Asher had listened to Wyatt’s revised plans and now Havelack would join him on the mule and Ash would join Ma on the shuttle. He knew that was a better plan than him hiding in that hilly stuff. With Ma at the stick he knew he could rain destruction down on those mercs. But first he needed to be sure Havelock could protect Capt’n Wyatt.

Hurrying back to his cabin he grabbed the .22 and ammo for Jessy; he was sure they would get along together. Then he pulled out the two Hecklers. He didn’t remember where he’d got there names, Heckle and Jeckle, but maybe it had been from a story from Earth that was, maybe they were monsters…that would be fitting. He’d give Havelock Heckle and five of the clips and he’d take Jeckle and the rest of the ammo.

The kid made his way back to the cargo bay, gaving Jessy the .22 to take to the caves and made sure Havelock got the Uzi. His mind then turned to the mission with Ma. He’d have to find a way to shoot from the shuttle.

Looking around he spotted several cargo straps and an idea started. He’d rig a harness that would hold him secure as he would shoot from the open bellybay doors of the shuttle. He could keep the ammo near and secure from falling out yet still within reach. The harness would allow him to be suspended so he could use both hands to shoot or drop grenades.

Asher lugged the gear into the shuttle as Ma settled into the plots seat and started the launch sequence. The kid set the straps and prepared the rig. Rifle, Uzi, pistols, grenades, even the two EM grenades and ammo, this was Ma signaled him to prepare to leave; Ash moved up beside Ma and tapped her on the shoulder. Patricia looked up from beneath the wide hood. The kid bent over and places a small kiss on her cheek. “You should put the hood down, let’m see who’s baby their mess’n with.”

Ash made his way back and buckled himself in, being sure he had enough slack do dodge and hide, “Ready Ma, it’s time for Da Kai Sa Jeh." (“breaking the Buddhist vow against killing.”)

Willow returned to the medical bay after the meeting with the rest of the crew and the change in plans. A dull ache of exhaustion had settled behind her eyes, but she did her best to ignore it; they'd either have all the time in the world for sleep later, or never need sleep again.

"Black, white, yin, yang, dead, alive, sunrise, sunset...all illusions of what always will be," she muttered to herself, but putting her black thoughts aside as she entered the bay to find her two patients talking together quietly. Amber had the drawn look of too many nights with too little sleep. Havelock, on the other hand, looked ready to take on the world, having redressed himself.

"There you are, my dear," he greeted Willow with too much energy for a recent surgery patient," I told our young lady here that you would be back and that I wouldn't leave until you returned. Now that you are here, though..."

"I can't convince you to stay out of this fight, can I?" Willow asked, her sad smile already answering her own question.

"I'm a soldier, Miss, all I know. If I can do my part to keep you all safe, how can I hide here?" Havelock replied with fatal simplicity.

Willow nodded, but held up a hand to ask him to wait, turning to the anaesthetic canisters hooked up beside the monitors. She reached over to unscrew the tank connected to the ventilation mask, and was grateful her back was turned to Havelock; her hands shook with fear and exhaustion. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling overwhelmed, then put it aside as best she could: she was needed, and had her own battle to fight.

Squaring her shoulders, she opened her eyes and unscrewed the gas canister, handing it to Havelock, and pointed out the spare canister standing next to the equipment.

"Take these both to Wolf; he'll need to connect both to have enough gas to fill the cargo bay, but he should only open the canisters halfway - that's enough of a concentration to knock people out, not put them so far under that they stop breathing. Be safe, my dear, please?"

Havelock gave her some vague platitudes that meant nothing, and Willow knew that he would rather die in a fight than wasting away in age and obsolescence. She kissed his cheek, claiming it was for luck, and sent him on his way.

That left Amber. Willow looked at the girl, who would hold her gaze briefly before looking away uncomfortably, shame written in every line of her posture. Willow pulled another set of surgical scrubs from the cupboard (making a mental note that she'd have to get more!).

"Let's get you dressed, Amber, then we can head to caves and find your mother," Willow said brightly, seemingly brisk and professional, but watching closely for Amber's reaction.
"We'll get a lift there from one of the men - I don't think you're up for a walk like that yet and I'm wearing completely the wrong shoes," Willow smiled, then turned serious. 'Once we are on our way, we can talk about what happened, ok? I don't want you to feel ashamed... a large part of your feelings were out of your control, and that's not your fault."

LV-426, Outside Rocinante Heading to the Caves 10:05 am PT
Matherson played with the dials on his receiver but didn't look at the readings. Did not really need to as he knew exactly who the inside man was now. The lovely doctor Willow had revealed that, although there was no way she knew that. The information was valuable, and made everything that had happen fall into place in Matherson's mind. The only thing to figure out now was how to turn this to his advantage.

But he swore at himself silently for becoming so focused on the case and the LM4's that he didn't put two and two together with the disappearance of his prototype LM4 and the presence of Amber. A serious miscalculation on his part and one that seriously put his invention and personal safety at risk.

"Are you two coming? " he called out to his bodyguards who were dragging their feet and looking back at the derelict ship that brought them to this dustball.

"Yeah Boss." Hack replied, "It is just that there is gonna be a fight and ...."

"We hate to miss out." Slash finished his partner's sentence.

"It is not a fight. " Matherson said dismissively, "It is a slaughter. They have no chance and their noble efforts will be for not. Stick with me and we may get out of here alive, but I doubt many will."

"What do you mean Boss?" Hack asked.

"The mercenaries coming for the violin are well paid and well trained. They will come in and bombard the valley with nerve gas and sonic pacifiers. They will take hostages, torture them until they get what they want and then kill all the men, and take the women to sell to the slave traders, after some fun I imagine. We need to have a bargaining chip and I, have found one."

"But the Captain...He saved us."

"Yeah Boss. That Captain and crew, they could have left us up there in the cruiser. We can't leave them." Slash said with a edge to his voice.

Matherson looked at the one man and then the other. They have caught a case of nobility and it is fatal. he thought to himself before replying, "You realize what you are saying? There is a good chance you won't survive the fight."

Hack shrugged, "Boss, I have been fighting and killing people since I was 16. All I am good at and I figured I would die in a back alley somewhere and no one would remember me. But this... well this time there is a reason. This time there is something to...I don't know. "

"I'd rather fight here with the crew Boss." Slash said, "Cause, well for some reason, I feel like this is something worth fighting for."

Matherson sighed heavily. It worked out better for him in the end actually. These two would have been a liability to tie up at the end anyway. "Alright then. You know what? You are both fired. Effectively immediately. Go do what you got to do and I will do what I can to save the situation. If we are all around by the end of the day, we'll talk severance."

Hack and Slask smiled broadly and nodded, "Thanks Boss." they said in unison and turned to walk back towards the ship.

Dead men walking. Matherson thought and continued on his way to the caves with a plan forming in his head. It saddened him slightly that chances are he would be the only one to get out of this alive but maybe he could bargain with the mercs for that pretty Doctor. Once he had her fully addicted to the LM4, she would be a very valuable asset.



LV-426, Rocinante Infrimary 10:45 am PT
Willow returned to the medical bay after the meeting with the rest of the crew and the change in plans.

"There you are, my dear," he greeted Willow with too much energy for a recent surgery patient, "I told our young lady here that you would be back and that I wouldn't leave until you returned. Now that you are here, though..."

"I can't convince you to stay out of this fight, can I?" Willow asked, her sad smile already answering her own question.

"I'm a soldier, Miss, all I know. If I can do my part to keep you all safe, how can I hide here?" Havelock replied with fatal simplicity. "Besides I have been in worst scrapes than this one I am loather to admit. I have a habit of falling into them. Glad to be sober enough to face it with clear eyes."

Willow nodded, but held up a hand to ask him to wait, turning to the anaesthetic canisters hooked up beside the monitors. She reached over to unscrew the tank connected to the ventilation mask, and was grateful her back was turned to Havelock; her hands shook with fear and exhaustion. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling overwhelmed, then put it aside as best she could: she was needed, and had her own battle to fight.

Squaring her shoulders, she opened her eyes and unscrewed the gas canister, handing it to Havelock, and pointed out the spare canister standing next to the equipment.

"Take these both to Wolf; he'll need to connect both to have enough gas to fill the cargo bay, but he should only open the canisters halfway - that's enough of a concentration to knock people out, not put them so far under that they stop breathing. Be safe, my dear, please?"

"Of course." His eyes showing that he understood the plan and approved, "I will make it so immediately my dear."

"Let's get you dressed, Amber, then we can head to caves and find your mother," Willow said brightly, seemingly brisk and professional, but watching closely for Amber's reaction. "We'll get a lift there from one of the men - I don't think you're up for a walk like that yet and I'm wearing completely the wrong shoes," Willow smiled, then turned serious. "Once we are on our way, we can talk about what happened, ok? I don't want you to feel ashamed... a large part of your feelings were out of your control, and that's not your fault."

On the way to the cave (11:00 am), Amber opened up to Willow. She was hesitant at first, but then it came out.

"In a way, this is my fault. Mom was so focused on finding another rich man to fill her bed that I started striking back by getting involved with anyone she took a fancy. This guy - John Matherson, was rich and he seemed like a great candidate but honestly, I was just using him to get back at Mom. But he started with some drugs to make things more interesting and I took them because I thought I wanted to but then he showed me this device that would make our sex even better. He called it a Lovemaster4."

"Well, he was right but he was lying as well. It was like you feel the pleasure of both you and your partner so twice the ecstasy. But the next time it was like four times and then that double and double and all I could think about was ...." He face turned beet red. "I was completely in his control. For that rush of passion and lust I would do any guy, girl or whatever. A part of me knew it was wrong but I was enslaved completely. He was even talking about taking with him to meet some investors as a live demonstration." Amber shuddered at the thought and tears welled up, but at the same time she showed anger at being used.

"So when the explosion happened on the ship and the people began to run around, John left me alone to find his precious case and I stole the device. I thought if I took it then no one would control me anymore, but I was wrong. The need for the ecstasy and the pleasure consumed me. I attacked that man in the shuttle when he turned me down. As soon as I put the device into his neck, he was mine to control and use. It was so sick and twisted and horrible and I did not care." Amber openly weeps and holds on to Willow at this time.

After a while, Amber continues, "He has a whole bunch of those thing Willow. Some group of investors were gonna meet him and use them for spying and controlling people. We can't let that happen Willow! I don't want anyone to feel what I did. But you need to be careful of John cause he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and powerful devices. He'd kill us all if he thought we were going to interfere with his plans."

LV-426, Rocinante Cargo Bay 11:00 am PT
Wyatt was finishing his instructions to Wolf when the two bodyguards of Matherson showed up. They approached slowly with hands aside so they were not mistaken as hostile.

"So ummm...Captain?" Slash said, "We want to help out. that is to say, we can fight and we want to stand with youse guys"

"Yeah, what he said." Hack agreed, "We been in a lot of fights and we know how to handle ourselves. So if you don't mind, we want to help out""


LV-426, The Caves 11:00 am PT
Matherson was surprised to see that the cave was very well organized and people were doing many tasks. Seems the monk was very good at keeping the peace and getting people to move. Not that it would help them at all but it was good to stay busy.

He did not draw much attention to himself but explored the caves and made his way silently though the caverns. He was familiar enough with terraforming setup that the logic of the caves soon showed him where he would find his quarry. He was not disappointed. Alone and far away from all the hussle and bustle of the main caves.

"So;" Matherson said from behind the so called inside man. "You are in quite the predictament."

They turned around and looked at Matherson, no reaction on the face. "What do you mean?"

"Well you are trying to signal them, are not you? But the crew has jammed your signal."

IM laughed ruefully, "How did you know?"

"Willow actually told me but not by her knowledge. You see they think you are an inside man with the mercs. They do not realize you are actually the one bankrolling the operation. The violin. A Earth that was relic. I had heard you were obsessed with them but this is a lot of death and destruction for one fiddle."

"It was not suppose to go this way. Disable the cruise ship so the case could be grabbed. But ...complications."

"Ahhh. It was the use of the Varon-T that did you in with me. Only two are left in existence and you own both don't you?"

"Very good. Matherson. Very good. Most people think they do not work."

"I was surprised they did. How did you do that if you don't mind me asking?"

"I found a young lad that figured out the crystal alignment and how to simulate 20th century power. He was very astute." IM raised up his left hand and pointed a small handgun at Matherson. "Disintegration from the inside out. Ten seconds to die and under the most terrible extreme pain imagined."

Matherson laughed, "I know it was a one shot device. Don't try to bluff me. Really. We need to work together to get out of this alive and in profit."

IM laughed back and then smiled, "You are right. It is one shot. I should have known better." And then IM pulled the trigger an a red beam struck Matherson in the chest. He fell to the ground, writhing and spasming in the pain. "You see, the student figured out how to simulate the power so it could be from modern sources so I have 10 shots at least. He was the first person I ever killed with this."

Matherson chest began to cave in and his fingers turned to dust. "I do not need a partner Matherson." IN Said and then chuckled to himself as he watched the man and his white suit disappear into dust. "Chest shots are the best. Lungs go and no one can shout." IM said to himself as he reached into the pile of dust to pull out the blue ring that Matherson had worn. It survived as he suspected it would. "With this, and the terraformers transmitter, I should be able to get a message out quite easily."

Time to rejoin the rest of the passengers.


LV-426, The Caves 11:15 am PT
Siu had no intention of taking the command of the caves but somehow that had happened. He managed to put everyone to a task to keep from doing too much but he found that as soon as he had a moment to breathe someone called his name. There had been a strange noise in the cave recently that sounded like an energy release but he was unable to track a power flux.

"Sifu? Have you seen Sheldon?"

The monk turned to the dark haired boy of the group that had recently arrived, "No. I have not."

"It is not like him to wander off."

"Perhaps he was needed elsewhere."

"Sifu? Where is my daughter?" Portia Amber came in and interjected herself between him and Leonard.

"Ms Amber, I have word that your daughter is on her way over. I would have told you awhile ago but IU was unable to find you."

"Well you should have. Do you know who I am?" She shrilled.

"Very well actually, " he replied ruefully. He turned to get away from the disagreeable women and saw Lord Hood coming towards him. The Monk smiled as this might mean his rescue. "Lord Hood. Are you well?"

"Yes, I am sorry about leaving you Sifu. Any word from Havelock?"

"I understand he is doing well and making a complete recovery. However, he has chosen to stay and fight with the crew."

The Lord nodded, "I would expect him to do that. Well all of the alliance couldn't kill the old fool so if anyone can survive this it is him. So what is out situation? How can I help?"

"Sifu?" One of the older passengers that was working on the communications came up, ' Have you seen Cameron Bridges? He seems to have disappeared."

Sifu sighed, "Well the doors in are locked so no one can disappear. He must be here somewhere in the caves. It is a large place."

Lord Hood cleared his throat, "Isn't that him over there?" He pointed toward Cameron Bridges who was coming in from the southern side of the caves. At the same time, the tall boy Sheldon had also returned to the main cavern as well.

"Yes. Good. All are now accounted for. One rule you give people is to not wander off and what is the rule they always break." Sifu pondered.

Asher checked his strapping as Ma set the shuttle into flight. The kid was making sure his small arsenal was secure and in reach when he thought of something.

"Ma.... it may be a long shot, but if we can make a close pass over the transport or the ASREV I have two EM grenades. If I drop one of them on um it could cause some havoc with their systems. Just be sure to haul ass when I yell to clear out."

Ma turned and gave him a look with a raised eyebrow, they both knew that was grabbing at straws ...but when straws are you have you make use of them, besides it could work.

Ash wasn't very religious but he muttered a prayer to FU-XING. (God Good Luck.) They could use all the help they could get.

With the release of the held breath Wolf was once more in control of himself and the fear. His eyes open mind set to the task he checked his 97R’s, his shotgun and the JC and found all up to speed. With a last look at his crew bunk, a bunk he hoped to see again, he made his way to Wyatt’s side.
“Where do you want me Captain?”

“Fenris I want you to hold the ship. Start rigging the cargo bay door to release without hydraulic support. Next I want you to set up anesthetic from the med bay to be released through the fire suppression system should it be necessary. The only room that would be safe from the gas would be the infirmary of course where I’m gonna have John working on the corpses as that can be hermetically sealed.”

As Wyatt was finishing his instructions to the mechanic the two bodyguards of Matherson showed up. They approached slowly with hands aside so they were not mistaken as hostile.

"So ummm...Captain?" the one called Slash said, "We want to help out. That is to say, we can fight and we want to stand with youse guys"

"Yeah, what he said." Hack agreed, "We been in a lot of fights and we know how to handle ourselves. So if you don't mind, we want to help out"

Hearing this Wolf turned to the Captain. “I could use the help in rigging the ship and holding her Cap’n, three be better then just me and John.”

“Hold the ship Mr. Apollo” Wyatt said as he nodded his head in agreement. “Keep yourself and these two volunteers safe.”

With the nod from his captain, Wolf closed the cargo bay door, locking himself and Hack & Slash inside. With the help of the two body guards Wolf moved fast first rigging the cargo bay door to fail by draining the hydraulics thereby causing the doorway to crash down as soon as it is accessed. However the mechanic added an extra surprise having gotten from Ash 3 Smoke Grenades, 3 Concussion Grenades and 6 Flash-bang Grenades he now rigged 2 of the 3 concussion immediately inside the entrance to the cargo bay at the top of the ramp. Positioning them on a nearly invisible tripwire he focused the blast outward from the inside of the Rocinante.

The surprise of the ramp crashing down combined with the two concussion grenades would give Slash, Hack and he time to fire into the mercenaries hopefully confused ranks killing a lot of them, and hopefully if lucky all of them. Next Wolf examined the armor of the two soldiers in hope that he could allow Hack & Slash to use them, but found that both had received enough damage to crack or severely damage the plating within.

Again however Wolf still found a use for the 2 suits thanks to the tracking tags built throughout the armor. This would mean the mercs would know exactly where whoever wore it was and would of course direct there fire there first if they thought the armor was in use. Having the bodyguards gather as much gear as possible to create two rather sturdy looking bunkers on the cargo bay floor. He positioned the two empty suits within them as to appear fully functional and being worn. As he, Hack and Slash would be up above positioned on the catwalk for a height advantage and a faster escape. Wolf once more hoped that the mercs return fire, if even for a few moments, directed at the empty suits would buy the good guys more time.

Next he rigged the sleep gas that Willow had provided earlier into the vent system as Wyatt had ordered. However considering how the merc’s had been outfitted before with ‘Marshall’ Dillon, Wolf held no hope of it being effective though he did give out gas masks and ear plugs for himself and his two companions, along with one smoke grenade each to help cover their retreat if needed.

Then as he left the body guards to add some blocking materials to their position on the catwalk he slowly made his way towards the upper EVA hatch placing flash bangs along his way. The first of the six he placed at the doorway between the catwalk platform and the door into the common area and Infirmary. The second and third he placed at the top of the stairs leading from the common area to dining area and the hallway to the engine room. The last three flash bangs he set up as to further delay pursuit giving him and the two body guards hopefully enough time to escape out of the top EVA hatch. With all six flash bangs positioned he only set the third to fire. The other five he would wire to blow as they passed.

With their escape route ready to go Wolf walked quickly to his engine room and stood a moment in silence looking at one of the places on the Rocinate he called home. Then with a sad determination took the last concussion grenade from his pocket and wired it into the engine as a last resort. If anyone other then he or one of the crew tried to start the ships engine or take it apart for scrap the grenade would arm and explode taking most, if not all of the Rocinante with it.

LV-426, Rocinante Cargo Bay, 12:45 pm PT
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM

The sonic booms of three ships crashed through the atmosphere easily heard by all including Wolf just then returning from the engine room. Though he was not in the cockpit the ship sensors still picked up the ASREV, a CL-54 Cargo Lifter and finally a Victoria Class Corvette. With the Intel passed to his handset by the ships automatic systems, he quickly passed the information relays the Intel over the ship-linked handsets.
Wyatt confirmed receipt. Wyatt it was clear had already heard the sound barrier being broken, but the announcement of the ship types coming their way was of immediate concern.

“Wyatt one last thing if we don’t make it I rigged the ship to blow if the engines are started or taken apart, hopefully leaving nothing for these *Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng to claim. If you or the others make it I just wanted you to know. **Via con Dios Captain”

With everything done he hurried back to the cargo bay's raised catwalk platform. Positioning Slash to his left and Hack to his right Wolf took the center of the ships 3 man defense. JC at the ready he waited for the merc’s to make their move.

*Frog humping sons of a bitch
**Go with God

(Ok I took a little liberty with Wyatt’s and Wolf’s conversion so I hope I did not offend.

OOC: I still need a few answers as to the whereabouts of the case but here we go.

Before the Battle
Willow arrived at the caves with Amber in tow and the young girl who had been helping Asher out. As they approached the entrance to the caves, The young lady turned to Wllow, “Listen. My name is Jessie. I’m a thief and Ive done a con or two but I want you know that right now, I’m very grateful for what you people did and ....well, I’ve got your back. I ain’t weak. You may not trust me. Heck I wouldn’t, but I’m here and I’m ... well I’m here. And that something. I hope.”

Inside, the cave was bustling with activity. Sifu had everyone working on something and Lord Hood was there as well giving out advice and helping where he could. The monk’s face showed relief at Willow arriving though and with a glance Willow knew he was pushing himself well past the point he should considering his injuries.

The doctor took in the common area of the cave s in a glance. The boys were there rewiring some sort of earth mover and arguing on the best way to do so. Cameron Bridges was working away at a communications terminal with Portia Amber close by. There were a lot of people missing though. The Queen Bea and her Heathers as well as many of the passengers.

“We moved anyone and everyone who could not help to the farthest reaches of the cavern. “ Sifu said and smiled.

(assuming a “where is Matherson?”)

“He came in awhile ago but was saying something about an alternate communications relay? I was not sure what he mean but he went off to the southern caverns that were the dining areas.”

Inside the infirmary of Rocinante, John was losing hope of figuring out this device and that made him mad. He was better than a bunch of mercenaries and he would not let them get the better of him. But it seemed like they were and he hated it. He slammed his fist down hard and swore in as much Chinese as he learned in the war. When he did, the head receiver buzzed slightly and vibrated.

John stared at it for a moment. How did I do that? He hammered his fist down again and again until the receiver buzzed again. He looked down at the wires his fist were on and stared tracing backwards. Maybe there is another solution.
Inside the ASREV, the pilot brought the ship up to speed. “Whoa! Honey! You do know how to fly!” Wilson said from the co-pilot position. He was there to control the weapons and the bomb bay. Normally the ship took a four man crew but this baby was set up so it could be one person running the entire show.

“Thanks Wilson.” Honey purred as she activated the transmitter on the wristband she swipe from Black Bart’s room. Range was short on this but Wilson was close enough. “By the way. It isn’t Honey.”

“Pardon?”

“Honey is not my name. It’s Nancy.”

“Nancy? Why you telling me this?”

“Thought you would like to know. So you can tell Satan who sent you.” And she hit send. Wilson’s body spasmed once as his brain exploded. Nancy quickly took her seltbelt off, put the auto pilot on cruise and rushed to grab Wilson’s body and dumped in it the bomb bay. No going back now Callahan.. She thought and rushed back to the pilot seat. What she had planned was gonna take finesse and timing. Eyes on the stage boys! I’m just getting warmed up

The Battle Begins LV-426, 12:45 pm PT

BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
The sonic booms of three ships crash through the atmo. The ship sensors picks up the ASREV first, followed by a CL-54 Cargo Lifter (with a mag lift that could easily pick up Rocinante). Then a large ship comes within range. A Victoria Class Corvette - used by special forces in the war to move troops discreetly from planet to planet. It is capable of holding 50 troops plus a command crew as well. A lot of firepower and a lot of soldiers.

Wolf relays the intel over the ship-linked handsets each of those away from Roc carried, and Wyatt confirmed receipt. He had already heard the sound barrier being broken and was scanning the sky for signs of the enemy, but the announcement of the ship types coming their way was of immediate concern.

“Tess,” Wyatt activated the radio. “Change of targets. Ignore that ASREV and take out that cargo ship. With the ASREV in the air, we may need you t’ help run interference. Copy?

“Once we see the ships we’ll try t’ figure their trajectory an’ move so we can harry them,” Wyatt informed Havelock. “We’re gonna have t’ get in close as you an’ I are much better with our pistols. You still game?”

“Whenever you are Captain. Who of us for the war isn’t?” Havelock intoned and revved the mule up.

Then, the ASREV Came into view moving fast – real fast - Risking blowback fast actually. It dipped low and buzzed the landing strip and Rocinante causing a huge dust up of dirt and debris. Had Wyatt not switched the landmines to remote from impact they all would have been set off by the effects of the sonic boom.

Then the Sonic boom hit – hard. Shaking the ground, the ship and the rocks themselves. Inside the ship, Wolf and the two hired men had to brace themselves as the ship shook so much that they lost their footing and almost fell. China plates and glasses could be heard breaking in the cabinets, the three flashbangs that Wolf had set up to fire all fell and set themselves off and inside the infirmary, John was startled by the boom and the vials, beakers and tray shattering. “Do you mind!” He called out annoyed, “Some of us are trying to work!”

Wyatt watched the ship fly by. Cover. It was creating a natural cover by stirring up the dust.

The ASREV performed a perfect crazy Ivan over the shuttle where Ash and Ma were waiting. Ma had no lifted off because she had no time. Then suddenly there was a loud thump on the nose of the shuttle – a squishy sort of thump as a body fell from the ASREV bomb bay doors and dropped onto the windshield and nose of the shuttle. The dead man head was bleeding from his helmet and his head was mush inside the visor. (note: Due to the dust, no one sees this except Ash and Ma)

Written across his shirt in blood was “Help is coming.”

Ash and Ma looked at each other and back to the dead man on the windshield. Then Ma pointed at the communication panel and the nav-comp. Both wee connecting to the cortex again. Whatever was jamming the signal just stopped.

The ASREV flew back to a attack position outside of Rocinante’s rear. Auto-cannons and missiles unfurled themselves as it held a hover position 100 feet away from the ship. Dust continued to swirl upwards.

The corvette came into view with the Cargo lifter close behind. The corvette flew over the emergency runway and then soldiers on anti-grav belts began to leap out of the belly of the beast. Eleven men dropped as a team on the landing fielding as the ASREV held watch. You can’t see them clear enough through the dust to see how they are equipped bu t enough to know they are armed.

(Note: The men inside the Ship cannot see this at all)

The corvette did not stop and as it passed over Rocinante eleven more jumped out. The heavy impact of men in boots and armour clattered in the roof of the ship and echoed within. “We’ve got company Wolf!” John called out sardonically.

Tess was stonefaced as the ASREV roared by. A little dust cover didn’t scare her at all. She’d flown blind before. She was ready to lift of and intercept the ASREv when the Captain came across the comm.. “Tess, change of targets. Ignore that ASREV and take out that cargo ship. With the ASREV in the air, we may need you t’ help run interference. Copy?”

“You got it captain.” She replied, mentally agreeing with his assessment. The corvette might be able to take a hit and keep flying. The lifter though, wasn;t a military machine and wasn’t built for gunplay. Of course, the ASREV could easily hunt down a shuttle but wasn’t anything she could do about that.”

She lifted off quietly and moved the shuttle through the dust cloud, using their own cover as her own. As soon as she was ready, she hit the thruster and soared upward rapidly.

To the crew of the Cargo lifter, it was comical. A shuttle popping out of the dust like it was a gunship or something. “Boss? We got a gnat here. Do you want us to GORRAM HELL!!!!!!!”

Tess dropped the missile and it flew like an arrow shot from a longbow of earth that was. The crew wasn’t prepared for the attack and they did not have time to make evasive manoeuvres. The missile scored a direct hit on the front of the cargo lifter.

The explosion was intense. It lit up the sky and created a huge fireball. The shock wave from the explosion threw the shuttle backwards. Tess struggled to gain control but the force was too great. Her control panel burned out from the feedback. She swung low and fast, clipping the side of ASREV. Both ships were put into a spinal downwards. Since they were so close to the ground anyway, they skipped across the ground and both crashed landed badly to the south and east of the landing strip.

“Honey! Honey Cream!” The one who had been making the orders before shouted on the radio, “Speak to me babe!”

Neither of the ships blew up and yet both landed upright. They would not be taking off soon though.


Meanwhile, in the caves, the ground shook and people started to cry out. Sheldon remarked out loud to his friend, “Oh good. It worked.”

Leonard looked at his friend, “What worked Sheldon?”

“Did you know you can make explosives from household items like coffee and cooking oil. And High Fructose corn Syrup is almost a hydrocarbon?”

Howard looked scared, “oh no Sheldon. What did you do?”

“They wanted a missile. I made a missile!”

The Battle Begins LV-426, 12:45 pm PT

A Sonic boom hit – hard. Shaking the ground, the ship and the rocks themselves.

A sound outside drew their attention and as Ma and Asher looked out the ASREV performed a perfect crazy Ivan over the shuttle. Then suddenly there was a loud thump on the nose of the shuttle – a squishy sort of thump as a body fell from the ASREV bomb bay doors and dropped onto the windshield and nose of the shuttle. The dead man head was bleeding from his helmet and his head was mush inside the visor. Written across his shirt in blood was “Help is coming.”

Ash and Ma looked at each other and back to the dead man on the windshield. Then Ma pointed at the communication panel and the nav-comp. Both were connecting to the cortex again. Whatever was jamming the signal just stopped. Ash and Trish made sure the distress beacons and locators were sending.


The kid was about to crawl out try to clear the body when the ASREV flew back to an attack position outside of Rocinante’s rear. Auto-cannons and missiles unfurled themselves as it held a hover position 100 feet away from the ship. Dust continued to swirl upwards. The next thing they saw was the corvette coming into view with the Cargo lifter close behind. From the corvette as it flew over the emergency runway soldiers with anti-grav belts began to leap out of the belly of the beast. Eleven men dropped as a team on the landing fielding as the ASREV held watch. The corvette did not stop and as it passed over Rocinante eleven more jumped out. The heavy impact of men in boots and armor clattered in the roof of the ship and echoed within.

Asher looked at Trish, “We gotta go..now!” Ma nodded to the body on the window. Ash just said, “He’s coming with us.” Trish wasted no time on the launch sequence, she hit the releases and leapt the little shuttle into the air. The kid synched and secured his straps. As they lifted Trish rolled a bit to expose the shuttles under belly. The kid popped open the belly doors and as they swung out he opened fire with the Uzi on the men now trudging across Rocinate’s hull. Ma may not have been as good a pilot as Tess but with the lives of her crew on the line she flew like a women possessed. Arms signaling to Ash she was going down as she righted her little bumble bee and Trish buzzed over the Mercs that had hit the ground. Asher somehow understood and started pulling grenades from his vest, pulling pins and dropping them out the open bay door. The kid was able to dropped four flashbangs.

The corvette had already passed over them and was moving to their aft, Ma had cleared the distance from the ground Merc and was circling up and back when the Cargo lifter burst into a fire ball. Ash could just make out the other shuttle and was about to whoop it up when the shock wave hit Tess. His heart sunk as the shuttle lost control and Tess flounder as she fell, clipping the ASREV and taking it with her.

Asher held tight as Ma turned away from the shock wave giving it full throttle. Trish figuring it would be easier to ride with the wave than against it. The sharp turn and thrust shook the passenger loose.

As they prepared to be shook and trembled, the kid hit his comm, he opened the general channel so the rest of the crew would hear too.

“Wolf… Wolf…Tess got the Cargo Lifter but she went down too… She knocked into ASREV as she fell. They both crash landed…..You got a couple hand full of Mercs on the hull and couple hand full more on the ground outside… we’ll do what we can.” The gunslinger for now was glad he was strapped in.

Asher never remember ever hearing Trish make a sound, but he was nearly sure he heard a primal growl coming from the front as Ma muscled the controls.

Fed Marshall ASREV Defiant On course to LV-426, 12:45 pm PT

The ASREV moved through the black on a hard burn. Vasquez was in the pilot seat, Hicks on weapons, Hudson on communications and Col. Sanders in the command/co-pilot seat.

“Hudson, anything?” the Colonel asked.

“Negatory sir. I’ll holler if I see anything but right now it is quieter than a virgin’s bedroom.”

“You’d know.” laughed Vasques.

”I’m holding out for you honey!” Hudson laughed back. “HOLY MOTHER OF GORRAM HELL!”

“What is it?” Sanders called out.

“Cortex is back and my board just lit up like a whorehouse sir. Personal transponder from upper class mucky muckys. Lots of them! Life pods! Five Star Liner – Star of Sihnon. They’ve been transmitting for hours sir.”

“Okay. Hudson, send a wave to high command. Get what they can to the life pods stat. We can’t stop.

“Whoa Colonel!” hick said evenly, “Regs says we have to ..”

“I know Hicks but we can’t take passengers, we need to find the mercs and codename Sparrow. I’ll take the heat if it goes south.”

“Sir?”

“Yes Hicks?”

“It always goes south for us.”

“Luck is gonna change.”

“Sir! There are signals from LV-426 too. Definitely some people there. I am getting a distress signal from a transport ship called Rocking Naughty. “

“Run a background check on it Hudson. If some civilian ship came to rescue and are in the middle, I want to know all about them. Some people would sell their mothers for a credit.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Vasquez. If you can make this thing go faster – do it now. Hicks, run full ops on the weapons systems cause we will be going in hot. Hudson, call for backup. We’re gonna need it.”

Once a man engages in war there are only a few outcomes: one is what they call PTSD. Another is called withdrawal, and yet another is to hunger for more. Wyatt had never felt that he'd fallen into any of the three categories. After the murder of his wife and child he'd entered the withdrawal mode and sunk himself in alcohol to numb the pain. The war was just a way for him to take out his anger by killing those that sided with the scum who'd killed his Summer and Eden. War had been the vehicle that had carried him through his suffering, and a return to it was comfortable. Scary comfortable.

"We got t' use their cover 'gainst them, Havelock." Wyatt pointed to the dust cloud that the ASREV had kicked up and the corvette's pass over it. "Them mercs are highly trained, so it won't surprise me if they're doing a fast-rope insertion."

Captain Sung had time to witness the success of the missile--the very big success--and the shuttle getting caught in the backflow before they fell below the dust cloud line. Clenching his jaw, he tried not to think of what could have happened to their perky little pilot as he thumbed back the hammer on his colt and squinted into the swirling mass for signs of his first target.

When Amber told her story, it took all of Willow's discipline and training to not let her disgust, horror, and even pity show on her face or in her body language. She kept reminding herself that Amber needed her strength, not her pity. She kept her arm around the girl's shoulders as she cried - a subtle pressure that spoke of acceptance and comfort.

After a while, the sobbing turned to little hitches of breath, then long silences broken by a sigh. Amber finally lifted her head to continue," He has a whole bunch of those thing Willow. Some group of investors were gonna meet him and use them for spying and controlling people. We can't let that happen Willow! I don't want anyone to feel what I did. But you need to be careful of John cause he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and powerful devices. He'd kill us all if he thought we were going to interfere with his plans."

Willow gave one last squeeze of Amber's shoulders and let go, relieved that Amber was moving past her crisis to think of others. It was the most maturity she'd ever seen of the girl in their entire lives together.

"Those devices will never see the light of day, if I have anything to do with it, "Willow responded grimly, her face set into a mask of determination, " and Matheson may find himself without many allies once the Guild hears of this."

Once they reached the caves, Willow let her eyes adjust from daylight to the relative gloom of the cave, then scanned the crowd, searching for Sifu. She spotted him, surrounded by most of the people she wanted to locate.

"Sifu? Where is my daughter?" Portia Amber's voice, like any shrill sound, travelled the distance of the cave readily and Willow winced, regretting having to leave Sifu with that dreadful woman. Sifu's quiet response was lost in the reverberations of sound around the cave, but Portia's body language spoke volumes about her displeasure. Willow squeezed Amber's hand and leaned in close to murmur in her ear.

"What happened to you is your business, not your mother's. You can tell her or not; she will not hear of it from me. " (OOC: not assuming Amber's response)

Soon enough, though, Willow and Amber threaded their way through the crowd to reach Sifu's side. As Portia turned to face them and opened her mouth, Willow decided she'd had enough for one day.

"Mrs. Amber-sama. So pleased to hear from such a great distance that you remembered you have a daughter. She is fine, no thanks to your maternal concern. You must have run everyone's income statement here in the cave and have decided to move on? Hopefully we can accommodate you soon enough."

Willow turned abruptly back to face Sifu, her dismissal of Portia evident in every line of her body. "Sifu, you were supposed to take it easy...please tell me what needs doing and I'll make sure it gets done. I want you sitting down and resting."

The corvette did not stop and as it passed over Rocinante eleven more jumped out. The heavy impact of men in boots and armour clattered in the roof of the ship and echoed within. “We’ve got company Wolf!” John called out sardonically.

Having heard the echo of such himself Johns warning was already useless as Wolf had begun to move before hand at the first sound of the boots.

“Wolf… Wolf…Tess got the Cargo Lifter but she went down too… She knocked into ASREV as she fell. They both crash landed…..You got a couple hand full of Mercs on the hull and couple hand full more on the ground outside… we’ll do what we can” Though he already assumed that he was still great full for the warning.

“Hack, Slash hold the cargo area I’ll try to hold the rest of the ship” Moving fast, as fast as the mechanic could, Wolf moved quickly back to his first still in tact flash bang and connected it. Taking a position out of sight he waited for the company from the roof.

(Ok hopefully out of sight and ready with the JC)

The shuttle had turned enough that Ash got a good look at the troops that had dropped on and around Rocinante. Trish swung the little ship out and around to make an approach back. The kid opened him comm again to the crew.

“The team on the Roc are armored in combat style ballistic vests, helmets, magnetic boots and bearing sonic rifles with side arms. They seem to be led by a guy in a grey trench coat and carrying a big-ass handgun…. The team on the ground is also eleven with ten soldier like before without the boots…..The leader is a huge mutha of a man wearing a black trench coat and carrying a handgun in each hand…..best get set for unpleasentries.”

Shouting up Trish, “Ma can you swing in from behind the group on the boat? Them boots might make it hard for um ta turn and shoot us. Bank up and around and that should let me open fire on um. …. I’ll try to get that fella in the trench coat……We gotta hit run and keep us as small a target as possible.” The kid readied the Uzi as Ma brought’er in hot.

LV-426The Battle, 12:50 pm PT "We got t' use their cover 'gainst them, Havelock." Wyatt pointed to the dust cloud that the ASREV had kicked up and the corvette's pass over it. "Them mercs are highly trained, so it won't surprise me if they're doing a fast-rope insertion."

"Right!" Havelock said and pushed the mule towards the group of men on the ground. "Been on the receiving end of more than a few of those in my time."

The radio next to Wyatt crackled with life as the ASREV and Shuttle crashed landed.

"HONEY!!! HONEY CREAM! Respond Honey!" There was emotion to that voice. Raw emotion, anger, pain and loss. "Wilson! Respond!"

Before the mule there was a team of ten soldiers and a huge man in a black trench coat. They were carrying sonic rifles which they brought to bear on the incoming mule.

"Dwight! Drop your team now! I want a squad over there to extract survivors." the radio called out.

Suddenly, as if waiting for that exact moment, there was a small explosion from the ASREV, Then a small pop and a huge fireball reaching high into the sky. The fire burned green for a moment or two before the flames engulfed themselves and it turned the normal orange and red. The heat passes over the field like a wave, not enough to make anything burn but like a summer's wind.

LV-426, In the Caves, 12:50 pm PT "Mrs. Amber-sama. So pleased to hear from such a great distance that you remembered you have a daughter. She is fine, no thanks to your maternal concern. You must have run everyone's income statement here in the cave and have decided to move on? Hopefully we can accommodate you soon enough."

Willow turned abruptly back to face Sifu, her dismissal of Portia evident in every line of her body. "Sifu, you were supposed to take it easy...please tell me what needs doing and I'll make sure it gets done. I want you sitting down and resting."

"I must admit that I am finding it very wearying to continue. Lord Hood and I have tried to get everyone doing something to keep them busy. We have power now, and there is water and food." The monk says and grasps Willow hands firmly. He smiles but his eyes look at her seriously. " I need to show you around."

Willow is surprised to find that the monk has passed a piece of paper in her hand. As he moved across the cave area to a corridor, Willow has the time and privacy to look at the note.

"The Violin is in the case and hidden behind the lower panel of the communication centre. I felt it was best out of sight. Only you and I know of this so best destroy this paper."

As they approached a section of the cave that was dedicated to the communications array, the ground shook. People cried out in terror as dust and dirt fell from the ceiling and a muffles boom could be heard.

Sheldon remarked out loud to his friend, “Oh good. It worked.”

Leonard looked at his friend, “What worked Sheldon?”

“Did you know you can make explosives from household items like coffee and cooking oil. And High Fructose corn Syrup is almost a hydrocarbon?”

Howard looked scared, “oh no Sheldon. What did you do?”

“They wanted a missile. I made a missile!”

There was more faint sound and more explosions after that. Willow tried not to worry about what was happening out there.

The Battle, Asher and Ma in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 12:45 pm PT Asher looked at Trish, “We gotta go..now!” Ma nodded to the body on the window. Ash just said, “He’s coming with us.” Trish wasted no time on the launch sequence, she hit the releases and leapt the little shuttle into the air. The kid synched and secured his straps, anchored to the tether rod across the shuttle so he could swing from door to door.. As they lifted Trish rolled a bit to expose the shuttles starboard side ( starboard refers to the right side of the ship, port refers to the left side. right?). The kid popped open the doors and as they swung out he opened fire with the Uzi on the men now trudging across Rocinate’s hull. Firing from a moving ship on a tether towards moving men was not as easy as it looked and his first set of rounds are way off the mark. He may have caught a few but their jackets took the brunt of the attack.

Ma may not have been as good a pilot as Tess but with the lives of her crew on the line she flew like a women possessed. Arms signaling to Ash she was going down as she righted her little bumble bee and Trish buzzed over the Mercs that had hit the ground. Asher somehow understood and started pulling grenades from his vest, pulling pins and dropping them out the open bay door. The kid was able to dropped four flashbangs. Being closer and getting used to the movement of the shuttle, the kid managed to get two of the FBs close enough to bring the some soldiers down, covering their heads just in time to see the mule heading toward the group troops.

Shouting up Trish, “Ma can you swing in from behind the group on the boat? Them boots might make it hard for um ta turn and shoot us. Bank up and around and that should let me open fire on um. …. I’ll try to get that fella in the trench coat……We gotta hit run and keep us as small a target as possible.” The kid readied the Uzi as Ma brought’er in hot.

Havelock drove like a man on a mission but talked like he was on a Sunday drive "Fought alongside this one chap named Jacobs. He could drive anything that was on wheels or the ground. Good fella. Died in my arms in Serenity valley, "Havelock said as he whipped the wheel around and opened fire on a merc while slamming the side of the mule into him. The mercenary took three to the chest before the mule's "kick" which sent him flying and bouncing across the gravel. "Like to say that was for Jacob but it was really just for me."

The Mercenaries fired their rifles at the mule but the sonic blasts were made to disrupt people and not machines so the cover of the mule made their rifles useless. They would soon be moving to sidearms.

Wyatt saw the flashbangs from the shuttle had taken down three of the enemy but they were still moving and would recover quickly. It was the leader that interested Wyatt and he aimed and fired at him. The colt opened fire and he put three bullets into the chest of the big man. He jolted with each hit but did not fall.

"Ahh! Allow me." said Havelock and he spun the wheel again "Take out the leader first and all that. Right!" He swung the mule at the big man who did not open fire but sheathed his weapons and ran towards the mule.

He leapt into the air, ove the side of the mule and into the seats where Wyatt and Havelock were sitting. He threw himself on Wyatt with his full mass and body focused on his hand holding the colt. The colt came loose from Wyatt's grip and landed in the bottom of the mule. Up close, this merc was a mass of scar tissue and muscle - this fight just got personal.

Ma brought the shuttle up and toward Rocinante. Asher swing across on his tether to the other side and brought out his Uzi. In the distance, he saw another team dropping from the corvette just beyond the ship. Asher slammed a new magazine into the uzis and opened fire. One, two Three Mercs went down in a hail of bullets though how much was fatal or not was unknown.

Suddenly, the was a small explosion from the ASREV. Asher strained himself about to see the Shuttle and ASREV consumed by a green Fire that changed to red. Asher knew what that meant too. Nerve gas. The Mercenaries were gonna use nerve gas on them.

Just as unexpected, there was a cannon shot from below. The leader was opening up with his big gun and Ma was taking defensive maneuver. Three times the gun fired and after the second shot, the fuel alarm warning sounded. The third shot torn through the hull like paper and Asher heard a distinct rip as his tether strap was torn near the bar.

If that wasn't enough, the shuttle alarm warning of a weapon system lock sounded as well.

LV-426 inside Rocinante, 12:50 pm PT Having heard the echo of such himself Johns warning was already useless as Wolf had begun to move before hand at the first sound of the boots.

“Wolf… Wolf…Tess got the Cargo Lifter but she went down too… She knocked into ASREV as she fell. They both crash landed…..You got a couple hand full of Mercs on the hull and couple hand full more on the ground outside… we’ll do what we can” Though he already assumed that he was still great full for the warning.

“Hack, Slash hold the cargo area I’ll try to hold the rest of the ship” Moving fast, as fast as the mechanic could, Wolf moved quickly back to his first still in act flash bang and connected it. Taking a position out of sight he waited for the company from the roof.

There was explosions outside the ship and the sound of machine gun firing. So far, no one had breached the ship. Hack and Slash had their guns ready and were calming watching the doorway. Wolf watched the shuttle doors for signs of an entry attempt.

Something loud and deadly sounding fired three times on the rooftop.

Hack asked, "What was that ? One of them's carrying a cannon?"

Slash laughed, "Always one in every crowd. big gun, no skill, no finesse."

The Battle, Nancy and Tess in Shuttle 1 and Asrev LV-426, 12:45 pm PT Tess struggled to remain conscious. She couldn't very well because there was something in her eyes. Something wet and sticky and coming from the pain in her head. She had to get out of the shuttle.

Suddenly, Grace was there. The girl engineer from Destiny was hauling Tess out of the chair, "C'mon lady! I don't have time for this!"

"You here to rescue me again Grace?" Tess asked.

"Grace? Oh great. Listen lady. You gorram rutted up my plan but with a bit of luck we can still live and mess us Bart badly. So come with me if you want to live." Grace shouted. She really didn't sound like her usual self.

"Where's Destiny?"

Grace held her with two hands on her face. "Head injury. Hallucinations. Gorran Go sa on a cracker. yes! Destiny. It is here! You gotta come with me."

They ran through wreckage and through the doorway to another ship. It didn't look like Destiny to Tess. "Did you remodel Grace?"

"Yeah. Whatever." Tess was lead to a escape pod and was pushed inside roughly. "My name is Nancy Callahan. Special Agent Callahan of the federal Marshalls. Now if I can figure this out I'm can blow the ship, destroy the nerve gas and we can escape without anyone seeing us."

Tess laughed, "Oh yeah! Becha ya gonna rewire the propulsion of this pod and time it to launch the same time as you blow up the gas."

"No I am ... Wait a minute, That a gorram good idea."

"Yeah, you always think of them Grace. Oh! And change that side thrust units angle so we arc away from the crash, right Grace?"

Nancy looked at her passenger with new respect, "I don't know who Grace is but right now I love her ideas."

After a few moments and Grace/Nancy running around, she came back, closed and locked the escape pod door. She held a detonator in one hand and the other hand over the launch button. "Here we go."

She pushed both buttons.

Ma was bringing the shuttle around again when there was a small explosion from the ASREV. The Kid strained himself about to see the Shuttle and ASREV consumed by a green Fire that changed to red. Ash knew what that meant. “Nerve gas…. they was gonna use nerve gas on us.”. His thoght’s turned to Tess in the shuttle. The kid’s anger grew and a quick thought turning the shuttle against the Corvette crossed the kid’s mind. They could swing in on a blind spot and toss them EM’s in the tail section where engineering should be. That’d put their breeches in a bunch.

Cannon shot from below brought Asher back to reality. The leader was opening up with that big gun. Ma took defensive maneuvers. Three times the gun fired and after the second shot, the fuel alarm warning sounded.

The third shot torn through the hull like paper and Asher heard a distinct rip as his tether strap was torn near the bar. Asher grabbed hold so that the pitching of the little craft wouldn’t fling him out the hatch….If that wasn't enough, the shuttle alarm warning of a weapon system lock sounded as well.

“Gorram” the kid shouted, his plans of the glorious attack just turned to a desperate survival plan. “Ma take’r down quick… make it look like we been toasted so they don’t fire that missile.” Asher grabbed a smoke canister from his bandolier, wedging it into the framing just outside the hatch he pulled the pin.

“Let’s hope that makes it look worse…….. Try to land by some cover…if’n they don’t blow us to smithereens maybe we can stop the leak and get back to packing their shorts.”

The kid then let out a final burst from the Uzies emptying the clips on the men moving across the hull of Roc. Trish started pitching the craft away and Ash grabbed hold of the bulwark and held on as Trish brought it in on a dead stick landing, skidding across the ground behind some hilly stuffy wuffy.

(Added a little to the story to allow Ash one final attack before they go down. If they land safely..and if they can't stop the leak they will have to come back overland and continue the attack as best they can.)

Havelock was proving to be quite adept at using the mule as a weapon, and Wyatt appreciated the man's ingenuity. As in the War, Wyatt focused on finding a way to end the conflict as soon as possible. To the captain, that meant crushing the head of the snake, and that meant the fellow in the trenchcoat.

Taking aim, Wyatt fired the colt and put three bullets into the chest of the big man. The hits were solid and jolted the enemy with each round, but he did not fall.

"Ahh! Allow me." said Havelock and he spun the wheel again "Take out the leader first and all that. Right!" He swung the mule at the big man who did not open fire but sheathed his weapons and ran towards them with the look of someone determined. Wyatt had time to raise his eyebrows in amazed appreciation of the man's commitment just before he leapt into the air, over the side of the mule and into the seats where Wyatt and Havelock were sitting. The enemy threw himself on Wyatt with his full mass and body focused on his hand holding the Colt. The Colt came loose from Wyatt's grip and landed in the bottom of the mule. Up close, this merc was a mass of scar tissue and muscle - this fight just got personal.

"Tze sah yu ji," Wyatt growled before he attempted to smash the assailant's nose with his left elbow, his right arm being somewhat controlled by the fierce grip.

(OOC: Wyatt will attempt to disorient the guy with the strike to the nose, hopefully blurring his vision and causing some light-headedness. Then he'll attempt to use the motion of the mule to roll the big baddy off of him and out of the mule, using a weighted throw if he can.)