Ranking. pt 5

“Ready, but why?” Trace asked as Izzy launched off the planet and into space.



“Cause if I can’t dodge it, you have to shoot it out of my way.” She said as the meteors came into view. She flipped on the intercom switch. “Sorry for the bumpy ride.” She turned the intercom off and pulled the head phones on. Trace strapped into Mikes seat and listened for any command Izzy might give. Izzy pulled barrel roles over meteors the size of a small island, cut sharp turns in front of oncoming meteors.

She wove in and out of harms way, and occasionally over and under it. She was just trying to remember the simulation training for this kind of thing. She was doing fine. Trace clenched the edges of her seat and felt her heart sink into her stomach. Well she felt the way any human would feel watching their life flash before them. Izzy was almost out of the field, but the guys were having issues in the cargo hold. The weight of the generators made them hard to strap down, and the generator kept rolling how ever Izzy piloted. As Izzy flew under a meteor and the generator slammed into the wall, and against Alec’s shoulder.

“Strap it down, right here.” Alec said in immense agony.

“What about your arm?” TJ asked tossing the straps over the generator to Mike.



“Guy’s we’re almost out.” Izzy told them that their major troubles were over. Mike and TJ finished strapping it down; As Izzy leveled the ship, the pressure came off of Alec’s arm and he was able to move out of the way. He calmly shoved his shoulder back into place and walked to the control room with Mike and TJ. They were not going to ask if he was okay, if he wasn’t he would tell them, and they would help. If he didn’t tell them, then it wasn’t bad enough. Mike was comparing how similar Alec and Izzy were. They both didn’t like asking for help, but Izzy was worse about it. Izzy took a sigh of relief, stopped using the death grips on the joy sticks of the arm rests, and took her Co-pilots chair as they entered. Trace un-strapped herself and carried what was left of her nerves to her station. Alec walked in front of Trace and patted Izzy on the shoulder.

“Give me stats.” He said rotating his shoulder in pain and taking his seat in the pilot’s chair.

“Hull integrity perfect.” TJ started typing away.

“Weapons systems fully operational” Mike went over his systems.

“It would be quicker to wait out the storm, get two more generators, and then go back to the Company.” Trace computed time schedules.

“WE GOT OFF THE PLANET!” TJ yelled in excitement.

“We still need two more generators.” Trace belittled their accomplishments. That crushed TJ’s mood. He was in a great mood, and ready to do it again, then she shut him down.

“Well, I bet we got further than the other five crews.” He mumbled in his defense.

“Shut up.” Alec didn’t need to hear them debating again. They had gotten one third of what they needed to do done, so that was that, and no one needed to be jerks. “How much time before we can land Trace?” He asked watching the meteor shower.

“Four hours, maybe five.” She calculated the new time after the speed increase in the storm. Everything seemed to be going their way.

“Good, everyone get some sleep, or something.” He paused and waited for them to leave “Get.” He leaned back in full gear and closed his eyes. That had gone better then he expected.



TJ went to his lab to work on Aimee; he was determined to get it right, even if that was his new Trace. Trace powered down and conserved energy. Mike and Izzy went to the Reck Room. Izzy took off her vest and under armor so she was in a tank top. Mike took his vest and under armor off, sat down and started reading a book from his room. He put his feet on the table in front of the couch and rested his arm across the back of the couch. Izzy grabbed two waters and sat in front of his arm as she handed him one. She snuggled under his arm and rested her head on his chest.

“What’s that?” She asked looking over the pages that she could see.

“Weapon logs and stuff.” He brushed it off. Izzy pulled the blanket from under

Mikes arm around her, and Mike let his arm fall with it. Everyone waited out the meteor shower, which seemed to pass quickly. Once again every one met in the Cargo hold, and prepared to land again.

The planet looked unscathed. No craters were formed, and there was just an enormous amount of boulders in the sand. They landed closer to the warehouse, now that they knew what was on the planet: nothing but sand. TJ was the first one to the door, and he walked right into the wall. As he bounced back he shook his head and felt around for the opening Izzy had created. Mike was the next to come to the wall, but he had seen it, so he didn’t walk into it. As Izzy walked around the corner he pulled her away from the wall so she wouldn’t walk into it. Alec and Trace brought up the rear.

“Trace, I thought you said there was no life on this planet?” He said rubbing his head. This was not good.

“No DOCUMENTED life on this planet.” She corrected him. “That doesn’t mean there’s no life on it.” She turned the flashlight on her gun on. The wall was seamless, and the door was open. “There’s nothing on radar, should we continue?” She looked to Alec.



“Get the generators and stay together.” He said as they entered. Mike had kept his goggles on, and was prepared for the light. Mike and Izzy walked around, searching for anything or the worst case: anyone. TJ and Trace started setting the generators up. They had to disconnect wires and shut the generator down properly before they could move it. Alec stood at the door and kept his gun aimed out into the sand. The flashlight showed about twenty feel past the door, and it was just bright red sand. “Trace and TJ, what’s taking so much time?” He asked looking over to where they were working.

“This time I have to properly do stuff, before I just ripped the wires out of the wall.” TJ said as they set the plates around the generator. Trace stopped working and looked around through the sights of her weapons.

“I’m picking up twenty life forms.” She put her back to the generators. The lights shutdown, and left them in complete darkness. Everyone switched on the flashlights on their guns and raced back to the generators.

“Everyone, backs to the generator, and eyes open.” Alec shouted as Mike and Izzy jogged back. As they stood backs against the generator, Alec had realized something with this. He was a Company man, no matter how much he denied it, the Company was all he knew; It was what he called home, and it was what he was trying to save. “Guys, I’m assuming that whatever is here is what killed all the other crews. So generators first. We clear?” It was more of an order then a question.

“Yea.” TJ looked down.

“Crystal.” Trace answered.

“Okay.” Mike was more occupied with trying to find the life forms, but he also knew what Alec was talking about. Alec listened for Izzy to say something, but she didn’t.



“Izzy,” Alec paused and looked around the corner of the generator to her. “Are we clear?” He over articulated to get the point across.

“Perfectly,” She mumbled under her breath.

“Good. TJ, get the generator moving.” Alec started barking orders. At the moment, being a friend, might cost them time and a life. The lights had died, the only light was the flashlights on their guns and the netting that glowed as it carried the generator. Alec and Izzy jogged in front of the generator, and Izzy pulled the laser from her side again. She used the laser again to create a large hole in the wall. As Alec pointed his flash light in Izzy’s direction he saw an arm reach from the shadows towards Izzy. She still fiddled with her belt unaware of the danger grasping for her.

“Izzy, ON YOUR NINE!” He yelled running across the front of the generator. Izzy looked up as Alec grabbed her arm and yanked her out of reach. “Pay attention. Just one second can screw up EVERYTHING!” He yelled as she lifted her gun, scanned around her quickly, she caught his eye and thanked him silently. He took his spot on the other corner of the generator, and they continued out. As Alec took his next step forward a Rathen jerked him into the shadows that even darkness feared. “Get the Generators out of here!” His voice echoed pain as he got further away.



“ON THE SHIP. NOW!” Izzy couldn’t leave her brother behind. The gun would be useless, but the S blades worked fine. She took the handle apart as she raced after Alec’s screaming voice. As she got closer, he got quieter and quieter. Izzy stopped running and rested her elbows on her knees to catch her breath. Another Rathen grabbed her around her waist and walked in a different direction. “No!” She cried trying to wiggle out of it’s restraining arm. “Let me go!” She yelled and sliced at it’s arms with the curved blades.  It yelped in pain and let her go. She would have continued running after Alec, had she not heard dead silence down the hallway at her.

“Guys get the ship to the entrance. Give me five minutes of reconnaissance before we go.” Mike begged as Trace started the Star Jumper.

“Mike, we agreed at all costs.” Trace reminded him.

“No we agreed generators first. We got a generator. We need a second, and we haven’t officially lost a Captain. I won’t leave him, OR THE FIRST IN COMMAND.” Mike was getting frustrated. TJ knew how he felt and wanted Alec back too.

“Five minutes. That’s it. If you aren’t back in five, we leave without you.” Trace could tell he wasn’t going to drop it. Mike sprinted out of the Cargo hold and took off his goggles as he entered the building. After taking a few turns around rows of generators, he stopped at an intersection with Rathen bodies scattered in a circular pattern around Izzy. She was just sitting in the middle of the mess, staring down the hallway Alec was dragged down. As the ship landed at the entrance Mike knew he didn’t have a lot of time to get Izzy, and look for Alec. She was sure that Alec would be back. Mike waited as long as he could to bring her back to the ship. As the ship started up Mike had to get Izzy.



“Z, we have to go.” He said stepping over a few bodies and a little closer to Izzy. She didn’t respond. He knelt next to her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Izzy, come on.” Mike tried coaxing her to get up and on the ship. She still didn’t respond. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t leave her, and from what he could tell, she was in shock. He had run out of ideas and had almost no time left. “Mackenzie: attention.” He ordered and she stood at attention and managed to stand up straight. The only reason that it worked was because the commands were drilled into everyone’s head while they were still young.

“Get on the ship, put the stupid arm plate on, and finish the assignment.” He said halfheartedly. It was a less formal command, but it worked just the same. As she walked into the light Mike saw the gallons of blood she was drenched in. Her hair stuck to the blood on her face, her once tan pants were red, and her vest glistened with blood. She calmly walked in the cargo hold, and not much further. She couldn’t believe she had left him. Alec was screaming, and she didn’t help him, at all. He was screaming for help. She had failed him. She had never failed before. Izzy leaned against some crates, and slid down to sit. It wasn’t comfortable to her, but, then again nothing was. Mike closed the Cargo hold door and sat next to her as the ship took off. Trace came over the intercom as they went into slip stream to explain.

“The Company will get two generators, which will give us about another week, then we can accompany a Cargo Ship back, put a generator in our ship and go back to the Company.” She paused and justified their change in coarse. “Who made it back?” She asked after a few very anxious moments of silence.

“Izzy.” He paused and looked her over. “Could you meet us in Sickbay? You might want to bring TJ.” Mike said pulling her to her feet. Mike and Izzy beat them to Sickbay, and Izzy just sat, staring into space. Mike stood near the entrance watching her carefully, and searching for any signs of wounds. Trace and TJ jogged in a few moments later, and stopped in their tracks as Izzy came into view. They looked from Mike to blood soaked Izzy and back. “Hey, she got up and walked into the ship.” Mike said, explaining that she wasn’t dead.



“Is that all her blood?” Trace asked. TJ noticed that she was still clutching the S blades in each hand. He squeezed her hands and the blades shot in. For now the handles were out of the way so Trace could get to what ever she needed. Trace started taking the layers of armor off of

Izzy. She didn’t help. She didn’t move. She didn’t resist. She just sat.

“I don’t think so. There were a few bodies around her.” Mike stayed out of the way, but was still concerned. Trace had gotten everything but her white tank top, and boxers off. They were blood free. “Guess none of it’s hers.” He was impressed, and in awe. TJ figured now would be a good time to take the weapons out of her hands. As he took the blades out of her hand, she jumped, as if she was just realizing she wasn’t in the warehouse. She jumped back, looked around and looked herself over. Trace caught her as she almost fell back off the table.

“Mackenzie, report!” Mike wanted to hear her tell him what was going on.

“No injuries, lost the Captain.” She paused and shook her head.

“Don’t use that crap.” Trace hit Mike’s vest with the back of her hand. Izzy had realized what that meant. If the Captain was dead, than SHE was the new Captain. She started rambling neurotically. “No, I don’t want to be the new Captain. Where’s Alec? He should be here. Why is he not here? I can’t handle a crew; I got my last crew murdered. Didn’t Alec tell you that? He should have told you that. I can’t be Captain, because I can’t lead. I don’t want to lead. I can’t be trusted.” 



“IZZY!” Trace yelled so she would stop talking. “Get in a hot shower, I’ll bring your clothes up.” She pointed towards the shower. Izzy got up and went. “Mike go talk to the Company, make everything good. TJ get stats from the Company and work on conversions with the generators.” Trace gave commands until Izzy would. Mike went to the Control Room, and TJ went to the Cargo hold.

“This is Star Jumper K-5; we are on our way back with two generators. Our android has informed us that we did not have time to get a third and get back. We have lost our Captain. We will require a simulation call for an experienced person. Race, sex, and age do not matter” He put the head set on that was hooked into the pilot’s chair.

“The call will go out. Do the technicians need to talk?” A landing crew person asked and waited for a response. TJ hooked in his headset and started talking with the landing crew.

“I need to talk to Lieutenant Parnell.” TJ said and quickly started carrying tons of electrical tests, and gizmos into the cargo hold.

“Parnell isn’t the head technician; he’s student.” The landing woman was confused.

“Parnell.” TJ said more aggressively while looking at the phone. He knew Parnell had a bright future; he was a mini TJ in the making. Except he was going to graduate a year younger than TJ did.

“James?” Parnell asked grabbing the head phones away from the landing crew. The technicians were all near the landing crew because as soon as the generators got to the Company they had everyone working on them.

“TJ, not James. Hey Sergei, I need to hear numbers for the generators that are failing, cause I have a feeling these would need a lot of work before they could go into use again.” TJ explained the issues.



“We know that was one of the reasons your crew was sent, because you were the only one they could think of that could fix it on the way back. You need three switch converters, one on each fan, the third rotating fan has to be thirty percent faster than the other two, and the wires have to be totally re-run to fit a standard generator outlet. I uploaded all of the information on to your hand held.” Sergei told TJ.

“That’s it? No nuke? No detonations that will swallow the entire galaxy?” TJ made fun of the nearly impossible situation.

“You can also tackle the nuclear reactor if you want. I get to do that on it’s way

to the Board’s basement.” Sergei added. He didn’t want it to seem like the Company was telling TJ to do everything. He knew how TJ felt about the Board and how they ran things, but they were who everyone had confidence in.

“They’re trusting your little pea brain to do that?” TJ stated while pulling up everything on his hand held.

“Yea, I now hold just as many doctorates as you.” He said justifying why they had faith in him.

“Really? That’s with your mom’s permission?” TJ asked. He knew that it was at eight teen, but he liked poking fun at him.

“Eight-teen, and that means it was one year before you.” He continued trying to show up TJ.

“That’s okay, I’ve still saved the Company from total destruction way more than you have.” TJ was still top dog in his field.

“I’ll get there some day.” Sergei was happy to hear that TJ was still alive.

“Hopefully not. I’ve got to get back to mission impossible six, so I’ll see you when we get back Sergei.” TJ had everything set up to work on the generators.



“See you then James.” Sergei said. He heard TJ mention something about everyone calling him TJ, but the landing woman had taken her head phones back.

Twenty minutes later Izzy got out of the shower and wiped the condensation off the mirror. Her clothes were neatly folded on the edge of the sink, along with the familiar arm plate that only the Captain was supposed to wear. There was always a spare one under the Co-pilots chair, incase the Captain had died. She put a tank top, cargo shorts, and bright toe socks on. The arm plate wouldn’t do anything if the Captain wearing the arm plate still had a pulse.

She didn’t want to be Captain, but she didn’t have a choice and there was no way she could get out of it. If she really thought about it, she didn’t want to get out of it. She just had to do one more thing, but this time as Captain, and then she could get her job back at the Company. She didn’t know what she wanted long term, and that was never on her mind. At the moment, they were just headed back to the Company to get another crew member, so she wouldn’t have to make any long term plans. She looked at the arm plate, and figured there was no decision to be made. The arm plates wiring system came out of the plate went under her skin, up her arm five inches and back into the plate. Where ever Alec was, he didn’t have a pulse.



“Everyone, in the Control Room please.” She sat in the Captain’s chair watching the blue ribbons. She knew why Alec stared at them so long, they made everything alright. Everyone came in and sat down; waiting for her to start whatever it is she called them for. After serious thought she had remembered the speech. “Okay.” She stood and looked behind her chair to the crew, then to the empty seat next to her. This was the part she didn’t want anything to do with. “Alec knew the risks when he signed on. We all did. He saw phenomenal stuff that would probably save someone’s life at the Company some time soon. His life was cut short, but we aren’t dead, and we have a job, unless you want to find another place to call home. The Company is the next stop-” she couldn’t continue with the prepared speech, this wasn’t the same as her last ship, one of their best friends, and her brother that had died.

“I’m sorry guys. You know what I should say, but I won’t say it. We get a new guy, take him with us for our last generator and think about what we want to do for the rest of our lives.” She finished and sat down. Everyone knew what she would have said and they didn’t need to hear it again. “Guys get some rest, no one else should die.” She said, and even though it was an inappropriate time to joke she felt the need. “That’s an order, any disobedience will result in major repercussions.” She pointed to each of them. With a small smile they all got up and went to do their separate things. Mike waited until everyone was gone, and wanted to talk to Izzy.

“TJ says there’s some new stuff in simulation that I thought you might want to check out.” He wanted to find something they could do together.

“How new? Like modified to be great or another level of some world or planet?” She asked. It didn’t really make a difference, but it would have been nice to know.

“He won’t tell me, but with the way he’s talking about it, I’m a little scared to go by myself.” Mike joked. She got up and followed him down to simulation. She didn’t really want to go, but she was curious what TJ had been doing in his lab the whole time. They stepped over the entrance and almost got side swiped by Aimee, carrying a screw driver. Mike looked over it in amazement and Izzy was slightly concerned.

“I thought you said you didn’t have a power source for her?” Izzy was extremely worried.



“I didn’t. I modified her and added tons of stuff.” He said from under the paneling. He was about halfway into the wall with wires draped over him to his feet. She glared at him and waited for him to feel the wrath of her stare. He knew how dangerous Aimee was; He could get them all killed if she wasn’t wired right. He was waiting for her to say something but she wouldn’t. He bent sideways to look at her. He knew what that look meant; with a sigh he went back into the wall and continued talking. “Don’t worry, it can all be undone.” He didn’t feel like telling her what she wanted to know about the extensive work he had done. She’d be pissed.

“TJ,” she said in a scolding tone. “What kind of power source did you use?” If he had used one that would not fry itself then we’re all in big trouble. He didn’t say anything; he had used the newly developed cells that Trace had. “You know her programming will eventually kill us all. What the hell were you thinking! YOU CAN’T FIX HER!” She started screaming. Now not only did they have to worry about people on planets they went to. They also had to worry about the androids on their own ship.

“Relax, I didn’t ‘fix’ her. I re-worked her.” He paused to find another way to explain it to Izzy, so she wouldn’t stab him in his sleep. “That was a total re-model that I did. She is fine now.” He had no other ways to say it. Izzy looked over Aimee and wasn’t happy with the answer. She didn’t trust him with her life, in fact she didn’t trust him with his, but he was given that.  “Listen closely.” He took a deep breath and prepared to ramble. “New outer armor, total systems reconfiguration, new life cells, that’s right plural, defense programs and shields to match anything the Company has, and she is fully wired into every one’s health stats and radios. She can tell you where anyone on this ship is at any time.” He said all in one breath. He was pretty sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.



“Her defense systems! Those are what was killing people before!” Izzy was still furious with him.

“No, they are completely new, there’s no trace of the old Aimee, it is just the shell. The base of what I created. She is like another Trace, only suckier.” He figured that would make her feel better. “Anyway that’s not why I asked you two down here. I was working on something for a while, and I want you two to try it out.” He pulled two syringes out of his front vest pockets. They still had the wrappings on them, but they were full.

“TJ you expect us to let you give us something that looks like you got it in Mircon?” Mike refereed to a galaxy infamous for poisons.

“Look I already have them.” He pulled up his sleeve and showed them the dot on his arm. “Here’s what they do.” TJ tapped a few buttons that had appeared on the touch screen, and one man appeared. The man slammed him against the wall, and TJ twinged in pain. “Sign out.” He coughed. The man disappeared and he was fine.

“Cool.” Mike was convinced that would make everything harder, because than you would actually feel the pain.

“Do you NOT see a problem with this?” She was outraged. They both stared at her blankly. “The simulation could KILL us now!” She yelled shooting her hands toward the touch screen. TJ slid the panel over the wires and caught her eye.



“Do you think I am that unsafe?” He didn’t pause for her to answer. “These are Enets. They are the same thing that Trace would call blood. If the simulation is on, and you are injured or hit, they will simulate pain. If your health stats become spasmodic, the game shuts down and the Enets flow through your blood with no damage to you, and no more pain.” He explained to her. She really couldn’t argue with him now, he had thought of everything. With a sigh she rolled up her sleeve. After they had both taken the Enets he picked up his hand held and handed Izzy a remote to Aimee. “My lab calls.” He left without another word. As the door shut Izzy talked to Aimee.

“Show all modifications.” She said. The flip screen on Aimees back folded up, and read it exactly as TJ had said. “You know, I hate to say it, but I trust him.” She was willing to admit that.

“Sad thing is: Me too.” He said going to the touch screen.

“I have to move my stuff to my new room, then dock us at the Company, tell me how it is when you’re done.” She hinted that she wanted some alone time. He caught the clue and continued in the simulation room alone. Trace was in Sickbay marking the supplies they had went through, and what they needed from the Company. TJ of course was in his lab working on something else. The way this crew handled death was strange. There was about a half hour of really bad depression, and then it wasn’t spoken about again.

It was a strange way to operate, but it seemed to work for everyone. Even Izzy found something calming in how everyone was acting. They had shown that it was a big deal, and that life would go on. She felt small in the worn print of Alec in the Company’s chair, but the blue streaks that rocked the ship consoled her. Everything she wasn’t supposed to talk about. Three hours later they docked where a team of specialists, and a doctor waited. As they got off, TJ met with Sergei.

“Everyone, simulation in twenty!” She said loudly and everyone separated.

“Sergei!” TJ walked with him back onto the ship. They were probably going to talk geek for the time that TJ was given.



“Your Captain is a woman? Is she any good?” He asked skeptically.

“She’s one of the best, and don’t be like that. Judge on how well they can take crap, not anything else. There’s another lesson I learned that you haven’t: Nothing at face value.” TJ continued with Sergei as he fiddled with the nuclear reactor.

“Mackenzie?” The doctor asked Izzy. She stood at attention and waited for him to say what he had to say. “No need to be proper, I have some great news. Evan was brought back, and is almost fully recovered.” He let her know that one of her other crewmembers had survived.

“Evan made it back?” she asked uncertainly.

“He’s in the infirmary, you can go see him if you like,” He said. Izzy shook his hand with haste and trotted toward the infirmary. A few moments later she was knocking on his door. He answered with his bags in hand.

“Izzy!” He hugger her quickly and they continued out of the hospital.

“Glad to see I wasn’t the only one that made it back.” She said as they walked toward simulation.



“Yeah, me too,” He commented. This was awkward. They weren’t the best of friends on the ship. In fact they were the kind of friends that some would call enemies. They were happy to see each other though, and to know that it wasn’t just one person who had returned from the crew. Even thought two wasn’t much better, it was still better than one. He went to fill out paper work so he could get back on a ship. Izzy ducked off into the surveying room, and they watched the six men that matched the call that had went out. About half way through the simulation it was clear who the best was. Everyone on the crew agreed and TJ called him in. He stood at attention in front of the group. Izzy was under Mikes arm, Trace was working on her hand held and TJ was leaning back in his seat.

“Stats?” TJ asked.

“Daniel O’Conner, six years field work, one set of wings, second in Company finalists for hand to hand.” He looked dead-ahead and did as he was told. TJ didn’t like the way the Board ran anything.

“Listen, I know you probably had the whole stand at attention thing grilled into your head, but stop.” TJ was getting annoyed at his obedience factor.

“Daniel, right?” Mike paused and Daniel nodded. “I was the one who took first, and I remember wiping the floor with you. Second, this is a crew of misfits, so don’t be too perfect, cause then we look worse. Third, we only need you for one assignment then we all get a free card with the Company. Easy score.” Mike had to tell him what TJ meant.

“Okay. So if it’s so easy, why do you need another crew member?” He was smarter than he looked.

“So what he meant was that it is complicated, punishing, quick assignment that you would be back in less than twenty-four hours.” TJ returned the favor.



Everyone was back on the ship and ready to go. Trace had gotten more medical supplies, TJ had gotten a few new toys, Mike had gotten a new weapon, and Izzy got to talk to one of her old crew members. They were all in a better mood. Daniel was in his room resting for the assignment. Trace was helping TJ in his lab. Mike sat in the pilots chair while Izzy sat on his lap. They were both watching the blue ribbons of slip stream fly past. It was a very low stress time for everyone. It was calm, and easy to handle, which scared most of the crew to death. The only time things were that easy was right before something bad was going to happen. Everyone felt it, but no one would dare to say anything. Mike and Izzy went down to simulation. Izzy hadn’t tried it yet, and that had been one of the only things that Mike had kept talking to her about. He had thought that the simulation was the best thing on the ship. They both fought a guy at the same time, playing around with the options.

Izzy’s head hit the grate on the floor as her character hit her for the first time. That had really hurt. She wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it definitely made things more interesting. Mike had already done these simulations and had no issues beating the characters that were zapped in for him. Izzy didn’t have issues after she got used to the pain. She didn’t focus past it; she focused on hurting it, like it might have the opportunity to hurt her (which it did). Mike finished his game before Izzy finished hers. He watched her and she finished moments after him. She had to admit that was cool. TJ had done a very accurate job with everything.

“That...” She took a breath in pain. “Was...” She needed another breath. As the game signed off she felt better instantly. “The best thing EVER!” She shouted with enthusiasm. Mike nodded in agreement with a grin on his face. She smiled because he looked stupid. Mike had realized that this might very well be their last day together. If there was anything he could do to prevent that he would.



“We should get some rest, got an assignment.” He reminded her. The fun was gone from the conversation, and they both sluggishly headed for their separate rooms. Mike was slightly mad at himself for bringing it up, because that killed their moment. He felt like a jerk, everything was going great, they were having fun and he felt the necessity to screw things up. He laid in his bed thinking of how he could have handled that differently. Mike had a lot of things to think about, like Daniel.

He had not seen him in action, or seen how he operated. What if he was really bad in the field? He couldn’t be that bad, he had been good in competitions, and he seemed to follow directions well. The same things were on TJ’s mind down the hall. He also had doubts about Daniel, but at the same time was very happy to have an ‘experienced’ newbie. If there was such a thing. Izzy wasn’t a total newbie, but she was ignorant when it came to making decisions with other people’s lives. Which was some times a good thing, because that is another thing she had in common with Alec. Izzy set down near the warehouse, and the wall was once again seamless.

“Let’s get the generator, and get out. Don’t shoot them unless they start it.” She knew that the less time they took the better. The door opened and cold light spilled across the warm sand in a rectangular shape. With a sigh, she lead her team back into the storage warehouse. TJ and Trace immediately started working on the generators, while Mike, Izzy, and Daniel scanned every corner for any signs of the creatures. TJ was about half way though his adjustments as Trace reported the Rathen had surrounded them. They didn’t see anything, but Trace still reported increasing numbers. Finally they all came in to view. They were seen for the first time. They had seen shadows of them compared to this. They almost looked human. Dark black hair with blue tints clashed with maroon skin. They each had weapons and seemed very well organized. They had circled around the team; The team didn’t fire, because they weren’t attacking, and if they weren’t going to attack, maybe they could talk, or make a deal. Trace continued working on the generator, while TJ Mike and Izzy shielded her from view.



“Surrender your weapons.” A voice echoed in, followed by another one of those ugly Rathen, but this one was well dressed. Well dressed in comparison to the rest of the mangy looking things.

“Ummm... No?” Daniel leaned his head to the side in confusion. He kept his gun pointed at the closest Rathen.

“Then I wish to speak with your Captain.” Nicolai said in a low raspy voice. Mike had grabbed Izzy’s arm in a pleading attempt to get her to stay quiet.

“What do you want?” Izzy was not going to tolerate anything. They were lucky she could restrain herself, because right now she wanted to rip each and everyone of their throats out.

“Negotiation, for the safe return of your crew back to it’s ship.” He put it in small words for her. That would work quite nicely for the crew. Maybe.

“In return for what?” She asked in amazement. He was actually just going to kick them off the planet, and not kill them.

“Well,” Nicolai paused and looked around the crew. It was one of the females, but he didn’t know who. “Izzy.” He answered.

“And if we don’t give you what you want?” Mike cut in. There was no way that was going to happen. He wouldn’t let it.

“Then we kill the entire crew and take it anyway.” He shrugged. It really didn’t matter if Izzy was alive or dead. Izzy looked around to the people in her crew. There was no way she was going to survive, and that, she could live with. Pun intended. She smirked. They were in no position to be making deals.



“Listen, show me what you want with her.” She was careful not to say ‘me’. Depending on what they were going to do, she would make her decision. It actually had nothing to do with their decision, which was the only way Izzy could see Mike even letting her arm go.

“Why?” He asked. He was intrigued with the request; no one they had taken had ever asked to SEE what was going on.

“Because as the Captain, I get to make the decision, whether or not my crew likes it.” She glared at Mike. His blood ran frigid, what was she doing? Was she trying to get herself killed? He shrugged in agreement and motioned for the two Rathen on the end to take all her weapons from her. They took everything, even the clip she had in her hair. She looked back to her team as they escorted her away. No one liked this, especially Mike. TJ felt he had to say something; the crew was being too quiet.

“Any commands?” He asked. She looked over her shoulder and had only a few things to say.

“Don’t die. Don’t be stupid either.” She said as they dragged her down the hall way. The four remaining crew members looked over the line of creatures that had encircled them. This really sucked. The Company wouldn’t even send another ship with them, because it was a mission handed to them, not to anyone who wanted in. They sat and waited. Well TJ, Daniel, and Trace sat. Mike walked around testing his boundaries. What did she mean by don’t do anything stupid? He was furious. Stupid? Stupid? How could the Team do something stupid? She was the one running off with the guy trying to kill her! How was that for stupid! He thought to himself. She walked through another cargo hold with this one Rathen who was negotiating with her.



“We keep you for experimentation, and your crew goes free.” He had read the name on her ID tags.

“What if I won’t do it willingly?” She asked. That didn’t sound good. ‘Experimentation’ was not a word that meant anything good. The Rathen motioned toward a door, and Izzy looked over to it. Alec walked out.

“Then, they keep you anyway, kill the crew in front of you, and do what they damn well please.” He said. She didn’t know what to say. He looked fine, he acted just fine, and he was right there. In front of her, and very much not dead. He still had the painfully kind look in his pale blue eyes. His side arm was still attached to his hip, and she was pretty sure the one on his leg was still there. More and more Rathen circled around the two. She didn’t have a clue what to say. What would you say to your dead older brother standing in front of you? “Listen to him Izzy, do as he says and everyone else will go free.” He told her what to do. The sudden happiness was gone. Alec would never have said that before. What was wrong? Did he have a plan?

“No,” She could only manage to choke out one word. She was not going to take the chance that first they would kill her, and then they would kill the crew after she was dead. Alec should have known that, because no one at the Company would take the chance.

“If she won’t, kill her.”  Nicolai egged a fight on. That was comical, him hit her? He would never in a million years, even in play fighting hit her. He was over protective. At just the thought of him hitting her she laughed. It was kind of funny to her. The situation wasn’t funny, but him hitting her was. There was no way he was ever going to- She hit the ground. Alec had punched her.



Mike still paced watching the number of creatures dwindle. They were all slowly going to see the fight. Trace had shutdown and was conserving power. Daniel sat against the generator and fiddled with his hand held. TJ looked around for anything that he could use to help Mike. Mike was going to attack, he didn’t know how it would work out, but he was not going to sit there and do as he was told. TJ picked up the pool stick he had given Izzy. That could be used. He knew that the laser would go through them, no problem. Mike heard Izzy yelp in pain, and tried to jump through the line of Rathen. A Rathen pulled his goggles away then let them snap to his face and flung him back into the center. He made another panther howl, put his second pair of goggles on, and sat back holding his head. The line of creatures snickered as he wiped the blood from his nose. TJ took the opportunity to even the odds a little. He turned the laser on and managed to take out all but five, which Daniel had started working on. He had jumped up and shot at the group as TJ had aimed the laser. Trace powered up, and they went to find Izzy.



Mike entered and crossed over to the other side of the room, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Izzy stood against the netted crates and tried to breath through the blood trickling down her face. TJ couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Everyone except Daniel stopped in their tracks when they saw Alec. He grabbed Izzy’s vest and threw her into the air. She landed on the top of a bunch of crates, and stood up. She couldn’t fight back, that was her brother. He had been with her for everything. He was the one thing that never changed in her life. As he grabbed at her feet she had reached a conclusion. He had changed, so now she had to change too. She lunged at him, and knocked him to the ground. She managed to get a few poor hits in before he rolled on top of her and started swinging with all of his might. The whole Team was awe struck, but there were so many Rathen, that they had to start killing them off right away. TJ was doing the most damage with the weapon he had given Izzy.

“Get off her!” Mike yelled at Alec and yanked him off of her. As he did that, he got side swiped by a Rathen and pulled out of the fight. Alec stood over Izzy and she saw his side arm had ripped off his vest and lay on the floor next to her. She tried to convince herself that it was her only choice.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes, and shook as she pulled the trigger; Alec dropped to the floor. She didn’t want to get up. She had trouble breathing. Izzy just laid there thinking. What if she just stayed there, closed her eyes, and didn’t have to worry about anything again? That sounded like heaven to her. What soon faded from the comforting sound of silence were her teammates chasing the remaining Rathen. She didn’t see why she needed to get up, but the fight was almost won, and she was not dead. She struggled to get up, with the gun still in hand. Then she stumbled over to Mike, Trace, and TJ. “I want to go home.” She couldn’t even feel any of the injuries she had gotten. She was exhausted, depressed, and wanted a hot shower, her warm bed, and maybe a very large sleeping pill. They all looked at her waiting for her to tell them what to do next. “What happened to nothing stupid?” She wondered why they were still here. They should have put the generator on the ship and left with out her.

“Well, I kind of like the idea of a little flex in the rules.” Mike smiled.

“Plus you have the arm plate.” TJ pointed to her arm



“We need to get the generator back.” Trace was happy they could help Izzy, but she wanted to get them back on track. The head Rathen ripped TJ away from the group and used him as a shield from the crew’s weapons. Everyone aimed at the two. What could they do? Shoot? Risk hitting TJ? He had dropped the only weapon he had carried. It was too close for anyone to grab.

“Why can’t things ever be easy?” Izzy whined.

“I’m sorry, next time I’ll ask if it’s convenient before I’m taken hostage” TJ yelled in frustration. “Now shoot him!” He felt the day shouldn’t take any longer. Bed was looking pretty good, plus the sooner they got him out of there the sooner he could get something to eat.

“I am going to get on your ship, and you’re going to let me. Or I am going to kill him.” The Rathen said very calmly. He jabbed the barrel of the gun further into TJ’s neck. There was a pause, the Rathen was waiting for an answer, and the team was trying to make a decision. Nothing but the hum of distant generators filled the space. Silence: that sound that meant death.

“Izzy, what do we do?” Trace kept her gun aimed at the Rathen.

“Shoot him! Either way I’m dead!” TJ was getting really tired of these types of situations. “Listen guys, what do you think he is going to do when he gets on the ship? Say ‘Oh I don’t need you anymore, go do something somewhere else’ I DON’T THINK SO. He isn’t going to say anything; he’s just going to shoot me in the head. Boom, pow, dead. So you are going to shoot at him now, and try to save me.” He knew Izzy didn’t want to make the call. Plus he thought he might get a little input seeing as it was his life. The crew looked to and from one another. They didn’t want to hit TJ, and the Rathen could see the uncertainty in each of their eyes.

“TJ after we save you, I’ma fuck you up! You can’t even die without being an ass!” Mike yelled at him.                    

“Next time I plan on dying I’ll be all sappy!” TJ paused and thought of something else to mock him with. “Oh no! Someone, anyone, please save me!” TJ and Mike started fighting.



“This is why your race won’t survive, because you are weak. You can’t make decisions for your crew, and you have to ask everyone about everything first. You let things hinder your though process-“ He fell to the floor, leaving TJ standing there, and Daniel standing behind him with a pipe in his hands.

“How that for hindering your thought process?” He asked bobbing his head mockingly at him. With a short laugh everyone was ready to leave.

“Can we go yet?” TJ asked rubbing his neck as the crew jogged back to the generators.

“So is everything this exciting with you guys?” Daniel asked as they started for the ship.

“No, this was actually a pretty dull mission,” TJ said with a straight face as they headed back to the ship.          

Back in Croatoen, on the planet that none of the crew ever wants to visit again. Nicolai digs bullets out of the Rathen he can repair, and they stand up awaiting orders. After he works on Alec, he stands in line with the others. The light on the metal plate on the back of his neck turns on. “Get the ones that can’t be fixed out of here, and fix the ones that can,” Nicolai ordered, and the line broke off into separate groups. The groups swept the entire building, fixed the wall again, and stood awaiting orders.

“Can you re-manufacture the Star Jumpers from where ever you came from?” he looked to Alec. Alec nodded. “Take all the technicians, get a small fleet ready as soon as possible,” he said and half the line was gone.