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Arun allowed herself a small pause at the top of the staircase, a quick glance confirming she wasn't being pursued. Not that it was exactly easy to be unobtrusive, as the stairs were on the outside of a building almost a kilometer high, and against the grey-white exterior the parts of her body not clothed stood out like a gigantic purple thumb. Red hair blowing back from the wind, she leaned against the wall on the last landing before her destination, letting her eyes scan the landscape around her. She was a dragonkin, a big one, standing at 8 feet 6 inches on digigrade legs, her hands and feet almost the same color as the building but a bit more white, her hair long enough to carress her waist and a brilliant crimson, most of her body clad in her zero suit with some light armor plating mounted in a torso vest atop it, giving her freedom of movement and at least a modicum of protection if someone decided to play sniper. Bright yellow eyes with vertical pupils took in a second scan to be safe, as she was not in what would be considered a 'safe' situation by any means. She was a merc, a good one, and the good ones never assumed they're safe. A glance at her waist confirmed her backup pistol, a .60 caliber 'judgement' revolver sized for her hand, was still in her waist holster. That's why she was on a planet nicknamed 'The Concrete Escher' on the edge of human space; her preferred weapon, a 12.7mm automatic, had gotten unreliable on her during her last mission, and if you wanted a gun repaired reliably, quickly, and quietly, there weren't that many merchants who'd not charge you an arm and a leg.

It had been a solid 3 months since She'd been on the wrong side of an operation; hell, *trying* to get an operation, at a little green planet which it turned out was not only a secret testing facility for a certain corp's "techno-Magic" tests, but also the target for not one but two merc groups, one which arrived before her, and the second landing the morning after a good bed-romp with an acquaintance turned friend named Rithnok, a Star Dragoness, and the company's CEO, an Anthro Dolphin by the name of Calafin. In exchange for a mission retrieving a Data Core, She'd gotten her ship freshly outfitted, hell, it ran like new, as well as a new Exosuit to replace her old one that she'd gotten blasted off of her after an ambush. Of course, Murphy, the human patron deity of bad luck, as far as she could tell, had been listening. Her new power armor was sitting over a border and behind 10 light years of hostile territory, that belonged to the merc group she'd retrieved the Data Core from, the Irredeemables. So until she found a way through, that shiny new toy of mass obliteration was outside of her reach, along with an arsenal of weapons to go with it. In the meantime, She'd finished the mission for the seemingly nobly inclined dolphin and started taking more missions for his company, CTI, ranging from field-testing new shielding and camouflage systems on other missions, to testing non-lethal weaponry, and the occasional bit of person retrieval or base defense. So far as she could tell, he was keeping his stated vow; she'd yet to receive an order to kill anyone or cause destruction beyond the minimum necessary, heck, she'd defended *churches* a few times and gotten paid to do it.

Putting aside her ruminations, she finished scanning and listening to the area around her, and took the last few creaking metallic steps up to what on the outside looked like a run-down shop with "Marcus's Guns" hand painted above the door in fluorescing letters, the orange sun in this system reflecting from them like neon lights. Several windows were open, apparently to allow in a breeze, and a welcome mat proclaiming a gun maker's favor sat in the door. Ducking to step inside, she let her eyes adjust, smirking as a familiar voice called out "Arun! Back already, eh? Sure I can't talk you into upgrading?" Her bared claws tapped on the concrete floor as she finished walking in, glancing down at the four foot tall counter filled with guns of almost every description, from slug-throwers to energy beamers to even what looked like a one-shot LAW pistol. And standing behind the counter was one Marcus Arcade, The raccoon's face framed by a pair of thick eyeglasses, a single gold tooth shining in the daylight as he smiled up at her. He was a bit pudgy in figure, his retirement from the merc life showing in his build, but in this sector of space he was one of the most notorious and reliable arms dealers available. He also was a friend of hers, from many years previous; not that she got a discount. Shaking her head, she smiled softly "Nah, but thanks... Is she ready?" Nodding, the raccoon half-walked, half waddled over to a locked case, pulled out a key encrypted to his biometrics, and opened the case, revealing her 12.7mm automatic in all it's well shined, oiled, and metallic glory. It had been through hell with her, and she was glad to have it back. Picking it up, she twirled it on one finger, then aimed it out the window, took practice aim, and pulled the trigger smoothly with a satisfying 'click'. Putting it back in the case, she smiled at him "Reliable as ever... It's got the usual guarantee, right?" Looking up at her, he shrugged "Warranty? What Warranty?" Closing the case, she allowed herself a laugh "Exactly" and started to turn, then paused as he held up his hand "Oh, almost forgot! You've got a package from somebody... Said it was for you only, and they weren't kidding, I couldn't open the lock with a plasma knife!"

Emitting a small sigh, she put the pistol case back on the counter, having to lean over to not drop it, and nodded "Did they say who it's from?" Shrugging again, the Raccoon chuckled "C'mon, you know me... I don't do names. But I asked anyway, and they said something about a 'field test' of new equipment from 'The Boss Phin's Lab'. It isn't explosive, but if it does damage to my shop, you're paying for it!" Nodding, she watched as a large, oblong case made of some kind of alloy was hefted onto the counter, the armored glass underneath it groaning at it's nearly meter long mass. Noting a biometric scanner on the side, she put her thumb to it, then leaned over and let it scan her eye, pointedly ignoring the fact it gave Marcus a rather nice view right down the neck of her zerosuit at her tits. She yelped as a tiny needle came out of the box and pierced her thumb, making her jerk back and eye the case warily as it chirped and an electronic, female voice came from it "Identity Confirmed: Thank you for Choosing CTI Defensive Armaments. " A soft hiss came from the case as it opened, a tiny puff of compressed gas escaping as the lid self-lifted, the case's shined chrome looking exterior revealing a deep blue inner foam lining which cradled a rather unusual looking, long barreled pistol. Appearance wise, the closest she could think of if her 'judgement' revolver and 12.7mm had been fused together, with the revolver chamber enclosed in metal and what looked like gas vents placed along the frontward edge, three dark LED's positioned on the rearsight, and a grip made of some kind of opaque, crosshatched alloy.

Picking it up, she felt it tingle and warm in her palm, almost like it was being scanned, followed by one of the LED's in the rearsight pulsing green then going solid. A moment later a small holo-image appeared on the inside of the case's lid, listing through a significant amount of what looked like legal jargon before the face of a certain familiar, smiling male dolphin appeared, his beak opening further as he began talking in amusement. "Heyas Arun... Figured you'd like to test this thing out; Built most of it myself. It's designed for use against highly armored targets; sucks in atmosphere, supercools it to a liquid, then shoots it out contained in a mini-forcefield until it hits something and sprays it with the liquid gas, then a little concussive charge goes off in the pellet that sustained the forcefield. It basically freezes and shatters most metal alloy armors; perfect thing for tanks or a heavy PA. Get me some good data on how well it works, and you get it plus fifty thousand credits; just please try not to freeze anyone to death with it. Oh, and Marcus, if she breaks something in your shop using it, I'll cover the repair costs. " Glancing at the raccoon, he shrugged and smirked "Hey, why not; he's covering your bills, we can try it in the gallery... I'll even give you half off the ammo for your pistol since you had me repair it, as long as you buy at least 100 rounds. " Glancing over the weapon and then putting it back in the armored case, she allowed herself a smile "You haven't changed a bit..."

His response was interrupted by a deep, masculine voice as a figure as tall as her stepped through the doorway, the sound of claws on the floor underlining it "Arun Tokaido Stormweaver... You are to come with me, By order of the DragonLords and Their Majesties. My Partner is already acquiring your friend, Rithnok. " Hand going to her hip and unclasping her holster, she turned to eye the new visitor, body going tense as she eyed him, and not liking what she saw. He was as tall as her, and his body probably equal in mass as well, muscles concealed under what looked like black scale mail armor and cape, the parts of his body which were revealed the red of a blood drenched sunset, his bared feet tipped with shined black towclaws that matched the claws on his fingertips, several pouches and what looked like small bottles arranged on a belt around his waist. His head was that of a full blooded dragon from mythology, horns projecting from behind the back of his skull as well as along the underside of his jaw, his eyes twin globes of almost glowing yellow with slit pupils, his air haughty and aristocratic, like he expected her to fall to her knees and kiss his feet on sight. Without even talking with him, she instantly disliked him. Pausing to consider her reply, she did her best not to snarl in contempt "I don't follow your rulers or your laws, and I'm not interested. " Smirking, the tall dragon tilted his head and tossed his cape back, turning to one side in a classic, almost stereotypical preparation for combat "I was hoping you'd say that... I'm going to enjoy emasculating you and tasting your tears of surrender when I break you and make you into my slave..."

She didn't even think as she pulled out the revolver from it's holster and began firing, his hand coming up in an arcane gesture as he whispered something and the bullets stopped a few feet in front of him, spinning futilely in midair as all 8 of them hit an invisible something in front of him. With barely a pause, she pulled her 12.7mm out of the case it was in and began emptying it, his laughter echoing along with the discharges as the entire 10 round magazine flew into the invisible wall in barely more than a second, adding to the growing wall of lead between him and her of wasted bullets. Flipping out the mag, she began wondering how much energy his barrier could handle; she didn't know anything about magic, couldn't even decipher the runes etched into her body she'd had since childhood, and it would have been quite handy to know exactly what he could do with those bullets. Slapping another full mag home, and then again, she exhausted all the bullets in the case with her pistol, the red dragon still laughing "You think you can hurt me with such puny, mundane weapons? You insult me! I'm going to enjoy tearing that information from your mind before I chain you to my bed..."

Dropping the pistol, she stopped thinking about ammo, or sneaking around his barrier, or anything else. Rage filled her body at the thought of this pompous, arrogant bastard raping her; She'd die before she let herself fall to that fate. Giving a primal roar, she darted forward, pulling an arm back in a haymaker, unaware of the purple glow emenating through her zero suit's arm as she charged him, her form partially obscured by the wall of lead suspended in front of him. Assuming a defensive stance, he smirked, then stopped as the purple glow defined itself as the runes glowed so brightly their energy penetrated the armor, revealing their symbols; "Energy Dismissal" and "Penetrating Blow". Drawing on her life-force without her even being conscious from it in her rage, his attempt at blocking the blow came too late as her fist slid through and dispersed his shield spell, her nearly 500 pounds of mass combined with her muscles striking him full on the snout. There was a horrific, wet *crack* as her gloved fist impacted on his muzzle, fracturing the bones in his upper and lower jaw as his entire face partially collapsed, his howl of agony muffled into the drooling, bleeding ruin of his mouth from the impact, his backwards combat roll only partly successful in moving him a few feet back towards the door as he covered his bleeding, snot and spit drooling lower face with a clawed hand, eyes looking up at her burning with hate as he crouched and looked back at her.

"Nu Fluping Critch!" he screamed into his ruined mouth, his hand reaching back to grasp a long, black metal rod, the tips of it covered by stylized dragon heads, and bring it up to point towards her like a baton. A predatory, eager grin split her lips as she ran forward again at a full sprint, each step denting the concrete and kicking up dust from the force of impact as her claws dug into it for traction, those runes on her arm still glowing, like a purple neon light attached to her Left Bicep.. A beam of energy flared at the mouth at the end of the rod he was pointing at her, then erupted, grazing her shoulder and blowing a hole the size of a dinner table in the ceiling behind her as she kept coming forward, narrowly avoiding being hit. Then she reached his crouching form, her leg sweeping back and forward with all the momentum she'd built up, like a human football kicker going for the extra point. His roar turned to a whimper as a last moment attempt to stand instead had her foot miss it's intended target; rather then hit him in the face again, her kick struck him between the legs, a second wet *crack* echoing as his hip broke from the sheer force incurred, soft tissue rupturing and giving way. His body flew back and over the steps, hitting the guardrail and going over the edge as the scream of pain into his ruined mouth faded and echoed down into the shadows between the buildings, leaving her to watch as he disappeared from view.

Glancing down at her numb foot, she flexed her toes to make sure nothing was broken, then checked her shoulder, finding only a grazing wound, but it was enough to make the whole arm numb. Eying Marcus, she growled "Refill my clips now... I don't think he's dead, no matter how satisfying that was..." Glancing at the hole in the ceiling, the rotund raccoon glared at her "Fine, but you're paying double! Look at my shop! And you or your boyfriend dolphin there are paying for the repairs!" Not bothering to argue, she nodded and opened the second case, pulling out the strange pistol and holding it, doing her best to keep her hand from shaking in her rage; she didn't doubt that whoever he was, he'd be back, and the thought of being forced to submit, of being raped, made her want to a punch a wall. She had few things she valued, but friends and freedom were at the top of that list. A quick glance confirmed an instruction manual, which she perused as fast as she dared. Turning around, she crouched while her mags got refilled, an extra hundred credit chit tossed atop the counter to him ensuring they'd be combination ap/explosive rounds plus a couple mags of spares. She found herself genuinely scared, and she did not like the feeling; she'd fought magic users before, but this guy felt different, and not in a good way.

The first scrabbling sound was her warning. Pulling the trigger to halfway on the freeze pulse pistol, she glanced at the door. A second scratching confirmed it was not the door, but the windows, where it was coming from. Shifting her stance, she held up a finger to her mouth to silence Marcus, and took aim at the window where it seemed the sound was coming from, the holographic sight on the gun sensing her other hand gripping it and coming online. A tiny dial appeared above the backsight, showing how charged the gun was as it began to intake atmosphere, making a soft whoosh like a wind. It took till the second LED was lit and the third, red one was starting to slowly pulse that he first became visible, perhaps 10 or 15 seconds after he'd departed by crotch launch. First to appear were his wingtips, followed by his claws digging into the concrete as a partially healed face lifted itself up into the window, three empty bottles which must have been healing potions hanging from his neck as he snarled at her "Screw the extra money for getting the info from you, I'm going to give you a Peasant's Death!" Raising the pistol and aiming it at his face, she allowed herself a small smile "Fuck You." and pulled the trigger back the rest of the way, just as the red LED turned solid red and the dial Lit up "Overload!" above the sight. Several things happened almost at the same time, so fast that without the adrenaline coursing through her veins she'd have missed it.

An orb of clearish/blue and white energy, resembling a comet, erupted from the end of the pistol, trailing ice crystals and wisps of fog as it flew towards it's target, the red dragon using a hand to make an arcane gesture again, a nearly invisible circle of force appearing in front of him in response. The comet hit the anti-bullet barrier, and the blue-white orb continued through, leaving behind only a tiny metallic orb, the size of a marble. Without the stabilizing field the marble emitted, the condensed gas sprayed on the other side of the barrier like a water grenade going off, covering the open-mouthed, screaming form of the red dragon in liquid nitrogen. His bellow of anger and pain literally froze in his throat as his saliva turned to ice, his eyes, wide open in shock, freezing and getting pierced by hundreds of needle-thin ice crystals as their moisture condensed and became solid. His tongue, his mouth, every part of his body containing moisture and exposed to the air froze as the super-cold gas covered him. The barrier collapsed as it's creator lost his concentration, and the marble, sensing that it had lost its kinetic energy, detonated and sprayed the dragons front with thousands of tiny shards of metal, cracking the now frozen scales, scale mail armor, and wings like glass hit with a birdshot shell from a shotgun.

Frozen to the point of paralysis, the ice-covered form of the red dragon assassin slowly leaned back, unable to maintain balance despite his footclaws digging desperately into the concrete, and fell from view, still unable to scream, move, or do anything besides flick its tailtip and feet in panic as it plummeted out of sight again, it's fractured wings falling beside it like a shattered glass window. Holding her breath, she waited, ears perked, to see if he returned. It took the clock on the wall next to the door ticking off 2 full minutes before she allowed herself to relieve the burning in her lungs. Glancing over the counter at her, the Raccoon grimaced "Ok... I'll only charge you standard price for the Ammo... that guy was an Asshole. " Nodding, she blinked and then stood up, grabbing her stellarcell phone and quickly inputting the "Emergency if you need me" number Rithnok had given her, putting it to her head and ignoring Marcus's admonitions not to use it where someone could trace it and find his store.

A well remembered voice picked up on the other end, it's tone concerned but also a bit annoyed "Arun? What's going on, this better be important for you to use this number" Holding back her sigh of relief, she glanced around the shop, finding no place to speak privately "I just had a red dragon assassin try to make me out, and he said his partner was already 'acquiring' you..." There was a pause, followed by a long, slow, disappointed hiss at the other end of the call "Why, *Why*, is it always the cute ones?". The next sound she heard was a muttering in draconic, followed by the sound of the phone striking the ground and loud roaring in more draconic. Yelling into the phone received no response, and all she could hear was what sounded like energy discharges, explosions, and muttered cursing, at times making the connection staticky. It was only after a long, drawn out scream of agony that the phone was picked back up, the star dragoness's voice a bit strained but otherwise sounding healthy "Ok, who the hell did you piss off?" "Fuck if I know... he said something about 'The Dragonlords' and 'Their Majesties' and when I politely told him to stuff his tail in it he said he was going to make me into his sex slave. " There was a long pause, followed by a soft huff "Well, that's a Grade A level problem..."

A soft beep came from her phone, and a moment later a gruff voice came over it, interrupting them both "Sorry to interrupt, but I've been instructed to offer you ladies some assistance via CTI; we have a safehouse available. You two are both welcome there; head to the clinic at 103 by 5 minutes, look for where there's no sex, and then go in that direction until you see the red-shirt; your contact will be waiting. " The voice then uttered something in draconic which made the other dragoness curse loudly, and hung up. She disconnected the phone as well, then grabbed both gun cases and hurriedly left the store, A glance back revealing only Marcus making a phone call of his own about getting his shop fixed, his face looking like he'd just bitten into a sour lemon.

Following the instructions, she arrived to find the clinic was in fact run by YPBS, or Yiffy Phin Bedroom Services, a subsidiary of CTI. A glance confirmed a sign reading 'Champagne Room' down the street, and after going in that direction 5 blocks, she encountered Rithnok crouched in an alley, waiting for her. The star Dragoness's body was stark black, but her wing membranes were a starscape, and her belly, like her hair, was a platinum white. Putting her finger to her lips, the star dragoness glanced meaningfully in one direction, at a bar called the "Live Long and Prosper" with a hand split into a "V" above the door. Nodding slowly, she glanced, seeing what looked like a large, metal door on one end of the bar, seemingly out of place unless the bar received shipments of gold along with alcohol. Rithnok was clad in bar-hopper gear, a long dress that showed off her hips and breasts, looking more like a cocktail gown then combat gear. But she also had a pistol in one hand and a sword across her back, so she was far from unequipped.

When their contact came, it wasn't from the armored door, but from a section of wall that slid in and to one side, revealing the form of a ten foot tall male dragon-orca with silver scales covering the top of his torso and wings behind him clad in some kind of chain and scaled mail, a sledgehammer big enough to look massive to her in his hands. Both of them immediately put hands on weapons, but he simply gestured for them to come in, quickly. Glancing at Rithnok, she nodded and stepped through the door, then give an all clear as the smaller 5'11" dragoness stepped in behind her and the door reset itself, leaving them in darkness a moment before a series of concealed lights came on, recessed in the ceiling and walls. The hallway was short, leading to what looked like a blank wall, the walls, ceiling and floor all solid concrete as the big male Drorca walked down to the end of it and gestured for them to join him. Warily, she eyed her partner to see her reactions and harrumphed "Ok, Who are you and why are you helping us?"

A soft chuff of air came from the top of the hybrid's head as he then shook it "The more time we stand here, the greater the odds of being discovered. I will explain as we descend. " The voice was deep and commanding, both respectful and powerful, and despite herself and the situation in the back of her mind she wondered about hearing it in other circumstances. The other Dragoness hissed softly, and then walked over, cautiously, looking up at the male "You know if you cross us You're the first to go. " Glancing down at the star dragoness, the hybrid made a facial expression as though he'd tasted something foul "I am a High Cleric of Chi-Thon, Former Avatar of the Pod-Defender and Healer... I do not condone Deceit." She was surprised as her partner stood a bit taller but also relaxed a bit, lowering her pistol and putting it in her holster "Ok, that explains some of it... C'mon Arun, he's basically a Paladin, we should be ok. " Walking over with her hand still on her own holster, she glanced down at the smaller dragoness, realizing that both her and the male were almost twice the star dragon's height "Seriously? He just says he's a white knight and you take it at face value?" Clucking her tongue, Rithnok grinned up at her "Have a *little* faith, ok?"

Nodding, she still watched warily as the large dragon-orca put his hand to a seemingly normal piece of wall, which revealed itself as a palm scanner as it lit up. A moment later the entire end of the hallway they were standing in, a good 15 foot square, began descending into the ground, the disguised elevator moving at a good pace. Turning to eye them, the big hybrid chuffed again, and she realized what she hadn't bothered to notice until that point; he was dressed in a mix of scale mail for a skirt and torso covering made of multiple metals, his arms also clad in armor that looked like it was made from dozens of other armor's he'd scrounged and put together. The entire thing was polished but visibly handmade for his large frame; If anything, he looked like a barbarian, not a cleric in robes. As the elevator stopped, he stepped out, his draconic blood showing in the silvery scales covering his shoulders, head, and torso above his nipples, as well as running along his back and wings to his fluked tail, along with a pair of proud silver wings. Blue eyes gazed at them as he turned and made an "After You" gesture into the new hallway they'd stopped at. Looking into it before stepping out of the 'elevator', she chuckled "That dolphin does love his secrets.." A pause of the male in front of them made them hesitate, and he replied "Sometimes, a bit too much... But he is my Matriarch's mate, and I trust him. " Rithnok seemed to be quite nervous now, glancing around "How secure is this safe-house?" In reply, the large male glanced back at them "Safe enough that our children could play here. " Not satisfied with that reply, the star dragoness harrumphed "I'll be the judge of that."

Following the male(and trying not to stare at how the armor he was wearing was hugging his ass), she let her partner bring up the back of their trio as he led them into what looked like a hotel lobby. She had to admit she was surprised; there were multiple flat panel displays on the walls showing news feeds and surveillance, a good number of couches and chairs and tables, even what looked like a full kitchen and pantry, the entire room being at least two to three thousand square feet in size. Her attention turned to a pair of dragon males sitting at a couch, a green and a red, and her hands travel to her holster was interrupted as they both stood and bowed. Standing back up, The red glanced at Rithnok, and she swore for a moment his face took on a strange expression, something between puzzled and amused, then returned to her own face, both males smiling. "And you two are?" Chuckling, the green crossed his arms "Straight to the point, eh? I'm Calacor... And this is my Teacher and Elder, Prythoon. Though you might know us by our screen names. " Tilting her head a moment, she glanced at the other dragoness, and was surprised to see her face turning a blushing red, the Samurai of the White Lotus suddenly looking nervous but in the kind of way she'd expect of a blushing fangirl.

"Rithnok?" Was answered by a soft yelp from her, followed by a "Yes, I own some of their movies and pictorals... they're Porn Stars for YPBS. " The situation was surreal enough she dropped her reflexes and facepalmed; they were in a safe house after someone had tried to kill them both, and the other inhabitants of the safehouse were two adult film studs her partner was sweet on? The red laughed softly and bowed again, with a purr "We're here for a shoot, and this is a way to not be on the public streets, although we don't mind the company if you don't. " Glancing at the Drorca, she humphed "Ok, Koral-rath, you said it is? Can you help my partner do a walk-through of the safe-house... we'll trust you guys, but want to see it firsthand. " It only took a moment for the star dragoness to get herself back to the task at hand, following the large male as he gave her a tour. She also had to admit that she wanted to focus on what was going on, and he, especially that voice, was distracting her from that objective. In the hour it took for Rithy to walk the safehouse defenses(and along the way, discover they were not only up to her standards, they were beyond them in several ways) she'd gotten on a secure terminal and informed her crew what was going on, and managed to glean some small amount of info on the dragon hegemony with the help of the two male dragons, whom she found quite polite and friendly, but never to the point of feeling they were trying to hit on her.

It turned out while her own failed kidnapping had mostly been overlooked, Rithnok's had been front and center in the middle of a public area, and the would-be kidnapper had been a mage of some accomplishment. Before the news footage cut off, there were several small fires, a destroyed city bus(thankfully with no citizens in it) and a crater with a charred, burning dragon skeleton in it featured. Somehow, the other dragoness had managed to escape with barely a scratch, although the property damage was in the 8 digits. As a rather impressed looking star dragoness walked up to her and the other two males on the couch, she was now wearing proper combat armor, as the safehouse defense systems had managed to utterly shred her dress when she triggered one too many inspecting them. Pointing at a freeze frame of the charred crater holding the other kidnappers remains, she turned and raised an eyebrow in nonverbal question, and got a noncommital grunt in reply "He was pretty good... Definitely well trained, good resources, and experienced. He just didn't expect the soulfire to take. " Shaking her head enough to make her red hair sway, she growled "You do realize there is an APB out for you for questioning and arrest? You took out a city Bus and half of a farmers market!" Scowling, she replied by crossing her arms "No, HE took out the city bus, his fireball missed. And the farmer's market was collateral damage, chain lightning isn't known for being selective. " Sighing, she rubbed her snout between her eyes "We're going to have to stay here at least a week or more before they stop looking. "

"No, 3 days should be sufficient, given the decoys we put out. " A look back at "Calacor" made her grunt. "Say what?" Leaning forward, the muscular, jean and t-shirt clad emerald and sky-blue male chuckled softly "We got holo-decoys showing you two boarding three different outbound interstellar flights, plus another one of you two in a city on the other side of the planet, being led in chains into a known dragon hegemony spy safehouse. We figure most of the bounty hunters after you two will be gone in 3 days or so. " Nodding slowly, she gave a noncommittal sound and glanced at her partner "Ok, So 3 days then..." and got a reply of the other dragoness glancing around "Well, there's worse places in the universe... and worse company...". At the same time she wanted to laugh and toss the TV remote at the other herm; they were trapped in a safe house, albeit a nice one, with two porn stars she wasn't interested in and a big hybrid orca-dragon cleric who she *was* attracted to and couldn't do a thing about as he was already mated. It sounded like a bad porn movie drama. Standing up, she stretched and glanced at the time, realizing that between finding the safehouse, the inspection of the security systems, and all else that had occurred during the day, it was almost midnight local time. Looking back at the other four inhabitants of her gilded cage, she sighed "Where's the bunks? I need a rest..."

Standing, the drorca nodded "Yes, it has been a long day, and I need to meditate soon..." And then led her to a door next to the kitchen, helping her find an unoccupied room. Faintly, she could hear the two dragon males ask Rithnok if she minded them undressing, as they disliked clothes, followed by a "You're kidding, right?" and some laughter. Sitting on the bunk, she eyed the big male, tamping down any desire to say something about her attraction as he glanced at her "You are injured... Let me tend to it." Her snarl of protest was silenced as he gripped her shoulder and a glowing, golden energy flowed over it, the forming scar disappearing as he stepped back and looked her over. Her eyes were furious as she looked up at him, but her words went unspoken as he chirruped "He was not worthy of giving you scar... You wear ones that are worthy, cowards like him do not deserve a trophy on a warrior as noble as yourself. " Blinking, she started to speak, but found empty air where he was standing, the whoosh of the door closing behind him the only indication he'd left.

Leaning back on the bed, she rested her head on her hands, mind running over the events of the day and trying to make sense of the blurring whirlwind. Less then 24 hours, and she'd almost been killed, possibly killed a dragon assassin, and now was in a safe house with two porn stars, a cleric, and a fellow dragoness who had been targeted just as she had. She doubted sleep would come easily, and that was seconded when a soft *thump* was heard on the wall across from her bed, followed by the sound of Rithnok moaning. As the moans turned to squeals of pleasure, she growled and put the pillow over her head, vowing to somehow repay her for this.

The following two days were both frustrating and enlightning, as she used them to try and dig more into something which had been at the back of her mind; the assassin had called her by a last name, 'stormweaver', and with no knowledge of the dragon hegemony, she couldn't know if it was an insult, her bloodname from her parents, or the name of a draconic clan. Digging through every database she could find as well as questioning the trio of dragons with her(when they weren't flirting with each other) revealed that it was indeed a family name, something to do with a clan reputed for their combat abilities, but little beyond that. Having something so enlightening and so little information was frustrating to the point she spent hours a day in the gym punching out her irirritation, and even sparring with the big Drorca, though she had to keep forcing her mind from imagining him sparring with her in the nude, or doing other things in the nude as well.

It was almost 3 days into their captivity in the safe house when she was asked to join everyone in the main room. The last day had been spent both productively, learning what she could of Rithnok's attempted kidnapping as she had little info on hers, and also resting, ranging from chatting with the two male dragons about their mates and children(she had to admit their whelps were adorable), to practicing with her 12.7mm in the small gun range they had. For a safe house, the facility was surprisingly expansive, well designed, and secure. Sitting on the couch, she noted Rithnok was already sitting, as well as the two dragons, but Koral-rath was standing, looking a bit anxious and perhaps even afraid. The large viewscreen across from them came online, and she found herself looking at the face of a stern orca, the face looking familiar to her, though she couldn't place it. The voice, however, immediately brought recognition as shi began to speak; it was Naketa Orcan, The CFO of CTI and Calafin's mate... as well as Koral-rath's "Pod Matriarch", whatever that meant. She had to admit, the air of authority the cetacean could put on, even across interstellar com, was impressive.

"Rithnok, Arun, I want to offer you both a deal. You are both familiar with the little escapade my mate had going on a certain planet, and it seems the ripples of that incident reach further than we'd hoped. The dragon Hegemony wants you both brought in for questioning concerning my husband's use of techno-magic and either turned to their cause or executed; don't ask how I know this, just take it, ok? " Pausing, the orca visibly restrained something within hirself, then continued, almost spitting, if such thing were possible for a cetacean "The Irredeemables are also on contract to bring in myself, Calafin, and my wife, Finna. She figured she would gather additional intel, but they managed to capture her and are taking her to Dragon Hegemony space as a Prisoner Of War for her bounty. " Glancing at Koral-rath, she could see him digging his claws into his palm, trying not to smash something; He might have been a cleric, but her suspicions of him being a berserker at some point were likely right. Leaning back, she continued watching the Herm orca as shi spoke again "I want you two to bring her back to me. Arun, you can use the ship to get through their lines and get to the power armor that was manufactured for you. It's all still waiting in a sealed research Facility. We'll also cover the cost of getting Marcus a new shop. Rithnok, in exchange we'll settle all the lawsuits for you concerning the damage done when you resisted kidnapping, and have the record and your wanted status wiped from the police files. Oh, and if you like, Calacor and Prythoon have agreed to make a 'private' video of you with them and their wives, provided you keep it to yourself. " The snort that came from next to her made it impossible to keep a smile from coming to her face, the blush on her partners cheeks making it only more apparent that she would likely take up on that offer. Leaning forward, she eyed the viewscreen, growling softly "Can shi hear me?" A nod from Koral-rath confirmed her thoughts as she eyed the orca across interstellar space "You already owe me the PA and weapons, I can get the ship myself, what's my incentive?" The orca looked at her and their eyes met for a moment, neither one willing to give in; The orca broke first, sighing "What do you want?"

Not allowing herself a smirk, she paused, having expected the herm to make an offer; the room was silent as she thought, and then nodded "Three things...a ship that can get me close to this other vessel your wife is captive on, I don't want to risk my crew. " At seeing the other herm nod, she idly scratched under her chin "Second, I Want 75,000 credits, *each*, for my crew and myself, if this comes off without a hitch. " A second nod answered her, and she growled softly "Last, you owe me one... One favor. I'm not calling it in now, but when I call it in I want it done... It won't be anything crazy, but when I call it in, I want you personally to assure it's done right. " On her last statement the CFO paused, hesitating, then finally relented "Very well... But I want her intact, delivered to coordinates I designate, and your gods help you if you fail. Their ship reaches Dragon Space in 5 days, and it'll take you 3 to get to her. Hurry... our calves miss their mother. " Nodding, she leaned forward "We'll get her home safe." and then watched as the orca cut the connection, looking at Rithnok "Well, it seems we have a date, don't we?"

The next few hours were spent arranging things; She appraised her crew of the contract, calming their nerves at not being able to join them with the knowledge they'd be getting paid and also helping them realize she did not want to risk them. In fact, the credits were in their accounts before she'd finished talking with them; She had to at least give a nod to the Herm orca for efficiency. The ship for them to take arrived about 2 hours later, and she was both surprised and impressed, with a bit of disappointment. The ship itself looked like a cross between a shuttlecraft and an enlarged starfighter, that somehow managed to be compact but look quite roomy on the inside at a glance, the entire thing sporting not a single straight edge but looking as dangerous as an angry shark. Their pilot was in fact a shark, a lithe male by the name of Silis, who introduced himself briefly before going back to the cockpit and securing it, as he apparently flew best in a submerged environment, and didn't wish to dry out. Before leaving, she handed over the freezegun she'd been given with reluctance, then was informed she could have it back once the mission was over; Sucking in half the atmosphere in the hull to fire her shots could result in problems for anyone who was without a spacesuit, and while the hull metal might be insulated there was no guarantee the interior walls wouldn't shatter into shrapnel. She was glad to find out that a complete set of weapons and space armor, sized for her and rithnok, were already on board. CTI had apparently tried to cover all the bases. She was also in a way touched by something she recieved on the way out; As they'd left for the starport, the drorca had stopped her a moment and blessed her, saying she was an honorable warrior and would be watched over by his deity, Chi-Thon, during the mission. He also said that he had found in her a fellow warrior of honor, and gave her an old blessing from his 'home pod', something about may 'the waters she swam in be full of light and good hunting, and here enemies cower rather than fight'. If he hadn't already been taken, she'd have been tempted to kiss his cheek for luck.

The ship turned out to be an APC, judging by the benches lining the interior lined with crash harnesses, multiple medpacks along the hull interior, as well as emergency vacsuits and other gear which spoke of transporting lots of people, fast, in hazardous conditions. The exterior of the ship was also covered in something that looked like optical camouflage fibers, refracting the light at different angles when you got close. She was glad to find her initial glance was correct and that the interior was big enough to not make her crouch everywhere, as well as having seats big enough to fit her comfortably, even her tail. Belting herself in opposite the star dragoness, she got all 8 points secured, checked with her partner, and then hit the intercom connecting them to the cockpit, an image appearing that mystified her at first; it took a moment to realize the shark was, in fact, submerged, the entire command portion of the ship apparently filled with saltwater as he chuckled "You two ready to head out?" Getting an affirmative nod from Rithnok, she grinned "Ready when you are..." and received a sharky, tooth filled smirk in answer "Ok, hold onto your yourselves, my parking permit for this thing expires in about 2 minutes and we need to be in orbit by then. " She didn't get a chance to reply as she was suddenly shoved sideways and down into her seat, the tiny ship accelerating like it was in free-fall up as Silis gave a triumphant cry over the intercom, the ship feeling like it was standing on it's tail and shooting straight up. Unable to see their altitude or orientation, she tried valiantly to not black out or gouge the chair's armrests as the vertical ascent continued, her eyes closed as she took deep breaths through her nose, using her heartbeat to keep time. It took about 7 minutes, by her estimation, before the inertia suddenly eased down and she found the straps from the harness not digging into her chest anymore.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she hit the intercom again and growled "Ok, what the Fuck was that!?" Glancing at her, the shark looked at his panel, visibly blanched, and then looked back "Oh, Uh, sorry... I forget to turn on the Antigrav sometimes to compensate for Inertia... It was only about 6 G's, nothing too bad... Um, you're ok, right?" Her low growl was answered by him holding up his hands "Look, I need to fly in water to feel the ship around me, and all the mass throws off the rest of the ship if I don't balance things right, ok? Just let me make it up for you when we get to objective, I'll redeem myself, promise. " Looking at the other dragoness, she sighed as she saw the black and white herm not even bothered; but then she was a star dragoness, space travel was as natural to her as swimming was to their pilot. Unbuckling herself, she stood up, bracing against the wall to get the blood back into her limbs for several moments, then stretching as she eyed her partner "Let's see what this tub has, other than a smartass pilot, eh?" Unbuckling with practiced motions, Rithnok simply grinned at her and nodded "Don't worry, it'll become natural after your first thousand drops or so. "

The ship turned out to fit an amazing amount of gear in a seemingly small space; In addition to a compact kitchen and bathroom big enough she could fit in almost comfortably, there were weapons and armor for 10 beings besides them, a force-field generator that turned the crew compartment into a mini shooting range, control over the gravity field in ship to allow for working out, and even a functional shower. The weapons she'd been provided with were mostly less than lethal, but geared towards intraship combat; she found herself preferring a combination of a prototype lightning-thrower/sonic disruptor that was designed to disable armor and then use focused soundbeams to KO or disorient the pilot, and a glove that delivered a shock on contact, but reinforced her knuckles for additional impact. She also had both her pistols, and 4 spare reloads for each. For her part, Rithnok stated simply that her own gear was sufficient, despite it only looking like a bag of custom ammo, two pistols, and a sword that she refused to let Arun touch "For her own safety." The armor for them was flexible and functional, a combination of hard plates for kinetic impact and some kind of smart fabric which would be airtight and proof against vacuum, but also absorbed energy weapons like a sponge. They were environmental as well, with helmets designed to give them maximum visibility and protection; all in all, they could have gotten much worse.

Under other circumstances, she might have gotten frisky with the other dragoness, but they were on their way to a life or death rescue mission, and that kept them both focused on practicing with their gear, sparring, and insuring they were ready when it was time for the shit to hit the fan. Their pilot seemed shy and nervous with them outside of the cockpit, only speaking with them a little and making an effort to be social when he obviously felt awkward; he was the exact opposite in the pilot's chair, reminding her of several fighter jocks she'd known over the years, but with a protective streak that indicated he took pride in his work. It was a good two hours before they were supposed to catch up to the other ship when he came over the shipwide intercom, his voice a bit unnerved "Ok you two we got a Snafu... our rendezvous is out of warp and has its distress beacon going, and I'll be damned if I know why, we're the only ship in 3 parsecs that I can see. "

Stopping mid push-up, Arun looked up at the intercom, her red hair falling across her face and eyes "What? Any damage to the exterior?" A pause, followed by a hurm "Nothing on passives, and I'll be danged before I use active scans while we're cloaked. " Getting upright and glancing at her counterpart, she tilted her head "Wait, this thing has cloaking?" The reply was a "SShhhh... you think I'm gonna tell you everything about my little friend here? If the port authorities on Crescere 4 knew half of what this thing could do, we'd have never gotten to orbit. Now kindly get your tray tables and the stewardess in the upright position, and get your asses suited up; you've got ten minutes while I approach to try and do a quiet dock. "

Not bothering to argue, she took what was likely the fastest shower in her life and slipped into the Space Combat Suit, checking each of her seals twice as she watched Rithnok do the same, then they both checked each other's seals; Space was not to be trifled with. By the time they had finished getting all their weapons linked to their suits and were ready, they had about 60 seconds to wait. A holo-screen appeared in front of them, displaying black space twinkled with stars, and in the middle was a small but rapidly growing barely perceptile dot. The dot soon resolved itself into what looked like a freighter that had been through an extreme makeover; the hull was covered in armor plates, and multiple turret mounted guns ran along all four of its major axis, a small cockpit at one end matched on the other by a large engine cluster. All the proximity lights had been removed, and the entire thing was painted black like the void. They could only discern it by the blackness of it against a nearby supernova. The image shifted, and she realized it was their own ship doing a loop approach, like a fighter would attempting to avoid a point defense system. Tapping her chin-mike, she clicked her tongue once to insure it was on, then kept looking at the image "Can you give me any sensor readings, life signs or anything?" The reply echoed in her earpiece a moment later "The armor is blocking any sensor info; but I can tell ya something is going on, there's no active sensors, the weapons are all powered down, and some of the lifeboats are missing. The engines look fine though, and I don't see any battle damage or lost Atmo... You two will have to go in and see what's up face to face. Gimme 30 seconds. " As they approached, for a moment she swore she saw movement through the cockpit glass, and what looked like a sprat of red; a glance at Arun confirmed her seeing it as well, and both wordlessly charged their weapons to full.

To his promise, it took Silis exactly 30 seconds for them to come up alongside one of the two docking ports on the side of the ship and attempt to dock, their portal locking itself to the circular opening and cycling, then revealing an armored portal on the other side, a small codepad next to it on the hull the only sign it could open. Placing a gloved hand on the metal, Arun looked for seams, weak points, anything they could exploit, and found little to nothing; it looked like it was designed to handle vehicle class weapons without a scratch. A beep in her helmet was followed by "Do me a favor? There's a little cable on the side of the portal, tipped with some glowing blue gel. Push that against the codepad, and I'll see if I can crack this thing. " Off to her left, next to Rithnok, the end of a cable that looked fiber optic began glowing, a viscous fluid that looked both grey and transparent covering its tip. A quick hand motion, and the other dragoness gripped the cable, eyed it, then shrugged and pressed it against the numpad, the gel seeming to stick to and flow into the electronic plate. Several long seconds later, the codepad flashed red, then yellow, then green, and give an electronic chime as the hull plate in front of them pulled into the surrounding hull, rotated like a wheel, then opened vertically like a gigantic maw, revealing an airlock beyond, made of the same hull armor as the ship's exterior. Glancing around their own airlock, she noticed a box labeled "Skeleton Key" and picked it up, then opened it to reveal what looked like a normal combat dagger in a magnetized sheath, save for some green LED's along the edge of the scabbard. Deciding to take the chance, she pulled it out and strapped it to her thigh, then nodded to the other dragoness, an unspoken question if she was ready.

Switching to combat hand-gesture's, her counterpart made an "After you" gesture and then readied her pistols, providing cover as she stepped into the airlock and glanced around, looking for any inbuilt defenses. Not seeing any, she gestured for the the other armor-clad herm to join her, her breathing the only sound in the vac of the airlock. As soon as her partner joined her, the portal behind them closed, shrouding them in darkness. Rather than panic, she carefully controlled her heartbeat, unwilling to give away their presence or radio frequencies for transmitting, regardless of how good their encryption was. It took a full 5 heartbeats for the interior lights of the airlock to come on, and she waited patiently for air to begin filling the room. Instead, a small sensor-eye dropped from a hidden compartment, and a scanning beam began to slowly approach them both, the red beam searching to see if they were authorized.

She didn't need the suitcom to know the smaller figure was likely cursing as much as she was, trying to find a way to open the interior door before the scanning beam got to them and decided they weren't authorized; her fears were reinforced as several small metal ports in the interior of the compartment opened, looking like energy emitters of some type, likely laser, plasma, or something else meant to be extremely painful. Pulling the combat knife from its sheath, she tried to figure out how to use it; it was a knife, not a lockpick or portable hackputer, and the only hint of any special abilities it posessed were the LED lights in the sheath and that the light in the room seemed to refract off the edge, something she'd only seen in finely etched and extremely sharp combat blades. In desperation, she stuck the knife into the middle of the circular portal leading to the ship's interior, and to her amazement, sank it in to the guard. Pulling it out and then shoving it in again, she found it slid through the metal as easily as air, and in fact, she could hear air whistling through the tiny crack she'd made. A burning, glaring light beside her revealed itself as Rithy readying some kind of spell, and it took her slashing hand motion to calm the other dragoness, her attention returning to focus on the knife as the scanning beam made it to the halfway point. The knife was pulled again, and this time she slid it into the edge of the door, making an arching cut that went along the edge of where the door would open, air coming through the breach behind it and turning into crystals as it froze in the vacuum of the chamber. The beam was two thirds done as she finished the cut and slashed along the middle of the door, the heavy hullmetal emitting a hollow clang in the thin air which had filled the chamber from her cuts, the incoming atmosphere shoved it's weight in, both of them barely dodging out of the plate's path. The armor was nearly 7 inches thick, almost thick enough the blade wouldn't have been able to breach it all, and definitely impervious to anything short of a cruiser class particle beam. Not bothering with niceties, Rithnok took a step back and jumped through the open half of the door, landing on the other side in a combat roll as alarms began to sound in the ship's interior, announcing they had been boarded. Two quick snaps of gunfire soon followed; This allowed Arun the cover she needed as her taller frame wiggled through the hole, the tip of her tail just exiting the airlock as a secondary door slammed shut ahead of the scanning beam, sealing them inside.

As soon as she was on her feet, she was looking around, and was surprised to see her partner with weapon down rather than up, as if not expecting immediate opposition. The only former threat she could see was two figures, what looked like a wolf and a bear, lying on the deckplating with blood leaking from their newly acquired holes in the head, their pose strangely reminiscent of the bear mounting the wolf. A half dozen other bodies were strewn in the hallway in various positions, showing signs of combat but also feeling strange to her in how they were positioned. Kneeling into a covering position, she motioned the other dragoness to check it out, watching as she inspected the bodies, visibly puzzled, and then quickly glanced down the long hallway running down the main axis of the ship once she was certain there were no immediate threats. Coming back, she tapped their helmets together, to let them communicate without eavesdropping "What's the Sitrep?" The smaller dragons voice was methodical and practiced, that of a veteran, but still a bit confused "All of them died from CQC wounds, looks like a combination of knife and gunshots, and whoever did it was *damn* good, looks like a prof hit this place. And there are more bodies up and down the corridor, I'm willing to bet the same means, but some of them look like they died a bit... funny. The two I liquidated... near as I can tell, they were busy fucking through their armor on the floor. They didn't even look up. "

Pulling her helmet away, she tilted it in shared confusion, then stood to move together with her battle-partner, both of them slowly working towards the aft of the ship, checking each doorway and finding the interior of the ship Showing signs of violence, but much less then expected, and with several of the former mercs in strange positions, almost like they'd tried to rut each other and fight at the same time. Out of almost 20 beings, they only encountered two still living, the badger and fox literally tied to each other in a small anteroom. A quick shot from her arc-thrower electrocuted them both when the badger grabbed for his sidearm, but beyond that their journey was almost frighteningly quiet.

Hearing voices, they both paused as they neared the brig, it's location neatly spelled out with spray-painted lettering on the walls at Rithnok's head-height, along with bridge, head, and mess. Across from the mess, the armory door stood mostly closed, two dead bodies trapped under it and stopping it from sealing or opening, weapons lying on the ground indicating both victims had been killed while armed, the larger one, a caribou, missing his antlers as they'd been sheared off and shoved into the face of the skunk below him, the larger beings throat cut open. All in all, even for a combat veteran like herself, it was a coldly efficient way to take out an opponent. A quick hand motion had them frame either side of the mess hall door, the hatch sealed and displaying an angry red light along the edge, showing it's locked status. A thick glass window looked in on several beings in workman's and engineers coveralls sitting around and glancing at each other nervously, some eating food from the dispensers in the wall, others lying back on the tables as beds, as though they'd been there some time.

Looking up, one of them saw the glint of the armor covering Rithnok's wings, and immediately ran to the door, thanking the gods for the rescue and babbling something about saving them from the "Demon Fish" and letting them go home. The others soon followed, a cascade of faces begging for them to be let free, that they hadn't betrayed the crew, that they'd been trapped in the mess hall by the captain and watched as the 'prisoner' had gotten loose, and they simply wanted to go home. Glancing at the other dragoness, she shook her head and got a nod in answer, leaving the engineers to scream and beat futilely at the door as they continued towards the brig, wondering what had happened on this ship, and most importantly, where their objective was. The bodies continued down to near the engines, two hulking forms lying on the ground bringing her up short as she brought up her fist and then took cover, recognizing them as dragons in exosuit armor.

Making sure both were not moving, she slowly approached with her counterpart unsheathing her sword, the blade gleaming along its black edge as they stopped to look at and inspect the bodies on either side of the door labeled "Brig" in red neon letters above the frame. One of the bodies had a series of holes in the front of the exosuit's helmet, and it took her a moment to realize it was just about where the eye would have been when the suits pilot was still among the living, several bullet wounds along the pilots head confirming her suspicions. The other body, however, made her jump back and have her face visibly whiten under her scales as she saw it's face. The dragon's facial expression was one of absolute, abject horror, and both his armor-clad hands were clasped on his crotch, as though someone had managed to somehow kick him in the crotch through his armor. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head, and his mouth was hanging open like he'd been drugged in the moments before he left this reality.

Pointing at him, she touched helmets with Rithnok again "Magic?" and was even more concerned when the other dragoness shrugged and motioned for them to continue. While the door was sealed, there was a bio-scanner next to it, and she pondered if the hands of the guards would still work with them being dead for a prolonged period. Her surprise came as there was a sound of grating metal behind her, and she realized one of the dragons was only unconscious, not dead. Shaking his head, one eye blinded by bullet shrapnel, he turned and then roared a challenge, the heavy rifle his exosuit let him wield coming up towards her as an angry red dot from it's targeting laser lit up the center of her chest. Dodging to one side, she heard the weapon power up, followed by a draconic scream and something heavy and metallic hitting the floor. Coming up from her roll, she saw the Plasma Beamer lying on the ground, the dragons forearms still attached it, sundered at the elbows. Rithnok was pulling her sword back from the swing, delicate drops of blood falling from it's edge like tiny rubies as the other herm grinned at the stunned merc, his eyes now focused on her partner "Tell me, do you fear death?" Before he could respond, Arun's rifle spoke, a bolt of lightning hitting the exosuits helmet, discharging, and creating a mass of steam as the dragons head superheated from the energy eruption and cooked, his roar dying as the smoking remains of what had his been body cooked inside the armor and collapsed to the decking, smoke pouring out through the holes in the helmet. Cursing herself for being sloppy, she motioned to Rithnok she was fine, and then kicked the corpse to make sure it was properly dead this time. Finishing, she turned and grabbed the hand of the merc from his rifle, yanking the glove off the severed appendage and putting it on the biolock reader, then waiting for it to cycle and greenlight, opening the door to reveal the room inside, her cautious steps echoed by Rithnok's as they stepped inside. What she found was something like a Saint Catherine's wheel or X-frame from a dungeon made of solid metal supports, foot and leg restraints on it hanging loose, as were metallic chains around what she guessed would have been the neck and midsection of the captive. Lying on the floor in front of it was a Mixed breed canine, his neck snapped so severely he was almost staring at his own tail. With the other dragon providing cover, she knelt and was surprised and, she had to admit, a bit scared, at what she found inspecting the body. The canine had all four of his limbs dislocated, apparently from hand to hand combat, and was dressed in coveralls. His throat was also bruised under the fur, but not enough to be a fatal strangulation, more like if he'd been choked to keep him quiet. Standing back up, she motioned her partner over and tapped helmets again "Can you do some kind of magic thing to find out what happened?" was followed by a roll of the eyes "I can try, but no promises... sometimes the dead are pretty weird, and it's not like I have a priest in my pocket to interpret. " Nodding, she watched the corridor as the space-suit clad dragoness kneeled and performed several arcane gestures, muttering something, and then stood a few minutes later, stared down at the body, and kicked it in the crotch. A moment later her voice came over the helmet radio "I doubt there's anyone here to monitor it... they were going to take turns raping her before they got to the hegemony, and dumbass here got convinced by her it'd be better if he let her go. You can see how well that worked out. "

Holding back her own growl, she nodded "Ok, so where in hell is she now?" Returning to her all business demeanor, the smaller herm looked up at her "Likely the bridge, if she didn't get killed by the crew... and the air is safe, we can open up to save our oxy if you want. " Not wanting to but conceding the point, a quick tap on a button slid her faceplate up with a low whoosh, exposing her to the ships air and drawing a disgusted sound from her throat "Gah, this thing smells like blood, BO and piss. " A second whoosh announced the star dragoness following suit, her nonverbal snort marking her agreement. Now knowing their true objective, they continued down the main hallway, checking each room in turn again to make sure there were no hidden traps or ambushers as they headed towards the bow of the ship, and it's bridge. The trapped males in the chowhall began yelling again as soon as they came back into view, begging for mercy and for them to be let out so they could go home. Tapping the glass, Rithnok shook her head and gave them a naughty naughty finger, followed by a shushing motion to her lips. It took a moment, but they quieted down, simply watching as the two newcomers to the ship continued going down the hallway, inspecting the bodies as they went. She was the first to notice the pattern, and brought up her partner with a paused battle-sign. "All of these are close combat wounds... mostly knife, some pistol, all of it through the armor they had on. I mean I know I'm good, but not *that* good... this "Finna" is going to be a serious handful of she thinks we're hostile. "

Pausing and eyeing the corpses strewn throughout the area approaching the bridge, the other dragoness nodded "Well, we'll have to be on guard, won't we? And I don't know if you noticed, three more crotch grabbers we've passed by, and 4 more closer to the bridge... It's not random, but can't figure out a pattern either..." Still unsure of the what or why for those deaths, she nodded, then, hearing a sound, checked her weapon to insure everything was fully functional "Ok, game time..." They both took up cover on either side of the hallway, using bulkheads for cover, as a handful of beings clad in portions of armor shoved their way out of a door further down the hallway, near where the bridge would be. They waited, and before long the irredeemable crewmember's starting walking towards them, but walking strangely and muttering. Rithnok was the first spotted, and they immediately broke into a run, charging towards them and making a mix of guttural yells and moaning. The sonic blaster was the first weapon to speak, dropping a crewman, a tiger, who skidded to a halt after falling down face first. Rithnok then dropped another with a pistol shot to the head, not bothering with non-lethal loads as the wolf's head jerked back and he collapsed to the floor. Something didn't feel right, and she realized what it was a moment later; all the crewmembers had tents in their shorts, wetspots showing through the two coveralls of the pair not wearing armor, the ones who were straining their cups against the underlying armor. A bullet ricocheted off the hull above her head, and a glance behind her confirmed they'd somehow missed a couple of mercs in armor in their sweep, the silver and red of the irreedeemable's commando armor visible when they ducked out of cover to fire, apparently trying to occupy her and rithnok while the crew approached. Cursing, she carefully aimed, and then fired her lightning thrower, managing to wing one of the commando's and alert Rithnok to their presence. The other dragoness was busy however, downing three more of the now dozen horny crewfurs approaching them from near the bridge. One of the two rear assailants popped out of cover a moment, and The purple and white dragoness felt a lump form in her throat as his arm arched back in an obvious throwing motion; as a soft *ping* sounded her sonic rifle discharged, catching him in the chest, and she ducked into the alcove provided by her bulkhead, yelling "Cover!" as her partner heard her and ducked in, unsure what was going on. Two heartbeats later there was a loud *whoosh!* followed by a deafening bang as the concussion grenade went off, the shockwave channeling down the hallway and blowing the remaining crewmembers approaching them violently back against a wall, breaking bones and likely skulls on all of them. Ears ringing, the taller herm jumped out and ran down the hallway to where the commandos had been, the electrical fist on her right hand glowing as it charged up. Arriving, she found the one who'd been holding the grenade dead from the concussion after her sonic beam had disrupted his internal balance, the explosive detonating in his hand and shredding his armor over half his body. The other merc was just starting to stand as she hit him with a haymaker, the charge from the glove combining with the force of her blow to knock him against the wall and knock him unconscious, his gun clattering to the floor. Seeing a handwritten lottery ticket tucked into his glove, she growled in disgust and fired the lightning thrower point blank into him, cooking him inside his armor, and then spat on the corpse for good measure. Coming up behind him, she heard Rithnok cluck her tongue "Rookie's... would've expected better then this guarding her. " Growling, Arun stepped back and motioned for them to keep going, their inspection of the crewmembers who had been charging them revealing she'd been right; the ones who weren't dead were still visibly hard, even unconscious and barely able to move from their shattered bones. Approaching the foyuer to the bridge pressure door, she glanced at the other dragoness "You ever seen any magic do something like that before?"

Whatever Rithnok's response was got lost as she stepped into the final hallway and got a whiff of something she couldn't quite explain... but all of a sudden she desperately wanted to be back in that bedroom in Ragadon, getting every hole in her body crammed full of cock while she sheathed herself in Rithnok and emptied load after load in her, her body afire in need. Trying to refocus, her mind instead switched to Koral-rath, and how good it would feel to get him naked in the gym and give him a proper workout, her mind refusing to think of anything but breeding. Leaning back against the wall, she deeply inhaled, and somehow made it even worse, the clothing on her body going from comfortable to tight and constricting, her maleness pressing painfully against the crotchpiece of the armored suit as she tried to reach up and activate her helmet, to re-engage the air filters. A glance revealed Rithnok had come over to see what was going on, and was now also affected, her body shivering as she dug her claws at the hull metal and deeply huffed, her other hand seeming to fight between holding her gun and trying to yank at her crotch "What... The Hell... is..." Focusing her attention, she reached out and smacked the side of the other herms helmet, unable to resist pulling on her to try and get her closer as the ballistic glass slid down and covered her face, re-engaging her air supply. Arun wanted nothing so much as to shred the suits off of them both and get busy right on the hull decking, unheeding of the bodies around them, the combat conditions, anything, to just ease the burning in her loins. Her battle became easier as the other dragoness inhaled several breaths and then activated the taller dragonkin's helmet, sealing her and letting her inhale again, the tingling lessening but not disappearing as she shivered and leaned against the wall. It took more time then they could afford to get her head back on track, and looking down she saw the other dragoness give a shiver as she managed to croak out "Da fuck, war gas? You said the air was clean!"

Rithnok held up a scanner on her suits arm that gave an "All conditions: Normal" reading on the atmosphere in the air around them, then shook her head. "Something new... by Io that was... intense... I felt like I could've taken on the entire audience in a gladiator's ring and still been horny..." Taking a deep breath of the canned air in the suit and nodding, thinking she'd never take that metallic tang in it for granted again, she stood up and half walked, half waddled to the bridge door, her mind focused but body still drugged on raw lust. A glance confirmed her partner following suit, the smaller dragoness seemingly not as affected as they braced on either side of the hatchway to the bridge, clad in the same armor as the outer airlock door. The keypad on the side looked like it had been broken, and she cursed softly "Now, what?" And then almost jumped as the door rotated 90 degrees, then split down the middle and pulled into either side, revealing a small but efficiently laid out bridge, all but the captain's chair empty and facing towards them.

Rifle already at her shoulder, she scanned the room and then keyed her suits loudspeaker "Identify yourself!" The answer that came was as unexpected as it was welcome "Well, took you long enough, though I'll admit I didn't expect this to be how the first date went. " She almost recognized the voice, and it's identity was confirmed a moment later as the chair spun around to reveal a naked female dolphin anthro, her strong countershading indicating she was of mixed heritage, streaks and blots of dried blood the only signs of the combat she'd been in, one of her hands holding a knife identical to the "Skeleton Key" they'd used to get in. She recognized her as the female dolphin from when they'd broken out of the CTI facility, one who'd managed to take out three light mechs in hand to hand. Noting their closed helmets, the female rolled her eyes and facepalmed "Dammit, apologies on my pheromones... I have to concentrate not to release them, comes with being a fertility priestess. " Flicking her free hand in a complex motion, she closed her eyes, then opened them again, a smile parting her beak "It should be ok now... I was relaxing and forgot to keep them dampened, sorry about that. " It took a moment for her partner to recognize the dolphin nurse from the underground base, but once she did she shook her head and was unable to suppress a smirk "You're Finna Orcan-Calafin?" Recognizing them both, the girlphin smiled and bowed "Indeed.. Arun and Rithnok, I recognize you two, though I sadly promised my hubbie-orca I wouldn't dally with anyone, so I can't get to know you as well as my brother. "

Realizing who their quarry was, they both nodded to each other and glanced at her "You'll forgive us for not opening our suits just yet. " Almost Chuckling, Arun huffed "Ok, We're here to take you home... and if you don't mind, could you bring us up to speed on what the hell happened here?" Finna hurmed, then nodded "I call a trade... first, can one of you two please turn this damn crate around? I can't read draconic and all the buttons in here are like trying to read cuniform... I take it the yelling and explosions was you handling the rest of the crew. " Shrugging, she eyed Rithnok "Do you..." and then stopped as the star dragoness pulled her helmet off, then began tapping on controls, making clucking noises "I swear, what would you do without me, hmm?" as she continued working on the console. A few moments later, The star dragoness glanced up and grinned "Ok, Got the Distress beacon turned off, We're changing course back to the co-ord's your 'Hubbie-Orca' gave us, and all the defense systems are turned off... the idiots left the passwords on a post-it note next to the console. " Surprised at Rithnok so willingly taking of her helmet, she nodded slowly, guessing the star dragoness knew something she didn't.

Silis's voice came over their coms a moment later, surprised and a bit upset "Next time you ladies want to change course while I'm still attached to the damn ship, could you kindly drop me a memo?" The girlphin perked up and giggled softly, then motioned and turned on the microphone in Rithnok's Helmet "Silis? Is that you? Still got both barrels warmed up for me?" The laugh from the helmet was genuine "As I swim and eat, There are you Finna! And yeah, if that mistress of yours ever lets me..." Shaking her head again, Arun sat and stared, wondering how they went from a rescue operation to their target swapping sexual innuendos with their pilot while enroute back to their safehouse. Cautiously Removing her own helmet to let her hair free after Rithnok's insistence, she sighed and looked at the 6'5" girlphin, who currently looked utterly comfortable despite being splattered with gore, still holding the knife in one hand. "Okay, We did our half... now spill. "

Sitting down, seeming to not notice or care that she only had a knife and both of her rescuers were still wielding firearms, the female dolphin leaned back in the chair and sighed "Readers digest version, I got caught and preferred capture vs death, figuring I could get free. I wound up on this crate, tied up like an extra on one of my adult films, and enroute to someplace I didn't want to go. Turns out the captain figured his 'boys' could have fun with the fertility priestess enroute to collect the bounty; they had a lottery for what the order was they'd rape me in. Rape... isn't something people of my faith like much. " Nodding and trying not to let her own memories rear their ugly heads, she glanced around the bridge, seeing several dead bodies and remembering how she got her first ship, a shudder passing through her. Noting this, the phin woman continued, idly playing with the knife in one hand "The first one in was able to be convinced to let me go, and it was game on. Everyone who participated in the lottery got my 'attentions', including the bridge crew. The ones who didn't got locked up in the mess hall as prisoners; the captain did it to insure they didn't interfere, so I left them there. " Rithnok then butted in, harrumphing "You really expect us to believe you took out all 50 plus " and then stopped as the dolphin chittered "60... 8 went out in lifepods with frag grenades in them, 52 were on the ship. And Yes... but then, you're White Lotus, would you expect less of one of yours?"

A growl came from the star dragoness as she fingered her pistol "What are you talking about?" Glancing up, the girlphin's warm expression was gone; she now looked calm, focused, cold, every part an assassin "A while ago, I was second in command for the 9 tides... But that was another life, and I left long before the current problems between you two..." The smaller herms demeanor had utterly changed, looking both angry and disgusted "You were a member of those..." Sighing, Finna nodded "Yes, but that was when we hunted war criminals... now they're just a band of cutthroats. They've lost their way, and I want no part of them. My mentor would cry if she saw them as they are now. " Glancing between them, Arun kept a careful watch "Wait... you're telling me you're a wetwork specialist?"

With a motion so fast it could scarcely be followed, the girlphin threw the knife she had in hand into a body, burying it to the cross guard in it as she then sat back, never mind the fact she'd casually thrown an unbalanced blade ten feet without a warm-up and bullseyed her target "Yes, but that was a long time ago... I'm a mother, a fertility priestess now, and a lot happier for it. I don't like death... there's enough needless death in the galaxy as it is. " A glance at Rithnok relaxing showed that her partner had used some kind of truth-telling magic, and that their rescuee was telling the truth. Unable to stop herself, Arun leaned forward "The crew... some of them didn't die normally, what did you do to them?" A combination of guilt, anger, and vengeance flashed through the dolphins eyes, and she made a motion in front of her face, as though atoning. "I'm a fertility priestess, I worship love, pleasure, and the joy of creation. They threatened my children, so I asked and received permission from my patrons to give them a suitable answer; they died through their armor from exsanguination via their scrotums and phalli. " Her response made Rithnok take a step back and stare at the dolphin, as though in disbelief "You can do that?" Arun nervously glanced at her helmet, pondering replacing it despite the girlphin had mentioned the magic went through armor, and the fact this was someone they were rescuing, so who was supposedly on their side.

Glancing over her shoulder, the naked girlphin measured the star dragoness with her eyes "I'd prefer not to talk about it... but you can teleport and throw fireballs, so you know there are worse ways to go. Now, if you two don't mind, I really would like a shower; we've got 5 days at the rate this clunker goes before I get to go home, and I'd prefer to look a bit nicer if I'm going to entertain company. " Escorting her, they found a workable shower in the captain's quarters, and after some more talking found themselves starting to relax around the girlphin, despite her earlier statements. She also went more into depth about her former 'employers', and the more she heard the more the star dragoness seemed to accept Finna's story. They also were able to chat as they piled the dead bodies into the airlock and jettisoned them into space, so that when it got use as their 'trojan horse' they wouldn't have to deal with the funk of dozens of rotting corpses. The crew who were injured but not dead recieved a combination of first aid and healing magic to stabilize them, then got thrown into what had been Finna's cell. By the third day their bounty had convinced them to take off their armor and simply wear their undersuits, and they were starting to trade combat stories, the atmosphere as relaxed as it could be given the circumstances; She also apologized again for forgetting to restrain her natural pheromones, revealing that unless she concentrated everyone within a dozen feet of her would almost always be aroused, a sign in her religion of their deities favor. She stated that she preferred to be naked at all times, but out of respect would honor however they chose to dress, which suited her just fine. Day 5 found them starting to run out of rations just as a CTI ship arrived to transport her, Arun's own ship following close behind at the rendezvous. The engineers were allowed to board the CTI ship as well, and Arun was surprised to see them treating the engineers not as enemy combatants but as though they had been prisoners of the mercs themselves. The injured mercs were given medical care and treated as though they'd been brainwashed, not hardened criminals. As she left, Finna smiled and kissed each of them on the cheek, still wearing no clothing as she chittered "Now you two be good... There's quite a present waiting for you at the end of this rainbow, and I hope the galaxy gives you the right kind of surprises. "

After consulting with Rithnok and her crew, they agreed the best option was to have her ship follow in tow like it had been captured as bounty to get through the blockade. It was only one parsec, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Their shark pilot, Lyra, agreed to pilot the Iredeemables ship, with Haelin following behind, her ship at the end of a tractor beam. Rithnok would be in the captured ship as well, to translate the draconic. The ruse went surprisingly well, with only three patrols scanning them and letting them pass, as word had not yet spread of the ship's missing status. It took 3 long days to get through the blockade, but at the end of it, there sat the CTI planet, literally in the eye of the storm, the base hidden underneath a massive hurricane that covered much of the planet's surface. They took her ship down, the green haze of the atmosphere belying it's chlorinated and poisonous nature as they flew in. Arrival was surprisingly easy, an automated system guiding them into the side of a mountain, the ship then being bathed in a neutralizing agent to avoid it poisoning the air inside of the research base. As soon as they disembarked, a friendly looking Kitsune greeted her and Rithnok, asking the others to stay inside of the ship due to there being so many classified tests being run and security wanting a minimal risk. Not liking it, they obeyed, and she found herself and her battle partner walking down a long hallway seemingly etched with laser precision from the walls of the mountain, veins of minerals tracing the curves of the tube as they were led to a set of sealed double doors made of what looked like star cruiser hull metal. It took the Kitsune a handprint, retina scan, and voice recognition to open them, revealing a vaulted room with ceilings almost 30 feet high, the entire structure seemingly made of a silvery-grey metal enmeshed with what looked like carbon fiber.

Their claws echoing on the floor, she stepped up to an alcove and was surprised as it scanned her, then asked for her retina and a piece of her hair. After a motion of encouragement from the Kitsune, she pulled out a strand and fed it into a small tube, then let it scan her eye. Three lights changed from red to green above a door that looked like it belonged on a vault, and with a hiss the huge door, one of many lining the walls of the room, opened for her. Inside was everything she hoped and more; weapons, some of the elite military grade, lined the inside of the door. But the greatest treasure was inside, a suit that made her old power armor look like a child's toy. As she approached, it hissed, and a seam opened, following by the suit opening like a clamshell to welcome her. As she slid into it, it conformed to her body, feeling like an extension of it rather than a suit, her body slipping into it like a hand into a glove, a small circle appearing on the bottom left of her vision, displaying "Loading..." and a percentage.

Glancing around the large room, Rithnok felt distinctly uncomfortable; it felt entirely too much like an ancient cathedral, or some alien edifice she'd somehow managed to get into to explore. The walls, the vaults, everything seemed to thrum with a technology and purpose she couldn't quite explain. And the fact that one of the trio running CTI was a retired assassin and one of the founders of a rival clan did not bode well, even if she was friendly, articulate, and pretty enough to stir her loins. When she heard the hiss, her instincts kicked in; a leap forward turned into a combat roll, both her pistols seemingly appearing in her hands as she stood in ready stance, and then looked up, her eyes refusing to change their report to a disbelieving mind. A second hiss and she did not move, as it would have been pointless if what she saw was true. Pulling itself free from the vault it had been in was a dragon destroyer, a thing of legend made of black armor, magic, and, singular purpose. It had been millenia since she'd been told of them as a whelp, of how they could defeat armies and defeat villains and champions alike, sunder kingdoms and enforce the will of the old draconic gods. The thing was so black it absorbed light, eyes glowing red hidden behind a visor as it took two massive steps forward, then stopped, it's tail twitching as it focused its gaze on her. She was readying to make whatever stand she could, mind wondering how on earth that thrice-damned dolphin found something so ancient and powerful, Then it spoke in Arun's voice "I don't know about you, I *like* this thing..." and then turned around, glancing at it's tail "Although I think he went a bit heavy on the ass armor..."

Biting back a retort, she glanced up and down the form before her and harrumphed, doing her best not to let her inner turmoil show; how had a being with no seeming knowledge of draconic mythology made something so close to the old myth's? Making her mind think analytically, she noted the armor, the configuration, the smoothness of movement; the suit looked formidable and powerful, and seemed to follow it's owner's every thought. It would be a nightmare on the battlefield if it performed half as well as it seemed to be designed. There was a crackle, followed by a soft voice echoing on a PA system "Arun? It's Arun, isn't it? We just got a spacecom message; it got sent broad signal, everyone in the sector saw it... it's a message for you. " In the air above the center of the room, a holographic screen appeared, displaying a red dragon wearing a rune covered blindfold, half the front of his body clad in some kind of metallic scales, his wings also seemingly made of metal etched with runes.

As the suit turned and looked at the image, the gigantic projected form of the dragon leaned forward, looking into the camera "Arun, this is Sanguine Vermillion... You took my sight from me, and for that, you will pay. " Leaning back, the red pulled off the blindfold, revealing two dead, white orbs where his eyes would have been "You have humiliated and insulted me and the honor of my Clan... when I find you, I will enjoy hearing your cries for mercy, but do not expect them to be honored. You, and your crew, are mine. Pray to whoever your gods are, because I am going to enjoy this hunt. And I *will* find you. " Whatever the rest of the message was dissolved as a bolt of energy as white as a nova struck through it, destroying the holo-emitter powering it. The suit was now glancing down at it's hand, flexing it as smoke from burnt atmosphere coiled up from the hidden emitter it had come from. Without moving, the face of the PA seemed to somehow grin "Bring it..."