"Hello! Hello! Is anyone out there?"

When no one responded, Allisa kicked the wall of light as hard as she could to vent her frustration. She couldn't think of how much worse her luck could get at this point. Only a few hours ago (to her perspective) she was living her normal life on Terra, even going on a date with Aston. Now she was stuck in a tiny cell in god (or goddess) only knows where.

"Just great," With a deep sigh, Allisa sat cross-legged in her cot. Her mind concentrated on escape, yet her options were severely limited.

Her first idea was to simply teleport out of the cell, yet when put into practice Allisa discovered she was unable to channel any mana, which included summoning her sword to cut her way out. Allisa suspected the bracelet had something to do with it, as she felt far weaker then she had ever done, as though her mana was being siphoned away from her by the bracelet.

All her personal artifacts were gone, save for her necklace and clothes. Her wallet was gone, her phone had been destroyed, and more crucially, her void ring was removed from her finger. She was well and truly stranded.

A loud buzz broke her train of thought. To the left of the room was a small panel with a red buzzer below it. Pressing on it, the panel opened up to a small hole, where inside was a tray with a light brown rectangle.

"Probably dinner," Allisa took the tray, allowing the panel to close. Sitting once again cross-legged on the bed, Allisa took a large bite out of the food. The block crackled in her mouth as she chewed.

I bet food in prison is better than this.

It was completely tasteless, devoid of any flavor. It was not unbearable to eat, but it certainly was not appetizing. However, eating was the only thing she could do in this situation with the expectation of simply glancing out the window to see where she was. Even though the scenery was constantly changing it was still rocks, strange metal structures, and crystals floating endlessly in the purple haze, nothing that could tell her where she was.

I wonder what the others are doing? Her mind wandered back to her friends. By now they must have returned to the home to find she was gone. They were probably out there searching for her right now. What would she tell them; that she left Ion alone to hang out with her friends from school?

Her mind then drifted to those friends, especially Lucy. She could tell something was eating at her no matter how much she tried to hide it. How would she feel when she discovered she had disappeared again? Her family as well, as this time she had left without any excuse or reason for her absence.

"I think I can kiss that life goodbye,"

A rattling began to come from the shoot where her food had arrived.

"What now...?" Allisa groaned. Seeing she had nothing better to do, she walked back over to the shoot and pressed the button to-

BANG!

Something whizzed out of the hole, slamming into her forehead as hard as possible.

"Ahhhh what the hell...." She groaned as she rolled around on the floor, clutching her forehead. "Is that their idea of a-"

"There you are spy!"

Allisa blinked. "Wha... Berken?"

Floating above her was the first friendly face she had seen since coming here (though being honest, not the face she wanted to see), the robotic rabbit Berken.

"A-Are you ok? I saw you get hit by that magic and-"

"Ba! It'll take far more than a little eather casting to put me out of commission," Berken boasted, "Although it did fry a lot of my circuits. It took till now for me to completely reboot my systems. Still, I'm surprised you're here too. I was sure when I booted up Leo had killed you."

"..... Speaking off here," Allisa narrowed her eyes, feeling the one burning question coming to the forefront of her mind. "Berken.... Where am I?"

"Right now you're in the brig of the Sovereigns Hope; Altosk's flagship on its way back to Sora."

"...... ok, next question; why am I here?"

"I don't know. They'll probably have you dissected back at Grand Vaults."

"Uh haha... that's a joke right?"

"Yeah, that's not professor Razz's style. He'll probably convert you into a warframe or something like that."

"You're not helping!" Allisa snapped. With a heavy sigh, she slumped back on her cot.

"You're lucky I even found you." Berken continued on despite Allisa wishing not to be disturbed. "After I rebooted I had to find out where Ion was being held on this ship. I found they were holding a prisoner in the brig, someone who would certainly be no friend to Altosk. Just wasn't expecting it to be you of all people."

"Yeah great..." Allisa sighed, taking a bite of her food, wishing for some better company.

"Navigating this ship was not easy, but fortunately I was able to disable several of the ship's monitors temporarily while traveling through the ducts."

".... Ducts?" Allisa looked up. There was indeed a grate in her room. She also remembered that Berken had bypassed the energy shield to get in. "Hold on," Hope seemed to return. Jumping off her cot she raced to the barrier and sure enough, there was another grate on the wall opposite.

"Hey Berken, can you disable this?"

Berken snorted, "Of course I can!"

"Great!" Allisa cheered. Berken hovered in place, not moving a single bolt. "Can you open this, please?" She asked as politely as she could.

"I could," Berken folded his arms. "But I'll need you to do something for me in return."

"And that would be...?" Allisa asked, resisting the urge to swat the rabbit out of the air. As infuriating as he was, he was also her only ticket out of this place.

"Well..." Berken shook his head, "I don't like you. Not one bit,"

“Yeah... ditto…”

"But I can't save Ion all by myself."

"Ion?" Allisa repeated. "She's here?"

"Not in the brig, no." Berken continued. "There's a sanctuary just past the ship's cargo hold. Ion's been kept there under stasis so the Enforcers don't swarm the ship. I can deal with the security measures, but they'll likely have placed guards, both drones and troopers to defend her. That's where you come in."

"So, you want me to help you free Ion," Allisa clarified. Ultimately, she did not have much of a choice. After all, there was no other way out as far as she could tell, and who knows what would become of her once she reached Sora.

Also, she could not abandon Ion. Not again.

"Ok." Stealing her resolve, Allisa gave Berken a nod. "Get me outta here, and we'll save Ion together!"

"It's a deal." Berken nodded before flying past Allisa back into the shoot where her food arrived from, quickly disappearing. Allisa stood at the precipice of the barrier, waiting for the small rabbit to reappear. Sure enough, a rattling could be heard from the vents above. A grate across from her cell then burst open. Allisa couldn't help but grit her teeth, praying no one heard that as the small robotic rabbit floated to her cell, somewhere just out of sight. "Ba, child's play,"

In a few seconds, the barrier of light was disabled. Allisa wasted no time in leaving onto the long metal corridors. "Whew, finally."

"Now let's go," Berken said floating back into view. "I've taken the liberty of looping some previous footage of you in there. Hopefully, they won't bother to drop by to check up on you. Naturally, we should avoid any security details, but if we're spotted you'll have to deal with them. Though given that you held your own against Leo of all people, I think you'll do just fine against the scrubs Altosk employs."

"Uh yeah about that..." Allisa said showing Berken her bracelet. She had a feeling the rabbit knew more about it then she did.

"Ohh... I didn't consider that," Berken said.

"So you know what this is?" Allisa asked.

"Yep. It's a restraint that prevents you from using eather."

"Well that sounds like a problem. I can't teleport or use my sword with this thing on. Is there any way to take it off?"

"Well..." Berken mewled it over out loud. "I can only think of two ways. First would be to use my plasma cutter to cut it off. It would be the fastest way but force removal would administer an immensely painful shock." A small light flickered from Berken's left finger. "Since it's the fastest and safest way, I guess we have no-"

Allisa grabbed the robot by the head. "And the second, less painful way?" She hissed before releasing him.

"That would involve deactivating it from the security terminal down the hall." Berken said, shaking off from Allisa's grip. "But that would be manned by guards who wouldn't hesitate to gun you down. If you can't fight like you said it would be easier for all of us if I simply cut it off."

"I'd rather leave me being fried by thousands of volts of energy as a last resort," Allisa said. She ducked under Berken, "It's this way, right?"

"Wait wait!" Berken zoomed into Allisa's field of view, "I won't let you kill yourself! Let's rescue Ion before you do that! Cutting the restraint off will be excruciating but you'll have a greater chance to survive! Provided your heart doesn't stop beating from the shock,"

"I'll take my chances with the terminal," Allisa dismissed, swatting Berken to one side as she continued onwards.

It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for. At the turn at the corner of the hallway, Allisa spotted a round semi-circle terminal in front of a door that Allisa guessed was the way out. Unfortunately for her, it was guarded by two people. One was human, yet the other looked more like a gorilla in armor.

"Shit...."

"I told you," Berken said floating to Allisa's side. "Now let's go back so they won't hear you scream,"

"Give it a rest," Allisa said. "We just need to lure them away from the conceal. Then you can take this thing off, right?"

"And how are we going to do that?"

".... Perhaps we can start a riot?"

"With who? You're the only prisoner they've got."

Berken did have a point. On the way, Allisa had passed empty cell after empty cell. She truly was the only prisoner on the entire ship.

".... Maybe," Berken began to hum to himself.

"Do you have an idea?" Allisa asked hopefully (though bracing herself if Berken suggested to cut the restraint off).

"I could stop the looped footage in your cell. When they see you're no longer there they'd have to investigate. Should by us some time to get the restraint off you."

"Won't they just call for help?"

"Not if I activate my jammer,"

".... You have a jammer?"

"Yep," Berken said proudly. "It will work on the personal communicators built into their armor. However, it won't work on their intercom system. If they call it in it will make rescuing Ion more difficult."

Allisa glanced back at the conceal. She didn't like her odds, especially with her power sealed. If she was caught, she would likely be gunned down just like Berken said. "..... Alright." Allisa beggingly agreed. "We'll need to get past them anyway."

" Find someplace to hide for now," Berken said as his ears began to rotate. "When you see them leave, run to the terminal." He then zoomed back down the hallway before disappearing into the ducts.

Now on her own, Allisa looked around for someplace for her to hide, a bench or chair or closet she could squeeze into. However, she couldn't see anything nearby."Okay... I didn't think this through..."

"What the-?"

"Something wrong?"

"Cell 13... the prisoner's gone!"

She heard voices from down the hall. It was the guards being alerted to her escape. Berken had switched off whatever he had installed onto the camera in the first place. Time was running out, and fast. She needed to hide or she'll be caught.

Aw, screw it!

With no other option, Allisa ran to the nearest cell and crouched in the corner that at least hid enough of her body. She could hear the metallic clanging of footsteps as the troopers got closer and closer. Allisa held her breath as they reached the cell, charging down the corridor as fast as they could.

With a deep breath, Allisa poked her head out from her hiding place. The troopers were out of sight. Crawling to her feet, Allisa made. A dash to the now vacant terminal. The monitors and the vast about of buttons were enough for her to turn her head.

Berken emerged from the nearby vent and hovered to Allisa's side at the console.

"So... which button undoes this thing?"

"I'll need to hack in to do that," Berken said hovering close to the front monitor. The display flickered on. Codes rained all across its display, many symbols Allisa did not recognize.

"How long is this going to take?" Allisa asked looking down the corridor she came through.

"Just a sec," Berken said, lowering his altitude. Every monitor now flickered on, displaying the same rain of symbols. "Alright.... Got it!"

Allisa wrenched at her bracelet. It was still securely fastened to her wrist. "It's still on..." She said impatiently.

"I know. All I've done is isolated this terminal from the Sovereigns Hope's main systems so they shouldn't detect the hack."

"Alright, just hurry it up before-"

"Hey! Freeze!"

Allisa jumped away from the console shooting her hands up into the air. The troopers had returned, now aiming their guns at Allisa. "Oh, crap...." She looked down at Berken, who was still absorbed in the current task. It seemed the troopers hadn't seen him yet.

"Step away from the terminal!" The human trooper said while the brute pressed a large hand to his ear. "How did you get out of your cell?"

"Bridge! The prisoner has escaped her cell, advice please! Bridge, respond!"

"I said step away!"

Allisa slowly took a step back. "Hurry up..." She whispered to Berken, slowly placing her hands behind her head as the troopers slowly approached.

"Okayyyy.... Now!"

With a hiss, the restraint unclamped itself and fell to the ground. Allisa could feel the rush of power flowing through her once again. Before the troopers could react, Allisa teleported herself above the human trooper, landing her boot on his helmet as she forced him to the ground.

"Wha-"

The brute turned suddenly, trying to respond to the attack. Allisa was faster. Summoning her sword, she cut through the brute's large gun, followed up with a slash to the lower abdomen, waiting for the brute to topple to one knee before hammering it in the helmet with the pommel of her sword, finishing with a final strike to the chest, allowing the body to fall backward.

"Whew.... That was too close..." Allisa breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back from the unconscious troopers.

"Whoa. Not bad, spy," Berken said, hovering over to Allisa.

"Little faster next time." Allisa snapped.

"Whatever. Now that you're free we can go save Ion, right!"

"Right." Allisa nodded. "You said she was in a sanctuary."

"Yep. And the security they've got there'll be way more than what they posted for a nobody like you."

"Of course, it is...." Allisa sighed. Given everything she knew about Ion, it was safe to assume she'd be well guarded. "So, are we talking drones?"

"Probably a few security drones or Proxies," Berken said. "Though more than likely, they'll have Borgo heavies standing at the ready,"

"Borgo?"

Berken pointed to the collapsed brute. "Only with more amour and these massive grav-hammers and possibly an Eather user with them. They won't take any chances when it comes to Ion's security.

"Great..." Allisa narrowed her eyes, wishing that one of her other friends was captured alongside her. Then, a thought slipped in. "... That Leo guy. Will he be there too?"

"Let's hope not," Berken said honestly. "Still, we need to hurry. If the ship gets to Sora before we get to Ion there gonna take her away! We can't let that happen, no matter what."

With as much steel and resolve she could muster, Allisa nodded to her new ally. "Alright. Lead the way."

****

The early mist of the void, the very essence that brought the worlds to utter ruin. Yet even in this desolate and hostile place, some remain defiant of the hand fate had wrought. Gliding through the rocks of the old worlds, the crystals of compressed eather, and the constructions influenced by the Enforcers, the Sovereign's Hope glided through the hostile space.

A massive space hulk and one of the largest ships ever constructed by the world of Sora. Extending over 2000 Arva (about 1500 meters), designed with heavy front armor plating built around the large eather cannon at its prow, painted in the Blue and bearing the half star and wing of Altosk with three large boosters at the rear of the ship.

The voyage was not unopposed. In its path, three Carrions, cylinder constructs of the Enforcers materialized to respond to the unknown threat.

On the two tiered bridge, the hands of hune, borgo and bunika had their heads down at the consoles, tapping away at the keys.

"Commander," One of the bridge staff spoke up, not taking his eyes away from the display before him. "Carrion class enforcer constructs have just materialized."

"How many?" A commanding voice boomed.

"Three."

Sitting at the rear of the bridge in the command chair was none other than the supreme commander of Altosk's security force; Aralius. Large and imposing, even for a Borgo. His gruff, brown-furred with a scar running down his left side spoke of the many battle's he had fought with the creatures of Sora, dressed in the official navy blue uniform of Altosk. "Oh screen."

The large monitor at the forefront of the bridge flashed open, showing all three machines gathered before them.

"Commander! Gargoyles are materializing around the Carrions! They're getting ready to swarm us!" Another of the bridge staff informed.

"So, it is an even fight," Aralius said softly.

"Your orders, sir!"

"Fire at will!"

With the simple order, the crew relayed the message throughout the ship. Mini explosions lit up the purple haze as the gargoyles were destroyed by the ship's guns. As the Carrion's moved in closer to the intruders, the eather cannon charged up and fired a long line of orange energy which tore through one of the carrions, sending it exploding into the depths of the void.

Aralius sat back, watching the carnage unfold with beady eyes. A hiss from the left door drew his attention away. His nostrils flared as Leo approached the chair.

"I thought you'd be with the Star Singer." He said, not hiding the hostility in his voice.

"I would have preferred to remain by her side," Leo said, folding his arms. "Only your men haven't been cooperative,"

Aralius snorted. "Need I remind you she was your responsibility," He growled. "your negligence is the reason why we are here. The men we lost, the casualties we suffered, that is all on your shoulders!"

Leo grunted dismissably. "That was your doing. I would have much rather to have gone and collected her myself. That is my duty after all."

"Forgive me if I lack faith in your abilities," Aralius leaned forwards. "Your Grandfather, the guardian of Star Singer Iola would never have allowed this to happen."

"Well I'm not my grandfather," Leo scowled back. "And Ion.... She's not Iola."

"Clearly," Aralius grunted as he leaned back. "She's always been free-spirited for a Star Singer, ever since she saved Markus and Bec with her power. Those two have clearly had far too great an influence on her. Not to mention the twin daughters of Cyvas. We should have ensured she was isolated from such rogue elements,"

"That would go against her mother's wishes." Leo sighed. "And.... I would not wish such a thing for the Star Singer."

"Soft..." Aralius grunted, "Before I forget, I wish you to explain why you brought that hune girl on my ship. I was clear we were to take no prisoners."

"That was my subordinates who made the decision," Leo said. "We owe Professor Razz for making Altosk what it is today, and they felt the girl was worth bringing to him."

"That was not their decision to make! Nor is it yours to authorize!"

Leo finally turned around to face Aralius. "Lest you forget, I am the first Star and the Star Singer's guardian. As such, I am the highest-ranking officer on this vessel."

"... I'm aware," Aralius got up and approached Leo, towering over the man. "but least you've forgotten, I am in charge of our armed forces long before you were accepted into the Next Generation. I respect our hierarchy, yet I refuse to be disrespected by an upstart such as yourself," He leaned in close showing off his fangs. "You do not want to make an enemy out of me,"

Leo returned his gaze. Despite the borgo's massive stature, Leo did not waver. The two were locked in a deadlock until a Bunika operator approached. "Uh... C-Commander..."

Both men glared at the poor subordinate, "Um... Wh-We’ll be arriving within the communication range of T7 within the hour." He said as bravely as he could.

Aralius took one last look at Leo, grunting before sliding back in his chair. "Officer Ricagi!" He barked.

A Borgo operative close by turned his head.

"Send out the communication once we're in range!"

"Yes commander."

Leo stood beside Aralius, watching the rest of the battle unfold. "You're the one who sent Xeno, weren't you?"

"Be grateful that I did. Otherwise, we'd be knee-deep in a political nightmare born of your incompetence."

Leo scowled back. "You put the Star Singer in unacceptable risk,"

"I did what was necessary, First Star,"

With a final word, the two leaders of the Altosk task force sat in an uneasy peace, never noticing the small proxy sphere hovering close overhead.

****

Felt exhaled as she severed the connection she had with her proxy.

"So?" Rall said leaning on the wall beside her. His helmet was off. Felt didn't know the full details, but when he was in the security core a blast from a revenger took his jaw off. As a hune, it was a miracle he survived. Now the bottom half of his face was cybernetic, a prosthetic gray tissue that formed his missing jaw. His lips were peeled back, showing off his silver teeth. "The commander gives Leo a hard time?"

"It would be strange if he didn't," Felt chuckled as the two set off down the hallway. "It seems he blames Leo for Ion's escape,"

"Of course, he would," Rall said exhaustedly.

"He's also concerned about that hune girl we brought back. The one who fought Leo."

"Told you it was a bad idea," Rall said.

"Are you that concerned she'd cause trouble."

"No way. I meant bringing her back would mean Leo getting yelled at by the commander."

"It would have happened even if we didn't. And besides... that girl's eather was certainly fascinating. It's hard to explain, but it felt similar to the blessing of the Ekon Ion has."

"You talk like she's a Star Singer,"

"That's definitely not the case. But professor Razz would certainly be interested in researching such a specimen."

"Ha, I almost feel sorry for the poor girl."

The two made it to the lieutenant's quarters, a common room made specifically for those of lieutenant class. Unlike the crew and squad quarters, the lieutenant's quarters were far more luxurious (though nothing compared to the Commander or Governess's quarters on the upper deck) with long sofas, a dining room table, its own kitchen unit and three sleeping quarters of two beds each, designed with race in mind.

Inside was Haida and Fukinoki. Only the bunika turned to the sound of the door opening. Haida had her head glued to a tablet she held in her hands.

"There you two are," Fukinoki said. "Hope you weren't caught. The commander's in a foul mood."

"Who do you think you're talking too?" Felt chuckled as she perched herself on the sofa beside Fukinoki with Rall sitting opposite. She relayed everything to the two lieutenants. Despite their respective commanders loathing each other, the lieutenants got along well.

All except for one who was absent from the group. "Mardo's not here I see," Rall pointed out.

"He's still in the med-unit." Haida said, not looking up from her tablet. "They have to turn off the nerve joints which is a delicate process in of itself."

"Oh right. I heard Markus blew his arm off."

"From what I heard, you suffered quite significant casualties to his new allies," Felt said.

"Yeah. I bet ya they were in league with that hune girl you brought back." Fukinoki said, crossing his small arms.

"They mealy caught us unaware and unprepared," Haida said. "If we had deployed our full might they most certainly would have been destroyed."

"That sounds like wishful thinking to me," Felt said. "I've seen the report. This was a group that not only fended off the Enforcers but also destroyed one of the warframe prototypes. Certainly not a group to be taken lightly by any means."

"But we've still emerged victorious in the end." Fukinoki huffed. "Not only have we recovered the Star Singer, but then criminal Markus is stranded in that backwater world and we've taken one of their own. I see that as a complete win!"

"Take away the fact you guys lost virtually half your troopers and a warframe prototype, and yeah, we totally one." Rall said sarcastically.

"We also lost two Hermit transports and the loss of sergeant Grogos to that world's military," Haida said.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be on my side!" Fukinoki yelled.

"I'm merely looking at this objectively. If anything, this was a hollow victory born from a sleight of hand by the first star. If we had not separated the Star Singer from her defenders, things could have proven somewhat problematic."

Fukinoki was about to say something in protest but ultimately held his tongue. "Moral's been pretty bad among the troopers, I can't deny that. Those hune's proved more... tenacious than anticipated. Three just three of them were able to blast their way through four squads before we could intervene."

"That will all be brushed under the rug," Haida said coldly. "After all, we've achieved our goal and eliminated a thorn at our side. Ultimately it was worth the losses we endured."

"That's a bit harsh," Rall said.

"I'm merely stating a fact."

****

Even with all the strange occurrences in Allisa's life so far, she had to admit being on an alien space ship was the last thing she was expecting. The winding corridors and cramped confines turned this ship into a maze as all the long corridors and doors began to blend together. As much as the two bickered, Allisa couldn't think of anyone she would rather have at her side then Berken, who seemed to know the entire layout of the ship. The journey to the sanctuary did seem to drag itself out as Berken led her into branching corridors to miss more patrols from the troopers. On the way, Allisa encountered both human, Borgo as well as a rabbit looking race Berken said were called bunika.

Fortunately, she was able to bypass the troopers without hindrance, again in no small part due to Berken. The same could not be said for the drones she encountered. On three occasions she was forced into a confrontation with them, ranging from floating orbs with small gun turrets beneath them to spider-like blocks. None posed a problem with Allisa able to cut them in half with one strike. Progress was good, in no small part to the efforts of Berken. He was able to jam signals of the drones to keep Altosk in the dark, interfering with ship cameras as well as opening locked doors.

"Pretty convenient you have all this stuff to get us through," Allisa said once they reached the edge of the ship. Unlike the brig, the windows were far larger, showing off the expansive space. The only change was small explosions erupting outside, coming from small silver robots that blended into the environment. "Can all robots like you do this?"

"Automotive Support Droids. And not that I'm aware of. Though Markus was the one who made me, so that may have something to do with my functions."

"Markus? That big robot back at the home?"

"He's actually a borgo cyborg."

"Borgo? Wait, you mean he's one of those gorilla things?"

"Yep," Berken nodded as they came to another door. "Apparently he was involved in some kinda accident that cost him most of his body," He said as he began hacking the control panel. "I was constructed after that so I don't know much about what happened."

"Did you ever ask?"

"Don't need to. My purpose is to protect Ion after all."

Allisa kept watch in case of any troopers or drones coming down. "You're not even curious? He's the guy who made you after all."

The door opened. "It's not in my programming to know about my creator." Berken suddenly stopped what he was doing, looking as though he was thinking, his artificial mind drifting somewhere else. "Although... I do know his recovery began almost immediately after Ion's power fully materialized. I always wonder if the two are connected."

The door slid open, allowing the two to proceed into the vehicle hangar which was far larger than Allisa had ever anticipated. All along the walls were three slots, bottom for large bulky transports that completely dwarfed anything she had seen in Terra while the remaining slots contained the transports like the one she saw in the steel mill.

"Whoa...." Allisa couldn't help but gasp.

"Ion's just through here," Berken announced as they strolled into the room. "We'll need to pass through three docks before-"

A hiss from a nearby door suddenly caused both Allisa and Berken to take cover behind a nearby crate. At the opposite end of the room there seemed to be a commotion. At the center was a massive tank of a man with one mechanical arm. He was flanked by two human troopers.

"Who's that?" Allisa asked in a hushed whisper.

"I think it's a Lieutenant, one of Altosk's commanders," Berken said. "A strong one at that,"

"Sir! P-Please wait!" Behind the formation was a small bunika trooper, trying his hardest to catch up. "We do not have authorization to execute the prisoner! She's the First Star's responsibility so as-"

"As what?!" The man barked, pointing down at the poor trooper. "You think I should just sit by and accept that man and his childish subordinates to act like we're his own personal playthings?"

"I-I-I was merely-"

"Who is your commanding officer?"

"Th-The supreme commander, but-"

"Then your priority should be to serve your commanding officer and uphold his beliefs!"

"B-But executing the prisoner without authorization-"

"Are you questioning me?" The man said menacingly. "Are you so loyal to the First Star that you will allow him to sully our ship with a villain who abducted the Star Singer?" He raised his metal hand. The bunika flopped on the ground in terror. "If so, then I think you should be executed as a fellow villain. Don't you agree?"

The bunika said nothing in response. Too terrified to speak he shook his head. The man lowered his own arm, then departed without saying a word, leaving through a door opposite to him.

Allisa poked her head out from her hiding place once more. "... By prisoner, you don't think he means me?" She gulped, realizing how close she would have come to being killed.

"If so, we need to be quick to rescue Ion." Berken hovered out from the crate, followed closely by Allisa.

Fortunately for her, there were enough hiding places to cover the huge distance from apparently where they needed to go, with a handful of guards on duty. Her heart was pounding the entire time, knowing that one slip up could cause a far larger ruckus then she needed. At worse, she'd have to fight Leo once more. However, the clock was now ticking, her discovery was now only a matter of time.

I wonder if Nel ever feels like this?

They reached the end without incident. Berken remotely hacked the control panel to open the door. Allisa kept a lookout. The door opened and Allisa quickly ducked through without being seen. The next room was almost identical, another huge storage room full of vehicles.

"Geeze, how many weapons do they have here?" She ended up asking as she ducked out of sight of the guards.

"This is Altosk's flagship. Of course, they'd have it fully stocked with weapons." Berken told her as they snuck their way through in a similar fashion, Allisa following Berken's lead.

They reached the next door and followed the same routine, Berken hacking the door while Allisa kept watching.

"Hmmm...." Berken said after a while.

"Hey, what's taking so long?" Allisa said, spotting the patrols circling around to the door. "Come on. Come on."

"The security on this door's a lot stronger than the others," Berken said.

Allisa spied a group coming her way. It was hard to tell if they were spotted given their helmets covered their face. "Hurry up..."

"Come on you.... Hmmmmm,"

Her heart was pounding in her chest as the men got closer. Slowly, Allisa raised her right hand feeling that she'd need to act soon. "Berken...."

"Almost.... Got it...."

The troopers stopped. Allisa held her breath, ready to pounce. Then, the troopers turned away. The door suddenly opened, and Allisa wasted no time to run through, followed by Berken as the door hissed to a shut.

"That was cutting it close...." Allisa gasped, not realizing how much she was holding her breath. She was now in complete darkness, with only minimal lighting along the floor form the minimal lighting, it seemed this room was far different than the previous ones with only a narrow path that extended to the left. "Why's it so dark in here?"

"Hold on. I'll see if I can activate the lights."

Not long after, light flooded the room. Both Allisa and Berken moved backward in surprise and fear. "Wh-Whats... that?"

To the right of the room was something that resembled a massive mechanical bird suspended above large blast doors below by a series of cables dangling from the ceiling. To Allisa's guess, it was as big as one of the eel monsters that attacked Sterland Village, with his wingspan of bronze feathers and exhausts extending past two car widths. Most of its plating was a milky white color with blue stripes painted across its back.

"I... Have no idea?" Berken admitted as Allisa walked across the gangway both fully absorbed by the mechanical monstrosity. "I couldn't dig up anything when I hacked the position of Ion."

"Is it some kinda drone?"

".... Could be some kind of new weapon. Professor Razz is well known in Ter'figmar for his weapons research."

"What would they need something like this for?"

"Who knows. Probably something to use against the revengers or if the Enforcers come knocking."

They passed by the large bird machine to a large gap. The cables dangling from the roof indicated that something, perhaps another of the large machines was meant to dock there.

"Hey, how much further to where Ion is?"

"Not far. According to the layout I pulled, the sanctuary should be just beyond here." Berken said as both her and Ion reached the large metal doors at the opposite end of the room. "We gotta hurry though. It's not gonna be long before we reach Sora."

"Right," Allisa gulped, steeling herself for what was to come.

****

"Commander. We'll be exiting the void in five minutes."

"No enforcer constructs materializing on the scanners. We're in the clear."

"We have a response from T7. They are awaiting our return."

"Good, good," Aralius leaned back in his command chair. "Prepare to exit the void. Keep weapon systems primed. With the Star Singer on board, we take no risks."

Leo remained by Aralius's side much to the commander's annoyance. He said no word since the spat they had earlier. He was a spectator to the carnage within the void. Around the ship lay the broken and dematerializing carcasses of the enforcer constructs they sent as a response, nothing the dreadnought could not deal with. If the Star Singer had been aroused from her stasis, that would be another matter.

"I'm going to check on the Star Singer," Leo suddenly announced, turning to take his leave.

"You will do no such thing." Aralius suddenly stopped him. "I have my best men on her guard detail within the sanctuary. She will be perfectly safe."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "It is my duty to see to her well-being."

Aralius turned his head, ever so slowly. "Do you doubt the competence of my men?"

Without waiting for a response, Aralius tapped a button on his command chair. "Sargent Ogoru, what is your status?" He asked, not breaking eye contact with Leo.

"Commander! Everything is clear. The Star Singer is still within stasis."

The transmission was cut off by Aralius. With a satisfied smirk, he slumps back in his chair the ever-unreadable Leo by his side.

"Commander! Reaching the outer system in thee, two-"

****

The dreadnought breaks through the purple haze that surrounded the system, passing by the broken ruins of the Ozomet homeworld partly swallowed by the haze. Now nothing but a shell with the insides chewed out from within.

The home system was long lost. Three millennia had seen the old homeworlds break apart. One world had broken in half, another with a large hole drilled through the center, another with its surface cracked and floating into the expanse of space. The sun lay at the center, letting out a purple and orange glow with large black spots, the influence of the ever-present void, eating away at the once source of life.

Several space stations and small ships populated the expanse. Mining crews extracting what was left of the natural wealth of the homeworlds to notorious pirates. Nothing that would dear go against the pride of Altosk herself.

And finally, close to the center of the dying sun was a sphere hovering in a fixed position close to the dying sun. Lines of blue energy surged through cracks within its surface, shining with strange way lines showing off its majesty in defiance to the horrors that surrounded the world at every turn.

The hollow world of Sora.

Freeing Ion

Mardo could still feel it. Even with his left arm gone he could still feel the pain from its destruction. He sat for over an hour as the medics and droids to detach his nerves from his missing limb yet he could still feel the pain.

"Sir." One of his subordinates spoke. "The Commander and the first star-"

Mardo grunted, daring the man to speak further. "Everything I do, I do for the glory of Altosk. I will not have our legacy tarnished by the presence of an outlander those two picked up on a misguided whim."

"Sir," The man nodded. "... But when they learn you've executed the prisoner without authorization,"

"I take full responsibility." Mardo once more silenced the man, just before they reached the door to the brig. It opened to show the wardens were no longer at their posts.

Mardo and his two men walked in, they found both laying on the ground. "What...?"

Gritting his teeth, Mardo shoved his men aside, walking over the bodies of the fallen wardens to the cell where the prisoner was being held. All that was left was the restraint to suppress her eather.

"She's gone..." His metal hand began to clench as the troopers reached his side.

"Oh no. I'll call it in-"

"Don't!" Mardo barked, shocking both soldiers. "This... this is perfect," A wide grin appeared on his lips.

"Sir?"

This was his big chance, something he had waited for. With this, he could ruin the First Star.

"Summon third squad and have them converge on the sanctuary." Mardo turned to one of his men. "And be discreet about it. We keep this between ourselves until the villain his captured and her body is strung before the commander as a sign of the First Star's incompetence."

The men didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. "Uh... S-Sir. We should really report this in. An escaped prisoner is a serious breach of security."

"No. If we initiate a ship-wide search it will only put her on high alert."

"Well... Forgive me sir, but why do you think she'd go to where the sanctuary? Wouldn't she try to find an escape-"?

"YOU DUMBASS!" Mardo turned sharply and threw a punch at the man knocking him to the ground. "Didn't you read the reports! When the First Star rescued the Star Singer, that woman showed up to try and take her away, craving her power to use it for evil! She should kill for such treachery but instead was shown leniency and brought here and given the opportunity to make a second attempt on her life.

"It's only logical that she would attempt to kidnap the Star Singer once more and deliver her to those villains in her world bringing our world to ruin! We must act now, swiftly and decisively to bring an end to such a blackened heart. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"

The two troopers muttered, "Y-Yes sir," half-heartedly.

****

"So that's the sanctuary," Allisa said, poking her head out from the corner. Just up ahead was a large door of pure white metal engraved with several black symbols.

"And of course," Allisa let out a loud sigh. "It's heavily guarded,"

Standing before it was three drones, two of the same spider's drones he had fought on her way towards the sanctuary along with a massive humanoid-like robot, bulky blue limbs armed, its arms held out a weapon shaped like a sword. The blade was absent, yet it didn't take much for Allisa to guess it was some sort of energy that would make up the blade.

"Not just Hunter class drones, but a Centurion proxy to boot," Berken said. "That must mean there's a technomancies inside."

"At this stage, I'm not even gonna ask what that is," Allisa said as she slumped down. "Hey Berken, do you think you can hack them."

Berken shook his head. "Proxy's aren't drones with inbuilt AI's. They're directly linked to the technomancer who summoned him."

"Uhh...." Allisa narrowed her eyes, realizing that she needed that piece of context. "On second thoughts, what's a technomancer?"

"Special kind of eather users. Unlike ones like Leo who use their internal eather users to beef and enhance their abilities and weapons, technomancers channel the energies of Sora using special projectile attacks or enhancements." Berken explained. "In some cases, they're able to summon a proxy: special machines that."

"Huh? Kinda sounds like a wizard from Avalon." Allisa remarked.

"Wizard?"

"Uh, never mind. So," Allisa peeked out at the machines again. "Any idea how we get past?"

Berken hummed. "You could fight them, but that would alert the technomancer and other guards.

"Maybe I could sneak in, avoiding them entirely."

"Won't work. The sanctuary was built specifically for the Star Singer. It's the most heavily secured room in the entire ship. There's only one way in and out."

Allisa breathed a heavy sigh. "A distraction?"

Berken mumbled for a second before shaking his head. It was starting to seem that the only way was a full-frontal assault, and unless Allisa had a habit of destruction like Max, the speed of Nel and Yuki or a repertoire of magic spells like Melvin, destroying them all in one shot was out of the-

"Wait... of course!"

A lightbulb went off in her head. Excalibur flashed into her hands as Allisa crouched by the edge.

"Wait... you're not really gonna rush out there are you? Those hunters will tear you apart!"

"Then let's hope this works!" Allisa charged out from cover, flames coalescing on her blade as it took the form of Azure flame. The drones reacted almost immediately. The turrets on the hunters whirled into life. The centurion moved forwards branding its weapon. As Allisa guessed, blue energy surged through the blade which now took the complete form of a sword.

Allisa wasted no time, anchoring herself as flames surged through her weapon. She could not afford to give the drones an opportunity to attack. She had to whip them out with her most devastating attack.

"Vermilion Strike!"

The raging flames were unleashed in a crescent arc, consuming both the hunters and centurion. The white door was blasted wide open, falling off its panel hitting the metal ground in a loud thud that echoed through the corridor and the opposite room.

"That's... one way to do it," Berken said as he floated back to Allisa's side. "But now we've lost the element of surprise."

"Too late for regrets," Allisa said as she charged through the smog. Leaping over the charred remains of the fallen drones and door, Allisa skidded to a halt in a wide room that was blindingly white, stark contrast to the blue that decorated the ship. At the far end of the room was a pod that was embedded in wall. And inside was a girl who was locked in deep slumber.

"Ion!"

Standing before her was exactly what Allisa was afraid of; five Borgos. Four of them where enough to intimidate her with their very heavy armor that completely coated their body, all branding large hammers. The only one that stood out was the one closest to Ion. His armor was lighter, gauntlets decorated with wires, a helmet that had a semicircle at the top, and branding a staff.

"Who are you?!" He bellowed, slamming his staff to the ground. "Commander! There's an intruder attempting to reach the Star Singer! Commander?!"

Berken floated to Allisa's side as she stood at the ready. "I've jammed their comms, but are you sure you can take all of them on?"

".... One way to find out," Allisa steeled herself holding her weapon out in front of her.

With a grunt, the borgo with the staff pointed at Allisa. "It's just one hune! Kill her!"

The armored borgos charged in first, all branding their hammers. Allisa stood at the ready, holding out her own weapon. The first borgo lunged towards her, bringing the hammer down. Allisa sidestepped out of the way to dodge but when the hammer struck the ground it released a shockwave that knocked Allisa off her feet.

"Wha-"

Allisa had little time to think as a second borgo heavy had charged her, swinging its hammer in the air before bringing it down to crush her. Allisa teleported out of the way, repapering behind the borgo back on her feet aiming for the first one. Catching it by surprise, the brute swung its hammer haphazardly, yet Allisa penetrated its defense and sliced through its heavy armor. Her super-heated blade scorched through the thick plating, sparks flying as it cut. Allisa ducked and retreated back as the borgo cried out in pain and bewilderment.

Having seen her weapon render the heavy armor useless, the guards held their ground having been put on edge. "She's no ordinarily hune! Must be an eather user," The borgo with the staff barked as his staff lit up with energy. "Overwhelm her!" A digital circle appeared above the staff as the borgo threw it forwards unleashing an array of electrical daggers at her. Allisa jumped out of the way. Behind her, a borgo was about to swing its weapon down on her.

"Shit!" Allisa teleported to the side before the hammer struck. Another brute charged her from behind, leaving her no time to dodge. Allisa raised her sword and blocked the incoming strike. She managed to hold her guard despite the overwhelming strength behind the blow, yet the pulse that followed knocked her backward. She rolled backward having the wind knocked out of her, though fortunately knocking her far away from the attackers.

The brute with a staff slammed his staff into the ground, electricity surging through his staff before throwing it out. Sparks of energy surged from the poll to the hammers of the other brutes.

"Oh, now what?"

With a war cries, the brutes charged in once more.

Allisa teleported away from the first attacker as it slammed its weapon into the ground which unleashed a torrent of electricity. "Whoa. What was-"

Allisa ducked under a swing of a second attack, the cackling of energy made her hair stand on end. I'd rather not find out what that will do if it hits me.

Allisa had to go on the offensive and saw her chance when it reared its weapon up to pulverize her. Gritting her teeth, Allisa charged in and cut into the brute's armor wounding it. Flames erupted from her blade as Allisa swung again, blowing the brute backward, colliding into one of its comrades.

"Whoa, that worked?" Allisa was just as amazed by her pulling off such a counter-attack.

"Good job spy!" Berken called out, hovering very high above her far removed from the actual fighting. "Only four more to go! Try not to get killed!"

Guess counting on him for support was wishful thinking. Allisa thought, narrowing her eyes.

She looked back in time to see the staff welding borgo fire out a long arc of electricity. Allisa blocked it using her sword, catching herself in a deadlock as she tried to keep the wild power from frying her. She felt her knees felt like they were buckling under the sheer power of the arcs of electricity.

Out of the corner of her eye, Allisa spotted a borgo approaching, ready its hammer to pulverize her.

"Not good, not good...." Allisa growled as flames began to erupt on her blade. Raising her weapon, allowing the energy to coil around it, Allisa threw her weapon forwards unleashing a torrent of flames that disengaged the electricity, turning on her axis before throwing the flames at the charging borgo. The creature was blown back, yet remained standing in a braced position. Allisa teleported above it, using its head as a stepping stone as she flew over it towards a borgo she had wounded previously. With her sword raised, she brought it down on its weapon's staff. Her super-heated blade sliced through the metal before running the borgo through the gut with her weapon, kicking it down before teleporting away just before she was caught by a wide swing.

She reappeared behind the borgo, pivoting on her axis as she cut through its tendons on its leg. The borgo let out a war cry, swinging its hammer in a fit of rage. Allisa ducked under the swing before teleporting away as the hammer swung down. Allisa reappeared a few feet back, keeping the remaining three in her sight.

"Only... three more to go," She told herself.

The borgo with the staff joined his comrades, his staff glowing with digital light. With a cry it threw its weapon up into the air. In front of them, a turquoise light burst. To Allisa's horror, the centurion she had destroyed outside the room suddenly appeared out of thin air, branding its energy sword in wide arcs as it was summoned.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Two of the hammer borgos howled before charging in once again. Allisa was forced to parry one before teleporting away from the other before locking blades with the centurion, sparks flying off the surfaces of each weapon.

She barely held her ground before being forced to retreat, parrying several blows from the centurion before retreating. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the staff borgo channeling energy through his staff again, preparing to fire on her once more.

I can't keep this up at this rate!

The third borgo charged in behind her, preparing to take a large swing. Allisa eyed the borgo with the staff once more. If she could take him out, it might get rid of the centurion, leaving only the hammer borgos to deal with.

"Aqua Heart!"

Allisa vanished as the borgo took his swing, repapering to the right while skidding across the ground as though on ice. Water was jettisoning from her feet, magically enchanted from her new sword form Aqua Heart. She weaved between the electricity fired at her from her target. Another hammer borgo stood in her way, preparing to intercept. "Here goes!" Allisa leaped over the borgo as it took its swing, spinning clockwise in the air, landing on the ground in front of the borgo swinging her sword upwards in a low arc, the blade edge moving like water.

"Jetstream!" Allisa swiped up, launching the borgo into the air with a powerful current of water as she rose into the air above it. She threw out a water whip, coiling around the borgos neck before spinning him around like a wrecking back, sending it flying into the centurion and another borgo with a loud crash. The centurion vanished into digital light as the two borgo lay defeated. Allisa landed back on the ground, turning on her axis as her blade morphed its shape. "Aqua blast!"

Throwing her weapon out at the nearest borgo, the brute hit in the chest by a water cannon, launching him across the room slamming it into the room hard enough to both dent the wall while cracking the heavy armor.

The final borgo cried in primal fury, swinging its weapon wildly in ferocious arcs. Allisa took a step back, ducking under the third wide swing while her weapon reverted back to its original form. With a horizontal cut, Allisa sliced through its belly, cutting vertically upwards causing it to stagger to one knee before she finished it off with a wide sweep to the head. Ensuring not to cut through the helmet, her weapon struck the borgos head with an almighty bang that echoed throughout the chamber. The final borgo collapsed unconscious.

"I... I did it..." Allisa collapsed to one knee, both exhausted at the intense battle and amazed she even succeeded.

"You did it spy!" Berken said as she joined Allisa. "I was sure they were gonna kill you for a second there."

"If you felt like that, you coulda helped me," Allisa snapped.

"I'm a support droid, not a battle droid. Fighting borgos is your specialty!"

"Since when is fighting gorillas like those become my thing?"

"Now come on. We need to save Ion before they dock in the conduit."

"R-Right," Allisa ran to the casual at the far end of the room. Inside, Ion lay in deep slumber in the pure white tube. She still wore the same dress she Allisa had given her the previous night. "Ion..." She said to herself. "How long do we have?"

"Not long," Berken said hovering over a control console at the side of the pod. "Based on my senses, we left the void while you were fighting off the borgo heavies. We'll be arriving in the conduit within the hour."

Allisa looked back to the fallen borgo. It was starting to dawn on her that even if she saved Ion, both of them were still stuck on this ship populated with nothing but enemies.

"Okay.... Got it." The pod hissed open. A white mist seeped from within as the air inside escaped. Both Allisa and Berken rushed to her side, watching with bated breath as Ion slowly opened her eyes.