The Peacekeeper unit did not return. Yvian waited for a few minutes, cursing the lack of comms. Then she cursed the lack of her voidarmor. Why did she keep ending up naked during a crisis?

"Scarrend?" Mims piped up. "Think you can find us a power cable?"

The Vrrl had his head leaned out of the door Kilroy had pried open. He'd removed his helmet. He was sniffing the air. The human's question drew him back into the chamber. "Power cable?" He perked up. "To charge our armor. Yes. One moment."

Scarrend dug his claws into the metal bulkhead. With a grunt of effort, he tore it open. Then he let out an annoyed chuff. The hole revealed a mess of organic material, but no cable. Scarrend picked a different spot and tried again.

"You doing alright, Captain Sis?" Lissa's voice startled Yvian. "Those bites look nasty."

Yvian resisted the urge to shrug. Shrugging was painful. "They hurt, but I can still move. I'll be alright." Scarrend made another hole. "Be careful, Scarrend. Don't electrocute yourself."

"The armor's insulated," he told her. He made another hole then gave a pleased grunt. He ripped a cable out of the wall. Everything went black. The lights were out. Scarrend swore.

Mims pulled out a glow stick. "I'm guessing the ship's not standardized?"

"No. Annoying." Scarrend pulled a connector line out of his armor. He touched the end to the cable and held it in place. His other two hands retrieved his helmet and placed it on his head. He growled. "It's working. Somewhat. I think the adaptor's having trouble."

"I'm just glad it's working," Mims remarked. "My armor's not designed for alien power sources."

"Mine is," Scarrend told him. "The Vrrl Starfang Empire started out as a conquering army. Adapting our tech to use enemy resources was one of our earliest projects." Yvain felt him grimace. "It usually works better than this."

"It worked fine for Kilroy," Yvian pointed out.

"The machine doesn't rely on battery power," Scarrend explained. "He has an internal reactor. All he needed was a jolt to kick it back on."

"It's a really impressive design," Lissa added. "Pretty much anything electric would work, and the reactor shunts any power he's not using to a reserve supply."

"Do you have enough juice for comms?" Yvian asked.

"Yes," said the Vrrl, "For a few minutes at least. I would like to let it charge a little longer."

"I don't think we can spare the time," said Mims. "The Greys know where we are, and this chamber's not defensible."

"He's right," said Yvian. "See if you can comm Kilroy. We need to move."

"Yes, Captain." The Vrrl tapped into his wrist console. "Kilroy, this is Scarrend. Do you read me?"

"Affirmative." The unit's voice came out of Scarrend's armor. "This unit requires assistance."

"What happened?" asked Yvian.

"This unit killed the first wave of grey meatbags," the Peacekeeper reported. "This unit saw reinforcements arriving, and moved to engage. This unit was caught in a restraining beam. This unit is under fire."

"Where?" Yvian's grip tightened on her alien weapon.

Kilroy gave directions. Yvian moved out. She started in the lead, but Mims pulled her back, pointing out that she didn't have any armor. The human went first, with Scarrend acting as rear guard.

"Wait," Scarrend called out just before they rounded a corner. "Ambush. At least twenty."

Everyone stopped. Mims asked, "How close?"

The Vrrl cocked his head, listening. "Seven meters. I think they have cover."

"We don't," Lissa pointed, "And I don't think they can miss us at that range." Yvian could feel her tension. "Think we can go around?"

"They're smart," said Mims. "They'll know we're after Kilroy. Even if we find another way to him, they'll just set up another ambush."

"I don't feel anything." Yvian frowned. "I thought we could feel them."

"They're probably not broadcasting," said Mims. "Mind if I make a suggestion?"

"I'm all ears," said the Captain.

"The Greys are as susceptible to Scarrend's roar as we are," said the human, "and his armor's probably got the juice for a few seconds of shields."

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"It doesn't," said Scarrend, "but the Grey guns aren't that strong. My armor can take a few hits." He growled. "I think I see the plan. You want me to roar, freezing the enemy in place while I close the distance."

"Might be a good way to get shot," said Mims, "but I think it's our best option."

"We'll come in behind you," Yvian decided. "Hit them while they're distracted. Assuming you're up for it."

"I am." The Vrrl pulled out the blasters Kilroy had given him. "Let us show these fools who is predator and who is prey."

"Ok. On my mark." Yvian brought up her own gun. She looked over her crew. They stood ready, weapons raised. Yvian's heart beat faster. Fear and adrenaline coursed through her veins. The Captain let out a breath and forced her muscles to relax. "Go."

Scarrend reared back, chest expanding as he sucked in air. The roar that followed nearly shattered Yvian's eardrums. Her body clenched and froze in place as the Vrrl disappeared around the corner in a blur. The roar lasted longer than she expected. Ten seconds. Maybe more. Yvian wasn't even sure when it ended. She just noticed at some point that she could move and all she could hear was a high pitched buzzing in her ears.

The others darted around the corner. Yvian followed. There were a lot more than twenty. They'd set metal tables and boxes haphazardly along the corridor. They were hiding behind them, their spindly arms rising just enough above the barricades to fire wildly in the general direction of Yvian. Scarrend had already killed over a dozen and scooped up a second pair of guns.

Mims and Lissa fired as they ran. Yvian didn't bother. She juked behind Mims, using him as a human shield. The Greys weren't aiming, but the sheer number of ray beams sent her pulse to pounding. Voidarmor would give Mims and Lissa a measure of protection, but a stray shot could kill Yvian at any moment. She saw Scarrend take a hit. The Vrrl ignored it, leaping over a table and firing on the creatures behind it.

Mims yelled something at Yvian, but she couldn't make it out. A line of green light seared through. Yvian cried out. She fell. Somebody yelled something. Strong hands grabbed her, dragging her forward and up to one of the overturned tables.

It took an effort of supreme will for Yvian to make herself roll over. Mims helped, setting her shoulders up against the table. She checked the wound. The ray beam had hit her in the abdomen, burning a hole diagonally through her just below the breastbone. Blood welled up from the charred hole. It hurt like a motherless son. It was probably fatal. Maybe not right away, but...

Mims yelled something else. Then he was gone. Yvian just lay there, hands clamped over the hole in her stomach. She tried to slow the bleeding, but she wasn't sure how much good it would do. The ray gun had gone all the way through her. She could feel wetness spreading from her back. Her ears were still ringing.

Yvian waited. It felt like a long time. It hurt. It hurt so bad. Stupid. This was stupid. Yvian had fought Vrrl and Xill and humans. She'd killed things most of her kind wouldn't dream of fighting. Now she was going to die? Here? Because of a lucky shot from some tiny grey psycho who was too scared to even aim? It was gribshit.

Yvian was cold. So cold. She was going into shock. Was the fight over? She still couldn't hear. Was everyone else ok? Would she see them, before the end? No. Don't think like that. Yvian was going to live. Somehow. Maybe. She had too much to do to die now.

The ringing in Yvian's ears started to die down. She could hear sounds of fighting. Faint, but there. She could hear something else. A low moaning noise. Like someone was trying to scream but couldn't get enough air. The sound was coming from her. She tried to stop it. She couldn't. Yvian had been hurt before. Badly. She'd never had to stay hurt for this long. Her voidarmor had always stopped the pain. Stabilized her, kept her going. Now she didn't have it. Yvian clung to defiance, promising herself this wasn't the end. She wasn't sure she believed it.

The others appeared. Mims and Lissa and Scarrend. Yvian could see singes and melted spots on their armor, but they weren't hurt. Good. That was good. They'd be ok. The three were talking, but Yvian wasn't paying attention. There was too much pain. It was hard to focus. Mims leaned down. He scooped Yvian up. The pain skyrocketed. Yvian tried to cry out...

Yvian woke up. She didn't hurt. She wasn't cold. A line of text caught her eye. A Heads Up Display. It listed a bunch of injuries. Lacerations, organ failure, blood loss. The only lines Yvian cared about were at the bottom of the list.

INJURY STABILIZATION PROTOCOL ACTIVE

PAIN REMOVAL ACTIVE

MOBILITY PROTOCOL ACTIVE

Her armor. Yvian was in her armor. She would live, and she felt no pain. Relief gave way to confusion. "What?" If she wasn't dead, why was it so dark? "How?"

"Oh thank the Bright Lady." The voice was Lissa's. "Are you alright, Sis?"

Yvian rolled her head towards the sound. Lissa was nude. Oh. Yvian wasn't in her own armor. She was in her sister's. Mims stood next to her, face impassive in the light of a glowstick. They must be in the chamber they'd left before. Yvian turned her head the other way to see Scarrend standing over her. Two of his hands were holding a broken cable against a line from his armor. Another line led from his armor to Yvian's. Or Lissa's. Whatever.

"Uh... Yes?" Yvian frowned. "No? Sort of. The armor says it's keeping me stable."

"Good," said Mims. "And you're wearing clothes, now. That's always nice."

Lissa smacked him on the shoulder. "You had to say something now? You were doing so good."

The human grinned. "I told you before, babe. If one of you's got to be naked, I know which one I want to see."

Lissa smiled back. Yvian frowned at both of them, then changed the subject. "Where's Kilroy?"

"This unit is here." Yvian sat up. The Peacekeeper unit was a few meters away. "This unit is performing alterations. Please stand by."

"How'd you get him out?" Yvian asked.

"We had to go up two levels and take out the beam at the source," said Lissa. "Scarrend tried to pull Kilroy out at first, but he got caught, too."

"It was not a good plan," said the Peacekeeper. "This unit warned him not to try." The machine's eyes flashed red. "Alterations complete."

Kilroy walked closer to Yvian. He pulled the other attachment line from it's place on Yvian's hip. He plugged it in to himself. "Alterations successful. This unit can now function as a charging device." The machine held one hand out to Scarrend and the other to Mims. "Please give this unit your attachment cables."

Yvian climbed to her feet. Scarrend unplugged his cable from her and handed it over. Mims passed his over as well. The Peacekeeper unit plugged them in. "Running diagnostics. Diagnostics complete. Charging system fully functional." Kilroy's eyes turned red again. "This unit has also developed a plan."

"I like plans," said the Captain. "What do you got?"

"The Grey meatbags have laced their ship with an organic compound that functions as a control network," the machine explained. "The ship is a meatbag." His red eyes burned brighter. "We can kill it."