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Description
Krystal and Chase: Deep Darkness
Part Two: Infiltration

The skies above the colony had been clear, most everyone inside the thick walls that protected them from attacks unaware of the assault that had just begun or the impending Sev`fel strike force on it's way.  Civilians went about their day, many of them working deep in the mines as small, one manned vehicles carried out the harvested xalphidium for transport and refinement by corporation colonies on other worlds.  The anti-air guns that had recently been installed for their security were lying still in their large cradles as radar dishes scanned the skies, the turrets placed in various areas of the colony.
But soon, alarms blared from the air raid sirens scattered across the colony!  A deafening wail sounded across the colony as Sev`fel drop ships entered the perimeter of the colony defenses.  The anti-air guns lifted up, pointing skyward as the drop ships split up into groups.  The barrels of the cannons glowed and began to open fire; high velocity energy rounds filling the skies above as drop ship after drop ship was blown out of the sky in a fiery explosion.
Those that did make it past, landed on the outskirts of the colony walls, Immediately dropping their ramps as the robotic Reapers left the drop ships, immediately opening fire on the colony walls, trying to burn through.  As the standard Reaper units fanned out, still opening fire, slightly larger Reapers, a red stripe across their sides emerged as well, the squad leader units relaying information and tactics to their fellow Reapers.  But as they tried, security forces had already taken up positions, opening fire upon the robotic units.  Reapers were shot down, some unable to even get off the drop ships before the security forces took them down, their bullets ripping through the robots armor plated bodies.  But as the Reapers swarmed forward, Crawlers also began to emerge from the drop ships, opening fire upon the walls themselves as the four legged robots moved towards the colony.
Soon, the walls began to crumble from the pounding attacks of the robots energy weapons finally making headway into the walls as sections began to crumble down.  The robots moved in closer, taking fire as security forces tried to hold them off, some shooting through the holes being made in the walls as the robots surged forward into the openings large enough for them to get in through.  But as much fire as they were taking, the Sev`fel units returned, their pulse cannons firing through the holes as they tried to thin out the security forces holding them back from their programmed objective of wiping out the colony.
As the bots finally began to swarm through the openings, the security forces opened fire with large weapons, heavily armored guards opening fire with gatling miniguns to push back the invading horde.  Their barrels spun up quickly, a loud 'whir' filling the air as the weapons opened fire, the bullets racing out of the spinning barrel at high velocities as they ripped through the light armor of the Reaper units, literally tearing the robots apart!  As they fired, the guards moved forward, pushing back the robots as the chain guns barrels blazed.
Suddenly, another section of the wall crumbled, the scorpion-like Crawler units moving through the newly breached section as their tail cannons opened fire!  The green bolts of energy struck down guard after guard as the inhabitants of the colony fought back with anything they could, guards opening fire on the new robots as the crawlers leapt from the walls onto the rooftops of buildings, their cannons opening fire from above!
One of the guards had his back against a building, the minigun he was carrying blazing as the guard mowed down robot after robot with the high velocity, armor piercing rounds.  But suddenly, his gun clicked uselessly, having spent its ammunition within seconds.  As he tried to reload the weapon, a Crawler leapt down from the rooftop, landing in front of the guard as it turned to face him.  It's glowing eyes focused on the guard, rearing back as it knocked his weapon out of his hands!  The guard's eyes widened as the robot let loose a chilling mechanical howl, the barrel of it's cannon glowing with energy…
*           *          *
As their drop ship hit the ground, Chase cocked the rifle he'd taken from Krystal and walked to the ramp, nodding to Sofia.  With a return nod, the dove lowered the ramp just enough for Chase to open fire upon the Sev`fel units from behind.  As the fox did, Krystal stood up and took careful aim with her sidearm, opening fire with carefully aimed shots.  But once the other drop ships began to leave, Chase pulled back.
"Think they'll still need our help?" Chase asked as he handed the rifle back to Krystal.
"We have our orders Ronin." Sofia replied, "We need to get that data.  Leave this fight to the ground forces."
Krystal looked at Chase as she took a seat again, "But what if they need our help?"
Before Chase could answer, the dove looked back at Krystal, "If we don't get that data, more colonies will need our help than ever before.  Trust me, this security force knows how to handle a threat like this.  They were trained for this.  They'll be fine."
Krystal nodded, looking out at the fighting as the drop ship took off again, following the remaining drop ships as they returned to the warship in orbit around the planet.  As they followed, Sofia made sure that the transport was running without it's com-links, disabling any attempt for communication between them and the Sev`fel.
Soon, the drop ships had returned to the warship above the planet, Sofia kept their drop ship running quiet, simply following the others in and going through the same landing procedure she saw the other crafts doing.  But as she landed the craft, Chase and Krystal were loading up to go.  They both knew as soon as the ramp was lowered they would be spotted and fired upon.
"Epsilon, does this thing have shields?" Chase asked.
Sofia nodded, "Powering to full now.  Luckily, they haven't discovered that we are not Sev`fel yet and are feeding our shield generators with some sort of energy transferring device.  Not sure what sort or how long it will last before they realize we're still active."
Chase nodded, "Ronin-2, get ready."
Krystal smiled and raised her rifle, cocking it, "Good to go."
From inside Chase's armor, a voice came through his communication channels, "Shields are at one hundred percent, all armor systems online."
Sofia stood up and pulled her new AI from the drop ship's terminal, slipping it into her own armor slot, "AI secured for transport."
Chase nodded as Krystal looked up, "Do we know where we are going?  I mean, I've never been on a Sev`fel warship."
Chase shook his head, "I don't have a clue. The plan is to take the second AI to the main terminal to download the Sev`fel plans.  Hiigan didn't say where it was though."
Sofia laid her hand on the controls, her finger hovering over the ramp release, "My guess would be on the bridge.  If we can get that far we would have a shot at getting that information."
Krystal nodded, "Sounds good."
Chase smiled and cocked his pistols, "Alright then, stay together and let's keep on the move.  We can't get cornered in here."
Krystal looked out, checking the hangar for any signs of trouble.  As her eyes scanned the large hangar, she saw that most of the Sev`fel were leaving the transports, but other stayed behind, some cleaning the drop ships or refueling the crafts.  As she watched, Krystal realized that this task would be harder than she thought.
"We're not getting out of this hanger unnoticed." She said worriedly.
Chase walked up beside her, looking out for himself, "Yeah, but we're lucky.  None of these guys look like soldiers, which means they may not be trained for defensive operations.  Especially if the carrier is infiltrated."
Sofia nodded and loaded her pistols, "From what we know of the Sev`fel, they leave all that to robotic defenses similar to Reaper units.  We're bound to run into these robots here on the carrier as well."
Chase nodded and placed his hand over the ramp release lever, "So…we ready?"
Krystal nodded as Sofia took aim.  With that, Chase pulled the lever, the ramp lowering slowly.
As it lowered, most of the Sev`fel in the hangar took no notice of this, fully expecting another drop ship crew to exit the craft.  But as the ramp came down, it revealed the team.  Once it had, a wailing alarm was triggered by one of the crew!
As the alarm sounded, a swarm of robots entered the hangar, looking much like Reapers but with two differences.  These robots were red instead of the standard gunmetal gray with a sort of tool on the end of their arm instead of a clawed hand.  The robots scanned the hangar, taking its layout into their programming as the units fanned out to kill the intruders.  The robots took up firing positions as the Sev`fel crew took cover, drawing their own weapons as they did.
The team took cover behind whatever was closest, Chase glancing at the robots as he dodged behind a barrel, his pistols already up and ready to fire.  As they did, the robots opened fire, energy rounds pummeling the transport they had been in just as Chase took cover.  The energy rounds pummeled the metal barrels as Chase cringed, waiting for a chance to open fire.
Krystal was the first to return fire from around the side of the drop ship, taking down a Reaper with a three round burst to the chest of the robot, the stun rounds overloading it's systems.  Sofia fired off several rounds as the dove dived behind a ground transport that had been stationary near by.  The dove fired around the transport, covering Chase as the fox moved up, taking cover behind another series of barrels as the fox returned fire at the bots.
"Push them back and keep moving!" Chase ordered as he opened fire.
Krystal looked out from her cover, opening fire once more as the bots continued to return fire.  The bullets screamed towards their target, slamming against the Reapers chest, unleashing their energy to overload the robots.  As the stun rounds did their job, the robots circuitry overloaded and failed, the robots collapsing into a heap on the ground.
Robot after robot fell as the three continued to open fire, slowly moving from cover to cover as the team edged their way to the corridor.  Anything was cover from the robots fire, from barrels to pillars to drop ships.  As they moved, the team was careful to keep each other covered, one of them opening fire on the bots that continued to try to stop them as the other two moved.
Suddenly, the crew also began to open fire!  The first Sev`fel popped his head out around one of the drop ships, opening fire with a side arm.  The weapon's barrel blazed as it was fired, the others of the crew opening fire as well as the first one fell after a stun round slammed into his side, the energy paralyzing his body!
"Stop them!" one of the crewmen yelled, "Kill th-urk!"
Chase fired off a round that struck the Sev`fel down midsentence, the reptilian creature hitting the cold floor as his body locked up, paralyzing him.
The combined fire was too much for the team, pinning them down with whatever cover they had.  Sofia opened fire, both her pistols blazing as she took down several of the crew.  As Sofia kept their attention, Krystal pushed her rifle barrel around her cover, blindly opening fire as the vixen tried to keep herself hidden from the enemy's bullets and energy.  Chase kept his head down as rounds pummeled the barrels he was hiding behind, popping up to fire when he heard a slight break during enemy fire.  Finally, Sofia pulled an EMP grenade off her belt, popping the top off of it to arm it.
"Fire in the hole!" the dove called out, tossing the grenade into the robot's midst.
The grenade detonated, a shockwave of energy spreading out from it as the EMP waves disabled the robots near it!  As it did, the three used the momentary confusion to open fire once again, taking down several more robots as Krystal spotted a way out, a small corridor near to their position.
"This way!" the vixen called, opening fire as she moved behind another pillar.
Chase nodded and opened fire as well again, his pistols blazing as the fox covered Sofia's movement towards the corridor, the dove's pistols opening fire as well as the dove moved.
Finally, Krystal was the first to slip behind the wall of the corridor, opening fire to cover Chase and Sofia as they got around it as well, Sofia locking down the door once they were around it.  After she had, Chase shot the panel!
"Why'd you do that?" Krystal asked, "We'll need to go through here to come back."
Chase looked at her, holstering his pistol, "There's more ways in than one.  This way we can get a bit of a head start on them."
Krystal nodded and followed Chase and Sofia, the dove checking around a corner as Chase tapped at the small panel on his wrist.
"I cannot give directions to the terminal until we find one to download a carrier layout blueprint from." Jennifer stated, "It would be wise to find one somewhere nearby."
Sofia nodded, "Would be useful for navigating this ship and future vessels."
"Ok, map and then the plans." Chase agreed as the fox looked down the hall, "Follow me and stay close."
Krystal nodded and kept her rifle trained behind them as the team advanced down the hallway, each footfall echoing softly down the oddly deserted hall.  Sofia kept her pistols raised, pointing them into each doorway they passed, the dove's eyes examining their surroundings constantly.  Chase kept his eyes forward, checking around corners before moving up past them.
"I wasn't expecting things to be so quiet all of a sudden." Chase said as he pointed his pistols down a side hallway, "Something feels off."
Krystal nodded, as she kept her eyes on the hallways behind them in case they were flanked, "Yeah, that alarm should still be going at least."
Sofia nodded as the dove kept pace with Chase, checking down another side hall, "Unless they're planning something.  I suggest we keep on guard."
Chase sighed and decided to take one of the other halls, checking both halls before taking a left, "You know, just once I'd like to have a mission without complications.  Just something straightforward that goes smoothly."
"What fun would that be?" Krystal replied with a wink to Chase, "Knowing you, you'd get bored with that pretty fast Ronin."
The fox smiled, "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Suddenly, the fox heard a 'ping' in his ear followed by Jennifer's voice, "Ronin, I have established a connection with the ship's internal wireless network.  Although I cannot access many parts of the crafts database from this connection, I can monitor their battlenet."
"Useful." Chase stated as the fox checked another corridor, "Give me something we can use."
As he said that, doors on all sides of the team suddenly closed up!  The hallway behind then was blocked by the slamming shut of a steel blockade as the team ran forward.
"They are attempting to trap us." Jennifer stated bluntly.
Chase and Sofia managed to get past another blockade before it closed ahead of them, Krystal hitting the ground and sliding under it just in time!  As Chase helped her to her feet, the vixen did a quick mental check to be sure she was alright.
"Thanks for the update…" Chase said, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "Warn us ahead of time next time."
Sofia looked down the hall, noticing that all the doors were still shut tight.  The dove walked over to one and checked the keypad beside it, noticing that it was flashing red.
"They've locked us out of going anywhere except following their path." Sofia observed, "They're herding us."
Krystal nodded, "So we keep walking until we get attacked it would seem."
Chase checked his weapons, "Well then, let's not keep them waiting.  How many clips do you still have Ronin-2?"
Krystal checked her pouch, "Uh…four clips with thirty rounds each."
Chase nodded, "Epsilon?"
Sofia smiled, "Still got plenty of rounds here Ronin.  Six clips, fifteen rounds each."
Chase nodded, "Well, if there is a trap, we'll be ready for it."
Krystal smiled and nodded as Chase lead them down the hallway, the vixen keeping her rifle trained to his left as Sofia took his right.  If anything did attack them, its only option would be to enter their lines of fire.
But as the three moved, they were unaware that they were being watched…
*           *          *
On the bridge of the warship, a Sev`fel crew was keeping track of the battle from above.  The reptilian creatures were keeping their eyes on the monitors they were assigned to, relaying information down to their squad leader units.  But a small team was keeping an eye on the intruders aboard their ship.
One's tongue flickered out for a second as the Sev`fel's red eyes watched the monitor tracking the small team.  As a defensive squad leader, this Sev`fel's job was to command and relay information to the internal squads of Sev`fel and Reapers aboard the warship.  Usually this meant that his job was rather dull.  But today had been amusingly unusual for him.
As he kept his eyes on the monitor, relaying information to a small team of Reapers in route to kill the intruders, another Sev`fel walked by, it's blades long and scarred from battle.  The uniform it wore symbolized it's rank, the black material seeming to absorb the light on the bridge with a golden symbol, a circle with a pronged spear below it and four arrows in line above it, on the left side of it's chest.  This told the defense leader that this was the captain of the warship.  The captain stopped for a second, examining the screen as it thought.
"What's their status?" it asked, its reptilian tongue giving a slight hissing sound on the 's' sound of their words.
"We are forcing them towards our ambush team." The one watching the monitor replied, "They may have escaped the landing bay, but they will not survive for long."
The captain's blood red eyes watched the screens.  But as his eyes were drawn to the blue furred vixen, the captain gave a slight hiss.  In his mind, it would be easiest to break this team member to find out what their enemy knew so far about their ultimate plan or the defenses of other colonies they planed on attacking.  If she did not know what they were planning so far, her blood would at least be a good addition to the blood he had already spilt in the previous war and many kills afterwards.  The other two were disposable as well if they did not have the information the captain sought either.
"Inform the ambush team I want them alive." The captain stated, tapping the monitor, his claw over the blue vixen, "That one, bring to me personally.  I wish to break her myself."
"I would suggest we gas them then." The defense leader replied, "Then we can capture them without issue."
The captain growled at him, "Do it.  Gas them, but bring that blue female to me."
The defense leader nodded and relayed the information to the Reaper unit before setting the internal defenses.  As he watched the screen, his finger flicked a switch.
*           *          *
Chase looked down the hallway, still unable to believe that they had not run into more resistance from the crew.  The fox could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.
"Something's not right." Krystal said, vocalizing his thoughts, "You would think they would have tried to ambush us by now at least."
Chase nodded, "Took the words right out of my mouth Ronin-2."
Suddenly, Jennifer pinged in his ear, "Ronin we have a problem!"
As she said that, Chase picked up an odd scent. It smelled a lot like…
"Gas!" Sofia cried, "They're gassing us!"
"Get moving!" Chase ordered as he took off running down the hallway.
Krystal followed him, easily keeping up with her partner as Sofia ran beside them.  But before they could get very far, another steel hatch shut quickly, locking them in the hallway!  As Chase looked for another way out, the gas became stronger, starting to overcome the team as Krystal began to cough.  Soon, Chase and Sofia were also chocking for air, the gas overwhelming them as one by one the team slipped into unconciousness.
*           *          *
One the other side of the hatch, four Reaper units were waiting for the hatch to open again.  By this time, the gas was dispersing into vents built into the ship's walls.  After a minute, the hatch opened up, the team on the ground before them unconscious.  The Reapers picked up Krystal, examining her for a second before their orders took effect, dragging the vixen with them as the other two took Sofia and Chase to the detainment section.
*           *          *
Chase woke up with a pounding headache.  For the second time in as many missions, the fox had no idea where he was.  The fox shook his head and got to his feet.
"Status?" he asked aloud, unsure if the others would reply.
"Not too good Ronin." A voice replied next to him, "Looks like we got captured."
Chase looked to the source of the voice, seeing Sofia sitting in the corner of the cell.  The dove was examining the cell from her position.  But what Chase noticed was that Krystal was gone!
"Where's Ronin-2?" Chase asked, worry entering his voice.
Sofia looked up at him, "No idea.  I think they took her to a different area than us."
Chase glared at the bars, examining them, "Thick bars.  They must think we'll put up a hell of a fight, even without our weapons."
Sofia nodded, "Well, we don't want to disappoint them, now do we.  I have a plan to get us out of here."
Chase nodded, just hoping that Sofia's plan would work.  But more front in his mind was the wonder of what the Sev`fel were doing to his partner…

Description
Krystal and Chase: Deep Darkness
Part Two: Infiltration

The skies above the colony had been clear, most everyone inside the thick walls that protected them from attacks unaware of the assault that had just begun or the impending Sev`fel strike force on it's way.  Civilians went about their day, many of them working deep in the mines as small, one manned vehicles carried out the harvested xalphidium for transport and refinement by corporation colonies on other worlds.  The anti-air guns that had recently been installed for their security were lying still in their large cradles as radar dishes scanned the skies, the turrets placed in various areas of the colony.
But soon, alarms blared from the air raid sirens scattered across the colony!  A deafening wail sounded across the colony as Sev`fel drop ships entered the perimeter of the colony defenses.  The anti-air guns lifted up, pointing skyward as the drop ships split up into groups.  The barrels of the cannons glowed and began to open fire; high velocity energy rounds filling the skies above as drop ship after drop ship was blown out of the sky in a fiery explosion.
Those that did make it past, landed on the outskirts of the colony walls, Immediately dropping their ramps as the robotic Reapers left the drop ships, immediately opening fire on the colony walls, trying to burn through.  As the standard Reaper units fanned out, still opening fire, slightly larger Reapers, a red stripe across their sides emerged as well, the squad leader units relaying information and tactics to their fellow Reapers.  But as they tried, security forces had already taken up positions, opening fire upon the robotic units.  Reapers were shot down, some unable to even get off the drop ships before the security forces took them down, their bullets ripping through the robots armor plated bodies.  But as the Reapers swarmed forward, Crawlers also began to emerge from the drop ships, opening fire upon the walls themselves as the four legged robots moved towards the colony.
Soon, the walls began to crumble from the pounding attacks of the robots energy weapons finally making headway into the walls as sections began to crumble down.  The robots moved in closer, taking fire as security forces tried to hold them off, some shooting through the holes being made in the walls as the robots surged forward into the openings large enough for them to get in through.  But as much fire as they were taking, the Sev`fel units returned, their pulse cannons firing through the holes as they tried to thin out the security forces holding them back from their programmed objective of wiping out the colony.
As the bots finally began to swarm through the openings, the security forces opened fire with large weapons, heavily armored guards opening fire with gatling miniguns to push back the invading horde.  Their barrels spun up quickly, a loud 'whir' filling the air as the weapons opened fire, the bullets racing out of the spinning barrel at high velocities as they ripped through the light armor of the Reaper units, literally tearing the robots apart!  As they fired, the guards moved forward, pushing back the robots as the chain guns barrels blazed.
Suddenly, another section of the wall crumbled, the scorpion-like Crawler units moving through the newly breached section as their tail cannons opened fire!  The green bolts of energy struck down guard after guard as the inhabitants of the colony fought back with anything they could, guards opening fire on the new robots as the crawlers leapt from the walls onto the rooftops of buildings, their cannons opening fire from above!
One of the guards had his back against a building, the minigun he was carrying blazing as the guard mowed down robot after robot with the high velocity, armor piercing rounds.  But suddenly, his gun clicked uselessly, having spent its ammunition within seconds.  As he tried to reload the weapon, a Crawler leapt down from the rooftop, landing in front of the guard as it turned to face him.  It's glowing eyes focused on the guard, rearing back as it knocked his weapon out of his hands!  The guard's eyes widened as the robot let loose a chilling mechanical howl, the barrel of it's cannon glowing with energy…
*           *          *
As their drop ship hit the ground, Chase cocked the rifle he'd taken from Krystal and walked to the ramp, nodding to Sofia.  With a return nod, the dove lowered the ramp just enough for Chase to open fire upon the Sev`fel units from behind.  As the fox did, Krystal stood up and took careful aim with her sidearm, opening fire with carefully aimed shots.  But once the other drop ships began to leave, Chase pulled back.
"Think they'll still need our help?" Chase asked as he handed the rifle back to Krystal.
"We have our orders Ronin." Sofia replied, "We need to get that data.  Leave this fight to the ground forces."
Krystal looked at Chase as she took a seat again, "But what if they need our help?"
Before Chase could answer, the dove looked back at Krystal, "If we don't get that data, more colonies will need our help than ever before.  Trust me, this security force knows how to handle a threat like this.  They were trained for this.  They'll be fine."
Krystal nodded, looking out at the fighting as the drop ship took off again, following the remaining drop ships as they returned to the warship in orbit around the planet.  As they followed, Sofia made sure that the transport was running without it's com-links, disabling any attempt for communication between them and the Sev`fel.
Soon, the drop ships had returned to the warship above the planet, Sofia kept their drop ship running quiet, simply following the others in and going through the same landing procedure she saw the other crafts doing.  But as she landed the craft, Chase and Krystal were loading up to go.  They both knew as soon as the ramp was lowered they would be spotted and fired upon.
"Epsilon, does this thing have shields?" Chase asked.
Sofia nodded, "Powering to full now.  Luckily, they haven't discovered that we are not Sev`fel yet and are feeding our shield generators with some sort of energy transferring device.  Not sure what sort or how long it will last before they realize we're still active."
Chase nodded, "Ronin-2, get ready."
Krystal smiled and raised her rifle, cocking it, "Good to go."
From inside Chase's armor, a voice came through his communication channels, "Shields are at one hundred percent, all armor systems online."
Sofia stood up and pulled her new AI from the drop ship's terminal, slipping it into her own armor slot, "AI secured for transport."
Chase nodded as Krystal looked up, "Do we know where we are going?  I mean, I've never been on a Sev`fel warship."
Chase shook his head, "I don't have a clue. The plan is to take the second AI to the main terminal to download the Sev`fel plans.  Hiigan didn't say where it was though."
Sofia laid her hand on the controls, her finger hovering over the ramp release, "My guess would be on the bridge.  If we can get that far we would have a shot at getting that information."
Krystal nodded, "Sounds good."
Chase smiled and cocked his pistols, "Alright then, stay together and let's keep on the move.  We can't get cornered in here."
Krystal looked out, checking the hangar for any signs of trouble.  As her eyes scanned the large hangar, she saw that most of the Sev`fel were leaving the transports, but other stayed behind, some cleaning the drop ships or refueling the crafts.  As she watched, Krystal realized that this task would be harder than she thought.
"We're not getting out of this hanger unnoticed." She said worriedly.
Chase walked up beside her, looking out for himself, "Yeah, but we're lucky.  None of these guys look like soldiers, which means they may not be trained for defensive operations.  Especially if the carrier is infiltrated."
Sofia nodded and loaded her pistols, "From what we know of the Sev`fel, they leave all that to robotic defenses similar to Reaper units.  We're bound to run into these robots here on the carrier as well."
Chase nodded and placed his hand over the ramp release lever, "So…we ready?"
Krystal nodded as Sofia took aim.  With that, Chase pulled the lever, the ramp lowering slowly.
As it lowered, most of the Sev`fel in the hangar took no notice of this, fully expecting another drop ship crew to exit the craft.  But as the ramp came down, it revealed the team.  Once it had, a wailing alarm was triggered by one of the crew!
As the alarm sounded, a swarm of robots entered the hangar, looking much like Reapers but with two differences.  These robots were red instead of the standard gunmetal gray with a sort of tool on the end of their arm instead of a clawed hand.  The robots scanned the hangar, taking its layout into their programming as the units fanned out to kill the intruders.  The robots took up firing positions as the Sev`fel crew took cover, drawing their own weapons as they did.
The team took cover behind whatever was closest, Chase glancing at the robots as he dodged behind a barrel, his pistols already up and ready to fire.  As they did, the robots opened fire, energy rounds pummeling the transport they had been in just as Chase took cover.  The energy rounds pummeled the metal barrels as Chase cringed, waiting for a chance to open fire.
Krystal was the first to return fire from around the side of the drop ship, taking down a Reaper with a three round burst to the chest of the robot, the stun rounds overloading it's systems.  Sofia fired off several rounds as the dove dived behind a ground transport that had been stationary near by.  The dove fired around the transport, covering Chase as the fox moved up, taking cover behind another series of barrels as the fox returned fire at the bots.
"Push them back and keep moving!" Chase ordered as he opened fire.
Krystal looked out from her cover, opening fire once more as the bots continued to return fire.  The bullets screamed towards their target, slamming against the Reapers chest, unleashing their energy to overload the robots.  As the stun rounds did their job, the robots circuitry overloaded and failed, the robots collapsing into a heap on the ground.
Robot after robot fell as the three continued to open fire, slowly moving from cover to cover as the team edged their way to the corridor.  Anything was cover from the robots fire, from barrels to pillars to drop ships.  As they moved, the team was careful to keep each other covered, one of them opening fire on the bots that continued to try to stop them as the other two moved.
Suddenly, the crew also began to open fire!  The first Sev`fel popped his head out around one of the drop ships, opening fire with a side arm.  The weapon's barrel blazed as it was fired, the others of the crew opening fire as well as the first one fell after a stun round slammed into his side, the energy paralyzing his body!
"Stop them!" one of the crewmen yelled, "Kill th-urk!"
Chase fired off a round that struck the Sev`fel down midsentence, the reptilian creature hitting the cold floor as his body locked up, paralyzing him.
The combined fire was too much for the team, pinning them down with whatever cover they had.  Sofia opened fire, both her pistols blazing as she took down several of the crew.  As Sofia kept their attention, Krystal pushed her rifle barrel around her cover, blindly opening fire as the vixen tried to keep herself hidden from the enemy's bullets and energy.  Chase kept his head down as rounds pummeled the barrels he was hiding behind, popping up to fire when he heard a slight break during enemy fire.  Finally, Sofia pulled an EMP grenade off her belt, popping the top off of it to arm it.
"Fire in the hole!" the dove called out, tossing the grenade into the robot's midst.
The grenade detonated, a shockwave of energy spreading out from it as the EMP waves disabled the robots near it!  As it did, the three used the momentary confusion to open fire once again, taking down several more robots as Krystal spotted a way out, a small corridor near to their position.
"This way!" the vixen called, opening fire as she moved behind another pillar.
Chase nodded and opened fire as well again, his pistols blazing as the fox covered Sofia's movement towards the corridor, the dove's pistols opening fire as well as the dove moved.
Finally, Krystal was the first to slip behind the wall of the corridor, opening fire to cover Chase and Sofia as they got around it as well, Sofia locking down the door once they were around it.  After she had, Chase shot the panel!
"Why'd you do that?" Krystal asked, "We'll need to go through here to come back."
Chase looked at her, holstering his pistol, "There's more ways in than one.  This way we can get a bit of a head start on them."
Krystal nodded and followed Chase and Sofia, the dove checking around a corner as Chase tapped at the small panel on his wrist.
"I cannot give directions to the terminal until we find one to download a carrier layout blueprint from." Jennifer stated, "It would be wise to find one somewhere nearby."
Sofia nodded, "Would be useful for navigating this ship and future vessels."
"Ok, map and then the plans." Chase agreed as the fox looked down the hall, "Follow me and stay close."
Krystal nodded and kept her rifle trained behind them as the team advanced down the hallway, each footfall echoing softly down the oddly deserted hall.  Sofia kept her pistols raised, pointing them into each doorway they passed, the dove's eyes examining their surroundings constantly.  Chase kept his eyes forward, checking around corners before moving up past them.
"I wasn't expecting things to be so quiet all of a sudden." Chase said as he pointed his pistols down a side hallway, "Something feels off."
Krystal nodded, as she kept her eyes on the hallways behind them in case they were flanked, "Yeah, that alarm should still be going at least."
Sofia nodded as the dove kept pace with Chase, checking down another side hall, "Unless they're planning something.  I suggest we keep on guard."
Chase sighed and decided to take one of the other halls, checking both halls before taking a left, "You know, just once I'd like to have a mission without complications.  Just something straightforward that goes smoothly."
"What fun would that be?" Krystal replied with a wink to Chase, "Knowing you, you'd get bored with that pretty fast Ronin."
The fox smiled, "Yeah, I guess that's true."
Suddenly, the fox heard a 'ping' in his ear followed by Jennifer's voice, "Ronin, I have established a connection with the ship's internal wireless network.  Although I cannot access many parts of the crafts database from this connection, I can monitor their battlenet."
"Useful." Chase stated as the fox checked another corridor, "Give me something we can use."
As he said that, doors on all sides of the team suddenly closed up!  The hallway behind then was blocked by the slamming shut of a steel blockade as the team ran forward.
"They are attempting to trap us." Jennifer stated bluntly.
Chase and Sofia managed to get past another blockade before it closed ahead of them, Krystal hitting the ground and sliding under it just in time!  As Chase helped her to her feet, the vixen did a quick mental check to be sure she was alright.
"Thanks for the update…" Chase said, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "Warn us ahead of time next time."
Sofia looked down the hall, noticing that all the doors were still shut tight.  The dove walked over to one and checked the keypad beside it, noticing that it was flashing red.
"They've locked us out of going anywhere except following their path." Sofia observed, "They're herding us."
Krystal nodded, "So we keep walking until we get attacked it would seem."
Chase checked his weapons, "Well then, let's not keep them waiting.  How many clips do you still have Ronin-2?"
Krystal checked her pouch, "Uh…four clips with thirty rounds each."
Chase nodded, "Epsilon?"
Sofia smiled, "Still got plenty of rounds here Ronin.  Six clips, fifteen rounds each."
Chase nodded, "Well, if there is a trap, we'll be ready for it."
Krystal smiled and nodded as Chase lead them down the hallway, the vixen keeping her rifle trained to his left as Sofia took his right.  If anything did attack them, its only option would be to enter their lines of fire.
But as the three moved, they were unaware that they were being watched…
*           *          *
On the bridge of the warship, a Sev`fel crew was keeping track of the battle from above.  The reptilian creatures were keeping their eyes on the monitors they were assigned to, relaying information down to their squad leader units.  But a small team was keeping an eye on the intruders aboard their ship.
One's tongue flickered out for a second as the Sev`fel's red eyes watched the monitor tracking the small team.  As a defensive squad leader, this Sev`fel's job was to command and relay information to the internal squads of Sev`fel and Reapers aboard the warship.  Usually this meant that his job was rather dull.  But today had been amusingly unusual for him.
As he kept his eyes on the monitor, relaying information to a small team of Reapers in route to kill the intruders, another Sev`fel walked by, it's blades long and scarred from battle.  The uniform it wore symbolized it's rank, the black material seeming to absorb the light on the bridge with a golden symbol, a circle with a pronged spear below it and four arrows in line above it, on the left side of it's chest.  This told the defense leader that this was the captain of the warship.  The captain stopped for a second, examining the screen as it thought.
"What's their status?" it asked, its reptilian tongue giving a slight hissing sound on the 's' sound of their words.
"We are forcing them towards our ambush team." The one watching the monitor replied, "They may have escaped the landing bay, but they will not survive for long."
The captain's blood red eyes watched the screens.  But as his eyes were drawn to the blue furred vixen, the captain gave a slight hiss.  In his mind, it would be easiest to break this team member to find out what their enemy knew so far about their ultimate plan or the defenses of other colonies they planed on attacking.  If she did not know what they were planning so far, her blood would at least be a good addition to the blood he had already spilt in the previous war and many kills afterwards.  The other two were disposable as well if they did not have the information the captain sought either.
"Inform the ambush team I want them alive." The captain stated, tapping the monitor, his claw over the blue vixen, "That one, bring to me personally.  I wish to break her myself."
"I would suggest we gas them then." The defense leader replied, "Then we can capture them without issue."
The captain growled at him, "Do it.  Gas them, but bring that blue female to me."
The defense leader nodded and relayed the information to the Reaper unit before setting the internal defenses.  As he watched the screen, his finger flicked a switch.
*           *          *
Chase looked down the hallway, still unable to believe that they had not run into more resistance from the crew.  The fox could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.
"Something's not right." Krystal said, vocalizing his thoughts, "You would think they would have tried to ambush us by now at least."
Chase nodded, "Took the words right out of my mouth Ronin-2."
Suddenly, Jennifer pinged in his ear, "Ronin we have a problem!"
As she said that, Chase picked up an odd scent. It smelled a lot like…
"Gas!" Sofia cried, "They're gassing us!"
"Get moving!" Chase ordered as he took off running down the hallway.
Krystal followed him, easily keeping up with her partner as Sofia ran beside them.  But before they could get very far, another steel hatch shut quickly, locking them in the hallway!  As Chase looked for another way out, the gas became stronger, starting to overcome the team as Krystal began to cough.  Soon, Chase and Sofia were also chocking for air, the gas overwhelming them as one by one the team slipped into unconciousness.
*           *          *
One the other side of the hatch, four Reaper units were waiting for the hatch to open again.  By this time, the gas was dispersing into vents built into the ship's walls.  After a minute, the hatch opened up, the team on the ground before them unconscious.  The Reapers picked up Krystal, examining her for a second before their orders took effect, dragging the vixen with them as the other two took Sofia and Chase to the detainment section.
*           *          *
Chase woke up with a pounding headache.  For the second time in as many missions, the fox had no idea where he was.  The fox shook his head and got to his feet.
"Status?" he asked aloud, unsure if the others would reply.
"Not too good Ronin." A voice replied next to him, "Looks like we got captured."
Chase looked to the source of the voice, seeing Sofia sitting in the corner of the cell.  The dove was examining the cell from her position.  But what Chase noticed was that Krystal was gone!
"Where's Ronin-2?" Chase asked, worry entering his voice.
Sofia looked up at him, "No idea.  I think they took her to a different area than us."
Chase glared at the bars, examining them, "Thick bars.  They must think we'll put up a hell of a fight, even without our weapons."
Sofia nodded, "Well, we don't want to disappoint them, now do we.  I have a plan to get us out of here."
Chase nodded, just hoping that Sofia's plan would work.  But more front in his mind was the wonder of what the Sev`fel were doing to his partner…