Survival

Here ya go. Next chap. Hope no one waited too long for this but I hope you'll like it!

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Steven yawned as he awoke from a blissful sleep. He smiled at the sight of his wife happily curled up against his chest. Last night was crazy and Alias acted extremely...possessive. Well, more so then usual. Glancing over at the alarm clock next to his bed Steven groaned at the sight of the blaring 06:00 E.T. (Earth Time).

"Something wrong?" Alias asked while she stared up at her mate.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Alias just shook her head and sat up, the look on her mates face worrying her. "Steven is something wrong?" She asked again, a bit more forcefully this time. Steven sat up next to her and just gave her a small sad smile. "A mission. A dangerous mission. I've got to go see Mouse in two hours and prepare. Alias, I might not be coming back this time"

"WHAT!" Alias screamed angrily "Sky's sake! Why didn't you tell me?" Alias glared at Steven and he just returned her glare. "I wanted to tell you yesterday but you didn't really give me a chance did you!" Alias huffed at this and turned her head, tears gathering in her eyes "Whats the mission?"

"It's the Valkyries. They're gonna destroy the Hoto and I have to stop them. Alias, I don't want what could be our last moments together to be a fight" Alias nodded and gently pushed Steven down onto the bed and curled up against his chest again. Steven began to doze off when Alias whispered "Promise me you'll come back" Steven just sighed sadly "Alias, I'm a soldier. Thats not something I can promise" Alias looked up at Steven face, tears in her eyes and in a pleading tone of voice begged "Please"

Steven kissed Alias on the lips and said "I promise" Although he knew this was dangerous and he felt like a fool for promising he couldn't help but smile at the happy look on Alias's face.

The atmosphere within the med bay was solemn to say the least. Captain Hollister and Mouse conversed near a metal table with straps and a laser. Carlos and Hatic argued as usual though it was missing its bite. When Steven walked in the room fell silent, all eyes were on him. Hollister walked up to Steven and looked him straight in the eyes "Are you sure you want to do this?" Steven let out a small laugh to hopefully lighten the mood "Not a chance in hell but I think its time to trade in my old hands for a newer model" Hollister just chuckled and led Steven to a chair in front of the table.

"Alright" Mouse began while straping Stevens arms and hands to the table "The bone shaper nanites are used to create claws in the place of hands. These claws will be made from materials already within your body and strengthened by the nanites. I will fix any problem such as calcium deficiency after the claws are formed. The nanites that will reinforce your claws are made from a new alloy that should be stronger then the alloy used in the Nautilus. This procedure is simple but painful"

Mouse pointed to the overhead laser "I will use this laser to slice off your hands at the wrists. Don't worry about blood loss the extreme heat from the laser should cauterize while cutting, preventing death by blood loss" Steven interupted "That sounds pretty painful" Mouse just nodded and started pushing buttons on the laser "It will be excruciatingly painful but I'm sure you will manage" That didn't really help settle Stevens mind.

"Once your hands are seperated I will have the nanites break down your hands into its base components which will then be used to help form your claws with the hand structure as a base line. The process will involve the creation and connection of new nerves and blood vessels which will also pretty painful. Once that is done your claws should be fully formed and the procedure a success. Any questions?"

"How come I'm not on pain killers?" was Stevens question and a damned good one in his eyes. But Mouse just sadly shook his head "Pain killers dull nerve responses to prevent pain. The nerves connecting to your new hands need to be active to create a fully fuctioning hand. Sorry"

Steven stiffly nodded and took a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the concerned faces around him he confidently muttered "Do it"

The guards outside the med bay jumped at the sound of Steven yelling in pain. They were told to expect it but it was still a shock.

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Steven awoke with a splitting headache, he groaned and tried to rub his head but his hands felt heavy for some reason. Rolling off the bed he landed with a thump and a muffled "Ow" before staggering to his feet. His eye sight was blurry and the weight in his hands was throwing off his balance. Shakily taking a step forward Steven lost his balance and slammed into the wall. Muttering "Son of a bitch" at the pain in his head caused by hitting the wall, Steven managed to raise his hands and push himself away from the wall. Or rather, tried to.

Steven shut his eyes and gritted his teeth at the screeching sound filling the room. When it stopped he opened his eyes and found himself closer to the wall rather then away from it as intended. Taking a step back he was jerked to a halt and found that he couldn't move away from the wall. Looking down at his arms his blurry eye sight saw them buried into the metal wall up to his wrists through jagged holes. Steven glared and pulled his arms back but they wouldn't budge. Pulling more forcefully didn't help and he considered calling for help but his headache made him change his mind.

Taking a deep breath he started counting down to three "One... two... THREE!" Steven yanked back his arms with all the strength in his body. The screeching sound returned and Steven slammed into the ground from the force of dislodging his hands. Groaning because of his now screaming headache Steven lifted his heavy hands to see if they were ok. Even with his blurred eye sight Steven could tell that these weren't his hands.

Sitting up with a wince Steven rapidly blinked, trying to fix his eye sight. It worked after a minute or two and Steven was greeted with the sight of two sharp monstrosities in place of his hands. His palms were pale as snow and the bones jutted out of the skin, making a strange exo-skeleton. In place of his fingers were 4 seven inch thick steel blades that shined in the light. His thumb blade was stubby and only four inches and the tips of the blades were slightly angled.

"Holy shit!" Steven yelled as he jumped to his feet. Steven gawked at his bladed hands, stunned at their appereance. Snapping out of his daze Steven ran for the door to tell Mouse that the procedure was a success and to get something for his headache. If Steven wasn't still a little dazed and dealing with a pounding headache he would have realized the problem with opening the door. But he didn't.

In the med bay everything was quiet. Mouse worked with his chemicals and beakers but kept glancing at the door to Stevens room. Carlos and Hatic were arguing again yet you could tell their hearts weren't in it, it was just something to pass the time with. Captain Hollister sat in a chair leaned against the wall flipping through a magazine. He occasionally looked at the door but he didn't seem worried. Alias stood in the middle of the room, staring at the door. She had managed to guilt Mouse into telling her why Steven was in the med bay and demanded to be allowed near her mate. This was as far as they let her go and she hadn't moved since she got there.

Leaning against the door was a bored Ensign who had been told to stand there and make sure no one went in. He knew of course that it was to make sure Alias didn't sneak in but the Ensign doubted he could stop her even if he wanted too. The Flist are freaking strong! The atmosphere was tense and everyone was quiet, until four massive blades burst through the door handle that is.

The Ensign screamed in a high pitch for a man and leaped backwards onto the floor, shaking and staring wide eyed at the blades. Everyone was silent and stunned as they watched the blades disappear back into the other room, leaving four holes in the reinforced door. Finally Stevens voice echoed from behind the door "Uhhhh, a little help?"

They all surged towards the door, past the shaking Ensign and tried to figure out how to open the door. Hollisters idea of smashing it down was rejected when Mouse pointed out that it was reinforced to prevent people from breaking it down. Finally they heard Steven call out again "Look, I've got an idea. Can everyone move FAR away from the door?" They did as he asked and stared at the door, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly the claws burst through the door and sliced downwards, leaving four long holes in the door. Two pairs of claws appeared and sliced diagonally, three more slices and a giant hole had been made in the door. Calmly stepping through the door and into the med bay Steven glanced back at the hole, turned to his friends and mate and said, while grinning "Bitchin'"

Alias rushed forward and threw her arms around Steven, being careful to avoid his new claws. Steven tried to figure out a way to hug her back safely but gave up and just stood there. Hollister, Mouse, Carlos and Hatic just stared wide eyed at the hole in the supposedly unbreakable door. Alias pulled back from Steven and after a moment of smiling at eachother she raised her hand and smacked him, Stevens face stared at the wall with a expression that clearly said "The hell!"

He turned back to the now glaring Alias and, ignoring his stinging cheek, shouted "The hell was that for!?" Alias crossed her arms and intensified her glare "You go off and replace your hands with these... these... THINGS! without telling me and your wondering WHY I'm mad!? What were you thinking! I liked your hands! How are we going to do foreplay now with those sharp claws."

A sound of someone clearing their throat caused Steven and Alias to turn back to their friends. Carlos was staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Hatic had a dirty grin on her face that just pissed Alias off even more. Hollister had an impatient look on his face, he was the one who had cleared his throat. Poor Mouse was blushing and staring off into the distance with wide eyes.

"We should probably wait till I get back to have this conversation, besides I'm gonna get my old hands back when this mission is done anyway" Alias scoffed at Stevens excuse and told him "It's not just the hands you idiot! I'm mad because you didn't fucking tell me about this!!"

Hollister stood between the two of them and shouted "Alright thats enough! The Nautilus will be here in an hour and I want Steven checked out before the mission. You two can either stop arguing or I'm going to throw someone out. Is that clear!" Alias just turned and stormed out of the med bay. Stevens gaze followed her the whole way with sad eyes. When the doors shut Steven sighed and sat down near an operating table.

Mouse started taking scans of Stevens new claws while Hatic, Carlos and Hollister were examining them. Carlos gave an impressed whistle and reached forward to touch one of the blades. Hatic slapped his hand away from the blade and muttered "Idiot" Carlos glared at her and responded "Bitch"

Hollister leaned against the table and started to closely examine the blades, he looked towards Stevens and said "It looks like someone took four large trench knives and a regular one and replaced your fingers and thumb with them"

"It is interesting that they would take that form" Mouse began to explain, although his eyes never once strayed away from the scanner "History shows that previous users of the bone shaper nanites or 'Slashers' had each developed claws unique to each person. Some looked like a Tekko-kagi, an eastern iron claw weapon. Others developed claws that looked more like the talons found upon a bird of prey such as a Falcon, Hawk etc. A rare few didn't even grow claws! Their hands, fingers and thumb stayed the same yet a blade grew out of the back of their wrists"

Carlos gave Mouse a curious look and said "Thats pretty cool. Any idea why each ones different?"

Mouse just shrugged and pushed some buttons on the scanner "No idea. Some think its random. Other, such as myself, believe that the claws are designed based upon the subconscious perferences and personality of the Slasher. Commander, when you became unconcious we removed all weapons from your person for safety, including two trench knives. Tell me, do you always carry trench knives with you?" Steven nodded but didn't say anything. He was trying to figure out a way to make up with Alias before he left.

"And Captain, what is the symbol of the military?" Hollister smirked at Mouse, he had figured out where Mouse was going with this and he answered "An olive branch and a trench knife" Mouse finally turned away from the scanner and started to examine Stevens claws, but he didn't stop talking "An olive branch being an old symbol of peace while the trench knife is a symbol of duty and war. Therefore if my theory is right there should... be... a...." Mouse trailed off for a minute before smiling and pointing out a design on the blade "There! An olive branch etched into the blades"

It was a rather simple design. A curved smooth branch with three small and thin oval leaves on each side and one on the tip.

Hollister walked up to the scanner and asked "Thats all well and good Mouse but what does your scanner tell you. Can he do the mission?" Mouse nodded and clapped his hands, breaking Steven from his daze. "I fixed all the problems while he was unconcious. He's ready to go."

Hollister nodded and put his hand on Stevens shoulder "We got about ten minutes till you need to be in the cargo bay. Do you want to go find Alias or spend some time with your kids?" Stevens just sighed and stood "I'll go find Alias but it's best if I don't see the kids. I don't want what could be their last memory of me to be them thinking I'm some kind of... monster" Hollister nodded and without wasting a second Stevens sprinted out of the med bay and towards his quarters.

When he finally got there he found the door was locked and his access code was blocked. Knocking on the door with his elbow because of his claws and asking Alias to let him in didn't help and ripping a hole in the door would just make things worse. Steven decided that if she wasn't gonna let him in, he would talk from here.

"Alias I know your mad, and that you don't want to hear any excuses but those are all I have to give. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the operation but it wasn't because I don't trust you or that I thought you wouldn't understand. I didn't tell you because a part of me doesn't want to worry you but mostly its because I... I..." Steven took a deep breath, rested his forehead against the door and finally told her the truth.

"I was scared. The fact of the matter is I've been scared ever since I've fallen for you. You grew up around violent men who you despised because of that violence. You feel for me BECAUSE of my kinder side but I'm a soldier Alias. I've killed people and didn't feel a hint of remorse and I tried to seperate my personal life from my work life but being a solider isn't a job, it's a way of life thats apart of me. There's blood on my hands Alias. I didn't want you to know about the operation because I was afraid that if you saw me like... like this, that you'd realize that I'm not the kind man you feel for. It's a fear I haven't gotten over and right now that fear seems all to real. Alias, can you please open the door"

Silence. The ships scanners said that she's in there and awake but she just wasn't answering.

A robotic voice filled the hallway "Commander Baker, Captain Hollister has ordered a side to side transport to the cargo bay. Please stand by."

Steven managed to get the out words "Alias I-" but the transport cut him off mid sentence. Alias sat against the other side of the door, crying.

A flash of light filled the cargo bay and Steven appeared on the transport pad, finishing his sentence "- love you!" Looking around the cargo bay Steven gave Captain Hollister a furious glare. Hollister just shrugged and walked in front of the assembled group.

Carlos and Mouse stood side by side each decked out in full combat gear. Green combat fatigues, flak jacket, combat boots and a backpack. Carlos was holding a shotgun while Mouse only had a scoped pistol. Hatic was there as well strangly enough, standing next to Mouse she only had a pair of boots and a belt. Steven stood next to Hollister and said "You've got horrible timing ya know that?" Hollister just laughed and started to talk.

"Alright listen up, pretty soon the Valkyries will be dropping out of FTL near the Hoto planet. Your jobs are to infiltrate the Nautilus, find the Eclipse bomb and permanently disable it. Commander Baker, as ranking officer you will lead this task force. His main job will be to use his new claws to create a quick path past the turrets and Valkyrie troops. Now the location of the bomb is known only to Head Valkyrie Luna and her senior officers, this is to prevent people from doing what we're going to be doing. Once on board, Mouse will try to locate a high level access panel to pin-point the bomb. It is also his job to disable the bomb itself so keep an eye on him. Carlos with your shotgun and Hatic with your sleep powder it will be your jobs to cover Steven and Mouse. Cutting through walls, hacking top of the line computers and disabling one of the most powerful bombs in existence will leave them vulnerable"

Carlos and Hatic nodded and Hatic stepped forward and placed a few construct seeds on the floor in the middle of the room. Gesturing for everyone to stand back a low pitch filled the room and Hatics antenna's started to vibrate. Massive amount of bark burst from the seeds and started tangling and curling until finally in front of everyone was a small, thin, yellow ship with the texture of wood in the shape of curvy triangle.

Hatic held her head high and grinned at their amazed looks "A simple unmaned scouting ship. What it lacks in weapons it makes up for in speed and repair abilities. Go ahead Steven, try to damage it." He walked forward and gently pushed one of his claws into the ship. The ships hull tightened around his claw so he pulled his claw down the hull slowly, the closing hull simply followed his finger and when he pulled away there was no trace of any damage. Steven turned to Hollister and asked "I suppose this is how we're gonna get their hanger bay doors open?"

Hollister grinned and nodded. He walked up to the ship and said "If they want a fight with the Hoto" Hollister tapped his knuckles on the ships hull "We'll give them one"

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Aboard the Nautilus Head valkyrie Luna sat upon the Captains chair, grinning at what was about to happen. Luna herself was a middle aged Flist woman who always wore combat fatigues, despite the fact that no one had been stupid enough to challenge her to fight in awhile. She was one of two people who aced the Juggernaut survival exam but refused the promotion, prefering the front line rather then being an Admiral stuck behind a desk and playing politics. She had only lost a fight once and it was to the man in charge of the Daedalus, Captain Thomas Hollister.

She rested her cheek upon her fist on the arm rest and asked the one of the bridge crew "Any movement from the Daedalus?"

"None Captain" was the only response. She was kind of disappointed since she was hoping for a rematch. Hollister is known to be a big believer in morals afterall and wiping out a whole species is not exactly a moral thing. Although a nessecary step if Admiral Fields threat assement of the Hoto was correct. If the Humans weren't willing to make the hard choices then the Flist will.

She was forced from her thoughts when the navigator shouted "Captain! Unknown vessel approaching at high speeds on a intercept course!"

"About time Hollister..." Luna muttered to herself, she got out of her chair and walked up to the navigator "What class fighter ship are we facing?" The navigator just shook her head "Unknown Ma'm but what ever it is it's not of any known design" Luna just glared at the view screen and shouted "Bring it up and enhance the image!" The ship appeared and Luna stared at it incredulously "Is that thing made of bark?"

"Don't know Captain but judging by its trajectory it came from the planet" A cruel grin spread across Luna's face. She turned to the Comm's officer and said "Contact the U.P. and tell them we are responing to an unprovoked attack from the Hoto. Use the forward batteries to blast that thing to pieces and launch all fighter pilots in a wide spread attack pattern incase of reinforcements" Luna walked towards the door out of the bridge before pausing and turning to the bridge crew "And change the records to show a larger assualt from the Hoto. Make it big enough and strong enough so that we were 'forced' to deploy the Eclipse bomb" The second in command grinned and nodded.

Back aboard the Daedalus the infiltration stood on the transport pad waiting for transport. Hollister sat in the Captains chair on the bridge awaiting a status report. Finally after three minutes the Flist officer manning the sensor array called out "Sir the Nautilus are lowering kinetic barriers and opening the hanger bay doors. The Hanger is currently depressurised " Hollister nodded and spoke over the comm unit on his arm rest "Put on oxygen masks and ready Magnet boots"

Steven responded "Acknowledged" before turning to the crew "Alright, right now that hanger bay is depressurised which means when we transport to the hanger there will be no oxygen. Do not take off your oxygen mask until Mouse gives the go ahead. We can't activate the Mag. boots yet because it will interfere with the transport so when you get there push the red button on your belts to activate the Mag. boots. Ready?" They nodded and Steven awaited the transport. On the bridge Captain Hollister smiled as he watched the Hoto ship fly circles around the Valkyrie fighter ship.

"Captain, scanners show that the Valkyries launched the last ship and the hanger is now empty" Hollister nodded, faced the screen and said "Do it" A flash of light filled the cargo bay and when it died down the infiltration team was gone.

In the Valkyrie hanger bay a brief flash of light appeared and when it ended floating in the middle of the room was the infiltration team. They activated the Mag. boots and were quickly pulled straight to the floor. Mouse felt a tap on his shoulder and when he looked up Steven was above gesturing to his belt, which had a few scratch marks on it. Mouse pushed the button and Steven slammed to the floor. Nodding to Mouse, Steven turned to the others and activated the comms "Is everyone alright?" Carlos nodded, Mouse was tapping away on a scanner and Hatic was looking around with a bored look on her face.

Mouse pointed towards one of the walls and told them "Theres a high level access panel eight corriders over and two levels down. I think I can use it to find the Eclipse bomb" Steven gave Mouse a pat on the shoulder and gestured for him to led the way. Nearing the wall Carlos asked "I thought you exploded in space without a pressure suit or something" Steven shook his head "Thats a common myth they tell cadets to scare them. We'll be fine" Carlos nodded at Stevens response but glared at Hatic when she said "You thought you'd explode but you STILL went on this mission? With survival instincts like yours I'm surprised your still alive"

They reached the wall and Mouse pointed out "When Steven slices through this wall, all the air will rush out violently due to decompression. The ships sensors will pick up on this and lock down this hallway and put a kinetic barrier over the hole. This will take one minute and 32 seconds so Steven you better cut fast if we're going to beat the ships barriers"

Steven stood in front of the wall, took a deep breath and sliced through the metal. Air slammed into him but the mag. boots kept him on his feet. He raised his arms and slashed again and again until finally there was a hole in the wall. Struggling against the violent air pushing against them Steven and the others slowly pushed there way into the corrider. Mouse got in last and just in time as a blue barrier covered the hole. Mouse checked his scanner and said "Air returning, pressure stabilizing... alright we can take off our masks and turn off our mag boots"

They did just that but Mouse had to take off Stevens mask and turn off his boots. Carlos readied his shotgun while Mouse fingered his pistol, Hatic had a green dust clutched in her hands. Steven tapped the wall and started slicing throught it.

Head Valkyrie Luna sat in her quarters with a glass of wine awaiting the call from her bridge crew telling her that the Hoto ship was destroyed. The Comm. system crackled to life and the scanner officer shouted out "Captain, reading unauthorised lifesigns on board. Three humans... and one Hoto." The wine glass shattered in her clenched hands and she angrily asked through gritted teeth "where are they going?" There was a pause before the officer replied "We... can't seem to find that out ma'm. Our scanners are picking up that they're going THROUGH the walls" Luna stood up and muttered "Through the walls?" She marched over to her night stand and loaded her pistol. "Contact me you figure out where they're going"

Two Valkyries stood in a corrider guns at the ready. They had been sent to guard this access panel and they'd lay down their lives if necessary. A screech sound filled the corridor and a section of the ceiling slammed to the ground in front of them. They didn't have time to marvel at this as a green mist enveloped them, putting them to sleep. Carlos and Steven jumped down, claws and shotgun at the ready. When they saw the coast was clear they gestured for Hatic and Mouse to jump down. They slammed into the ground but Mouse was soon on his feet and tapping away at the access panel.

"Carlos, check for a pulse. We never tested the affects of that powder on the Flist before" Steven stood next to Mouse and waited for Carlos to take the Flist womens pulse. Carlos paused for a second before replying "they're ok Commander" Hatic scoffed and chimed in "Of course they're ok. It's a sleep powder, emphasis on the sleep part"

Steven turned to Mouse and tried to ignore the new argument between Carlos and Hatic "Any luck Mouse?" Mouse just shrugged and kept tapping "I've hacked into the mainframe but there is a lot of garbage data to sort through and firewalls to crack, genius use of garbage data to slow down illegial searches. Would be impressed if I wasn't sorting through said data"

Carlos rolled his eyes at Hatic response to his insult. He readied to fire off his own retort when he spotted something glinting down the corrider. Eyes widening at the sight of a Valkyrie crouched with a sniper rifle Carlos screamed "SNIPER!" Steven tackled Mouse to the ground and Carlos grabbed Hatic by the shoulders and switched positions, making his body a shield. A bang filled the corrider and Carlos yelled as a bullet ripped throught his spine and into his heart.

Mouse pulled out his scoped pistol and blew the Valkyries brains all over the wall behind her in a messy display. Steven stood and shouted to Mouse "Take care of Carlos I'll go make sure she didn't have any back up" Flexing his claws Steven charged down the hallway, ready to rip apart any Valkyrie he found.

Hatic knelt next to the groaning Carlos and breathed out "You... you saved my life. I've insulted you constantly and yet you still took a bullet for me. Why?" Carlos coughed and smiled up at Hatic "Doesn't mean I want to see you get killed. My Mom and Dad used to argue all the time but that didn't mean they hated eachother. Incase things go bad, I've just got to say that you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my whole life." Hatic gave Carlos a genuine smile before turning to Mouse and demanding "Save him"

Mouse shoved a needle into Carlos arm and Carlos flinched.

Steven ran up to them and said "Hallways clear but someone had to have heard that bullet. Please tell me you have some good news" Mouse nodded and prepared another needle "Broken spine and hole in heart. Nanites I injected him with will break down the bullet to prevent infection but he needs to get to the med bay if he's going to live"

Carlos muttered out "Can't risk it. Missions too important. Leave me here." Hatic gave Carlos a glare but her heart wasn't in it "Talk like that again and I'll slap you!"

Steven took a deep breath and started to hand out orders "Mouse close his wounds and get back on that panel. Hatic, take Carlos, get him to the hanger bay and transport back. Move people!"

Mouse gave Carlos another shot of nanites to close his wounds and rushed back to the panel. Hatic gave Steven a grateful look before she picked Carlos up and flew up the hole in the ceiling. Steven turned to Mouse and joked "The Spaniard and the Butterfly. Sounds kinda like a cheap romance novel huh?" Mouse smiled at Stevens attempt to lighten the atmosphere but the truth of the situation was that the chances of survival just went down, a lot.

In her quarters Luna sat on the bed wondering how they had managed to get on her ship. The scanner officers voice filled the room "Captain! They're trying to get into access panel 17" Luna paused for a second before her eyes widened and she whispered "Eclipse"

"GOT IT!" Mouse screamed as he stepped away from the panel "Go down three floors and six corriders and we should be in the bomb room" Steven grinned and knelt down, raised his arms and sliced into the floor.

After twenty minutes of slicing, turret dodging and evading patrols they finally stood outside the room containing Eclipse. "Are you sure its behind this wall?" Mouse nodded happily at Stevens question, Stevens pulled back his arm and ripped and sliced a large hole in the wall. Dust filled their vision but Steven managed to catch a glint in the dust. Moving fast he threw himself in front of Mouse and felt a bullet tear into his shoulder. Steven yelled out in pain and tried to ignore the instinct to clutch his shoulder. The dust cleared and in front of them with a pistol stood a surprised Captain Luna.

"You? It was YOU whose been doing all this?" Steven ignored Lunas remark and whispered to Mouse "I'll distract her. You get to work on that bomb" Mouse reluctantly nodded and waited for the right time. Steven decided to answer her.

"Yeah, its me. Have we meet?" Luna chuckled at Stevens questions and told him "No but I've heard of you! Everyones heard of Commander Steven Baker! The man who uplifted my people and gave us more then we'd ever dreamed. Does your mate know you betrayed her for some Hoto bitch?" Steven gave out an angry yell and charged at Luna, she fired her pistol and each shot hit but Steven had gone in an adrenaline rage. He felt no pain, only anger. A down side to the bone shaper nanites is increased aggression.

He sliced downwards but she calmly and fluidly stepped to the side. His claw buried itself into an access panel but he simply ripped it out and slashed at Luna again. Mouse in the mean time had opened up the Eclipse bomb and was attempting to remove the anti-matter from it, no anti-matter, no explosion.

Steven sliced and slashed but she kept dodging him, toying with him. Everytime he dodged she'd place her gun against his head and say "Bang" which only pissed him off more. After awhile Steven had run out of energy and was standing in the middle of the room, panting. "Why" He managed to gasp out "Why are you doing this!? What have the Hoto done to deserve this!" Luna calmly walked forward, when she was in arms reach Steven weakly slashed at her but she simply caught his wrist and shoved her fist into his chest. Steven fell to his knees, gasping for air. Luna knelt in front of him and whispered

"To protect you"

Steven weakly raised his head and gave her an incredulous look. "The Hoto are dangerous Steven. Humanity wiped out the Locust and whos to say they won't want revenge for that. The Locust and the Hoto came from the same planet, evolved together, that makes them family, which makes the Hoto a threat. The galaxy is not a peaceful place Steven, people like me do the things others won't so people like you can sleep safely at night"

Steven stared at her for a couple of seconds before saying "You honestly believe that, don't you? You actually think your protecting us"

Luna smiled and nodded "Steven you've done a lot for my people. If it wasn't for you I'd still be living in a cave with my bastard of a mate on the old world. So I'm going to make you a deal. Rumours say that Hollister used to be a member of Primus even after it was made illegial. You agree to tell that to the U.P. and no one has to know any of this happened"

"Whats Hollister ever done to you?" Luna shrugged at Stevens question and told him "I've got my reasons. Well, are you in or not? If your worried about your job I can get you a spot on the Nautilus as my new second in command."

Steven closed his eyes and thought about what to do. He was broken out of his thoughts when Mouse shouted "GOT IT!" Standing up with the anti-matter containment unit in his hands Mouse took one look at the scene and muttered "Oops" Luna got to her feet and charged at Mouse but screamed and collapsed to ground. Looking behind her she saw that Steven had shoved one his claws into her legs. Steven looked up at Mouse who was frozen on the spot and shouted "RUN!" Mouse paused and stuttered out "But, but I can't leave you behind"

Steven gave Mouse a pleading look and shouted at him "For gods sake Mouse just run!" Mouse gave a reluctant nod, turned and ran down the hallway.

Luna screamed in anger and looked down at Steven and raised her other foot "You've made one hell of a mistake" She slammed her boot into his head and the last thing Steven thought before he lost consciousness was 'I'm sorry Alias. Guess I'll have to break my promise'

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When Steven awoke he was on his knees with a massive headache. He tried moving his hands but felt his claws scratch against something.

"Don't bother Steven" Steven raised his head towards a smug looking Luna "Those blocks around your claws are something even you can't break. Eyes forward now, we wouldn't want you to miss this now would we" Steven tiredly looked forward and found himself in front of the U.P. Not holograms, the U.P. council in the flesh. A Flist woman, Admiral Fields stepped towards him and said "Commander Baker, you have been charged with murder, attempted theft of the most powerful bomb at our disposal and finally, treason. Due to the overwhelming evidence against you have been sentenced to life in the prison Hells Kitchen. We are willing to reduce the sentence if you tell us who else was working with you in the theft of the Eclipse bomb"

Steven was silent. A closed trail, no lawyer and tampered evidence. A simple formality. They've already made their choice.

"No one" Steven answered "I was working alone"

"Very well Mr. Baker. Enjoy Hells Kitchen."

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What have I done! Stevens going to jail? Bet ya didn't see that coming did ya? How will he get out though. Can the Daedalus crew prove Luna's the guilty one or will Steven have to break out of Hells Kitchen?

Find out next chap.