Cat looked down at her chest at the two pinprick holes in her armour. She remembered getting hit, remembered the grenade onslaught, but she didn't remember getting into this room. A large dark figure was standing over her with a large syringe.
"There, that should wake you up Cat. You were hit with penetrators, shot your heart to bits. Good thing you don't use it or you would have been dead."
Cat got up and looked down at her chest, noticing a deep brown stain from the two holes along with three one centimetre deep impact craters from the grenades. She looked for her gyrock rifle and saw Mayhem play with it.
"If you drop this again, it is mine."
She looked at him, or rather at his helmeted face.
"If you take my rifle again, you better make sure I am in no condition to come and get it."
He chuckled and handed her the rifle, going back to secure the rear.
"Right troops, this is what we are gonna do. Cat you take point, Mayhem you take rear. Chainsaw, you help Skull limp out, and I'll protect Asteroth. We are going through the last bulkhead now, so expect heavy fighting on the other side. Cat, when you are ready."
She stood up, feeling as fresh as ever. That meant the Chief had pumped her full of happy juice, and that her suit was still in working order. She braced herself for the fire and pounded the wall down. A single target running to the left shooting ineffective pellets of full metal jacket shot at her armour, Boom-swoosh-Crack-fwump-Gung, one person sitting in the cockpit of a Vulture ready to launch, Boom-swoosh-Crack-fwump-Gung. She walked in and scanned the room.
"Clear, we are go."
The rest of the team moved in with all the grace they could muster and rushed across the bay to the waiting unmarked centaur in perfect unison. Once inside, the ship launched with no haste and accelerated for the jump point, William and fagious riding security. The whole insertion had taken 27 minutes.
###
Vardonx woke up to a world that was dark and slow. Something covered his eyes, and he could hardly feel himself. He sensed that something was over his nose and mouth, but it was not unpleasant. He could only hear a single tone very loud inside his ear. So, he had survived, and somehow they had won. He tried to move his hands but could not. Someone moved the blindfold and he could see a shadow that was between him and the red lamp on the wall.
"Fluffy?"
A deep voice full of concern and grief answered from the shadow.
"Fluffy is hurt pretty bad, he took a fragment in his buttocks, neatly shaved of half his ass."
Vardonx almost smiled at that, but he needed to ask one more question.
"Neagoth?"
"Hurt pretty bad, but mostly blast injury. He needs some new eyes and lungs, but apart from that he'll be fine."
"How, how can that be? I heard the tertiary explosion from the gyrock."
John actually smiled this time as he answered.
"Well, it seems that our new recruit Plissken had just recently acquired the cubicle from a well known TGFT pilot, and said pilot had forgotten a, well let's call it a life size doll that was freed from the locker with one of the shots, and as it fell out it took a direct hit to the torso, a hit meant for Neagoth's head. It exploded most of the doll, but created a kind of bubble that landed on top of Neagoth's upper torso and head, effectively shielding him from most of the blast. He survived by being inserted into a sex-toy really."
Vardonx smiled briefly and stopped again. That hurt badly.
"Waldoze?"
"You got it, Waldoze's toy saved Neagoth's life. And just to be absolutely graphic, you can guess which end covered his head."
Vardonx started chuckling, but that hurt too much as well and the medicines shut him down for a bit.
John got up and sent a message to Ecka. All TGFT members were going to be okay, even if it was going to take some time. He sat in the chair next to the trio of beds and leant back. He would stay until they were awake.
###
He launched his vulture towards Sedina, the wormhole nexus to grey. Taking the long route through grey space in order to avoid the UIT police forces, he encountered several traders and miners. No pirates were seen along the way, peace had arrived in deep grey. He kept his calm even as he wanted to kill them all, attack their ships and spread their ill-begotten wealth all over vacuum. He entered his old hunting grounds and saw the first pirate, a CLM member called Swag Man in a bright green Vult III. The ship turned towards him and moved slowly in his direction.
Swag Man: Gavan, is that you? Long time no see.
->Swag Man: Yeah, I am back. Call yoda, I need to talk to him.
Swag Man: Good to have you back man. Will do.
Gavan Ardgall slowly smiled his predatory smile that made regular Rent-a Cops duck even deeper in their on-station security details, and made the traders dump their cargo several jumps over. The rightful commander of the so called terrorist organisation named SYN was back. And this time he was not going away before the bastards that controlled UIT would admit to their money grabbing evil ways and pay for the damaged they had wrought. Until then, he was going to create mayhem in grey and UIT space.
###
It wasn't Retractile or Azumi that found Ahriman, eventually they were found. As they were walking down the corridor to the main residential area, he seemed to appear out of thin air. The cloaking field that had shielded him from detection faded to grey and revealed the very tall man clad in a long dark flowing robe, obscuring his face in a rolling veil of darkness.
"You have been seeking Ahriman."
His voice was almost metallic and hoarse, like someone that had trouble speaking or was forming the vowels with a mouth that was unfamiliar to speech.
Azumi stepped back away from the figure, and let Retractile do the talking.
"Yeah, I have a note from yoda."
He presented the pouch that the robed figure took with a gloved hand, opening it and discarding of the pouch by tossing it into the nearest nano disposal unit. He opened the message and handed it back.
"Yes, I have what he wants. You can deliver it. But I would like her to stay."
He pointed at Azumi while giving Retractile a small container.
"Well, she doesn't stay bubba. She leaves with me. Is that a problem?"
The robed figure seemed to consider for a second before turning and leaving. Retractile pocketed the container and turned to Azumi.
"Let's beat this joint, we did what we had to babe. Sushi in Odia?"
Azumi smiled at him and nodded.
"Sushi sounds delicious. And may I suggest a trader or two for desert?"
Retractile grinned as they started walking to the launch bay.
"You've read my mind babe. A course of sushi and traders is just what we need."
