As Willow and Sifu approached the part of the cave dedicated to the communications array, the ground shook. People cried out in terror as dust and dirt fell from the ceiling and a muffled boom could be heard. Willow put her hand up to her mouth as if stifling a gasp and put the paper into her mouth, tucking it into her cheek to soften so she could swallow it later.

She noticed the four young men clustered together talking about the noise, the tall one waving proudly and the others looking horrified. She immediately caught the eye of the smallest (Howard, she thought his name was) but hurriedly changed course when he flashed what was probably supposed to be a charming smile.

"Leonard, isn't it?" she asked as the one with the glasses noticed her and turned to look at her owlishly," Did you happen to see Mr. Matheson? He was going to do something for me when he got here, but I don't see him around..." she let her voice trail off helplessly.

"Matheson? Yeah, I saw him a while ago," Leonard responded distractedly, still throwing disbelieving looks at his tall friend," He went down that way, waving that scanning device he had."

Willow thanked him, and looked in the direction Leonard had indicated (OOC: caves 17, 18 and 19 on page 202 of the Q&A) and tried to not look as scared as she felt. Gulping down her worry (and the now pulpy note), she put her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and strode down the cavern determinedly.

With his three set flash bangs gone Wolf had only three left to him. Moving quickly to the bottleneck between the EVA hatch and the interior he quickly set up two of the three Flashbangs there keeping the third and last one with him. Knowing that time would be in short supply in a firefight Wolf took two of the four clips and using tape affixed them so that the open ends were opposite. With one clip in the rifle the other clip would be ready to quickly be flipped over and inserted into the assault rifles chamber, thus saving valuable reloading time.

With the JC assault weapon ready he set himself up with a clear line of fire and a usable pattern of retreat. With Slash and Hack holding the cargo bay, and now Wolf’s path of retreat he could only hope that luck would be his lady tonight.

Now it was a quick waiting game as the sounds of heavy booted feet rapidly headed the mechanics way.

OOC: I hope I have enough time to do what I posted but most likely not

The Battle, Victoria Class Corvette Zhuósàng The Bridge, LV-426, 12:45 pm PT
Black Bart sat in the command seat and watch the flames rise high in the air from the fallen ASREV and the gas burn off. Another expense, another setback and now he just lost the one woman who he thought he'd never lose. He wanted to make them pay. He wanted to make everyone pay.

"We have a shuttle on flyby with Hartigan's team sir!"

"There is a hover-mule engaged with Marv's team. Marv has made ... umm ,,,contact with it sir."

"Dwight's Team is away sir!"

Bart cleared his throat loaded and barked his commands, "Put a hard missile lock on the shuttle. Make sure even a bird could detect the lock. Do not fire! Just the lock. Tell Miko to be ready to launch."

"Sir! The cortex is back online!"

"Yeah, the ASREV blew up. Of course the jammer got fired."

"Should I re-establish sir?"

"Negative. Doesn't matter now and we might get lucky."

"Lucky? How sir?"

"Audio wave from the Man, sir!" Communication officer called out.

"Patch it through to my earpiece." Bart ordered and then listened to the message coming in. As he listened, his face went from grim to a smile that might have been scarier. "Mario and Luigi to the skiff and bring all your toys! Miko! There are caves near the Atmo processors. The violin is in there with the passengers. Launch when ready!"

The Battle, Nancy and Tess in Lifepod, LV-426, 12:50 pm PT
The door to the lifepad flew open as Callahan kick it free and sighed in relief. It worked but she was now too far away from the battle and would have to hot foot it across the plains to get back to the fight. She looked down at her companion and thought about leaving her here. It would be safer, but something about this girl said to her that she wasn't the kind to stay safe. Nancy pulled the med kit out if the storage draw and pulled out a hypo-spray while drawing out a vial.

"Sorry about this but I need you to be on point and out of la-la land, babe. So buckle up, this stuff will keep you going but you'll have a wicked headache tomorrow - if we live that long." She slammed the vial into the holder and shot three consecutive doses into Tess's neck.

*PAFF*
*PAFF*
*PAFF*

"WHOA!!!!!!" Tess leapt up with eyes wide open, "What in the gorram name of hell!!!!!"

"Hi." Nancy said quickly, "I just hit you with a stimulant that has a name as long as my arm. You'll be alert, very hyper and possibly randier than a goat but you can function, right?"

"What? Who? Where's Grace?"

"That was a hallucination sister. Just me, Nancy Callahan, Federal Marshall. Your friends need help and we got to move. What's your name?"

"Tess. Fèng ruò shén míng you were right about the drug. Whoa."

"Well Tess, business before pleasure." Nancy hauled open another storage compartment. It had two assault rifles with ammo and two side arms as well. "But sometimes we can mix both. You know how to use these I hope?"

Tess smiled mischievously, "Oh yeah. I used one in the war."

"Well the war is back on honey, " Nancy said as she passed on of each and spilt the 4 mags of amount between them. "Time to make sure the good guys win. Now I killed the jam on the cortex so help should be coming. I wanted to fry the brains of some of these mercs but, well, you sorta took out my transmitter. Nice job on the 54 by the way."

"Wait a second. John is working on a transmitter. He dug out parts of your skull bombs and was trying to figure out how to trigger them."

"Really? I have the codes so if this John has a transmitter, than we could do it - at least take out a whole lot of them. Where is John?"

"Was working the ships' infirmary last I saw him. How far ..."

"Let's move out then?" Nancy grabbed a pack and stuffed the med kit into it and slung it on her back, "We better find this John before they do!"

Tess followed quickly behind her, "Great. But ummm ... Callahan? The drugs ... I'm sorta distracted right now."

"Run with me, it will help wear it off." Nancy said and then smiled impishly, "I should have just given you one dose but I was pissed about you taking down my ship." She took off at a run, "Now we're even."

LV-426, The Caves 12:55 am PT
"Matheson? Yeah, I saw him a while ago," Leonard responded distractedly, still throwing disbelieving looks at his tall friend, "He went down that way, waving that scanning device he had."

Willow thanked him, and looked in the direction Leonard had indicated (OOC: caves 17, 18 and 19 on page 202 of the Q&A) and tried to not look as scared as she felt. Gulping down her worry (and the now pulpy note), she put her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and strode down the cavern determinedly.
Willow walked down the cavern hallways, glad that they had light and wishing that the sounds of the battle would stop and go away. They sounded so distant now but she knew her friends and loved ones were fighting for all their lives.

The corridor was mostly deserted and she realized that she was travelling to a place where the terra-formers had set up rooms for couple to go and have privacy. Conjugal rooms they called them. Luckily there were no passengers taking advantage of them when she arrived.

But there was that smell again. That ozone like smell was in the air just as it was in the engine room on Rocinante. With the sand and rock and dirt in here, it would have been impossible to seek out the same dust that she found in the ship. There was also no sign of Matherson anywhere at first but then after a few moments something caught her eye.

Leaning up again the stone wall of a recessed corner, the blue stone on the tip of a walking cane caught Willow's eye. She approached it and found Matherson's walking cane weapon and beneath it, the black box scanner. The scanner was closed up but the red light indictor showed it was operational and receiving a signal.

The Battle, Asher and Ma in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 12:55 pm PT
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 Uzis emptying the clips on the men moving across the hull of Roc. He was rewarded to see a couple more of them come down under the fire but wasn't sure if their armour was saving them from real damage.

Trish brought the shuttle the craft down low and Ash grabbed hold of the bulwark and held on as Trish brought it in on a dead stick landing, skidding across the ground. It bumped once, twice, a third time and then.

Trish lost control. The shuttle went into and end over end flip. Asher mooring to the shuttle snapped and he was thrown clear of the shuttle as it tumble and crashed it way across the plain and to a crumbled stop. Asher was still up and walking, he was not really that hurt and still had his guns but what about Ma?
The Battle, Wyatt and Havelock in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 12:55 pm PT
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.

The blow to the Merc's face jarred pain into Wyatt's arm as he just smashed his elbow into a concrete wall, but at least it had somewhat of the desired effect as the trench coat man blinked and moved his head back. But then he wallowed Wyatt hard in the face and the lights went out for a moment. Just a moment though as the Captain fought hard to keep his sense.

Then Havelock slammed on the air brakes and threw the mule into reverse. Both Wyatt and Merc tumbled over the seat and into the backseats. Marv threw another punch at Wyatt's head but he moved out of the way at the last moment causing the man to slam his fist into the metal of the mule. Wyatt threw a punch into the exact place where the body armour of the merc took the bullets, and that cause the merc to grimace and move back.

Havelock pushed the mule forward again at high speed. The captain fell back into the mule but the man in the trenchcoat rose up to hammer the life out of the captain with his bare fists. Havelock drew his gun and fired back at the standing man, hitting him twice and knocking him off the mule at to the ground in a painfully somersault.

"Are you okay Captain?" Havelock asked offering a hand backwards. But Wyatt looked far and away from Havelock to see the other shuttle, driven by Trish and Asher, tumbling in a end over end roll as it crashed down to the surface.

The Battle, On top of Rocinante LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Hartigan looked down at two of his men dead and another three with ruined armour and bruising. They were young, they'd shake it off but this was not the cake walk they'd been expecting. Hartigan figure these were independent soldiers. No one else fights like every day was their last.

He had his men put the charges on the doors to the shuttle and then activated the detonator in his hand. The charges hand about 5x what they needed to blow the door but the effect was worth it.

The Battle, Rocinante Cargo Bay doors LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Daniels was used to Marv doing his own thing so he quickly took charge. He ordered Jackson to hot wire the door to the cargo bay and then set up two men to watch the perimeter while the others formes a standard rush squad formation. These Transports were all the same, and Jackson would have the lock blown in a few minutes.

The Battle, Inside Rocinante LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Moving quickly to the bottleneck between the EVA hatch and the interior he quickly set up two of the three Flashbangs there keeping the third and last one with him. Knowing that time would be in short supply in a firefight Wolf took two of the four clips and using tape affixed them so that the open ends were opposite. With one clip in the rifle the other clip would be ready to quickly be flipped over and inserted into the assault rifles chamber, thus saving valuable reloading time.

With the JC assault weapon ready he set himself up with a clear line of fire and a usable pattern of retreat to the infirmary or the drop bay doors if necessary. With Slash and Hack holding the cargo bay, and now Wolf’s path of retreat he could only hope that luck would be his lady tonight.

*BOOM**BOOM*

*CRASH*

Both doorways to the Shuttle bays exploded inwards and debris and shrapnel flew about the inside of the cargo bay. The mechanic in Wolf cringed as it happened, thinking about how hard it would be to repair those doors now.

At the same time the cargo bay door came crashing down and the light of outside flooded in. Screams were briefly heard and cut off with the loud thump of the doorway landing without hydraulics.

"Trap!"

"Two of them!"

Sonic rifles fired at the decoys that Wolf set up.

Then the concession grenades were set off. Men fell and there were screams of pain.

Hack and Slask opened up with their handguns. They are highly skilled with these weapons and the powerful handguns seem to blast through armour like nothing. The eeriest part is they were almost silence. Four mercs fell almost immediately.

Wolf did not have time to enjoy the success of his traps. Men were coming in with weapons from both doorways.

The Battle, Infirmary Rocinante LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
John was rushing to get everything wired together and modulate the transmitter. He was sure this would work if he could only get time to do so. He looked to his Glock on the table and made a decision.

Jon activated the emergency containment protocol in the infirmary. The doors sealed, then glass walls reinforced the doors to stop any germs from getting out. He was now cut off from escape but he might have the time to finish wiring the transmitter.

Throughout the ship, the ship's speaker blared *Warning! Emergency Protocols Initiated! Jing shi qiang xian li bin shui*

The Battle, Victoria Class Corvette Zhuósàng The Bridge, LV-426, 12:45 pm PT
Bart ordered the Skiff away and smiled at the turn of the events. This would finally work out for him at the end.

"Okay! Turn this mother of a ship around and let's blow that Transport to heaven and back. Blow that shuttle away as well, just to be sure."

"Yes Sir!"

A armoured Skiff dropped from the bottom of the corvette and sped across to the Atmo processor and the Terraformer caves. Miko watched silent from the command chair, watching the reading. The violin and the case would soon be hers and with Nancy out of the way now, so would Bart and soon this entire outfit.

Damage Report:
Asher - 4W 4S from shuttle crash
Wyatt -14S 7W (you can reduce this by d6 for a plot point)
Tess 5W from crash

Fed Marshall ASREV Defiant On course to LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
On approach to LV 426 Sir.” Vasques said, “How do you want to approach?”

“Hicks, Give me a tactical.”

“I got a Vic Cor, a Firefly transport and a couple of downed birds. There’s a fight happening and we’re missing it.” Hick reported from his station. “Don’t want to be the party pooper here but we are very outgunned.”

“Right.” Sanders thought about it for a moment. “But I have you guys.”

“Yeah.” Hicks drawled out. “We’re humped.”

“Yo Colonel!” Hudson called out. “I got an incoming message from Commander Vonage. He is telling us to break off and join up with his team. Buddha on a bike, they’re calling us off!”

“What was that Hudson?” Sanders said , “I think you said that you received a message but it was too garbled to understand.?”

“Umm. Yeah. That’s what I said.” Hudson laughed and shrugged.

“Okay people.” Sanders announced, “Vasques, Hudson – I want you to suit up for a drop with extreme prejudice.”

“Alright!” Hudson cried out happily. “It’s mowing time!”

“Hicks, you target the weapons and purpulsion on the corvette. We go in hot. Anyone asks, they shot first.”

“I heard that.” Hick replied. “You flying then Colonel?”

“Yes. I’m going to drop in directly over. By the time they hear the boom, we will already be on them.``

`Colonel?”`Vasques asked with a bit of a concern in her voice, ``That is a very risky move. Seriously risky.”

“Yes Vasques, it is. So? You didn’t want to live forever did you?”

“I’d settle for tomorrow.” Hudson muttered.

The shuttle went into and end over end flip. Asher mooring to the shuttle snapped and he was thrown clear of the shuttle as it tumble and crashed it way across the plain and to a crumbled stop. Asher was still up and walking, he was not really that hurt and still had his guns but what about Ma?
Growing up on range had taught the kid how to take a fall from a moving object. First it was when he’d try to ride the calves while they were still small and frisky, then he moved on to the horse they had to break to ranch work.

Being tossed rump over tea kettle was just part of the daily routine. So when the strap broke and the kid found himself flung through the air he was able to quickly tell which way the ground was coming at him.

The tried and true tuck and roll came as a natural reflex and Asher was nearly able to flip back to his feet. Steadying himself he saw the shuttle continue on it’s violent tumble. “Ma!”, he shouted and kicked into a dead run for the shuttle. He couldn’t know if the systems on the shuttle would still be working but hit his comm anyway. “Ma….. I’m com’in….hold on!!!!” With that the kid closed on the little ship, heading to the nearest open port; he hoped the smoke was just from canister he’d planted.

Willow walked deeper into the caves, she wished the thickness of the stone would muffle the sounds of battle completely. She'd still know her loved ones were fighting for their lives, but maybe she wouldn't feel so useless, so helpless. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of negativity and her nostrils of a chemical stench...

...of ozone! Willow's eyes opened wide and she scanned the ground around her, but a dirt floor was no place to find different dirt, however unique. She kept sniffing and peering into every one of the little nooks optimistically called conjugal rooms, but the stink was in her nose now so she couldn't really tell if it was stronger or weaker in any direction.

She continued deeper into the cave however, hoping that the smell did not mean that Matheson was dead. She was angry at him and was fully prepared to unleash the Companion's Guild on him for those devices, but death was never what she would wish on anyone. Especially not this death.

A glint of refracted light caught the corner of her eye, leading Willow to Matheson's walking can/weapon. It was leaning up against the wall as if Matheson had needed both hands, and Willow looked around at the ground closely. She still couldn't tell if the dirt was anything other than cave dirt, but this time she caught sight of a red flicker. In the dust was a PADD, a personal access data device, and she picked it up, recognizing it as the device Matheson had been using earlier. She hugged it to herself briefly, praying for his soul's release onto its journey, then examined it more closely. She opened it to turn on the display screen, hoping to see whatever Matheson had last discovered......

Wolf heard the EVA hatches being blown and the sound of two groups of men entering the ship. From behind him he could hear the sounds of the battle in the cargo hold and the heavy reports of Hack n Slashes pistol fire. As he waited for the other 2 flash-bangs to go off he cursed Asher when nothing happened. Either the mercs had seen the wire, somewhat unlikely, or once again the flash-bangs Ash had acquired had malfunctioned.

This is bad, very bad Wolf thought to himself as his well planned defense, at least for the mechanic himself, fell apart. As there was nothing for it Wolf sighing took the last flash-bang from his pocket, popped the lever priming it. A quick look to get his bearings and the flash-bang was on its way to the closet group of mercs. The bright flash of light telling him it had gone off and Wolf was around the corner, the JC on full auto, and firing a full clip into the farthest group of mercs. The magazine ringing empty he quickly flipped the two mags inserting the full one quickly. Turning to the group he had flash-banged he again on full auto emptied the second mag into this group.

Wolf could only hope he had caused enough damage to both groups to hold them at bay for now. Reloading the third of his 4 magazines he readied himself to once more open fire.

The Battle, Wyatt and Havelock in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 12:55 pm PT
The blow to the Merc's face jarred pain into Wyatt's arm as he just smashed his elbow into a concrete wall, but at least it had somewhat of the desired effect as the trench coat man blinked and moved his head back. But then he wallopped Wyatt hard in the face and the lights went out for a moment. Just a moment though as the Captain fought hard to keep his sense. Ai Yah Tien Ah! the faint sensation of consciousness exclaimed as it pushed through the haze threatening to take Sung from the fight.

Then Havelock slammed on the air brakes and threw the mule into reverse. Wyatt found himself rolling backward and twisting his body to the left just enough to manage not to land completely defenseless underneath the rock solid assailant. The captain blinked away the remnants of unconsciousness and fueled by adrenaline was barely able to tilt his head to the side as the juggernaut threw another punch at Wyatt's head. The man's fist slammed into the metal seat frame of the mule with an uncharacteristic clang. Gaoyang zhong de guyang, but this ben tiansheng de yidui rou ain't human!
The impact welts from Captain Sung's initial shots caught his eye and Wyatt instantly threw a punch into the exact place where the body armour of the merc took the bullets. The gigantic brick wall of a man grimaced and flinched backward. Ah! A bit tender are we?
Havelock pushed the mule forward again at high speed. Sung was unable to follow his punch with another as he fell back into the mule, but the man in the trenchcoat rose up with his maul-like fists ready to hammer Wyatt like hot metal on a smith's anvil. The captain didn't have time to wonder how the hired goon had the ability to stay upright when he fell backwards--not that it would have mattered in the long run--as Havelock fired his gun at the standing man, hitting him twice and knocking him off the mule to the ground in a painfully-looking somersault.

"Are you okay Captain?" Havelock asked offering a hand backwards. But Wyatt looked far and away from Havelock to see the other shuttle, driven by Trish and Asher, tumbling in a end over end roll as it crashed down to the surface.

"Renci de Fouzu, Havelock," Wyatt grimaced as he accepted the helping hand and clambered over the seat to the front once more. His eyes lingered on the sickening sight of the falling shuttle for just a moment longer before resolve set in. "We've got t' finish this or there'll be nothin' left of my crew."

Sung didn't even bother looking for his Colt. Instead, he retrieved his shotgun and looked about for the trenchcoat wearing leader of the ground forces. "Take me in line with that sishengzi. I'm gonna see if his armor can take a shell t' the head."

(OOC: My intent is to have Havelock turn around to charge the fellow who has been beating the snot out of Wyatt so that Wyatt can shoot him in the head with his shotgun. I'll use a plot point to reduce some of the damage Wyatt's sustained if you please.)

The Battle, Nancy and Tess, LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Nancy and Tess came up to the ridge of the hills nearby the emergency runway. Nancy hit the ground and used the sight on her rifle to view the scene below.

"They got both Hartigan and Marv's crew taking the ship. They are already inside. Marv is screwing around with someone in a mule. He is probably so hyped up on Amp right now that it be like fighting the mother of all reavers. This John is in the ship?"

"Yeah. med bay I would guess. Not far from cargo bay."

"Dwight's down too with his crew but they are off the mark and the skiff is in flight. Did you hide the violin in the Atmo processor?"

"Only the Captain knows."

"Where is he?"

"The one messing with Marv probably."

"Okay. Let's go kill the indestructible Marv. My day gets better and better."

The Battle, Victoria Class Corvette Zhuósàng The Bridge, LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
"Coming up on the shuttle sir as we come about."

Bart leaned back, "Hit it twice, just to be sure."

"Yes Sir." The soldier toggled the screen and press the button once and then twice. "Missiles away sir."

"Great. Open the channel to the men so I can call off this dance recital and toast it."

The Battle, Asher and Ma in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Steadying himself he saw the shuttle continue on it’s violent tumble. “Ma!”, he shouted and kicked into a dead run for the shuttle. He couldn’t know if the systems on the shuttle would still be working but hit his comm anyway. “Ma….. I’m com’in….hold on!!!!” With that the kid closed on the little ship, heading to the nearest open port; he hoped the smoke was just from canister he’d planted. He could see a group of mercs were heading towards the shuttle as well but they suddenly stopped and ran away double time.

But before he could get more than a few steps, the tell tale sound of missile launching came from the merc's ship and the shuttle blew up in front of him. The force of the blast knocked him back and he could feel the heat from the explosion. Then a second missile struck it again as if blowing it up once wasn't enough.

Time seemed to stop for Asher. Sound no longer traveled and he did not breathe. The one woman in the world that deserved all the kindness possible had been in that shuttle. Was Ma no more?

The Battle, Wyatt and Havelock in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Sung didn't even bother looking for his Colt. Instead, he retrieved his shotgun and looked about for the trenchcoat wearing leader of the ground forces. "Take me in line with that sishengzi. I'm gonna see if his armor can take a shell t' the head."

"I just shot the man twice and knocked him out of the mule Captain, Surely ..." Havelock turned the mule in a tight circle and looked upon the large Mercenary getting u off the ground. " Oh Bother."

The radio in the mule crackled and that dark voice came on again. "Everyone pull back from transport and shuttle. Repeat pull back immediately. We have location of violin. You may go live and deal with hostiles with extreme prejudice."

Almost as a punctuation to the statement, there was an explosion from far behind. Wyatt turned his head to see a fireball dissipating where the shuttle that Ma and Asher were in had landed. Then a second missile hit the same spot again. Wyatt grit his teeth and turned back to this one mercenary. He couldn't help them now. He just had to have faith in them.

Marv looked around and saw the mule heading for him. He popped the lid off his medicine and dry swallowed as many pills as he could. "Is that all you got?" he muttered to himself and then pulled out his twin pistols and opened fire. He concentrated his fire on the driver, hoping to make the mule lose control and flip.

Havelock took rounds to the shoulder, chest and left arm. The body armour helped save him from the lethal hits but he had just come off of chest surgery a couple of hours ago. He fought losing consciousness to keep control of the mule so Sung could get his shot.

Wyatt , brought the shot gun up and blasted the huge man. He wanted a head shot but the movement of the mule caused him to clip the right ear and the flowing shot was into the same chest that took so much damage before. The man still did not fall.

Then the mule slowed and Havelock used his last moments of consciousness to stop the vehicle so that it didn't flip over, "No." Havelock said to no one in particular, "We had a deal." and then slumps back in the seat.

The big man was walking towards the mule reloading his pistols like it was a Sunday stroll.

The Battle, Inside Rocinante LV-426, 1:00 pm PT
Just after the shuttle door crash in and the world becomes chaotic for Wolf, The ground shakes as a double explosion can be felt nearby. At the same time, the medical quarantine alarm sounds.

Wolf sighing took the last flash-bang from his pocket, popped the lever priming it. A quick look to get his bearings and the flash-bang was on its way to the closet group of mercs. The bright flash of light telling him it had gone off and Wolf was around the corner, the JC on full auto, and firing a full clip into the farthest group of mercs. Two of the men coming up went down to the auto fire, both with head and neck shots so they weren't getting up again. The others back up behind the shuttle doors for cover. From below, two sonic rifle blasts hit him but the combination of the vest and the catwalk help to keep him moving.

The magazine ringing empty he quickly flipped the two mags inserting the full one quickly. Turning to the group he had flash-banged he again on full auto emptied the second mag into this group. Men were down to the flashbang already and they were overtaken by the autofire.

*BANG*

A sound like a cannon going off and Hack was hit so hard that he spun backwards and flipped over the catwalk to the bay below.

*BANG*

Slash's head exploded and the remains of him dropped on the ground. The shooter was an older man with a huge weapon on the opposite side that Wolf was attack. Wolf tried to turned his attack but the older man moved back to the cover behind the door. One soldier fired at Wolf with his sidearm, and the vest took two bullets. The jarring and the pain was intense but Wolf held it together so he did not lose consciousness.

But the men moved back through the blown doors, leaving their dead and wounded but not returning fire. The sounds on the rooftop were hurried feet running - by the sound and direction to off the sides of the ship as if ....

....they were running away from Rocinante as if for their lives.

LV-426, The Caves 1:00 pm PT
In the dust was a PADD, a personal access data device, and she picked it up, recognizing it as the device Matheson had been using earlier. She hugged it to herself briefly, praying for his soul's release onto its journey, and then examined it more closely. She opened it to turn on the display screen, hoping to see whatever Matheson had last discovered......

The screen came to life immediately upon opening. At first it flashed a message asking for a password but the screen flickered and then it shows an override mode, and it connects to the cortex.

The cortex was back!

The screen then shows four icons, all of them flashing:
{TRAN} Message Intercepted on Frequency 454. Read?
{PROC}Cortex Connected. Begin saved queries?
{PROC}Cortex Connected: Send transmission?
{VIAD} Last Will of Jon Matherson. Read?

Willow read the options quickly. She didn't hesitate but pressed the option of the intercepted message. It came on screen - a text only message

"The Stradivarius is in Terraformer Caves, north of runway, west of processor. Cortex is back online. Get me and the violin so we can escape before FEDs come."

The transmission source is not identified but the signal was very strong when sent. Willow let that process for a moment, realizing this mean that the mercenaries were probably on the way here now and they would not have to hold back with the others.

The ground shook really hard, and then a few minutes later again.

Willow pressed the option for cortex query. The first Query was for the Varon-T Pistol

Answer - The Varon-T laser was a hand-held directed-energy weapon banned on the Earth-That-Was due to its vicious nature: the energy waver literally tore the body apart at the molecular level from the inside out, resulting in a relatively slow and excruciating death by disintegration compared to most lasers. Weapon was banned for its inhumanity and was considered useless as it drained the power pack with a single shot. Only five were ever produced. Two were smuggled aboard the Arks from ETW along with many other contraband items that were never to be brought on the journey.

Subquery - Owner of Varon -T?
Answer: Unknown

Subquery: Location of Varon-T?
Answer Unknown

Subquery - Who has largest ETW collection?
Answer: The three largest collectors of Earth-That-Was relics are Durran Haymer, Lord Chris Hood and Cameron Bridges.

Wolf saw that his sustained fire was having good effect against the incoming mercs but knew it would not stop them. Then as if Buddha has heard his prayer the mercs actually started to withdraw.

*BANG*

A sound like a cannon going off behind him caused Wolf to turn towards it and he watched as Hack was hit so hard that he spun backwards and flipped over the catwalk to the bay below. A second later another loud bang and Wolf watched as Slash's head exploded, the remains of him dropping on the ground. Head down Wolf searched for the shooter finding him.

The shooter was an older man with a huge weapon on the opposite side to the one the Mechanic was attacking. Ass Wolf tried to turn the assault rifle the old man’s way the older man moved back to the cover granted behind the door.

“Ke wu de lao Hwoon dahn”*

However as Wolf tried to gain a better position on him, he was suddenly hit in his vest by two bullets as one of the soldiers covering the merc’s withdrawal fired at Wolf with his sidearm. The pain and impact intense the Mechanic was able to hold it together not losing consciousness.

Grunting in pain he continued to move forward to the open bay doors. Having already reloaded the JC with his third clip,he went hunting the older merc. However as he reached those same doors Wolf watched as the mercenaries moved back out of the ship leaving their dead and wounded behind and amazingly not returning fire. Wolf wasting no time went down onto one knee, and steadying the AR opened fire at the retreating men. As he did this he kept his eyes moving all the time hunting the old mercenary.

*Horrible Old Bastard

But before he could get more than a few steps, the tell tale sound of missile launching came from the merc's ship and the shuttle blew up in front of him. The force of the blast knocked him back and he could feel the heat from the explosion. Then a second missile struck it again as if blowing it up once wasn't enough.

Time seemed to stop for Asher. Sound no longer traveled and he did not breathe. The one woman in the world that deserved all the kindness possible had been in that shuttle. Was Ma no more?
Was it a moment or was it hours that the Kid stood there watching the smoke rise from the spot where the shuttle had been. A flood of memories flashed through his mind as rage consumed him. There in the smoke was the site of his farm house. Inside preparing their evening meal was his mother and grandfather; then the cataclysm of explosion, fire and smoke as Alliance shells erupted on his family home. “Nooooooooooo…” erupted from his lungs.

Before Asher was just a boy and he could do nothing, but that was then,….. this is now. He could see the Merc retreating and all his rage and vengeance was focused on the group of fleeing scum.

With his blood pounding in his head he turned the attack on them. Racing after them his boots crunched down the drying grasses that made up much of the stuff in this hilly area . With the practiced ease from the years of the range wars and serving Captain Wyatt he drew his Pythons. Bearing down on them as they came into range he started to rain lead and fury on them as they ran.

Bam…bam..bam.. bam…body hits might slow them, but head shots would kill them, the Kid tried to make each count. When some mercs stopped and turned toward him the kid tossed a smoke grenade….fluuumm…. to create cover. Diving and rolling to avoid the scums shots as best he could Ash continued moving and lobbed a freg grenade into their formation……”boooooom”.

The kid kept pressing the attack and fired until the Pythons were empty. Then he pulled Peacekeepers, but peace wasn’t a part of this. A moving target is harder to hit and Asher’s youthful vitality, his catlike agility and granite will gave grace and skill to his moves. Years of pent up fury for his mother’s death triggered by the exploding shuttle and the loss of Trish was now released on this group of fleeing mercenaries. Asher would kill every last one of them or die trying.

(Ok, it’s do or die..or even do and die time. I’m cashing in ALL the plot points. No sense saving for a rainy day when you’re in the middle of a monsoon. The Kid wants to KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Almost as a punctuation to the statement, there was an explosion from far behind. Wyatt turned his head to see a fireball dissipating where the shuttle that Ma and Asher were in had landed and his blood froze. Then a second missile hit the same spot again just for good measure. Wyatt grit his teeth and turned back to this one mercenary. He couldn't help them now. He just had to have faith in them. Faith that they could survive this like they had survived so many other things.

Wyatt set his jaw and narrowed his eyes at the target he could focus on. The trenchcoat-wearing monster popped something into his mouth and rolled his shoulders just before he produced twin pistols and opened fire. The rounds were well-placed. Havelock grunted with the impact, but even with lead striking him, the gentleman fought losing consciousness to keep control of the mule so Sung could get his shot.

Wyatt couldn’t spare his companion’s situation any further consideration. He leveled his shotgun at the mercenary and pulled the trigger. He wanted a headshot, but the movement of the mule caused him to clip the man’s right ear and the following shot was into the same mark on the chest that took so much damage before. The man still did not fall!

Then the mule slowed and Havelock used his last moments of consciousness to stop the vehicle so that it didn't flip over, "No." Havelock said to no one in particular, "We had a deal." and then slumped back in the seat.

Wyatt had been in enough gunfights to know that taking his eyes off the enemy could result in immediate and irreversible death. He subconsciously filed the statement away for further review should they both survive, and leveled his shotgun at the mercenary once more. The man had spent his magazines--it was a one advantage Wyatt had sitting in the mule. Unfortunately, Havelock had not been so lucky, but Wyatt still had shells in his shotgun. Captain Sung gingerly stepped from the mule and winced a little as he leveled the shotgun at his enemy’s head.

“Qu ni de,” Wyatt growled and fired two more shells at the mercenary’s head as he walked just as calmly towards him. Somewhere in the back of Wyatt’s mind he knew that he couldn’t take the guy in a hand-to-hand fight, but with his people falling out of the sky and mercenaries swarming over Rocinante, he didn’t care. He was back in the war and the man before him was Alliance. He was the reason Sung’s unit was being diced and sliced. The trenchcoat-wearing, armored soldier was the reason some of these young people wouldn’t be going home again. Wyatt hated him. Wyatt was going to destroy him, or die trying.

Willow's mind raced with all she had learned, bouncing from thought to thought as she tried to take it all in. The mercs knew where the violin was, so no need to spare the ship or shuttle... but who was the mole, and how did he know... The weapon that had disabled the ship had been used again to kill Matheson, so was clearly not a single shot anymore... Lord Chris Hood was remarkably helpful for a lord, how better to insert yourself into the planning of the crew, whereas Bridges clearly had more money for a man financially ruined a few short years ago....

Willow bit her lip, hard, to still her thoughts. She needed to deal with the immediate threat to the ship and her loved ones. She checked the frequency of the intercepted message, then sent out a broadcast message on that frequency " Stop your attack on the ship and withdraw immediately or the violin will be destroyed. "

Willow allowed herself the satisfaction of imagining the mole's face when getting message from a dead man. She then tucked away the PADD and moved as quickly as she could back to the communication console. If she could hide herself nearby and see if anyone approached it, she'd know who the mole was, and confirm that he knew the exact location of the case. Buddha only knew if she'd find the courage to attack the mole from behind, or if she'd be fast enough.

A selfish part of her, the once young girl who'd fallen for Cameron, hoped it was Lord Hood she was about to see.

The Battle, Inside Rocinante LV-426, 1:05 pm PT
John made the final adjustments on his transmitter and smiled at his own ingenuity. He had been focusing on one aspect of the micro-bombs and he realized that is wasn’t necessary. He might not kill every merc out there but he was sure that if he pinged them all, each one would respond, and that would not be comfortable. He ignored the sound of gun fire in the cargo bay and then, stood up to flip the switch.

And nothing happened. The transmitter went dead.

“Oh you stupid idiot John!” He berated himself angrily. This would require a lot of power and all this did was drain the battery. He knew the ship’s engines were off line. He could patch it into the backup battery that the infirmary had to keep the medical systems running. He quickly yanked off a panel and grabbed cabling to re-wire the power as fast as he could. It wasn’t a pretty hack job but no one was grading him on esthetics right now.

In the cargo bay, Wolf watched as the mercenaries moved back out of the ship leaving their dead and wounded behind and amazingly not returning fire. Wolf wasting no time went down onto one knee, and steadying the AR opened fire at the retreating men. As he did this he kept his eyes moving all the time hunting the old mercenary. But they were retreating and hotfooting off the ship like rats off a sinking ship. He could hear them running.

(I’m assuming an action here for Wolf but it makes the most sense in my mind) Wolf got a sudden bad feeling in his gut about this. He moved to the closest dead soldier and pulled the comm. link from the corpse and put it to his ear, “ ... Repeat pull back immediately. We have location of violin. You may go live and deal with hostiles with extreme prejudice.”

Back in the med bay, John finished attaching the wires and through the switch again. This time the unit held the power. John opened the channel on his comm. “The mercernaries should have a very bad headache right now. Hopefully debilitating. Best I can do, make use of it.”

John smiled proudly at his achievement and then looked over at the cables. They were all starting to smoke and the coating on them melted.

“Ummm....” He called out to the comm as he grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall and began cooling down the wires with CO2. “Not sure how long it will last so you may wish to act in haste!!”

Wolf had just realized that if the mercs were running from the ship, then something was about to happen to the ship. At that points, Jon’s message came through his comm. “The mercernaries should have a very bad headache right now. Hopefully debilitating. Best I can do, make use of it. *sputter* *sputter* *Fhooosh* “Ummm ... Not sure how long it will last so you may wish to act in haste!!”

The Battle, Victoria Class Corvette Zhuósàng The Bridge, LV-426, 1:05 pm PT
“Coming up on Target sir.”

Bart stood up and moved to a better viewing position. “Hit it with a 110.”

The weapon specialist gulped, “Umm.. Sir? We’re a little close for a 110.”
Bart glared at the man, “How about a 60? Are we too close for a 60?

“Yes sir. I mean no sir. I mean yes we can use a 60.” The officer started sweating.

“Great. Use two then. Let’s make it a party.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Sir?” Communications called, “We have a text message from the frequency of the man but not his device. It says ‘Stop your attack on the ship and withdraw immediately or the violin will be destroyed.’”

“I was wondering when they’d try that. “ Bart said with a laugh, “But the same frequency? Are you sure?”

Suddenly, all of his officer lurched violently and grabbed their heads. Some of them screamed, while others fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

“Report!” he called out.

No one answered. Bart ran to the flight control and pushed the useless pilot out of his way to steady the ship before it nosedived. As he did, the proximity alarm sounded loudly.

“What in the Gorram hell?”

The Battle, Asher near Rocinante and destroyed shuttle LV-426, 1:05 pm PT
Asher drew his twin pythons and moved like a man possessed at the eleven mercs before him. In the corner of his eye, he could see the other soldiers jumping off Rocinante in a hurry and he knew what that meant but could not bring himself out of the rage that took him now. Bearing down on them as they came into range he started to rain lead and fury on them as they ran.

Two of them moved to intercept Asher with their sonic rifles at ready but they misjudge how fast Asher was and how good he could shoot with pistols. They both died at the same time as the Kid shot them both in the head without really looking. Another one took a couple of shots at Asher with the rifle but to Asher, he felt the air pressure hit him but it seemed like wind to him. He took that guy down with two shots.

Then the soldiers remaining drew sidearms and Asher came under a hail of gunfire. The vest stopped several but he couldn’t ignore those and he found himself diving to the ground, seeking cover in this barren wasteland.

But then the mercenaries started screaming. They dropped weapons and grasped their heads in pain. Asher looked at them with amazement when he heard John’s voice coming over his comm. “The mercenaries should have a very bad headache right now. Hopefully debilitating. Best I can do, make use of it. *sputter* *sputter* *Fhooosh* “Ummm ... Not sure how long it will last so you may wish to act in haste!!”

Asher rose up and moved quickly towards the mercs. If he had a short window of opportunity, he was gonna use it. He shot one in the head, then another and another – ending their pain and suffering in a cold precise manner.

But the commander of the unit, a dark haired, chiselled jar type in a black overcoat and body armour was not affected by the magic John had performed. He was still cognitive and threw something at Asher. A grenade landed near his feet and Asher dove and rolled away from the explosion. Shrapnel torn threw his armour and he felt the searing metal puncture his body. A dark shadow seemed to come over him as he lay there - a dark shadow that screamed like a ASREV in a steep dive and the engines desperately trying to correct it.

The Battle, Federal Marshall ASREV, LV-426, 1:05 pm PT
Vasques kicked the bomb bay door realize with her foot and stepped back. She and Hudson were fully armoured and anti-grav belted Hudson had chosen dual MP20 Pulse Assault Rifles with a heavy duty battery pack. Vasques was carrying the MP70 Rapid Pulse with dual Grenade Launchers on a waist harness (since the thing was so damn heavy).

“Hey Vasques? Compensating for something?” Hudson joked.

Vasques rolled her eyes, “Yeah, your incompetence.” She looked down at the ground getting nearer and near faster and faster. “Hey Colonel! You are coming down too fast.”

“Don’t tell me how to fly Lieutenant.” The Colonel shot back through the comm.

“I’m not. I’m telling you how not to crash.”

“Sir!” Hudson said, “If we’re gonna die can you order Vasques to deflower me before hand.”

“We don’t have the five seconds to spare Hudson.” Vasques shot back.

“”Coming up on the Vic, Sir” Hick called out over the chatter.

“Light them up Hicks. Weapons and engines.”

Hick flipped the eye piece down on his helmet and opened up with the autocannon in short precise bursts, damaging the engines and the weapon arrays of the Victoria Class ship. “Sir. There are friendlys on the ground. Couple of dead shuttles but they have been holding their own.”

“Hear that Vasques and Hudson? Check you fire.”

“Copy that Colonel.” Vasques replied and then pointed at Hudson, “Ladies first, Hudson.”

“Ooo. You are harsh.” Hudson said and then jumped out the bomb bay doors with Vasques right behind him.”

“Sir?” Hicks said, “Something is up. They ain’t firing back.”

“Colonel Sanders flipped a switch to open up all channels. “This is Colonel Sanders of the Federal Marshalls. You are all bound by law. Drop your weapons and land your ship or we will destroy you.”

“No please surrender yourself and all that jazz sir?”

“If anyone asks, we were so very diplomatic.”

“It even moved me Sir.” Hicks deadpanned.

The Battle, Wyatt and Havelock in Shuttle 2 LV-426, 1:05 pm PT
“Qu ni de,” Wyatt growled and fired two more shells at the mercenary’s head as he walked just as calmly towards him. Somewhere in the back of Wyatt’s mind he knew that he couldn’t take the guy in a hand-to-hand fight, but with his people falling out of the sky and mercenaries swarming over Rocinante, he didn’t care. Wyatt hated him. Wyatt was going to destroy him, or die trying.

As if he somehow had come to the same conclusion, the big merc suddenly ran towards Wyatt with guns firing and weaving back and forth. Wyatt was forced to move and seek cover, his two shots either missing or still not stopping the soldier..

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from behind the Captain and the giant man staggered back under a barrage of bullets. Wyatt turned his head to see Tess was there with an assault rifle, alongside her was another woman he had never seen before, also opening up on the merc. The huge man finally fell down.

Wyatt walked over to the man with shotgun in hand, not surprised to see that he was still moving slight. The Captain came up to stand over him and the mauled face of the killer looked up at him and said, “Is that all you got?”

(assuming the Captain finishes Marv, I will let him write that ending)

Just then, the comm activated and John’s voice called out, “The mercenaries should have a very bad headache right now. Hopefully debilitating. Best I can do, make use of it. *sputter* *sputter* *Fhooosh* “Ummm ... Not sure how long it will last so you may wish to act in haste!!”

Nancy called out, “Look who is here. Late as always.”

Wyatt heard the protest of engines as an ASREV plunged downwards out of the sky. It was falling fast, real fast, maybe too fast but it managed to right itself and then the auto-cannon opened up on the Corvette with tight precise bursts. From the belly of the Fed ship, two figures jumped to the ground in full battle armour but were lost to the view behind Rocinante.

Tess ran to check on Havelock but he was coming around as she did. As Wyatt looked on he heard something on his comm. Someone was keying a mike switch in a pattern, “...---...---“

The Battle, Asher near Rocinante and destroyed shuttle LV-426, 1:05 pm PT
Asher watched as the shadow over him became a ASREV that opened up on the Corvette. Suddenly a man fell out of the sky and landed with a hard thud on the ground near him. He was in full armour and he did not waste time opening fire on the mercenaries. Then another landed with a huge gun and the two of them laid waste around them.

“Hudson! Cover me!” The one called out in a feminine voice. The other man moved to firing wide with his two guns and the other ran to Asher side while still firing at the enemy.

“Hi. I’m Lieutenant Vasques and I’m here to rescue you. Ooo, aren't you just a cool glass of water on a hot day. You're part of the crew of the Naughty? You hurt? I can duct-tape patch you but we need any gun hand we can get.”

Asher was about to say something to the Fed when he heard something on his comm. It wasn’t a voice, but someone keying the mike. Three short pulses, three long, three short and three long again.

That was the code Trish used on the comm. Ma was alive but it meant she was in trouble.!

LV-426, The Caves 1:00 pm PT
The skiff pulled up outside of the caves and the soldiers piled out with military precision and efficiency. Miko was out first and looked around the scene with cold dark eyes. She pointed to a spot away from the cave doorway but far enough to have effective range.

“You heard the Lady!” Her second called out. Set up the RPG there. Safety is now off gentlemen so ditch the pop guns, and grab some real weapons.”

One of the men came running up to Miko and her second, “Sirs. We have two transmissions we picked up. One is a text from the Man’s frequency telling us to pull back or they will destroy the violin.”

“What is the other?” The second asked.

The officer pressed a but on his mobile receiver, “The mercenaries should have a very bad headache right now. Hopefully debilitating. Best I can do, make use of it. *sputter* *sputter* *Fhooosh* “Ummm ... Not sure how long it will last so you may wish to act in haste!!”

Miko and her man exchanged glances. Miko shook her head and made a few gestures with her hand to sign her intent. But she stopped halfway as she looked out behind her men and saw a lone ASREV fall out of the sky and open fire on the Zhuósàng . Miko recovered quickly and made a different set of commands to her second. He read her signs and hollered out, “Okay men. Timetable is moved, we are looking up and all our calls will be early. We get the Man, the Violin and take whatever prisoners we can haul and sell for the best price. Kill the rest and we run. We all just got a raise in our shares gentlemen!" He points to four men, " Set up a watch parameter and kill anything that head towards us. Do not move any closer to the Zhuósàng than we are now, cause we are out of range of whatever they are using against us.”


Willow allowed herself the satisfaction of imagining the mole's face when getting message from a dead man. She then tucked away the PADD and moved as quickly as she could back to the communication console. If she could hide herself nearby and see if anyone approached it, she'd know who the mole was, and confirm that he knew the exact location of the case. Buddha only knew if she'd find the courage to attack the mole from behind, or if she'd be fast enough.

As Willow turned the corner of the cave corridor to the conjugal rooms, she almost ran into a man who was heading her way. She looked up and it was Cameron.

“Willow!” Thank Buddha I found you.” He said, relief appearing beneath the mask of fear on his face. It was fear of dying in his eyes but Willow saw genuine concern for her there as well. “Sifu needs you. There are soldiers right outside the cave entrance! He thinks they are blasting their way in.”

The kid had charged after the mercs as they fled the area of the shuttle. These were hard core veteran killers but Ash was consumed. At first he was able to rapidly drop two but the 11 to 1 odds were starting to turn against him. The remaining soldier started to fire on him and he had to hit the dirt. But as the saying goes that even a blind squirrel find a nut and Asher’s nut was seeing the merc starting to grab their heads. From his comm. Ash heard John’s voice, “The mercenaries should have a very bad headache right now. Hopefully debilitating. Best I can do, make use of it. *sputter* *sputter* *Fhooosh* “Ummm ... Not sure how long it will last so you may wish to act in haste!!”
The kid took that seriously and reeked revenge on the downed mercenaries. But not all had been affected, this realization came to Asher as a grenade landed at his feet. Reflexes took over and the kid dove and rolled. The exploding grenade sent shrapnel pieces through his body armor and the concussion had him reeling. The kid knew he was hurt.

With his ears ringing and the pain searing in his side tried to regain his bearings as a dark shadow loomed over him. The roar of engines pierced the ringing and Asher saw an ASREV that opened up on the Corvette. From the belly of the craft a man fell out and landed with a hard thud on the ground near him. He was in full armour and he did not waste time opening fire on the mercenaries. Then another landed with a huge gun and the two of them laid waste around them.

“Hudson! Cover me!” The one called out in a feminine voice. The other man moved to firing wide with his two guns and the other ran to Asher side while still firing at the enemy.

“Hi. I’m Lieutenant Vasques and I’m here to rescue you. Ooo, aren't you just a cool glass of water on a hot day. You're part of the crew of the Naughty? You hurt? I can duct-tape patch you but we need any gun hand we can get.”
Asher smiled up at the woman with dark hair, dark skin and dark eyes. Even in that suit of armor the kid could tell she had a body of someone who worked out a lot and dressed to show it. There was a smokey sensuality in her eyes and stance. An angel with big guns had dropped out of the sky to save him. Asher was about to say something when a sound came on his comm. It wasn’t a voice, but someone keying the mike. Three short pulses, three long, three short and three long again.

That was the code Trish used on the comm. Ma was alive but it meant she was in trouble.!

The kid keyed him comm., “Ma”, he blurted.

Vasques raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me? You must be more hurt that you look.”

Asher refocused his look on the Lieutenant, “No, Ma.. she was in the shuttle.. she’s still alive…I’ve got to get to her.”

The kid tried to get up but the wounds caused him to falter. The Fed reached out to steady him, “Whoa there cowboy you’re going to need a little something to get you back on your pins.”

Asher grumbled,” Where’s Doc McGuire when you need him?”

“Who?” the Lieutenant quarried.

“Oh, back on Regina a girl put three slugs in my back, Doc patched me up and then gave me something that got me back in the game.”

Vasques pulled a med from its armor casing. She applied a compression bandage to Asher’s wounds to stop the bleeding. Then she pulled out a hypo-spray while drawing out a vial. Slipping the vial into the holder she shot three consecutive doses into Asher’s neck.

*PAFF*
*PAFF*
*PAFF*

Within seconds the surge passed through the body. “Oh yeah…that’s it.”

“Thank you Lieutenant…I’ll be back as soon a Ma is safe, save some of that Yi Dwei Da
Buen Chuo Roh for me.. I gotta score to settle.”

Vasques looked at the bodies oozing blood from the bullets Asher had put through their skulls, “Well you got a good start.. hurry back we need a shot like you.”

The kid nodded, then headed double time back to the shuttle.