
Amy led Fiona out of the hanger and down a hallway. "You mentioned you were a Hunter?" the young woman asked. Amy nodded. "Chris told me a bit
about it, but it seemed a bit... vague."
She laughed slightly. "He was probably telling you about a hundred different things at the time?" she commented. Fiona grinned and nodded.
"It's that or he goes into too much detail. Essentially, the Hunters Guild is an independent organization that serves as a mixture of military, police
force, search and rescue, and just plain animal hunters."
"Interesting mix," Fiona noted.
"Isn't it? Back on Coral, the Guild was apparently an organization that made certain that the major mercenary organizations employed by the various
governments during the Long War. Over time, it took more and more authority, until all the mercenaries worked for it." She chuckled. "To hear the old
timers tell it, it drove the actual militaries crazy. Especially since the Guild was able to make certain we had better weapons and equipment then them."
"Okay," Fiona said. "So the Guild pretty much hired out its people to the governments as needed. That makes sense. But where'd the rest of
those duties come from?" As she finished the question, the pair turned the corner, coming to what looked like a dead end. Fiona blinked, then realized
there was actually something built into the walls and floor. Gleaming circuits trailed down from a wall panel to a silver circle in the floor. "What's
this?"
"Fast and efficient public transport," Amy replied with a grin, entering a sequence onto the panel. "Hop in," she said. Fiona shrugged and
did so - only to nearly jump out of her skin as everything around her flashed green, only to be replaced by completely different surroundings... seemingly the
middle of the city.
"Wow," she managed, looking around her. Gleaming metal and glass skyscrapers towered past the walkway they were standing on, aircars flying overhead.
"Teleporter?" she asked.
"Bingo," Amy said, guiding her off the panel. "Pretty much what passes for public transport here." She pointed up at the aircars that
passed them. "With a city this size, in such a small space, it's easy to have too many vehicles. Most of us have to use the transporter grid."
"Huh... different," Fiona commented, leaning on the handrail and looking over the edge. For a moment, her mind reeled as she saw what looked like a
drop of several thousand meters at the very least. She couldn't even see the streets below... if there were any down there at all. Backing up slightly, she
looked over at Amy. "You were saying?"
"Oh, right." Amy led her along the walkway, maneuvering through the slight crowd. "The Guild managed to get a presence on both Pioneer One and
Two, but to be honest, there wasn't much purpose for us here... Until the explosion wiped out the colony just as we came into orbit."
"With everything that's happening on the planet, the Hunters became a lot more important again," Fiona guessed.
"Bingo," the Ragolian replied. "The military is... well, I hate to sound rude, but they're used to life on Coral. Utterly useless in dealing
with the situation down on the ground. The Hunters aren't. When it comes to clearing Ragol of man-eating beasties, keeping the peace in the facilities
we've managed to set up on the planet, etcetera etcetera, we lead the way."
"Certainly sounds like an interesting life," the younger girl said. "Action, adventure..."
"It has its moments," Amy admitted. "I've certainly got the skills for it." She was quiet after that, leading Fiona into what looked
like a shopping complex. "Ah, here we are," she said as they approached a large clothing store. "I'm sure we can find something a bit better
then an old pair of coveralls," she chuckled. "Mind you, Chris will probably hit me when he gets my bill."
"Um, nothing too expensive, right?" Fiona asked as she was pulled into the store.
***
"Behold," Chris said with a sweep of his hands as he and Ben left the Trauma Team office. "We have money!"
Ben rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and a good part of that's going to be going to replacement parts for the slip-point motivator."
"Details, details," Chris replied. "Look, let's get some food first, then see if we can find Fiona and Amy, before your girlfriend destroys
our profits."
"Yeah," he chuckled, then looked over at his friend. "Girlfriend? What're you talking about?"
"Oh come on," Chris said. "How much longer are you two going to run in circles around the issue? You and Amy have it bad."
"She's just a good friend," Ben protested as they walked down the streets. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"Nope," Chris replied. "But you two are a heck of a lot closer then that, even if neither of you will admit it." He started down a flight
of stairs. "Christ Ben, the two of you have been more then just friends for months now, and every time we visit Ragol, you're only worse. How much
time do you guys end up texting each other anyway?"
"Or, you're reading too much into things," Ben protested. "She's one of my closest friends, same as you. I don't see where
you're getting it from-"
"All of our friends her on Ragol are well aware of it. Dammit Ben, Fiona's figured it out, and she's seen the two of you together for maybe five
minutes!" Ben stopped and looked at him. "Yeah, think about that for a minute," Chris added with a smirk, heading for a café and leaving Ben
standing there, a slightly amazed look on his face.
***
"So how'd you meet them?" Fiona asked. Amy glanced at the changing room door. "Chris and Ben, I mean."
Nodding slightly, Amy started talking. "It was... oh, just under a year ago if I remember right. I was down in the Farm Sector on the planet - It's a
region we've managed to force the mutated wildlife out of - while they were there as well. The Principal wanted to prove that it was safe for conventional
ships to travel to properly secured areas on the planet, rather then relying on heavy military transports and the transporter grid." She rolled her eyes.
"It was a lousy way to find out Nano Dragons are attracted to the energy emissions from some kinds of ship drives."
Fiona stuck her head out of the changing room. "Nano Dragons?" she asked. "Pass me that skirt."
The Ragolian passed over the knee-length skirt, then continued. "Think giant flying lizards with plasma-breath. Real pain in the butt. Anyway, about
twenty of them got through the perimeter, along with some other creatures that followed, thinking 'food'. So, I end up in the middle of one heck of a
firefight, and the next thing I know, the backwash from Duskwalkers atmosphere engines sends the dragon flying sideways about a hundred meters, breaking both
of its wings."
"That's an original solution."
"Yeah. Ben pretty much hosed down the area when anything got too close. Blasted dragons still burned a hole right along the side of the hull. Watching
Chris tear strips out of some pencil pushers hide was fun though. Anyways, after that, we tend to hang out whenever they come to Ragol, which is usually once
every month and a half. Other then that, we tend to stay in contact."
"Wonders of the internet?" Fiona asked, studying her reflection.
"Pretty much," Amy replied. "So, any thoughts?"
The door opened and Fiona stepped out. She'd exchanged the coveralls for a slightly loose blue blouse and skirt, along with a pair of sturdy, yet
fashionable shoes. Nothing elaborate, and unlikely to get in the way on a ship where space could be a problem, but much better then her previous outfit. She
looked a lot more comfortable as well.
"I like it," Amy said. "And judging by the look on your face, I think you do too."
The younger girl chuckled, running a hand through her hair to smooth it out slightly. "It's nice to have my own clothes again. The single pair I
had... I'm not too eager to wear that again, to be honest," she admitted with a slightly sad look. "Mind you," she continued with a slight
smirk, "the underwear was pretty much at my personal limits."
"And you can end that train of thought right there," Amy laughed with a mock shudder. "I figure a few skirts, maybe some jeans?"
"Jeans are still in?"
"Depends on the world, but mostly. I remember hearing about a world where it's illegal for women to wear pants."
"Define illegal."
"Public Stoning." Fiona gave her an odd look "What can I say? Those religious fanatic types can be freaky at times."
"Okay..." she said, going back into the changing room.
***
"So... do you think I should say something?" Ben asked. Chris rolled his eyes, then finished his current mouthful of burger.
"Why in the heck are you asking me?" he responded. "Need I remind you which of us actually has experience at a love life?" Putting his
burger down, he continued. "But, as someone used to watching from the sidelines, I say go for it. You're both smart people, and even if it doesn't
work, I doubt that you're going to let it ruin things."
"So... plenty to gain, nothing to lose?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Look, it's either that, or you can keep darting around the issue, having it gnaw at you until you go crazy."
The younger man shot him a sour look. "I wouldn't have it gnawing at me if you hadn't brought it up in the first place." He took a bite of
his burger, swallowed, and continued. "I was perfectly happy being ignorant."
"Ignorant of what?" came a new voice, surprising both men. They turned to see what looked like two girls in their early teens standing there, both of
them familiar to the two spacers.
"Skuld, 'Riko," Chris said with a grin. "I pretty much made Ben admit that yes, he does have a thing for Amy."
"Really?" the human girl replied. "And his response?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Uncertainty and a fear he'll ruin things, of course," he chuckled, earning a glare from the man in question.
"Of course," Skuld replied. "Mind you, this means that you lose the bet."
"Bet?" Ben said, looking between the pair.
It was the second girl, actually a white armored android, her face hidden behind a mask, that spoke up. "We've had a betting pool running for a while
now, as to just which one of you would realize, and speak up about it. If I remember right, Chris was betting on you... in about four months." Chris
shrugged at his friends look. "Of course, by telling you about it, he's pretty much taken himself out of the betting pool."
"And I bet on sometime in the next week and a half," Skuld noted. "Do I still win if he talks to Amy about it?"
"Not sure," Noriko admitted. "I'll have to check the rulebook about bets regarding friends love lives."
Chris hid his smile behind his hand as Ben groaned, leaning his head against the table. "So, besides annoying Ben, what brings you two to track us
down?"
"Tracking you down was luck," Skuld admitted. "Although it's good luck, given we could use your help with a job."
"Take a seat," Chris offered. "Now, how can we help you?"
"You know about the science stations down on the planet?" Noriko asked.
"Sure," Ben said. "They're all over the place, studying the planet, the wildlife, and so on. What about it?"
"About twenty hours ago, one of the stations dropped out of contact, and haven't responded since. A Guild satellite passed overhead just under two
hours ago, and it looks like there's monsters roaming inside the perimeter."
Ben blinked. "Okay, not fun at all," he said. "But what's that got to do with us?"
"The stations teleporter is down," Skuld said, "and its GTG node is offline. No one can beam down. And the military is giving their usual
attitude of 'not our problem.'"
"They claim the station was operating outside their secured zones, and as such, they're not wasting resources on them now," Noriko added, disgust
in her voice. "So, the job falls to the Hunters Guild."
"And you want Duskwalker," Chris said. "We fly you in, you secure the perimeter so we can land, and from there, we find out what happened."
"Pretty much," Skuld said. "I know there's a risk involved in taking your ship into Ragols atmosphere. But it's the only way down there,
and your cut of the fee should pay for repairs and then some."
"Plus there's the whole 'we'd be leaving people to die' angle," Ben noted.
"You two fight dirty," Chris said. "Give us a few minutes to talk it over."
***
"It'll be good money," Ben said, leaning against the guard rail and watching the gleaming city below.
"It'd want to be," Chris said. "The thought of taking Duskwalker back into Ragols atmosphere doesn't appeal to me."
"Maybe not," Ben said, "but the fact is, we need the money right now. At the very least, we need a new manifold. Worst case -"
"The entire slip-point system will need repairs or replacing," Chris growled. Finishing off his drink, he tossed the plastic cup at a nearby bin.
"That'll cost thousands, which we don't have on hand. And even if we do, we'd still need to pay for fuel, fresh air, food..."
Ben rested his chin on his hand. "More money."
"More money. But if we get the ship banged up," Chris added, raising a finger, "God only knows how we'll afford it. So, taking it down to
the planet is hardly a brilliant idea."
"They wouldn't offer us the job if they thought the risk was too great," Ben noted. Chris gave him a look. "Okay, Skuld would. But Noriko
would've made more noise if she thought it was a major risk to the ship."
"True." The older man was silent for a moment. "What the heck. We need the money, and those two would never let us hear the end of it if we
don't."
"Agreed, assuming we get a decent cut of the fee. But there is one other issue." Chris raised an eyebrow. "Fiona."
"Gah," he managed. "That could be a problem. It's not really a great plan to take her planetside. No way in hell would she be willing to
stay on board."
"There's plenty to see up here," Ben said. "There should be someone we know that's willing to show her around."
***
"I'm coming with you," Fiona said, half an hour later in Duskwalkers dining room.
"Woah, wait a second," Chris responded. "Ragol's hardly a tourist site. Literally everything on the planet likes to eat humans. And you
still want to go?"
"Of course," she replied. "It's an alien world unlike anything else I'll ever see. I promise I'll stay on the ship unless you let me
come out."
"I really think it's a bad idea," Ben said.
"Please?" she asked. "I'll stay on the Duskwalker and help out around here, but I really want to see this."
"You'll have your chance to go offworld on planets that are a lot safer," Chris stressed.
"Yeah, and most of them have been occupied by humans for so long, there's nothing alien about them," Fiona protested. "Can you really expect
me to pass up a chance like this?"
"Well, you do have a point there," Chris admitted.
***
"So," Skuld said, standing on Duskwalkers entry ramp, watching as Fiona helped Ben wheel a crate onto the ship. "The kid's coming with
us?"
"Yeah, she's coming with us," Chris replied. "And even when you don't include the stasis time, she's still older then you."
"Bah, I'm just small for my age," she shot back, glancing across the hanger to see Amy and Noriko approaching, a tall, bulky black and red robot
walking behind them. "And the gang's all here."
"Just the four of you?" Chris asked.
"Add you and Ben to the mix, and we've got a decent sized team." Chris nodded in agreement as the trio approached, and Skuld pulled the
blue-haired woman into a brief hug. "Hey. You find it?"
"Of course," Amy chuckled. "We've all got spares."
"Optimal," Chris said, shaking the Casts hand. "Glad you could make it."
"And miss all the fun?" he replied, his face the solid slab of metal Chris remembered - but the voice easily conveyed the machines amusement and
anticipation.
Shrugging, Chris turned and walked into his ship. "Well, I don't know if I'd call it fun... crazy trigger-happy Hunters," he said, laughing
slightly.
"Hey, it gets the heart pumping," Optimal noted.
"You're a machine! You don't have a heart!"
"Oh yeah..."
***
"All sealed Ben," Chris said into the intercom as the main airlock sealed tight. "Take us out."
"You got it," came the reply, as the soft hum of Duskwalkers engines began to make itself felt though the ship.
"If any of you forgot anything, you've got five seconds to speak up," Chris said, looking around the small group of people gathered in the cargo
bay.
"I think we're all good," Skuld said. The others all chimed in their agreements as they checked their weapons.
"Great. Fiona, could you duck up and make sure Ben doesn't need a hand? I've got to get my own equipment to setup." Fiona nodded and headed
for the stairs, while Chris went over to one of the walls and tampered with one of the panels.
Skuld blinked as a meter wide section of steel wall paneling came off, revealing a metal locker with a keycode lock. "That's where you keep your
guns?" she asked.
"Only the really big ones," he chuckled, placing the panel to the side and entering a long code on the keypad. "You know, explosives, that old
hyperblaster I keep meaning to sell... fun stuff that I don't want just lying around the ship." He opened the door to reveal a rather decent
collection of firearms, along with some lightweight body armor. "It's pretty useful," he added as he took the armored vest off its hanger.
"Okay, that's kind of nifty," she commented, "although the thought that you're paranoid enough to install a hidden weapons locker in the
cargo bay is a little creepy."
"We didn't install it," Chris replied. "One of the amusing things about buying a ship second hand is that you find all sorts of amusing
surprises along the road. Found this by sheer luck a few months back."
"Anything in it at the time?" Amy asked.
"Nothing that didn't get spaced then and there," he replied, pulling a jacket and equipment vest over the armor, before loading it full of clips
and grenades. "What's the weather like at this place anyway?"
"Kinda cold, nothing too extreme," Noriko said from where she was sitting on a crate, checking her own weapons. A long bulky pistol that looked a lot
like a miniature shotgun, and two small blade hilts. Picking one of them up, she tapped the activation switch, and a curved, gleaming red energy blade emerged
from the side, moving outward before curving back in and down, ending with a point just below the bottom of her hand.
"I see you're still using torture equipment," Chris joked.
"What? I'll have you know that Rippers cut clean and quickly," she responded, deactivating the blade and hooking it on her belt.
"Oh come on, someone as small and innocent looking as you should not be using weapons that'd make an Elite green with envy."
"I wouldn't mind one of those swords," Noriko commented.
"Why am I not surprised?" Skuld asked, right before the ship shook noticeably, nearly knocking her off her feet and Noriko off the crate. "The
heck?" she said as the vibrations continued, a dull roar becoming audible through the hull.
Glancing in the direction of the control room, Chris went over to the control panel near the main airlock, punching the intercom button. "Ben, how're
we doing? Seems a little too rough for normal."
"Yeah, we hit the atmosphere a bit too fast," Ben admitted. "It's just a little extra turbulence, but I'm killing off the velocity
quickly enough." There was a rough jolt. "Well, more or less. We can expect some regular turbulence after re-entry as well. Looks like there's a
storm front to the west of the facility."
"Is it going to hit?" Optimal asked.
"It's moving south, won't be a problem while we're there. Just got to fly through it first, that's all." The ship shook again, hard
enough to finally knock Noriko off her perch with a squawk. "Look, I've got to fly for a few minutes. I'll get back to you."
"So are we gonna crash?" Optimal asked..
"Watch your mouth," Chris warned, a wry grin on his face. "Duskwalker isn't going to crash. She likes us too much. Well, she likes me, Ben
and the girls. You I'm not so sure about. If you keep insulting her, she'll find a way so just you crash."
"You're a real smartass, you know that?" Optimal chuckled.
"So I've been told," Chris said with a shrug. "I've always said it makes me interesting." He went back over to the weapons locker,
humming a tune under his breath.
***
Duskwalker slowed as it descended, the VTOL engines coming about as it moved in a slow hover around the research facility. Fiona leaned forward, looking out at
the half-dozen buildings in a wide clearing. One of the buildings, closest to the perimeter fence, was almost completely consumed by flames, a number of
figures visible around it. There were other signs of movement, but they seemed too big, too bulky...
Taking a pair of binoculars off the top of the consoles, Fiona looked out at them. Instantly, it was clear none of them were human, or any race she recognized,
for that matter. Most of the creatures were about six feet tall, with oversized upper bodies that seemed to combine their heads and upper torso, their fur
alternating between the colors of brown, yellow and a sort of pink. The other creatures were even more bizarre, a giant ape-like monster, with arms as long as
its body and a demonic face.
"Great," Ben muttered, looking out the window. "Guys, I can see all three types of Booma, and some Hildebears inside the perimeter. One building
is burning, but the perimeter fence appears intact. The force fields might have gone down." Fiona looked at him, wondering how he'd seen that from
this distance.
"What's the shuttle pad like?" Chris asked.
Ben brought the ship around, and scowled. "Hildebear sitting right in the center of it. Looks like a Booma ended up a snack."
"I'll take care of it," Skulds voice responded, "Just give me a clean line of fire." Ben gave the speaker an odd look, then shrugged
and punched in an automatic hover height. Duskwalkers shaking dropped noticeably as minor air vents on the ships underbelly vented additional thrust.
In the cargo bay, Chris looked over at Skuld. "What exactly are you planning?" he asked. The tiny ranger grinned at him, the overhead lights
reflecting off her glasses as she went over to one of the crates Optimal had brought aboard. Punching in a long security code on the keypad, she opened it to
reveal a massive cannon, curved blue metal plates running its length to a massive muzzle. "What in the name of all that is holy?" he muttered,
kneeling down for a closer look.
"It's called a Guilty Light," Amy replied from behind him. "And if she's going to do what I think she's going to do, I'm getting
some ear protectors."
Rolling her eyes, Skuld reached down and lifted the cannon effortlessly, resting it on her shoulder. "You're being overdramatic. It's not that
loud."
"I turn my ears off when you use that," Noriko said. "And we're indoors this time." Skuld pretended to ignore her, walking towards the
main doors. As she walked, she pulled a small cable out of the side of the Guilty Light, plugging it into a small port on her glasses temples. Instantly, a
small HUD built into the lenses came to life, coordinating with the weapon and providing her with all the information she needed.
"Still say you should just get the hardware for that," Optimal muttered as he went to get the door controls.
"Heck with that. Flesh stays flesh, metal stays metal. None of this mixing it nonsense," Skuld grinned, watching as the door opened. The wind tugged
at her clothing and hair for a moment until the air pressure stabilized, and the near demonic form of the Hildebear came into view. Her glasses targeted,
identified the species, possible age, threat level, and of course the recommended course of action (Shoot it). Adjusting the cannon slightly, her HUDs
crosshairs passed over the beast, and Skuld paused, watching as it bit into the Booma corpse, tearing the flesh off the bone.
It hadn't notice them yet, too caught up in its meal, but the moment it did, it would turn to what was seemingly the primary goal of all the wildlife on
Ragol - Kill the people. That thought in her mind, she squeezed the trigger, and the Guilty Light roared, a flaming sphere of blue-white energy leaping from
the muzzle, racing across the space between them, and tearing through the Hildebears shoulder. Roaring in pain and rage, it dropped its meal and looked up at
Duskwalker.
"Low and to the left," Noriko noted. "Given the way we're swaying, better then I'd hoped."
"Which of us is the sniper again?" Skuld asked, firing another two shots, both hitting the Hildebear dead on. Bellowing in rage, it took two steps
forward, then fell back as one last shot vaporized the side of its head. Skulds glasses marked the kill, and she stepped back, lowering the Guilty Light and
unplugging it. Tapping the comm button on the door panel, she reported "LZ is clear Ben, take us down."
"Roger that." As Skuld returned the Light to its case, Chris raised his own rifle, a slightly odd looking grey and purple affair, looking through the
scope at the creatures in the distance.
"Well, they know there's someone with firepower here," he noted. "Who thinks they're going to run?"
"Right," Amy snorted, readying her own weapon, a gleaming polearm that seemed to have gleaming pink crystals emerging from the spheres on each end.
"When have they ever done that?"
Duskwalkers landing struts extended from the sides of the ship as it descended. Chris stepped down the ramp and waited as the ship settled before stepping all
the way off, rifle raised. The various Hunters followed him down, spreading out. "Okay, that big building is the main control complex. We'll find the
control room in there," Skuld said. "Noriko and I will take that and get the perimeter fields up. You guys check for survivors and take care of the
wildlife."
"Got it," Chris said, lining up on a Boomas through his scope. A green bolt of energy flickered out of his barrel and towards the animal, tearing
across its shoulder in an instant. As it roared in pain, he fired twice more, this time blasting into its chest and head, dropping it. Another three of the
beasts ambled forward, while another stopped to feed on the corpse. Chris fired on one of the three, then glanced over his shoulder. "Have fun you
two."
"You bet," Noriko laughed, igniting her daggers and sprinting across the landing pad, throwing herself at the nearest Booma. Caught off guard by her
charge, it offered little defense as she sliced through its brown fur and flesh. Chris took a moment to watch, marveling at was almost a dance as she spun
around the beast, carving it apart before continuing on, Skuld sprinting to catch up.
Optimal watched them leave, before reaching into a pouch on his belt, taking out a handful of small, glowing spheres. He jogged around Duskwalker, dropping the
spheres one at a time, where they rose to hover five feet above the ground. "Traps are set," he said as he finished.
"Great," Chris replied. "Ben, you coming or what?"
"Gimme a sec, would you? I've just got to get this vest on." He sprinted down the ramp ten seconds later, finishing with the last straps on his
armored vest. "Let's do it," he said, flicking off the safety on his rifle. Chris nodded and jogged towards one of the other buildings.
***
"Keep going straight," Fiona said into the comm, her attention on a monitor showing the facilities maps, twin dots indicating Skuld and Noriko.
"Third door on your right leads to a cafeteria, and it looks like you can use it as a shortcut."
"Got it," Skuld said as she charged down the hallway. She could see some minor damage, scratches and small gashes in the metal walls and floor, but
no blood or bodies. Something had happened here, but not as bad as she had feared. She came to a halt next to the door in question, rifle at the ready, while
Noriko reached for the door controls.
She nodded, then moved as the door slid open, raising her Justy. Again, there was only minor signs that something had happened here, but nothing glaringly
obvious... until a noise from the kitchen area drew her attention. Motioning to Noriko, she moved forward slowly, waiting for movement. "Who's
there?" she called out as she got close.
For her troubles, she got a grunt, followed by a threatening bark as a Booma got up from under a bench, its muzzle coated in assorted food items. Skuld
didn't hesitate, blasting it with three photon bolts, blowing it apart and dropping it. The Cast moved past her, leaping over the counter and into the
kitchen, checking the corpse before moving through the rest of it. "Clear."
The human nodded, lowering her rifle. "Well, we know for sure they're inside now." She tapped her headset again. "Guys, we've got Boomas
inside the buildings."
***
"Great," Ben muttered as they swept through another room. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about in here."
"Thanks for the heads up," Chris noted as they moved on. "Looks like this area was all personal accommodations," he added.
"The whole building?" Ben wondered. "Seems a bit much."
"Well, there might be some other stuff," he replied as they checked another room. "Rec rooms, laundry, stuff like that." Ben shrugged as
they kept walking, before pausing and holding up a hand. Chris froze, glancing at him, before hearing the movement that had gotten his friends attention.
Slowly, he moved towards the wall closet that the noise seemed to be coming from. Grabbing the door handle, he nodded at Ben, who had his rifle raised and
ready. With that, he pulled the door open, Ben shining his weapons spotlight on whatever was inside.
There was a frightened squawk, the massive yellow penguin-looking creature burrowing deeper into the pile of assorted junk it had gathered. Chris gave it a
disgusted look. "Just a Rappy hoarding stuff, same as usual."
"Maybe not," Ben said, kneeling down and grabbing something off the pile. There was an agitated squawk as the Rappy grabbed at it with its beak.
"Off!" he growled, hitting it in the stomach with the butt of his rifle, then slamming the door in its face as it fell back. Chris tabbed the door
lock and walked over to him, ignoring the birds tantrum.
"What'd you find?" Ben held up a green card with a crystal fused into it. Chris whistled. "Personal security pass. Nice."
"Save us entering overrides and hacking through any doors we weren't told how to open," the other man replied, heading down the hall again. Chris
grinned and followed.
***
"Down the hallway," Fiona reported. "You'll know it when you see it!"
"No kidding," Noriko replied, skidding to a halt in front of a reinforced steel door. "Welcoming."
"Yeah. They didn't want people messing around in here," Skuld agreed, punching in a ten digit code on the keypad, before frowning at the flashing
red light. "Come on," she muttered as she entered it again, getting the same result. "Override isn't working," she grumbled.
The Cast stepped past her, studying the keypad for a moment. "I should be able to pry it open and hotwire it," she said quietly. "Give me a
minute-" her voice cut off in a surprised yelp as Skuld grabbed her 'hair' and pulled her back. A protest never reached her lips as white-hot
flash of heat darted past her face.
"Company!" Skuld yelled, firing her Justy down the hallway at a pair of bulky robots, the machines firing back with the lasers in their oversized
forearms. "Gillchics!" she snapped into her comm before dropping to her knees, tapping a button on her left arm bracer. A blue-white energy shield
formed, covering the pair as they backed up. Noriko pulled her Varista from the holster on her back, the oversized pistol roaring as she returned fire. One of
the droids fell, only to have another pair take its place.
The girls darted into a side corridor, Skuld shutting down her barrier. "Defense droids?" she guessed.
"Good bet. You'd think people would know by now mindless drones don't work..." Noriko muttered.
"Yeah, but you guys charge too much," she grinned. "Why'd they start shooting at us now?"
The Cast considered that, then groaned. "The override for the computer room! The security's classed us as hostiles."
Skuld considered that, then tabbed her headset. "Everyone, the security systems just classed us as legitimate targets. Watch yourselves!"
***
Amy ripped her polearm out of a fallen Boomas face and looked around. Several gun turrets, which she'd assumed had been taken offline or simply depleted of
ammunition, were starting to move again... aiming in her direction. "Frack!" she yelled, leaping behind cover as they fired. Photon blasts chewed up
the wall as she sprinted along the side of the building, pulling her handgun from its holster and blasting the one that still had a clear line of sight to her.
One of the shots hit its power feed, and the shots faded out, the gunner program not recognizing this, and still trying to fire.
"Turrets are deciding we look like nice targets," she said. "Optimal?"
"I'm here," he muttered. "Found a nice crater to take a seat in."
"They're not shooting Duskwalker, are they?" Ben worried.
"Not yet," Fiona replied. "But why don't they shoot the wildlife?"
"She's got a point," Amy said. "It's like they haven't even noticed all the Boomas around here-" an angry roar cut off her line
of thought, and she threw herself back, the massive form of a Hildebear crashing into where she'd been standing, its shoulder cracking the wall as it hit.
Amy said nothing as it took a swing at her, her barrier cracking into existence just as it hit. The sheer force of the blow was absorbed by the energy shield,
only driving her back about seven feet. Switching the barrier off again, she raised her pistol and fired, not hurting the beast severely, but keeping it off
balance. Holstering the pistol, she leapt forward again, the crystal shards in the ends of her staff gleaming with an inner energy.
The Hildebear roared in pain as she tore a path of gashes along its left arm. She ducked under a clumsy grab, spinning the staff around and cutting at its
stomach. As it reared back, she straightened up, tearing up the beasts chest, continuing the staffs spin and having the other end tear open its throat. As it
choked on its blood and fell, Amy backed up, looking around several of the creatures watching her. Several Boomas actually seemed to get the message, hobbling
away towards the fence. She smirked, then jogged to the building corner, peering around and looking for Optimal.
***
"Come on," the bulky Cast muttered. "Don't you people have better things to shoot at?" The only response he got was photon bolts
ripping at the dirt above him. Adjusting his position in the crater, he crawled forward, risking a brief glance up. Three turrets, all seemingly locked onto
him, one of them even ignoring the Rappy that seemed to have taken an interest in some shiny cables attached to it.
Reaching into a belt pouch, he took out another trap, opening the back panel and adjusting the settings before throwing it out of the crater. There was a brief
pause, an explosion, and then there were two turrets firing. Remembering which turret had the curious Rappy, he stood up slightly and fired on the other one,
only damaging it slightly and taking a bolt to the shoulder for his trouble. Ducking down, he checked his armor and nodded after seeing it hadn't gotten
through the armor. "Say, anyone care to distract these things for me?"
Before he got an answer, one of the guns stopped firing at the same moment a pained screech made itself known. Glancing up, he saw a slightly burnt Rappy
running away from the busted turret, a chunk of metal in its beak. Chuckling, he opened fire on the remaining turret, Amy hitting it from another direction. It
held for a moment, before one of their shots punched through the armor and detonating its photon core.
Amy emerged from behind her cover as Optimal climbed out of the trench, sweeping the area with her pistol. "Any more turrets?" she wondered.
"Yeah, but around corners and that," the Cast said, swiveling his arm just to check the shoulder. Raising his rifle, he harassed a few more Boomas
that were lurking around. "I'd rather not deal with all of them."
"Yeah..." she tapped her headset. "Skuld, 'Riko, how're you two doing?"
***
Noriko raised her barrier, intercepting a shot, as Skuld dropped to the floor, firing a shot under the Casts defense. She hit the Gillchic dead center,
knocking it to the floor where it overloaded and exploded. "Heading for the control room now," the Cast said over the comm. "Just need to
hotwire the door..."
"Better idea," Skuld said, getting to her feet. As Noriko turned to look at her, she pulled off her backpack and took out a blue sphere slightly
bigger then her fist. The Casts optics widened and she darted clear as the human tabbed the grenades switch, surrounding it in a glowing blue 'flame'.
She tossed it in an underhand throw at the door, where it promptly stuck and started pulsing. Skuld backed away, covering her ears and turning her eyes away.
The plasma grenade exploded, filling the corridor with blue fire. As it cleared, Noriko gave Skuld a glare. "A little more warning next time?" she
growled.
She smiled, adjusting her glasses. "I got the door, didn't I?" she asked, smiling wider when the Cast simply shook her head and muttered under
her breath, climbing through the hole in the door.
"Okay guys, we're in. Keep your heads down for a few and we'll deal with the turrets."
you want to get the cargo ready to unload?"
"I can think of worse ways to pass the time," Ben replied, tapping Fiona on the shoulder. "Could you give me a hand?" Fiona nodded, and
they followed Chris down to the cargo bay, where he opened the main doors and stepped out into the hanger bay.
"Morning there," called out the man walking towards him. "Welcome back to Ragol. Captain... Wood?" he asked, checking the datapad in his
hand. As Chris nodded, he continued. "We've got you listed as hauling goods for Ragol Global Foods and Trauma Team?"
"That's right. We should be bringing out the produce first. We should have the quarantine seals ready for examination in about ten minutes."
"Good, good." He pointed up and along the hull. "Run into a bit of trouble?" Chris followed where he was pointing, seeing a streak of
energy burn running along the side of the ship.
"Something like that. We found a stasis pod in a bit of ship wreckage." He scowled, looking over the damage. "A few security bots left over
tried to do something about us." He chuckled. "Didn't do that much. Anyways, we opened the pod. The girl's on board, so you might want to
send a wave to Immigration." He walked along the side of the ship, eyes tracking the scar above him. "Doesn't look too bad. It'll probably
scrape right off-" he paused, noticing a point where the burn seemed to flare outwards. "Hey, have you got a lift or a ladder or something?"
"I've got a hoverloader over there, you can use that," the man replied, pointing towards a storeroom along the far wall.
***
"Son of a bitch!" he spat as he pried the hull plate loose, revealing a burnt mess of wiring, crystals and assorted other machinery.
"How bad is it?" Ben called out from below, while Fiona talked to the Customs officer that had arrived to take her statement.
"Looks like one of those drones got in a lucky shot," he responded. "Managed to get a shot in through a crack in the hull plating, messed up a
part of the slip-point manifold." He unhooked a projector crystal from its slot, looking at the warped materials. "If I had to say, I'd class it
as slagged."
"As in, replace?" Ben asked.
"Bingo," he growled, looking at the crystal in his hand, then shrugging and putting it back where it belonged for the time being. "It's been
acting up for the last two jumps, which means we've probably got faults in other parts of the system."
"It would explain why that last jump was rough," Fiona said. "If they only damaged that manifold, each jump might well have made the problem a
little worse."
"Good bet," Chris said as he finished refitting the hull plate and lowering the hoverloader back to the ground. "I'll have to go through the
whole damn thing," he added, scowling. "Who knows how much it's going to cost."
"We should have the spare cash for something like this," Ben said. "I hope."
"You've got trouble?" asked a soft voice behind him, making the man jump slightly. Spinning, he saw a slender, blue-eyed woman standing there,
pointed ears emerging out of her light purple hair. "Hey Ben," she said with a smile.
"Hi Amy," he responded. Next to him, Fiona tried not to stare. Amy certainly presented an interesting sight. Apparently in her early twenties, it was
obvious from the ears that she wasn't entirely human, something she'd rarely seen on her mostly human planet. That, and she certainly dressed unlike
anything she'd ever seen, with light blue boots, a surprisingly small pair of dark blue shorts studded with some metal she didn't recognize, and a
long-sleeved blue shirt, again studded with metal, and a bulky arm bracer on her left forearm.
She looked between the pair for a moment, then noted the looks they were giving each other. Glancing over at Chris, she raised an eyebrow at his smile.
"So, Amy," he said, unhooking the safety railing and climbing out. "I take it you got that text?"
"Yeah," she said, looking over Bens shoulder at him, then over at Fiona. "You must be Fiona," she guessed, holding out a hand.
"I'm Amy Rose."
"It's a pleasure," she replied, returning the handshake.
"It occurred to us that neither Ben or I really have a clue about women's clothing," Chris chuckled. "So we put in a call to an old friend,
figured she might have a better understanding." Fiona blinked and looked at the two men.
"We could hardly leave you in coveralls for a few weeks," Ben responded. "You sure you can handle it Amy?"
The woman took on a mock-thoughtful pose. "Hmm... I think I should be able to pull it off," she grinned.
"Well then," Chris chuckled, "while you ladies take care of that problem, Ben and I have to pay a visit to middle-management and take care of
some paperwork. Amy, did you want a credstick or just bill us?"
"I'll take the later option," she said. "Unless you've got the right amount in Meseta right off?" Chris did the mental maths, then
shook his head.
"We'll have to visit the bank," he muttered. "League Credits are probably the best bet for the exchange rate."
The Ragolian shrugged. "Bill you it is." She would have continued, if Fiona hadn't yelped in surprise. As the other three, along with the dock
worker and Customs Officer all looked over at her, the cause of the yelp became clear. As she'd been watching her two shipmates and their friend talk, what
looked like a black, metallic, chibified cat had dropped down out of nowhere and simply hovered in front of her face.
"Sato!" Amy scolded, a stern look on her face. "What've I told you about doing that?" The creature turned to look at her, chirping
slightly, then floated over to her, parking itself above her right shoulder. "I'm sorry about that," she said to Fiona, "but Sato seems to
enjoy startling people like that. He really needs to stop it," she added, giving it a brief glare.
"What... what is he?" she asked, looking at it as it hovered there, idly spinning slowly.
"He's my Mag," Amy said. "Think of it as a little droid assistant that's always there. Every Hunter has one. I've had Sato here
since I first joined the Guild." She reached up and patted the Mags head. "Say hello Sato."
The younger woman watched as the Mag moved forward, stopping about a foot away from her and chirping a greeting. "Hello yourself," she replied,
patting it gently on the head (Which, she noted with slight amusement, was actually bigger then its tiny body). Sato chirped again, hovering in a little
closer.
"Once again Amy, your companion manages to make a friend so easily," Ben noted.
"Yeah... it's a talent I wish I had," she chuckled. "So... you've been taking care of yourself?"
"More or less," he responded. "A little bit of action, but nothing too intense. I've mostly just been flying Duskwalker. You on the other
hand... I get the feeling that you've been in more adventures then me."
The woman shrugged, her ears twitching slightly. "It depends on what you call an adventure really," she admitted. "Hunting wild animals
isn't always thrilling action. You should know, you've come on a few runs with us before."
"Most people would class your kind of hunting as military action," Chris noted, watching as Sato flipped upside down so Fiona could scratch his
underside.
"Well, yeah," she conceded, "but even there, things have been rather mundane lately. It's like most of the creatures are figuring out that
it's not worth the risk to go near the settlements, you know?"
"Smart animals?" Ben asked. "Sounds a little odd, doesn't it?"
"Evolution at its most brutal," Chris suggested. "Any Booma or Hildebear that goes near the settlements meets photonic death. Sooner or later,
it occurs to the survivors to look for food somewhere else." He turned back to talk to the dock worker for a moment.
"So," Ben asked. "Aside from Guild work... have you been looking after yourself?"
"I guess so," she replied. "There's always something to do in the City in the Sphere," she chuckled.
Ben grinned. "Seeing anyone?"
"No, not really," she said, frowning slightly. "Most men aren't exactly eager to go after a Hunter... a bit too strong for their tastes, if
you know what I mean. And the ones that are... not the kind of people I go for myself. What about you? I mean, I know you and Stacey didn't get
anywhere."
"Too clingy. Can't figure out why," he muttered. "She knew I was a spacer..."
"People tend to ignore the obvious?" she offered.
"That works," Ben said, leaning against the hull. Amy did the same, and they just remained there in silence for several minutes, before Chris
finished with the dock worker and came back over.
Clapping his hands together, he looked over the small group. "Okay, while Amy solves the dilemma of the cute girl with very few clothes," he said
with a slight grin (and ignoring the mock-glare from Fiona), "Ben and I need to pay a visit to Trauma Team and speak to a middleman about some money
we're now owed for our services."
The local girl grinned, putting an arm over Fiona's shoulder. "Time for a girls day out," she said, getting a grin from the other girl.
"Don't bankrupt us!" Chris called after them, getting a laugh in reply. "Good kid," he said to Ben.
"Oh yeah," his old friend replied. "She took Sato pretty well."
"Yeah, little surprise at first, but adjusted fast." He scratched his chin. "All things considered, she's handling space pretty well."
"Hmm." Ben was silent for a moment, then straightened. "Well, let's go talk money."
***
Amy led Fiona out of the hanger and down a hallway. "You mentioned you were a Hunter?" the young woman asked. Amy nodded. "Chris told me a bit
about it, but it seemed a bit... vague."
She laughed slightly. "He was probably telling you about a hundred different things at the time?" she commented. Fiona grinned and nodded.
"It's that or he goes into too much detail. Essentially, the Hunters Guild is an independent organization that serves as a mixture of military, police
force, search and rescue, and just plain animal hunters."
"Interesting mix," Fiona noted.
"Isn't it? Back on Coral, the Guild was apparently an organization that made certain that the major mercenary organizations employed by the various
governments during the Long War. Over time, it took more and more authority, until all the mercenaries worked for it." She chuckled. "To hear the old
timers tell it, it drove the actual militaries crazy. Especially since the Guild was able to make certain we had better weapons and equipment then them."
"Okay," Fiona said. "So the Guild pretty much hired out its people to the governments as needed. That makes sense. But where'd the rest of
those duties come from?" As she finished the question, the pair turned the corner, coming to what looked like a dead end. Fiona blinked, then realized
there was actually something built into the walls and floor. Gleaming circuits trailed down from a wall panel to a silver circle in the floor. "What's
this?"
"Fast and efficient public transport," Amy replied with a grin, entering a sequence onto the panel. "Hop in," she said. Fiona shrugged and
did so - only to nearly jump out of her skin as everything around her flashed green, only to be replaced by completely different surroundings... seemingly the
middle of the city.
"Wow," she managed, looking around her. Gleaming metal and glass skyscrapers towered past the walkway they were standing on, aircars flying overhead.
"Teleporter?" she asked.
"Bingo," Amy said, guiding her off the panel. "Pretty much what passes for public transport here." She pointed up at the aircars that
passed them. "With a city this size, in such a small space, it's easy to have too many vehicles. Most of us have to use the transporter grid."
"Huh... different," Fiona commented, leaning on the handrail and looking over the edge. For a moment, her mind reeled as she saw what looked like a
drop of several thousand meters at the very least. She couldn't even see the streets below... if there were any down there at all. Backing up slightly, she
looked over at Amy. "You were saying?"
"Oh, right." Amy led her along the walkway, maneuvering through the slight crowd. "The Guild managed to get a presence on both Pioneer One and
Two, but to be honest, there wasn't much purpose for us here... Until the explosion wiped out the colony just as we came into orbit."
"With everything that's happening on the planet, the Hunters became a lot more important again," Fiona guessed.
"Bingo," the Ragolian replied. "The military is... well, I hate to sound rude, but they're used to life on Coral. Utterly useless in dealing
with the situation down on the ground. The Hunters aren't. When it comes to clearing Ragol of man-eating beasties, keeping the peace in the facilities
we've managed to set up on the planet, etcetera etcetera, we lead the way."
"Certainly sounds like an interesting life," the younger girl said. "Action, adventure..."
"It has its moments," Amy admitted. "I've certainly got the skills for it." She was quiet after that, leading Fiona into what looked
like a shopping complex. "Ah, here we are," she said as they approached a large clothing store. "I'm sure we can find something a bit better
then an old pair of coveralls," she chuckled. "Mind you, Chris will probably hit me when he gets my bill."
"Um, nothing too expensive, right?" Fiona asked as she was pulled into the store.
***
"Behold," Chris said with a sweep of his hands as he and Ben left the Trauma Team office. "We have money!"
Ben rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and a good part of that's going to be going to replacement parts for the slip-point motivator."
"Details, details," Chris replied. "Look, let's get some food first, then see if we can find Fiona and Amy, before your girlfriend destroys
our profits."
"Yeah," he chuckled, then looked over at his friend. "Girlfriend? What're you talking about?"
"Oh come on," Chris said. "How much longer are you two going to run in circles around the issue? You and Amy have it bad."
"She's just a good friend," Ben protested as they walked down the streets. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"Nope," Chris replied. "But you two are a heck of a lot closer then that, even if neither of you will admit it." He started down a flight
of stairs. "Christ Ben, the two of you have been more then just friends for months now, and every time we visit Ragol, you're only worse. How much
time do you guys end up texting each other anyway?"
"Or, you're reading too much into things," Ben protested. "She's one of my closest friends, same as you. I don't see where
you're getting it from-"
"All of our friends her on Ragol are well aware of it. Dammit Ben, Fiona's figured it out, and she's seen the two of you together for maybe five
minutes!" Ben stopped and looked at him. "Yeah, think about that for a minute," Chris added with a smirk, heading for a café and leaving Ben
standing there, a slightly amazed look on his face.
***
"So how'd you meet them?" Fiona asked. Amy glanced at the changing room door. "Chris and Ben, I mean."
Nodding slightly, Amy started talking. "It was... oh, just under a year ago if I remember right. I was down in the Farm Sector on the planet - It's a
region we've managed to force the mutated wildlife out of - while they were there as well. The Principal wanted to prove that it was safe for conventional
ships to travel to properly secured areas on the planet, rather then relying on heavy military transports and the transporter grid." She rolled her eyes.
"It was a lousy way to find out Nano Dragons are attracted to the energy emissions from some kinds of ship drives."
Fiona stuck her head out of the changing room. "Nano Dragons?" she asked. "Pass me that skirt."
The Ragolian passed over the knee-length skirt, then continued. "Think giant flying lizards with plasma-breath. Real pain in the butt. Anyway, about
twenty of them got through the perimeter, along with some other creatures that followed, thinking 'food'. So, I end up in the middle of one heck of a
firefight, and the next thing I know, the backwash from Duskwalkers atmosphere engines sends the dragon flying sideways about a hundred meters, breaking both
of its wings."
"That's an original solution."
"Yeah. Ben pretty much hosed down the area when anything got too close. Blasted dragons still burned a hole right along the side of the hull. Watching
Chris tear strips out of some pencil pushers hide was fun though. Anyways, after that, we tend to hang out whenever they come to Ragol, which is usually once
every month and a half. Other then that, we tend to stay in contact."
"Wonders of the internet?" Fiona asked, studying her reflection.
"Pretty much," Amy replied. "So, any thoughts?"
The door opened and Fiona stepped out. She'd exchanged the coveralls for a slightly loose blue blouse and skirt, along with a pair of sturdy, yet
fashionable shoes. Nothing elaborate, and unlikely to get in the way on a ship where space could be a problem, but much better then her previous outfit. She
looked a lot more comfortable as well.
"I like it," Amy said. "And judging by the look on your face, I think you do too."
The younger girl chuckled, running a hand through her hair to smooth it out slightly. "It's nice to have my own clothes again. The single pair I
had... I'm not too eager to wear that again, to be honest," she admitted with a slightly sad look. "Mind you," she continued with a slight
smirk, "the underwear was pretty much at my personal limits."
"And you can end that train of thought right there," Amy laughed with a mock shudder. "I figure a few skirts, maybe some jeans?"
"Jeans are still in?"
"Depends on the world, but mostly. I remember hearing about a world where it's illegal for women to wear pants."
"Define illegal."
"Public Stoning." Fiona gave her an odd look "What can I say? Those religious fanatic types can be freaky at times."
"Okay..." she said, going back into the changing room.
***
"So... do you think I should say something?" Ben asked. Chris rolled his eyes, then finished his current mouthful of burger.
"Why in the heck are you asking me?" he responded. "Need I remind you which of us actually has experience at a love life?" Putting his
burger down, he continued. "But, as someone used to watching from the sidelines, I say go for it. You're both smart people, and even if it doesn't
work, I doubt that you're going to let it ruin things."
"So... plenty to gain, nothing to lose?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Look, it's either that, or you can keep darting around the issue, having it gnaw at you until you go crazy."
The younger man shot him a sour look. "I wouldn't have it gnawing at me if you hadn't brought it up in the first place." He took a bite of
his burger, swallowed, and continued. "I was perfectly happy being ignorant."
"Ignorant of what?" came a new voice, surprising both men. They turned to see what looked like two girls in their early teens standing there, both of
them familiar to the two spacers.
"Skuld, 'Riko," Chris said with a grin. "I pretty much made Ben admit that yes, he does have a thing for Amy."
"Really?" the human girl replied. "And his response?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Uncertainty and a fear he'll ruin things, of course," he chuckled, earning a glare from the man in question.
"Of course," Skuld replied. "Mind you, this means that you lose the bet."
"Bet?" Ben said, looking between the pair.
It was the second girl, actually a white armored android, her face hidden behind a mask, that spoke up. "We've had a betting pool running for a while
now, as to just which one of you would realize, and speak up about it. If I remember right, Chris was betting on you... in about four months." Chris
shrugged at his friends look. "Of course, by telling you about it, he's pretty much taken himself out of the betting pool."
"And I bet on sometime in the next week and a half," Skuld noted. "Do I still win if he talks to Amy about it?"
"Not sure," Noriko admitted. "I'll have to check the rulebook about bets regarding friends love lives."
Chris hid his smile behind his hand as Ben groaned, leaning his head against the table. "So, besides annoying Ben, what brings you two to track us
down?"
"Tracking you down was luck," Skuld admitted. "Although it's good luck, given we could use your help with a job."
"Take a seat," Chris offered. "Now, how can we help you?"
"You know about the science stations down on the planet?" Noriko asked.
"Sure," Ben said. "They're all over the place, studying the planet, the wildlife, and so on. What about it?"
"About twenty hours ago, one of the stations dropped out of contact, and haven't responded since. A Guild satellite passed overhead just under two
hours ago, and it looks like there's monsters roaming inside the perimeter."
Ben blinked. "Okay, not fun at all," he said. "But what's that got to do with us?"
"The stations teleporter is down," Skuld said, "and its GTG node is offline. No one can beam down. And the military is giving their usual
attitude of 'not our problem.'"
"They claim the station was operating outside their secured zones, and as such, they're not wasting resources on them now," Noriko added, disgust
in her voice. "So, the job falls to the Hunters Guild."
"And you want Duskwalker," Chris said. "We fly you in, you secure the perimeter so we can land, and from there, we find out what happened."
"Pretty much," Skuld said. "I know there's a risk involved in taking your ship into Ragols atmosphere. But it's the only way down there,
and your cut of the fee should pay for repairs and then some."
"Plus there's the whole 'we'd be leaving people to die' angle," Ben noted.
"You two fight dirty," Chris said. "Give us a few minutes to talk it over."
***
"It'll be good money," Ben said, leaning against the guard rail and watching the gleaming city below.
"It'd want to be," Chris said. "The thought of taking Duskwalker back into Ragols atmosphere doesn't appeal to me."
"Maybe not," Ben said, "but the fact is, we need the money right now. At the very least, we need a new manifold. Worst case -"
"The entire slip-point system will need repairs or replacing," Chris growled. Finishing off his drink, he tossed the plastic cup at a nearby bin.
"That'll cost thousands, which we don't have on hand. And even if we do, we'd still need to pay for fuel, fresh air, food..."
Ben rested his chin on his hand. "More money."
"More money. But if we get the ship banged up," Chris added, raising a finger, "God only knows how we'll afford it. So, taking it down to
the planet is hardly a brilliant idea."
"They wouldn't offer us the job if they thought the risk was too great," Ben noted. Chris gave him a look. "Okay, Skuld would. But Noriko
would've made more noise if she thought it was a major risk to the ship."
"True." The older man was silent for a moment. "What the heck. We need the money, and those two would never let us hear the end of it if we
don't."
"Agreed, assuming we get a decent cut of the fee. But there is one other issue." Chris raised an eyebrow. "Fiona."
"Gah," he managed. "That could be a problem. It's not really a great plan to take her planetside. No way in hell would she be willing to
stay on board."
"There's plenty to see up here," Ben said. "There should be someone we know that's willing to show her around."
***
"I'm coming with you," Fiona said, half an hour later in Duskwalkers dining room.
"Woah, wait a second," Chris responded. "Ragol's hardly a tourist site. Literally everything on the planet likes to eat humans. And you
still want to go?"
"Of course," she replied. "It's an alien world unlike anything else I'll ever see. I promise I'll stay on the ship unless you let me
come out."
"I really think it's a bad idea," Ben said.
"Please?" she asked. "I'll stay on the Duskwalker and help out around here, but I really want to see this."
"You'll have your chance to go offworld on planets that are a lot safer," Chris stressed.
"Yeah, and most of them have been occupied by humans for so long, there's nothing alien about them," Fiona protested. "Can you really expect
me to pass up a chance like this?"
"Well, you do have a point there," Chris admitted.
***
"So," Skuld said, standing on Duskwalkers entry ramp, watching as Fiona helped Ben wheel a crate onto the ship. "The kid's coming with
us?"
"Yeah, she's coming with us," Chris replied. "And even when you don't include the stasis time, she's still older then you."
"Bah, I'm just small for my age," she shot back, glancing across the hanger to see Amy and Noriko approaching, a tall, bulky black and red robot
walking behind them. "And the gang's all here."
"Just the four of you?" Chris asked.
"Add you and Ben to the mix, and we've got a decent sized team." Chris nodded in agreement as the trio approached, and Skuld pulled the
blue-haired woman into a brief hug. "Hey. You find it?"
"Of course," Amy chuckled. "We've all got spares."
"Optimal," Chris said, shaking the Casts hand. "Glad you could make it."
"And miss all the fun?" he replied, his face the solid slab of metal Chris remembered - but the voice easily conveyed the machines amusement and
anticipation.
Shrugging, Chris turned and walked into his ship. "Well, I don't know if I'd call it fun... crazy trigger-happy Hunters," he said, laughing
slightly.
"Hey, it gets the heart pumping," Optimal noted.
"You're a machine! You don't have a heart!"
"Oh yeah..."
***
"All sealed Ben," Chris said into the intercom as the main airlock sealed tight. "Take us out."
"You got it," came the reply, as the soft hum of Duskwalkers engines began to make itself felt though the ship.
"If any of you forgot anything, you've got five seconds to speak up," Chris said, looking around the small group of people gathered in the cargo
bay.
"I think we're all good," Skuld said. The others all chimed in their agreements as they checked their weapons.
"Great. Fiona, could you duck up and make sure Ben doesn't need a hand? I've got to get my own equipment to setup." Fiona nodded and headed
for the stairs, while Chris went over to one of the walls and tampered with one of the panels.
Skuld blinked as a meter wide section of steel wall paneling came off, revealing a metal locker with a keycode lock. "That's where you keep your
guns?" she asked.
"Only the really big ones," he chuckled, placing the panel to the side and entering a long code on the keypad. "You know, explosives, that old
hyperblaster I keep meaning to sell... fun stuff that I don't want just lying around the ship." He opened the door to reveal a rather decent
collection of firearms, along with some lightweight body armor. "It's pretty useful," he added as he took the armored vest off its hanger.
"Okay, that's kind of nifty," she commented, "although the thought that you're paranoid enough to install a hidden weapons locker in the
cargo bay is a little creepy."
"We didn't install it," Chris replied. "One of the amusing things about buying a ship second hand is that you find all sorts of amusing
surprises along the road. Found this by sheer luck a few months back."
"Anything in it at the time?" Amy asked.
"Nothing that didn't get spaced then and there," he replied, pulling a jacket and equipment vest over the armor, before loading it full of clips
and grenades. "What's the weather like at this place anyway?"
"Kinda cold, nothing too extreme," Noriko said from where she was sitting on a crate, checking her own weapons. A long bulky pistol that looked a lot
like a miniature shotgun, and two small blade hilts. Picking one of them up, she tapped the activation switch, and a curved, gleaming red energy blade emerged
from the side, moving outward before curving back in and down, ending with a point just below the bottom of her hand.
"I see you're still using torture equipment," Chris joked.
"What? I'll have you know that Rippers cut clean and quickly," she responded, deactivating the blade and hooking it on her belt.
"Oh come on, someone as small and innocent looking as you should not be using weapons that'd make an Elite green with envy."
"I wouldn't mind one of those swords," Noriko commented.
"Why am I not surprised?" Skuld asked, right before the ship shook noticeably, nearly knocking her off her feet and Noriko off the crate. "The
heck?" she said as the vibrations continued, a dull roar becoming audible through the hull.
Glancing in the direction of the control room, Chris went over to the control panel near the main airlock, punching the intercom button. "Ben, how're
we doing? Seems a little too rough for normal."
"Yeah, we hit the atmosphere a bit too fast," Ben admitted. "It's just a little extra turbulence, but I'm killing off the velocity
quickly enough." There was a rough jolt. "Well, more or less. We can expect some regular turbulence after re-entry as well. Looks like there's a
storm front to the west of the facility."
"Is it going to hit?" Optimal asked.
"It's moving south, won't be a problem while we're there. Just got to fly through it first, that's all." The ship shook again, hard
enough to finally knock Noriko off her perch with a squawk. "Look, I've got to fly for a few minutes. I'll get back to you."
"So are we gonna crash?" Optimal asked..
"Watch your mouth," Chris warned, a wry grin on his face. "Duskwalker isn't going to crash. She likes us too much. Well, she likes me, Ben
and the girls. You I'm not so sure about. If you keep insulting her, she'll find a way so just you crash."
"You're a real smartass, you know that?" Optimal chuckled.
"So I've been told," Chris said with a shrug. "I've always said it makes me interesting." He went back over to the weapons locker,
humming a tune under his breath.
***
Duskwalker slowed as it descended, the VTOL engines coming about as it moved in a slow hover around the research facility. Fiona leaned forward, looking out at
the half-dozen buildings in a wide clearing. One of the buildings, closest to the perimeter fence, was almost completely consumed by flames, a number of
figures visible around it. There were other signs of movement, but they seemed too big, too bulky...
Taking a pair of binoculars off the top of the consoles, Fiona looked out at them. Instantly, it was clear none of them were human, or any race she recognized,
for that matter. Most of the creatures were about six feet tall, with oversized upper bodies that seemed to combine their heads and upper torso, their fur
alternating between the colors of brown, yellow and a sort of pink. The other creatures were even more bizarre, a giant ape-like monster, with arms as long as
its body and a demonic face.
"Great," Ben muttered, looking out the window. "Guys, I can see all three types of Booma, and some Hildebears inside the perimeter. One building
is burning, but the perimeter fence appears intact. The force fields might have gone down." Fiona looked at him, wondering how he'd seen that from
this distance.
"What's the shuttle pad like?" Chris asked.
Ben brought the ship around, and scowled. "Hildebear sitting right in the center of it. Looks like a Booma ended up a snack."
"I'll take care of it," Skulds voice responded, "Just give me a clean line of fire." Ben gave the speaker an odd look, then shrugged
and punched in an automatic hover height. Duskwalkers shaking dropped noticeably as minor air vents on the ships underbelly vented additional thrust.
In the cargo bay, Chris looked over at Skuld. "What exactly are you planning?" he asked. The tiny ranger grinned at him, the overhead lights
reflecting off her glasses as she went over to one of the crates Optimal had brought aboard. Punching in a long security code on the keypad, she opened it to
reveal a massive cannon, curved blue metal plates running its length to a massive muzzle. "What in the name of all that is holy?" he muttered,
kneeling down for a closer look.
"It's called a Guilty Light," Amy replied from behind him. "And if she's going to do what I think she's going to do, I'm getting
some ear protectors."
Rolling her eyes, Skuld reached down and lifted the cannon effortlessly, resting it on her shoulder. "You're being overdramatic. It's not that
loud."
"I turn my ears off when you use that," Noriko said. "And we're indoors this time." Skuld pretended to ignore her, walking towards the
main doors. As she walked, she pulled a small cable out of the side of the Guilty Light, plugging it into a small port on her glasses temples. Instantly, a
small HUD built into the lenses came to life, coordinating with the weapon and providing her with all the information she needed.
"Still say you should just get the hardware for that," Optimal muttered as he went to get the door controls.
"Heck with that. Flesh stays flesh, metal stays metal. None of this mixing it nonsense," Skuld grinned, watching as the door opened. The wind tugged
at her clothing and hair for a moment until the air pressure stabilized, and the near demonic form of the Hildebear came into view. Her glasses targeted,
identified the species, possible age, threat level, and of course the recommended course of action (Shoot it). Adjusting the cannon slightly, her HUDs
crosshairs passed over the beast, and Skuld paused, watching as it bit into the Booma corpse, tearing the flesh off the bone.
It hadn't notice them yet, too caught up in its meal, but the moment it did, it would turn to what was seemingly the primary goal of all the wildlife on
Ragol - Kill the people. That thought in her mind, she squeezed the trigger, and the Guilty Light roared, a flaming sphere of blue-white energy leaping from
the muzzle, racing across the space between them, and tearing through the Hildebears shoulder. Roaring in pain and rage, it dropped its meal and looked up at
Duskwalker.
"Low and to the left," Noriko noted. "Given the way we're swaying, better then I'd hoped."
"Which of us is the sniper again?" Skuld asked, firing another two shots, both hitting the Hildebear dead on. Bellowing in rage, it took two steps
forward, then fell back as one last shot vaporized the side of its head. Skulds glasses marked the kill, and she stepped back, lowering the Guilty Light and
unplugging it. Tapping the comm button on the door panel, she reported "LZ is clear Ben, take us down."
"Roger that." As Skuld returned the Light to its case, Chris raised his own rifle, a slightly odd looking grey and purple affair, looking through the
scope at the creatures in the distance.
"Well, they know there's someone with firepower here," he noted. "Who thinks they're going to run?"
"Right," Amy snorted, readying her own weapon, a gleaming polearm that seemed to have gleaming pink crystals emerging from the spheres on each end.
"When have they ever done that?"
Duskwalkers landing struts extended from the sides of the ship as it descended. Chris stepped down the ramp and waited as the ship settled before stepping all
the way off, rifle raised. The various Hunters followed him down, spreading out. "Okay, that big building is the main control complex. We'll find the
control room in there," Skuld said. "Noriko and I will take that and get the perimeter fields up. You guys check for survivors and take care of the
wildlife."
"Got it," Chris said, lining up on a Boomas through his scope. A green bolt of energy flickered out of his barrel and towards the animal, tearing
across its shoulder in an instant. As it roared in pain, he fired twice more, this time blasting into its chest and head, dropping it. Another three of the
beasts ambled forward, while another stopped to feed on the corpse. Chris fired on one of the three, then glanced over his shoulder. "Have fun you
two."
"You bet," Noriko laughed, igniting her daggers and sprinting across the landing pad, throwing herself at the nearest Booma. Caught off guard by her
charge, it offered little defense as she sliced through its brown fur and flesh. Chris took a moment to watch, marveling at was almost a dance as she spun
around the beast, carving it apart before continuing on, Skuld sprinting to catch up.
Optimal watched them leave, before reaching into a pouch on his belt, taking out a handful of small, glowing spheres. He jogged around Duskwalker, dropping the
spheres one at a time, where they rose to hover five feet above the ground. "Traps are set," he said as he finished.
"Great," Chris replied. "Ben, you coming or what?"
"Gimme a sec, would you? I've just got to get this vest on." He sprinted down the ramp ten seconds later, finishing with the last straps on his
armored vest. "Let's do it," he said, flicking off the safety on his rifle. Chris nodded and jogged towards one of the other buildings.
***
"Keep going straight," Fiona said into the comm, her attention on a monitor showing the facilities maps, twin dots indicating Skuld and Noriko.
"Third door on your right leads to a cafeteria, and it looks like you can use it as a shortcut."
"Got it," Skuld said as she charged down the hallway. She could see some minor damage, scratches and small gashes in the metal walls and floor, but
no blood or bodies. Something had happened here, but not as bad as she had feared. She came to a halt next to the door in question, rifle at the ready, while
Noriko reached for the door controls.
She nodded, then moved as the door slid open, raising her Justy. Again, there was only minor signs that something had happened here, but nothing glaringly
obvious... until a noise from the kitchen area drew her attention. Motioning to Noriko, she moved forward slowly, waiting for movement. "Who's
there?" she called out as she got close.
For her troubles, she got a grunt, followed by a threatening bark as a Booma got up from under a bench, its muzzle coated in assorted food items. Skuld
didn't hesitate, blasting it with three photon bolts, blowing it apart and dropping it. The Cast moved past her, leaping over the counter and into the
kitchen, checking the corpse before moving through the rest of it. "Clear."
The human nodded, lowering her rifle. "Well, we know for sure they're inside now." She tapped her headset again. "Guys, we've got Boomas
inside the buildings."
***
"Great," Ben muttered as they swept through another room. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about in here."
"Thanks for the heads up," Chris noted as they moved on. "Looks like this area was all personal accommodations," he added.
"The whole building?" Ben wondered. "Seems a bit much."
"Well, there might be some other stuff," he replied as they checked another room. "Rec rooms, laundry, stuff like that." Ben shrugged as
they kept walking, before pausing and holding up a hand. Chris froze, glancing at him, before hearing the movement that had gotten his friends attention.
Slowly, he moved towards the wall closet that the noise seemed to be coming from. Grabbing the door handle, he nodded at Ben, who had his rifle raised and
ready. With that, he pulled the door open, Ben shining his weapons spotlight on whatever was inside.
There was a frightened squawk, the massive yellow penguin-looking creature burrowing deeper into the pile of assorted junk it had gathered. Chris gave it a
disgusted look. "Just a Rappy hoarding stuff, same as usual."
"Maybe not," Ben said, kneeling down and grabbing something off the pile. There was an agitated squawk as the Rappy grabbed at it with its beak.
"Off!" he growled, hitting it in the stomach with the butt of his rifle, then slamming the door in its face as it fell back. Chris tabbed the door
lock and walked over to him, ignoring the birds tantrum.
"What'd you find?" Ben held up a green card with a crystal fused into it. Chris whistled. "Personal security pass. Nice."
"Save us entering overrides and hacking through any doors we weren't told how to open," the other man replied, heading down the hall again. Chris
grinned and followed.
***
"Down the hallway," Fiona reported. "You'll know it when you see it!"
"No kidding," Noriko replied, skidding to a halt in front of a reinforced steel door. "Welcoming."
"Yeah. They didn't want people messing around in here," Skuld agreed, punching in a ten digit code on the keypad, before frowning at the flashing
red light. "Come on," she muttered as she entered it again, getting the same result. "Override isn't working," she grumbled.
The Cast stepped past her, studying the keypad for a moment. "I should be able to pry it open and hotwire it," she said quietly. "Give me a
minute-" her voice cut off in a surprised yelp as Skuld grabbed her 'hair' and pulled her back. A protest never reached her lips as white-hot
flash of heat darted past her face.
"Company!" Skuld yelled, firing her Justy down the hallway at a pair of bulky robots, the machines firing back with the lasers in their oversized
forearms. "Gillchics!" she snapped into her comm before dropping to her knees, tapping a button on her left arm bracer. A blue-white energy shield
formed, covering the pair as they backed up. Noriko pulled her Varista from the holster on her back, the oversized pistol roaring as she returned fire. One of
the droids fell, only to have another pair take its place.
The girls darted into a side corridor, Skuld shutting down her barrier. "Defense droids?" she guessed.
"Good bet. You'd think people would know by now mindless drones don't work..." Noriko muttered.
"Yeah, but you guys charge too much," she grinned. "Why'd they start shooting at us now?"
The Cast considered that, then groaned. "The override for the computer room! The security's classed us as hostiles."
Skuld considered that, then tabbed her headset. "Everyone, the security systems just classed us as legitimate targets. Watch yourselves!"
***
Amy ripped her polearm out of a fallen Boomas face and looked around. Several gun turrets, which she'd assumed had been taken offline or simply depleted of
ammunition, were starting to move again... aiming in her direction. "Frack!" she yelled, leaping behind cover as they fired. Photon blasts chewed up
the wall as she sprinted along the side of the building, pulling her handgun from its holster and blasting the one that still had a clear line of sight to her.
One of the shots hit its power feed, and the shots faded out, the gunner program not recognizing this, and still trying to fire.
"Turrets are deciding we look like nice targets," she said. "Optimal?"
"I'm here," he muttered. "Found a nice crater to take a seat in."
"They're not shooting Duskwalker, are they?" Ben worried.
"Not yet," Fiona replied. "But why don't they shoot the wildlife?"
"She's got a point," Amy said. "It's like they haven't even noticed all the Boomas around here-" an angry roar cut off her line
of thought, and she threw herself back, the massive form of a Hildebear crashing into where she'd been standing, its shoulder cracking the wall as it hit.
Amy said nothing as it took a swing at her, her barrier cracking into existence just as it hit. The sheer force of the blow was absorbed by the energy shield,
only driving her back about seven feet. Switching the barrier off again, she raised her pistol and fired, not hurting the beast severely, but keeping it off
balance. Holstering the pistol, she leapt forward again, the crystal shards in the ends of her staff gleaming with an inner energy.
The Hildebear roared in pain as she tore a path of gashes along its left arm. She ducked under a clumsy grab, spinning the staff around and cutting at its
stomach. As it reared back, she straightened up, tearing up the beasts chest, continuing the staffs spin and having the other end tear open its throat. As it
choked on its blood and fell, Amy backed up, looking around several of the creatures watching her. Several Boomas actually seemed to get the message, hobbling
away towards the fence. She smirked, then jogged to the building corner, peering around and looking for Optimal.
***
"Come on," the bulky Cast muttered. "Don't you people have better things to shoot at?" The only response he got was photon bolts
ripping at the dirt above him. Adjusting his position in the crater, he crawled forward, risking a brief glance up. Three turrets, all seemingly locked onto
him, one of them even ignoring the Rappy that seemed to have taken an interest in some shiny cables attached to it.
Reaching into a belt pouch, he took out another trap, opening the back panel and adjusting the settings before throwing it out of the crater. There was a brief
pause, an explosion, and then there were two turrets firing. Remembering which turret had the curious Rappy, he stood up slightly and fired on the other one,
only damaging it slightly and taking a bolt to the shoulder for his trouble. Ducking down, he checked his armor and nodded after seeing it hadn't gotten
through the armor. "Say, anyone care to distract these things for me?"
Before he got an answer, one of the guns stopped firing at the same moment a pained screech made itself known. Glancing up, he saw a slightly burnt Rappy
running away from the busted turret, a chunk of metal in its beak. Chuckling, he opened fire on the remaining turret, Amy hitting it from another direction. It
held for a moment, before one of their shots punched through the armor and detonating its photon core.
Amy emerged from behind her cover as Optimal climbed out of the trench, sweeping the area with her pistol. "Any more turrets?" she wondered.
"Yeah, but around corners and that," the Cast said, swiveling his arm just to check the shoulder. Raising his rifle, he harassed a few more Boomas
that were lurking around. "I'd rather not deal with all of them."
"Yeah..." she tapped her headset. "Skuld, 'Riko, how're you two doing?"
***
Noriko raised her barrier, intercepting a shot, as Skuld dropped to the floor, firing a shot under the Casts defense. She hit the Gillchic dead center,
knocking it to the floor where it overloaded and exploded. "Heading for the control room now," the Cast said over the comm. "Just need to
hotwire the door..."
"Better idea," Skuld said, getting to her feet. As Noriko turned to look at her, she pulled off her backpack and took out a blue sphere slightly
bigger then her fist. The Casts optics widened and she darted clear as the human tabbed the grenades switch, surrounding it in a glowing blue 'flame'.
She tossed it in an underhand throw at the door, where it promptly stuck and started pulsing. Skuld backed away, covering her ears and turning her eyes away.
The plasma grenade exploded, filling the corridor with blue fire. As it cleared, Noriko gave Skuld a glare. "A little more warning next time?" she
growled.
She smiled, adjusting her glasses. "I got the door, didn't I?" she asked, smiling wider when the Cast simply shook her head and muttered under
her breath, climbing through the hole in the door.
"Okay guys, we're in. Keep your heads down for a few and we'll deal with the turrets."