When the sunshine don't work, the good Lord bring the rain in.

- Dixon, "Magnolia"

The visor of Myyreh-of-Relgreh's helmet slammed shut. The other two crew from the Claw had already vacated the hotel suite with typical Dorarizin speed as they headed for the shuttle. Now that nobody was left in the room, she could make her exit as dynamic as she liked.

She crouched as she gripped the protruding handle of Resh'skk's armor-pod with one gauntlet. Her boots slammed into the tough material of the floor, leaving huge rutted chunks in her wake as she stampeded for the window. At the last moment, she leaped and activated her armor's jump jets.

The standard thrust on a seventh-gen set of Dorarizin power armor is around eight thousand kilonewtons in tiny-chomper measurements, which is damn near the same as a Rocketdyne F-1 engine. Five of those engines were used on the first stage of the Saturn V moon rocket. However, instead of pushing a giant multi-ton rocket towards the moon, the jet's thrust is instead concentrated into the relatively lightweight package of one Dorarizin plus armor.

This results in a thrust-to-weight ratio of Ow My Ears.

A fountain of glass sprayed forth from the face of the apartment building, and in the middle of that geyser of fractured fragments was the streak of Myyreh's armor.

Myyreh landed in a massive crunching thud, having easily outrun the shards of glass which still hung in the air behind her. She activated her jets again and leaped once more, leaving a sizable crater in the ground behind her as she aimed for the distant pyramidal shape of Sssnnathor's palace.

As Myyreh sailed in a graceful ballistic arc, her ears became filled with warning alarms. Her approach had been detected by several radar systems.

Far above, the arrowhead shape of the Furious Claw of Inquiry cruised serenely along ts assigned orbit. Right when the Captain and Bgrarh declared [Calvinball], the ship began to wake up.

The awaking was not analogous to that of an organic being; in some sense the ship was always 'awake', its sensors always scanning for potential threats. Sensor data flowed in constant streams through subsidiary levels of computation, compared with data from other sensors and that from the ship's history. Probabilities were constantly computed and the overall danger to the ship evaluated on a nanosecond-by-nanosecond basis. Usually that probability hovered at a comfortably low value, but in the next nanosecond the input from one of the EM sensors spiked. The spike was corroborated with that measured by several other, more esoteric sensors on the hull, and a likely profile pulled from memory matched the measurements precisely.

A missile targeting system had just latched onto the Claw.

More of the ship's systems came online. Nothing in the computers could be called 'aware' in any real sense. There was no sense of self, let alone the ability to recognize that sense of self. In many ways a 'mere' machine could react faster. There was no ego to become angry, no possible way the ship could become caught in the neurochemical feedback loop of a fearful sapient.

Instead what occurred was a dispassionate and very fast evaluation of the danger; the Claw then compared that evaluation to a pre-set number of different options for response. In less than a microsecond after the first EM spike, the closest-matching option blossomed into the computer network of the Claw. The various routines and subroutines and sub-subroutines were far too complex to put into mere words, but for a [human] the overall option could be summed up in three words:

COWABUNGA IT IS.

As the Captain started her charge, Bgrarh spun and yelled at the door to the backstage hut. "{GUITAR!}"

He caught just a glimpse of a feathered arm as one of the Karnakians within chucked out [Oscar's] instrument. Bgrarh felt a brief pang of utter panic as he caught the small guitar by the neck.

His friend was in grave danger, both he and the other tiny-chomper were just...gone. With great effort Bgrarh tamped down his panic as he windmilled his arm into the stage and smashed the guitar against it.

It was a mighty blow worthy of Pete Townsend himself, and [Oscar's] guitar splintered into shards...except for two larger shapes which fell out of the wreckage. [Oscar's] statement to Nerlharg-of-Aergh was pure grlnada-shit; the instrument was not real wood, but a nano-engineered replica of [Oscar's] original, complete with a shielded compartment inside. That compartment didn't affect the guitar's acoustics, and was just large enough to hold a couple of small pistols.

Bgrarh scooped up the pair of weapons and stood; as he did so Tk'rii'na leapt onto the stage. All four of the Karnakian's eyes were wide in panic as he touched his front-top button, causing his helmet and gloves to snap into position.

"[What do we do?]" asked Tk'rii'na.

Bgrarh was surprised at his own lack of emotion. Some small part of his brain screamed at him to run, to get moving after his kidnapped friends. But he knew that splitting themselves up was a sure way to get them all killed piecemeal. The right course of action was to regroup and meet up with the others. After that they could go rescue [Oscar] and [Maria]. He felt as if a cloak of freezing cold fell over him while he replied. "{Collect the others. We fortify here. Rip up the stage and use the material to form some cover. I'll go help the Captain.}"

He spun and sprinted towards Rgrarshok's distant figure, who in turn was right in the middle of her own charge at a pair of armored guards. The panicked guests panicked even more at the sight of his huge figure running towards the edge of the stage, creating a rising amount of screaming and pushing.

Bgrarh didn't care. In an instant the old instincts kicked back in and he was once more one of the most celebrated flankers to ever play in the professional Hunt leagues. He ducked and wove like a ghost through the yelling horde, readying the pistol in his right hand as Rgrarshok reached one of the guards. The other pistol he got ready to throw to the Captain.

Instead of firing his rifle, the guard tried to use it as a club on Rgarshok. She ducked under the sweeping blow from the guard, then grabbed the rifle barrel and tried to wrest it from his grip. But it felt like the weapon was encased in concrete, and as her muscles swelled in a fruitless attempt the guard flicked the rifle again and threw her away. She plowed into several party-goers, which broke her fall but also served to add to the screaming.

"{Stupid bitch,}" growled the other guard. "{Did you really think you could fight us without power armor?}"

Rgrarshok rolled back up into a crouch as her clothing unfolded into combat mode. She held up one huge paw, not having to look as she knew that Bgrarh was heading for her position with their contraband pistols. A satisfying thud of a compact mass slamming into her gloved paw made her grin, and upon seeing that grin both the guards started to raise their rifles.

The Captain slammed up into the guard that had just thrown her, pushing his rifle up out of the way with her free paw. Her other paw spun her pistol around into a firing position, and with blurring speed she jammed the pistol's muzzle right into the gap between the guard's helmet and the armored collar extending up from his breastplate.

Her pistol barked repeatedly, and the guard reeled back. His more cloth-like underarmor had stopped the shots from taking his head off, but there was still a considerable stream of blue blood down his chest from the wound. Rgarshok gave another heave on the rifle barrel, and this time it came loose from the guard's slackening grip. She took a quick glance around and saw that the partygoers had long-vacated this section of the floor.

Simultaneous with her shots came more from Bgrarh which sparked off of the other guard's helmet, causing that goon to swing his rifle towards the charging Dorarizin. The goon didn't realize that his partner had lost his rifle until Rrgarshok flipped her purloined weapon around, got a firm hold on it, then let loose a short burst into the goon's side.

The rifle fired a stream of hypersonic ultra-dense flechettes, and while the goon's armor was good it was not capable of withstanding such abuse. Flechettes found their way into the various crevices and joints of the armor, shredding the flesh and bone underneath.

Bgrarh trotted up as the goon collapsed with a dying groan. In the meantime Rgarshok delivered another burst to the first guard, just to make sure he wasn't getting up. From behind her she could hear loud thumps and see flashing light reflected off of the atrium's walls as the Karnakians began applying their flashbang grenades with a will.

"{Get his weapon and ammo,}" said Rgarshok.

"{Already on it, dear,}" replied Bgarh as he hefted the other rifle. He patted down the body next to him and removed a few magazines. "{I just hope they've maintained these. I'd hate to have it jam on me.}"

"{Just be grateful they cheaped out and didn't put in biometric locks,}" said Rgarshok as they double-timed back towards the stage. What had been a smooth expanse now looked like a jagged-edged crater, with several helmeted Karnakian heads carefully peeking over the ramparts. A ring of twitching guards lay on the floor, the victims of both flashbangs and much tasering.

As they ran, Rgrarshok heard a Jornissian scream from the hut.

"" asked Hrathra'sstah in a blind panic. Her red gaze darted around the now-ruined hut as if hoping she'd find some sign of Maria, some indication that this whole thing was just a huge mistake. But Maria was truly gone. Her friend, her intern, the one she was responsible for, was now in the hands of a tyrant.

Resh'skk unfolded his clothing into combat mode, then pointed out the door to the stage. They could hear the sounds of Karnakian destruction ringing out, accompanied by the occasional whump and strobing light of a flashbang grenade. "" He then reached up to his collar and promptly vanished.

Hrathra fumbled at her own collar and pressed the cloaking button just as an armored-up Dorarizin leapt into the middle of the jagged opening where the Karnakians had made their dramatic exit. She froze as the goon's smooth, bullet-like helmet swept over the space. There was no visible face or expression, making the intruder look like an incarnation of Harsak-Who-Devours-The-Dead.

She could almost picture the goon's eyes narrowing as that featureless mask stared at Hrathra. "[I see you, snakes. You can't hide from radar...]"

The goon staggered as a flickering something leapt through the air and into his side. For a moment the guard went through a flailing pantomime as if trying to fight off invisible ropes, then finally he clenched one fist tight. Hrathra stood frozen in fear as she heard Resh'skk's hiss of pain.

The guard drew back his free fist and delivered a massive punch to empty space. Resh'skk's body snapped back into visiblity as he flew across the hut and fetched up against the far wall.

Hrathra let out a steam-boiler shriek. Resh'skk's helmet had come off of his head, and his head lolled with unseeing eyes as a small trickle of emerald blood trailed out of his mouth. She gathered herself to leap towards the Dorarizin, not caring if the bastard saw her.

"[Don't move, you idiot,]" spat the guard. Hrathra froze. "[If you resist, I'll kill you as well.]"

With a trembling hand, Hrathra reached up and unfolded her own clothing into combat mode. She glanced over at the still, sprawled body of Resh'skk and with a flaring hood she flung herself towards his killer.

The goon threw a casual backhand, connecting with the side of her helmet and sending Hrathra tumbling into the wall opposite Resh'skk's body. She fell to the ground with a substantial thump as she decloaked. Her ears rang from the blow as she shook her head to clear it, knowing that any further attack was futile. Hrathra'sstah was a scholar, not a warrior. But she would be dammed to rot in Harsak's coils for eternity if she was going to let Resh'skk death be for nothing.

She coiled herself back up and froze. The goon now stood in the center of the hut, facing her with an ugly-looking pistol in one hand. "[Last chance. Come quietly or I send you to be with your pal back there.]"

Hrathra determination faltered. Now that she was staring down the wrong end of a gun she felt her panic go into overdrive. But she wasn't about to give the bastard the satisfaction.

Right as she made the determination to tell the guard to stick it, a red-and-brown scaled hand reached up and around from behind the guard. With nimble fingers the hand darted in and pressed a latch just under the helmet's jawline, then plucked the helmet up and off in one smooth motion.

Hrathra suddenly found herself staring at the brown-furred and very puzzled face of her attacker. His puzzlement lasted all of a second before Resh'skk's tail wrapped around the goon's now-exposed throat and squeezed.

She looked away and winced at the sound of crunching bone and larynx, noting that Resh'skk had already pushed the guard's pistol down towards the floor.

"" said Resh'skk as he released the goon's now-ruined throat. The lifeless armored body slumped into a heap in front of him. Resh'skk held up the helmet to regard it for a moment, then with a derisive snort he tossed it onto its former bearer. ""

Hrathra reached a trembling hand forward. ""

"" Resh'skk sounded peeved that she'd even ask such a thing. He wiped a bit of stage blood away from his mouth. ""

He cracked a rare smile, and at the sight Hrathra felt a great weight lift from her. She playfully bapped at his nose. ""

Another few whumps and strobe-lights came from outside. Hrathra gagged as a smell came drifting into the hut. It could only be described as pestilential, with the worst aspects of rotting food and burning rubber.

Resh'skk's smile grew even wider. ""

Grawfren-of-Delzreg, pilot for the Furious Claw of Inquiry, cursed and dove the shuttle back towards the ground. A bright beam of ravening fire stabbed through the space where the sleek scarab shape had just been.

"{What the moon-cursed crap is going on?}" called Egwreh from the rear. Both she and the doctor were strapped in, but that maneuver had still made her stomach nearly climb out of her mouth.

"{Point defense system from the compound,}" Grawfren yelled back. "{We can't get close. Myyreh said she had some troubles too, but she's a lot smaller than us. And I'm getting signals from the Claw that the orbital systems are acting up. Looks like we've all been put on the hit list.}"

Egwreh glanced out a side window and saw a multicolored river of panicked people pouring down the main ramp from Snnathor's palace. The tyrant's party was definitely over.

Rgrarshok peered over the improvised barricade and readied her rifle. The once-packed atrium was now nearly deserted; there were a few guards around in low-profile armor either unconscious or sprawled out groaning in pain from getting a flashbang grenade to the face.

The area stunk with the unholy reek of whatever Bgrarh had packed into their uniform's grenades. In spite of the huge size of the atrium, that smell still hung in the air and seemed to spear right up Rgarshok's nose. She had to concentrate to keep from gagging.

From the exit where the tiny-chompers had been taken, she caught a few glimpses of armored forms moving about. She let off a few bursts to make them keep their heads down, a tactic she knew would not work for much longer.

"{Myyreh, status,}" she snapped.

"{Almost there, boss. Had to dodge a few beams on the way in.}"

"{Grawfren?}"

"{No joy, Captain. We're too big of a target, I had to put us down about [six blocks] from the entrance.}"

Rgarshok growled. "{Very well. Bunker in place, once we regroup we'll head to you. Any sign of transports leaving the palace?}"

"{Nothing by air or ground,}" replied Grawfren. "{They may have escape tunnels.}"

Rgrarshok sagged a little. "{Any telemetry from [Oscar] or [Maria]?"}

"{Their biometric signals dropped off a [few minutes] ago, and the tracking signals from their commbeads are holding constant about [one kilometer] from here,}" said Kgrashak.

"{They probably stripped them and took out their translators,}" said Bgrarh from beside her. His usually cheerful face was now set like grim death.

"[We'll get them both back,]" said Irr''kttz from the rear. "[Our cause is just and pure, and we are blessed by the Great Spirit. How can we possibly fail?]"

Rgrarshok took another peek and let loose another stream of hypervelocity flechettes, chewing a little bit more out of the exit's edge as she did so. But she could see that there were more shapes, crouching under cover. Sssnnathor's forces were clearly getting ready to make a push into the atrium.

"{For starters, we can fail by getting shot to shit,}" Rgrarshok muttered.

"[Surrender!]" called out one of the crouching guards in a tinny, amplified voice.

Rgrarshok scootched closer to Bgrarh. "{Work from the left when they start pushing in, I'll go from the right. We need to keep them bunched up in the middle, keep them from flanking us.}"

"{Got it.}"

The push, when it came, was fast and committed. A swarm of armored Dorarizin and Jornissians flowed out of the exit, met just as quickly by two whining streams of flechettes. Some fell, but not enough. The swarm began to split up as the attackers began to move to each side...

Overhead, one of the atrium's panoramic windows exploded inward and showered glass over the guards. One guard looked up just in time to get Myyreh's armored boots right into his faceplate. She landed in the midst of them like a fragmentation grenade with the pin pulled.

A grenade would have been more merciful.

In one whirling motion, she threw Resh'skk's pod towards the distant stage and turned that same spin into a vicious sidekick. That kick bore the force of her rage, amplified by the seventh-gen armor. It was enough force to stave in the chestplate of the nearest guard and smash his ribcage right into his heart. The goon fell onto his back with a choking gurgle.

They tried to get their rifles to bear, but half of them realized the situation had turned into a circular firing squad and held their fire. The other half weren't as bright and opened fire anyway. Most of the shots hit their comrades, the few that did hit the intended target glanced harmlessly off of the armored black whirlwind which was now Myyreh-of-Relgreh.

The big lozenge-shape of the armor pod sailed over the barricade, then hit the floor with a resounding thud and slid forward. Resh'skk stopped its slide with his substantial tail, and upon detecting its owner's implant the armor obediently began to unfold. He shoved both hands into the center of the pod, then hefted the whole thing up and thumped it against his chest.

In a smooth ballet of advanced technology, armor plates flowed around him, locking into place and forming a scaly metallic carapace. The last thing to go into place was the helmet, and as the visor slammed shut he stretched his arms and took a deep breath. Targeting information and comm channels now overlaid on his vision, a view that he hadn't seen for quite a while. Memories of past actions flickered at the edge of his consciousness, but the former soldier tamped down that nonsense with a single snort.

His friend was kidnapped and in mortal danger. There was no time for dwelling on past trauma. The only thing on his mind now was tearing a Sotek-sized hole in Sssnnathor after getting [Maria] back safe and sound. He looked down and saw the one remaining item from the pod, a narrow-beam maser rifle which was his weapon of choice. He swept it up into his hands, and the familiar feel of the gun made his instincts kick back in. Once more he was a soldier.

Like a matte-gray battering ram Resh'skk flowed at the barricade. Dorarizin and Karnakian alike leaped aside to make way as he smashed through the material and kept going, aiming for the distant knot of guards that was surrounded by even more downed forms.

"" he yelled.

One side of the knot exploded outward, showering armored figures as Myyreh rolled away from the center. Resh'skk brought his maser to his shoulder, its aim-point helpfully plastered on his visor.

Some of the guards had seen him coming, but even as they turned Resh'skk fired. He swept the beam in a back-and-forth arc, scything it through the center group while making sure to keep it well away from Myyreh.

After a second or two of firing, he stopped. After another second or two, the cluster of guards simply fell apart in a spray of blue and emerald blood. Scattered body parts now littered the area where they'd stood.

Resh'skk hummed a marching tune from his adolescence as he flowed forward. He started making a mental tally of how many had been cut apart by his maser versus how many had been either shot or kicked to bits. By the time he reached Myyreh, he had quite a satisfied smile on his face that he knew she could see. Thanks to their linked telemetry, the pair could see each other's faces as if they weren't armored.

"" he purred.

Myyreh gave her last victim's helmet a massive twist, and over the sound of a crunching spine she looked at Resh'skk with a flinty eye.

"[Fifteen? I got at least twenty-five!]"

""

"[It still counts! They were shooting at me!]" She shook her head. "[We'll settle this later. What's the plan, Captain? We have a few [minutes] before they try another sally. We're going after the tiny-chompers, right?]"

Rgrarshok's voice sounded in their ears. "{If they used tunnels, then no. We have no idea what sort of booby-traps might be down there. We need to regroup and get to the shuttle before any rescue attempt.}"

Myyreh's shoulders drooped. "[You're right, boss. Damn it all.]"

Resh'skk slithered forward and placed a gauntlet on her shoulder. ""

One edge of her mouth curled up in a sad smile. "[No, I'll let you have first go after I get to him.]"

Maria lay on a metal floor, curled into a ball. Her surroundings were nothing but metal walls, forming a cube about six feet across. There was light inside here, but that was it as far as creature comforts went.

Her uniform and translator bead were gone; the huge Dorarizin who'd captured her made it quite clear that either she took them off herself or he'd remove both items himself. Not wanting to get those claws anywhere near her ear or body, she'd complied.

At least she still had her underwear on. And, at least she wasn't alone.

Oscar sat across the little cell from her, his legs folded like a meditating monk and his jaw set forward like he'd bitten into a lemon. He was only clad in boxers himself; he'd been given the same ultimatum and had complied without saying a word. Come to think of it, he hadn't said anything since they'd been captured.

The memory of that made Maria curl even tighter into herself. She'd been held in an iron grip, cloaked and unable to yell a warning, as she watched Oscar approach the hologram version of herself. Within an eyeblink he'd also been snatched, but at least he'd been able to get a arm up beforehand...for all the good that did. In spite of his size, the big guy was pretty fast.

Their little cell swayed in constant motion; the two of them were clearly getting moved somewhere else, but there were no cues to give her a sense of direction.

Maria sniffled and felt tears well up in her eyes. She didn't know which possible fate would be the worst. Either Sssnnathor was going to have them tortured, or maybe he'd dress them up and turn them into pets. Or maybe he'd have them walk around naked so he could...

No. She couldn't afford to let her mind go there or she'd really start sobbing. Maria uncurled herself and wiped a hand across her face. The motion got tears and snot all over her hand. "Fuck," she muttered.

Oscar said nothing.

"Not gonna talk, eh?"

He shook his head, then touched his ear and motioned to the walls around them.

Maria mirrored his posture as she leaned against the cold metal behind her. "Fuck it. I don't care who's listening in. We're in real trouble, aren't we?"

Oscar shrugged.

"Snape's not a dummy," she said. "He'll figure things out, and when he does...either we get killed or he'll hold us as hostages when he boogaloos out of here." She slumped, staring at the metal deck beneath her legs. "You don't think he'll..." she started, before trailing off.

Oscar worked his jaw as if chewing on some gum before finally speaking. "He'll what?"

"You know. Will Snape...will he do that to me? Or to you? I guess he might swing both ways."

He shrugged again. "I don't think so. Way too much chance of hurting us by accident. He wants us nice and alive, for the moment. Best not to think about it."

"Easy for you to say!" she snapped. Then, more softly, "Sorry. I know you've had all sorts of army training and you've been in bad situations before. I'm just a nerd who likes history." She hugged her knees to her chest. "I guess it's like you said awhile back. You never know how you'll react until you're really dropped into the shit. I thought I'd made peace with the idea of being in danger, but now...now I don't know. I don't know how much longer I can keep it together."

Oscar leaned forward and put a big warm hand on her knee. "You can only do what you can." After a moment Maria covered his hand with her own. They stayed like that for a long time as their little prison swayed with an increasing tempo.

The Claw's chosen asteroid was a tumbling and irregular lump of ice, one of many left over from the planet's decades-past terraforming. This one was just the right size, with no internal cracks or crevices to weaken its structural integrity. That integrity was about to be put to the test.

Because of its usual mission, the Claw did not possess much in the way of armaments. What armor and weapons the ship carried were more intended to fight off the occasional pirate rather than withstand the concentrated fire from a planetary defense system. Therefore, the Senate team had to get creative. One way to get creative was to take advantage of the surprisingly large heat capacity of water-ice.

Bright light pulsed from the Claw's engines as it approached the icy ball. Several missiles appeared as distant specks behind the ship as it drove forward. Point defense lasers speared out from the ship, melting a hole which was almost wide enough to admit the ship. The Claw's engines didn't shut off as the ship drove its wedge-like prow hard into the ice and wedged itself deep into the asteroid. Within moments all that was visible of the Claw was the merest hint of its engines protruding from its self-made hole.

Those engines pulsed harder as the speared asteroid began to slew about, aiming itself towards the planet below. As it moved, the distant specks resolved into thin tubes which smacked into the rock-like surface of the ice. Bright, soundless flashes erupted as their warheads went off, but after the flashes faded there were only a few new shallow craters in the asteroid's surface.

The icy moonlet began to glow with friction as it plunged into the planet's atmosphere.

Resh'skk poked his helmet around the edge of the main entrance. ""

Myyreh slipped around him like flowing smoke. She now carried one of the guard's flechette rifles as she sprinted towards the bottom of the ramp. There was a clump of trees near that ramp which he thought should give good concealment. Myyreh must have thought so as well, because she crouched behind one of the trees and, after scanning ahead of her, gave Resh'skk the 'go' signal.

"" he yelled behind him.

The rest of the team jogged at double-time through the entrance and down the main ramp. Resh'skk kept guard by the entrance until the last of them was safely at Myyreh's location, then he slithered down to rejoin them as he kept his maser trained back on the entrance. He half expected the palace's point defense to start firing at them, but it looked like the system was only interested in aerial targets.

They kept moving in a leapfrog-style manner, with the two armored-up team members keeping constant watch from either end. Resh'skk had a moment where he thought they might actually make it to the shuttle without incident, but that notion died as the Claw's shuttle came into view. The craft was parked in a little grove of taller vegetation, presumably to screen it from the palace's point defense. But overlaid in his vision were many large IR-emitting shapes secreted in the shrubbery. Those shapes all wore heavy armor, so they were clearly not any of the Senate team.

"[Problem?]" asked Myyreh as she jogged up behind him. Then she got a look as well at the situation. "[Aw, spit.]"

"" said Resh'skk. He looked around. There were a few shuttles parked on a nearby street. He figured that was probably the transportation for their current problem.

The Captain leaned around his other side as she touched her ear. "[Grawfren, can you get out of that grove? Looks like there's a welcoming committee.]"

*"[I'll try. I'll be taking fire from both them and the point defense the moment I take off, but I'll try to keep the damage to the shuttle at a minimum.]"*

"[We'll coordinate it, then,]" said the Captain. "[The moment you get airborne we'll open fire on the guards to take their attention off of you. On three....]"

It almost worked. Grawfren all but leapt the shuttle out of its cover in an instant, and in that same instant every team member with a weapon began shooting at the shrubbery. The whine of hypersonic flechettes was intercut with the deeper hiss of Resh'skk's maser, and within moments the shrubbery erupted as the guards charged out of their concealment. They ran or slithered at the team with amplified speed, and Resh'skk had a brief distant thought that he admired their courage. In spite of his weapon scything through their ranks, not enough of them were going down...

Overhead, the shuttle ducked towards the ground again...but not fast enough. A large bang an a plume of smoke from its rear indicated that the craft had been tagged by a laser from the palace. Grawfren managed to pull out of her sudden plummet as the shuttle scraped along the ground and banged into one of the other parked shuttles. The craft was now on the other side of the charging group of guards, and even further away than before.

"" Resh'skk muttered. He sighted his weapon on the lead guard and got ready to fire...

Then he blinked in astonishment as one of the parked shuttles suddenly turned and drove straight along the ground towards them. For a moment Resh'skk thought it was aimed at his team, but then realized at the last moment that whoever was driving the damn thing was aiming at the guards.

Armor and flesh met the prow of a vehicle designed to withstand both the freezing vacuum of space and the crushing depths of a gas giant. There was quite a bit of screaming and a lot of crunching as the shuttle slid to a stop, rolling over the remains of its victims.

The shuttle's side-door slid open, revealing the last person Resh'skk expected to see. ""

"[No time to explain! Get on board!]"

Rgrarshok stood with an expression like a looming thundercloud. "[All right. Grawfren, Egwreh, Kgrashak...get your tails over here. We're heading out.]"

Resh'skk kept guard until the last crewmember was in, then all but sprinted into the shuttle himself...and came to a dead stop. The two Matriarchs stood with sheepish expressions near the front of the shuttle, but nobody was paying attention to them.

Everyone was glaring at the feathered form seated at the pilot's station, and Resh'skk heard the Captain's knuckles crackle as she clenched one gloved paw tight.

"[I'll explain everything later!]" yelled The Silken Feather. "[But for now we really need to be leaving!]"