They sat in silence for a few moments. Each of them taking in what had just happened. Axel couldn't help but wonder if they were fighting a losing battle. Those things nearly ripped them all in half.

His father seemed to be the only person who knew anything about these people. He was the only one who could help them. Where was he? Why didn't he warn them about the invasion? Didn't Wizan say he'd contacted him? How? Where from?

"We'll find him, mate," said Raz as if she was reading his thoughts. "Trust me, we've been gearing up for this behind the scenes for years."

"Who is we?" asked Axel. "How many people are involved in this plan?"

Raz smiled weakly. "Your father never told you, did he?"

"Told me what?"

"About us. The Ironclad Five."

Axel frowned. "What?"

"I'll explain later," she said. "Better yet, your Dad might when we contact him."

She turned to look at Marcella. "Alright, blondie. We got you out of that place, it's time to spill the beans."

Marcella didn't reply. She was fiddling with her necklace. Her face was lost in thought. Raz waved a hand in front of her and she snapped back to her senses.

"We destroyed my house," Marcella said faintly.

"They took out my Master's place too," he said. "I know this is hard but we need to do something about it."

Marcella shook her head. "No, you don't get it," she said. "We destroyed my house. The house which had just about every single thing we would have needed to fix your signal box...all of it. Gone. Only the plasma bullet survived.

Axel gritted his teeth. "Isn't there a different place we can go to get the stuff you'd need?"

Marcella shot him a look. "In case you hadn't noticed, this is a full-scale invasion. There's nowhere to go. The only person who would know how to fix the signal box without those resources is my Dad and, last I checked, we don't have much access to him."

Raz rolled her eyes. "Come on, you can't do this to us. Surely your Dad taught you something useful."

"Yeah, he did," she said. "But I can't fix that signal box without the use of Dads tools."

"I'm sorry but we are going to need to find my Dad, otherwise that signal box is never going to work."

She looked down at her necklace and sighed. She twisted the golden half heart in her hand. "He gave me this when I was young. It can even communicate with the opposite part of the galaxy. It was meant to keep us in touch."

"Then why don't you use it?" asked Axel.

"I tried," she said. A tear formed in her eye. She wiped it and looked away.

They sat in silence again.

Raz nodded. "She's right. We need to find Hyke if we want to get hold of your father. Lucky we still have friends in high places then.” She turned the Loop Car into the Leisure District. "Hyke wasn't the only person on this planet in the know. I can't guarantee your father is alive Marcella, but I've got a friend who can."

No one spoke for the rest of the journey. They drove through the early morning. The streets were destroyed and there didn't seem to be any people around anymore. The place had become a shell of what it once was.

The Loop Car ground to a halt in an old bricked-off street. A collection of run-down Vaxorian night clubs littered the place. Their neon signs now destroyed and the buildings themselves had been smashed to pieces. Raz jumped off the bike.

"Follow me," she said, reloading her S-90. "We get attacked again, you run back to the car. You don't look back. Contacting Quentin Ford is all that matters now, do you understand me?"

They both nodded then followed her across the set of the ruins. Raz walked across the bricks that littered what was once a sprawling nightclub. "Alright Tim, we both know you're watching me, so you gonna let us in?" she shouted.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Axel frowned. The place was deserted.

Raz turned to look at their confused faces. Then held up a S-90. "Last warning Tim, then I'm coming in by force."

Still no-one replied.

Raz pulled the trigger and an energy blast crashed into the bricks and sent them flying. "I'm not playing games, Tim. This little lady here is Hyke's daughter. We've got some good firepower and we really don't want to waste it on your sorry ass."

Silence.

Raz turned to Marcella. "Go and get my grenade launcher," she said and before Marcella could reply a voice filled the air.

"Alright, alright," it said. "Latch is down Raz, you know what to do."

Raz shot them an amused smile then beckoned them to follow her. They walked into the debris of the night club to find another hatch which led to an underground room. The neon lights surrounding it lit up and Axel realised that the markings were the same as the ones at Hyke's house and Wizan's too. They walked down the stairs into a dark smoky basement. The hum of technology filled the air. Axel winced at the bright white light that projected from the walls. The entire room was hooked up to be a computer monitor.

A middle aged man shuffled out of his chair. He wore a crusty brown t-shirt which pulled up to reveal his porky belly. His balding head didn't look like it had been washed for weeks. "I always said you were a nutty wee girl," he exclaimed. A grin spread across his face as he held out his arms and pulled Raz into a tight squeeze.

"You still smell like a pig's arsehole," she said.

"Ever the complimentary one," he replied. She pushed away from him. "It's good to see you, I wasn't sure you were gonna make it, the attacks have been brutal, haven't they?"

He noticed that Axel and Marcella were staring at him. "You must be Quentin and Hyke's little nippers. Yeah, yeah I can see the resemblance is quite striking actually."

"You know my father?" Axel asked.

"Knew him? We're like brothers aren't we, Raz," he shot a look at her and she gave a sarcastic smile. "Always getting into trouble. We worked together in the Final War, surely he's told you about the Ironclad Five?"

"Apparently not," said Raz. "He thinks Quentin brought the Eternal Wars to an end single-handedly."

"Don't they all," grunted Timothy.

"What exactly are the Five?" asked Marcella.

Raz glanced over to Timothy and he nodded to her to tell the story. "The history books gave all the credit to your father ending the Eternal War," she said. "But there were five of us involved in the end phase."

"So why didn't you get mentioned?" asked Axel.

Timothy laughed. "The Vaxorians didn't want to glorify the humans. They made us decide between us who would be rewarded. As your father did most of the work, we thought it only fair."

Marcella scoffed. "Typical Vaxorians."

Axel sensed there was more to that comment but he had other questions now. "Who else was involved?"

"Well, you've met most of them," said Raz. "There was myself, Timothy, Hyke and Maximillus."

Axel frowned. "I've heard his name before."

Timothy rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you have, lad!" he said. "He was your father's closest friend."

"Can he help us?" asked Axel.

Timothy looked at Raz darkly. She considered what to say.

"He's unavailable," she finally came out with. "Anyway, we need to move on. Every second we waste, Hyke could be in danger."

She turned to look at Timothy. "I'm guessing you've seen what happened to Hyke."

Timothy gave a solemn nod. "Bloke who took him captive seemed like a piece of work. Strange thing though. He was a blue-shade. They don't usually favour them, do they?"

"Sorry, but how do you know what happened to my father?" asked Marcella.

Timothy gave her an impressive grin then slapped a switch on his control system. Axel gasped, the walls were divided into several small squares. He must have had a camera on every part of the city. "I weren't surveillance for nothing you know."

Axel frowned. "But if you knew what was happening to Hyke, why didn't you send help?"

Timothy laughed. "Help? Who do you think I'm going to contact? The comm systems have collapsed. I'm lucky my invisibility drones haven't been detected yet," he said and his face turned serious. "Though it's only a matter of time until that happens as well."

Axel couldn't tell whether he liked this man. He certainly couldn't picture his father treating him like a brother. He turned to face Raz. "Why did you bring us here exactly?"

Raz placed a hand on Timothy's shoulder. "You know why we're here, don't you?"

Timothy nodded. "It's the calling isn't it? This whole situation was what Quentin was warning us about. I always hoped he'd had too much to drink on that day."

"We need to help Axel contact him. He's the only one that Quentin trusts now," said Raz.

"You need Hyke to rig the signal box then," Timothy observed. "It's a good job these guys seem to know how important he is. From what I can tell, he's been taken to a holding cell outside the Kaarzee Cargo Bay. I watched them take him. They came for me next but we both know I've always been the best at hiding on the team."

"Some could almost call it cowardice," said Raz.

"Maybe but others would call it efficiency," Timothy grinned.

"If my father is being kept in a holding cell, what is our next move?" asked Marcella.

"There's no way you're going to be able to infiltrate that place until it's dark," said Timothy.

"But in theory you could help us get in there and save him right?" asked Raz.

Timothy paused. "You know my terms," he said.

"You don't even have to leave this place," said Raz.

"Open communications can be traced though," said Timothy. "I'm not sure I can risk those lot finding out where I am. They could easily come for me again."

"You know that Hyke would do this for you," said Raz and he paused again at that. "Remember the battle of Six Frenzies?"

"I remember," he muttered then sighed. "Alright, but we need to wait until it goes dark again. After that, you can use my access way to the underground for a quicker source of transport. I'll get you in and out of that place but then you're on your own."