The Empire IC

[Shade Leshyr]

The sunlight shone down upon the waters of Waterloo, causing the softly rocking waves to sparkle like thousands of diamonds. Across the expanse of Waterloo were scattered small landmasses and floating cities of varying sizes, the largest floating only a few miles away from the planet's equator. watercraft of all shapes sped passengers between the cities, or sat motionless in the waters as their occupants had fun in the cool, clear waters.

A single boat, bearing no distinguishing markings floated a good ways from the largest floating city, its occupants attempting not to draw attention to themselves. Shade Leshyr sat on the bow of this ship, watching to floating city through a pair of binoculars. Periodically he would hear status updates from the control room that was the ship's cabin. It was the same every five or so minutes, all the undercover rebels reporting no increase in Hodori activity.

Shade sighed, putting the binoculars down. For two weeks they'd been stationed on this planet by the higher ups and for two weeks nothing had happened. The only incident in two weeks had been a run in with a small Hodori raid squad, who had been looking for signs of illegal weapons development. Instead, they had found one of the rebel scouts and chased him all over the city. The world's media was on that like white on rice, forcing the rebels to extend their efforts and split into smaller groups.

Nothing was happening and Shade's lust for revenge was egging at him. He needed to find a way to bring the Hodori down, he just had too! Letting out another sigh, he sat down in the shade of the cabin, collecting his thoughts.

_______

It was midday on the Eastern half of Yuuvin IV, and it was alive with hustle and bustle of everyday business. It was one of the least patrolled city-worlds, despite its reputation of being a central HUB for anything and everything illegal. The upper levels of the city were a mass of ship docks and "clean" stores to throw off any patrol that decided to visit.

However, the lower levels were where all the action was. Down in the heart of the city, the black market was alive and kicking. Not only that, down in this dark place, it thrived and anyone with the right contacts and cash could get a great many things. Illegal substances, weapon variation prototypes, assassins, prostitutes, and many other things were everywhere down here.

Today, a great many people were nervous. A single Hodori scout vessel had docked in the early hours of the morning and so far simply hiding the passages to the network beneath the upper levels was working. However, rumors had it that a high captain was aboard the vessel, a captain who made it his life's work to expose any and all secrets. Many rumors claimed he was trained my the Imperial Admiral Judas himself.

However, it was a firm agreement that secrecy and staying hidden were the best course of action.

___________________

It was midday on the world of Malta and the surface temperature was a mild 157 degrees, but the thick crust of the surface blocked large amounts of that heat, bringing the temperature of the underground down to a cool 67 degrees. The various cities of Malta were built in a network of tunnels that would confuse any outsider within minutes. The Hodori themselves had "graciously" helped to reinforce the cavities where the cities lay. Most of the citizens were away from the various cities at the moment toward the mining areas that went deeper under ground, getting closer to the planet's core, raising the temperature to 82 degrees.

Hodori overseers patrolled the network of mining tunnels, unaffected by the heat due to their suits' environment systems, watching carefully for any signs of trouble. While publicly Malta was still among the relatively free worlds, in practice, its inhabitants knew that the Hodori controlled the planet with an iron fist.

[Brome Teks]

Kyle surfaces to catch a breath, then dives back beneath the water to keep working on the damaged propeller on his boat. He pulls out a couple tools and in frustration tries to bend the thing back into the right shape. Just as it begins to give, the whole propeller breaks off and sinks into the water. Kyle chases it for a bit, but gives up when the water pressure gets too much. He gives up the chase and returns to the surface. He breaks the surface of the water and takes a deep breath, then swims back to his boat. "Well, so much for that..." He sets his tools back in their case and puts the case in the hold of the boat. He pulls out a bright orange flag and megaphone.

He goes over to the side of the boat and starts waving his flag in the general direction of Shade's boat. He shouts into the megaphone, "Hey, think you can spare a tow?"

[Buzzwolf]

The streets were usually busy this time of day, getting moving and changing the shifts, going to lunch or even hauling from one job to the next just to make ends meet. the skylanes would be busy as well, the cars zipping by to and fro at their reckless speeds only capible with Autopilot assisstance. these few short hours taht the sun filtered down through to the lower levels from the skylanes made it all to obvious how 'infested' the levels had become with the criminal vermin that wouldn't survive on the surface...and those unfortuenate enough to not be able to afford a place on the surface.

Leah though, this was where her buisness thrived. someone always needed something moved somewhere, and she'd learned a long time ago, only one question was necessary. 'Does it need life support' anything more would be enough to get her in trouble without a seconds hesitation.

Today She wore her favorite black jacket, the one that she could fit her kit in and on one ever noticed. it did tend to get a little cooler down here when the sun wasn't out, most of the usuals had just learned to carry a jacket or some form of warmer with them all day regardless, it kept buisness moving. she shoved her handpaws in her jeans deep pockets, pushing the black jacket back ouf of habit, and showing the white oldies rocker T with it's low cut neck beneath. one of her mood lifters for a slow day.

Today happened to be one of those days, the streets were nearly empty because of the Hodori ship docked in the skylane. she idly kicked an empty can as she shot the stark white ship a glance. a lizard stuck his head from a doorway, glancing bothways hastily, then at the hodori ship as though truly afraid it was here specifically HIM. he chanced a glance the direction he appearantly intended to go, then to the hodori ship once more. he seemed to be working up the courage to make a run for it, because a moment later he was bolting by her as though the hodori were on his tail, she stopped momentarily, watching him before he ducked down an alley way and out fo sight. she shook her head and pushed the door open with a squeak to the Vixens Den, one of favorite bars around town. sercrecy and privacy was thier business, and the last thing they ever like'd coming into theri bar, were imperials. not that it didn't help to personally know the owner.

The bar, like the streets outside, was fairly quiet today, a very much unusal trait for the normally lively bar. The arctic fox standing behind the bar looked visually agitated as she cleaned some of the glasses. she looked up from the glasses at the sound of the doors faint chime, her crystal blue eyes spelling relief at the sight of the newcomer "Leah! oh thank god you're here..." she looked like she'd been about to have a panic attack from the door chime. she set the glass down she was working on, taking a couple seconds to slow her racing heart

Leah slid sliently into one of the bar stools "you alright Sasha? I've never seen you this worried about a Hodori ship before, business can't be that bad cause of them" she leaned on the counter

"no no, it's not...that..." teh vixen still looked somewhat aggitated, as though in a rush to get something done "It's...you want your usual, Leah?" a question that always marked a private business offer, something she wanted kept under the table if at all possible

"Sure" The Usual; fresh made hot coco made from Beans aquired from the reaches of the Altis Galaxy, they made some of the best coco beans in existance, mixed with a pinch of Caff powder and a touch of cream. it took only moments to have ready, the vixen had been expecting her. "so what've ya got for me this time Sash?" she took a sip of the coco, savoring the rich flavor

"Special package we need delieverd," she kept her voice low, even with how few customers there were n the bar "we just need a pilot for this one Leah, it's too risky to move at this point" she smiled "you'll be taking my ship"

Leah almost spit her drink at that "YOUR ship!?" Sasha nodded with a slight smile

"I know how much you've wanted to fly that old bird..."

"Yah, just a littlebit" she held up her fingers a little apart sarcastically "that 'ol bird of yours still has the runners record"

"Well, you're gonna have to fly it for this delievery, as much as I hate to put it out in the open again" the ship was a known 'cargo' runner from the old days, and was one of the most recognised runners in the galaxy, even though it hadn't seen much use in the last thirty or so years, Leahs'd seen it scream by on the skylanes more than once gapping the local patrols without even trying. it's warp capability was only rumor, reumors hard pressed to believe, but with it's record, it became more believeable "it's too risky to move the package with our friends hanging out outside like that" the Hodori, fabulous, running shipments past their nose

"That's what you were worried about, the H----" Sasha put a hand over her mouth silencing her muffled words

"Shhh!" she removed her hand "Yes, -that- is what's got me on edge, we think they got wind of the shipment...it can't fall into their hands, do you understand?" Leah Nodded, She'd never seen the white vixen like this before, this was a new side of her normally light cheery personality "Good, I can't go into detail where you'll be headed right now, you'll get that once you're off world" she turned to head into the back room "I'll let Corbs know so he prep the ship" it only made sense that they couldn't keep it warm while they waited for her, the Hodori would've been all over them to find out why there was a hidden ship signature in the back of the structure

Leah looked down as the swirling in her coco. She'd be flying the Black Comet with a package that the Hodori apperantly had their eye on. she smiled, looked like the day was going to be looking up.

The door chimed with it's usual ring as Leah took a long draught from her drink. the chime, to which most of the folks in the bar glanced, marked the entrance of a newcomer, a heavy leather boot hit the floor with a thud. Leahs ears dropped and her eyes widened as the owner of the boot came into view.

"Aw...fuck...."

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade opened his eyes with a "hmm?" and stood, looking over to otter that was hailing his boat. Shade swore quietly, but turned to the cabin, "Oi! Come on, got a civvy dead in the water, let's give 'im a tow." The pilot, an aging hawk, scowled at him, but turned the boat on, driving it over to Kyle's boat.

Shade secured a rope to the rebel's boat and tossed the other end of the rope to Kyle, "There ya go, we'll have ya back ta the city in no time. Feel free to come on board here if ya feels like it."

[Crusadra]

It was mid-day on Malta, there was said to be over-cloud the whole week over the rocky surface... which would cause some problems for those using solar panels... and those who had planned to get her fur warm that day. Ria would have been put into a severely bad mood due to current weather and events... another cave in happened at the mine, luckily no one was hurt or even scratched. Many of her fellow miners was setting up the explosives, as she prepped the pump.

"Hurry up, daym it! I want to blow this thing open already!" She yelled at them.

A fellow miner would run up, "Its ready, ma'am!" The rest of them scattered from it.

She'll give a large smile... pressing the pump down on it hard, letting it blow sky high, "Woooo! Yeah! That was a good'un!" After a jump and cheer, she lost her smile as some Hidori approached, "Awww... fargen... there goes my day..."

[[If this seems not enough, let me know.]]

[Brome Teks]

Kyle catches the rope and lashes it to a secure part of his boat. "Okay, thanks. I'm coming over..." He dives into the water and swims the short distance to the other boat. He climbs a ladder onto the deck of the other boat. "Thanks for this, my propeller fell off and I don't have a spare on board."

He sighs and looks to his boat, the thing seemed to break every dang month.

[Buzzwolf]

Leah nearly dropped her mug at the sight of the individual standing before her. Issamir Takari, 'in the flesh'. High Captain of the Imperial Fleet. his uniform and helmet were unmistakable. his jet black leather trenchcoat with high collar leading into a full face helmet that seemed to be more of a mask than a helmet, topped with an black hat pulled as far over the face as the mask would allow. the hat matched a classic military design, solid black with sharp edges and the Hodori Empire insignia emblazoned on the front. around the collar, beneath the trench, could be seen the start of a suit of light armor, no doubt covering completely beneath the coat. He took what seemed to be a simple glance around the bar, to which every person stood frozen in their place. waiting to see who it was this high ranking officer of the Hodori was after. then, he sat. at a bar stool.

A Hodori High officer....was sitting...on a barstool...two seats away...reading a menu.

Panic suddenly flooded Leahs mind, and she tried her best to put all he focus into the swirling in he cocoa mug. was he here for her? had he been tapping the bar, and caught her conversation with Sasha? did he know about the shipment?! why was he just sitting there, reading a Menu of all things?! what the hell was his game?!

She stole a glance his way and nearly jumped out of her skin as he...turned the page. shit she thought. she needed to relax, he was obviously here on a rumor or he'd already have made a move by now. god, her hands were shaking uncontrollably. why was she so panicked all of the sudden? she'd been around Hodori before dozens of times! why was this one so much different?!

Because it was Issamir Takari. 'The Patient Hunter'. Trained by the Imperial Admiral, Judas himself.

Leah nearly jumped out of her fur as a hand settled on her shoulder, her already shaky hands splashing the hot cocoa on her hands and the countertop, she muttered a couple curses as she hurried to shake the hot liquid from her fur "I'm sorry miss," a heavily synthesized voice issued from behind her where the hand had been on her shoulder. she froze. "It was not my intent to startle you so, I was hoping you might be able to...assist me with something?" a black lather gloved paw offered her a cloth towel for her hands. she couldn't move. she simply stared at that gloved paw "Miss?" the figure moved next to her, and there was suddenly...a second such paw...holding her own while the first wiped it with the towel. "we can't have you burning your paws now can we?" the voice that issued from the mask seemed as if it almost carried a note of...value in what it spoke. as if it actually cared about what should happen to her paws. "There now," the hands withdrew, leaving her to stare at her own handpaws "All better now, hmm?" he waited a moment for her to say something before continuing "Do you think you might be able to read this for me? I'm afraid I'm a tad unfamiliar with this Dialect" he continued as though he didn't even realize how traumatizing this all was. he turned the page and ran a finger down it till he found what he'd apparently been looking for

"Deep-fried...eel testicles? I'm pretty sure that isn't right...would you mind?" he laid the menu on the counter close to her, and pointed to the item he'd mistranslated

she just stared at menu for what seemed like hours. what the hell was taking Sasha so long in back! she finally looked up at him "You're...Hodori"

He looked at his hand,turning it over twice before 'looking back at her "Last I checked, yes. You're a Royal Fennec are you not?" she nodded "Ah! I thought as much, it's been many years since I've seen one of your species!" he was trying to derail her thoughts "You're a very rare breed, you know that?"

"What are you doing here." she asked flatly

"Well, I'm trying to order some food, it you'd help me read this menu" was he thick or something? did he not realize how resented his kind was? especially in the lower levels? "You do know we Hodori have to eat as well right? we are living beings after all, not the gods we worship"

"no, no," now he was starting to get on her nerves more than anything "what the hell are you doing here?" she pushed her fingertips into the countertop "there's thousands of other diners you could've stopped in. what's so special about this one?"

"I heard Sasha makes some damn fine Hot Chocolate" a chill shot down Leahs spine. "Is that what you're having?" he pointed to the mug of forgotten cocoa "Do you...do you think I could try it? I'd hate to order it only to find out it's not for me" he asked as if there was genuinely a chance she might say no, he even waited till she nodded "Ah! Excellent!" he reached over the counter, somehow knowing exactly where to reach, and removed a straw from a cup behind it "If you'll forgive me, I must use a straw, the priests frown on us officers showing our face in public" he slipped the straw into the drink, and a small vent slid open on his mask to accept the other end of the straw."this is quite superb!" he said after a moment "I'll be sure to take some of this with me when I go" he removed the straw and set it neatly aside, as though organizing his thoughts.

"Now, Leah, You don't mind if I call you that, do you?" fuck, he knew her name "Well, Leah, that's a very pretty name I must say. but, I have a little business I need to clear up and I can be on my way, I'm afraid it won't necessarily be to your liking, but somethings aren't much fun. Like my job for instance, do you know how tiring it gets that I have to give rebels a chance to surrender before opening a conflict with them! I offer them a chance, and half the time they just start shooting at me before I even finish my sentence! now how rude is that! but you, you're civil, I can talk to you" he put an arm around her shoulder, as though her 'buddy' "You get this kinda stuff" he let go "But I still have to do my job like all us good little soldiers, and I know we can't be the best of friends and all that fun shit" was he drunk? "Now then, where was I...AH! right! the business I came in for! You're a Cargo Hauler, are you not?" she didn't move, she simply watched him "Run things here and there, never asking what, just where and by when? sounds like quite the business, keeps your nose clean of any 'known rebel activity' doesn't it?" he finger quoted 'rebel activity' "Did you happen to still be on the market for a shipment today, or did someone already happen to take that slot from you?"

"I'm taking the week off" she said, trying to act calm as he touched closer and closer to what she herself was in here for

ah..." he clicked his tongue, which gave off an odd resonance through the synthesizer "I was afraid I might catch you on an off week." he leaned his arms on the counter, and odd humming coming from his synth "Do you mind if I ask ya one more question?" he didn't even wait for her this time "I'm sure someone as...popular as you, runnerwise of course, would know about...the Black Comet?" she did her best to not appear as if she was sweating bullets "I keep getting these odd reports of people seeing that old rattle trap flying around this area, like the damn thing still haunts the place or something. heh, imagine that, a cargo hauler haunting a skylane. HA!" he sat back, leaning his back against the counter, elbows propped up behind him, then he glanced down, as though he was checking his chrono "Ah, it would appear that I must cut our discussion short, my men seem to have found trace of this 'Ghost Ship'" he stood and stretched "I'm sorry that we must part on such a note, but work must be done and rebels must be crushed I'm afraid." he shrugged "It's the way of the world sometimes" he dropped a cred chip on the counter "I must insist, A gentleman always pays for the last drink" he turned and headed for the door without another word

Leah waited till the officer was out the door and the click of it shutting behind him sounded, then flopped her head down on the counter with a breath she seemed to have been holding the entire time the Hodori had been there. it was days like this that she had to remind herself why she was in this business in the first place

"Psst! Leah!" Sasha was standing in the doorway leading to the backrooms, just to one side, and out of view of the main door. and she was holding a gruesome looking Shotgun in her hands "Come on! you need to leave now! they know where the ship is!"

"But he...he just left to go with his...men....oh fuck..." it suddenly occurred to her why he would suddenly get up to leave when it was found...he wasn't going to find it...he was getting out of the line of fire. she started to climb over the counter as the window behind her exploded an a shower of glass

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade shrugged, "No biggie, I guess you could say offering assistance is my job. Anyways, there's not a whole lot going on today, so we-" Commotion inside the ship's cabin interrupted him. Looking inside Shade saw the rest of his squad clustered around the radio and radar sets, a mull of excited voices assaulting Shade's ears.

Moving into the cabin, Shade barked, "Oi! What's the ruckus!?" a short wolf answered him, "Contacts entering the operational area sir! Team 4 has eyes on!" Shade shot forward, shoving people out of his way as he grabbed the radio's headset and brought it to his head, "Team 4, this is waterside lead, 10-9 that last report!" The voice on the other end of the line was feminine and out of breath, "Team 4 here, got eyes on one Hodori cruiser, closing fast under cloud cover, 3 o' clock of city center!" Shade dropped the headset and ran out of the cabin, eyes to the east of the city.

A long line of dark storm clouds dominated the eastern horizon, but Shade could vaguely see the outline of the white ship. Shade scowled at it before ducking into the cabin and yelling, "I want this boat to dock 5 minutes ago," he turned to Kyle as he drew his pistol from its hidden holster, "buddy, here's some friendly advice: soon as we dock, run like hell and hide."

________

The Hodori overseer aproached Ria, flanked by two guards. He pointed a finger at her, "You are Ria, correct? The Head Overseer requests your pressence," he motioned to his guards, "he insists heavily that you come."

[Crusadra]

She'll growl a bit... before sighing, defeated-ly, "Damn... better be good. I'm trying to run an operation here and if you guys keep messin' with me then nothing will get done!" She'll hop off the small platform and follow the overseer.

[[Evidently I'm not running the Hodori part of mine. XD]]

[Crusadra]

[[Doing a 'Pulse-Check' on this RP.]]

[Brome Teks]

Kyle quirks an eyebrow. "What's going on?" He looks from the commotion to the white ship in the clouds. "Wait... are you guys rebels?" He asks after Shade was done talking.

[Shade Leshyr]

"Bingo buddy, so you're gonna wanna pound pad and duck low," Shade reached down to the boat and unlatched a large, hidden compartment, yanking out a light repeater rifle, "shit's gonna fly and I intend to kill at least one of those Hodori vermin." His face was grim as he pulled out various weapons, handing them off to their owners.

The boat pulled in to dock and Shade could already here the blood curdling screams of the innocent and the loud grinding of the Hodori Titans' suits. Listening, Shade could swear he heard the short "blip" or Hodori gunfire. Sprinting to the end of the closet street, Shade pressed against the wall of a building and peered around the corner.

A small 4-man squad of Hodori milled about debris from the side of a nearby building. Screaming came from the house and the large bulk of a Titan climbed out of the building. It towered over its handlers and wore a more diamond shaped helmet than them. It held a terrified vixen under one arm and moved along down the street, following its smaller allies.

___________

The two flanking guards grabbed Ria's arms, pressing pistols into the small of her back. They forced her along after the overseer, who lead them through the maze of tunnels. For ten minutes they walked, finally arriving at one of the large underground cities.

At this time of day, it should have been close to empty, but a long line of people stood under Hodori guard and more poored in from various tunnels, all accompanied Hodori. Ria was shoved along away from the line towards the out of place, sterile white dome that was the head-overseers office.

the overseer keyed the door and motioned to the escort, who promptly tossed Ria into the building. Inside, various consoles of differing sizes floated around the circular room. It was bare save for the metalic desk in the center.

The head-overseer, Rai' Sailan, sat in his hovering chair, dressed in a more form fitting suit, the Hodori's "casual" clothing. He looked up as Ria flew through the door and and he spoke in a seemingly concerned voice, "Oh my dear Ria, are you all right? I really must reprimand these rapscallians that my superiers insist on putting in power."

[Crusadra]

She'll look about, fixing her clothes, then looking to Rai sneering, "What do you want, Rai? You guys got me overflowing with demo-jobs and then y'all do this... c'mon! Give a girl a break once in a while..." Her sigh would sound quite distraught.

[Buzzwolf]

The explosion threw Leah the last bit over the bar and tumbling through the small doorway behind it, glasses and liquor bottles raining down all around her. "Owww..." She groaned, wincing as she slowly opened here eyes to see Sasha standing above her in the process of leveling the shotgun at the monstrosity in what used to be the front window.

The monstrosity standing in the now wrecked entrance, appeared to be without a gun, or a weapon of any kind for that matter, and had beaten it's way through the wall. the beast of a soldier stood at a towering eight feet at the shoulder, it's armor a matte black in comparison to the glossy white of the other, much smaller, Hodori that flanked it. the beast would tear through the build till it found whatever it was it had been ordered to retrieve, or destroy.

in this case, it was either Leah herself, Sasha standing next to her....or the Black Comet. and any way that went...she was right in the middle.

The sweeping gaze of the Titans helmet stopped on Leah, and she would swear she'd locked eyes with it a moment if not for the thin lens of it's visor separating them. Time seemed to freeze for that moment as their gaze locked, the glass shards raining down glittered, small points of light like tny suns flashing among the chaos. a new line of suns started to come into existence, a vibrant yellow blade sliding to life along the massive gauntlet of the beast. a single piece of glass hit it and fizzled out of existence. The thunderous blast of Sasha's shotgun brought her lurching back to reality, the beasts shoulder lurched backward from the hit, merely annoyed by the disturbance.

"Move!" Sasha shouted, firing off yet another round into the beast. it made a sound like a deep growl and lunged at the counter, it's clawed fingers digging deep into the counter and tearing it back out of it's way, by then Sasha had a grip on the still stunned Leah's collar and was pulling her to her feet, already moving down the narrow corridor."Come on Leah! I need you here with me!" Leah stumbled to her feet as she ran, the wall emitting the sound of wrenching metal as the Titan started to tear it's way into the hallway. Sasha turned to fire off another round into the beast in an attempt to slow it down further.

one would seem she would've figured out it only pissed it off by now, but in the face of this creature, she found herself simply reacting.

The titan hooked a gauntlet into one of the side doors, and ripped the door frame and a section of the wall down, filling the hallway in front of it with debris trying in turn to slow it's quarry down in the tight hallway.

Leah covered her head as she kept running "What the Hell do you have in that shipment that you got a TITAN on our asses!?!? Gah!" she ducked a flying piece of door

"I'm starting to want that-" she fired again and it emitted a growl like noise

"Would you STOP THAT! You're just pissing it off more!" she huffed, ducking another piece of debris

"What the hell else do you want me to--Gah! --Do?!" she ducked through a side door to a stairwell, pulling Sasha with her. the Titan went sliding by, tearing a trail of destruction as it tried to stop and follow them down the stair well "It's not like I can punch it!" above them the Titan had finally found the top of the staircase and was tearing it up like a hunting dog digging a fox out of a foxhole. "Just. Keep. RUNNING!!" she panted throwing a glance over her shoulder as they hurried out the bottom door of the stairs a couple moments later, mere seconds before the Titan hit the bottom of the staircase with the sound of a cannon strike, and immediately tore itself a doorway after them. the strike sent both Sasha and Leah sprawling down the hall, her shotgun skittering away out of reach. Sasha groaned and pushed herself to her knees. her ears flattened as a shadow loomed over her. the beast stood a mere foot from here, looming over her as a tiger would the prey it was getting bored with. it leaned in close, Sasha trying to back away slowly from what would be a quick death, it seemed to be studying her, deciding if it wanted to kill her....or to steal her away. it glanced to the half conscious Leah laying a few feet away. it'd been told to bring one...but...which? it looked back down at the vixen before it, leaning in close as though to 'sniff' her

it's choice was suddenly made for it as a bright splash of plasma hit it and sent it staggering backwards. an unexpected hit from a weapon of it's own build "Yeah! ya like that?!" a deep male voice shouted at the dazed Titan, and a large black wolf made itself known, awkwardly holding a large Hodori rifle "Sasha, Leah, come on, that's not going to stop it for long" the large wolf, easily the biggest creature Leah had seen aside from the Titan itself, picked the two females off the floor with an ease only the truly strong held. he wore what appeared to be dark military fatigues, and carried the rifle in a way that showed his inexperience with it. "Come on, the ships prepped, the pre-flight's done, and if we hurry, we might make it out of here before fugly over there wakes up" he hurried along, his pace a light one, the vixens having to practically sprint to keep up with him. two turns, another short staircase and a security door, and the hanger was before them.

sitting in the middle, engines already warmed and humming, sat the sleek black form of the Black Comet. twin engines running on each side with the faint glow of the hyperdrive engine emanating from behind it's dark form. it was a creature designed for speed and maneuverability. the legends told it to be untouchable, even by the best pilots of the Hodori. "...wow..." Leah was speechless before the awesome machine. a legend in itself was sitting, right before her. "Just....wow..." she couldn't think of anything else to say in the face of the mighty machine

"Quite the beaut, eh?" the wolf grinned "Sasha here doesn't let me take 'er out that often, but I keep 'er in tip top shape anyway" he turned and called out a verbal command to the ship, a passcode that unlocked a lower hatch that lowered from the bottom side of the ship into a ramp "We've got it all coded for you as well Leah, make things easier in the long run" he ducked through the low entry, the vixens following silently behind him, Sasha immediately moving for the pilots controls and the Wolf for the the cargo hold, presumably to check on the crate. the large rifle he'd been carrying had been set near the entry hatch

"So...I guess we know what was in the shipment now, hmm?" Leah kneeled next to the rifle, something few, if any, did while knowing they were going to survive the next few minutes

Sasha barely glanced over her shoulder as she ran the start up sequence "Hmm? Oh, yeah...probably...can't imagine where else wolfie might've gotten that toy" she smiled and looked back at the controls, pulling a lever set back, causing the ship to lurch slightly as it slowly lifted off the launch platform

"Don't you close the door before lift off?" she asked, noting the still open lift ramp

"Oh! could you get that? you have to do that manually from the control panel beside it...old ship security protocols, ya know?" she gestured to the panel

"Odd protocols is more like" she moved to the panel and began working through the old interface trying to find the hatch control "I thought your wolf said he kept this thing up to date!"

"Corbin? yeah, he keeps it up to date, but you gotta remember, it's those old systems that make it so unique"

"Well, make sure ya let him know the internal electronics aren't what make a ship fast or sl--" just outside the ships ramp, the wall exploded violently toward the ship, throwing off the gyros that kept it stable as the beast returned for one last all-or-nothing go at it's quarry. the Titan latched onto the Comet's ramp, a definite ROAR coming from it this time as it fought to maintain it's hold on the ramp. then...it started toward her. "...Sasha!!! Guns! where're the guns?!?!" she yelled in a panic, Sasha fighting to keep control over it

"Fourth cabinet!...Port side!" the Titan kept pulling itself forward despite the outward forces pulling it back out. Leah ripped the cabinet open and grabbed the first gun she saw. a full size assault rifle, armed and ready for immediate use in case of emergencies

but before she had a chance to fire off a single shot, the wolf was back, wearing the upper half of a suit of armor, giving him the appearance of a high-tech footballer. his next actions secured that image in Leahs mind as he barreled through the cabin toward the hatch, and square into the Hodori Titan, knocking it's grip free of the ramp and carrying it out into open air. the two vanished over the side of the ramp. Leah dropped the gun where she stood and rushed to the edge of the ramp before it was closed, hoping to catch a glimpse that the wolf that had saved their lives was still alive and fighting. she had to pull her head back without getting the desired assurance. she collapsed against the now shut landing ramp.

"Alright, I think we're stable now" Sasha leaned back in her seat as the ship accelerated "Nice job knocking that Titan off us..." her eye caught the discarded rifle. her eye immediately shot to Leah, looking for how she'd repelled the Titan, and for Corbin, who would've had to help her with something the size of a Titan. her next glance was to the hatch leading to the back hold where the crate that was to be transported sat. no Corbin "Leah...where's Corbin...?" Leah sat staring at the floor in front of her "Leah...Where's Corbin..." her voice full of worry, edging on panic now.

"He...He saved us..." her voice was barely above a whisper. the ship slipped through the atmosphere, the dome that protected the pilot getting darker by the second as they broke through "he saved us...." The wolf she barely had met, Corbin as Sasha had called him, had just given himself so that they might escape. a near stranger and a close friend. and he was gone in a blink, not even a chance to try to stop him...or to thank him...

Sasha sat silently in the pilots seat, a tear running through her white fur as she sat silently for few moments before slowly turning back to the console to indulge an alarm that was flashing on the console. the ship silently slipped through it's hyperspace window, not another word passed between the two vixens

[Brome Teks]

Kyle dives into the water as soon as the boat stops. He swims up and around the dock and climbs back into his own boat. Rather than taking shelter, like Shade had recommended, he goes in, grabs his video camera, and climbs back to the land. Once the Hodori are in view, he begins to record them. .oO(Good documentation is key to any scientific endevor...) he thinks. He might wind up near Shade as he's filming the Hodori.

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade tapped the mic at his throat, "Eagle, what you got for me?" For a tense moment, no one answered, then a voice dripping with the killer edge spoke, "Nine teams in your area, four civvies taken. One sneaking up on the street just ahead of you," there was a pause, then a curse," civvie at the end of that street, repeat, civvie at the end of that street!"

Shade booked it across the road toward the street, almost slamming into Kyle. He grabbed the otter by back of his shirt, "I thought I told you to pound pad! What the hell are you doing in the open!?" Unfortunately, before Kyle could answer, a masculine, commanding voice rang out, "Kyle Calderson!?"

Shade craned his head and saw the Hodori squad coming to a stop not far from them, weapons leveled at them.

_______

Rai tutted under his breath, "Oh my dear, my deepest apologies, I had no idea," here he stood, approaching the far wall where a series of camera feeds filled one of the holo-screens, "you know Ria, rumor has it that rebel activity has increased in this cluster lately. I'm a man of business, and rebels are bad for business, so I was concerned."

Rai tapped a command and the space view of Malta filled the screen, "'What could they want here,' I asked myself. Oh the things I found when I searched... His Holiness is interested in a certain type of person," he paused, then laughed as he brought up the picture of Ria that was on her file, "I'm a man of business Ria, and you are very valuable."

He stepped toward her just as an explosion rang out, followed by blaring alarms. The doors flew open in accordance with emergency procedures. Outside, gunfire filled the air and panic was setting in.

_____

a ping rang out on a private channel from an Archer-001, a code name for Sasha's contact, to the Black Comet when they finally would drop out of hyperspace.

[Crusadra]

She'll hold her ears for a moment, before getting against the wall, peaking into the hallway. She'll think .o0(Oh why in the hell does my live involve so much /FARGEN/ drama!?) She'll glance to Rai a bit, "I have a question for you... why in the hell am I so valuable?"

[Brome Teks]

Kyle gacks as he is pulled back by shade. "I'm documenting for--" he cuts off as he sees the huge guns leveled at him. "...Aww plork-berries, they know..." He mutters to himself. He attempts to break free of Shade and then make a full bolt for the water, planning to dive in.

[Crusadra]

{[Doing a pulse-check. On this RP.]}

[Buzzwolf]

((Relax Crusada, I've told you, we ain't gonna let this thing as easily as being quiet for four days))

"Archer zero-zero-one, this is...foxy...lady zero-four-three...Archer, I am going to strangle you for that one...Securing channel" she keyed a few commands into the console and a status bar flickered to life, running secure checks and locking the channel. She spun the command chair around to face Leah. "I'm sorry you had to get dragged into all of this today Leah, if I'd have known the Hodori were so close to finding the Comet, I wouldn't have even gotten you involved"

"Nah, it was bound to happen sooner or later" she shrugged and rubbed the back of her head, "Just between you an me...I haven't always kept my promise of 'not peeking'"

"Oh really now?" she raised an eyebrow

"None of your stuff, I figured something bigger was going on with your stuff, that would be far too risky to check out, afterall, why would you need me ot privately ship giant boxes of coffee grounds?...no, it was little things, a gadget that needed to be taken clear across the galaxy, you get bored and mildy curious the longer it's sitting in your hold. other times, the person I would need to drop it off to wasn't there for whatever reason and I had to check to see if it was a trap , and it would just turn out that they had been held up for whatever reason." She sighed and dropped into the co-pilot seat "I ran into some contraband materials a couple years ago that I got the idea had been being 'watched', I thought it was a trap they were trying to make sure went through. turned out to be some weapons for a resistance faction and the guy that was supposed to be picking it up, had gone and gotten himself killed." she rubbed the back of her head again "I've always felt like they kept a closer eye on my ship because of that even though every hacker I had run the systems said there was no trace of a command of such...maybe I'm just getting paranoid"

"A little paranoia never hurt anyone, especially in our lines of work" she spun the chair to face forward and keyed a command into the console now that the security checks had finished and the channel was locked down from prying eyes "Channel's clear on my end Archer, how's your end looking?"

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade swore as Kyle broke away from him and let out a sharp whistle. A large dragon stepped into Kyle's path, wrapping him in a bear hug as the rest of the squad filed up beside Shade. Shade motioned to the dragon, "Vargo, you've got precious cargo, get him to extraction D, stay groundside." Vargo hefted Kyle onto his shoulder and sprinted down a nearby alley.

The Hodori were moving forward when Shade's squad opened fire, moving into the alley. The bullets met the Hodori's shields, bouncing off or being stopped in mid air.
____

Madness was ensuing outside as Rai drew his small pistol. He looked at Ria as he said, "That is privilaged information Ria, now you and I are going to-" The air shrieked as a rocket flew through the door and nailed Rai in his chest. His casual suit's shields flickered and shattered and Rai himself was dead before his body slammed into the far wall.

A small brown wolf barreled into the room, seizing Ria's arm, "Come on, move!" His sentance was punctuated by the beeping of Rai's suit as it readied to self-destruct.
_____

A deep, booming voice laughed over the comm, "Rodger that Foxy Lady, channel is secure," the laughter ceased and Archer became dead serious, "we got a distress signal from the Comet, what's the status of crew and cargo?"

[Crusadra]

Ria was already moving, looking quite pissed and was mumbling to herself, "Drama, drama and more /FARGEN/ drama!" She'll follow the fellow as quickly as she could down the hall.

[Brome Teks]

Wait, wha--augh!" he says as he gets lifted off the ground and carried off.

"Unhand me, you-Gah!" he covers his ears and ducks when the gunfire starts. "On second thought, don't drop me!"

[Shade Leshyr]

Vargo vaulted over a fallen trash can as he said, "Would much appreciate it if ya kept from yelling in my ear river dog. Orders are orders, you don't get down 'til we reach the extraction point." Shade and the rest of the squad were bringing up the rear, firing shots at the ever advancing Hodori in a desperate attempt to slow them down. Not one Hodori soldier flinched as bullet after pinged off their shields, even when a bullet would be stopped mere centimeters from their visors. They returned fire at the retreating rebels, the blip of each shot followed by sharp hissing as whatever was hit vaporized. Using anything and everything in the alley as cover, they continued down the alley.

Vargo broke free of the alley and made a sharp left, keying his throat mic as he did, "Shuttle, this is Vargo, inbound to extraction D, squad under fire, moving to same position. Need pick up now!" The response was low and hidden under the blip of a shot fired wildly, "Say again shuttle, didn't copy!" Vargo yelled into the mic. The next response came from a very pissed off, feminine voice, "I said move your scaly ass to the waterfront, extraction D is compromised, your squad's all that's left!" Vargo stumbled in shock, but swore and dug in his heels, spinning back towards the water."

Shade heard the message and let out a string of curses as he ordered the rest of the team to change paths. The relentless Hodori continued to fire at them, each shot getting closer and closer to their intended targets. Vargo reached the water first and saw the small shuttle hovering just above the clear water, hatch open. Leaping in, Vargo forced Kyle into one of the seats, strapping him in, "Hold on, the CO's a speed demon." That being said, he moved to man the machine gun just inside the hatch, allowing the barrels to begin spinning.

Shade's squad turned the corner hard and began tearing across the good 40 meters between them and the shuttle. They managed to clear ten of those meters before the Hodori spun around the corner and opened fire. At once Vargo let loose with the machine gun, but the Hodori merely spread out and continued firing. Of the four squad members still with Shade, two were killed within a dozen meters. Another fell to a head shot, the wound immediately cauterizing. The last made it inside the shuttle with Shade only to fall to a barrage of shots, 5 hits, one right through his heart.

The shuttle hatch slammed shut and the shuttle immediately rocketed into space, moving towards a small frigate. Shade tossed his gun to the shuttle's floor with a curse, resting his head in his hands...

_______

The wolf lead Ria in a southernly direction, away from the city. Up ahead was what looked like a cave that had been recently dug, a series of fighters lined up within. Several more rebels joined them, each toting a civilian wide eyed with shock. Down below, screaming could be heard as families panicked and emergency teams tried to restore order, all with Hodori troops and rebels trading shots as they raced toward the fighters. The rebels, having planned this in advance however, were the first to reach the ships.

Each ship's, sleek, aerodynamic design was broken by additional seats behind the pilot. The wolf lead Ria to one that was almost smack dab in the middle, this one bearing blue striping along its wings. He pushed her up into the second seat before jumping in the pilot seat and putting on his headset quickly. He strapped his safety harness on before looking over his shoulder, "Strap yourself in and hold on." His hands were flying across the control panel even as he said these words. In perfect unison, the engines of each fighter lit up with a loud roar and lifted off, flying out of the smaller cave into the larger cavern and aiming for the hanger doors a few miles from the city, nestled in the ceiling of the cavern.

Voices rang out over the fighter's radio as someone called out for call signs. Ria's pilot responded almost immediately, "Blue-3 airborne with cargo." After a lengthy amount of similar call outs, a light, yet razor sharp masculine voice rang out, "Change of plans boys and girls, seems we aren't only racing the sun today. Intel's got eyes on two frigates heading our way. No stops today, I want full burn on my six once we're clear and away!" Ria's pilot crossed himself, "God help us all...," he leaned his head slightly, "hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride..."

[Crusadra]

Ria would curse the man rapidly as he took her along, looking to the cave, "That better not be a dead end..." As she thought, .o0(Oooh! I hope it does... gives me some time to unleash some anger on this military wanna-be.) Once within the cavern, Ria simply looks shocked, "Oh... shizen."

Ria still gaping, would do as she is told, strapping in, and mumbling, "I hope your a good'un fly-boy." Once she realised her situtaion, "Oh sun-uv-uh-" As the ship took off, she was cut off.

Ria will close her eyes, saying a quick prayer, "All of you are a bunch of mother fargen lunatics! I'm a demolitionist! Not a flying-Tom! Take me back, take me back!" She'll keep her eyes closed shut as she thought the word, (Drama!) in her head over and over again.

[Brome Teks]

Kyle gasps as he's pushed back in his seat. Having witness a bunch of people just die, he's trying very hard not to throw up. "Oh lords, how did they figure me out..." he brings a hand to his head and looks down, trying to figure out where he'd screwed up.

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade looked at Kyle, "Hell man, I don't think they did. Those damn white suits always seem to pick people at random. I've seen enough Hodori 'justice' to say this: if they had meant to arrest you, they would've shot you dead the moment they saw you, no questions asked," he turned and looked at Vargo, "How 'bout you big guy, any scrapes?"

Vargo lifted the fallen body from the floor as he answered, "Nothing sir, maybe a few fried scales, but nothing serious." He stood quietly and moved the body into the cargo area. Shade looked at Kyle again, "How 'bout you? Are you alright?"

_______

Ria's pilot laughed grimly, "Ain't nothing back there but a one way trip to hell missy..." By this time the hanger door was opening and the group of fighters were falling into formation. Looking up through the hanger, the time was near dawn, the only time with a habitable temperature, but as they shot up through the doors, more was revealed.

The fighters were cutting it close, on the tail end of dawn to ensure that no response could be mustered by Hodori fighters, but in the middle of flaming day to their left, the sleek form of 2 frigates could easily be seen. Their view ports were locked down to keep the crew safe, running only on scans and computer data, but any experienced person dealing with Hodori, that was known to be more than enough.

However, the pilots barely registered this threat, choosing to focus on one task at a time. Spinning to the right, the fighters took off, zooming at the tail end of night. If Ria looked back, she would see the thrusters of the Hodori frigates firing up to give chase.

[Crusadra]

Ria laughed grimly, "R-right... keep going, eh?" Ria kept her eyes firmly shut.

Ria cryed a bit as the pilots did their moves, "Why in the hell did they pick me!?" At this point, Ria cracks her eyes a bit to get a view of where they were.

"Oh hell... move faster dain it!" She'll say frantically as she observed the Hodori fighters.

[Brome Teks]

"I'm f-fine..." he says, continuing to look at the floor. "Don't think I got your name. I'm Kyle Calderson."

[Buzzwolf]

"Cargo is secure Archer" she motioned for Leah to put the loose gun back in teh ctrate "We had a little run in with the Hodori on our way out though, and had to make a bit of a detour. "The vixen's Den" is compromised, I don't know how they got wind of what was going on there, but they did. a Titan tore the place apart on their way out...Corbin...didn't make orbit with us...he's gone Archer..." her voice started to waver "Corbins gone..."

by then Leah was back in the co-pilot chair and had a hand on Sasha's shoulder "I'm sure Corbins fine Sasha, he's a big wolf. that Titan had more than a fight on it's hands dealing with him" she was having a hard time believing the words herself, but they seemed to help the vixen as she gave a small smile. "Archer? This is Leah" she spoke now to the mic after a nod from the other vixen "We're going to need some coordinates for the drop off"