FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

9

"Jeezers, is this place _always_this busy?" Shauna asked Rissanivi.

"Um...yes...no...sort of. Does seem different feel from when last here," the reptilian replied as she looked around.

"So, where do we find the person you said you usually hire to do the repairs on your ship?"

"Casvan, down this way...come, come," Rissanivi said, gesturing towards what looked like a huge mall-like wing of the station that was around the planet named Esba'in.

Shauna, Sylvia, Plel-Whu'an, and Ksen-Mir'ta followed Rissanivi through the crowded station as she made her way to meet the owner of a repair business that specialized in smaller vessels. They saw aliens quite unlike any they had seen before, of all shapes and sizes, with or without limbs. Most of the aliens paid little to no attention to them--some looked fearfully at the two Mûr Tua'ansa and moved quickly out of their way, keeping a wary eye on them. Very little escaped the attention of Whu'an and Mir'ta, either physically or through their formidable psi abilities. After walking nearly half an hour, stopping here and there to look at items put out on display by vendors, they finally arrived at Casvan's shop. Inside, there were shelves of various parts, displays of larger pieces of equipment, and holographic displays--it reminded Shauna of the business her foster family had rebuilding ion drivers.

Speaking in the local trade language of Antujan, an alien behind the counter called out, "Casvan! Customer!"

There were some sounds coming from farther back amid the racks of parts that one wondered if they were some form of speech or something being hurt. Soon heavy clicking sounds made their way towards them and a stocky, shaggy being emerged from the stock area.

"Rissa!" the being said in a booming voice. "You not left yet?"

"Um, just got back from Yanbin. Injokip took shot at me in high space, then ran off. Lucky me, nice people come along and got ship going again," Rissanivi replied.

"Injokip, eh? How you run afoul of him?"

"Over game of haflip told you about, on Penorazh. His people spotted me on Yanbin, made stink, so had to leave quick. Got most of way here. Oh, hit me with sleeper charges, need to get minor work done on hull...you do?"

"Sleepers?!" the stocky alien boomed.

"Had two stuck, but friends here got them out before go boom. Fixed me up enough to make it here. I help tall furry lady find lost brother. Um...you look at ship and fix?" Rissanivi asked again, leaning seductively over the counter and looking up at the shaggy alien while resting her chin on her hand.

"For you, Rissa, I see what can do. But, why you come_here_? You not hear?"

"Hear what?

The shaggy alien leaned closer to Rissanivi and, casting a wary glance around, said in a low rumble, "Dark Ones come--big trouble! People leaving homes, come through here, try to find safe place to go. We been busy fixing, but I make room for you. We go way back, Rissa...you good friend, I take care of your ship. Pull in Bay Three-Seven, meet you there. I let Directors know you come, to let you in."

Rissanivi blinked, and with a slight smile, lifted her head and held her hand out palm outward. The shaggy alien placed the palm of his hand against hers.

Slightly tilting her head from one side to the other and blinking, Rissanivi said, "You nice guy, Casvan; good friend. Dark Ones bad for business...bad for everyone. Um..." she motioned for him to come closer and continued in a conspiratorial tone, "...my new friends say an old, old,old one been following them. Showed me image. If Dark Ones about,they may be back, too..."

"Nilahni protect us!" Casvan said in what passed as a whisper.

Rissanivi blinked rapidly three times and said, "Oyba, stars will shake like cloth in wind."

After they left Casvan's shop, Shauna asked, "Is your 'friend' going to fix your ship?"

"Um...yes, need to take ship to work bay so Casvan work on it," Rissanivi replied, acting more cautiously than before.

"What is wrong, Rissanivi?" Whu'an asked, picking up on her sudden nervousness.

"Not here, tell you later. Need to take ship to get fixed."

She refused to say anything more until they boarded_Nightwing_.

"Who are these 'Dark Ones'?" James asked when Rissanivi finally told what she had learned from Casvan.

"Um...old, old stories say they bad race from early time of galaxy. Dark Ones don't like old, old,_old_ones--don't know why, just do. Dark Ones hurt for fun, mess up what others do, trick some to follow them, then make bad. If Dark Ones or followers come, no one safe--destroy everything, or do...worse things." Rissanivi shook when she said the last part.

After a moment Whu'an openly sent to those present, "On Mûr Zhæn there is a lake we call nir-Tha'es and below its surface are large caverns where the remnants of the_an'im-Raleen, or Dark Souls, still dwell. They are ones who were changed--corrupted, if you will, by an ancient race whose name we do not mention, but their dead world we call,Mâr An'sanim. These 'Dark Ones', as Rissanivi calls them, may be the same as the masters of the_an'im-Raleen_. It is said in our own stories that they possessed certain crystalline devices created on_Mâr An'sanim that glow with a dark inner light, which they use to ensnare others. Whatever these crystals were created from, the only way to destroy them is to cast them into a star."

"What is it these _an'im-Raleen_or whatever, want?" James asked.

"They take the soul, or life essence if you wish, from those they ensnare for some purpose or another, and then devour the bodies. It is said that the souls of those taken are doomed to wander_Mâr An'sanim _until a Warrior of Nar A'Zhæl comes to defeat them."

"Nar A'Zhæl...that's what you call your sun, if I remember correctly," James said.

"Yes. My weapon is a functioning replica of the original Blade of Mûr Tua'ansa, which was forged by Bren-Fire Maker, many long nights ago, with the help of a First One. Aana-Ael'an was our people's First Warrior, and she alone wielded The Blade created by Bren-Fire Maker, and succeeded in driving off the masters of the_an'im-Raleen." Whu'an withdrew her weapon from its carrier and held it up for all to see, and then with a shift in her thought, an eerie, flame-like energy erupted from the weapon's blade. "_This weapon will answer only to the will of the one it was created for, and no other. What you see is the same as what emanates from our ship's disruptor weapons. The original Blade of Mûr Tua'ansa is reportedly much more powerful, but none may use it."

"Why not?" Sylvia asked, barely able to keep her eyes from the deadly energy surrounding the blade of Whu'an's weapon.

"When one from the line of Bren-Fire Maker embraces the spirit of Aana-Ael'an, the original Blade of Mûr Tua'ansa will reawaken and chose its rightful wielder to defeat the last of the_an'im-Raleen. When that night comes, it will blaze with the light of Nar A'Zhæl_," Whu'an explained.

She shifted her thoughts, causing the fearsome disruptor energies to cease, and put her weapon back in its carrier. The entire time Plel-Whu'an was relating her story, Rissanivi sat listening in wide-eyed awe.

James did not know that he, Rhuw-Rha'an, Miss Ja'f'darwe, Zhir-Chi'an, and Moira had once been in the company of the very person Plel-Whu'an had said would be the next wielder of the original Blade of Mûr Tua'ansa. That warrior, one of the fearsome_Che'maht Sahn'rah_--the elite personal guards of Empress Krel-Mri'ana--was unwittingly already on the path that would change her life forever, and all because of a human male...

...and a First One by the name of Naoia Anen-su'ena.

* * * * *

True to his word, Casvan quickly got to work on Rissanivi's small ship, and because she was a longtime friend and reliable customer, he made sure the work was done extra carefully.

"You one lucky eggling, Rissa," Casvan commented as the two watched the repair crew work on the hull of her ship.

"Um...how so?"

"You always ahead of trouble."

Rissanivi looked out the observation window of the repair bay at her ship.

"What you call that? Injokip did that, remember?" she asked in exasperation.

"You still alive. People come in time to help you when needed, removed bombs before go off. Made new friends who got you here. You have time to get far away before_they_ come, and not count all of other times you stay ahead of trouble. You one lucky eggling."

Rissanivi thought about what Casvan said. Looking back at all of the experiences she's had so far in her short life, Rissanivi was forced to agree with her friend. There had been many a close call in the thirty-six Standard Years of her people, the Vey'ani, since she hatched. Rissanivi had indeed been quite lucky on several occasions, and her apparent luck extended into her business dealings. She had made a name for herself, and was successful enough to buy her own ship, though it was small and well used by the time she acquired it. Rissanivi had, over time, fixed it up and customized it to her liking. It still wasn't much, but the Asinl-built_Rechu'is_-class long-distance courier ship had a proven reputation as a solid, dependable, hyperspace capable vessel. To Rissanivi, it was her transportation, her office, and her home away from home. She was quite fond of her little ship, and the thought of a thug like Injokip poking holes in its skin with the intent of reducing it to scrap--with her in it--greatly annoyed her. However, she had promised her new friends that in exchange for saving her scaly hide_and_her precious ship, she would help find "Big C" as she had often called Cameron Eriksson--and she always kept her promises.

"Another time for you, rude dude Injokip--you get yours, you'll see!" she thought to herself.

While her ship was being worked on, Rissanivi went to the docking area where_Nightwing_ was moored. There seemed to be an unusual number of people looking out the observation windows when she exited the lift. As she got closer, Rissanivi overheard bits of the hushed conversations of the people who had gathered to look. She had not had a good look at the ship that had come to her rescue, so she casually walked up to see what everyone was looking at. What she saw made her understand why the small crowd seemed nervous.

"Oyba-len, I was in that?" she thought to herself when she saw the black ship. The shape and color of it was totally alien to what she and the others had ever seen before.

Rissanivi stepped away from the windows and pulled out her comm link. Keying in the code she had been given, Rissanivi contacted_Nightwing_ and asked if she could board. When she got permission, Rissanivi walked over to the airlock and opened the inner door, which immediately drew the attention of the crowd of spectators. She stepped inside and quickly activated the door cycle, hoping that the inner door would shut and the outer door open in time before someone in the crowd did anything rash. Once the outer door was opening, the inner door could not be opened, and Rissanivi would be inside the docking tube. She saw the looks some were giving her. In the crowd were four Onim, a race known for their religious zealotry--they had been talking the loudest and were now giving her the most dreadful look. While the outer door began to cycle, the Onim were peering through the window in the inner door and chanting something in their own language. Rissanivi knew only a little of it, and what they were saying made her quite uncomfortable. When the outer door of_Nightwing_'s airlock closed, Rissanivi breathed a sigh of relief, and she felt safe again.

"Maybe I ask sister of Big C to come with when go get ship. Maybe one with big scary blade, too," she thought to herself.

Ivor met Rissanivi in the airlock's antechamber and noticed that she seemed a bit rattled.

"Urr ye a'richt?"

"Um...huh?"

"Ah said, urr ye a'richt? Ye seem nervous."

"Oh, um...bunch of people looking at this ship. Some Onim out there--they, um, how you say, believe too much in what they believe in?"

"Fanatics."

Rissanivi cocked her head a little and blinked rapidly a few times.

"Um, guess so. They got loud and followed to inner door on station side, chanting. They could be trouble."

Ivor rolled his eyes and said, "Tell me whit thay keek lik' 'n' ah will let th' captain ken."

Rissanivi was not used to Ivor's thick Scottish accent and was having trouble understanding him.

"Um...don't know what 'keek-lick' mean."

Fortunately for Rissanivi, Ivor was understanding, so he said, "Come wi' me."

"Okay."

Rissanivi followed Ivor into the nearby lift and went up to Deck-1. The door opened not far from the crew's mess, which she had been in before, so she had an idea where they were. Ivor took her on into the crew's mess where Sylvia and Plel-Whu'an were chatting over tea. They both glanced towards the door when Ivor and Rissanivi entered and headed towards their table. Ivor patiently waited until Whu'an finished what she was saying before he spoke.

"Th' brassic lassie 'ere thinks we kin hae a kinch wi' some fowk cried 'Onim'. They're fanatics o' some kind 'n' thay wur chanting somethin' that made her cop uneasy."

Whu'an raised a questioning eyebrow--she wasn't quite sure of all that Ivor said, but she got the gist of it. Rissanivi looked at Ivor and then at the other two in confusion. Sylvia, though, understood Ivor without any trouble.

Turning a bit in her seat so that she could face Rissanivi, Sylvia asked, "Someone trying to stir up some trouble over on the station?"

Giving a quick glance at Ivor, Rissanivi replied, "Um...yeah. When coming back from repair bay, saw bunch of others looking out big windows at this ship. I looked, too--first time I got good look. This ship_not_ like any people see around here, so, they...um, scared? Saw four Onim in with others--they, um, not right in here." Rissanivi tapped the side of her head with a finger. "Onim are...what you say?"

"Fanatics," Ivor responded when she looked questioningly at him.

"Um...that. Onim believe too much what they believe, think all others wrong. Their way or no way. They think crazy stuff about...any not like them, or things they not like. They not like ship for sure. Friends need keep eye on them--they stupid scary crazy!"

"You think they may attempt to do something to this ship?" Whu'an asked.

"Not put past. Crazy Onim have hurt others before for stupid things, little things," Rissanivi replied.

"Perhaps we should inform our superiors," Whu'an suggested to Sylvia.

With a nod of her head, Sylvia notified James of the potential situation while Whu'an did the same with her CO.

A short while later, James and Rhuw-Rha'an, along with Rissanivi, Ivor, and Plel-Whu'an, crossed over to the station to size up the situation. They saw a crowd of about thirty people of various species--the four Onim were easily picked out by their distinctive lilac-colored long tunics over baggy purple knee breeches and tall boots. One of the Onim appeared to be addressing the crowd in an authoritative sounding voice. When the airlock doors cycled and the five stepped out with Rissanivi staying close to Ivor, the room went silent as everyone turned their attention towards James, Rha'an, and the others. The silence did not last long, however.

The four Onim immediately marched towards them, their leader talking loudly and gesticulating with his arms while his followers chanted responses to his words.

"Rissa, do you have any idea what this person is saying?" James asked as the four approached.

"Um...not all. Something about 'black spirits who eat dead'."

"Dead what?"

"Dead anything. Onim only eat _live_food. They think ship is, um...evil, if understand right. They strange people."

James frowned.

"Hold it right there," he said firmly, indicating with his hand for them to stop.

Plel-Whu'an stepped to the front and took a ready stance with a hand on her weapon. Looking down at the four Onim with slightly narrowed eyes, she hissed menacingly. The three followers hesitated, but their leader scowled and proceeded to come closer. Whu'an, using her telekinetic ability, stopped the lead Onim in his tracks.

"Stay...back," she sent forcefully, along with a mental image to reinforce her warning. Whu'an pushed the surprised leader back to where the other three had stopped.

"Rissa, can you call Station Security to convince these people to leave us alone?" James asked. "I'd just as soon not end up with anyone getting hurt."

"I try," she replied, getting her comm link out.

* * * * *

/* "Mistress...I detect the presence of_e'nchiekh _crystals within the orbital facility near our young friends," */ Char'ena announced suddenly.

"What? Oh, dear...those fool Dark Bloods got to somebody there!"

/* "Apparently so, Mistress." */

"Are they active?" Naoia asked, concerned for those in the vicinity of the crystals.

/* "Yes, Mistress, they are." */

"Then they are about somewhere and up to no good, as usual. Tell your friends that we have some Dark Bloods nearby--I'll go deal with the situation, discretely, if possible."

/* "As you wish, Mistress." */

With quiet sigh, Naoia disappeared in a multicolored swirl of light.

Undetectable by the mortals or their instruments, Naoia Anensu'ena willed herself near the station in orbit around the planet, Esba'in. She did not want to reveal herself just yet--the time wasn't quite right. However, she did not want to risk having the lives of her charges snuffed out because of some fool who fell in with those pesky Dark Bloods.

"You still have much to learn, my children, and this is a danger you are not yet able to handle," she thought to herself.

Naoia looked into the station to see exactly what was going on--the station itself might as well have been made of clear glass to her view.

"Ah, there you are, you little scamp. Hmpf, you're just like that fool who was the ancestor of my great granddaughter's adopted child. Well, I know_that _necklace was destroyed--I did it myself. So, what do_you _have on you that has those nasty little crystals in it?"

Naoia looked closely at the leader of the four Onim as if he was nothing more than a bug under a microscope.

"Ah, there they are, in that broach on your tunic. Your masters are hiding around here somewhere, they have to be. Well, Char'ena and her friends will sniff them out soon enough, and I'm sure the others can quietly take them out. I need to make sure_this_fool 'sees the light', though I need to be a little discreet about it. Oh, good, the green one is calling the station's guards. I think that will work nicely with what I have in mind..."

* * * * *

Rissanivi explained to the Station Security people what happened when she was entering the airlock to board_Nightwing_, and then what happened when she and the others came back on the station. The one Onim male had been harassing and trying to stir up trouble, and that they were trying to avoid anyone getting hurt.

"We only here because my ship got shot at by Injokip Banjidûr--he use missile with 'sleeper' bombs. Two stuck in my ship, one knocked out power node and messed up cabin heat. These people found me, removed bombs, made ship work enough to get here. While waiting on ship to get fixed, these_neepers_[1] try mess with me and new friends! As soon as ship fixed, we got other places to go."

The leader of the four Onim was quite indignant at being questioned, and started ranting. One of the security personnel saw him reach under his tunic and promptly grappled him. Once he was secured, the senior security person checked the Onim leader's I.D., and found that there was cause for his arrest and confinement. As he was being taken away, the small crowd was ordered to disperse and not be out bothering visitors who had no trouble with anyone.

"Let's hope this particular issue has been resolved and there won't be any more problems," James said, watching the still ranting Onim leader being taken away.

"I agree, James. We have better things to do than deal with unhinged individuals," Rha'an sent.

Before they reboarded Nightwing, Rissanivi went over to the now empty area by the observation windows and looked out at the ship. James, being a bit curious, joined her. They stood there for nearly a minute before she spoke.

"Um...never saw a ship like yours before--nobody around here has. Very strange, not...um, well...it sort of scary."

James chuckled a bit as he looked out the window at his ship.

"She can be, I suppose. Personally...I think she's beautiful." Rissanivi looked up at James, tilting her head from side-to-side a little, blinking. James saw her reflection in the window and added, "Nightwing is a joy to fly. She learns and adapts, knows what I'm likely to do in a lot of situations and anticipates...and she takes pretty good care of us. We take good care of her, too."

Rissanivi saw the look on James' face and she understood as only another pilot would.

* * * * *

The lift doors closed and then whisked off to the detention area, carrying the security guards and the Onim, who was still ranting. He went on for what seemed like several more minutes, but then he stopped because it finally dawned on him that something wasn't right. His expression changed from one of anger to one of curiosity--the guards were not moving, as if they had become unblinking statues. The lift car was also quiet, and the indicators showed no movement. He blinked...and everything dissolved around him. He blinked again...and what he saw defied all of his senses.

"Have you figured out where you are?" a voice asked him in his head.

He looked around. At first the light was blinding, he couldn't make out anything, but after what seemed like a few moments, his eyes adjusted...or maybe his surroundings adjusted, he couldn't tell. At first, he thought he was somehow in a holographic projection of what it might look like if one was standing on the surface of a star. He saw huge prominences arcing up from the photosphere, through the chromosphere, and into the corona, coming back down to connect on the other end with the photosphere. He saw a dark sunspot drift by close enough so that he could look down into it. Beneath his feet he saw the tops of the convective currents boiling up hellish nuclear fire.

"What is this place? How did I get here?Why am I here?" he demanded.

"Don't pay too much attention to the consequences of your actions, do you, child? No, I suppose you don't--you're too busy listening to the sly voice of your master. You see, your greed got the better of you--you just couldn't find it in yourself to turn down one particular gift that you_really _should have. It's that little trinket pinned to your tunic. Yes,_that _thing. It was made by a race of beings that are thoroughly evil and hateful, and they suckered you into taking it. Now, you are controlled by them, doing what_they _want you to do. Oh, I'm sure they offered you all sorts of goodies for giving them your mind to twist. Eventually, when they have no more use for you, whatever is left of your essence would be sucked out and then they would have fun with your carcass. They can't reach you here, child, so don't bother trying to call them."

"Where is here?!" the Onim demanded.

"Where does it look like, child?"

The Onim looked around again--it suddenly was no longer silent. A horrendous roaring sound unlike anything he had ever heard before pummeled his body from every angle. Now his arrogance changed to terror.

"This is exactly what it looks like. This_is _the surface of the star the world you know as Esba'in orbits, and I'm the only reason why your carcass hasn't already been incinerated by the heat and your atoms ripped apart by the radiation. You see, those crystals in your little trinket come from the homeworld of the Dark Bloods, and the only way they can be destroyed is by being cast into a star. Well, there just happens to be a handy star right here, and you're standing on its surface. Literally. Like I said, though, I'm the only reason why you're not dead already."

"Who are you?!"

"My name isn't particularly important at this point, but_what _I am, is...though whether I tell you or not depends on how you answer my next question. Now, I want you to listen_very_carefully and really think about your answer--it's very important, and you only get the one chance. Now, let's see if you have any brains of your own left." Suddenly there was deafening silence again. "Here's my question: how do you wish to be remembered?"

The Onim began to panic.

"Why do you wish to kill me?!"

A pair of large blazing eyes unlike any he had seen before appeared before him, frightening him further.

"Answer my question, and you may_live...fail to answer and you most certainly_ will die here and now. The choice is yours. Think carefully, but do not take too long...I have better things to do than to deal with a petulant child."

For the first time in a long while, the Onim male did not hear the voice that had whispered to him its cunning words. He was truly alone with his thoughts, save for the voice of whatever being had brought him to be in this place--demon or god or...what, he couldn't tell. It obviously had tremendous power, for if it could stand him on the surface of a star without being instantly vaporized, then he must do what it said. He forced himself as best as he could to be calm, though he was certain that his death was at hand. He did not want to die, not like this; no one would ever know what had happened to him, especially not his family. That he had just thought of his family shocked him, for he could not remember the last time they had been important to him. His beliefs--or what he_thought_ he believed--had taken over his life. Now, however, reality seemed intent on literally burning away the illusions he had been told were real...and him with them. Looking down, he saw the boiling, writhing convections of plasma coming up to the surface from the terrible fire born of nuclear fusion deep below. He was not learned in the ways things such as how stars worked, only that they gave light to chase away the darkness, warmed a world if it was not too far away or burned it if it was too close, and that it could give life...or take it. It was the same as a fire about which one gathered around to see by, or to keep warm. A fire one made was a useful thing, but took care of else it would harm. The stars in the night sky were merely cold points of light; that a star could also be a_sun_ was not something he thought of, until he left his world for the first time. The sun in the sky of the world he was just on seemed warm and friendly--now that he was miraculously_standing_ on its surface, it was the most hostile, lethal thing he could imagine. He did not know how the being was able to hold back the fearsome heat, light, and whatever else it could throw at him, or in an instant move him across a vast distance. This being seemed totally different than the one that had been whispering to him for...how long now? It seemed like a dream...or maybe it was a kind of nightmare. Within the boiling mass below him, he saw images of his life. Was his mind playing tricks on him, or was he being made to see the life he had been living? Feeling compelled to watch, he saw his entire life play out, from his early childhood to the recent events on the station. He smiled with pride when he saw his children being brought into this life--and he sobbed when he saw how his beliefs had alienated him from those he once cared about. Then he saw himself in his current predicament.

"How do you wish to be remembered?"

He sank to his knees and, covering his face with his hands in shame, cried out, "If I must die for what I have done, then so be it, just let me be remembered as a mate to my lady and a father to our children!"

He cried, not for his own self, but for those who had entrusted him with their love, their very lives.

He had no idea how long he had been there. When he finally raised his head, he was ready to accept whatever fate was in store for him.

"If you wish to be free, then do what you know you must."

Nodding his head, the Onim male looked down at his chest and with a yank, pulled the broach from his tunic. He looked at it, remembering how hard it had been in the past to put it aside. He had not realized just how much of a hold it had had on him, but now...he slowly stood up, and then looked at it one more time, fingering its shape. He heaved a deep sigh, and then feeling the resolve strengthen within himself, he threw the broach as far as he could. It fascinated him in an odd way, how the broach seemed almost to resist the undeniable pull of gravity, but fall it did, and when it touched the roiling surface, a hideous scream filled his mind. In a flash of dark light, it was gone. His first thought was "what have I done", but then he thought, "what needed to be done."

"Well, do you feel better now, child?"

Thinking a moment, he nodded his head--he had no words to describe how he felt.

"There may be hope for you yet."

He blinked...and suddenly found himself no longer standing on the surface of the star, but some distance away from it.

"Where are you?" he asked, looking around.

"Where I've always been...watching."

"I--I don't understand."

A ghostly image of a strange being faded into view; how far or close it might be, he could not tell.

"You have the opportunity to undo some of the mistakes you have made. It is not often one such as you is given a second chance, but...there_was _still some hope that just maybe, you might find the strength within yourself to break free, and...here you are."

"Would you have killed me?"

"You would have killed yourself--I'll leave_that _for you to contemplate over the remainder of your life. Now then, make the best of what you have--do_not _squander what you have been given. You have taken a first step, now, take another."

The ghostly image faded from view, save for the eyes.

"Remember...we are watching."

"Wait! Who are you, or...what are you?"

The being's image faded into view again, thought this time the eyes seemed to glow with an inner light.

"If you pay attention, child, you will learn soon enough. It is not yet time. Soon, though...soon."

The ghostly form either grew or came closer, leaned forward, and then kissed him on the top of his head. Everything blurred into a streak of light as he heard, "Remember..."

He blinked is eyes and found himself alone in the lift car. When it finally stopped, and the door opened, he recognized where he was at.

"How can this be? I...I am..._home!_"

As if in a daze, he walked slowly down the corridor until he came to a door.

"Remember..." he heard a voice say in his head. It sounded vaguely familiar.

Shortly after opening the door and walking through it, the joyful sound of little ones filled his ears, and a tear ran down his cheek as he was greeted by his family.

"I...am home."

* * * * *

Rissanivi was amazed how quickly Casvan's team had finished the repairs of her ship. After she had the chance to inspect everything, and discovered that he had tossed in a few upgrades at a steep discount, she settled with her old friend.

"Don't know when we might meet again--bad times coming this way. May have to pull out, set up somewhere else. If we get lucky."

Rissanivi saw the concerned expression on his face and heard the sadness in his gravelly voice.

"When find Big C, I come look for you. Might need fixes by then," Rissanivi said with a determined smile.

"Got word several systems spinward got hit. Gone quiet. Some say they wiped out. I say war is coming, like never seen before. Rissa, if do come back and this place gone, come to home on Mawyn--look there. I leave something for you if..."

On other worlds there were those who would say that the hearts and minds of reptilians were as cold as their bodies, but they didn't know the Vey'ani. Rissanivi's people may be cold-blooded, but what they lacked in physical warmth, they made up for it in other ways. Rissanivi generally knew when to be bold and when to be cautious, when to have fun and when to be serious, when to fight and when to be caring. This moment was definitely the latter. Casvan had been her friend and sometimes business partner, and knew that she could always depend on him in a pinch. It pained her to hear the words he just spoke, not so much about the actual words (though they certainly were a concern), but the way he said them. His shop and repair bay on the station were his pride and joy, and he had carefully built up his business and his reputation of being fair. That he might lose everything and have to run for his life...it was something Rissanivi did not want to see happen.

She gave her big, shaggy friend a hug, and he wrapped his long, powerful arms around her.

"Um...you be here when come back so can tell you all about what saw out there."

Casvan made a deep rumbling sound, which she understood.

"You be safe, eggling. Maybe your luck spread to your new friends and we all have drinks at Nuzi's someday."

Just as she stepped onto the walkway to the entrance hatch, Casvan called out, "Rissa! Forgot to tell you--that Onim guy you told about, he gave up ways and went home. Decided to live quiet, peaceful life, his people say. Most strange!"

Rissanivi stood there for a moment, shaking her head.

"Onim are strange!" she called back and waved. "Cha'wé!"

Rissanivi boarded her ship and made ready to leave the repair bay. When the space door opened and the moorings and supports retracted, she looked out the window of the flight cabin. Casvan was there, waving at her. Hoping that he could see her, she waved back enthusiastically. He continued to wave as she backed her ship out of the bay. Rissanivi flashed the landing lights a few times as a last farewell and then headed off into the black.

* * * * *

"Back on the trail again," James said with the satisfaction evident in his voice when they were about to break orbit.

"Da, about time, ah?" Tanya quipped from the Navigator's seat.

"Got that right, luv."

"Sir, Se'nika reports they're ready when we are," Sylvia announced.

"Understood. Tell them that we jump when we reach standard distance," James said.

"Aye, sir."

The next week of travel time was quiet, for the most part, as they moved away from the local systems in the vicinity of Esba'in. The flight path they followed would take them to the left of the supposed forces heading towards the world they had left. If there really were an attacking force coming, he did not want to fly head on into it. Although_Nightwing_ had her stealth capabilities, Se'nika did not, and he did not want to risk their safety.

When it was near the end of the first week after leaving Esba'in, the crews of_Nightwing_ and Se'nika_had a very strange dream that they apparently all shared, even though each person had a minor variation that was unique to them. The dream came upon all of them at once, whether they were asleep or on duty, and no one was spared--not even Moira and, surprisingly, the_Chel-Sar Se'nika.

The sky overhead was a clear azure blue, and apparently near sunset. Everyone was lined up at the forested edge of a deep canyon, looking across to the other side. The one noticeable difference was the female who stood beside Moira's android avatar--she looked unlike everyone else, though everyone somehow "knew" who it was, and it was a tall, slender, hairless, graceful female with an unusual coloration. It was the_Se'nika_as a bipedal anthropomorphic life form, much like Moira's android avatar. There, on top of a mound surrounded by very tall trees, was a structure that looked like it might have been as old as the land itself. It looked vaguely familiar at the time, but later everyone agreed that it was similar to the structure on Élendor. Each person heard a voice that spoke in some unrecognizable language as well as in their own native tongue, saying their name and that they were "known" by the voice and were given a message. Each then experienced the sensation of falling, only to be gently caught. One person, however, received a disturbing message.

When James awoke from the dream, he quickly snapped fully awake. Lilly was lying beside him in bed, crying in shuddering sobs. James sat up and gently pulled her to him.

"What's wrong, Lil?" he asked, stroking the white fur-hair on her head.

"Aaaa...I (*sob!*) d-don't (*sob!*) w-wanna (*sob!*) d-die! Aaaaaaaa!!!" she choked out.

Shauna woke up startled, brushing her mane from her face.

"What the...?"

James held Lilly tight, kissing her, and trying to calm her down.

"Sh-sh-sh...I've got ya, Lil, it's okay, I'm not going to let anything get you. You're safe, luv, you're safe."

Shauna got up and went around to the other side of the bed and sat next to Lilly, putting her arms around both her and James.

"Hey, c'mon, Lilly, you're okay, girl. If anything were trying to get you, you_know_ I'd punt its ass halfway to the next star."

"(*Bawl!*) N-no! (*sob!*) I-I (*sob!*) I-I'm gonna (*sob!*) die! (*Bawl!*)"

The back door to the captain's cabin opened and Moira's android avatar entered.

"What is wrong with Lilly?" Moira asked with concern, kneeling down by Lilly and touching her face.

"I don't know. I was having some really weird dream when I woke up to Lil bawling like a little kit. Something's really freaked her out, but I don't know what," James replied.

"Should I call Mindy?" Moira asked.

"I'm not sure what she could do for this," James replied.

Moira noted the look on his face--James was clearly worried, and so was Shauna.

"I will contact our Mûr Tua'ansa friends. Perhaps Frer-Sha'an might help."

James nodded his head as he continued to hold Lilly and try to soothe his mate.

The three ships dropped out of hyperspace and came to a full stop. Frer-Sha'an and Rhuw-Rha'an teleported over to_Nightwing_, directly into James' cabin. Sha'an knelt down in front of Lilly, who was still crying in shuddering sobs.

With a look of utter compassion, Sha'an took Lilly from James and began singing a soothing, gentle song in her native Tu'an while rubbing a wrist by her nose. Within seconds, Lilly stopped crying and began to visibly relax.

A short while later, with Sha'an's help, Lilly was asleep and resting peacefully.

"It appears we have all had the same dream, or very nearly so, but Lilly's version was understandably upsetting," Sha'an announced after checking on the rest of the crew, the science team, and the two Fansq.

Miss Ja'f'darwe, who also had her own version of the dream, had been listening to the others talk about theirs.

"The Heart has called us," she announced, causing everyone to immediate quiet down and give her their full attention. "I have wondered if it might, since we seem to have been put upon a path meant for us to follow it. Those who The Heart calls to, have been required to take a personal journey where they learn something of themselves and perhaps of others who may journey with them. As far as my people know, exactly what The Heart says when it calls is specific to the individual, but the format is apparently similar."

"Has it ever told a person that they were going to die?" James asked.

Miss Ja'f'darwe was taken aback by the seriousness of James' question.

"Not to my knowledge. Someone was told that?"

"Lilly."

"She was so distraught that our healer had to intervene," Rhuw-Rha'an sent.

"I cannot imagine why it would do something to harm anyone in such a way. In all of the time since we learned of its existence, it has been as a teacher of sorts. The knowledge it gives has always been beneficial in nature. Could she have mistaken it for something figurative?"

"When I attempted to find the cause of Lilly's distress I found the memory of the 'dream'...it was quite..." Sha'an could not finish the sentence. She closed her eyes and turned away, shutting everyone out.

Rha'an had caught a glimpse of what was in Sha'an's thoughts before she closed her mind, and knew how much it had affected the healer.

"...Graphic," Rha'an finished for Sha'an. She went to her healer and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sha'an, would you show it to me, please? I have to know," James asked gently.

"No...it would go against all that I am, all that it means to be a healer. I will not...cannot inflict this upon you, Captain James Daugherty."

James and the others were concerned for Frer-Sha'an because she had spoken aloud in a formal manner instead of using her telepathy as she normally would. James went to Sha'an and gently placed his hands on either side of her face.

"Sha'an, I'm sure you know how much I love Lilly, and I understand your concern for my welfare, but if I'm to have any chance at all at making sure whatever happens to her doesn't, I need to know what she saw. I promised our uncle, the admiral, that I would bring her back home--I intend to bring her home alive, along with everyone else. We don't know if whatever Lilly saw in that vision, dream, whatever it was,will_happen or only _might happen. If I can get some clue as to what happened, I might be able to avoid it_if_ it pops up."

"But it is..."

"Sha'an, I've seen death. I've been in combat, I've seen several of my friends killed and a whole lot of other people. I've carried bodies and parts of bodies--just ask Mindy, or Sylvia, they saw."

Sha'an looked into James' eyes, then glanced over to Rha'an. Rha'an nodded her head slightly once.

With a sigh, Sha'an relented and showed James what Lilly had experienced.

* * * * *

The next few days were slow going because, according to Rissanivi, the part of space they had to cross had once been a battle zone between ancient races, and the damage to space itself was such that there were still pockets of instability that could have dire effects. Rissanivi had a map of the area which showed the_known_ areas of instability, along with the_suspected_ areas.

"I can't imagine what type of weapons could_possibly_ cause these kinds of localized instability in the space-time continuum," Lt. Cdr. Murrali H'alwa said when they came upon the first pocket and had launched a sensor probe into it before skirting around it.

"I agree," Jhan-Kri'an sent, looking over the data. "The power to do this is unimaginable. I do not think I would want to see who or what was doing the fighting."

"We would be like ants watching warring cosmic giants lobbing nova bombs at each other like how we might use hand grenades," Carmen suggested.

"That might not be a bad analogy, Li," Zach admitted while going over the incoming data.

The three ships carefully slipped past several more such pockets of spatial instability before entering a region of undisturbed space. They remained in normal space for another two days to make sure there were no other anomalies before making a short jump of about ten lightyears. Not long after returning to normal space, Shen-Lir'an picked up a weak communication signal, an then she detected several more of a different variety. Sharing her discovery with those on the other two ships, Rissanivi was able to identify the source of the signals.

"Yarthenins...big, bad dude people. They, um...strip worlds, with people or no. Take everything. Ships hit first, take out defenses, then send grounders to guard machines that come next. Sometimes they look for special people to take before machines do their thing," Rissanivi explained.

"What do those do, ah?" Tanya asked.

Rissanivi looked around the table and said, "Um...eat planet?"

"You mean strip mining equipment, right?" Shauna asked, trying to figure out what Rissanivi meant.

"No..." she replied sadly, "...they eat planet. Everything on it, in it...everything. If have metal core, they take. Heard they took couple of big gas planets, too."

There was stunned silence all around the table for nearly a minute, until Shen-Lir'an asked, "What of this weaker signal?"

Rissanivi listened to it a few times through.

"Um...that in Nirian, not far from here. Says, 'most got away...but...leader family beg help, take girl-child away to safe place'. Um, maybe little one next in line?"

"Next in line for what?" James asked.

"Um...lead others?"

"A hereditary leader," Shauna suggested.

"Think so," Rissanivi agreed.

James looked around the table and the expressions on everyone's face matched what he felt.

"Lir'an, think you can establish a comm channel with that person?" James asked.

"I believe so, Honored Captain."

"Rissa, can you communicate with that person well enough to plan a rescue?"

Rissanivi's eyes widened in surprise at James' question.

"You mean to try to save that youngling?" Rha'an asked, raising an eyebrow.

With a dead-serious expression on his face, James replied, "Covert military missions are one thing this ship is built for. If I can get close enough, we can transport them aboard and be out of there before anyone figures out what happened. I just need to know where and when they'll be." James looked back at Rissanivi and asked, "Can you talk to them?"

"I try," Rissanivi said.

"See what you two can do--tell them help is coming."

"Take our friend to the ship and attempt to establish communication," Rha'an instructed Shen-Lir'an.

"As you command, Madam Commander." Lir'an stood and sent to Rissanivi, "Come with me."

The reptilian pilot got up and went to Lir'an, and then quickly learned one of the other abilities of the Mûr Tua'ansa shortly after the tall Communicator put an arm around her shoulder.

*Bamf!*

* * * * *

"Are they coming?" Ne'uran asked his wife with what little hope he had left.

"The Vey'ani pilot said she and her friends are on their way here," H'mei replied softly.

The leader of the Nirian people, known among them as the_oh'Lem_, Ne'uran Winalen tried the best he could to smile. His smile faded quickly, however.

"H'mei, in case things do not go as planned... whatever it takes, our daughter_must_ get to safety with the rest of our people."

His wife understood that the chances of those of their people still remaining on Niria--the last of The Leadership in particular--were nearly non-existent. The main body of the Yarthenin fleet would soon be upon them. The system's defense forces had so far held off the advance wave, allowing as many citizens to leave in whatever could carry them, but for those remaining...there was no hope. They would fight to the last in order to give those who could escape as much time as possible to get away. The_oh'Lem_ would continue his duty to the end. His daughter, Nyra, would take his place leading their people, but it would not be here, on their homeworld.

Once the Yarthenins were spotted coming towards Niria, The Leadership called to their neighbors and to those they traded with to come and help protect their world. But none of them came. Three small ships--a private courier owned by a Vey'ani female and two small military ships of people they had never heard of before--were coming, however, to do whatever they could. Ne'uran wondered if they were fools who didn't know what they would be up against, if they were crazy, or if they would prove heroic in their attempt. He likely would not live to know, but that at least_someone_ answered their call reinforced what hope he had left.

* * * * *

Upon receiving what they needed to know about the system, the planet, and who they would be picking up, James and Tanya looked for likely safe places where the_Se'nika_ and Rissanivi's ship could hide while_Nightwing_ went in using her stealth capability. The system had a rocky asteroid belt which offered ample places for the two smaller ships to hide and keep an eye on things.

When it was time to initiate the rescue plan,Nightwing became totally invisible by bending light and other electromagnetic radiation around her, and then James made way to Niria.

"James...I just finished scanning the planet. We're going to have to land."

"What? Why?" James demanded, taking a quick look back at his Science Officer.

"There's something emanating from the planet that will interfere with the MT--there's no way we could get a lock on someone. I've been trying to cut through it, but...it's a no-go."

"Damn."

Tanya looked over at James and asked, "What now?"

James thought a moment.

"That depends. Zach, those Yarthenins...got a read on what their ground strength is and how close?"

"They're closing in on the capitol city--not completely surrounded yet, but will be soon enough. If we had Moira's sisters here, we could probably put enough hurt on the bad guys quickly enough to make them think twice about hanging around. We_could_ take out some of the closer units, but that's going to attract the attention of their ships in orbit. If we go after their command ship, that might buy us some time just from the confusion it'd cause, but that would take time away from getting as many as we could off the surface. Civilians won't be as likely to move fast enough."

James tapped his fingers on his console, thinking.

"Sir, those folks wanted to get their kid to safety above all else, correct?" Sylvia asked.

James stopped tapping his fingers and looked back at his Comm Officer.

"What do you have in mind, Syl?"

"I can suit up and jump to the surface without you having to land the ship, giving you a chance to go put some hurt on that command ship. I'll get the kid and make for a rendezvous point for a quick pick up. Maybe we can hit some of those ground units on the way out--and we_do_ have the fighter and the shuttle for close support, if necessary."

James thought on that and said, "Syl, Rha'an would likely think you're 'unhinged', and I might be inclined to agree, but...sometimes insanity has its uses. I'd feel better if we had some support from friendlies, but I don't see any coming. Get suited up and make sure you load for bear, understand? I don't like the idea of you being on your own down there, so be able to kick as much ass as you can carry for."

"Understood, sir."

"Get on it--I'll give Sonya a heads up so she and McElroy and get you ready."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Sylvia unstrapped and stood to leave, but James held his hand out.

"Syl..."

She reached out and grasped his hand by locking thumbs together.

"Hoo-ya!" James said, looking Sylvia in the eye.

"Roger that, sir," she said with a sly grin.

* * * * *

Sylvia suited up into her heavier combat gear so that she could carry a greater assortment of weapons and munitions, plus have more thruster power for landing and jumping and the wing unit add-on. It had been at least a year since she had done a drop like this, and this time she was having to do it alone. Sylvia blocked out any thoughts about it, choosing to concentrate solely on going through the steps as she had been trained.

Sonya and Ivor arrived with the stores from the armory and began loading her up.

"Syl, you're freakin' bat-shit crazy, you know that, don't you?" Sonya said while she was attaching the heavy pulser.

Sylvia gave her a sarcastic look.

"I am a bat."

"My point, exactly." Sonya connected the power and ran through the checks quickly. "Hey...get in and get out, then get that sweet lil' tail of yours back here."

"I didn't know you cared," Sylvia said in an almost flirty manner.

"More than you know, you flying rodent," Sonya muttered under her breath. At a more normal level she added, "If anything happens to you down there, that's going to screw up my Gunner's Mate, and I can't have that. Somebody has to keep farm boy shootin' straight, if you know what I mean."

Sylvia cocked her head slightly at Sonya's words--even the ones she had muttered. Then she looked over at Ivor, who was loading the grenade rounds into their magazine on her left. Ivor glanced across to Sonya and then back to Sylvia, shaking his head slightly. He didn't say anything until Sylvia was fully outfitted. When he was just about to say something, Lt. Cha'rhu'ez and Ensign Donnelson entered the hanger bay to start prepping their Peregrine.

Sonya noticed their arrival, looked over at Ivor, and said, "I'm heading to the missile stores...don't take too long, farm boy."

Without waiting for a reply, Sonya walked off, leaving him and Sylvia alone for a moment.

"'Ere is th' map o' th' area. Thare is a cliff whaur th' captain wull catch up wi` ye at. We wull hae th' hanger doors open sae ye kin jump in. Moira's avatar wull be in a safety harness tae catch ye, sin she haes th' braun tae grab a haud o' ye. Ah wull upload this tae yer suit's computer sae ye kin see it oan yer Head's Up Display." When Ivor got the information saved into her suit's computer, he leaned in to nuzzle Sylvia. "Please be canny, luv," he sent privately.

"I'll be careful...I'd say 'don't worry', but I know you will. Just...oh, hell...I love you!"

Sylvia kissed Ivor quickly, but passionately.

"A loue ye, tae," Ivor sent in return.

When it was time for the drop, Sylvia entered one of the maintenance airlocks adjacent to the hanger bay doors and sealed the inner door. Exiting the ship this way would keep any chances of detecting the ship to a minimum. Shauna had disengaged the light inside the airlock so that it would remain dark. The plan was to bring the ship as low as possible while it was dark though high enough to avoid ground-based weapons, Sylvia would jump so that she could glide to the meeting place, make the rendezvous and get the child, and then make the run to the cliff. Hopefully, James would be able to get the ship back in time before the Yarthenin ground forces cut her off.

* * * * *

Diwenzi looked over and saw Ivor and Sylvia nuzzling and kissing before she went to enter the airlock. Turning her gaze back to John, she thought to herself, "Just once I wish..." but then her thought got interrupted by one of the handling bots when it approached.

"Hey, Diz, c'mon, we gotta get the pre-flight done," John urged.

"Yeah, yeah, just thinkin' 'bout somethin'."

"Now that's dangerous," John said with a smirk.

Diwenzi gave John a light smack on the arm and said, "Let's get this done, skunk-butt, so we can splash some tangos."

"Roger that."

Once they finished their pre-flight inspection, Diwenzi and John went to suit up while the handling bots positioned their fighter for launch. When they were ready, they climbed into their bird, sealed the hatch, finished their preflight checks, and waited for the launch order.

* * * * *

Sylvia felt the buffeting caused by atmospheric entry--she would be getting the call soon to make her jump. When the ship reached an altitude of 12,000 meters AGL[2], she would open the outer door of the airlock. Sylvia closed and sealed her visor, and then started the decompression cycle.

/* "How are you doing back there, Syl?" */ she heard the captain ask through her comm unit.

"Ready when you are, sir. Airlock has been decompressed--I just need to open the outer door and jump."

/* "Passing Angels fifteen; exit point in three mikes." */

"Roger that," Sylvia acknowledged.

The ship was descending past the fifteen-thousand-meter mark above ground level, with three minutes until time for her to jump.

/* "Angels twelve; exit point in one mike." */

Sylvia opened the outer door of the airlock and got into position to jump.

/* "Twenty seconds...fifteen...ten...five...JUMP!" */

Sylvia hit the door button on her way out.

"On path to Delta Zulu--ETA two point five mikes."

/* "Roger that. Catch you on the flip side." */

Taking a quick glance around, Sylvia saw flashes of weapons fire and areas that were burning. Checking the distance, her air speed, and angle of descent, Sylvia deployed her suit's wings to give her more lift. The combination of the outstretched ribbed wings and the shape of her helmet gave her the silhouette of a giant flying fox gliding down from above. When she was approximately five hundred meters from her target, Sylvia swung her legs forward and fired a short three second burst of the suit's thrusters to slow her descent. At about six meters she flared, fired another short thruster burst, and landed. The suit's wings automatically folded up and retracted back into their housing when her boots touched down. Assuming a crouching position, Sylvia quickly scanned the area. There was cover ahead that showed two heat signatures, one about her size and one smaller.

"I hope that's them," Sylvia thought to herself.

She sent the pre-arranged signal and was immediately given the proper reply.

"I hope this is going to be a cakewalk."

Taking another quick look around, Sylvia headed towards the two individuals. When she was close enough to be seen in the dim twilight before dawn, she heard a soft gasp. Switching on her external speaker and tying in the speech translation matrix provided by Rissanivi, Sylvia held up her open hands to show that she did not have a weapon in either one.

(Author's Note:Listen to this music while reading this part for full effect.)

"Are you H'mei?"

"I am."

"And this must be Nyra," Sylvia said, crouching down.

The older female nodded her head, holding her daughter close.

"I'm Chief Warrant Officer Three, Sylvia Stewert, Sol Federation of Worlds Space Service. You can call me Sylvia," she said softly.

Sylvia was just about to touch Nyra's cheek when an alarm went off in her helmet.

"DOWN!" she commanded, pulling the two civilians to the ground.

A whistling sound came towards them, followed by a thud and almost instantly a loud explosion that rained dirt and bits of vegetation down on them.

"Damn! They got a fix on us! We have to_move_!"

Sylvia got up and picked up the child; when she reached down to give H'mei a hand up, she cried out in pain. Taking a quick look, Sylvia saw a gash on the female's side. Reacting quickly, Sylvia brushed away the dirt and ripped her garment open enough to apply a battle dressing that was designed to sterilize and stop the bleeding. Although the plan was to take only the child to safety, it was against Sylvia's training to leave anyone behind--especially the wounded.

"H'mei, listen to me. I can't leave you here. You won't be able to make it back to your bunker, and I'll be damned if I leave you to whatever those Yarthenins might do to you. I need you to get on my back and hang on--I'll carry Nyra. Come on, you can do this. I'm not giving up on you!"

H'mei looked questioningly at Sylvia and said weakly, "You cannot...carry...both..."

"You'd be surprised what I can carry when I have to. Put your arms around my neck and hold on."

H'mei did as she was told. When Sylvia stood up, she bent forward and held her left arm out. Picking up Nyra, Sylvia headed towards the rendezvous point, and not a moment too soon, for another mortar round hit the exact place they had been.

* * * * *

When James got the ship back out into open space, Zach located the Yarthenin command ship.

"They're apparently not expecting any resistance."

"No shields?" James asked incredulously.

"They're sitting ducks, James."

"Well, hot damn, make our job easy for us, why don't you," James said looking at the ship they were approaching.

"I think somebody needs a swift kick in the tail, da?" Tanya quipped.

"Oh, count on it, babe. I'm going to plant a big one so far up they're going to choke on it! Bridge to Fire Control!"

/* "Redhill here, sir." */

"Sonya, load all tubes--you two be ready to fire a full salvo plus the dorsal and ventral emitters on my mark. These jokers are about to get a big surprise where the sun doesn't shine!"

/* "Ha-ha-ha, roger that, sir! Loading all tubes, max yield." */

James took a route around the ships so that he would not have to pass close by any of them. Coming up from behind,_Nightwing_opened up on the big command and control ship's engine port cluster, and then sped off to attack one of the closest smaller warships before they had a chance to raise shields.

* * * * *

Due to the extra weight of carrying two others, Sylvia couldn't run quite as fast, though still managed a good speed. Checking her suit's sensors, she saw that the hostile forces were closing on both sides in a "V" shape, with the open end towards the cliff. Those directly behind were nearly within range of their weapons, and they were already taking pot shots that were getting a bit too close for comfort.

"Hang in there, we're getting closer," Sylvia encouraged her two charges.

The Yarthenins were closing rapidly and Sylvia knew there wasn't much time. Spying a large rock jutting up she took cover behind it, letting H'mei down off her back and instructing Nyra to stay close to her mother. Sylvia gave a quick look around the rock at the advancing enemy--several energy bolts hit the rock, creating grapefruit-sized divots in it. Sylvia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then whipped around one side of the rock and cut loose with her heavy pulser which fired at a rate of three thousand pulses per second. She vaporized large portions of those closest to her position, and then launched a series of grenades into the midst of the front line, followed by another volley from her heavy pulser.

"Get back on, we have to move," Sylvia ordered. When H'mei was again on her back, Sylvia picked up Nyra and said, "Keep your head down, sweetie, and don't look. This is going to be scary."

Nyra did as she was told, and Sylvia popped out from around the rock and fired off another sweeping volley. She heard a crackle in her headset followed by her CO's voice.

/* "I'm coming for you, Syl. Do whatever it takes to get to that cliff--I'll fly low over you and take out as many as I can on the way. Haul tail, Syl, haul tail!" */

"I'm haulin'!"

She jumped out firing one more time at those advancing from the rear, turned, and began running with a leaping stride by using very short bursts of the thrusters. This allowed her to cover more ground and quickly...but would it be enough? The Yarthenins were starting to come out of the woods on either side ahead of her. Sylvia launched a spread of grenades to both sides, timed so that they would detonate in the air slightly above the enemy. A Yarthenin soldier, easily half again her height, jumped out at her from the right, firing at her. Sylvia bent backward, narrowly escaping being hit, returning fire in the process. The unequal distribution of the extra weight of two people strained the limits of the suit's ability to stay balanced, but it managed to right itself and she continued running towards the edge of the cliff. Weapons fire was hitting all around her now, requiring Sylvia to use every bit of athletic prowess she could muster to avoid either her or her charges from getting hit.

"This is bad_! There's too many! Jeezers, I don't know if I can make it..." Sylvia thought, seeing that it looked as if they were going to be completely surrounded at any moment. "_PLEASE don't be late, skipper!"

Seeing movement to her left, Sylvia looked in time to see another Yarthenin jump out and kneel--he brought a launcher up onto his shoulder. Reacting quickly when she saw the flash and smoke, Sylvia jumped into the air using her thrusters just as the rocket passed beneath. H'mei screamed.

Sylvia could see the edge of the cliff--it was almost two hundred twenty meters away.

"I can make it...I can make it..." she told herself. Sylvia fired to both sides of her and dropped a few pop-up mines along the way.

/* "Coming up on your eight...got visual. Angels two-seven and closing...Angels one-one...turning. On your six now, Cherubs six-two...one mike out. Guns hot!" */

Sylvia looked over her shoulder--_Nightwing_had turned off the stealth field and was fully visible in the gathering light, most likely to draw attention away from her. The pulsar canons were firing at the ground as the ship approached, creating a swath of hellish destruction. One hundred eighteen meters to the edge of the cliff. The ship flew over her head, ventral emitter raking both sides of the clearing. When it passed, Sylvia saw the hanger bay doors were open, and someone just inside was firing a rifle, picking off any Yarthenin they could.

"Ivor...that has to be Ivor! Oh, my sweet fox, just a little more...!"

Forty-one meters...Sylvia was running as fast as she could convince her suit to go. She noticed the power level--the suit must have taken a hit somewhere because it was down to twenty percent and dropping. She could fire one good blast of the thrusters...and hoped it would be enough.

* * * * *

Felix checked over the harness Moira's android avatar had donned, making sure the straps were cinched snug, and that the cable was attached securely. Giving her a quick pat on the shoulder, Moira walked to the edge of the flight deck and looked out. She saw Sylvia running towards the edge of the cliff, carrying not one, but two individuals. Raising an eyebrow, Moira quickly calculating the likelihood of making a successful grapple. James could not see the gap between the ship and the cliff's edge.

[Moira]: "Sylvia, Moira here. Do you have sufficient power to make the jump?"

Sylvia: "I...don't know. Seventeen-point-five-one percent power...dropping."

[Moira]: "I will catch you."

"Felix, I am going to catch Sylvia in midair. Let the cable run free--when I have her, winch us in."

"You're sure, ey?"

"Affirmative." Moira looked out over the edge one more time, paused ever so briefly, then ran back a short distance, and sprinted out doing a swan dive.

* * * * *

The edge of the cliff was coming up fast. Sylvia saw Moira's face appear looking down at her.

"Hang on...jeezers, hang on tight!" Sylvia emphatically told the two Nirians clinging to her.

Just as she jumped, the shuttle, Talon-1, piloted by Tanya and the F/I-417 Peregrine piloted by Lt. Diwenzi Cha'rhu'ez flew by on either side of_Nightwing_ going in the opposite direction, strafing the ground.

Sylvia leapt into the abyss, firing her thrusters for all they had left--if it wasn't enough, she would miss the ship and they would fall, and even with the wings deployed, they would hit the ground hard.

"Come on...come on..." Sylvia thought as the power dropped off.

Moira's android avatar looked like a diver jumping gracefully off the high board, coming right towards her. Sylvia, with her left arm holding Nyra against her, stretched out her right arm. It felt like her heart stopped a moment as time seemed to come to a near standstill as Moira closed rapidly.

"Kylie..."

Moira's android avatar caught them.

* * * * *

/* "They're safely onboard, James. I suggest we leave this area quickly." */

James let out a great sigh of relief.

"I'm putting the pedal to the metal, baby cakes--we be heading into the black," he said with a grin.

While waiting for the others to catch up, James engaged the stealth field and went after any Yarthenin ship he could, attacking them where they were most vulnerable--the secondary drive ports. The command and control ship, which he had hit earlier when they weren't expecting to be attacked, had major fires eating through the ship with occasional explosions. The ship closest to it was dead in space and drifting. Sonya had managed to get a torpedo into another ship before its shields firmed up, damaging something vital judging by the secondary explosion. Rhuw-Rha'an brought the_Se'nika_ out of her hiding place within the system's asteroid belt, and joined with_Nightwing_ in attacking anything they could. With three large ships and one smaller one destined for the breaker yards, two others put out of commission, and a sizable portion of the ground forces near the capitol city destroyed, the crews of_Nightwing_ and Se'nika had put a hurt on the Yarthenins. Whether it would be enough to make them think twice about continuing the attack on Niria or not, they couldn't tell. In order to make sure, though, the thing Rissanivi said would "eat" the planet would have to be found and somehow destroyed before it could get to Niria.

While the shuttle and the fighter craft were being retrieved, Lilly picked up some long-range communications. The signals were coming from other ships--apparently, "the cavalry" was coming after all. The neighboring systems, after receiving word from the remaining Leadership on Niria that three small ships had fearlessly taken on the Yarthenin advance forces by themselves, had been either shamed or encouraged into finally sending warships to join in the planet's defense. The Yarthenins were defeated and driven off.

H'mei was treated by Mindy and Frer-Sha'an, making a full recovery of her wounds. Nyra proved to be quite a resilient little girl, and was quick to make friends among the crews.

Sylvia was duly recognized by the Leadership of Niria for her action in saving their future leader and her mother, which she accepted gracefully.

Back in her stateroom onboard Nightwing, Sylvia looked at the plaque and medal she had been given, and as she was putting them away, she looked at the image of her personal hero. Picking up the framed 2D photo of the teenaged Gen-III bat G.E.L.F. from Terra's late twentieth/early twenty-first century, Sylvia gently touched the image and smiled wryly.

"I did it, Kylie...my Moment of Truth."

"I passed The Test."

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[1] Neeper - Vey'ani term: a mentally unstable individual bent on harm.

[2] AGL - Above Ground Level.

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On to the Epilogue

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