"No," cried Hermione. "No, no, no!"

Her friend's body was still recognizable, which did not do her any service. Back arched, with limbs twisted around a gaping hole in her chest, Eliza's body lay in a red pool in the corner of the stock room, with a limp spider-like creature at her side.

"Hermione, I'm sorry about your friend but if we don't get to the evac ship, we're both going to end up like her," warned Atticus from the door as he reloaded all three barrels of his combo rifle. "Now, come on."

"O...okay," she wept, turning away from the husk she had once joked and laughed with, and returning to Atticus' side. The man punched the door release, and the two dove into the dark hallway again. Atticus walked swiftly and quietly, his weapon at the ready- it was almost funny how out-of-place he looked in his white suit and thick glasses as he led them through the corridors. He stopped and held up his hand before returning it to his weapon.

"Did you hear that?"

"No, not this time."

"One's close. I know."

Hermione bit her lip and slowed her breaths down, huddling closer to the lawyer. If she was comparing herself to him IQ-wise, Hermione was certain she would come out ahead, but the man was far, far wiser than she would ever be. He was the sort of person that she had joined their organization to meet, the sort that could really show her how to better herself. That, and his legal expertise would be invaluable to pick up on for any future career opportunities. His proficiency with a weapon was an added bonus, and had not failed to keep her safe so far. Hermione sensed that was about to change as she felt cold, metal fingers begin to seal over her shoulder. Her brain was processing conflicting messages, attempting to remain quiet yet simultaneously warn the lawyer, so her only communication was an ineffectual "Eep."

The man, moving much faster than his age would indicate, reeled in place, jammed his weapon into the creature's wet mouth and pulled the trigger to the shotgun barrels.

"So who were you texting, Curly?"

Hermione looked up from her AEGIS' screen, shaking her head as if the memories were something clinging to her hair that could be removed if agitated.

"Nobody," she replied. The sirens had stopped their wailing a long while ago, but the warning lights were still on. If Hermione was remembering correctly- which, at this point, she was not so sure of- that indicated that the ship was engaged in combat. She wasn't surprised that Artemis had managed to offend someone, but their mission really was more important than any interstellar trade regulators or hyperspace toll disputes. If they had to barge through, weapons blazing, so be it. She only hoped it was not a fight that they could not win.

Hermione locked her fingers around her scalp. It didn't hurt, which made her wonder about Fluttershy. It was rather the insecure, unnerving nature of the voice; that she could not control when it decided to speak to her. It was a horrible feeling, even if there was nothing directly unpleasant about it. And she couldn't help but notice how much it sounded like Pinkie Pie.

"You know, I don't know why Lady Satsuki thinks you're halfway qualified to do this," grumbled Jakuzure.

"You've made that more than evident before," sighed Hermione. "And sometimes, I don't know why either. Before all of this, with the ship, and our mission… I had thought about quitting."

Inumuta unzipped his uniform far enough to expose his mouth. "Oh?"

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"Yes. I never really felt the same about the organization after… the incident. So I hadn't gone to the meetings in years. Then I get this message from Artemis, about everything being in danger- I knew I had to help. But rubbish like this is reminding me why I stopped coming."

"Sometimes, we have to face our fears," suggested Sanageyama. "It's a part of life."

"It's not about what I'm afraid of, that's my problem, I know. I'm more concerned about the whole Illuminati. If we can sail through deep space with some sort of murderer on board, be they human or otherwise, what does that mean about our priorities?"

"So, it's the management, then?" asked Inumuta.

"More or less. It just seems like Artemis would have learned something all those years ago. And maybe he did, but he just doesn't care anymore- like he's willing to take whatever risks he wants, so long as he's getting a leg up on our goal. And we're not supposed to be rushing in like that; this is a collective of geniuses! We should be thinking this out, minimizing risks!"

"To be honest, Lady Satsuki has her doubts about Artemis as well," whispered Jakuzure. "But just because you two agree doesn't mean I think any more of you, Curly. Now are we going to Personnel, or not?"

"Right, yes. Let's do that."

***

With a heavy hum and a zap, the hangar's AEGIS gate deposited Rainbow Dash and her machine onto a lifeless brown plain. Dash checked the radar, found nothing, and broadcasted the all-clear back to her waiting teammates. With their own smaller hums and zaps, the other three appeared at her machine's feet in a cascade of blue.

"Never gonna get used to that," muttered Jotaro, fishing into his coat for something.

"Ugh, a desert," Elsa groaned. "All sun and heat and dirt and sandstorms-"

"DUDUDUDUDU!" chirped Miku. Elsa gave the Vocaloid a rude gesture in response.

Jotaro finally located what he had been looking for- he removed a bright-green-and-pink box from his coat, which was festively adorned with images of toucans and palm trees. From it, he drew a small black-and-white disc, which he took a generous bite of before offering the box toward Elsa and Miku.

"Sandwich cookie? No? They're organic."

"Sure, I'll try one," said Elsa, accepting a cookie. "It's pretty decent, but it'd be better frozen."

"How about you, Miku?"

Miku shook her head in decline. "No thank you. I will take one after our mission is complete, to celebrate."

"Sounds like a plan to me," agreed Jotaro, putting the cookies away. "You've got the coordinates, right?"

"I do," replied the android. "We are approximately 15 kilometers from our objective."

"Fifteen kilometers?!" cried Elsa. "In this weather?! Oh, I don't know how much more of this I can stand."

"Well, we've got some options," Jotaro offered. "We could walk all that way, as Elsa assumes that we do, or we could catch a ride on RD's machine. How does that sound, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile. "It sounds AWESOME!"

"All right, then. That's how we'll do it. Now, you won't be able to move very quickly, for safety reasons, but if you can at least do fifteen kilometers per hour, we'd be doing well."

"No problem, Mr. Kujo! I won't let you down!"

Jotaro pulled his cap down as Rainbow Dash lowered the Mark II's hand like an elevator. "Let's hope not," he warned, "Or we'll have a long walk ahead of us. Miku, how well do you know 'Walk Like an Egyptian'?"