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Part 9

Zhir-Chi'an and Kfan-Hre'an huddled in a corner of the dark, cold cell, along with a few others of the crew. The rest were kept elsewhere and no one knew as to their fate. The pain in their heads from the mind suppressor device was bad, but the isolation and fear was worse. Of their terrifying captors, they knew very little--they were huge, dark, cruel, and were of the "Wurnak Da'i Dominion", whatever that was. There was little sound where they were being held at, mostly the hum of the force field, some deep rumblings that sounded like stone grinding on stone, and the loathsome noises the guards made. Occasionally in the distance, a scream would be heard. Chi'an wanted so much to talk with her friend, but speaking, they had found, was dangerous--the slightest whisper would bring the wrath of those who guarded the prisoners, and the guards were monsters. Once, Zhir-Chi'an heard a noise outside the cell she was in and she dared to look through the doorway. She wished that she hadn't, for what she saw was one of their captors dragging a body by a leg--apparently one of the people who had formerly inhabited the world they found dead and in ruins. The body was carelessly tossed onto a table the guards sat around, and then they began devouring it, ripping it apart with their huge hands with knife-like claws. Zhir-Chi'an wanted to scream, but she dared not make a sound. She feared her own people would end up becoming their captor's next meal. Silently she prayed, hoping beyond hope, that somehow, someone, would rescue them.

* * * * *

Sector 149. It seemed to be the last place these days that anyone in their right mind wanted to go. Nightwing and her sister ships, Night Spirit, Shadow Storm, Dark Fire, and Black Frost just entered normal space in that very sector. A battle group led by the Titan, was standing by in hyperspace, ready to jump into normal space when and where needed. Going by the information that Moira had obtained, the five long-range scout ships flew stealthily towards their goal. Communications were kept to an absolute minimum, and then only by a diffused and highly encrypted subspace signal designed to blend in with background noise. Unless one knew exactly what to look for, and had the exact code and means to unlock and interpret the signal, it would go unnoticed. Even if it was noticed, it would be extremely difficult to get a general fix on the source due to the diffuse nature of the signal. When the scout ships were still well outside the farthest boundary of the system the Kalior was nearly captured in, they activated their stealth fields.

"James, we've reached the pre-arranged coordinates for probe launch," Tanya said checking her readout.

James acknowledged with a nod, and then sent to Sonya, "Miss Redhill, if you would be so kind as to gently send our little friend on its way."

"Aye, aye, sir...giving it a send off kiss."

The stealthy little probe, slipped out of an aft torpedo tube using only the tiniest burst from a thruster and not the usual launch system. Once free from Nightwing, the little probe, now moving somewhat slower than the ship, changed its course, and with tiny, randomized puffs of the thruster assembly, gradually accelerated away. The other four scout ships similarly launched their own probes--and then they waited.

A tense three and a half hours later, Sylvia said, "Sir, a signal from Dark Fire...they found something."

"Do they have a visual yet?" James asked.

"One moment...their probe is coming into range now," Sylvia replied.

"Show it."

Sylvia activated the holographic projection display at the front of the bridge, showing the live video being sent back by Dark Fire's probe. The display showed what appeared to be a small satellite studded with sensors. Careful analysis showed that the sensors appeared to be passive and that the device was connected to a communications network of some sort.

"Now isn't that nice of them, putting these little buggers out to see if anything moves," Tanya said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Kind of like a proximity detector. I wonder what the trigger specifications are," Zach said as he studied the image.

"Like size, distance, velocity, composition and energy output?" James asked.

"Yes, sir. I take it that it hasn't detected the probe yet?" Zach asked.

"It doesn't appear so, sir," Sylvia said listening to her special earpiece. "The signals being transmitted and received by the device have a constant repetitious pattern, like a 'heartbeat' signal."

"Hmm. I guess we need to figure out how many of these things are in place, where they're at, and if there are any holes we can exploit," James said.

"It's possible that as long as we don't intersect one of those signal lines connecting it to the others around it, we might be able to just slip by," Zach suggested.

"Yeah, and hope their sensors are only looking outward. Moira, would you see if you can calculate possible locations of any surrounding sensor platforms based on its position in relation to other masses in the system? They may have a base of operations or a hiding spot of some kind, if they're waiting for ships to appear," James instructed.

/* "As you wish, James, beginning calculations..." */

"Petty Officer Bronski, are you picking up any signals other than the usual noise?" James asked Cara using his telepathy instead of the comm circuit.

"Not yet, sir, at least not in the direction of the inner planets in this system. The two planets in the habitable zone are silent...starting to do a passive sweep of outer planets now."

"Very well, continue."

"Sir, Black Frost reports that her probe has found another one of those sensor platforms," Sylvia announced. "It's identical to the first."

"Excellent, show me the location of both devices in relation to the system along with where our ships and probes are currently," James instructed.

James, Tanya, and Zach studied the display carefully for a minute.

"It looks like both of those devices might be in an orbit around that gas giant," Zach noted, pointing to the display.

"Yeah, they're both the same distance from it," Tanya observed.

"Direct our probe to look along the same arc as those two, moving in the opposite direction, and let's see if we can find another one," James instructed Zach. "Moira, how are your calculations coming?"

/* "I have adjusted for the location of the second sensor device--if there are no other such devices between those two and all other remain equidistant from them, then given their distance from the gas giant, there would be a total of twenty-three providing only the one orbital path is populated." */

"Okay, given the size of the gas giant, that wouldn't be very many sensor platforms. Thank you, Moira."

/* "You are welcome, James." */

"Sylvia, relay that to the other ships, and have them carefully direct their probes just outside the same arc--I want to make sure just how many there are in this orbital path," James instructed his Comm Officer.

"Aye, sir," she replied, and began transmitting the instructions to the other ships.

The crews of all five scout ships spent a tedious sixteen hours tracking the probes around the planet. There was another device discovered between the original two, and eventually they found forty-one identical sensor platforms in the same orbit. There was a gap on the far side of the gas giant--apparently, whoever placed the devices had not yet completed the circle. They went on attempting to find any other possible orbits with other devices, and found two others, one at each pole.

"Sneaky bastards, putting one of those devices right where someone might use the concentration of flux lines to hide their approach," Zach said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Yep, that was rude of them," James agreed with his Science Officer. "Hmm, are any of the moons within the orbital radius of those devices?"

"Checking...," Zach replied, swiveling around in his chair to look at his instruments. After a short while, Zach said, "There are three moons within the radius."

"If I wanted to protect something, I would have it inside a ring of sensors," James mused. Hitting upon an idea, he sent to Cara, "Petty Officer Bronski, you and Lilly focus on the inner three moons around that gas giant, and see if you can detect any signals coming from them."

"Aye, aye, sir, we're on it," Cara sent back.

"Zach, check those moons, using only passive sensors, and see if any might be a good candidate to hide a base," James ordered.

"Checking now."

Moira's avatar entered the bridge with food and drinks, and began distributing them.

"James, you should eat something, and everyone should get some rest soon. You have been up for nearly twenty-four hours, and I am concerned," Moira told James quietly as she handed him some water and a sandwich.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, dear," James reluctantly agreed. "As long as nobody suspects that we're here, I'll have everyone get some sack time, including the other crews. You and your sisters will have to keep watch, but I want you to wake us instantly if anything changes."

"I understand, James," Moira acknowledged, brushing his face gently with the back of her fingers.

"Anything yet, Zach?" James asked.

"The innermost moon would be rather hostile to any life we know of, given the amount of violent volcanic activity. The outermost of the three moons is covered mostly with lakes of liquid methane and frozen ammonia. The middle of the three moons appears to be a world of its own, with a tolerable atmosphere and liquid water," Zach replied.

"Okay, we'll consider that the most likely hiding spot for now. Sylvia, tell the other ships to keep their ears on that moon for any communications or other signals, and have their crews get some rest. We'll hold our current positions and let the A.I.s keep watch. Whoever has a probe nearest that gap, have them sneak it in and see if they can get it reasonably close to that middle moon. If the A.I.s sense anything out of the ordinary, they are to wake everyone immediately."

"Aye, sir.

James proceeded to contact individually each member of his crew not on the bridge, and order them to get some rest.

Six hours and forty-nine minutes later, Moira activated the General Quarters alarm, causing everyone to scramble to his or her GQ station.

"Talk to me, Moira," James demanded as he entered the bridge from his cabin.

"An unknown ship was detected lifting from the moon, and it appears to be heading out of the system. Also, the probe detected multiple life forms on the moon--three unknown groups, there appears to be some of the crews from the missing ships, and there is one unusually large life form on the surface," Moira said, giving what was discovered.

Looking quickly to Tanya, Zach, and Sylvia, James said, "We found them. Syl, signal the Titan, let her know what we found, and we're gong in to investigate. After you do that, inform the other ships to form up and follow us."

"Aye, sir."

"Shauna, be ready to put a hoof in it, we've found the outpost and possible survivors from the missing ships. We're moving in to investigate," James sent.

"We're ready back here, Skipper."

"Lil, there's an unknown ship heading out of the system--doubt it's seen us, though see if you can pick up anything from it--sending you its coordinates now."

"On it, Jamie...okay got a fix on it, analyzing its energy signature. I'll let ya know in a minute if...wait one. It's sending a signal to one of those sensor platforms...one of the probes got a good recording of it, and I'm getting a signal from the platform now. It looks like the sensor platform is allowing the ship to pass without settin' anythin' off. Geez, that ship is one noisy-ass thing! Its energy pattern doesn't match anything in the database. Lemmie sift through this stuff a bit, and I'll bring it up to ya."

"Okay, Lil," James acknowledged.

After about a half an hour, Lilly came up to the bridge with her findings after analyzing the energy patterns from the alien ship and the signals to and from the sensor platform. Transferring the output from her PAD to the main holo-display, Lilly showed a computer generated graphic of the alien ship and the energy patterns it was giving off, plus data on the various signals.

"Geez, Lil, you're right, it is noisy!" James said as he looked at the display.

"Their main power source doesn't appear to be well shielded, whatever they're using. It would be decidedly unhealthy for any of us to be in that ship's engine room for long without protection," Zach pointed out.

"Yeah, I see that," James agreed. "What do you make of this?" James asked pointing to a peculiar radiation pattern emanating from a lower deck.

"I...don't know. It looks kind of like...," Zach trailed off in thought as he stared at the display.

"Looks like what, Zach?" James prompted.

"I think perhaps Chief Sorrel should take a look at it, just to be sure," Zach replied with a slight frown.

James raised an eyebrow for a moment as he eyed his Science Officer, and then he called mentally for Mindy to come up to the bridge.

When she arrived, Zach asked, "Chief, would you mind taking a look at this and see what you think?"

"Um, okay, what am I looking at, sir?"

"It's the energy patterns being given off by an unknown alien ship that is leaving the system. This particular pattern...here, see it? What does it look like to you?"

Mindy studied the image for a few moments, and then got a puzzled look on her face.

"That looks like...like...brain wave patterns, only...something's weird about it," she replied.

"Like maybe they're...inverted?" Zach asked.

Mindy looked at it a bit longer and then she slowly started to nod her head.

"Yeah...but why, and what would a ship be doing generating that sort of thing, anyway?"

"It is simple physics...," Moira said through her avatar, "...noise cancellation. If one has a sound that is annoying, for example, the sound is picked up through a microphone, inverted, and played back over a speaker at sufficient volume to cancel out the original noise. The principle is the same regardless of whether it is sound, light, or any other form of wave pattern. In this case, it appears to be cancelling brainwaves for some reason or another."

"That...that would be horrible!" Mindy exclaimed.

"Undoubtedly, Mindy," Moira said. "It would effectively prevent someone from moving, or worse."

"Like a thought dampener," Zach suggested.

"Yes," Moira agreed. "There have been experiments on producing such a device, as well as providing protection from one."

"Protecting, eh? Moira, has anyone been successful at creating an effective shield to protect a person from such a thing as one of these 'thought dampener' devices?" James asked.

"I will search for available information on the subject," Moira said. "Okay, you do that, and let me know if you find anything. This might be something relevant. It could certainly be used for crowd control without requiring chemicals or weapons--anyone simply running into an area would be immediately subdued, unable to form a thought, and that would be bad for trying to escape or rescue others," James said.

"Undoubtedly," Zach agreed.

They studied the signal sent by both the ship and the sensor platform next.

"Think this could be part of their IFF system, or maybe something like a remote control?" James asked.

"I'm kinda thinkin' it's more like a remote control thing," Lilly replied. "I watched that 'heartbeat' signal the platform gives off as the ship approached--there was a change in it when the ship got within three thousand kilometers, and that's when the ship sent the signal. After it received the signal, it sent back this in reply," Lilly said as she pointed to the sample recorded, "and then it just sat there for four point two seconds before there was another little extra tick in the heartbeat signal. It looks like a delay thing to me."

"What do you think, Zach?" James asked.

Zach had Lilly replay both signals, along with the time and distance data, and said, "I agree with Lilly, it seems like an alarm system on a door that requires an ID code to get through. Since this was only one ship that passed through, we don't know if the ID signal sent by the ship is unique to that ship, or if it is just a general one used by all. We also don't know if the ship might have been able to monitor the sensor system to know just when to send the signal before it was set off. One thing I think we can safely assume is that the sensor system seems to pick up a ship approaching from the inside heading out."

"If one of their ships came back while we're watching it, then we could tell how far out they have to send the delay code," James added, rubbing his chin in thought.

"We could just blow all of the sensor platforms simultaneously with cloaked micro-probes armed with shaped charges," Sylvia suggested quietly, causing everyone to look at her in surprise.

"That would be rather effective in reducing their capability in seeing what's coming," Moira observed.

"Yeah, I imagine so," James agreed. "We'll need a total of forty three to knock out the ones we know about, so if each ship can make ten apiece, that'll give us seven extra to use for something else...like maybe give their ships a little kick in the ass just to see if they're paying attention. Syl, get with Shauna, Sonya, and Ivor, and see what you can work up with what we have, and then send the specs to the other ships. Oh, and have Bronski prep some jammer buoys--that base is about to have a gag order placed upon it."

"Aye, aye, sir," Sylvia acknowledged with a grin.

The plan so far was to sneak past the alien sensor perimeter, quietly deploy the cloaked micro-probes and get them into position near each of the sensor platforms, deploy the jammer buoys around the moon, and then send down small "S&D"--search and destroy--teams to try and find any of the missing crews, free any other hostages that might be held, and generally kick ass on everything else. Shortly after the jammers light up, the sensor web will be taken out, and the rest of the battle group made ready to reenter normal space in case any alien reinforcements should arrive. It took several hours to make the micro-probes and then get them into position. Once they located the base on the moon, everyone got some rest while waiting for local night to fall.

Ivor lay spooned against Sylvia with his arm over her and his hand gently caressing her breasts.

"Mmm, keep that up and we won't get much sleep, lover," Sylvia sent privately, giving her backside a little thrust in his direction.

"I dunna thin' I ca' sleep," Ivor sent back with a quiet sigh.

Sylvia turned over to face Ivor and touched his face.

"Why not?"

"Just nerves, I'm guessin',"

"Oh, kind of like 'pre-drop jitters', eh?" Sylvia asked.

"Aye, like that, I s'pose."

"You've been in combat before, right?"

"Aye."

"Have you felt like this then?"

"Not so much, but then, I dinna ha' the lass I love so dear on the very ground I'll be a blastin'."

Sylvia rose up onto her elbow and looked at Ivor in disbelief.

"Ivor, did you just say...?"

"Aye," Ivor replied to her unfinished question. "I canna deny wha' I feel for ye, Sylvia--I love ye true enough, an' I need ye t' come back all safe an' sound."

Sylvia knew in her heart that Ivor's words were true. She also knew that her own feelings for him were deeper than she had wanted to admit just yet, but she couldn't deny them any more than he could his. When she agreed to take the assignment on Nightwing, Sylvia certainly didn't think that she would end up falling in love with one of her crewmates. She hoped that she would one day find the right person; however, Sylvia didn't expect it to be so soon. When Ivor received his orders to his next duty station, he was still mourning the loss of his family and his mate-to-be, who had died in a freak house fire while he was on his way home for a month's leave. The fire which claimed their lives happened just before the holiday period of the previous year, and he was going to propose to his Caitlin while on leave--instead he ended up coming home to attend their funeral. The investigation determined the cause of the fire was due to an old, faulty energy converter that had exploded, collapsing the roof of the old cottage in the process, and trapping everyone inside. The resulting fire quickly claimed their lives before help could arrive in time. The day he reported aboard_Nightwing_, Ivor did not think that he was ready yet to pursue a relationship, and Sylvia's offer to spend the night with her took him completely by surprise, as did Sonya's advances. Between the two, they did get him to think that maybe it was time that he got on with his life. Ivor had to admit that he enjoyed having sex with Sonya and he found that he didn't mind her company once he got used to her, though it was Sylvia who ended up winning his heart, despite the fact that he thought she was too good for him.

"Ivor, I...I..."

"Just promise me tha' ye will come back, I canna lose ye, too."

"Ivor, listen to me...I...I do love you, and...well, dang it, I wanted to tell you how I felt at a better time than during an important mission, but...I guess it's out now. I don't know what we're going to run into down on that moon--it could be one of those situations that's screwed from the beginning no matter what we do, or it could be a cakewalk. Either way, I promise you that I won't do anything stupid down there and that I'll make every effort to come back because I'd really miss being with you if...things go wrong."

Ivor's eyes widened a little in surprise as soon as Sylvia admitted that she loved him and his heart nearly skipped a beat, but then his expression softened, and he gently pulled her to him. For the first time in almost a year, Ivor felt happiness begin to return.

James awakened early so that he could shower, dress in his combat flight suit, and prepare the armed, stealthy ship's shuttle for flight. Zach, Sylvia, and Felix were tapped to make up their ship's S&D team--aside from the usual weapons and assortment of grenades each would carry, Zach would be running a handheld scanner, Sylvia would be in her full armored combat dress and armed with a variety of heavy weapons and explosives, and Felix would be carrying the field medic kit. While James was performing systems checks on the shuttle, Sonya and Ivor entered the hanger deck with a grav cart loaded with several small missiles.

"Captain?"

"I'm in the shuttle, Miss Redhill," James answered.

"Ah, McElroy and I brought some ordinance up to load, just thought I'd give you a head's up, sir," Sonya sent.

"Alright, I'm about finished in here. Proceed at your discretion."

"Aye, sir, opening the magazine bay now."

James heard the cover plate of the magazine well open and the weapons rack lowered, and he checked the tell-tales on the cockpit's display to make sure they were lit accordingly. When he finished the last of his checks, James exited the shuttle and watched Sonya and Ivor load one of the sixteen missiles they had brought into the rack and secure it into place.

"These should give you a pretty good punch, sir," Sonya said with a grin, patting one of the remaining missiles to be loaded. "They've got a two hundred fifty-six kilometer range, warhead yield equivalent of twenty-five kilotons, and they're 'fire and forget'."

"Twenty-five kilotons? Jeezers, Redhill, this bird isn't an attack fighter, it's a shuttle!" James exclaimed.

"All the more reason to give her a little extra punch to discourage folks from taking potshots at ya," Sonya grinned wickedly. Privately she sent, "Besides, you know how I am, I might be a bad kitty again and who'll give me a proper reaming if you don't come back...sir?"

It was plainly clear to James as to what she meant, and with Sonya standing almost within reach, he found himself getting the urge to give her what she wanted. Luckily for James, his stomach grumbled noticeably right then, letting him know that he needed to get some food in him.

"Hold that thought, Sonya...when this is over, we'll see how 'bad' you've been, okay?" James sent privately to her. Aloud he said, "Uh...yeah, I suppose it would. Well, I need to go eat something before heading to the surface, so carry on with what you're doing."

Sonya leaned over one of the missiles, resting her elbows on it, watching James leave the hanger. Ivor finished securing the previously loaded missile, and noticed Sonya--her back was towards him and her tail was slowly twitching. Ivor caught himself following her tail from its end all the way up to her butt, and thought to himself, "Ach, she does ha' a nice arse."

"Mum?"

"Huh?" Sonya said after a moment.

"We should get the rest o' these loaded," Ivor suggested.

"Oh...yeah, we should." Sonya tapped her fingers lightly on the casing a few seconds, and then turned her head to look back at Ivor.

"McElroy, would you do me a favor?"

"What might tha' be, mum?"

"Fuck me."

"Wha...now?"

"No, of course not right now...after we get these loaded," Sonya said quietly as she straightened up and turned around to face her Gunner's Mate. She looked at him for several seconds and then stepped up to Ivor, and placed a hand on his chest. "Since you got to spend a whole weekend with Syl, maybe...I could get a few minutes alone with you, if...if you still like bangin' this kitty. I...I still wanna cook dinner for you sometime...," Sonya said softly as she lightly ran her finger down the full length of his uniform's zipper. She rubbed his crotch a few times and sighed, "So, you wanna...later?"

Ivor thought quickly--once they got the rest of the missiles loaded into the shuttle's weapons magazine, they would have just enough time to get a quick bite to eat before the captain took the landing party down to the moon, and then they would be at their GQ stations for the duration.

"I dunna know when we will get the time, though, mum. We need to get these loaded an' then get a bite to eat before...," Ivor replied, being realistic about it.

"Yeah, we might be cutting it too close. Oh well, it was a nice thought. C'mon, let's get this finished," Sonya agreed.

Ivor saw the hint of a pout on Sonya's face for a moment, but then she was all business again as they continued loading the missiles. When they finished, and got the cart stowed properly, they headed off together to the crew's mess. On the way there in the lift, Ivor's hand found its way behind Sonya and gave her backside a gentle squeeze.

When she looked at him questioningly, Ivor grinned a little and sent privately, "About yer question earlier...aye."

It took a moment for Sonya to remember what he was referring to, and when she did, she smiled.

The other scout ships rendezvoused with Nightwing to send over their crewmembers who were taking part in the ground mission. When Night Spirit linked up, Lilith's avatar went over to visit briefly with James and Moira.

"My dear sister, it is good to see you again," Lilith said as she greeted Moira.

"We have missed your company," Moira responded as they greeted each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"And I have missed yours as well." Turning her attention to James, Lilith smiled and held her arms out to him. "So, you have missed me, too?"

As he embraced Lilith's avatar, James spoke softly into her ear, "You know I have, dear."

Lilith smiled and said, "It pleases me to know that. Perhaps when this mission is over we could find some time to be together."

"That'd be nice. Say, are you...*sniff*...wearing perfume?"

"Yes, one of the women in my crew gave it to me and suggested I wear it. Do you like?"

"Actually, yes, it's...quite unusual, but really nice. What is it, do you know?" James asked, starting to feel strangely warm.

"Færaya'ahna did not provide the name, though it came from her home world, Élendahnwea," Lilith replied.

"You have an Elendorian female on your crew, and she gave you the perfume?" James asked, taking a step back from Lilith.

"Yes, is that a problem, James?" Lilith asked, growing concerned by his reaction.

"Well, no, but...they're...they're...," James became unsteady on his feet, prompting Moira to support him before he fell over.

"James, are you alright?" Moira asked with concern.

"Dizzy...warm...," was all that James could say through the fog in his head.

"I will take you to Sickbay, James. Lilith, I suspect that perfume may be having an unusual effect on James," Moira said.

"Oh, dear...I am sorry James, I was not aware that it might be harmful to humans!"

"I do not believe that 'harmful' would be the appropriate term, my sister," Moira said, seeing the grinning, unfocused look on James' face, "at least as long as he is not operating any machinery."

When Moira and Lilith brought James into Sickbay, Felix was there getting last minute instructions from Chief Sorrel on using the hand-held medical scanner. No sooner than they walked in, Felix caught a whiff of the familiar scent.

"What happened?" Mindy demanded as she helped James onto a bio-bed.

"James appears to have had some sort of unexpected reaction to my perfume," Lilith replied.

"Perfume?" Mindy asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's Ouayshia Selenquaya (1), Chief, I recognize the scent. You'll need to oxygenate him and give a detox agent to clear it out of his system," Felix said. When he saw the looks the three women gave him, he added, "I spent six months on Élenswena--it's an Elendorian colony. My uiseh'nwia (2) had some...it's potent stuff. You'll need some soapy water mixed with orange juice and peroxide to remove it, if you don't want every male you get close to ending up like the skipper, ey."

"It's Elendorian? Geez, no wonder!" Mindy exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

While she was getting the appropriate medicines to treat the captain, Felix went off to the crew's mess to get a couple of oranges. By the time he returned, James was coming around.

"Back from 'La-La Land', sir?" Mindy asked James when he opened his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess," James replied, though looking up and seeing Mindy leaning over him, he sent privately to her, "I've got a raging hard-on for some reason...can you do something about that, too?"

"Ooo, James! If we were the only ones here right now, why I'd...," she replied, licking her lips.

"Yeah, I know...I guess we'd better hold that thought for a while." James sat up and rubbed his face. "Moira, how much time do we have before we need to get going?"

"Fifteen minutes and 29 seconds, James," Moira replied to his inquiry. "Is it safe for James to fly, Mindy?" she asked the chief.

"Yeah, the meds should be hitting their maximum effect now, so by the time he makes it to the hanger deck, the toxins should be fully metabolized."

"Toxins? What are you talking about?" James asked with a confused look.

"I am sorry, James, apparently the perfume I was given has a powerful effect on biological males. Petty Officer Canberra was kind enough to inform us about it, and how to counter its effects. I have since removed it from my fur," Lilith explained apologetically.

"If it's so strong, how come you weren't affected by it, Canberra?" Mindy asked.

"I left Élenswena just before getting transferred here, so I guess I must have built up some immunity, ey," Felix replied.

"If I recall, that should have been considered isolation duty, and you should have had an extra month's worth of leave given," James observed.

"Yes, sir, they told me to take the leave before transferring to my next duty assignment, but they didn't specify where, so...I took it on Élenswena," Felix explained.

"So, you were there for a total of seven months? Geez, Canberra, you must have really enjoyed it there!" Mindy exclaimed.

"I did," Felix said with contented look.

"Felix, that word you used--uiseh'nwia--you were close to one of the natives?" Moira asked, her curiosity getting the best of her after looking it up in her language database.

Felix sighed and said with a wistful grin, "Læree'ahna and I, we are close...very close."

He pulled the pendant out and showed it.

"If I'm not mistaken, that is a te'nwah, given to one who is 'the first chosen of the heart'," Moira observed as she examined the pendant around Felix's neck.

"It's a what?" Mindy asked as she looked.

"Te'nwah," Felix replied. "The markings are the symbol of her D'wena, or clan."

"Those aren't just given to anyone, from what I understand. You are aware of what you've gotten yourself into," James cautioned.

"Oh, yes sir, definitely. I'm fairly well versed in Elendorian culture--Læree'ahna made sure I understood, as did her parents," Felix acknowledged with a grin.

"Okay, it's your choice," James said, and then asked, "Is it time yet, Moira?"

"Yes, James, it is," she replied.

He cautiously stood up and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"Grab your gear, Canberra, time to move out," James ordered as he headed for the door.

Ivor assisted Sylvia with checking over her gear as she prepared for the mission to the surface. She had said nothing from the time she began changing from her ship uniform to her battle fatigues, until after she was strapped into her powered, armored exoskeleton. They quietly went through the checklist for the suit-mounted weapons and defensive equipment, as well as the additional heavy weapons that the suit would allow her to carry. When the checklist was complete, Sylvia and Ivor stowed the extra gear on the shuttle, and then they stood by while waiting for the captain and others to arrive.

"Looks like you're ready t' take on a bevy o' lawyers, luv," Ivor quietly joked as they waited.

"Lawyers, eh? Heh, I was thinking a pack of Draegar (3) beasts, but meh, same difference," Sylvia grinned.

"True enough, luv." They both chuckled quietly a moment, and then Ivor's tone became serious. "Watch yer tail down there, luv."

Sylvia's heart was pierced by the expression of love in Ivor's eyes--she knew without a doubt at that moment that he was the one for her, the one she had been waiting for, the one who would always be there for her no matter what.

"I will. Ivor, I want you to know...I love you, too, and...I'll be back. I have to--if I don't, Sonya might be tempted to make off with the only one I want to be with, and we can't have that, now can we?"

Sylvia smiled lovingly, touched Ivor's face, and kissed him. Just then, she heard others coming, so she pulled away and looked at something else for a moment. The captain, Zach, and Felix crossed the hanger deck to the waiting shuttle, where Sylvia and Ivor were standing next to the aft loading ramp.

"All set?" James asked as they approached.

"Aye, sir, ready to 'prowl and growl'," Sylvia replied with a look that promised mayhem and destruction.

James grinned and nodded his head, and then said, "Load up, we're hitting space in five," as he strode up the ramp, disappearing inside the shuttle.

Ivor gave Felix a pat on the back and joked, "Bring us back a souvenir, eh?"

Felix grinned and nodded his head, but just before he went up the ramp he added, "Ey, hoser, careful where you aim, ey?"

"You should tell that to Miss Redhill," Ivor said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about Ivor's aim," Sylvia smirked as she went up the ramp behind Felix.

At the top, Sylvia touched the control to close the ramp, and she looked Ivor in the eye and made a kissing gesture, which he returned in time for Sylvia to see before the ramp closed.

The shuttle slipped silently, gracefully, from Nightwing's hanger deck, and out into open space, while the ships were on the far side of the large moon from the alien base. James led the shuttles of the other ships down to the surface, making his way as much by intuition as by instrumentation, keeping a wary eye out for anything that might prove to be hostile. Once near the surface, they followed the terrain closely, the air displaced by the cloaked shuttles and the sounds of their passing, frightened the animals of the moon's forests. James picked out a location to set down as close to the base as possible so that they would not have to walk--or run--far, and the others did the same. The base, located in a clearing next to an escarpment, appeared to have been made from modular buildings placed against the rock face. On the top of the escarpment there was a landing area that had what appeared to be large shuttle-like craft, and one ship that was completely different from anything James or the others had ever seen.

"Zach, what do you make of that odd looking ship?" James asked his Science Officer quietly.

Looking at the readout of his handheld scanner, Zach said, "Unlike the other vessels, it appears to be...organic, and is registering as a life form."

Captain Allen Ruddel, the CO of Black Frost, was standing next to James as the combined landing party observed the base.

"You mean the thing is alive?" he asked incredulously.

"According to the scanner, it appears so, sir," Zach replied, showing the captain the readings. "I'm getting the same thing, skipper," Lt. Diane Newton, the Science Officer of the Black Frost agreed. "It's organic tech, alright, and it's showing as a single life form. I'm not getting anything remotely close to that kind of tech from the other vessels or the buildings."

"What do you see, Syl?" James asked, knowing that she had a telescopic visual scanner as part of her equipment.

"It looks like it's being held by clamps of some kind--none of the others are."

"Hmm, maybe it's a prisoner along with its crew," James thought aloud. "How large is it?"

"Approximately one hundred meters long, forty meters across at the widest, and maybe five or so meters tall," Sylvia replied.

"Interesting, that's a rather narrow cross-section. Maybe the crew space is within that 'Y' shaped section," James speculated.

"They're either very short, or not many if tall," Lt. Newton said.

"Captain, remember that ship we saw leaving the system? I'm getting a similar energy reading being directed towards that organic vessel...and also coming from part of the base," Zach announced as he continued making his scans.

"That inverted brainwave-like signal pattern Lilly found?"

"Yes, sir," Zach confirmed.

"Contact the ship and send a recording of the energy pattern from both locations to Lilly and have her analyze them, and have her compare those to the one from that ship we saw leave," James ordered.

"Aye, sir, on it."

Mike Dugan, the CO of Shadow Storm and James' long-time friend asked, "Thinking we might need those contraptions Moira dug up the info on?"

"Probably wouldn't hurt; better to be safe than sorry, as they say," James said.

"Okay, I'll have everyone going in to take those psi shields along with them," Mike agreed, and then went off to pass the word.

A short while later, Lilly contacted James and told him what she had found out about the energy patterns they detected.

"Jamie, can you hear me?"

"I hear you, Lil, barely."

"Those wave patterns, the one focused on that ship down there is similar to one inside that building, but there are multiple kinds. It's hard to separate them all, but the Chief thinks there may be at least a dozen or more different patterns."

"As in individuals?"

"Um...nope, different species she thinks. We're not sure just how many individuals that might be trapped there."

"Okay, thanks, Lil."

"Any time, cuz. Be careful, 'kay?"

"We'll be back before you know it, 'sweet cheeks'."

"Ya better!"

After they broke contact with each other, James rounded everyone up and informed them on what was discovered about the energy patterns.

"It's been determined that there may be a dozen or more different species of beings being held in that building where we found those inverted brainwave-like energy patterns. The signal that is being directed at the organic ship is similar to one of those inside. They're not sure just how many individuals there might be, but we're going to do what we can to get them free of that punishment. There may be a possibility that some of the missing crews of the Grainger and the Purnell could be in there somewhere, too. Any questions?"

One of the crew from Dark Fire held up his hand and asked, "Sir, since this is likely to be a First Contact situation, what do you want us to do in that regard?"

"This is a military operation--we evac potential friendlies, kick hostile ass, blast anything that looks even remotely dangerous pointed in our direction, and make sure the bad guys can't call their mommas. When we get a safe distance away from this system, we'll sort things out with the evacuees. Got that?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Any other questions? Alright, get ready to move out!" James ordered.

Each of the five teams of three took a different route towards the alien base, maintaining radio silence as much as possible. When they got near to the base, it became evident that it was not a complex, well dug in, and established base of operation, rather it appeared to have been quickly assembled and likely used to run scouting missions well in advance of a possible larger force. The teams found several guard emplacements around the perimeter of the base with overlapping fields of fire, and not much in the way of sensors. Sylvia got a good view of those performing guard duty--the aliens stood over three and a half meters tall, broadly built, and looked like something straight out of a horror vid. Deep-set eyes under a heavy brow ridge, tusk-like top and bottom fangs, sharp spikes protruding from forearms and lower legs, and the stench of death emanated from their positions. Her sensitive ears heard disgusting sounds and a guttural speech that sounded crude.

"These don't seem sharp enough to be able to fly a kite, let alone those vessels up on the escarpment. Maybe they're some kind of brute-force warrior type. There are three per emplacement, and...looks like they've got a roving patrol on foot. They look like they're not very concerned about anyone sneaking in or out, unless they've got some sort of sensor web that we can't detect. Hmm, maybe they're relying on those orbital sensor platforms to let them know if someone's coming. Heh, a lot of good those did for them! Well, those are going to go 'boom' shortly, so that will get someone's attention down here. Yeesh, whatever type of gun they've got in those guard posts, it looks big enough to do some serious damage. I'd better send the bug drone in to drop targeting markers for the missiles."

Sylvia readied the hand-sized insect-like drone and sent it on its way. As it flitted by each guard emplacement, it dropped a small, remotely activated, homing device, that once activated, would send out a unique ID code that the missiles carried by the shuttles could lock onto. The other teams would also be locating targets of interest in a similar fashion. Once its task was complete, the small drone returned to Sylvia and she put it back into its storage compartment, and made her way back to where Zach, Felix, and the others were waiting.

Using hand signals, Sylvia led the way into the compound, since she had the most combat experience of those on the ground. The three crewmembers from Dark Fire made their way towards the landing pad, the three from Black Frost headed towards the power generators, while the rest went to check out the structure where the mind dampening field emanated from. Not taking any chances that the field might adapt itself to their own brainwaves, each member of the S&D team activated the mind shield device they each wore on their heads. While the devices prevented for the most part the use of their own telepathy, they at least helped to insure that the crewmembers would be protected. They could still communicate telepathically through direct physical contact--they just couldn't "send" across a distance as normal.

Peering cautiously around a corner, Sylvia quickly held her hand up, made a fist, and then pulled sharply down--the signal that they should halt and take cover immediately. She looked at Zach and pointed two fingers at her eyes and then held up three fingers, indicating that she saw three guards, and motioned that they were coming towards them. Zach nodded his head once in acknowledgement, and repeated the same to those behind him. They quietly backed up a distance, took what cover they could next to the structures, and waited. Shortly, the three guards they saw earlier on foot made their way by, walking at a leisurely pace. All three carried a sidearm, along with a large knife and a broad bladed weapon carried across their backs. Sylvia had her finger on the trigger stud of the heavy pulser gun she carried--it fires multi-phasic plasma energy at a rate of three thousand pulses a minute, the modern battlefield equivalent of an ancient twentieth century "mini-gun", only firing bolts of super heated plasma instead of solid metal slugs. Normally, such a weapon would be extreme overkill in a situation such as this, but all hell was about to break loose and Sylvia wasn't taking any chances. Just as the guards walked by, the cloaked micro probes in orbit took out their targets immediately after the jammer buoys activated. That gave the signal to initiate the homing devices planted earlier, and the five shuttles rose up above the trees and fired the first round of missiles, knocking out the power, then the guard posts, and then the vessels berthed at the landing pad--with the organic ship being carefully avoided. After firing, the shuttles scattered to avoid being all in the same place in case of a retaliatory attack. When the power generators went up, Sylvia opened fire on the roving patrol, quickly taking them out in the moment of confusion. The guard posts were all taken out nearly simultaneously seconds later, and the targeted vessels were knocked out of commission. More of the horrific alien warriors started coming out of the buildings, only to be met with plasma bolts from above as the shuttles flew overhead making a strafing attack, firing at anything large and moving outside without an IFF tag.

Sylvia, Zach, and the others ran towards the building where the mind dampening device was, keeping a watchful eye out for hostiles. The door to the building was locked, so Sylvia burned a hole in it and chucked a small HE (4) bomb inside, blowing the door outward and taking out a couple of hostiles in the process. Once inside, the teams began searching for anything that looked like a holding cell where hostages might be kept, and taking out anyone who might be hostile.

* * * * *

Zhir-Chi'an and the other crewmates confined with her all heard a thunderous boom that rocked the holding cell they were in. The lights flickered and emergency backup systems came online, keeping the security field in place. More booms were both heard and felt, followed by the growls and roars of their captors. An alarm went off, and they heard many of the guards leave--those that stayed kept their weapons leveled at either the cells or at the main door into the part of the place they were located.

During the noise and confusion, Zhir-Chi'an whispered into the ear of her friend, Kfan-Hre'an, "Is this place under attack?"

"It may be. I thought I heard something pass over above us. Perhaps soon we shall see how our torment ends, either in a quick death or freedom."

"Let us hope for the latter! I do not wish to be ended, though quick would be preferable to that," Chi'an said, motioning worriedly towards the guards.

"That is something we all agree on, my friend!" Hre'an agreed.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and a blast of fire and smoke, followed by intense weapons fire. Zhir-Chi'an and her fellow crewmembers huddled together in a corner as strange aliens charged into the guard room. Chi'an heard one of them speak softly in a language she couldn't understand, and then shortly another spoke. There was a quick, loud and extremely rapid burst of fire from some sort of pulsed energy weapon, apparently directed towards the ceiling. Chi'an immediately felt something change, and it took her a few moments to understand--the mind dampener was no longer functioning! She and the others were stunned, but relieved at last, though they were still too debilitated by long exposure to the field to function properly. One of the aliens appeared by the doorway into the cell and called out something, after a brief pause, the alien made the same sound only this time she felt something gently touch her mind, followed by a somewhat fuzzy image of a weapon pointed at a control panel set into a wall by a cell.

"Hre'an, I think that alien intends to free us!"

There was a flash of light and something sizzled, and then the force field sealing the cell went out. Two aliens entered the cell cautiously, keeping weapons lowered though at the ready, and holding what appeared to be scanning devices. Chi'an struggled to get into a crouched position, holding her hand against the wall for support. The two aliens both wore the same style of clothing and apparently spoke the same language, though they appeared to be two completely different species. The one with the black and white fur and tail saw Chi'an try to get up and knelt down and held out a hand to steady her. Again, Chi'an felt something gently touch her mind and she received a feeling that assured no harm. None of the prisoners had been given any food or drink since they had been held captive, and Chi'an--though her head still hurt immensely--tried to send a feeling of thirst. The furry alien said something to the other one, and then pulled a soft, insulated container from a pack, tugged at part of it, and then squirted a little of its contents into its mouth before handing the container to her. She received a quick series of mental images of a stream in a forest, rain falling, a waterfall, and a hand holding a transparent drinking vessel under a flowing tap, and then drinking from it. There was a sound followed by the image of the drinking vessel again, followed by the spoken word. "Wa-ter." Chi'an took the offered container, and doing as the alien did, she cautiously squirted some into her own mouth. Chi'an closed her eyes a moment as she savored the experience of finally getting something to ease her thirst. When she opened them again, the furry alien was watching her and seemed pleased.

"Queth sliat," Chi'an said quietly, her voice dry and raspy, saying the words for "water" in her own language and trying to send similar images to indicate what she meant.

The furry alien smiled and nodded its head and repeated her words along with the one he used, spoke to the other alien, and then handed out more containers of water using both their words and his.

"We have just learned the very first term in each other's language for the same thing," Chi'an thought happily to herself.

* * * * *

They reached the end of a passageway that had a heavy, metal door blocking their way. Using his hand-held scanner, Zach scanned the space beyond the door.

"Looks like this must be a guard room of sorts, with what appears to be smaller rooms surrounding it, each with multiple life forms," he sent to Sylvia via direct touch.

"Holding cells, most likely. How many are in the central room?" she asked via the same method.

"Six," Zach replied.

"I'm going to blow the door, and then toast 'em," Sylvia said matter-of-factly.

"Just don't get shot in the process."

"I'll try not to...um, you might want to not stand directly behind me," Sylvia grinned.

"Why not?" Zach asked.

Sylvia tapped a control on her arm and a launcher tube on her back rose up over her shoulder into firing position.

"Because...I told Ivor I wasn't going to do anything stupid. Now, stand back and get down...sir."

Zach got the hint and backed away a safe distance, ordering everyone to get down.

"You must be hanging around Sonya too much, Syl," Zach thought as he covered his ears for what was to come.

There was a soft "foom!" as a small blast of heat and smoke came out the back end of the tube, followed by loud "BANG!!!" and a cloud of smoke. Sylvia immediately opened fire with her heavy pulser as the tube returned to its former position on her back, and charged into the room. In seconds, all six guards were--well, what was left of them--smoldering carbonaceous masses. The table in the center of the room had been knocked back against the far wall by the explosion, and half slagged by the discharge of her energy weapon.

"Jeezers, Syl!" Zach muttered as he entered the room with his own weapon at the ready. The force fields sealing each of the twelve cells around the central guard room had protected the prisoners from the blast effects. Most of the others came into the room though a few stayed out into the passageway in case any guards came back. Besides the charred remains of the guards, there were other remains on the floor that weren't from the blast or the pulser fire.

"I guess we know what they were doing with some of their captives, Zach said in quiet disgust as he scanned the other remains. There were teeth marks in the bones.

"Sick bastards," Sylvia quipped.

"I think that's the emitter for that mind suppressor device," Lt. Newton said, holding her hand-scanner towards it and observing the readings. "The rest of it should be around here somewhere."

"It's toast," Sylvia said quietly and raised her weapon.

A short, staccato burst of plasma fire made quick work of the emitter...and created a sizeable hole in the overhead in the process.

Felix went to the first holding cell on the left and peered into it--he saw several aliens in the dimly lit room huddled in a corner, all of whom were definitely like none he had ever seen before.

After switching off the protective headgear he wore, Felix called out to those in the cell, "Hey in there, I'm going to get you out. I'm not going to hurt you."

He realized that they probably didn't understand a word he was saying, so he said it again, only the second time he sent openly to the cell's occupants an image of him pointing his weapon at the force field's control panel, in hopes that maybe they might be able to pick up his sending. He paused briefly and fired at the control panel, and the force field was out. Using the medical scanner that Chief Sorrel had provided, Felix cautiously entered the cell. Zach followed Felix in using his own scanner while Sylvia stood outside watching the others check the other cells. When Felix saw one of the females try to get up, he knelt down and steadied her with his hand.

"You're safe," Felix sent, both in words and also as a feeling, just as how Læree'ahna had taught him.

It apparently worked, much to his relief, as the alien woman relaxed visibly. In turn, she sent to him a feeling of thirst, so Felix dug a container of water out of the pack of supplies he carried. After showing her that it was water, he was elated that they had learned how to say "water" in each other's language.

"Picking up their language already, Canberra?" Zach asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir, they're telepaths. I think that mind dampener really put the hurt on them, plus they've been without food or water since they were captured, and that's been a few days ago, I think," Felix replied.

"See if you can find out who their CO is, and where they're from so we can take them home," Zach ordered.

"Will do, sir."

Felix pulled out some more of the water containers and handed them to some of the others saying "queth sliat", followed by the Terran English word, "water". Felix went back to the female he first made contact with, and kneeling down beside her, he gave it his best try.

Pointing to himself, he sent his name, "Felix Canberra," and then he pointed to the alien woman and gave her a questioning look. He repeated it again, sending his name while pointing to himself, and then pointing to her and then asked, "Who are you?"

The alien woman looked puzzled, and she looked at another woman who was near her. Felix observed the two, looking from one to the other, and then repeated the same with the second woman. Soon the others seemed to direct their attention towards the two women and Felix. After several seconds, the first woman faced Felix again and sent what he hoped was her name and not what her species is.

"Zhir-Chi'an." She pointed to the woman beside her and sent, "Kfan-Hre'an."

Felix nodded his head and sent his name again, this time holding his hand out to her. When the one named Zhir-Chi'an looked questioningly at his hand, Felix gently took a hold of her right hand with his and gave it a little shake, sending, "Pleased to meet you, Zhir-Chi'an," along with a feeling of gladness and an image of how Terrans greeted one another. She smiled excitedly, showing a set of large fangs and a mouth full of very sharp teeth, prompting Felix to smile also. He repeated the introduction with the other woman who he learned that her name is Kfan-Hre'an, and soon thereafter, both Felix and Zach had been introduced to the other six. Felix attempted to find out where they were from by showing Zhir-Chi'an an image of his home world from space, followed by the word "Terra" and the location of his residence on it with the word "home". He pointed to Zhir-Chi'an and sent the word "home" as a question. She again looked towards the others for a few seconds, before looking back at Felix. He could sense the hesitation she was feeling, which was understandable after what her people had just gone through, so he sent, "We take you home," and formed a series of images of getting on the shuttle, going up to the ship, and heading out into space, repeating the phrase. Again, Zhir-Chi'an looked to the others, this time for several seconds--they appeared to be deliberating whether or not to tell him where their home world is. Felix openly sent a feeling of peace and friendship to the group along with "No harm, we take you home." That cause more earnest looks to be shared among the group. Finally, after some deliberation, Zhir-Chi'an looked back at Felix and showed him an image of their home world and its name, "Mûr Zhæn", and an image of their ship in orbit around it.

"Sir, that organic ship we saw...that's their ship! Zhir-Chi'an showed me their world and gave me its name, though I'm not sure where it is without a star chart," Felix announced.

"That's a good start, Canberra, see if you can find out which one of them is their CO, but you'd better hurry, sounds like we may have to fight our way out of here."

Felix turned back to Zhir-Chi'an and tried to find out who their captain is, along with a strong need to leave this place quickly. She sent him an image of their CO and Felix passed it along to Zach.

"Hate to break this up, folks, but we've got company heading this way," Sylvia sent to the rest in their party.

"Alright, get these people up and moving," Zach ordered.

Felix stood and held out his hands to Zhir-Chi'an, motioning for her to stand, too, if she could. He helped her up...and was amazed at how tall she is. When he and Zach helped the others on their feet, he found that Zhir-Chi'an wasn't the tallest among them, and she stood head and shoulders above either of them.

When the S&D team got the captives up and out into the central guard room, Felix pointed out, "Sir, this isn't all of Zhir-Chi'an's people. She showed me a total of sixteen--there were eight, including her in that first cell, and there's six more from the cell over there. We're missing two, and one is their CO."

"Okay, there must be another holding area somewhere--I hope it's nearby," Zach said as they headed out of the guard room.

Zach and Lt. Newton began scanning for other places where the two missing people from Zhir-Chi'an's ship when a group of hostiles came charging down a connecting passageway. After a few shots were exchanged by both sides, Sylvia lobbed a fragmentation grenade into the midst of the hostiles, taking out most of them and sending the others hobbling off in panic.

"Mr. McCloud, I think I found at least one of the missing we're looking for--life signs are weak, and there are two others in the same room that are different," Lt. Newton said, pointing in the direction of the room.

"I see it, too. Okay, let's head that way--any hostiles you see, take 'em down. Move out!" Zach ordered.

When they finally arrived at the location where the other member of Zhir-Chi'an's crew was being held, they were just in time. One of the two others was like the guards, large and brutish, and the other was smaller, though more cunning in appearance. The large one had a wicked-looking bladed weapon in one hand, and appeared ready to start using it when the Terrans burst into the room. He was immediately burned down on the spot, and the smaller of the two cringed back against the wall, dropping what might have been a recording device. Zach intended to shoot him himself, but suddenly the smaller alien was forcefully yanked off his feet and sent flying into the opposite wall by unseen means. After getting slammed several times into the wall, he was suspended in mid-air and began screaming in pain and terror, even though he was unable to move.

"What the...?" Zach muttered as he watched what was happening.

Zhir-Chi'an's people entered the room, all staring at the one suspended in the air with a look of intense anger. His screaming turned into a gurgling sound, and what appeared to be blood began trickling out of his ear holes and nostrils. Soon he was convulsing, and tossed into a corner to eventually succumb to the fate meted out to him. Zach quickly realized that Zhir-Chi'an's people must also be telekinetic as well as telepathic, or at least some of them were. They quickly attended to the one of theirs that had been restrained to a slanted board, and despite still suffering themselves from the lingering after effects of the mind dampener, they pooled their abilities to aid their comrade, giving him the strength needed to walk.

"Zack, get everyone to the LZ for immediate dust-off--things are going to get ugly upstairs real quick. Bronski detected hyperspace tunnel endpoints forming--lots of them. Moira's put the call to the battle group and they'll be jumping into normal space any second now. Haul tail!"

"On our way," Zach sent back. "Everyone, listen up--the skipper just told me that there are a lot of incoming bogies, and we need to get to the LZ now!"

They herded the freed captives out into the open and that was when they saw a large warrior type dragging the remaining member of Zhir-Chi'an's people--their CO. After their dealing with the one former captor, and their hurt comrade, they were too weak to stop the warrior. Sylvia, however, took out after him.

"Hey, slug-face, put her down...now!" she yelled.

The warrior spun around and pulled the woman up in front and put a large blade to her throat. He grinned viciously, threatening to cut her open if anyone tried anything.

"Oh, so you want to play that game, eh? Well, we'll see about that," she said coldly.

Sylvia did something completely unexpected--she leaned forward and yelled at the top of her lungs, baring her fangs.

The huge alien warrior briefly got an amused look on his face and then opened his mouth wide and roared much louder than Sylvia could, and that was just what she wanted the idiot to do. Her right arm snapped up and a golf ball-sized projectile shot out...and went right into the gaping maw of the warrior. His expression went from fierce to surprise as he choked on the round object.

"You are gonna need a lot of antacid for the industrial case of heartburn you're about to get...asshole."

Just then, a reddish glow began to illuminate the warrior's body from the inside as his skin started to blacken and smoke. Flames erupted from his neck and mouth as the incendiary device's exotic metal mixture burned his upper torso from the inside out at a temperature over two thousand, two-hundred degrees Celsius. Sylvia took a running dive, snatching up the woman, and getting her away just in time for the incendiary device to quietly detonate, sending a shower of brightly burning sparks.

"Gets those kinds every time," Sylvia quipped quietly as she looked in the direction of the burning remains. Looking at the alien woman, Sylvia sent, "I know you don't understand me, but let's get you back to your people." She pointed to where her crew was, and helped the woman on her feet. After a very brief reunion, Zach ordered everyone towards the landing area for pick up. They had to fight off more of the warrior types, and threw various grenades at likely targets, and shot at anything that looked important--vehicles, antennas, drums, crates, and so forth.

Zhir-Chi'an tugged on Felix's sleeve and pointed towards the top of the escarpment. He saw an image of the organic ship and heard in his mind, "Chel-Sar Se'nika", which he guessed must be the name of the ship.

"Sir, Zhir-Chi'an is, I think, asking about their ship. If it really is alive, I don't think they'll want to just leave it chained to the ground," Felix related to Zach. "Is there any way we could get it off the ground?"

"There's no telling what kind of shape it's in without going over there. The mind dampening field around it has been taken out, so if it could be freed from its clamps, and if it can fly, that would be great, otherwise we'd have to bring at least two ships down to tow it back up into space. After that, it would just take one to tow her back home."

"Any chance the skipper could swing us by for a quick look to see if it can take off under its own power?" Felix asked hopefully.

"We'll see once we get back to the shuttle, and depending on what's going on up there," Zach replied pointing up.

Felix tried to explain in words and pictures of what was going on to Zhir-Chi'an, and she in turn tried to tell the others.

"Madam Commander, these aliens, they call themselves 'Terrans', they wish to take us to our home. If I understand them correctly, more of the Wurnak Da'i ships are coming, but the Terrans also have ships coming to stop them. They disabled the mind dampener that was directed at our ship, but it might still be restrained. The black and white furred one showed me an image that suggests their ships could assist in lifting ours into space," Zhir-Chi'an related to her CO. "You have done well in relating to these people, Zhir-Chi'an. I urge you to continue learning what you can from them. It is a wonder that they have come to our aid, apparently unbidden. What could be their motive for doing so?"

"I will inquire at first chance, Madam Commander, with the one who taught us the first word of their language, and has formally greeted the eight of us who was first encountered in the manner of their kind."

"What is the name by which this one is known?"

"It is the black and white furred one who has taught us their word for queth sliat, and gave it freely to our people, who is known as 'Felix Canberra' in their tongue," Zhir-Chi'an replied.

"An interesting sounding name that one has. It appears that several of those captured and held with us may be of their own. They are not all of the same people, yet they act as if they are. They are a curious lot, these 'Terrans', as you say they call themselves, surely they do not all come from the same world."

"The one who first showed us kindness has shown me some images of their world. There are many different people who call it their home. I have been listening to their spoken language, and my humble opinion is that perhaps if we had a time and place to embrace in thought, we might quickly learn their language," Zhir-Chi'an respectfully offered the suggestion.

"We should not presume too much too soon with these people, Zhir-Chi'an. We have only just met but a few--we do not yet know the scope of their abilities in the mental disciplines or their bounds on its use. We must take care not to walk where one may not be wanted," the CO of the Mûr Tua'ansa gently admonished.

"I...understand, Madam Commander," Zhir-Chi'an acknowledged, assuming an appropriate level of submission to her superior as they walked cautiously along.

Taking such a large group through hostile territory was going slower than Zach liked, but considering the circumstances the former captives had just been in, they were holding up surprisingly well. The remaining crewmembers of the Grainger and the Purnell had been held the longest, and therefore were the worst off, but they were grimly determined to try their best to make it to the waiting shuttles. Several small explosions and series of pops went off seemingly at random in various locations on the alien base, causing many to turn and look, or else to duck instinctively.

"Just a few play toys left behind to make them think somebody was still there harassing them," Sylvia sent with a grin to the whole group, getting a few quiet chuckles and an "atta girl" in reply.

After walking nearly two kilometers, they finally arrived at the shuttles, and the officers began loading the former captives and getting them situated. Zhir-Chi'an and her people all insisted on staying together, and they made it clear that they wanted to be on the same shuttle as Felix. Zach quickly caught James up on what had taken place back at the base, and also brought up the organic ship.

"They don't want to leave their ship behind," Zach said. "Canberra wants to know if we can make a quick stop so that their crew can see what's been done to it and if it can be flown. It still needs to be freed from the clamps, though Sylvia says she should be able to get them loose quickly enough."

James thought quickly and then decided, "It's going to have to be quick, because we can't wait around. We may have to come back for it, depending on how things go upstairs."

"Understood. I'll have Canberra attempt to relay that to our passengers," Zach acknowledged.

"Hey, Mike, I need you to fly cover for me--we're going to make a short detour to get that organic ship free and have its crew make a quick check to see if it's still space worthy. We'll probably have to come back later with our ships to tow the thing back out into space if it can't make it on its own for some reason," James sent to his friend.

"Another rescue mission?" Mike teased.

"Yeah, something like that...can't leave anyone behind, no matter how big they are," James replied.

"Rodger that, 'Wild Man'," Mike acknowledged using James' old call sign.

James grinned and gave a little salute out the cockpit window at Shadow Storm's shuttle.

"Let's rock-n-roll, folks. Cho, Ruddel, and Trovsky, head on back to your ships--I'm taking our passengers over to their ship for a quick peek and Mikey's gonna be my wingman. See you topside in a bit."

The five shuttles lifted and flew at treetop level--three went several kilometers away from the base before nosing sharply upwards towards space, while the other two flew around to the far side of the escarpment. James popped up over the edge and quickly landed near the alien ship, using the ruined vessels as cover. Before the shuttle touched down, Sylvia jumped out the rear with her heavy pulser in hand, using the suit's mini-thrusters at the last instant to slow her descent enough for the suit to handle the landing. She took up a position to provide suppressing fire in case anything moved that shouldn't. The CO of the Mûr Tua'ansa crew was impressed with both James' flying and Sylvia's daring leap while the shuttle was still airborne. She and select members of her crew quickly disembarked with Zach and Felix providing armed escort.

Once the immediate surroundings were determined to be clear, Sylvia moved up to the organic ship and quickly examined the clamping mechanisms holding it while the others boarded the vessel. She placed small explosive charges in key places on each clamp, and then armed them. At a push of a button, they would all detonate and cause the clamps to fall away, thereby freeing the ship.

Zach and Felix were amazed at the interior of the ship when they entered along with its crewmembers. There were no sharp angles anywhere that they could see--the deck, bulkheads, and overhead flowed seamlessly one into the other. Doorways were thick, iris-like membranes that softened to open, and then re-hardened when closed. The interior lighting was soft, coming from glowing patches that resembled those found on deep-sea aquatic creatures that made their own light. The one thing that seemed the most strange were the sounds--they ranged from slow, deep, rumblings, to something vaguely reminiscent of Terran whales.

"Look at the scorch marks, looks like somebody tried blasting their way through," Zach said quietly to Felix as they neared a "Y" shaped intersection with a door in the middle of it.

Felix slipped the medical scanner out of a pocket and scanned a burned area.

"It's just like...burned tissue," he remarked, and then lightly touched it with his hand.

There was an immediate sound in response to his touch, which caused Felix to draw his hand back a little. Curious, he lightly touched the burned spot again, with the same response. "I think it feels that."

"Then you'd best leave it alone, no need to poke at sores," Zach cautioned.

"I've got some burn spray in the first aid kit, maybe that will help," Felix said and proceeded to fetch it from his bag.

Having been accustomed to the various sounds her ship made, Zhir-Chi'an turned to see what was causing the ship to make the particular sound, and noticed that Felix was examining a burned area caused by a weapons blast. She was about to pull him away from it when he got into the bag he carried and got a container out. She hesitated, watching to see what he was going to do, and saw him spray a substance over part of the burned area and then scan it. He sprayed some more of the substance on the burn while continuing his scan. Whatever the substance was, it seemed to form a protective covering over the injury, and she heard another sound, much softer this time.

"Is the Terran attempting to treat the burn on the entrance to the Command Pit?" she asked herself as Felix continued spraying the medicine until the entire burn was covered. Placing her hand a little above the burn, Zhir-Chi'an tried to sense what the substance was doing. Although she had only a very minor ability with Iwi suläha, or "The Healing Mind", Zhir-Chi'an could tell that the burn was soothed and beginning to heal at a faster rate. She looked at Felix and then did something rather unexpected--she briefly wrapped the end of her tail around his. If others of her fellow crewmembers had witnessed the act, they would have been surprised by the quick display of mild affection, though they would have understood it given the situation. After all, Felix was the one who freed the first of their kind that he saw without hesitation, the first of the rescuing aliens who gave them aid and comfort, the first of his people to teach and learn the first--and unwittingly, the most important--word in the minds of the Mûr Tua'ansa: "water".

"Will our dear Se'nika fly again, Ksen-Mir'ta?" Rhuw-Rhav'an, the commanding officer, or "Madam Commander", asked their equivalent of a ship's Engineer.

"In time, Madam Commander, but not this night--she is too weak and has been injured internally by the...," he replied, not finishing his words for his anger rose to the surface at what the Wurnak Da'i had done.

She understood his anger, for she felt it, too, and because of that, she forgave him for not completing his sentence.

"Very well, then. We shall not abandon her to whatever fate might be in store for this place--the Terrans have offered to take us home, perhaps they may have the means to ferry our dear Se'nika as well."

Before she could say anything further, they heard and felt several small explosions in rapid succession, traveling front to back, followed by faint metallic clangs.

"The bindings! The long-eared warrior among the Terrans has kept the promise to free our Se'nika! Oh, only if she could ascend from this place on her own!" Ksen-Mir'ta exclaimed.

"She will fly again, though for now we all must be patient and see if our new friends can defeat those that menace all of us," Rhuw-Rhav'an said.

Before they left, she instructed the ship to wait a little longer, for they will return in a short while, hopefully with friends who will take them all home.

/* "James, the battle group has arrived, and the admiral has sent word that they are engaging the hostiles. Please return quickly--Leila and I will descend to facilitate an in air retrieval." */

"Moira, you know how dangerous that is?! We've never practiced that, not even in simulation!" James exclaimed.

/* "We are aware of the risks, however, the situation requires..." */

"Yeah, I know, for me to get our tails off this rock and back up there," James said, cutting her off gently. "I'm calling everyone back into the shuttle now, and I'll let you know as soon as we lift."

/* "Thank you, James. We shall make ready for atmospheric descent. Nightwing out." */

James let out a quick sigh, and then sent, "Zach, whether that ship can fly or not, round 'em up and get back A.S.A.P.--we've gotta get off this rock now, and we're going to do an 'in air' recovery on the way up."

"Jeezers...understood. On our way," Zach replied.

Zach and Felix got the basic idea across to the four Mûr Tua'ansa who quickly grabbed some supplies they needed on the way out. James already had the engines running on the shuttle, and Sylvia stood at the end of the ramp and helped everyone onboard.

"We're in, sir--the ramp is on the way up and the airlock is secured," Sylvia sent to the captain.

"Hold on people!" James ordered, and he punched the take-off. He quickly called the ship saying, "Get those barn doors open, baby cakes, the wolf-man cometh!"

Mike brought his shuttle into position to the right of and slightly behind James as they made a full-power ascent. There were a few wild shots from the ground in their general direction, but nothing came close. About twenty or so kilometers up, James acquired the location of Nightwing and came about on a conical intercept. Shadow Storm was in parallel formation approximately one hundred meters to starboard, and Mike adjusted his heading accordingly.

"Ever do this before, James?" Mike sent calmly as they rapidly approached their ships.

"In atmo? Nope. Have once in low orbit--was the last one in just as the ship was breaking away. Have you?"

"Nadda...first time for me either way," Mike replied.

"We're only going to get one shot at this, so we've got to nail it," James said.

"Heh, while I don't mind nailing Leila's furry butt, this isn't quite what I had in mind," Mike sent with a mental chuckle.

"I'd have to agree with you on that, she does have a nice backside," James sent, with a grin.

"Hey, keep your eyes on your own gal! Just because she had you on Moira's Commissioning Day along with her sisters...," Mike razzed.

"Yeah, yeah...I've seen you checkin' out Moira's backside, too, perv boy. Oh, hey, remind me to tell you later--if we don't blow this--what Lilith did when she came over for a quick visit when we linked up," James butted in.

"Range: five clicks and closing. What, did she let you bone her or something?" Mike asked.

"I wish. Two-point-five clicks. Tell ya later, 'Digger'," James said, now concentrating on lining up on "the ball", the lights directing his approach into the shuttle bay.

The turbulence behind Nightwing was not making the approach any easier, despite the high altitude or her streamlined shape.

"Moira, you got those grappling beams ready? It's pretty bumpy out here," James called the ship.

/* "I will guide you in nice and gentle, James. The crash bots are standing by, just in case." */ Moira said the first part almost seductively, and the second part with a hint of humor.

"Five hundred meters...three hundred...one hundred-fifty...seventy-five..," James read off the distance.

/* "Grappling beams acquiring...*lurch*...I have you, James, you may cut power now, I am pulling you in." */ Moira said as the four narrow beams locked onto the shuttle and pulled it the rest of the way in.

As soon as the shuttle cleared the space doors, Moira closed them and began purging the moon's atmosphere from the shuttle bay, and then repressurizing it with the ship's air. The usual force field that would normally be used to keep the ship's air in, but allow the shuttle to pass through, had to be turned off so that it wouldn't interfere with the grappling beams--there was no room for error during this particular event.

After the handling bots secured the shuttle, connected the umbilicals, and decontaminated the outside, James led everyone into the decon chamber in the shuttle bay to make sure nobody was bringing anything nasty back from the surface. The ship accelerated to join her sisters, and they would soon be joining the battle taking place out in the black.

James instructed Felix to take their guests to Sickbay so that Chief Sorrel could check them out, and then he and Zach headed to the bridge. When Sonya and Ivor met Sylvia as she was stowing her gear, they both quickly hugged her and loaded up what ordinance she still had, along with the heavy weapons, and took them back to the armory. Once the weapons were secured, they went back to the shuttle and off-loaded the remaining missiles. Shortly after they were stowed, the alarm sounded.

*GONG! GONG! GONG!*

/* "GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS, ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! BATTLE STATIONS!" */

*GONG! GONG! GONG!*

The sixteen Mûr Tua'ansa were crowded into Sickbay, and even though the initial sight of these aliens gave Mindy a start, Felix quickly filled the Chief in on what they had been through down on the moon, and she began scanning them starting with the weakest. One of the aliens, who identified herself as Frer-Sha'an, took a special interest in what Mindy was doing. It turned out that she is their ship's healer, and had brought a bag of medical supplies from their own Sickbay that seemed to be mostly native herb based medicines. Mindy eventually learned why the Mûr Tua'ansa healer did not need the typical diagnostic tools and other equipment common to Sol Federation medical people--she can sense a person's condition more accurately than any known scanner, and she has the ability to heal wounds purely by force of will. Through mental images, Frer-Sha'an showed Mindy just how powerful one of their kind can be who is skilled in "The Healing Mind" or Iwi suläha in their language--they can regenerate tissues, up to and including the regeneration of lost limbs and damaged organs. The knowledge of this ability floored Mindy, and she flashed back to the rescue mission where she was injured while trying desperately to save the young Marine officer. Frer-Sha'an became concerned at Mindy's sudden strong emotions and being the healer she is, she looked to see what the trouble was so that she might soothe whatever the pain might be. Frer-Sha'an shared in Mindy's memory of the event, and how more recently the one named James Daugherty had tried to do in order to ease Mindy's mind and heart. Frer-Sha'an looked at her fellow crewmembers and instantly shared what she just learned.

"This one has risked her life without thought of her own to save another, and was severely injured while protecting the life even as it was fading in both. No one could have asked her to do more for another--is this not the very essence of Vre'dren Swä-chroo (6) that we hold so dear? Yet, here she is, attempting to help us, while still bearing the pain of her injury, though it happened several of their years in the past, for they do not yet have the ability to heal as we."

"I agree, Frer-Sha'an," Rhuw-Rhav'an, their CO, said. "I believe these Terrans understand the sacredness of all life, even though they must be called upon at times to do what must be done, such as they do now to in effort to protect the greater good from the horror that caught us. They have given us their aid without asking for anything in return--we should return the favor when and where possible."

"Then if you permit, Madam Commander, let us apply Iwi suläha to this one's old wound, we owe no less than to ease her suffering just as she seeks to ease our own," Frer-Sha'an implored.

"It is right to do this, yet we must seek the permission of our new friend. It is not our way to walk where we may not be wanted," Rhuw-Rhav'an cautioned.

"How do we ask if we do not yet know the language to frame the question?" Ksen-Mir'ta asked.

"May I try?" Zhir-Chi'an offered.

With a nod from Rhuw-Rhav'an, Zhir-Chi'an tugged on Felix's sleeve, while the others watched. She sat down on the deck and motioned for him to sit in front of her. Felix wasn't sure what she intended to do, but he did as she wanted--he sat down, and then she took a hold of both of his hands.

Felix saw himself standing in a room next to Zhir-Chi'an that had a number of children and an adult. Felix figured out that it must be a classroom of some sort, as the children appeared to be learning their letters. The adult picked up a pitcher and poured a clear liquid into a drinking vessel and speak the words, "queth sliat", and the children all repeated the word. The pitcher was then handed to Felix along with another drinking vessel, and was prompted to pour some of the liquid. He heard himself say "water", and then all of the children repeated the word. Zhir-Chi'an reached into his childhood memories and found the equivalent setting--a classroom full of children and a teacher, only he was the teacher and the children were all Mûr Tua'ansa.

"You want me to teach you our language?" Felix asked.

In the mental imagery, Zhir-Chi'an stepped up to the chalkboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and handed it to Felix. She looked up and pointed at the alphabet characters above the chalkboard, and pointed to Felix. He began writing out the letters and saying their names, then he started combining them to form simple words, beginning with "water". Hitting upon an idea, Felix pointed to several objects and then wrote the word for each as he pronounced it. She seemed particularly interested when he wrote his own name, and showed that "Felix" was his personal name, and "Canberra" was his family's name. He differentiated between the two by showing an image of himself and saying his first name, and then showing a mental image of his family and said his last name. When he named each individual in his family by first and last name, Zhir-Chi'an realized then that a Terran's first name is their personal name and the second name is the family name. Zhir-Chi'an first wrote her name using her own alphabet, then wrote it again using the Terran English letters that made the same or similar sound. Felix learned that "Zhir" was her mother's family name, and "Chi'an" is her given name. A mother's family name is only given to girls, while the father's family name is given only to boys among her people. She taught him a little more about her given name that it is actually in two parts. To strangers and casual acquaintances or while in public or formal situations, the full name is used to address an individual. Family and close friends may use the full given name, which in her case is "Chi'an". Only those who are very close may use the short form of a person's name, such as one's mate, and only in private--it is very bad form for a person to use the short form in the presence of others. If Chi'an had a mate, then he could--when in a private setting--call her "Chi". They accelerated the pace of learning words, word order, and constructing sentences--Zhir-Chi'an quickly learned everything, instantly memorizing, and much to Felix's amazement, she was soon able to speak to him in his own language--and the real shocker--so could all of the others in her crew. Felix realized then that the faces of the children he saw in the initial mental images of a classroom belonged to her crewmates. Felix showed Zhir-Chi'an in his mind the naval ranks from Seaman Recruit on up to Fleet Admiral so that they could properly address people who wore the insignia. It was Zhir-Chi'an's turn to be amazed when she found out that the person who piloted the shuttle was the same person who commanded the ship they were now on, and that his commanding officer is a male. She was amazed further to learn that, in the early history of Terra, many of the cultures were male dominated, though nowadays males and females truly share equal status. Zhir-Chi'an told Felix that on her world, their society has a strict matrilineal hierarchy, passing from grandmother, to mother, to first daughter, and daughters were held in greater esteem than sons. Birth order was also something very important among her people, and this is where Felix noted Zhir-Chi'an being somewhat embarrassed at her own standing within her family. Of the five children of her parents, there are three girls and two boys--she is the third of the three girls, and is, on one hand, higher placed than her two brothers; on the other hand, she was the fifth born, so that puts her two places below her next eldest sister, and her two older brothers are still beneath her. She is Third Daughter, but counted as being in fifth place, which makes her prospects very slim.

She smiled at Felix and sent, "Another time for history and culture, Felix Canberra."

"You may call me 'Felix' if you wish," he sent in return, which caused Zhir-Chi'an's already large eyes to widen more. "I suppose that now you are going to tell me that my name means something very funny in your language," he grinned.

"We have no word such as that in our tongue. Does it have a meaning?" Zhir-Chi'an asked.

"Yes, it does. It comes from a very ancient language on my world called Latin--it means 'happy' and 'lucky'. May I ask the same of yours?"

"It may only be whispered into the ear of one who is trusted, and only when two are alone together," she replied, though Felix was not sure if she was being serious or pulling his tail.

"I see, well then, perhaps one day I may be thought worthy of such an honor," Felix said smiling a little, wanting to see how she might respond to that.

She looked at him curiously and then grinned a little.

"Perhaps."

The whole learning session took less than ten minutes for Zhir-Chi'an and the others to learn the basics of Terran Standard English from Felix. When he left the mindscape shared with Zhir-Chi'an and was back in reality, Felix saw that the rest of her crewmates had been sitting in a group around them both. After they all stood, Frer-Sha'an was able to ask Mindy the question.

"I sense in you pain from a wound you have carried a long while. You and your people have shown us kindness--we wish to return same. If it may be permitted, I will heal the wound you carry."

"How...how did you learn our words so quickly?" Mindy asked aloud, not sure how it could be possible for anyone to learn not only a foreign language, but a completely alien language, in a matter of minutes.

"Yours is not a difficult language, Chief Mindy Sorrel," Frer-Sha'an sent with a slight smile_._ She paused a bit and then added, "You and I, we are healers; we respect Life and seek to preserve it according to our beliefs and as our skills allow. Yet, how can we properly heal others if we ourselves are not whole? As much as you, I do not wish to see others suffer needlessly. Please, if it will help you help us and others to come, let us help you by easing your pain and sing you into wholeness."

Mindy looked up with hesitation at Frer-Sha'an and then to the rest of her people who were watching. She admitted to herself that on the outside, their appearance had frightened her, but now she could see the sincerity in their eyes as they reached out to her. Mindy has always been one to try and find new or better ways to ease and soothe hurts, and she found that the idea that wounds could be healed by the mind alone was intriguing. She knew that by the current known methods in use, it will still take quite some time to regenerate the deep, terrible burn that she had received. As much as she felt self-conscious about it, as much as she wanted to be rid of it, as much as she wanted to feel good about herself again, Mindy slowly nodded her head.

"What do I need to do?" she asked Frer-Sha'an mentally.

"Sit with us, Chief Mindy Sorrel," Frer-Sha'an sent gently, offering her hand to Mindy.

They all sat down on the deck with Mindy in the center of the group. Felix also was asked to join, and he sat closely between Zhir-Chi'an and Kfan-Hre'an. The entire group, save for Frer-Sha'an and Mindy, put their left arm around the waist of the one to their left, and right hand on the shoulder of the one in front of them. This meant that they all had to sit very close to one another, and Felix couldn't help but to feel a little thrill by being so close to the two exotic females, and though he tried to conceal it, Zhir-Chi'an and Kfan-Hre'an both looked at him and each other with a grin. The two powerful full telepaths picked up on what Felix felt without trying--to them, he might as well have been broadcasting his thoughts via a public address system. Those closest to Mindy put their hands on her, and began to calm her nervousness by making her feel a part of them.

"I need to see," Frer-Sha'an sent, indicating that she wanted Mindy to bare her back. Easily picking up on her embarrassment, Frer-Sha'an added gently, "There is no shame in the body, Chief Mindy Sorrel. We are the same even as we are different."

Mindy slowly nodded her head, and pulled the zipper of her uniform down to her waist and those closest to her helped her work free from the upper part of her uniform. Once her black tank top was removed, the huge scar was plainly visible. Rhuw-Rhav'an, who was among those sitting the closest to Mindy, looked in wonder from the scar on Mindy's back to their healer, Frer-Sha'an.

"How could one so small bear such a wound and still live?" she asked in awe.

Holding her had over it, Frer-Sha'an slowly shook her head.

"I do not know, Madam Commander. It is deep, and the damage should have ended her."

"It...it almost did," Mindy sent, for the conversation was not private. She replayed the memory of the incident in her mind and all of the Mûr Tua'ansa present, and even Felix, shared it with her. They felt the single-minded concern for the safety of the wounded, the terrible pain, the shear will to keep going, the fear of not doing enough to help, and then came the emergency treatment to save her, the months spent in painful rehabilitation, and the shame of disfigurement. Through it all, she endured, because Life mattered to her more than anything else, even her own discomfort.

"This is truly Vre'dren Swä-chroo," Frer-Sha'an sent, and her people agreed.

Those closest to Mindy again placed their hands on her, and all of the Mûr Tua'ansa present began to sing the most beautiful song she had ever heard. Frer-Sha'an adjusted her thoughts and the powerful regenerative mental energies flowed into the old wound on Mindy's back, repairing and regrowing.

The healing had begun.

James was truly in his element--he thrilled at Nightwing's response as he flew his ship into harm's way. His intuition guided his actions as much as the data displayed on the HUD, as he danced the ship through the firestorm of plasma bolts and explosions. The alien ships were tough, but James worked to find their weakness--he watched not only his own ship's fire as it struck the enemy's shields, but also the fire from the other ships as well. If he could just get past those shields...

"Moira, that capital ship of theirs, keep a close eye on their shields...I'm going to try something."

/* "As you wish, James. Anything in particular you wish for me to find?" */ Moira asked.

"Yeah, field intensities, especially where they overlap. Find me a pinhole."

/* "I will do my best, James." */

"Syl, get me the admiral."

"Aye, aye, sir. Connecting...," Sylvia acknowledged as she opened a channel to the Titan, Admiral Donnelson's flagship.

/* "Donnelson here, be quick James, we've got our hands full at the moment." */

"I've got an idea, Admiral--concentrate your fire on one side of their capital ship, I'm going to have our scouts buzz the opposite side and look for any gaps in their shields to exploit while they're busy keeping the rest of you from incinerating their asses. They can't get a fix on us, so they'll be having their eye on what they can see."

/* "Take out the known threat of the guards first before hunting for the assassin hiding in the shadows, eh?" */

"Something like that, sir."

/* "Okay, we'll give it a whirl...keep an eye out for those pesky little drones of theirs in case they're hanging out on your side of their ship. Signal when you're in position for your run. Titan out." */

James contacted the other scout ships via conference call and informed him of his plan.

/* "If we do find a hole, what do you intend to do, James?" */ Captain Steven Cho, the CO of Dark Fire asked.

"Exploit it by sending in those microprobes we used on the sensor platforms earlier to knock out their shield emitters."

/* "And then what?" */ Mike Dugan asked.

"Mikey, you remember the 'can opener' maneuver? We're gonna gut this pig of theirs and have ourselves an old-fashioned barbeque."

/* "James, I gotta wonder about you sometimes, buddy. Buzzing the treetops in a shuttle is one thing, but doing it to a big ship that's moving and trying to shoot your ass in the process while others are shooting at it is down right insane_! Fortunately, I've seen the insane things you've done and you somehow make them work, so...okay, if anybody can pull this stunt off, you can. Let's do it!_" */ Mike said, finishing with a wicked grin.

"For those who've never done this before, once inside their shields, we fly as close as we can to the hull of their ship, using our forward beam canons to cut and ventral emitters to blast open. Each ship will drop some 'eggs' into the rupture and--hopefully--they'll hatch a nasty little surprise. We'll have to keep an eye out for any point-defense weapons they might have while we're at it. Any questions?" James asked.

/* "Just one, James...what kind of 'eggs' do you want dropped?" */ Cho asked.

"Biggest you've got, Steve...the deeper they can penetrate before hatching, the better," James replied.

/* "Got it. Give us a bit to get them ready." */

"Rodger that, Nightwing out."

"Sir, I've got a suggestion," Sonya offered.

"Lay it on me," James said.

"If we can find a hole in their shields, depending on its size, we may or may not be able to guide the micro-probes through it. I suggest that we use the MT to transport them through the hole, and then let them do a 'seek and destroy'," Sonya suggested.

James thought quickly on that and then started grinning.

"Sonya, you're a bad kitty...but a good bad kitty. Go to it," James ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir!" she said with a toothy grin and then headed off to get the little armed probes ready to transport.

As soon as James turned his head back to face the front, his eyes widened as he saw an enemy fighter coming straight for them, even though it couldn't see the ship it was about to fly into.

"Whoa!" James said and quickly rolled the ship to the left. "McElroy, blast that fighter!" James sent.

Ivor targeted the fighter from his position in Fire Control, and sent a homing missile after it. By the time the fighter's pilot detected the missile, it was already on terminal homing and too late to avoid.

"Oi splashed 'im, sir," Ivor sent back with grim satisfaction.

"Good shooting, McElroy. One down and...however many more to go," James sent back praising his Gunner's Mate.

When the scout ships were in position to make their close pass by the enemy ship's shields, James signaled the Titan and the all-out assault began on the vessel's starboard side. Nightwing and the other scout ships, while fully cloaked, flew as close as they dared to the enemy ship's shielding. During the height of the attack wave, a small gap did appear...and they pounced on it.

/* "James, I have found a small gap between their shielding," */ Moira announced.

"Excellent, send it to Miss Redhill in the Transport Room!" James ordered excitedly. "Sonya, Moira found your gap...time to thread the needle!"

"Transporting now, sir...they've materialized safely inside their shield perimeter, cloaking system engaged before the ship could lock onto them. They're off hunting," Sonya sent back as she monitored the micro-probes from her PAD.

"Good job, Sonya, now high tail it back to Fire Control...you and McElroy are gonna earn your pay today!"

"Ooo, party time! The juices are flowin'!"

"Save some for me," James said with a smirk, causing Tanya to wonder what was so funny this time.

Sonya, on the other hand, was momentarily caught off-guard by James' comment, but then she grinned, and thought of his tongue licking her again.

"Count on it...sir."

When James glanced over at Tanya and saw the look she was giving him, he said, "It was something Sonya said."

"Hmm...I can imagine," Tanya shot back, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

The little micro-probes found their targets--the shield generators--and detonated their shaped charges the instant they rammed them. When the shields collapsed on the port side, James signaled the Titan.

"Ready for a barbeque, Admiral?" James asked with a grin, as he and the other scout ships dove in close to the enemy ship.

/* "Make mine extra crispy!" Admiral Donnelson said smiling fiercely.

"Get ready to come about, sir, we're gonna open up this pig!"

A sudden flash of inspiration hit James, or maybe it could have been one of those memories that had been passed down through his family generation to generation, or maybe it was his ancestor speaking to him in some fashion. Just before James de-cloaked his ship, he asked Moira to ready a particular song he had in mind from the late 1960's, and then asked Sylvia to give him a channel that would broadcast across the communications spectrum. When she indicated that it was ready, he gave the cue to start the music. Everyone, including those on the alien ships, heard a commanding voice belt out, "I AM THE GOD OF HELL FIRE, AND I BRING YOU...FIRE!!!" (7) James then opened fire with the forward beam canons at nearly point-blank range as the ship sped crazily fast along the hull of the huge, nearly ten thousand meter long enemy vessel as the song played. The cutting beams split the hull plates open like a hot knife through soft butter, and the ventral emitters opened fire on cue, blasting directly downward into the opened fissure, widening it explosively. From the aft end of Nightwing, a series of cluster bombs dropped into the gaping wound in the enemy ship, and wreaked their destruction. Ivor, manning the dorsal emitters, fired at other choice targets along the way. The other four scout ships were hot on Nightwing's tail in a "flying wedge" formation doing the same--cut, blast, and bomb. As each ship completed its run, it immediately re-cloaked and sped off in a different direction from the others, making it extremely difficult for any gunner to make a guess as to where they went. The explosions of the bombs were spectacularly deadly, ripping out huge portions of the interior. Admiral Donnelson let out a loud "Hoo-Ya!" as he witnessed the destruction unleashed by the five Spirit class long-range scout ships, and promptly ordered his battle group to fire at will. It didn't take long to kill the ship--once the power source for their main drive began going supercritical, the battle group withdrew to a safe distance in time before it exploded.

With their main ship destroyed, the remaining forces of the Wurnak Da'i Dominion attempted to flee, but the battle group was not finished with them. As soon as they started to initiate the jump into hyperspace, the Sol Federation ships launched countermeasures to destabilize and disrupt the fields generated by the enemy ships, causing them to be destroyed by the backlash of energies. The remaining ships and fighters were hunted down and killed. The battle group found one small courier-sized vessel in the wreckage of one of the ships, and decided to use it to their advantage. They fitted the little courier vessel with a cloaked long-range probe that would detach, gather intelligence, and later report back when or if the courier made it back to its home space via auto-pilot. A recorded message was put in the little courier vessel they sent back to the Wurnak Da'i as a warning, which would activate when the vessel was recovered. The message was simple enough--an animated holographic projection of the galaxy showing the current boundaries of the Wurnak Da'i Dominion obtained from their navigational data, with a big red circle around it. When the animation showed one of their ships crossing the circle, a blade thrust through it, and then it was replaced by an image of a fearsome looking wolf man with a sword in one hand and holding the head of one of their warriors in the other. The animation then showed their home world being stabbed through with a black dagger, flames erupting around the pierced world, burning it to a cinder, and a ghostly image of a skull appearing within the flames amid cries of suffering.

"Well, that ought to be enough to give anybody the willies," Admiral Donnelson smirked when he saw the message that had been created.

"I thought the flames were a nice touch," James chuckled.

"It does sort of remind me of someone I know before he has had his morning coffee," Leila commented teasingly.

"Geez, I'm not that grumpy in the morning...am I?"

Captain Mike Dugan, the CO and pilot of the S.F.S. Shadow Storm, SLG-75 was kind enough to model for the computer generated image created by Moira.

---

1 Ouayshia Selenquaya - "The Fire That Conquers the Moon's Sun", a strongly intoxicating perfume that affects males.

2 uiseh'nwia - Elendorian word that roughly translates as "more than girlfriend, but not quite fiancé."

3 Draegar beast - a large (approximately five metric ton), extremely vicious, and cunning carnivore that travels in packs of 5-12 on Cerellia-IV.

4 HE - High explosive

5 Vre'dren Swä-chroo - "The Guiding Principle", the core belief of Mûr Tua'ansa philosophy.

6 HUD - Heads Up Display, which allows a pilot to see crucial flight data directly in front of his or her eyes without having to look away.

7 The song James played is "Fire" by Arthur Brown, 1968.