Previously, on Hawks:

Juniper Garen, Chavi Neesona, and Alanna Rohan were in the unwilling company of arms dealer Eric Huntington, who had just flown them to the Camus Adelphi system.....

Mars Mjolnir and Claude Fontaine, having survived the crash of their transport, were making their way to the supply depot on the second planet of the system when they came across Johnathan Jackson and Tioa. An uneasy standoff ensued.....

Jacen Arjuna, of the Machievelli's Revenge , and crew have arrived at the depot to retrieve desperately needed parts and supplies. He is currently meeting with depot commander Keith Reynolds, a Commonwealth officer whose long tour on the planet, and resentment at not being on the front lines in the war against the Nietzscheans, has made him less than stable...

And now, the continuation....
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Machievelli's Revenge, in orbit

Tordelik had his hands full working to repair what systems he could, starting with the AI network. Mackie was essential to the ship's operation, especially with only himself and quartermaster's assistant Esteban Alvarez left on board. Alvarez was maintaining flight systems while he worked on restoring Mackie.

He made his way through the debris and damaged sections to the AI core. He pulled away the cover panel to examine the hardware, and hesitated when he saw what was behind it: the circuit boards and memory blocks were charred and blasted. The links to the shipwide network were cut through, and the power grid fused. Mackie was effectively dead, and given the extent and placement of the damage, it couldn't have been caused by combat. This was sabotage....

Alvarez was at the helm, keeping an eye on their orbit. He knew the Captain was a fine pilot, but without the computer, he wasn't sure they wouldn't start spiralling towards the planet. In fact, with short range sensors down, he still wasn't sure, so he kept his eyes glued to the flight readouts....meaning he didn't notice the proximity alert warning flashing on the commander's status panel...

Near orbit...

"Are you ladies coming out?" Huntington called from the pilot's chair. "We're almost there..."

"Almost where, lover?" Alanna called seductively, stepping out and moving over near him.

"There." Huntington called. In the viewports, the Revenge grew steadily as he steered for one of it's hangar decks....

------------------------

Camus Adelphi II

Johnathan raised his hands immediately, almost too fast to follow. "Don't shoot!" He called. "Are you from the crash? My name's Jackson, I'm part of a Commonwealth archaeological team sent here almost 3 years ago to study ruins found by farmers. My camp is nearby. You don't want to stay out here; Reynolds is bound to send search parties..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Claude interrupted, trying to calm the man. "Slow down there....what was that about search part..."
*BLAM*

Claude was interrupted by the sudden impact of an effector shot slamming into him. He was thrown back and fell to the ground, a smoking hole in his chest. The others looked, and saw a two-man patrol coming up fast, firing their forcelances. Johnathan, instictively, dove for Claude's prone form to see if he was still alive.

Blossom looked down at Claude, her expression one of anger. "Damn it, Fontaine. How many times are we going to have to go through this? I swear, you're becoming so not worth the hassle..." She said, leaning down to touch him. As Johnathan reached him, she appeared in a flare of light as she dropped her cloak. Jackson looked up, surprised. She grabbed onto Claude as Johnathan did, and just noticed Jackson as the three of them disappeared, seeming to dissolve away...

Supply Depot Alamo 951

Reynolds looked at Jacen. "Your parts are being gathered as we speak." He said, pouring himself a glass of wine. "So tell me....how is it out there? We must have the Nietzscheans on the run by now....so exactly who is it you're running from?" He smiled, a disturbing smile. "Your captain...Tordelik, I believe he called himself. Sounds like a Nietzschean name....how long have you served with him?"

By this time, many of the troops in the Hall were looking at the group, their expressions not exactly congenial....

Instead, he was talking to an apparent alcoholic quartermaster, who seemed to have no idea the commonwealth was no longer a commonwealth, and that neither side was winning.

"He was on the project since well before the war. All of us were." Jacen shrugged. "I'd like to see the parts if you don't mind. After all, she may not be the largest ship you've ever seen, but some of her components are rather specific.

And unless you want the huge host of Drago-Kazov that have been chasing us through most of the known systems for the past few months coming in while the only ship in system sits in virtual drydock, I'd appreciate it if you can make it snappy." Jacen said, the formality of chain of command beginning to wear thin.

He growled as he raised his rifle and took aim.

With deadly accuracy he put a round through each man's head.

He quickly turned around, now alone with the purple girl.

"Hands over your head," he ordered as he stepped toward where Claude had fallen.

Chavi walked up to the front and looked at the viewport. "And what or where exactly is there?"

"That..." Huntington replied. "...is Camus Adelphi II. And that.." he added, pointing to the ship, "...is the Machievelli's Revenge. Our destination. At least, for now..." he grinned as the ship got closer.

"For now? We have to change ships?" Juniper crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not exactly..." Huntington said. "We're just meeting someone..."

"Meeting someone? What you were going to double cross the buyer the whole time?" She hughed.

Eric snorted. "No....I'm meeting my partner. An old friend who let me in on the location of the weapons for a share of the profits..." He explained.

"Ya know...I still don't know what you want with us." Chavi crossed her own arms, wishing she had decided to con someone else besides Juniper.

He looked at her. "Like I said, I'm handing you over to Salazar, once he gets the weapons and I get paid. Neither of us like people trying to pull fast ones on us..." He sneered. In the viewports, the Revenge's hangar bays loomed. Huntington keyed in some commands, and one of them opened.

Juniper chuckled. "I am sure you are making the right descision." She smirked.

Chavi sighed and leaned on the back of the pilot's chair. "Yeah...right decision...sure." She rolled her eyes.

Huntington pressed a few more keys. "I've set the ship for automatic landing." He said, and unbuckled himself from the chair.

He stood and faced them. "You three can stay here, or come with....your choice. Of course, the ship will power down after landing, and only my authorization codes will restart it.." He smiled.

Juniper looked over to Chavi with a raised brow.

Chavi shrugged and nodded. "I feel like a little feild trip, don't you?"

Juniper grinned. "Sure." She smiled looking back to Hunntington.

The ship shuddered as it touched down. A moment later, the hum of the engines died as the ship powered down. "Good." Huntington said, smiling. He drew his gun.

"Shall we go?" He asked.

Juniper shook her head and waved to Chavi. "Lets get this over with." She was trying to urge Chavi to step close to her so they could come up with a plan.

Chavi walked over to Juniper. "Sorry...I didn't get it," she whispered, walking ahead of Huntington.

"Thats okay. We will figure out something else." She whispered back to her with out turning her head.

He urged them towards the airlock, which obediently opened for them. They stepped out onto the hangar deck. Huntington looked around. "Okay.....I guess we wait..." He said, looking confused.

"Something wrong?" Chavi tried to hide a grin.

"Nothing I can't handle.." He assured her, with a smirk. "I'm sure he'll be here shortly....over there. Have a seat on those crates..." He motioned towards a small stack of boxes.

Juniper walked over to the boxes and stood. "I feel more comfertable if I stand, that way I can duck if I have to dodge bullets." She glarred at him.

"Fine. Whatever." Huntington said impatiently. He began to pace.

On the command deck, Alvarez finally noticed a pressure alarm on one of the consoles. One of the hangar bays had been depressurized and was now repressurizing. He wasn't sure why; internal sensors were down. He nervously called the Captain.....

Huntington paced for several minutes, looking at his chrono about every thirty seconds. He was getting quite irritable.

Chavi went over and sat on the crates by Juniper. "I almost feel sorry for him...well, if he weren't trying to hurt us and all that."

"Almost...you missed the almost in there." She rolled her eyes.

Juniper laughed. "Yes, I heard you, but there was the itzy bitzy piece of sorryness there." She pinched her two fingers together representing the tiny sorrow. "But I forgive." She winked. "If he was ugly you probably would have belted him by now. Having a pretty face goes a long way." She smirked.

Chavi would've rolled her eyes again, but she had been doing that so much lately, she was afraid they might be coming loose from the sockets. "You would think I'm that shallow? Please. Just because I have a sensitive side and you don't, doesn't mean you have to be rude."

"I am selective with my sensitive side. I have seen a ton of these guys come and go in my father's business. They are all the same." She shook her head looking at him. "Besides I was kidding with you."

Chavi pretended to look shocked. "You? Kid? You must be kidding me." She winked.

Huntington glared at them. "Would you both please.....shut.....UP!" He yelled, waving the gun. "That's it! I've had it! I'm done waiting...." He power-walked towards the exit....

Chavi stood up. "And you would be going where exactly? Without us?"

Huntington stopped abruptly. Not due to Chavi's question.....but from staring down the barrel of a forcelance. He backed up, and was followed by a large Nietzschean male in a High Guard uniform.

"I'd say, nowhere..." The newcomer said. "Is he with you? And what are all of you doing on my ship?" He asked.

"No, he's not. I believe he was looking to steal some items." She smiled.

"Yeah." Chavi piped in. "We would be hostages...the good people."

"That remains to be seen..." The Niet said. "I'm afraid our accomodations are not what they should be right now, so I'll have to ask that you all stay here for the time being, until I have time to sort out what's going on..."

"Thats perfectly fine with us." Juniper smiled.

Tordelik thought a moment. "On second thought, I don't have the resources to keep you where you won't cause trouble...so I'll have to keep you in sight until I know who to trust." He said.

"Does our escort have a name?" Chavi kept her eye on that forcelance of his.

"Captain Azlan Tordelik, of the High Guard....and you are?" He asked of all of them.

"I am Juniper Garen, from the Ginteck corporation. I am just a business woman looking to make a living." She smiled.

"Chavi. I'm her partner." She pointed to Juniper. "Although I'd rather that not be true."

"Eric Huntington....entrepeneur and independent businessman." Huntington spoke up, smiling innocently.

"And a pathetic excuse for a sentient being," Chavi added.

"Chavi, don't be so tuff on him. He can't help it if he is a back stabbing snake." Juniper smirked.

Alanna moved slowly, sensuously towards Tordelik, careful to show she wasn't a threat. "My name is Alanna Rohan. I'm an entertainer....." She said, emphasizing the last word in a way whose implication was clear to everyone...

"That's nice, miss..." Tordelik said, unimpressed. "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to ask all of you to accompany me....I have a lot of work to do, and need all of you where I can see you..." He motioned with the lance. "This way..."

"After you," Chavi mumbled as she moved in the direction he gestured.

Tordelik smiled at Chavi. "I have the lance. Go..." He prompted.

"I'm going...see me moving. Put one foot in front of the other and all that stuff." She sighed, wishing that she could meet some people that knew a good joke or sarcasm when they saw it. "And you would be taking us where? The slaughter room? It wouldn't surprise me."

"You'll see..." Tordelik commented. He nodded to Juniper. "Miss.."

"I am moving." She waved her hands in the air.

Huntington made a big production of keeping his arms raised, scurrying along. He passed by Alanna and, without warning, shoved her into Tordelik. Both went down, and Huntington produced a holdout gun. He fired repeatedly at the tangled pair on
the floor, riddling the area with gunfire. He fired until he clicked empty....

"Oh damn...I should really not miss those things." Chavi grabbed Juniper and ran.

"I thought you grabbed the bullets!" She screamed.

"I did...from the other gun." She yelled back.

"Well, that didn't do us any good did it?" She looked over to Chavi as their feet still hurried down the corridor.

The corridors were lined with dangling cables and flickering lights....many had scorched walls and exposed conduits. Each looked just like all the others.

"Well next time I pick someone's pockets, I'll stick around to make sure they don't have more than one gun. Ya know, hang around them long enough to get suspicious or something," she replied looking around. "Oh damn...this looks good."

"You must be kidding, right. We have some wacko behind us that might have another weapon on him. Plus we are on lost on a damaged ship. I mean, what next?" Juniper shouted gazing around the corridors.

In the distance, they heard the clanging of footsteps running quickly....the noise grew louder with each step...

"Well...we could be fired on." Chavi shrugged, turning around as she heard the footsteps. "I suggest we try and find the weapons locker. All in favor say yeah."

"This time we are going to steal more then bullets right?" Juniper smirked following close behind Chavi.

"Yeah...I was thinking about a few guns. Really big guns." She manuvered around some of the cables. "The only problem is finding it. If I were a weapons locker, were would I be?" She turned the corner. "Well apparently right here. Luck is a lady tonight."

Reynolds' demeanor changed, like a switch flipping. He became friendly, jovial...

"Of course, Lieutenant. By all means....follow me." He motioned for them to join him. They left the Hall and moved across the compound to the main inventory repository. Jacen noted it was heavily guarded, including several surface-to-space missile launchers.

Reynolds went through the security system; a palmprint analyzer and retinal scan, plus voiceprint verifier. The heavy Fullerine door opened, and inside they saw nearly infinite rows of shelves, with enough parts to build a fleet of ships from virtually scratch.

Reynolds spoke to the clerk at the desk in front, and was handed a flexi. He gave it to Jacen. "Your supplies are being processed. Feel free to check everything and verify the condition and accuracy of the parts....we'll talk again when you're done."

He patted Jacen on the back and left, after speaking to the guards in a low tone that he could not hear. Byron came up as Reynolds left.

"That was weird. What do you think, boss?" He asked.

-----------------

Jungle area, .25 KM from compound

Mars examined the area where Claude, Johnathan and the mysterious woman who had appeared from nowhere had disappeared. There was no trace of any of them.

In the distance, he heard the distinct sounds of a large group moving through the brush, coming from the direction he and Claude had come.....

--------------------

Machievelli's Revenge, in orbit

Chavi was having a hard time opening the door to the weapons locker area, as much from the erratic functioning of the electronics due to the damage around them as the computer not recognizing her attempts at authorization....the door remained stubbornly closed.

In the distance, she heard the footsteps coming closer....

[This message has been edited by Richie (edited March 04, 2002).]

"Claude said there was a village nearby. Take me to it!" He ordered as he raised his rifle at the woman.

"Oh, and these parts will all do," Jacen said to the partsmaster. "Byron, have Carnes start loading these onto my dropship."

He scanned the list of still to be assembled items.

"Yeah, and I want these taken on next. I want to send as many into orbit asap," he instructed the partsmaster, who just rolled his eyes.

"That was an order, ensign!" He yelled.

The partsmaster stood up and went to the back. "Do you think they could be any less cooperative?" Jacen asked Doddson, who stood near the entrance.

[This message has been edited by Jidimus (edited March 05, 2002).]

"Open-freakin'-sesamie!" she yelled, still elicting no response from the door.

"Well, this is not good." She looked around, hoping for a good plan or two to suddenly come. "At times like this I wish I was a engineer."

OOC:

Juniper began pounding the door with her fists along with Harpers feet. "Frell! This is doing neither of us any good." Juniper could hear the foot steps coming closer. She tapped Chavi on the shoulder. "Lets hide on the edge of the door way so when they come we can surprise them." She whispered.

"Yes I have a name," he mumbled as he kept his ears open for any sound of ambush. "If you lead me to the town without trouble you may even learn it."

"Doddson," he called up to the cockpit of the dropship. "I'll be off the ship in a second. Just offload everything onto the hanger deck and then come straight down. Hopefully we'll have everything else ready by the time you get back."

Jacen stepped off the ship and headed back towards the supply shed. The familiar sound of the engines winding up soon became faint as the ship lifted back towards the Revenge.

"I have an idea. How about you stay here. I'll go out into the hallway and down there a little and draw attention to myself. They'll be to busy with me to notice you, so you can jump out and strangle them with this." She held out the belt and before Juniper could reply said, "Incase you were thinking about switching places, although I'm sure you're much happier staying safe, you've probably got more arm strength than I do, and I'm really good about making a scene.

So...what do you think about that?"

(OOC: This is my last post for the weekend. I will be back Sunday night. Richie has control of Mars until I return.)

"It's not very big," she held it out.

Janet Sorenson watched the purple girl return, with a human male in tow...he was dressed in what looked liked prison clothes, but carried a big gun.

"You find the strangest things, don't you?" He asked Tioa. "Who are you?" She said to Mars.

"Call me Mars. I am....was....High Guard." He grumbled. "What's going on around here?"

"Short version....your High Guard put a supply depot on this planet, and the commander in charge has set himself up as a dictator. He pushes people around and takes what they work hard to produce for themselves. If you are High Guard, maybe you can talk sense into him....otherwise, the natives will get restless, and a lot of peole are going to die soon..." She explained, then looked around.

"Where's Johnathan?"

---------

Supply Depot Alamo 951

Byron came up to Jacen as the second dropship was being loaded. "Sir...I was just noticing something. This place is set up to equip a fleet.....and, while our inventory requests are being filled easily enough, there's a decided lack of weaponry on them. No missiles, drones, mines, nothing...." He explained. "Reynolds is keeping tight lipped, and there are more guards around the Armory than around the Vedran Empress..."
He showed Jacen the lists. All the ordanance listings had been deleted.

----------------

Machievelli's Revenge, in orbit

Doddson's dropship landed in the hangar, beside Huntington's ship. He stepped out and started the auto-unloading sequence. Glancing at the strange ship in the bay, he frowned....then he noticed the body....

Elsewhere....

As Juniper and Chavi argued, the footsteps grew louder....suddenly, there was no time to hide. Hefting the light, Juniper stood ready, leaping out to strike their attacker....

The small man in the High Guard uniform jumped back, raising as arm to fend off the blow while drawing a forcelance with the other.

"Hey!" Alvarez yelled. "Don't move!" He held the lance aimed at them. "Who are you? I monitored a ship landing, unknown configuration....is it yours? Where's Captain Tordelik?" He asked, almost a mile a minute.

[This message has been edited by Richie (edited March 10, 2002).]

Luckily, or maybe not so, Chavi understood the guy's speech and retaliated with her own caffiene motivated answer. "I'm Chavi, by the way, and this is Juniper. That ship wasn't ours, it belongs to our captor, a Mr. Huntington who just happens to be chasing us with a gun. The same gun and person, I might add, that shot your Captain. I dunno if Huntington or Captian what's-his-face is still alive or not, but either way we're all in some deep trouble. Mind opening this locker for us so we at least have some chance to defend ourselves, and speaking of defending oneself, why the hell is this ship torn apart? Are you under attack or something?"

"That freller," he said. "Byron, the last of everything should be ready to be loaded shortly. Get it on the dropship. If anyone tries anything funny, you've got a gatling gun for a reason."

Jacen stormed off towards Reynolds' office. Barging through the door, he flipped the flexi down on the desk along with his original. "Care to explain the meaning of this?" he said angrily.

"Or do I really have to get you busted out of your position for withholding supplies from a High Guard vessel? Do I need to remind you that a large number of Nietzscheans are likely on their way?"

"We're more than well-equipped to handle them. As for your requisitions, you were asking for 5 times the amount of ordinance a ship your size would need. I can't spare that much....the fleet will need it." He replied.

His gaze stayed on the flexies on the desk. "You keep saying that there are Nietzscheans on the way....how do you know? Why have they been chasing you? Surely, all the Nietzschean fleets were recalled after Fountainhead fell.....after all this time, I'm surprised there are any Nietzscheans left. If there were, they'd be running scared....hiding from the Commonwealth and looking for anywhere they could rearm, try again to destroy us....." He looked up, right at Jacen, his eyes narrow and a little disturbing. "Maybe your Captain Tordelik is bringing them here.....to rearm what's left of their fleet..."

He drew his forcelance, lightning fast. "Maybe you're in league with the traitors, trying to use our own weapons against us......is that it? What did they offer you to betray the Commonwealth, betray that uniform? Huh? Damn Niet collaborator..."

-----------------------------

Machievelli's Revenge

Alvarez looked at Chavi with an expression that mixed confusion and alarm. "Oh, crap..." He said. "If you're telling the truth, then we're in big trouble....but if you're not, you could be in cahoots with this....whoever...and letting you into the weapons locker would be bad....what to do, what to do..." The hand holding the lance wavered as he debated a course of action....

"The captain says 'Trust your instincts'..." He said finally, and looked intently at the two women....especially Chavi. His brown eyes warmed to her. "Ok....but if you shoot me in the back, I'm going to be very disappointed..." He said, and gave her a sweet smile.

He moved to the locker and typed a code into the keypad. The door made a sound like it was going to open, then fizzled. "We've been running from Nietzscheans since the Commonwealth fell....most all the supply stations have been destroyed or taken over. We've run out of spare parts for repairs....this planet is our last hope...." He explained as he worked on the pad. The door remained closed.

He gave the panel a hard THUMP! The door slid smoothly open.

"That never worked before..." Alvarez said, astonished.

[This message has been edited by Richie (edited March 11, 2002).]

*Desperate men do desperate things,* he thought.

"Well I don't think he's going to trust me very much considering my attire, though it may work. I think we would be better off trying to take him out."

"This is highly unnecessary," he said.

"And my captain is actually about #1 on the Nietzschean list of traitors to their kind."

He let his hands fall to his side, not reaching for his forcelances, but closer than they were.

"Fountainhead never fell. Hell, Witchhead was a frellin disaster. That battle did us in more than anything. You know why the fleet has yet to come for supplies? Guess what, you're looking at the fleet. Everyone is gone. The Pax Magellanic, the Andromeda Ascendant, everyone.

We know the Nietscheans are coming cause we have yet to hide in a system where we haven't ended up with a barrage of kinetic missiles flying up our nose.

What's the modus operandi again? Assume the worst?"

Carnes' forcelance blasted through the small window, and dropped the lance oout of Reynold's own hand. "The other one, as I'm sure you might remember, is, always leave a comm channel open."

Jacen drew a lance of his own. "And until you give me reason to trust you again, I suggest we take a little walk together."

"Well, don't worry. I don't shoot people in the back unless they start it." Chavi ran into the weapon's locker. "And thanks by the way. What's your name?"

"A..Alvarez." He stuttered. "Sandoval Alvarez..." He smiled, following her in.

"Well, Chavi if they shoot you in the back. Wouldn't you have a hard time shooting them in the back?" Juniper smirked as she followed the two in. Once in the man gave his name. Juniper nodded with a smile. "Nice to meet you Sandoval. I am Juniper." She grinned gazing over the force lances.

Chavi picked one off the wall. "I didn't mean like that," she mumbled. "And it's very nice to make your aquantince."

"Uh....hi..." He said, picking a lance off the wall and making some adjustments. He handed it to Juniper. "Here." Then he saw Chavi handle one. "Careful!" He warned. "It hasn't been keyed to you yet....try to use that, and it'll shock you unconscious..."

"Thanks." Juniper smiled.

"Well I really wasn't going to use it just yet, but thanks for the heads up." She looked it over. "How do I key it?"

He reached for it, moving close, his hands covering hers. "These buttons here...." He said, indicating a series of controls below the emitter. He tapped a sequence of them. "There..." He said, looking down at her. "It's safe now..." He smiled.

"Well thanks for protecting me from myself" she smiled, slightly blushing. "Although I don't think anyone can really do that." She glared at Juniper, daring her to comment.

Juniper smirked at Chavi knowing that she was waiting for something, but Juniper said nothing. She slipped her force lance on her belt. "Are we done?" She asked smoothly.

"I'm sure you'll be fine..." Alvarez assured her. Then he remembered himself and backed up, checking his own lance. "Uh....I guess. Who are we fighting again?" He asked, his dark latino skin flushing slightly.

[This message has been edited by Jade Grim (edited March 12, 2002).]

"Very good." He said quietly. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that the Nietzscheans won the war? That the Commonwealth is gone? Impossible....just another trick by you and your traitorous crew to get our weapons. Well, it won't work. You won't get them....especially if you kill me. Not one missile..."

He stood carefully, ignoring Jacen's lance. "I have a full garrison of troops here, and have spent the last year and a half training them....they won't negotiate with terrorists, and they won't let you leave while I'm a hostage....so you and your Niet loving friends might as well surrender now, while you still can.." His eyes narrowed, the hate in them almost palpable....

----------------------
Archaeologist's Camp

While Mars, Tioa and Janet talked, three people came in independent of each other...the first, Dr. Brady, a tall blonde woman, came in and saw Mars.

"Who are you? Where's Jackson?" She asked.

Almost right after that, the two Perseids ran in, chattering nervously.

"Come...quickly....there is shooting at the compound. Much disturbance..." Tarkab said in a rush. Recshal just nodded.

Mars looked at the Tioa and growled.

"All right. You're coming with me," he said simply as he pointed his rifle at her and Tioa frowned slightly.

"Why do you always point that weapon at me?"

"Just move," he instructed as he stepped forward. "I need to see what this place looks like."

Tioa's expression hardened but she said nothing and walked forward.

"So, you here with the diggers? Or the military?" He asked as they trudged toward the compound and Tioa smiled to herself.

"None, actually. I crash landed her some time ago and haven't been able to leave the planet yet."

"Interesting," Mars said as they walked. "The traffic here has been that bad?"

"Well," Tioa said. "Not that bad, perhaps I should say that I haven't wanted to leave yet."

"Why haven't you wanted to leave?" Mars asked curiously as they moved carefully and
Tioa glanced over her shoulder at him and shrugged.

"I like the scenery."

"You stay because of the scenary?" He asked and stopped to quirk an eyebrow at her and Tioa nodded.

"Yeah."

"You're kidding me right?" He asked as they approached a small hill.

Tioa looked at the hill.

"So, why're you on this planet?" She asked suddenly.

"Because we were looking for a weapons cache and were shot down," Mars said with a growled and looked down the other side of the hill at the compound.

He dropped to the ground and indicated that she should do the same. She dropped down next to him and watched.

"So why did you insist that I come with you? I'm not a soldier."

"Because you know the area and you're an extra set of eyes," [i]he said simply as he looked at the camp below and shook his head.

Tioa said nothing, but looked at the camp below with some interest.

"Okay. Defense turrets, anti-air missles, bunkers and large numbers of troops. Weren't not getting in there with force," he said simply and began looking for weak points.

His photo-graphic memory would allow him to plan an attack later and after a few moments he started crawling down the hill.

Tioa watched him for a moment, and then back at the camp and crawled after him.

"Okay. We're going to have to assemble some sort of a small strike team to get in there and take out their leader or their command center," Mars said as he stood and started toward the dig site. "Do any of those diggers know how to use weapons?"

Tioa shook her head.

"Not really. They can use simple things like pistols, but not things like your rifle."

"Any computer technicians?" He asked and Tioa smiled slightly.

"I've had the opportunity to dabble with computer systems before."

"Well, that settles which type of attack we'll use," Mars said absent-mindedly and Tioa looked up at his face.

"And what kind of attack is that?" She inquired.

"We're going to go for their computer systems. Try to take out their security networks and defense turrets." He stopped for a moment. "I'll create a disturbance on one side of the camp and you and several others will break in and deal with the computers."

Tioa nodded thoughtfully.

"Sounds like a good plan," she approved.

"Right, all we need is a few volunteers and it should work quite well," Mars said as he started jogging back to the dig site.

Tioa wondered if he was deliberately making it difficult for her as she caught him up, having trouble maintaining his stride with her tiny form.

"I volunteer."

"As if you had a choice!" He laughed as he slowed slightly. "I didn't mean you, you were part of the plan to start with. If there happens to be someone else with computer skills it will be even better, but right now you are the center of the plan."

Tioa gratefully matched the slower pace.

"Thanks," she said dryly.

"Can't very well have you tired for the mission," he grinned as they reached the camp and he began explaining his plan to the others.

Tioa followed at his shoulder, smiling slightly as she listened.

She was also glad to note, he wasn't pointing his weapon at her anymore.

Jacen motioned towards the door. "Technically, I'm not tricking anyone. More accurately, you're selling me the weapons for a very fair price. Your men might not negotiate, but having a forcelance on you changes your perspective rapidly, I've found. Besides, I'll make your death painful enough you'll definitely want to cooperate."

Jacen raised his bracer to his mouth, holding his lance ever steady on the wine-loving base commander. "Byron, upload the official courier newscasts the Revenge has intercepted, and shunt them to Reynold's office. A little outside news for you to peruse at a later date Jacen said."

They opened the door. A bunch of Reynold's troops surrounded the door.

"Move," he said. They didn't budge.

He pulled out the other lance, and with a few quick taps on his bracer, slaved the dropship AP tanks and his other lance to his own biosigns, with a dead mans switch on the lance pointed at Reynolds.

"I've just wired up enough explosives to turn the surround three miles into a smoldering crater. Now move," he said, pointing the forcelance into Reynold's back. "I won't say it again."

The troops backed away from the door. "You forget Reynolds, you have to negotiate when you're a hostage too. Now about my supplies...."

[This message has been edited by Jidimus (edited March 13, 2002).]

"Fine...what is it you want, then?" He asked as they walked towards the reinforced bunker that held the ordinance stores.

------------------

As Mars and Tioa, the patrolling guards stopped, listened to their radioes, and left in a hurry. In the distance, they could hear a commotion on the far side of the compound.

Janet shows up, with about two dozen farmers. They sneak up by the pair. "These are all I could scare up on short notice." She said softly. "We don't exactly have a rapid transportation system around here....what's the plan?" She asked.

-----------------------

Machievelli's Revenge

Alvarez, Juniper, and Chavi move cautiously into the corridor, weapons ready, searching for their adversary.....only to find the hall empty.

"I thought you said he was right behind you?" Alvarez asked. "Could he have gone somewhere else? Maybe back to his ship?" He suggested.

He led the way, moving cautiously through the corridors towards the hangar deck. They encountered no resistance.

They entered the hangar bay, to see Doddson unloading the drop ship. He glanced up at the trio, startled. "Alvarez, what the hell are you doing? What's going on here? Whose ship is this? Who is that?" He asked, pointing to the body of the woman on the floor.

"And I want them loaded immediatly with the rest of our parts for repair."

As Reynolds barked a few orders, Jacen had Carnes bring in a few things, then head back to back up Byron at the dropship.

"You know Reynolds, for someone with a 'limited' supply store, you sure have a hell of a cache here," he said, leading the captive man back into the area of explosives that weren't going to be taken.

Pulling out a detonator, he rigged it onto a central core and set it, all the while keeping a forcelance trained on Reynolds..

"Just a little insurance for when I let you go, and head on my merry way. Its a pity you won't believe that I'm telling the truth, but, desparate times call for desparate measures. I'm sure when you get tired of waiting for a High Guard that seems to be 'ignoring' a major supply depot, you might even come out for a look yourself."

He led Reynolds back into the main area. "Oh, and about my little toy. I rigged it up for a spec ops job back at the facility before the war, so don't tinker with it. There's about 14 billion ways for it to get set off due to tampering."

As Jacen walks Reynolds out, he notices a symbol on a door at the rear of the ordinance store....it bothers him because he feels he should know it. Then, as they walk out of the store, it hits him: that symbol is only used for one thing, a warning of the gravest importance.....a symbol only found on storage areas containing Nova Bombs....

--------------------

Janet and the farmers listened to Mars' plan, and nodded.

"Sounds like a good plan....one question: Where do we get the explosives?" She asked.

"Reynolds, I do believe my demands just changed."

The man looked back at him.

"The Nova Bombs. How many are there? Because I'm taking them all... maybe Fountainhead will fall afterall."

Reynolds sneered, but there was a hint of a grin there as well.

"You wouldn't have the guts, boy....killing millions of people? Not you....and there's no way you get those bombs. You couldn't handle that much power. That vault is a meter thick, and pure Fullerine mesh. And only my authorization code, voiceprint, and retina scans can get into it. Kill me, and you'll never get them...so take your toys and go...." He said.

----------------------

Machievelli's Revenge

"Alvarez, you vouch for them?" Doddson asked. Sandoval nodded. "Okay..." Doddson answered. "So where is Huntington? Or the Captain, for that matter?"

[This message has been edited by Harper's (edited March 17, 2002).]

"So we'll have to search...." Alvarez replied. "We thought he might have come back to his ship here..."

"I haven't seen anyone before the three of you..." Doddson returned. "Jacen is expecting me back planetside to get the rest of the supplies. Can you manage on your own?" He asked Alvarez.

The man nodded. "I'm sure they can help." He indicated Chavi and Juniper.

"Yes....I see you've already given them the run of the weapons lockers..." Doddson noted, seeing the lances at their sides. "Well, good luck. Once we're all back aboard, we'll help mop up the intruders...."

"So let me get this straight. You're dealing with a man who has betrayed the commonwealth, somehow helped steal a ship out of an experimental shipyard, and is willing to blow everything nearby up by shooting you in the stomach, sending the entire planet into perennial winter for several decades, slowly, tortuously choking life out of everything that survived the blast.... and you really think I'd care about baking a few million übers at 5 billion degrees?"

Jacen smiled once and stepped back to a less threatening position. "And do you really think I'd leave this kind of power in the hands of an alcoholic, self absorbed fop like you? Either I leave the planet with the bombs, or I leave the planet knowing those bombs are permanently deactivated. Or else I get to orbit, and then not keep my word and blow you all up instead of deactivating the deadman's switch."

He looked around at all the soldiers surrounding everything in sight. "So which will it be?"

[This message has been edited by Jidimus (edited March 18, 2002).]

"It seems we won't be needing those explosives," he mumbled.

"New plan, we sneak in and Tioa takes care of the computers. After that we'll see what happens," Mars said as he handed Tioa a pistol and started toward the fence, farmers in tow.

They managed to get into the compound and to the command center without incident and Mars watched as Tioa went to work on the computers, disabling the anti-aircraft and defensive emplacements and hacking most of the doors so he could get through them if need be.

"All right, now let's find a ride off of this rock," Mars said to Tioa as the farmers scurried away.

Reynolds actually laughed at that. "You're bragging about turning traitor and slaughtering people, and you worry about me having that kind of power....oh, you are a piece of work."

He turned to face Jacen. "But there is an outcome you didn't mention.....that you might not leave this planet alive yourself. If you kill me, my guards will cut you down, insurance or no. If you try to liftoff with your little detonator still in place, I'll have you shot down before you get a meter off the ground."

"You see, insurance goes both ways. My missile batteries have been trained on your ship since you contacted us. A word from me, and I can reduce your vessel to component parts...and if you try to lift off while your little bomb is in place, I will do just that. Even if you destroy the compound, the command will go out, and the remote batteries littered in the mountains will carry it out."

"So what's it to be, Lieutenant? Do we die together? Or do you take what you have already and leave here alive..." He asked.

--------------

As the last of the farmers scurried out through the breach in the fence they had made, a returning patrol saw them.....they opened fire, mowing down the stragglers and widening the breach. Janet Sorenson, who had waited at the fence and was helping the farmers escape, danced as her body was ripped by dozens of rounds....the guards pouring through the breach, spreading out to cordon off the area, just as Mars and Tioa exit the command center and make their way there....

-----------

Machievelli's Revenge

"Well, we have to find Hunt....Huntington, was it?" Alvarez said. "And the Captain, if he is still alive....Doddson, find out when Jacen is coming back. We need to start repairs....I guess you two will have to stay with me....not safe on your own...."

Alvarez looked nervously into the open hatch of Huntington's ship....

"He couldn't be in there....I'd have seen him.." Doddson replied.

Alvarez nodded. "Okay....we search. All right?" He asked Chavi and Juniper.

Doddson chuckled, and got on his comm bracer. "Doddson to Arjuna. Almost done down there? We have a situation up here..." He called.

"Searching is fine. I'd rather find him than have him find us. Should we split up? Me and Juniper go one way and Alvarez another?" She asked the group.

Juniper gave her a wide eyed smile. "Oh that sounds like a good idea. No offense Alvarez but we have interacted with this guy before you look a little nervous about finding him." Juniper gently touched his shoulder.

"And plus, you look like you can take care or yourself. Juniper and I need the buddy system. Well, Juniper does at least..." Chavi grinned.

Juniper raised her brow to Chavi. "You think? Oh that must be why I am the brains and you are the brawn," Juniper stepped up next to Chavi.

Chavi looked near tears. "It was just a joke." She turned and started to walk away.

"I better go talk to her." Juniper thumbed over to Chavi. "We will see you in about an hour. How about me meet back here?" Juniper smiled to the guard while walking backwards. She stopped a few feet away from Chavi. "I know you are kidding, one con artist to another." Juniper winked to her.

Chavi burst out laughing. "Oh c'mon you fell for that one? Hon, my physical stance has been made fun of more times than a Magog hungers for meat. It takes a bit more to wound this girl's pride." She winked. "So...what were you thinking of doing if we met Huntington?"

Juniper laughed. "As if, I fell for that one." Juniper hurried down the corridor with Chavie. "Well, I figured electrocution was a good way to go." She winked.

"Hey...whatever keeps him from shooting at me is a good plan," Chavi replied.

"Do you think he will be happy to see us?" Juniper smirked.

"Oh I'm sure enthralled is more the word for it. Ecstatic...jumping for joy...you get the general idea."

"Yup, yup. I know I'll be happy to see him to." Juniper tapped her force lance with a grin.

"Looks like we'll have to go into the complex to look for a ride," Mars side as they moved toward the landing pads.

As they moved they came upon a rather disturbing scene.

A high guard officer had another at lance-point and the garrison was surrounding them.

Mars tried to stay quiet but failed and raised his rifle as one of the Lancers turned on him...

Several of the guards covering Jacen turned to cover the newcomers. Mars had his gun up as well, and it appeared to be another stand-off.

"Friends of yours?" Reynolds asked Jacen snidely, looking at the man and the purple girl.

------------

Machievelli's Revenge

Alvarez nodded, and headed off a different corridor from the ladies. "Be careful..." He called. For a moment, it seemed like he smiled at Chavi, then walked off cautiously.

The corridors were strewn with debris and the lighting was sketchy in places.....it was quiet. Shadows played across the walls, and dangling wires and sparks from open conduits and severed wiring made it seem like there was movement all around....

Juniper and Chavi searched nervously through the corridors, going deck by deck.....they passed through Hydroponics, the rustling of the plants from the air circulation systems making eerie sounds as they went....through broken machine shops and crew areas devoid of life....they began to think they were alone....until they heard the shot, and the scream....

Now about our little impasse here. You really expect me just to drop everything I have and take your word that I'll get to orbit safely?"

Jacen feigned a belly laugh. "I'll strike you a deal. The nova bombs stay here, and I keep my charges set till I'm safely in orbit. The second we leave the planetary space, the charges will fall out of range, and I'll set them to deactivate on loss of signal."

He shrugged slightly. "Or we can just stand here."

"Set the charges to deactivate on loss of signal now, and you have a deal." He smiled. "I'll even release a pair of Novas to you as a sign of good faith...how's that?"

He looked at Jacen, then the newcomers, especially Tioa.

"My dear, you've been here a month. I have extended my hospitality to you a number of times...you know what I want." He said to her, smiling. "However, at the moment, I am unable to demonstrate proper decorum befitting a host..." He motioned to Jacen, and the lance pointed at him.

Of course, Tioa knew exactly what he wanted. And hospitality was not a word anywhere near associated with it....

Jacen stared directly into Reynold's eyes. "But the signal doesn't change until I'm on my way."

[This message has been edited by Jidimus (edited March 23, 2002).]

"Ya know," Chavi said as they made their way there, "we really should be running in the oppisite direction, considering that the shooting seems to be this way, and my main goal in life is to have and keep one."

They rounded the corner and stopped. Alvarez was lying on his face, a nice, round hole in his back. Juniper walked over, checked his pulse, and shook her head.

"Man...he wasn't a great officer or anything, but nobody deserves to die. Well...I take that back, a few people do, but we won't discuss that now." She walked over to his side and examined the forcelance still in his hand. "Hmmm...it doesn't look like it was used. Figures...whoever did this was a freakin' coward. Some people have never heard of something called a fair fight. I've got my guesses about the culprit, and it sure as hell wasn't Miss Peacock with the candlestick."

Reynolds sneered. "Fine. But remember....you detonate those charges, and I won't burn alone. That ship up there and everyone on it goes down too....hopefully once you're back on board as well..."

He waves Jacen off, as if in dismissal. "You had your chance....no Novas; take what you have and go...."

--------------

Camus Adelphi system, outer edge

Local space explodes as Slipstream portals eject a fleet of Nietzschean ships....at least 3 destroyers and nearly a hundred fighters....they head into the system, still nearly 12 hours away at their current speed.

The early warning satellites, however, beam a warning towards the planet, and the depot, much faster....even so, it takes nearly 15 minutes to reach the receivers planetside....while the Machievelli's Revenge remains blissfully unaware of the danger, it's sensors blinded by battle damage....

The depot's computers register the signal....but do not reply, or respond in any way, disrupted by the sabotage inflicted by Mars and Tioa...

"You'll have a bit of trouble shooting anything down right now," he noted with a grin. "Considering that all of your anti-ship weaponary has been deactivated."

[This message has been edited by Tio (edited March 23, 2002).]

A message from Byron flashed across his bracer. Doddson had returned from orbit, and both dropships were loaded. However, they had to hurry. While the Revenge was essentially blind, the dropship's sensors were fine. And the Nietzscheans had finally come.

"But it looks like I have to hurry. Seems the Nietzscheans have showed up en masse. I had no idea we had become this popular, though I think your weapons stores probably have a lot to do with it too. I'd offer to help, but a disabled corvette is of little help to you. Best of luck with that."

Jacen looked at the man and his purple companion. "My dropship is that way, let's go."

Jacen stopped for a moment and turned back. "Oh and Reynolds, I've changed my mind.... I'll send you the activation codes for the detonators once I de-slave them. I highly coubt you want those Nova bombs in their hands any more than you want them in mine."

Jacen headed in a dead run for the dropships, assuming the two passengers he was picking up were following.

"Get those dropships up and running boys, and lets get out of here. Oh, and we're picking up two new passengers who should be here shortly."

Jacen ducked into his dropship, making sure that everything was properly stowed.

"As soon as their onboard, we're lifting off."

Doddson called in, saying he was reloaded and ready to launch.....Carnes had joined him, while Byron strapped in with Jacen.

---------------

Machievelli's Revenge

Juniper and Chavi continued to search, more cautiously now after finding Alvarez's body. They couldn't shake the feeling that they were somehow being watched....despite seeing no one....

Huntington smiled; his plan was going well. Soon, he would have his weapons, and a ship much better than his own...once it was repaired. And all he had to do was wait for his partner...and eliminate some minor annoyances.....

"As per my part of the deal," he transmitted, sending the necessary codes and removing his own. "You are now no longer under any threat from me, Reynolds."

He cut the comm, and waited as the other's exited the other craft.

"Honey, I'm home!" he yelled to the hanger. "I guess Mackie didn't fix herself while we were gone... what's with the dead girl?"

"She got shot by some crazy guy who's been trying to take over the ship," Doddson explained.

"Uh....huh. So then we've got some hunting to do. Let's saddle up," Jacen said.

"And Alvarez has two girls with him, looking for him right now," Doddson said.

"And the captain?" Jacen asked.

The silence that met him made him assume the worst. "Very well. Lets go take our invaders down."

"I know you're pretty much in command until the Captain turns up.....if he turns up....but, with respect, I think Byron and I should go looking for this guy while Carnes unloads the dropships and you get to work on repairs." He suggested.

"You're the only engineer we got, and those Niets will be here in a few hours. We can't fight or run like we are.....and I don't trust that psycho down there to save anybody." He continued.

"He's right, Cap....Jacen." Byron spoke up. "We can't stream without the new SPG lens in place, and even with the new ordinance, we got no fire control. We gotta get started on repairs before the Niets arrive...."

"Our new arrivals can help...." Doddson added, motioning to Mars and Tioa, stepping out of the dropship. "The guy looks to be good with a gun....he and Byron can take a section, and I can hook up with Alvarez and the girls. The purple one can help you....I'm sure the tail can be useful..." He snickered.

"Sounds good to me. What do you think, boss?" Byron asked.

Jacen grabbed the sled which had several things destined for engineering. "Come on," he said to the purple girl. "I dunno how much you know about engineering, but the company is welcome enough as long as you don't try to kill me."

He led the way through the corridors down to engineering. Just before he got to the main entrance, he heard footsteps coming their way. Drawing both lances, he stepped out into the corridor.

"Can I help you ladies?" he said, a forcelance levelled at each one. "You're supposed to be with Alvarez. Get lost on the tour?"

"Sorry," she apologized, "I just had to get that off my chest. Alvarez is dead, shot in the back. And who, pray tell, are you Mr. Trigger Happy? And what are you? Some kinda pretty purple person?"

[This message has been edited by Harper's (edited March 26, 2002).]

He beckoned Tioa to come forward. "I believe this one calls herself Tioa. Just picked her up. Seem to be adding a lot of fresh blood recently."

He examined the two newcomers a moment, trying to read their faces. He lifted his bracer to his lips. "Doddson, I've found the two you were looking for I believe. You can come and get them, or I can get them to unpack here. No sign of Alvarez. Either works."

"You two got names?" he asked, having closed his commlink. "I'm Jacen Arjuna. And I have a slipstream engine to fix. You can wait here for the lancers to show up, or you can join me on the other side of this door. Either way, we got three hours before the fireworks begin."

Jacen shrugged. "Oh, its not much really. If we had external sensors online I could show you that there's a rather large Nietzschean fleet headed our way. In three hours, if we're here, we're dead. Poof! Explodûr! Space dust."

"Oh freakin' great!" Chavi threw up her hands. "Never again will you here me say, it can't possibly get any worse."

"Well, if we are caught in that situation. Do we have anything to barter?" Juniper gazed over the engineer.

Jacen looked at them both somewhat jadedly. "First of all, never say that. It always gets worse when you do. Second of all, it doesn't matter what we have. The base on the planet has at least 10 times what we took, and the size of the thorn in the Nietzschean side this ship has been... well, needless to say, unless your idea of bartering is lining up to take your lumps."

Juniper laughed. "Well, that wasn't my idea. Its just good to come up with another plan if we can't get this ship going, but if this is our only option then it sounds like you might need some help." Juniper smiled.

"Help it is. What do you know about anything to do with repairing ship's systems?" He asked, leading the way into engineering. Juniper, Chavi, and Tioa all followed him in. "If nothing else, you can unpack this hoverpad of parts."

"I'll do that," Chavi chimed in. "You guys can do the other stuff. I don't like to think any more than possible." She gave Juniper another one of "those" looks, before going over to the parts.

Juniper chuckled. "Very well Chavi. I'll see what I can do over here. I am not very good at repairing technical stuff but I figure things out fast." She smiled walking over towards Jacen.

"Fair enough," he said, grabbing the main components he could carry to get the engine online. "Tioa, maybe you can help Chavi? Carnes is sure to be bringing lots more down. Juniper, welcome to my playground. We got an engine and sensors to get running post haste."

"No problem. You just tell me what you need to get done." She nodded.

"C'mon oh silent purple one." Chavi motioned for Tioa to come over by her.

"Well, I think the easiest way for this to work is for you to give me a hand, instead of me leaving you to try and figure something out that I don't even have manuals for, since they never got written." He smiled. "Is that okay with you? Because I can leave you with a scrambled sensor network to sort out if you like."

Juniper raised her hand with a smile. "No, thats okay. I'll just listen and do as you ask." She grinned kneeling down to the open panel. "What needs to get done first?"

"The engine repairs. Then sensors. The tactic of the day is get back our legs and sight, then run like hell. First, lets get you started on the AP solenoid replacements. Once you've seen it done once, the other 11 should be easy enough for you to do on your own I think. I, on the other hand, a going to get the engine lens back replaced."

"Okay sounds good." She nodded to him.

"And you wouldn't believe the pick up lines this guy had. I tell ya, drifts are absolutly the worst place to meet men. I mean, if they have even half-way decent manners, they're there because they're crooks anyways. Not that I can complain or anything...but when your candlelight dinner is interupted by a bounty hunter, it kinda tells you commitment isn't his thing." She sighed.

"Hey chatterbox," Chavi tapped the purple lady, "you a mute? You can always interupt me, ya know, if ya wanna talk. And even if you don't, you should still talk before my throat goes all sore from doing all the work here. Although I've been talking non-stop since the day I was born, and I haven't caught anything like that yet, but the point still stands."

"Well, I was trying to con Juniper over there out of her jewerly, but the girl's smarter than she looks. Offered me this business opportunity to steal some papers off this guy. The papers were documents that had something to do with weapons or another, all I heard was we could score some big bucks, so I was in. We met with this Huntington guy, but he knew we weren't the right contacts. So he took us and some other woman hostage, flew us to this ship to meet a partner or his. Instead of his partner, we ran into the captain of this ship, who...I'll just say he wasn't pleased to see us here." Chavi winked.

"So anyways, Huntington goes all crazy, throwing Alanna, the other girl, into the Captain and shooting them both. Juniper and I ran like the smart people we happen to be. Met two other High Guard characters, Alvarez and Doddson. Alvarez got killed, but by what and who we don't know yet. And that's about when we met you."

She sighed.

"And that's the short version too. Man, I'm surprised I remembered all that, and even more surprised I lived through it."

"How's about you? How'd you get to be on the Great Ship of Death and Freaky Happenings?"

"You mentioned a Mars?"

Chavi smiled a little, wondering, and then shook it off. She had work to do.

"So...where does your kind come from?"

"If you didn't want to tell me, you just had to say so. I don't like telling others about home myself. Too many...memories." Chavi shook her head. "I'm starting to sound all sappy. And I hate people who get like that."

Carnes finished unloading the rest of the equipment from the dropships. He sat on the crates and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Even with the autoloaders, it was a lot of stuff....

He looked over at the unusual ship in the bay with him. It was a modified Empress Regaled -class pleasure cruiser, used only by the filthy rich. It was a little ragged around the edges, but still in excellent condition. He got up and peeked in the hatch.

He never saw the shot that killed him....

------------------

"So, any idea who we're looking for?" Byron asked, looking around, lance drawn.

"Someone named 'Huntington'...." Doddson responded, keeping his eyes open, but otherwise unfazed.

"That's helpful.....do we even know what he looks like?"

"He'll be the one you don't recognize, pointing the gun at you....dummy..." Doddson rolled his eyes.

Byron mock-laughed. "Very funny...."

"Actually, he's about six foot, brown hair, brown eyes with green flecks, snappy dresser..." Doddson continued.

Byron looked at him. "OK, that's better....what, you get a good look at him, or one of those girls tell you that?"

"No, I knew.....he and I go way back. You see....I was waiting for him." Doddson said cryptically, turning to face him.

Byron looked confused for a moment, then saw Doddson's lance....pointed right at him. He never had the chance to raise his own before Doddson shot him. The impact sent Byron flying backwards, to land against the corridor wall, where he came to rest and didn't move again.....

"Sorry, pal....but those weapons you so graciously helped bring back are worth a lot of money.....and I'm tired of risking my neck for a cause that doesn't exist anymore..." Doddson said, looking down at Byron's body. He holstered his lance and dragged the body into an empty room, knowing the newcomer Mars was still searching around. After stashing the remains, headed back to the hangar bay, where Huntington would be waiting.....

True to his word, Eric was there.....going through the crates of supplies they'd brought back. He turned, drawing his gun as Doddson entered.

"About time.." Huntington replied.

"Sorry. Had to get rid of a problem." Doddson said. "So? How does it look? Just like I promised...." He smiled.

"Not quite..." Huntington said. "Where are the Nova bombs?"

Doddson's face dropped. "What do you mean, where are they? They should be here..." He went over and started rooting through the crates. "I can't believe Arjuna would leave them behind..."

Huntington looked at him. "The deal is bust without them....you said you could get some.....both our necks are on the line..."

"I know!" Doddson said forcefully. "They're still planetside. In that maniac's hands...." He said, thinking...."Okay. Arjuna is fixing the slipstream drive....if we can get short range sensors online, we can target the installation and selectively bomb the troop installations....then go down and take what we want..."

"All right. What do we need to do?" Huntington asked.

"You stay here and prep your ship for launch. They're still looking for you. I'll go up to command and get the sensors online. Once I've bombed the installation, I'll contact you and we'll head down." Doddson said.

"Fine. But make it fast. I heard them talking....there are Nietzscheans on the way..." Eric pointed out.

"No worries...we'll be gone before they get close..." Doddson said as he headed for the door.

Huntington shook his head and went back into his ship, where he had hidden since the girls he'd brought ran off....and smiling as he remembered Doddson covering for him when they returned with others, saying he hadn't seen him....he could always rely on his old friend Doddson....

to be continued....

The corvette was similar to the usual design so he could navigate it quite well.

He heard female voices around the corner and listened for a moment, recognizing one of them. He turned the corner with his rifle ready.

"Who are you?" He asked the female as he spotted Tioa.

[This message has been edited by TYRantGriffin (edited April 01, 2002).]

-----------------

Supply Depot Alamo 951

Reynolds paced as his techs worked on restoring the computers.

"What is taking so long?" He demanded.

"It's a complicated procedure. Whoever did the reprogramming was either immensely sophisticated or really lucky." The head tech replied.

"I don't care what they were, just get me sensor telemetry!" Reynolds yelled.

"Got it!" one of the junior techs replied with a grin. The screens lit up, and immediately started flashing warning glyphs as the blips representing the Nietzschean fleet came into view.

"Holy...." One of the sensor techs breathed. "It's huge! And only a couple hours out, at most...."

Reynolds looked....his face tightened in anger. "That little....he brought them right to us." He looked around. "Options?" He asked.

"Our arsenal is extensive, but I do not believe we could hold off a force of that size for more than a few days....a week at most." answered one of the Lancer captains. "Evacuation is obviously not an option....I recommend we rig the depot to self-destruct, hold our ground as long as we can, then retreat and blow it when they come in."

Reynolds turned on him. "We are NOT running from those bastards....understand?" He screamed. The Lancer nodded. Reynolds turned on the techs. "How long would it take that fleet to get to slipstream from their current position?" He asked.

The techs studied the screens. "About an hour....maybe less. Why?"

"That's enough....ready orbital launchers." He ordered, a disturbing gleam in his eye....

"Hey Juniper," Jacen called from across the room "How are those replacement solenoids coming?"

"They are doing good. I think I am almost done." She smiled finishing up a few final touches.

"Excellent," he said walking across the room, and kneeling beside where she was working. "Though I've honestly never seen someone manually replace AP solenoids in a dress before."

She chuckled. "I do what needs to get done. You would be amazed what a determined women can do in pumps." She winked at him snapping the last wire into place. "Okay what is next?"

"Sensors," he replied, helping her to her feet. "It'll be a bit of a mess. Then we'll get into some nice system with lots of sensor interference, and finish the repairs there."

"As long as you break down everything slowly. I'll pick it up fast. This work is totally new to me. How long have you been doing it for?" She nodded a thank you to him for the help up.

"Well, lets see now. Academy, then the 'yards.... 5 years by now I think. Steeper learning curve than I expected, but, such is the state of the universe." He led her to a set of panels where they could work side by side. "The new shipment of nanos means that what few parts had to be installed are getting done so automatically. We just have to direct them from here."

"Okay that doesn't sound to difficult. What do you need me to do exactly?" She raised her hands ready for the task.

"Just follow my lead," he said. "Pretty much everything I have to do on my section has to be done on yours. Just watch and copy," he said smiling.

Juniper smiled with a nod. "Okay."

The two worked in silence for some time before Jacen finally spoke again. "I know this is going to sound like a bad pickup line, but I'm curious. How did a nice looking girl like you end up in a mess like this?"

Juniper laughed. "Thats not such a bad pick up line. I have heard far worse...if it was a pick up line." She winked to him. "I am a business woman at heart. I needed to seperate from my family and become my own entity. The only thing is that the timing is bad." She shrugged. "So, after getting myself in a bad sitaution gone worse. I ended up here with Chavi. We were supposed to be business partners." She laughed. "Our first deal went kind of sour." She stuck her pink tongue out refering what a mess there were in now. "But, I believe there lies an oppurtunity around every corner." She smiled trying to look optomistic.

"Well, that's a good enough philosophy. Mine lately has been 'play your hand as soon as its to your advantage.'" He returned her smile. "Now then, I'm gonna take a quick break to see how the unloading is coming. It should only take a moment."

"Okay great, do you need me to finish up here?" she asked.

"Looks like you're doing good," he said, taking a few steps away, and trying to raise Carnes to check on the unloading status. "Carnes? CARNES?! This is so not good," he said, locking the doors firmly shut to all entrances to engineering.

"Whats wrong?" Juniper glanced over her shoulder. She noticed Jacen suddenly shutting the door and locking it...

"Carnes is either dead or a traitor," he replied. "There's no other explanation why he wouldn't answer. And until I have the opportunity to clean the rats out of every corner of this ship, I'm gonna have to make some modifications to the systems. First, we have a few minutes more work till the sensors are back online. Then, while you run the claibration subroutines, I'm going to slave all internal systems to the control panels here."

"Okay.." She whispered. "What ever needs to get done." Juniper followed him closely trying to move quickly.

"Well, for starters, lets get these internal sensors working so we know what's going on in here."

"Okay, ready to go." She smiled.

Huntington finished loading the remaining supplies Carnes had unloaded into his ship, and sealed it up. A quick pre-flight check later, and he was good to go. Now, he only had to wait for Doddson....

---------------------------

Doddson was working on the sensors when he noticed the work was going faster than he anticipated. Someone had introduced autorepair nanos into the sensor systems.

Arjuna He thought. He smiled; he'd have to thank the young engineer before killing him. He crawled out of the tube and went to the sensor station. a few moments later, the close and mid-range sensors were back.

Doddson immediately started targetting the installation below. He went to fire control and readied a missile barrage. Just as he was ready to fire, the console bleeped. He frowned.....it wasn't responding. Nothing was...control had been rerouted.

He pounded the console. Arjuna, again! He pulled his lance and stalked off, heading for engineering....

[This message has been edited by Richie (edited March 30, 2002).]

"Hmmm, looks like Carnes isn't the traitor... but judging by the look on Doddson's face, I'd say he likely is... oh, and he's headed our way...."

Jacen motioned Juniper to come look at teh console for a second. "Looks like that ship you came is powering up, with our supplies on board... I guess your Huntington is still alive."

"Ohhh, Doddson, hope you've got nothing planned," he taunted over the intercom.

Jacen then went to the flight controls and sent the ship heading towards a safe slipstream point.

IC:

Chavi glanced at the man that was pointing a gun at her. She sighed.

"Look buster! Enough with the freakin' gun pointing! I will so kick your..." She tilted her head.

"Mars?" Before anymore could be said, doors around them began to close. Chavi walked over to one and tried to open it, finding it locked.

"Juniper? Jacen? What the hell are you two doing?" She got no answer, so she tried something else. "If you two wanted privacy, you only had to ask," she provoced. Her brow creased in worry when it didn't work.

"Ohhh, Doddson, hope you've got nothing planned." Chavi looked up, frowning.

"Doddson? Wasn't he the other officer Juniper and I met? Juniper, if you can hear me, I would really like to know what's going on. Before I kill you that is!"

Mars pounded on one of the doors and growled as he hit it and began pacing.

"Great, first I get shot down, then I get shot AT then I get locked up! What could possibly be worse?"

Tioa thought about it, a little frown on her pixie face.

"Being imprisoned in a room full of Magog and without your gun?" She suggested.

"No, because at least then you would know what was going on and who your enemy was."

Tioa frowned again.

"Being locked in a room without anyone to talk to?"

Mars thought for a moment and then nodded.

"That would be bad, but this. This is just terrible. What were you two working on anyways?"

Tioa shrugged.

"I was helping Chavi carry things."

"Well, I suppose we should find some way out of here," he growled as he began looking around the area for some sort of vent or control panel and Tioa nodded.

"That's probably a good idea."

Doddson ducked into a sevice shaft, and made his way through the guts of the ship. Soon, he was at the main thruster coolant exchange regulators. He keyed his comm.

"Hey, Arjuna!" He called. "I'm sure you've been tracking me with the internal sensors. And I'm sure you've been yelling up a storm that you can't activate the internal defenses without an AI interface....and, since I wiped out Mackie, you won't get that any time soon." He chuckled.

"You know where I am..." He continued. "So you know that, a few effector shots into the exchange regulators, and the thrusters will overheat and auto-shutdown. You may control the ship from Engineering, but I can still cripple us.....so I suggest you restore control and keep us in orbit. I still have business planetside, thanks to your short-sightedness..."

He paused. "What'll it be, Jacen? Don't forget, I can tap into the sensors remotely. I'll know if you pull a fast one..."

He waited for an answer, lance pointed at the regulators....

------------------------

Supply Depot Alamo 951

A sergeant came up to Reynolds. "Sir, fire control to the STS launchers has been re-established." He reported.

"Excellent." Reynolds intoned with glee. "Have the command center cleared of all personnel immediately. No one is to enter without my personal clearance."

"Yes, sir." Came the hurried response, and the sergeant headed off.

Reynolds watched him go, then turned and went to the secure vault. Opening it, he stared at the rows of Nova bombs.

"No one can be trusted with such power....especially Nietzscheans. They will have to be disposed of. Them....and their traitorous allies....they must pay in the fiery pits.....the all-consuming flame...."

He looked over to a keypad, and typed in a sequence. A low rumble started as machinery came to life.....and the uppermost rows of bombs began to move, taken by conveyors to autoloaders for the launch tubes....

"Soon....all will burn..." Reynolds whispered, his eyes ablaze with madness....