Chapter One

[Quantum Rain]

First topic message reminder :



----Intro post shall arrive later----

[Fore Admiral Disayle]

*Septimus opens a line to the carrier.* Septimus: ...status report, Commander.

Nihlus: ....green, sir. I think.

Septimus: Good. Dismissed. We'll send ships down to extract you out of there soon. *He cuts it off.* What in the...by the spirits, how...?!?!

Comms Officer: Sir, incoming transmission from the carrier.

Septimus: Patch it through.

Nihlus: Uh, General, we have a problem. All the stresses the ship took during the descent fried a lot of systems, but worse, it welded most of the exterior hatches and doors shut. We're pretty trapped in here, sir.

Septimus: Alright, Commander. We'll do what we can. *He cuts it off once more.*

Sensors Officer: Sir, with all due respect, we should probably get them out of there soon. If it's truly sealed as the Commander said, that thing will become a pressure-cooker in no time.

Septimus: I know. Maybe the Free Peoples can help us--open a line to the Pyotr the Great.

*A transmission is sent to Roach's ship.* Septimus: Admiral Roach, we need your help. *He explains the situation to Roach.*

[Roach]

Roach listens intently.

Roach: If i realign the phase coils and make some tweaks to the power output of one of my cruisers phaser arrays i should be able to cut a rather large and precise chunk out of the hull and then use Pyotr the Great's tractor beams to yank the segment away. I estimate about an hour for my modifications to be ready.

[Fore Admiral Disayle]

Septimus (off the line): Well?

Sensors Officer: 30 minutes until they're baked alive in there, General.

Septimus: It'll have to do...begin your preparations, Admiral. *He cuts the line.* Is there nothing we can do?

Gunnery Officer: Well, sir, we could be try to cut through the ship's armor with our GARDIAN arrays, but these things are meant for swatting strikecraft. They're not built for cutting through the armor on a goddamn capital ship...sir.

Septimus: What else?

Gunnery Officer: The only other option I can think of is remotely detonating a disruptor torpedo to warp the hangar doors and hope the effects wrench them open again.

Septimus: That's a big "if", Gunnery Officer.

Gunnery Officer: I know, General. Thinking under pressure does that.

*Septimus deliberates for a few precious seconds, and then decides.* Septimus: Helmsman, set a course for the crashed carrier. Engineering, reroute all available power to the GARDIAN arrays. Gunnery Officer, prepare to begin cutting through the hull.

Bridge Staff: Yes, sir!

*The bridge bustles with activity once more, as the ship begins its descent into the atmosphere towards the crashed Revenant.*

Nihlus: General? It's heating up fast in here...

Septimus: Just hold on, Commander--we'll be there soon!

Nihlus: Very well, sir. (Off the line) What--

*The line cuts.*

[Roach]

Roach transports to the Majestic-class cruiser the Vauxhall and begins his modifications to its phaser arrays his hand moved swiftly as he pulled open panels and made adjustments he worked quickly alongside a pair of dwarven engineers.

[Sir Noret]

//Coruscant\\

"The equipment you are looking for is legally protected on Coruscant, however given we are currently in the shady sectors of the planet, we could probably find one. Alternatively, we could travel to a location where it is not restricted such as Atzerri or the Culture."

[Quantum Rain]

--Aves--

Shadow re-emerged underneath the wreckage of the crashed ship, in a protected part of the remains of course. He procured a small nestling from one of his hands, placing the little guy on a sort of shelf. He sighed deeply, showing a stressed, worried side of his normally mischievous, dark personality. “I’m not a babysitter…” He muttered to himself, looking around the wreckage, to see if there was anything interesting lying around.

---

--Coruscant--

"You would think that these bandits had a few contacts we could borrow." Siber said aloud, blandly though, still annoyed by the messiness in which these thugs were disposed of.

---

--Piram II, Orbit--

"I'm in the command center... hmm, everything seems to have turned on instantly." Lara's voice reported with intrigue. "Lara, focus on closing the hangar doors." Rain said authoritatively over the comm. Marion smiled just slightly at how fast Rain's voice went from stressed to bluntly annoyed. "I'm on it, I'm on it." Lara replied back, equally annoyed now by Rain's attitude, as far as Marion could read into their tone of voice. She watched fire streak across the bow of the ship, coming from drones and fighters performing fly-by's, chasing each other around and destroying each other. Efficient, calculated, and tactical maneuvers dominating the scene in front of her eyes.

"Done, the doors should be closing now." Lara finally spoke after several minutes of silence on Dominae's part. Marion waited patiently for a reply from Rain stating yet another problem, which so far has not arrived. She wondered if his luck decided to twist around, up until he shouted back, "The crazy son of a [censored] is blasting through the doors!" Of course she knew the ship would likely do such. It meant that the installation was inconsequential and unimportant to their masters. Now that she knew for certain, all there was left to do was clean up the mess before it leaves the system.

"Charge the primary artillery cannons, take aim at the opening of the docking bay, and inform the rest of the fleet do so such." Marion ordered calmly, sweetly, her words echoing across the room into the minds of the others to offer some form of respite from their stress, or so the captain seemed to act, just nodding his acknowledgement as officers went to work. She saw several cannons form on the ship's outer hull, and when she glanced to each side, she saw the other ships doing the same. The ship is to be eliminated at all costs. She thought to herself, attempting to justify the deaths she's fully expecting to incur, and also knowing full well what the enemy is capable of, even with just one ship at their disposal.

"Eta until the ship exits the installation, captain?" She asked, calmly still. "2 minutes, ma'am. It seems to be rising slowly in anticipation of our actions." "So we're dealing with an artificial intelligence. Interesting." She muttered to herself, waiting patiently for judgement's hammer to fall on either the enemy or themselves.

[Fore Admiral Disayle]

--Aves--

*Shadow is afforded an ironically spectacular view of the devastation, with the battered hulks of over one hundred airships strewn grotesquely across the mountain range. Only a little more than a dozen remain to collect and aid the survivors and account for the dead. Furthermore, his superhuman hearing is easily able to pick up the cries of avian pain and anguish as they are carried throughout the range. The accumulated sights and sounds seem to conspire accusingly at him.*

*Meanwhile, the sparrowhawk nestling, having been scared into almost-silence by the terrible things it has been through, begins to squeak once more. The squeaks are carried by a breeze through the desolation, until both the pathetic noises and the nestling's downy scent reach the medic. She immediately homes in on it, scurrying over, around, and through many pieces of smoldering airship wreckage before arriving at the source of the noises and the scent. The nestling has been placed up higher than she can reach, but the medic crouches down and leaps up onto the shelf that the little creature rests upon. It is too large for her to carry, but she activates her comms device.*

Medic: Dr. Fallah to any available recovery teams--I've found a nestling survivor and need assistance with it; species Sparrowhawk. Broadcasting my location now.

*The reply takes a long time--the recovery crews are taxed to the limit of their capabilities.* Recovery crews: Roger that, Doctor. Assistance is en route--hold position.

Fallah: Thank you. *She stays with the nestling, attempting to calm it down. Its squeaks are mostly incomprehensible even to her keen hearing, but the kiwi can discern some coherent words.*

Nestling: ...big bird...big bird...fire...momma...

*Before long, a much larger avian arrives on the scene. The medic almost flies straight off [if that were possible] when he speaks.* Ironbeak: There a nestling here that needs transportation?

Fallah: Y-yes, sir, General. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Ironbeak: It's the least I can do. *He walks over to the shelf, grabs the nestling in his beak, and then carefully tucks it into his talons before flying off again. Fallah scurries to the edge of the shelf and jumps to the ground again, but before she returns to her duties, she turns and peers at the place where Shadow is standing. She tilts her head as though she hears something, and then sniffs several times...but then her comms device buzzes angrily and she is forced to run off as fast as she can.*

(Some hours later) *Ackbar is returned to the Unified Children's temporary capital of Sky's Gate--only a day ago, it was a True Children city. Now it serves as the Unified Children's center of operations, being one of the least-wrecked cities from the campaign to bring down the True Children of Aves. He receives intensive medical care on his broken wing and is released from the hospital afterwards, to be escorted to his hastily-adjusted provincial quarters high up in an abandoned apartment building. Despite his handicap, the hawk is frightfully angry.*

Ackbar: Shadow, if you're there, please get out here right now. We...need to...talk.

--Unknown World--

*Some minutes later, Septimus receives another transmission from Nihlus.* Septimus: Commander. Report?

Nihlus: Sir, situation's all green now, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you why it was green.

Septimus: That's for me to judge, Commander. Now what's going on?

*Instead of replying, Nihlus opens up a video feed on Septimus's console, streamed live from one of the few undamaged cameras left on the carrier's hull. It shows the Revenant's massive hangar door lying on the volcanic shore not far from the ship itself. A steady stream of turians flows out of the newly-created portal, and all around them are strange, insectoid creatures of varying size but, on average, about the size of a human. The creatures make no move to attack--indeed, they seem to be helping the turians: helping the wounded, elderly, and infirm to walk, or assisting them and children in climbing over very large volcanic rocks. As Septimus watches, a very large insect simply shoves a rock out of the way with its own brute strength, while an even larger one gathers blue energy about itself and uses it to move a slab of igneous rock half the size of a shuttle.*

Septimus: What...the...[censored]?! What the hell are those things?!

Nihlus: I don't know, sir.

Septimus: I need someone analyzing this footage and I need it now!! Get a line open to Admiral Roach and send him this footage as well. *The General explains the situation to Roach while the footage is being analyzed.*

(Shortly afterward, with the comms line between the ships still open) Engineering Officer: Sir, I've compared the footage to databanks in the ship's computer, and...well, General, these creatures match descriptions of rachni by 100%.

*Total silence.*

[Quantum Rain]

--Aves--
*Earlier, Shadow stood watching the two birds, hearing the nestling's voice rather easily actually. "...Big... bird? Do I look like I'm from Sesame Street you little...?!" He said to himself, stopping the instant the kiwi doctor looked in his direction. He stared at the bird hard, manipulating the mind to forget his scent for the immediate moment. Fricken nestling...*

*Later on, Shadow looked at Ackbar, invisible to such, and actually had no sarcastic or snide remarks this time.* "If you seek to blame me for not being an open book of all-seeing knowledge, then I'm afraid I'll have to pass on your invitation." *He said calmly, still invisible, and sitting down on one of the nearby chairs.* "I don't work that way and you know that, even so, my presence is inconsequential here."

[Fore Admiral Disayle]

--Aves, Sky's Gate Apartment Complex--

*Ackbar's head whips around at Shadow's voice, but at not seeing the being anywhere, he jumps down from his perch, landing awkwardly on the floor and unfolding his unhurt wing to keep his balance. The broken wing is held folded in a medical brace, and every time it is jarred, the Commander sucks in a pained breath. He does an odd hop-skipping run to a shelf on the other side of the room, where his PDA is sitting. Storing the device in a pocket on his uniform, the hawk then scurries to his door, where several guards stand at attention.*

Ackbar: Allow no-one in here without consulting me first.

Guards: But, sir, your wing--

Ackbar: I appreciate your concern, but I can still walk.

Guards: ...yes, Commander.

Ackbar: Good. *He reaches up to push a button on his wall and close the door to the room, but it is out of his reach and he forced to jump up and punch it with his beak.*

*As the door slides closed, Ackbar hopskips back to his perch and with a might leap, misses it but grabs on with his beak and manages to haul himself up onto the piece of wood, flapping his good wing to for support. After securing himself, he does nothing but stare out the window of the apartment for a long time.*

*Then, he reaches into his uniform's pocket with his beak, pulls out his PDA, taps a few buttons on it, and then tosses it to the floor. The sturdy device does not break and lands, coincidentally, right at Shadow's feet.*

Ackbar: We're still assessing the damage from the ambush. *He lets that sink in, and then continues.* One hundred of our airships--gone. Over 30,000 crew and soldiers stationed aboard them--dead. Another 10,000 still unaccounted for. *He covers his face for a moment with his good wing and goes on.* That was almost our entire fleet. Good ships and good avians who saw us through this hellish war. But what's another 40,000 lives on top of the millions already taken?!

*His anger suddenly subsides, to be replaced by bitterness.* I hope you're happy, Shadow. If this is the price your god demands of ours, let us pray it will not be too much.

[Quantum Rain]

--Aves, Sky Gate's Apartment Complex--

"My "god" demands nothing of you that you wouldn't demand of yourself were you in his position. Even if I was not here and we would not have intervened, Ackbar, this event would have happened all the same." *He says tentatively, taking up the datapad, but not looking at its information just yet.* "I can't say I'll miss anyone when they die, I'm not a 'good' person by your standards, or that whom I serve, so don't expect to elicit sympathy or compassion out of me with your speech, Ackbar." *He says, reasserting his position in these events again, both verbally, and mentally.* "In truth, though, it wasn't by any means of mine that lives were saved during the war, and in truth, this day, whether you realize this or not. No one has died in vain today, if that is what is bothering you."

---

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

A decently large frigate floated through Phase Shift space, like a ghost, passing up auroral energies that were natural and normal for this dimension. The sleek, slightly rugged ship flew towards its destination relentlessly. The people inside the ship, however...

The pilot yawned, tired of these routine runs, bored out of his mind from listening to the radio he had personally installed at his station, and exhausted from a nearly thirty-hour shift this time because the last pilot that was supposed to relieve him got injured loading cargo onto the ship.
"Did you hear on the news last week?" One officer said to another, softly, as to avoid the Captain's ears, whom had even less sleep than the pilot. "No, what is it?" Another staff member asked, curious. "They say the Imperium has been encroaching into our space, and the military reacted swiftly by publicly saying that if they don't stop..." The officer said, drifting off when the captain overshadowed him, catching them off by surprise.

"Get back to work." He said, domineeringly, and loudly enough for the entire bridge crew to hear. The pilot laughed to himself at how stupid the officer was, to mention politics in front of this insane, sleep-deprived captain who was nothing less than a zealot about his line of work. His laughter quickly died away, though, when the captain seemed to just teleport right behind him, his bloodshot, practically beaming eyes glaring narrowly into his, when he tilted his head back to see who was behind him. "Well good morning to you too, captain!" He said, utilizing a fake joy. "..." The captain turned around and sat back down again, the pilot smiling that he got away yet again from this man's imperiously strict, and not to mention killjoy, attitude. He wondered, though, if anything interesting will actually happen today.

---

--Piram II, Orbit--

"This is redicoulous..." Rain muttered, loud enough for the comm to hear. Marion heard his saber meet the metal of the ship he was standing on, hungrily tearing through it, slowly though. How or where he did such, she could only guess at the airlock, but, that didn't matter. "Commander, you will need to either disable the ship or jump out before you go down with it." She said, already knowing what's going throw his mind right now.

Several minutes later, the fleet fired at the surface, attacking the ship just as it left the docks. A few moments passed, and another volley blasted forth, sending the ships back some with the recoil. Marion didn't mind nor care about the violent vibration these cannons caused, she instead focused on the status display, showing details on the enemy. Position, shield strength, hull strength, the norm. "Commander Rain, we advise you hurry up, the ship is leaving the atmosphere." A young officer spoke into the comm, trying to get Jacen to work as fast as he can. "I KNOW!" He yelled back, annoyed.

[Wynn]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--



In the cryogenics lab, a pod would hiss, letting off its excess refridgerant fluid that had long-since evaporated inside the pod. Inside a young man slowly opened his eyes and looked at the inside of his cryopod. He looked at the glass and saw a face staring back with red, glowing eyes and a completely shadowed form. The reflection spoke to him as if he were an actual being in the room.

"It's time to wake up."

The boy inside weakly pushed the cryopod open and tried to walk forward, but fell over flat. His muscles were somewhat atrophied from being in the pod for a very long time. He looked at the metallic floor, the same shadowy figure staring at him.

"My, my, we've certainly overslept havent we? Forgotten how to walk?"

The newly-awakend kid stood up slowly, took a few careful steps over to a control panel and looked at the console. His pod had been cold for eight years. "Who am I?..." the young man asked himself.

"It will come to you in time." The voice that had been speaking to him from his waking moment said.

[Roach]

--Aves--

*Shadow is afforded an ironically spectacular view of the devastation, with the battered hulks of over one hundred airships strewn grotesquely across the mountain range. Only a little more than a dozen remain to collect and aid the survivors and account for the dead. Furthermore, his superhuman hearing is easily able to pick up the cries of avian pain and anguish as they are carried throughout the range. The accumulated sights and sounds seem to conspire accusingly at him.*

*Meanwhile, the sparrowhawk nestling, having been scared into almost-silence by the terrible things it has been through, begins to squeak once more. The squeaks are carried by a breeze through the desolation, until both the pathetic noises and the nestling's downy scent reach the medic. She immediately homes in on it, scurrying over, around, and through many pieces of smoldering airship wreckage before arriving at the source of the noises and the scent. The nestling has been placed up higher than she can reach, but the medic crouches down and leaps up onto the shelf that the little creature rests upon. It is too large for her to carry, but she activates her comms device.*

Medic: Dr. Fallah to any available recovery teams--I've found a nestling survivor and need assistance with it; species Sparrowhawk. Broadcasting my location now.

*The reply takes a long time--the recovery crews are taxed to the limit of their capabilities.* Recovery crews: Roger that, Doctor. Assistance is en route--hold position.

Fallah: Thank you. *She stays with the nestling, attempting to calm it down. Its squeaks are mostly incomprehensible even to her keen hearing, but the kiwi can discern some coherent words.*

Nestling: ...big bird...big bird...fire...momma...

*Before long, a much larger avian arrives on the scene. The medic almost flies straight off [if that were possible] when he speaks.* Ironbeak: There a nestling here that needs transportation?

Fallah: Y-yes, sir, General. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Ironbeak: It's the least I can do. *He walks over to the shelf, grabs the nestling in his beak, and then carefully tucks it into his talons before flying off again. Fallah scurries to the edge of the shelf and jumps to the ground again, but before she returns to her duties, she turns and peers at the place where Shadow is standing. She tilts her head as though she hears something, and then sniffs several times...but then her comms device buzzes angrily and she is forced to run off as fast as she can.*

(Some hours later) *Ackbar is returned to the Unified Children's temporary capital of Sky's Gate--only a day ago, it was a True Children city. Now it serves as the Unified Children's center of operations, being one of the least-wrecked cities from the campaign to bring down the True Children of Aves. He receives intensive medical care on his broken wing and is released from the hospital afterwards, to be escorted to his hastily-adjusted provincial quarters high up in an abandoned apartment building. Despite his handicap, the hawk is frightfully angry.*

Ackbar: Shadow, if you're there, please get out here right now. We...need to...talk.

--Unknown World--

*Some minutes later, Septimus receives another transmission from Nihlus.* Septimus: Commander. Report?

Nihlus: Sir, situation's all green now, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you why it was green.

Septimus: That's for me to judge, Commander. Now what's going on?

*Instead of replying, Nihlus opens up a video feed on Septimus's console, streamed live from one of the few undamaged cameras left on the carrier's hull. It shows the Revenant's massive hangar door lying on the volcanic shore not far from the ship itself. A steady stream of turians flows out of the newly-created portal, and all around them are strange, insectoid creatures of varying size but, on average, about the size of a human. The creatures make no move to attack--indeed, they seem to be helping the turians: helping the wounded, elderly, and infirm to walk, or assisting them and children in climbing over very large volcanic rocks. As Septimus watches, a very large insect simply shoves a rock out of the way with its own brute strength, while an even larger one gathers blue energy about itself and uses it to move a slab of igneous rock half the size of a shuttle.*

Septimus: What...the...[censored]?! What the hell are those things?!

Nihlus: I don't know, sir.

Septimus: I need someone analyzing this footage and I need it now!! Get a line open to Admiral Roach and send him this footage as well. *The General explains the situation to Roach while the footage is being analyzed.*

(Shortly afterward, with the comms line between the ships still open) Engineering Officer: Sir, I've compared the footage to databanks in the ship's computer, and...well, General, these creatures match descriptions of rachni by 100%.

*Total silence.*

"Yes the Rachni I believe they were in the historical records you sent me but i thought they went extinct long ago." Roach said thoughtfully.

Roach strokes his beard inquisitively thinking.

[Quantum Rain]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The room the kid was in was filled with boxes, and there were only a few other pods. While it used to be a cryo-bay, an old one at that, it was obvious it wasn't used but rarely, and is primarily just an extra cargo hold. The ship hummed silently as it flew through space, as the room was almost wholly silent, like a graveyard almost, with the lack of people. Odd though, that the floors were still pristine clean for a room that was hardly used or thought of. At the other side of the room lay a blockaded, almost entirely covered ladder, rising upward to a hatch, which meant he had an exit. It also meant he was somewhere on the bottom level of the ship.

---

--Piram II, Orbit--

The enemy ship's shield status was painfully slowly going down, Marion noticed. At this rate, she thought, this thing would likely get away from us, which was totally unacceptable. "Divert all fire to that ship, send in the bomber squadrons." She said commandingly to the captain, whom nodded and turned toward the comm officer. Moments later, several more streaks of light flew from the ships around the viewport, as Marion looked onward, soaring downward towards their fleeing enemy.

The ship was quickly rising above the atmosphere, in mere moments, it would be wholly visible, with its large barrier of drones protecting it from enemy strike craft, the sensors now told Marion. This only meant that the bombers were not a good idea without an escort. "Ignore the drones protecting the ship, double the fire rate." She ordered, the captain responding as necessary.

[Wynn]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The room the kid was in was filled with boxes, and there were only a few other pods. While it used to be a cryo-bay, an old one at that, it was obvious it wasn't used but rarely, and is primarily just an extra cargo hold. The ship hummed silently as it flew through space, as the room was almost wholly silent, like a graveyard almost, with the lack of people. Odd though, that the floors were still pristine clean for a room that was hardly used or thought of. At the other side of the room lay a blockaded, almost entirely covered ladder, rising upward to a hatch, which meant he had an exit. It also meant he was somewhere on the bottom level of the ship.

---

--Piram II, Orbit--

The enemy ship's shield status was painfully slowly going down, Marion noticed. At this rate, she thought, this thing would likely get away from us, which was totally unacceptable. "Divert all fire to that ship, send in the bomber squadrons." She said commandingly to the captain, whom nodded and turned toward the comm officer. Moments later, several more streaks of light flew from the ships around the viewport, as Marion looked onward, soaring downward towards their fleeing enemy.

The ship was quickly rising above the atmosphere, in mere moments, it would be wholly visible, with its large barrier of drones protecting it from enemy strike craft, the sensors now told Marion. This only meant that the bombers were not a good idea without an escort. "Ignore the drones protecting the ship, double the fire rate." She ordered, the captain responding as necessary.

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The boy looked at it and walked over to it. He grabbed the ladder and climbed up, pushed the hatch open and got out of the room. He closed the hatch behind him and walked into the hallways of the ship, looking around to see if anyone was around. It was completely empty. "Hello?" He called out, "Anyone? Im a bit lost, could someone help me out?" After the lack of response he began walking down the corridors, looking down at his shadowy reflection.

"Do you really want to meet anyone here?" the reflection asked.

"Are you going to keep talking or let me figure out where I am?" The boy shot back.

[Roach]

---Coruscant---

"Ive had just about enough of this planet but i suppose it wouldn't hurt to check some of the local vendors." Slavik said scratching his head.

[Quantum Rain]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The kid would notice that there were several cameras along the hallways, fortunately, they were not active it seems, and neither the turrets in the corners. One could assume that the security systems did not recognize him as an intruder yet, which was good. He also had one other advantage, as the lights were oddly dim, requiring maintenance soon.

The hallway continued forward, branching off here and there to different rooms, different hallways, different sections of the ship. All served different purposes it seemed, and as Daniel continued, the lights grew stronger and brighter, and the sounds of people walking amongst the hallways grew louder and more frequent. Eventually, one such crew member was walking down the same hallway he was, looking at a datapad and pressing a few keys here and there with his thumb, not noticing him yet. He was uniformed, tired, with a cup of warm, black coffee in his other hand that he occasionally took a sip of.

[Wynn]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The kid would notice that there were several cameras along the hallways, fortunately, they were not active it seems, and neither the turrets in the corners. One could assume that the security systems did not recognize him as an intruder yet, which was good. He also had one other advantage, as the lights were oddly dim, requiring maintenance soon.

The hallway continued forward, branching off here and there to different rooms, different hallways, different sections of the ship. All served different purposes it seemed, and as Daniel continued, the lights grew stronger and brighter, and the sounds of people walking amongst the hallways grew louder and more frequent. Eventually, one such crew member was walking down the same hallway he was, looking at a datapad and pressing a few keys here and there with his thumb, not noticing him yet. He was uniformed, tired, with a cup of warm, black coffee in his other hand that he occasionally took a sip of.

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The boy walked up to the man. "Excuse me," he said. "I dont mean to interrupt anything but where am I?" The boy looked confused, yet alert. When the man looked up, he would see a boy wearing slightly riped jeans, and a jacket. He had white hair and grey eyes that had a strange red glow faintly noticable to them.

[Fore Admiral Disayle]

--Aves, Sky's Gate Apartment Complex--

*Ackbar is silent for a long time.* Ackbar: I can only hope you're right. (Heavy sigh) What's our next move?

--Unknown World--

Septimus: They were, Admiral, at least according to the records given to us in the Council's archives. The Rachni Wars were long before we joined the Citadel, but perhaps you might remember them...?

[Quantum Rain]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The man looked up, caught by surprise that a boy just randomly appearing in front of him. He looked at the kid curiously, studying his features as he thought, wondering who this guy was and how obvious he wasn't a part of the crew. "Um, are you even supposed to be on here, kid? This is a military frigate, are you a stowaway or something?" He asked, tilting his head only slightly out of confusion.

---

--Piram II, Renegade Ship--

Rain wondered just what the hell he was doing on this automated contraption that shouted a foreign language at him with the red blaring alarms in the hallways and the occasional drone. He advanced, swiftly, looking here and there, trying to find a way to the bridge, but, it all seemed like one giant maze to him. He tried to get a sense of the ship, however, the odd thing was that it seemed to block him when he attempted such. There was no one alive, this much he was certain, but, how a ship could block his senses so easily was confusing to him.

Finally, he caught a break in the form of a large elevator door at the end of the hallway with several dozen drones guarding it and multi-layered barriers. Either they're tricking me, or they're trying to keep me out of somewhere I'm not supposed to be. Either way... He thought to himself, taking out a pair of photon grenades, pulling the pins, and tossing them at the barriers, releasing a blinding, large shockwave of energy, temporarily disabling the barriers as Rain flew past them, slicing through the drones and rolling into the elevator cabin. A second later, he jumped up and pressed the highest up button he could find, hopefully, it would be the bridge...

[Wynn]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--
The kid's expression went from confused to a shocked one. "A military frigate?" The kid turns away, puts one hand in his hip and one on his forhead. "What, did I take some crack and crash or something?" He muttered. He turned back around and looked at the man with a somewhat uncomfortable expression. "I... I woke up in a cryo tube a few minutes ago... that's... that's all i can remember." he stammered."

[Quantum Rain]

--Aves, Sky Gate's Apartment Complex--

"We need to see if there were any survivors on that crashed ship, and recover as much as possible from it. I would also suggest burning into your mind what that enemy was capable of and what it looked like." Shadow said bluntly, actually being fully straightforward for once in a long time running of cryptic messages.

---

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

"A cryo-tube? Are there even any left on this ship after the renovation?" The crewman asked, surprised and suspicious of this kid's explanation for being here. "If there were, I'm certain we would have known if someone was using them..." He said, contemplating.

---

--Piram II, Orbit--

"Alright, I'm heading for the bridge... I think..." Rain said over the comm, the hum of an elevator rising audible in the background. "I'll do what I can, but I have a feeling I'll be smashing consoles the entire time." Rain seemed calmer now, after finally having something go his way for once, in an entire slew of bad events on this mission.

Marion didn't feign to think that Rain stood a chance of making any difference, but she did not discourage him. After all, some people have a habit of surprising and surpassing expectations. She looked onward at the approaching ship, at the status displays, and at the dogfighting surrounding the entire battlefield now. They deployed a Phase Shift field, which should delay the enemy's retreat for a short time, but their reprisal was swift and devastating, sending several beams cutting into and past the shields of ships, and boring into the hull, creating a sort of swiss out of the ship in the end. They wouldn't manage for long, that much was certain.

[Wynn]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--
The kid looked a bit scared. "No, you've got to believe me! We're not that far from the things!" He seemed to be in panick mode for whatever reason. He was hyperventiating a little, too.

[Quantum Rain]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

"Alright, alright, relax kid..." The man said, trying to reassure the kid that he wasn't going to be executed or anything for just being on a military ship. "Tell you what, you come with me, and we'll figure it out together, okay?" He said, a slight smile that attempted to inspire confidence for the boy in front of him.

---

--Piram II, Renegade Ship--

Rain emerged from the elevator only to find turrets, drones, and a multitude of holographic interfaces spouting foreign, ancient languages at him. Well...this is going to be quite a field day. He thought to himself, taking out a rifle with one hand while carrying his saber in the other. He set himself up for the first strike from the enemy, just waiting for the inevitable attempt on his life.

[Wynn]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--
The kid looked at him, took a deep breath, and said "Alright." He followed the man to wherever he would lead him.

[Quantum Rain]

--In transit, Loyalty Class MF--

The man lead the kid down a rather long distance, toward the first commander's quarters. As he knocked, the door opened and a rather scruffy, broad, muscular man looked out sleepily at the two that rudely woke him up with his deep blue eyes. With black, short hair, and the beginnings of a beard, he asked the man just what it was that was so important. When the crew member apologized and then explained the situation, the man looked toward the kid, critically at first to gauge the boy's reaction.

"The cryo-tubes haven't been used in years, we use the rooms for storing cargo these days, not people..." He commented, only repeating what the crewman said earlier today. "What were you doing back there to begin with?" He asked, still skeptical of the explanation.

---

--Piram II, Renegade Ship--

The first shot was so energetic, Rain felt it long before he heard it, and dodged it, sending several of his own back at the drones. As he spun around, he brought his saber to bear, slicing through another drone as he tried to bore through the others with laser fire. He was swift, dodging most of the blasts, reflecting the rest back at them. He attempted not to damage the consoles, but one would say that such was inevitable.

When all was said and done, Rain stood, his back to a large pile of drones and smoking turret guns laying everywhere. A few scraps where he was grazed, but nothing major. Unfortunately, the bridge couldn't be so lucky, having taken a large beating all around, with burn marks and melted metal revealing very complex circuitry and sparks behind them.

Rain calmly walked up to the largest display he could find, that was still working anyway, and studied it, trying to make sense of it. Pressing a button now and then, sometimes the screen reacted, but other times it just flashed and did nothing. Needless to say, he was greatly confused, unsure of what any of these symbols meant, let alone the odd controls placed in front of him.

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