Chapter Seven

        Death stalked the hallways of the Alliance looking for her next victim. Most with a modicum of intelligence ran in fear, but enough stupid ones got in her way to provide suitable targets. Vaguely in the back of her mind, she knew she should look for the others but she was having far too much fun. Besides, Angel’s responsibilities weren’t necessarily her own. One poor fool actually stepped in front of her in a vain attempt to prevent her from leaving the level. She spaced him for daring to lay a hand on her.

        Death heard shouts of pursuit coming from behind her, more gray-uniformed idiots no doubt, she thought. Fine, if they wanted to play then she was more then willing to give them a game. She was in the mood to play one of her favorites, who gets to die first. Smiling evilly, she became to map out a trail in blood for them to follow. It would be interesting to see how many got caught in the trap. Oh how she did love a good slaughter.

        ************************************************

        Mayhem and Ravyn raced down the corridor headed for red sector four. They had to find Death before there was any more carnage. Mayhem paused for a second at an intersection.

        “What are they saying now,” Ravyn demanded, as he put the earpiece in again and listened.

        “She’s working her way down to lower docking bays on level ten. They have her going in a criss-cross, looping pattern over eight right now. Apparently she’s started picking and choosing her victims, there aren’t as many now and there spread further and further apart” he replied.

        Ravyn nodded, and then stopped as something about that sounded really familiar.

        “$%@!#&,” she muttered. “She’s leading them into a trap.”

        “Are you certain about that?”

        “Yes, she’ll come up from a level above and behind them and slaughter them when they aren’t looking.”

        “We’ve got to get to them first then. There are High Guard officers with them, one of them will know where Foxy is.”

        “Let’s go.”

        ********************************************

        The lupine paused the moved fluidly down the hallway, staying to the shadows. He’d never been fond of space stations, fewer places to disappear to after your mission was complete. At that thought, he remembered Grenem. The caniscan was probably going to get himself killed now that he’d been left alone unprotected. He mentally shrugged. He had more important things to do right now then baby-sit. He was hunting.

        From the moment he had stepped foot on the station, he’d sense her presence. There was a wolverne somewhere onboard and he was going to find her. She was the first sign, in centuries, that more of his race had survived the terrible war. If he found her she could provide the answers to questions that had haunted his people for so long. Now that he had picked up her scent, all he had to do was track and capture her.

        He finally located her in the lower docking area of one of the sub-sectors. He paid little attention to those already in the docking bay, mostly because they ran in fear the moment she appeared. A justifiable reaction considering the array of weapons she had on her. This was definitely a warrior. Slipping through the shadows he got a closer look at her and nearly dropped his weapon.

        She was gorgeous, one of the most incredible warriors he had ever seen.  A crysalis sword gleamed in her hand, the cryolite blade cut through the air without a sound. Only a master could wield a blade with that degree of skill and dexterity. Her dark robes flowed around her, a silent swirl of pure darkness that accentuated her skilled movements. A thick blond mane cascaded down her back that perfectly complemented her pale golden fur.  Her blond tail whipped around behind her, catching her victims off guard. Without a doubt she was one of the most amazing warriors he had ever beheld.

        She seemed to be laying some sort of trap, for who he could care less about. It would probably be the most advantageous to come at her from the southeast quadrant to could capture her. She had deliberately left her right side open, a subtle ploy to catch her prey off guard. He glided soundlessly passed the stacks of cargo, weaving among their shadows. He noticed her head whip up and she sniffed the air turning unerringly in his direction. He switched stances preparing to leap over a stack to escape her.

        Death crouched and seamlessly leapt six feet backward into the shadows of a stack of steelocrates, her senses on overloaded. There was someone out there, after her, daring to stalk her, and his scent was somehow not unknown to her. Something nagged at the back of her, a sense of familiarity she could not place but could not ignore. She felt her prey shift to her left so she whirled and ducked, dodging him then gliding around trying to move between the crates to get behind him. She caught a slight movement of his shadow and circled up and over to the right. She cursed herself for falling for his trap as a set of arms grabbed her from behind.

        She flipped him forward and as he resisted her momentum she spun him to the left, trying to kick his legs out from under him. He managed to leap and fall backwards at the same time, counterbalancing her move. His momentum threw her slightly off balance but she countered by grabbing a nearby stack of crates and shoving them towards him. As he dove to the side she sprang after him and pinned him, disarming him at the same time. He moved to flip her off his back, but she spun him and dragged him upwards, throwing him against a stack. Drawing her vibroblade, she placed it as his neck and was about to decapitate him when she saw his face.

        Stunned, she dropped the blade and stumbled backwards. In that moment Death lost her control and Angel was back in place, staring in shock at the sight of him. He was a vulpine.

        “You cannot be real,” she finally uttered, “you cannot exist, the Vulpine are gone, wiped out in the Great War.”

        “Strange,” he replied, sheathing his sword, “I would have said the same for your kind. For a thousand years my people have searched the cosmos, looking any survivors. You are the first one to be found.”

        “How can you be real, though, all the vulpine perished. They were one of the first to die, fighting to save our space colonies. How did some survive?”

        “That is a very long story and we haven’t much time. There are more soldiers coming and we need to go. I have many questions to ask you as well. Come, follow me.”

        Angel automatically started to follow the vulpine, then stopped. Her instincts told her to trust him, a rarity in her strange life, but she still hesitated, she didn’t even know his name.

        “Wait,” she called. “What are you called?”

        “My code name is the Dark Angel of Death, but you can call me by my clan name, Angelus.”

        *******************************************

        “We’re moving to intercept now,” Ravyn said over the comlink to Silver as she and Mayhem raced down the corridor. “If we can cut them off, we can get to Foxy and save the others.”

        “I still think your plan is crazy,” Silver shot back, frustrated at being left behind. “Do you really think you can bust out of a High Guard ship?”

        “With luck they haven’t moved her yet. We can get off the station easily.”

        “Fine, commit suicide, see if I care. Good luck.”

        “Not in a good mood is she,” Mayhem asked as they took a ramp.

        “Is she ever in a good mood,” came back.

        “I think she was once but then she’d had some pain medication so that might not count. One more level.”

        “That’s not a comfort.”

        “Come on, let’s go get ourselves captured, we’ve got nothing better to do.”

        “Cute, real cute.”

        “Thanks, I try.”

        *****************************************

        Silver swore as she paced aboard the Vengeance. Foxy was captured, Death on a rampage and there was no sign of the others. Meanwhile Ravyn and Mayhem were off on some harebrained scheme to rescue Foxy that was doomed to fail. She’d just discovered that Foxy had already been moved onboard the Republic and so far she couldn’t reach them on the link to tell them that. There was no way they could break out of a High Guard ship, not without help anyway.

An idea began to form in her mind, so Silver gathered a few necessities and climbed in one of the escape pods. Her plan was simple she would sneak onboard the Republic and stow away. The autopilot was engaged on the Vengeance and would follow undetectable at a safe distance, ready for when they would make their escape. Meanwhile she could do some reconnaissance and maybe some spying while she was onboard.

As she piloted her way across space she reached into her sack and pulled out a gray metallic object. Switching it on, she created a shield around the small craft that would make it invisible to all sensors. She then maneuvered the craft to an emergency hatch and sprang the manual release on it, allowing her entrance to the lower engineering decks. Once she was onboard, she released the pod from the ship and set it to self-destruct at a safe distance. With her only escape route gone she went in search of the living quarters. It was time for a little spying.

        ***************************************

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all,” Mayhem muttered as he dodged a ‘lectoshaft swung at him by a soldier. He leapt over then grabbed the fur and flung him against a wall, taking out another one in the way. Nearby Ravyn dropped then flipped sideways, catching her opponent’s neck and snapping it.

        “It’s a little late for objections,” she growled at him, catching the arm of a soldier and snapping it at the elbow. She then knocked him unconscious and used his limp body to take out two more.

        “It’s never to late to point out the insanity of others.”

        “Remind me of that the next time you want to do something stupid.”

        Mayhem just rolled his eyes and nailed his opponent in the groin. The guard fell, gasping, to the ground and lay there, writhing in agony. Stepping over his twitching body, he snagged two soldiers by the back of their necks and bashed their heads together. A soldier leaped onto his back suddenly, knocking him down and three more converged on them, to help subdue him. He never should have left his sword behind on the ship.

        Further down the corridor Ravyn did a forward flip, catching a soldier around the neck with her legs and flipping him forward. As he crashed to the ground, she leapt back to her feet and smashed her fist into another one’s face. He staggered backwards, knocking down one of his comrades. From around a corner several more High Guard soldiers appeared moving to flank her. They managed to subdue her and dragged her kicking and growling down the hallway after Mayhem.

        They were taken several levels up where a higher-ranking officer ordered them placed on a transport back to the Republic with the other prisoners. The officer then contacted his superiors to let them know the troublesome wolverne had been captured. She taken out an incredible number of High Guard soldiers, making them all look like fools. Maybe he would receive a promotion for her capture.

        As they were being place on the transport, Ravyn met Mayhem’s eyes, both very worried. Foxy was, undoubtedly, already locked away on the Republic. Getting her out and all of them off the ship was going to be almost impossible now. Even worse, Death was still loose in the Alliance and they had no way of contacting her or anyone else. Strangely, their comlinks had gone dead rendering them useless, though undamaged. As the transport took off, Mayhem reached over and took Ravyn’s hand, squeezing in reassurance.

        *******************************************

        The wolverine entered normal space around the Alliance. From the pilots seat, Nightshade could see the Republic already preparing to leave orbit. She caught a small explosion further away. The wolverine’s senses were picking up the Vengeance as it moved into position around the High Guard ship. Muttering to herself about the lunacy of others, she tried to raise someone on the link. She finally got a hold of Angel.

        “Angel, what the grefift is going on down there,” she demanded.

        “Foxy’s been arrested, so has Ravyn and Mayhem, there staging some sort of rescue attempt, I guess.”

        “Wonderful, absolutely wonderful, I’m surrendered by nutcases.”

        “Relax, I’ll go after them. Listen, I’m sending Tech and Juana to you with the package. You must continue on and take them to Hyperion space now! The High Guard is too close, we must get it away as quickly as possible.”

        Nightshade sighed.

        “Understood, I’ll await their arrival, send them with the Gryffen, that ship must also be kept from Federation eyes.”

        “Of course. Perhaps, together, Tech and Cyber can discover how the weapon works.”

        “You actually managed to drag Cyber into space, so how many Guild members are left alive?”

        “Six wounded, we surprised her.”

        “Yeah and I’m betting you’ll pay for that later. Angel, out.”

*********************************************

“Come, we must find the others,” Angel said to Angelus. “The longer they are out of my sight the more trouble they can get in.”

“I would say the same of you, I have seen you fight, trouble seeks you out just so it can have a play toy.”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“There are worse ways to die, especially by you, my beauty.”

“Okay, so you do want to die?”

Angelus smiled, more enthralled with her at each passing moment. A greater warrior he had not found, with the exception of himself. It was not just her skill, though that was great. She had an attitude about her, a way of viewing the world and everything in it that fascinated him. There were moments when it seemed as if she were two people.

“We should find your friends before anything else happens. Where would they be?”

“Knowing Tech he’s broken into the stations systems and is rewiring the place. We should locate someplace that would give him direct access to the system.”

“We must find one of those general information booths, no doubt those will provide us with places to look.”

“Good idea, follow me and try to blend.”

As Angel slipped into the moving throngs of people, Angelus smiled somewhat deliciously. He got a great deal of pleasure watching her move. But then he was discovering, he loved it when she took charge.

***********************************************

Tech was having the time of his life. He had made a fascinating discovery once he’d regained consciousness’ and gotten out of the bar. He’d stumbled across an unconscious officer and swiped his red uniform. It had fit fairly well and let him get away, but he’d discovered a curious thing when he put it on, everyone either backed off or treated him with respect. Several even saluted him.

After a bit of asking around he’d found out he’d stolen a High Guard uniform and that his species, caniscans, were almost always High Guard soldiers, so everyone assumed he was. Tech immediately came up with some uses for this new development, the first of which was to con his way into a systems room in the engineering level. The Commonwealth officers had put up token protests at first but some threats and arm twisting had shut them up and he’d tossed them out of the room.

The stations computer systems were woefully antiquated. A few minutes of straight hacking had gotten him inside where he proceeded to download schematics and other things that might come in handy. Then he went searching through the systems and caught up on everything he’d missed. The Republic had docked outside and Foxy, Ravyn and Mayhem had already been put on transports for the ship. Angel and Juana were still loose onboard but he couldn’t locate them on the stations scanners. He tried raising both of them on his link but it was dead for some reason.

Thwarted he dove back into the systems and that’s when he made another fascinating discovery. Someone had hacked the Republics system and was still linked. Following the link, he found himself in the main data banks where he began sending files to his PDA. There was some interesting stuff there. Encoded files and secret mission logs that were password protected until he got to them. The Federation would pay several small fortunes to have this files returned.

He was about to kill the connection when he finished, but he spotted someone else hooked into the system, this one from the inside. Someone had a PDC open up and downloading files. It was a simple job to slip in with the data stream and enter the drive system. Inside he came across several files and PD’s with strange headers. His curiosity aroused, he decided to investigate and uncovered an incredible conspiracy.

He quickly copied everything he could find and loaded them onto his own PDA. Done, he killed all the connections so he couldn’t be traced and packed up his stuff. It was time to disappear and find the others. Once back on the public levels, he set out in search of the others. He had no doubt that Angel would find him, as long as Angel was control and not Death, but he wasn’t as certain about Juana. She could be a little naïve at times.

Wearing the High Guard uniform was a help, though. He was having fun intimidating those who got in his way or gave him any trouble. Several less then helpful individuals quickly changed there tune when he ‘pointed out’ that he was a High Guard officer, a high ranking one according to the insignia on the chest. Overall, Tech was having the greatest time, despite how bad the situation had gotten. There was something addictive about wearing the uniform. For the first time in his life, he could actually take pride in being a caniscan, instead of wishing he was a true Lorian.

He was on gray sector fourteen when he finally found Juana. A small group of security people were gathered in a circle taunting an unseen figure, who struggled to fight back. Acting on a hunch, he quietly crept up on the group and electro-shocked the one nearest him. As the officer dropped to the ground, unconscious, the rest of the group turned on him. Tech just smiled then pointed to his insignia.

“Lieutenant Boshsoc of the High Guard, I’ll take charge of prisoner now,” he said in his best authoritative voice.

Grumbling and shooting him evil looks, they walked off. Sure enough, there was Juana, her wrists bound to her waist with a very angry expression on her face. At the sight of him, though, she blinked then smiled and ran up to him. He motioned her to keep quiet until they had completely disappeared, then undid her `cuffs.

“Where have you been,” she demanded as rubbed her wrists, “I’ve been looking all over for you. Wait, where did that uniform come from?”

“I’ve been busy,” he replied as he grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her down the hallway. It was safer to get out of there.

“Doing what!”

“I was doing a bit of hacking okay. I figured while I had the chance, I would take it. I found out some interesting stuff.”

“Whatever, we’ve got to find Foxy and Angel. I haven’t been able to find either or raise anyone on my link.”

“Ah, Juana, Foxy was… ah, she was arrested by the High Guard. They got her as well as Ravyn and Mayhem.”

“WHAT!!! How? What are they doing here, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure how they got here but I’ll bet they are trying to rescue Foxy.”

“Then we have to help them, we need to get arrested too. Get out of that stupid uniform.”

She stormed off down the hallway, determined to accost the first security officer she could find.

“Wait,” Tech shouted as he took off after her. “Juana stopped. You can’t help Foxy like that. We have to find Angel first, then we can form someone sort of plan.”

“I don’t need Angel’s help! I can handle on my own.”

“Yes, WE do, okay. I know you don’t always get along with her but right now she’s got a better chance then the two of us combined. She knows all about this sort of thing, she did it for a living. Now come on, we have to find her.”

Grumbling, Juana followed Tech down the corridor and in search of Angel. After several hours of searching they gave up and stopped to grab something to eat. That’s when Angel found them.

“Only the two of you would be sitting out in the open having a leisurely dinner when half the station is looking for you,” came from behind them.

Startled they both whirled around to see Angel standing there glaring at them. However, the biggest shock of all was the vulpine standing behind her looking equally ominous.

“Who, what, huh,” was Tech’s articulate reply while Juana just stood there and gawked.

“Come on you two, lets go,” Angel ordered. She snag them both by there collars and hauled them up out of their chairs. Dragging the two of them, still speechless, down the hallway and into deserted room was easy as they put up little resistance.

“Who’s that,” Tech finally managed to get out.

“Who him,” came the nonchalant response. “This is Angelus, he’s a lupine, a friend of mine. He’s here to help us.”

“Ah, how do you know we can trust him,” Juana finally whispered gazing up at the imposing figure.

“I know I can trust, therefore you guys can too. Now, we have a problem.”

“I know,” Tech replied. “Foxy, Ravyn, and Mayhem were all arrested. I found out when I hacked the stations systems. I found out a couple other thing too. Stuff you’re not going to believe.”

“Save it. Right now we have more important things to worry about. Listen, Nightshade is out in orbit with the Wolverine, along with Cyber and Solaria.”

“Wow.” Tech interrupted. “I’d love to have been there for that battle.”

“Anyway, you and Juana need to get the Gryffen and take her to the Wolverine. There you transfer the package to the other ship along with yourselves. Then leave the ship on autopilot. Angelus and I will retrieve it and follow the Republic. We’ll find a way to get them out.”

“But I want to go with you,” Juana insisted, pissed. “It’s my job to make sure Foxy’s safe. I should be with you.”

“NO. Listen to me. Foxy herself would tell you that getting this package to Hyperion space is more important right now. Now Tech is going to need help getting the ship out of lockdown. I’m going to try and see if I can stop the transports before they leave. If I fail then I need the Gryffen there to catch up with them. Moreover I’m better suited for this, so is he.”

“Tech can handle things on his own. He’s got that uniform, that will give him all the help he needs. My place is with you trying to save the others. I can help!”

“Right now the only way you can help is by going with Tech, okay. Trust me on this. Listen Juana, I know you want to help me rescue the others, I know how important Foxy is to you, but right now this is the best course of action, trust me okay.”

After a few minutes of thought, Juana finally nodded sullenly. She was happy but she’d do it.

“Good, now follow me, I’ll lead you to where you need to go.”

********************************************

Juana paused behind Tech as they weaved their way through the docking level. Tech had only hacked the stations system again and ordered the Gryffen be brought out of storage and prepped for launch. All they had to do now was get past the guards. Tech had his uniform and the necessary papers while Juana had gotten a hold of a mechanics uniform and was to act as a technician sent in to fly the ship to the Republic. Hopefully the guards would believe the papers Tech had.

The Commonwealth soldiers on guard duty were more then willing to turn over the ship. No one had actually been able to get in yet, so mostly they stood around waiting for someone to either figure out a way so they could search it or relive then of their duty. As that was what Tech was doing they were more then happy to end their shift early and get plastered.

While Juana deactivated security, Tech acted as look out. Once inside, he headed immediately for the hidden cargo bay while she prepped for launch. They lifted off and left the Alliance with relative ease, although there was a tense moment when the Republic fire her repulsors, but that was only to shift orbit, not give pursuit. They contacted the Wolverine on a secure channel.

“About time you guys showed up,” Solaria complained to Juana. “We’ve been sitting here waiting for you guys since we got Angel’s transmission. What took so long.”

“It took longer to regroup then we thought,” Juana replied. “Listen, Tech told me that he would prefer to take a transport over with the package and get it stowed onboard. I was supposed to go with him, but now Angel thinks she may need help getting the others out, so I’ll stay on the Gryffen and wait for her. You guys go on without us. Good luck.”

“Are you sure about that. Nightshade was real specific. Maybe I should talk to Angel again.”

“Go ahead and try if you want to but she turned her link off.”

“Why would she do a thing like that, she knows we have to stay in touch with each other.”

“She’s on some sort of reconnaissance mission and doesn’t want to take any chances.”

“Well, maybe I should get Nightshade, she’s not going to like this change of plans anyway.”

“I’ll send Tech over while you do that.”

“Ah… well…”

“We need to get this thing transported as soon as possible, okay. The longer its onboard this ship, the greater chance we risk. The Federation is already on the lookout for the Gryffen.”

“Yeah, you have a point there. Okay, send Tech over, I’ll open the hatch.”

“Not a problem”

Juana ended the link then turned on the one to Tech.

“Tech.”

“Yeah, what?”

“I just go a message from Solaria. Nightshade wants you to bring the package over on one of the transports. They need to make room for the Gryffen and it may take some time. They want to make sure its safe.”

“Okay, no problem,” he replied distracted. He gathered up his stuff and loaded up one of the smaller transports. Once onboard he piloted his way over to the Wolverine and landed inside. Once there he unloaded the transport and made sure the weapon was safely stowed away. From there he made his way in search of others. As he was heading for the main deck he felt the engines change vibration, prepping for jump. Confused, he picked up speed and reached the bridge right as they made the jump.

“What are you guys doing,” he demanded then swore as the force slammed him back against a wall.

Nightshade swung in her seat, then grabbed him and pulled him into a seat.

“What are you doing you idiot” she muttered as she swung back. “You know better then to be standing during jump! Why didn’t you stay in the hold?”

“Why are we jumping,” he replied, still confused. “The Gryffen hasn’t docked yet.”

“We’re not supposed to wait for the Gryffen,” Solaria said. “Juana said Angel told her to stay behind with it so they could go after Foxy and the others.”

“WHAT! That was not the plan. Grefift it! I knew Juana wouldn’t listen. She’s gone off on her own, against Angel’s directive. Angel doesn’t need any help, she has Angelus.”

“Who’s Angelus,” came the double response.

“I’m not really sure what he came from but he’s a vulpine and a friend of hers.”

“He must be delirious,” Solaria said to Nightshade.

“No, I’m serious. I don’t know where he can from, but he’s on the station with her. Man, Angel’s going to be pissed now, when she finds out about this one.”

“Then we’ll let Angel deal with it,” Nightshade declared. “We have our own mission to deal with and we can’t turn around.”

***************************************************

As the final transport to the Republic settled on the landing pad, a flank of guards moved forward. They were eager to get this latest one in her cell. The first two had taken out several soldiers already and this one was rumored to be equally as deadly. From the snarling coming form the open hatchway, the rumor were true.

“Come one you,” one officer said as he hooked a prodder around her shield-chains. “Let’s get you in your cell.”

“Where does this one go,” another guard asked, somewhat white. The foxe that had been drawn out of the transport as half covered in blood, none of it her own, and growling in a hair raising menacing way. She looked like she was ready to rip the nearest person to shreds. Fortunately they had managed to get the shield-chains on her before launch. They consisted of a force field restraint as well as limb restraints that protected the guards from the prisoner. In theory they couldn’t break either one.

“Get going you scum,” the first guard said, showing her with the prod. Foxy stumbled slightly since her feet were bound but regained her balance and uttered a low snarl that had most of the guards leaping backwards.

“Quiet you.”

“Where shall we put this one,” another guard asked as they led her down to the cell levels.

The first guard shrugged.

“The Captain didn’t say, though we could probably put her with the other one.”

At this statement, Foxy got a little quieter.

“Think that’s a good idea, the other one of them Foxes isn’t in the greatest mood either.”

“What should I care, they’ll keep each other company.”

“Or kill each other. That other one had a lot of fight in him, not that it did him any good. The Ambassador’s men took care of him. He was a mess when they brought him back, still tried to escape though.”

“Yeah, he was a sly one, just like his name said. Nearly got away he did. He might of if he hadn’t been so injured. Serves him right for trying to keep quiet while being tortured.”

As the lot of them laughed at that thought. Foxy kept to herself not making anymore threats. She had a distinct feeling she knew who they were talking about and she would do anything for a chance to get her hands on him.

“We’ll she seems to have quieted down,” one of the guards said once they go there. Maybe we should put them into together after all. Could be interesting to watch.”

“Sounds like fun. Let’s open her restraints to, give her a fighting chance.”

“I dunno, she may not need one.”

“Go for it.”

They shoved her into the cell with Sly then released her restraints and called them back. Rubbing her wrists to get the circulation back in the, Foxy smiled. Oh yes, this was going to be fun.