## Meta-Ridley - The Hangar The giant lizard had waited for more than thirty seconds and already his teeth were gritting in a tormenting way. It had appeared that the message sent to Hisoka went directly to his voice mail and didn't directly interact with the ridiculous clown. Meta-Ridley's bladed tail suddenly lunged against the nearby wall, smashing it upon impact as a demonstration of its impatience. "**Hisoka, you incompetent buffoon. You're coming the hard way.**" As he left that final message, Ridley started to turn toward the ship he had designated for the little field trip he had proposed to Medic earlier, however he would be halted by the sudden noise coming from the ceiling. Looking up, his scanners had picked up a living being travelling through what seemed to be air ducts. The size and movements of the life form as well as its life signs made it clear to Ridley who this individual was. The cybernetic creature waited a few seconds for the inevitable, as of course he ork had the notoriety of sneaking around and popping out of nowhere. Once he landed in a rather dynamic way, he asked what they were up to, and Ridley would kindly reply. "**We are going on... A field trip. A lot of... 'Gitz' to shoot up there. If you're interested, please follow me, Arragoz Plisgin.**" Arragoz wasn't something Ridley minded at all, his bizarre behavior and possible utility as an all out soldier made Ridley appreciate him for what he was worth. Plus he wasn't human. Continuing his way to the designated vessel, the dragon gestured to the Medic inside to start the engine while the rest was boarding. Before entering himself, Ridley casually placed a flat, circular receptor on the side of the vessel. It was a Nen receptor specifically used to link Hisoka's Elastic Gum through long distances, thus allowing him to close in on Ridley's position whenever required. Once inside, Ridley took his usual throne: A suspended bar as one would expect from a huge birdcage. He'd stand on it, as a bird would while dozens of computers lit around him and his wonderful seat. Other flyers such as the designated Medic would be sitting below the cybernetic dragon as they were in charge of the steering. Waiting for everyone to be ready, the propellers were finalizing their preparations and commenced launching in a few seconds. --- ## Charlotte - The Raided Research Facility **CHOMP** A few more fell victim to Charlotte's cruel ability, their enhanced body armors and powerful weapons doing nearly nothing to her once they were caught in her morbid grasp. Many tried to shoot her from inside, but they quickly realized that their plasma shots were swiftly digested instead of damaging her organs. The sounds of bones crushing and people screaming wasn't too lovely either, causing the remaining security forces to cower in fear and retreat until military-like backup arrived. Now following Cinder Fall and consuming the computer she had contact with to avoid any exposure, the little witch casually dropped her grief seed on the ruin's grounds. The whole area had be fused with that appeared to be Charlotte's maze, though in reality there were only a few aesthetic changes: Chocolate here and there, pills laying about and finally a mass of small Pyotr creatures rushing back in the main facility to greet the reinforcements with a wave of needles. As Cinder finished a few soldiers off with her flame abilities, Charlotte contently licked the floor with her oversize tongue to consume the delicious Dust she left after she attacked. "**Mmmmm! Dust is yummy! I want more!**" She yelled in joy, smiling widely at her companion as they neared their prize. Once confronted to a sealed door before them, Charlotte wondering why they should bother with opening it when one can just... Eat it. Indeed, her mouth reached ridiculous sized once more and immediately ripped the dense metal door from its place, consuming it the second after without a problem. Nothing could possibly stop them at this point, or at least that's what Charlotte thought deep down, the truth would likely be contrary once many realize the severity of Cinder's theft.

**Saber - The Restaurant District, Yggdrasil** Good, good, everyone was getting to safety. She would have liked if they got as far as they could, but at least they had made it to cover. Well, aside from that one larger man, who... jumped on the table and promptly fell through it. Saber swiftly ran to his side. He was not a UMMA agent and therefore needed to swiftly proceed to safely. "Are you injured? You must get to safety, it is not-" She was interrupted by a gunshot behind her. The bullet struck her armor, but as it evidently lacked magical capabilities, it wasn't so much as able to scratch it. Saber swiftly spun, her eyes locking on a man wearing a coat and hat, holding a pistol. He let out a stream of obscenities upon seeing that his bid to take out a UMMA agent had failed. Had Saber been a civilian or a less-protected agent, the shot could have caused injury or death... With a burst of speed, she lunged for the man, Excalibur slicing the air as Invisible Air swirled around it. Those in battle should anticipate being killed. As harmless as a gun was to Saber, she could see the man attempting to aim for the dog-eared... boy? who had not yet taken cover. He wanted to shoot before he was stopped. Excalibur's blade hit him in the chest and went through in an instant. Saber would not let any civilians be killed. On the catwalks, a figure entirely clothed in black cloth, wrapped in it from head to toe, turned to face Nono. They were accompanied by a large number of armed men, each clothed in dark body armor and feature-obscuring headwraps and goggles, carrying what looked like high-powered rifles with swords upon their backs. The figure shrouded in cloth let out a sigh, her voice indicating she was female. "There goes the surprise." With that, she seized the cloth and tore it from her body, [revealing an elegant woman in a strange white with long, straight black hair, her eyes crimson](http://safebooru.org//images/1105/d13773dd720f2b9ce1902ecb1c246cd8d3096ba8.jpg?1148182). The sword remained in its sheath. Her frown turned into a smile as her eyes traveled across Nono's frame. "At least she's a cute one," she said, licking her lips, "Come and get me, dog of the UMMA." Her eyes narrowed, as she casually jerked her head to the side. Almost immediately her guards leaned over the railing to take aim at Gintoki and Kuzaku. --- **Research Facility** There was a faint 'woosh' from behind the sealed door, something unlikely to be noticed when it was torn off its hinges and promptly chewed to bits. However, what would likely be of notice was what was behind it. She was a young girl, or so it seemed, no older than fourteen, with short white hair. Her skin was incredibly pale, her eyes blue. She wore a skintight bodysuit, though the left arm was cut off. For in place of an organic arm was a doll-like prosthetic. Strapped to her back was what appeared to be a large anti-material rifle, almost as big as the girl herself was. In her prosthetic hand, she held a pistol, pointed at Charlotte. Her expressionless face unchanging, she pulled the trigger.

**Blake - Crew Corridor, UMMA Vessel _Tanngrisnir_** "_Thank you_." Blake's reaction was heartfelt as Sylvester set about knocking the thoroughly unpleasant prisoner out. She didn't envy whoever's job it would be to interrogate him when this was all over. Once he was out, Blake returned her sword to its sheath, lifting her communicator to her lips in time to hear Raiden's broadcast. She frowned, looking around instinctively. If the enemy really had gotten into the ship's computer... _We're so dependent on the ship's systems. This could be bad._ "Control, the intruder in the lounge crew corridor is down. Where should we go next?"

**Outside the Shadow Eternity base:** Brawl was bored, a dangerous kind of bored that wasn't good for anyone. So rather than attack his comrades for entertainment, he had decided to go outside for a little target practice. The rather impressive M1 Abrams tank now sat at the bottom entrance of the Shadow Eternity base. A massive cliff loomed above it, and a hangar poked out halfway up. But that didn't matter to Brawl. No, only the tree's in front of him did. Although he didn't call them tree's at this moment. He had named them 'target practice'. Around the tank, there were several burned and smoking tree's he had already blown apart, and he was now aiming further out. Adjusting his barrel for the distance, he fired. Boom! The tank shot out flames and recoiled slightly as the round flew towards it's target. Not a second later there was a secondary explosion could be heard as the tree Brawl had target splintered and burst into a magnificent fireball. He had been using high explosive rounds, and they were massacring the poor forest. Of course, this could be considered a waste of resources, but to Brawl it was very entertaining. ((there we go, Brawl Exists))

Dio frowned as he tossed Carver's unconscious body to the side before moving to take the sword out of his midsection. The blood had regenerated his wounds for the most part, but obtaining new limbs would take time. Sighing, Dio focused for a second and concentrated before tentacles shot out of the stumps of his arm and leg, quickly attaching to the body parts that had been cut off and pulling them back into place. Testing the function of both his reattached limbs, Dio cracked his neck and recalled "The World" before glancing at Carver's body. "Hm. I'll let you live for now. You'll serve a greater purpose in the future." he stated before walking deeper into the ship as his wounds continued to regenerate. The toll that "The World" had on his body now was annoying, true, but at this point it couldn't be helped that he was weakened to this extent. Facing more than one enemy of that caliber at once would be a surefire retreat, and to be honest he wasn't even sure if he could take on even one more. But he had a mission to fulfill and a request to oblige. Even the strongest of the world had to start from somewhere low... Though he had done that once, already. ----- Gintoki blinked at the guards aiming their weapons at him, sweat drops forming on his neck and forehead. "H-hey now..." he trailed off before the men started firing. Gintoki immediately rolled to the side and shouted at them as he attempted to run around to get into a position to counterattack. "Oi! Was what I said really that aggravating? You had your meal, so let us have ours! Geez, it's like you're trying to be jerks here! Don't you have better things to do than denying people the joy and satisfaction of food? Didn't your parents ever raise you to be better than that?" he yelled as he began jumping around to avoid the bullets being fired at him. Taking a quick breath, he quickly used the canopy of a nearby stall to launch himself at the elevator, which he then used to propel himself onto the catwalk... Or, at least, onto the railing of one. Grabbing it with a single hand, Gintoki stared at the people who had just reoriented their weapons at him. "Ah... I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

**Zyland Bannon- CMS Terra Nova, Fore Station** Carver's last transmission was pretty worrying. It wouldn't have been so worrying to him if he didn't go dark right after the transmission. Isaac was still trying to get Carver to respond, but Zyland knew it was of no use. "Isaac, right now we have to neutralize the threat. It's still on the ship. "..." It took a few moments for him to form a reply. "He wants the supplies. Keep an eye on the tram, it's the only way he can get to you. I'm going to go find Carver." Zyland was incredibly tempted to tell Isaac to stay where he was and fight, but the ex-black ops soldier knew it would not change his mind, so he let the RIGLink end and turned the room's security camera to the tran stop. He wanted to know when this "vampire" was coming, and to show him what happens when you mess with his friends.

### Enkimesh "Oh... do not worry about me, young lady," Gilgamesh said, attempting to sound cool and awesome, despite lying face-down on the ground, "just a minor slip, nowhere near enough to keep me do-" The pretty blonde suddenly dashed off, and when Gilgamesh looked up, saw that she had dispatched of an enemy, seemingly with no weapon. Was it invisible? A power? Whatever the case, she gave off the aura of an excellent warrior. "Captivating..." Gilgamesh muttered as he climbed to his feet, "what great fortune of mine, to find yet another radiant flower of the battlefield... truly, I am blessed!" Enkidu tapped his shoulder and pointed upwards, indicating the sliver-haired young man who had apparently attempted to leap onto the catwalk. Wasn't that one of the female warrior's companions? "...Hmph. You cowards!" Gilgamesh roared at the gunmen, a naginata suddenly clenched in his hands, "how about you face a _real_ man?!" And with that, Gilgamesh leaped. Unlike his earlier, more theatrical attempt, Gilgamesh rose in the air as if he did this kind of thing regularly. Much like a Dragoon from his home world, the red-garbed warrior soared towards the catwalk, swinging his naginata at the closest opponent once he reached it, using one hand to grasp the railing and vault onto it. "Foolish creatures! Raise your guns, if you dare!" he bellowed, stepping closer, "just know that such wimpy weapons are useless against me, **GILGAMESH**!" And with that, he quickly stepped forward, swinging his weapon in a downward arc at the closest opponent. Enkidu, stuck on the ground floor, let out a whine of frustration. With Gilgamesh hogging the spotlight, and the blue knight girl killing the enemies down here, he was getting left with no one to beat up! Add onto the others that were clearly ready to battle as well...

**Nono, Restaurant District, Yggdrasil** Up in the rafters, refusal to comply was acknowledged, and no longer commented on. That would be a waste of energy at this point in time. Instead, Nono turned to the fight ahead, prepared to bring all the power she had to bear, within the acceptable limits that would keep from destroying this place entirely. Sadly, that meant she couldn't use her most powerful attacks, such as the Buster Beam, but she could manage without. It was what Saber, and Lal'c, would do. _Battle Mode activated_ _Situation analysis: Thirteen hostiles._ In her cybernetic vision, red boxes appeared around each individual unit she could detect, marking them as a target _Leader identified. Marked Target Alpha. Alpha is wielding bladed weapon. Targets Bravo-Mike wielding projectile weapons. Targets Bravo-Mike targeting civilians and comrades_ _Threat Level: Target Alpha - High. Targets Bravo-Mike - Low_ _Priority: Neutralization of Target Alpha._ _Override: Preservation of life. New priority: Neutralization of Targets Bravo-Mike._ _Locking on._ In milliseconds those thoughts ran through her head, lasers and internal mechanisms prepared for combat as they aimed themselves at the men in the rafters, prepared to unleash a deluge of fire. Before that could happen though, Gintoki and Gilgamesh entered the picture, resulting in a re-evaluation of priorities and her estimates. _Situation update: Co-combatants present. Recalculating threat level. Readjusting target priorities._ _Engaging_ With the order given, blue light flaring out, almost blindingly, as her laser batteries reoriented and fired, some bolts flying to target the men nearest to her, while the majority of the onslaught from the eight laser batteries in her legs. If this didn't work then she would engage in close combat, but for the moment it seemed the most efficient way to gauge Target Alpha's capabilities. --- **Cinder Fall, Research Facility** Cinder proceeded along into the metallic grey and brown ruins, the sound of Charlotte behind her making up quite a disturbing chorus, if one were someone besides the half Witch, who had grown used to such acts of violence. As a result, she proceeded along with heels clicking as she led the way towards their destination. Resistance, such as it was, was easily taken care of. Shots at her were blocked by her Aura and the palm of her hand, for relatively no damage, and what Charlotte didn't quickly get rid of with her sharp fangs, Cinder eliminated shortly thereafter with a fireball, a pillar of fire, or some Dust aided attack. Which didn't stop Charlotte from commenting on the delectability of the Dust that was left behind. "I'm sure we could get you some more later," she replied, finding it amusing that the Witch was approving of Dust, when as far as she was aware, Dust from her world served the same purpose as a 'Grief Seed' from Charlotte's. That would probably explain the affinity between the two anyway. And speaking of Grief Seeds, it appeared that Charlotte had laid one down, as puffballs ran about, throwing themselves against the reinforcements that came. It was a neat trick, and one that Cinder would like to be able to do, but she had better things that those disposable minions, even if they were harder to get. Arriving at a sealed door, Cinder was prepared to blow it down with Dust when Charlotte did the job for her, the helpful little creature snapping it off and swallowing it whole, as she tended to do. And while the Witch might have been invested with her meal, Cinder was surprised to find someone standing behind the door, though she hardly displayed it. Now that was interesting, to say the least. Said girl then opened fire with a pistol of some kind, but Cinder wasn't too concerned. She wasn't going to weep if Charlotte got hurt. "Well now, this is going to be amusing. I suppose you're going to stop me," she asked the young girl, smirking as a fireball lit in her hand. This girl was young, perhaps even younger than the annoying Rose that kept interfering in her plans. If she couldn't beat this girl, then she would be a sad excuse for a savior.

## Charlotte - Research Facility Raid That metal door went down pretty well as a short burp followed its quit descent in the abyss that is Charlotte's digestive system, on of the many great mysteries of universes to come. It wasn't too difficult for the witch to notice the young girl standing not too far before her, her position supposing she was behind the recently devoured door and now had a clean view on her adversaries and vice-versa. Charlotte stared at the young fighter with a curious look, she was especially captivated by the big gun on her back she couldn't help but imagine how tasty it would be to eat it whole, not to mention that creamy white hair. Charlotte's expression didn't change when the young woman pointed her gun toward the little doll, it was actually quite a daily thing nowadays for her to get shot right at the face during little strolls out of HQ. While the female pointed the weapon, Charlotte couldn't help but notice the synthetic arm she had in the place of her left arm. All of a sudden bubble displaying a Hitler Youth Duck appeared over her head as she tried to ask a question. "**Are you hung-**" Bang, a bullet to the face. Charlotte was propelled backwards, not too far, and her bubble popped along with the shot connecting. She appeared lifeless, but the best of shots could notice a lack of orifice in the area where the bullet was supposed to pierce. Charlotte's Tenacity attribute made her especially resilient, her current form being almost a decoy to the power she had in her. Nonetheless, despite not having the wits to create elaborate ruses, she played dead for a few seconds, perhaps because she didn't want to get shot again out of the blue and maybe let Cinder do the work. "**Owwwie...Cinder, you could have stopped that one! Now I have a booboo...**" Her 'eyes' watered up and small tears dropped down to her cheeks. She sat up and stared at both the women. Anyone who knew Charlotte a bit knew that when she would start tearing up, her behavior would be beyond unpredictable. A lot like a depressive individual whom the actions aren't always reasonable and food consumption would be erratic.

**Research Facility** Upon noting that her first target had not appeared to be injured, and indeed was just knocked to the ground and seeming to tear up, the white-haired girl paused for a moment. While she was certain that the tiny creature was a threat, for the moment it seemed like its priority was not attacking her. If that changed, her actions would change accordingly. She quietly gestured with her pistol, attempting to indicate that it would be for the best if the creature stayed down, before turning her gaze on the woman, her aim adjusting as well. Ignoring what the fiery woman had said, she trained her pistol on her, aiming it squarely at her center mass. "Please surrender," she began. Her voice was soft and monotone, her face expressionless. "Upon surrender, no further harm will come to you or the small creature."

**Daijuji Kuzaku** Gintoki, a man that Kuzaku was only marginally familiar with (mostly due to Kuzaku suspecting that the man had copped his gorgeous silver hair, but was pulling it off poorly), was now dangling from the catwalk with numerous guns pointed at him. Kuzaku was impressed that he managed to get up there, but his admiration stopped exactly at that point. Either way, he needed to keep that idiot and his ratty hair alive somehow. Under normal circumstances, he would have no problem picking off all of those stationary targets with Cthugha at this range, but he was feeling too poorly to risk hitting Gintoki. Ithaqua would still seek out and eliminate targets as normal, but he didn't have the strength to feed it enough magical rounds. This was troubling. Time to mix things up a bit. Kuzaku pointed the barrels of his guns at intersecting angles in the direction of the armed men, the muzzles resting against each other. With split-second timing, he fired Cthugha, and then Ithaqua in several repeated bursts. The end result of this was the spell shot of Cthugha being pushed along and aimed by the Ithaqua shell. Blue and red lights streaked through the atrium as Ithaqua's rounds zipped seemingly randomly through the air, and Cthugha's rounds grew into arcane fireballs. After a few seconds of evasion and targeting, the rounds slammed into several assailants at strange angles, aiming for their least-protected points. The Cthugha rounds then detonated, exploding and igniting the enemeies nearby the ones that had been hit.

**Saber - The Restaurant District, Yggdrasil** Saber drew her sword from the man, who let out a choked gurgle as he fell to the ground, collapsing on the floor. She'd pierced his heart, it took only a moment for him to die. It was easy to guess what he had been doing, when the communications device fell from his jacket as he hit the ground. He'd been intending to trigger the attack himself... but for what reason? Saber heard gunfire. Swiftly putting that thought to the back of her mind, she turned in time to see the man who had been on the ground suddenly leap through the air... and several more gunmen round the corner. They must have been trying to coordinate an attack with the ones on the catwalks! They didn't seem armed to deal with agents, to say the least. Many agents, including herself, were impervious to gunfire such as this. But they could still hurt the civilians! Saber broke into a run for them, just as one swung his weapon up and fired. Saber's instinct barely kicked in, and she found herself launching her body to the side as a brilliant burst of light fired from his weapon. It was no simple bullet, as it whizzed past her. Saber clutched Excalibur's hilt in both hands. So they were better equipped than she thought. The men were, needless to say, surprised and distracted from Gintoki when Gilgamesh suddenly leaped onto the catwalk, swinging their weaponry up as quickly as possible to try and aim at him. However, it was too late, and the gunman nearest to him found himself falling to the ground as the naginata sliced along his front, deep enough that he was dead in seconds. They, too, were suddenly sent to the ground, smoking holes having burnt through them from Nono's laserfire. Yet more of the gunmen on the catwalk fell as Kanzaku's shots struck them in the sides and other strange areas, falling in fire as the rounds exploded and ignited the gunmen nearby. Needless to say, the first force was wiped out quickly... but the ground force was swiftly advancing on Kanzaku's position, aiming their weapons to fire in a bid to assault his position before Saber renewed her charge. The woman, however, was not so easily dealt with. She grinned eagerly as Nono opened fire, and almost immediately pulled a gleaming katana from her sheath. The blade flashed so quickly it became a blur as she swiftly deflected the incoming laserfire, each bolt sent swiftly skywards. When the laserfire ceased, so to did the flurry of motion, and she merely stood at the ready. Casually, she glanced at the corpses of her allies. "Idiots. That's what they get for thinking it's a great idea to try and shoot the civilians we're supposed to take hostage," she let out a dramatic sigh. Even as she did, more boots could be heard clacking on the catwalks as more soldiers approached. How did so many get into Yggdrasil unnoticed?! It was one of the most guarded places in the multiverse! The woman's eyes focused once more on Nono, and her eager grin returned. "At least it means I get to fight a cutie like you~" Her eyes traveled across the laser batteries across the female buster machine's body. "Mmm~ You have so many toys... I'm going to enjoy this~" The katana glinted as she stood at the ready.

Gintoki breathed a sigh of relief as everything targeting him seemed to just keel over and die. Though he wasn't much for killing, not getting shot in the face was much more preferable. Swinging his body back and forth off on the railing, he used the momentum to pull himself up completely, landing on the platform without much trouble. "I'll thank you guys later... somehow." he said as he dashed into the fight, smashing his blade into the closest enemy's face and knocking the poor sap into the rest of his team. As they lay sprawled out, Gintoki quickly beat them into unconsciousness before cracking his neck. "Geez, did these idiots think fighting on a thin catwalk by funneling in would be a good idea?" he asked, as he turned his attention to the woman Nono was engaging. "You know, having more minions on your side isn't going to accomplish anything at all, right? They're just experience fodder, and we're a high-leveled RPG party... So to speak. I don't think you're even worth midboss status, so I'd recommend you surrender or run away." he stated before seemingly being hit by realization. "Actually, you owe us all a meal, dammit! I'm not gonna let you get away that easily!" ---- Dio sighed as he walked around the ship. It's strange layout had caused him to just kind of wander around in search of any way deeper into the complex for the last five minutes. In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to leave communications behind... Maybe that machine could've guided him further in to his intended location. Oh well, no crying over spilled milk. Though it was strange that he hadn't encountered any enemies, he wasn't going to argue. Though the bone damage and the like would definitely take a while to heal, he still had time to go and search around for the cargo bay. "How do people from this place even navigate this ship...?" he asked as he continued walking around.

**Black Rock Shooter - Client World 576143290-B** Even as one of their number exploded, blood and bits of flesh scattering into ashes, the creatures did not so much as slightly react. Black Rock Shooter took a step towards one of the creatures. It didn't even seem as if it was looking at her. The round black eyes of each creature were looking somewhere... else. The otherself followed their gaze as best she could, but there was nothing there. They were just staring blankly, not at the sandstone pillar, not at any of the people who had appeared. They looked on into utter nothingness without any reaction to their surroundings. What were they? Why were they doing this? Black Rock Shooter once again found herself without any understanding. And then, in unison, each of the strange creatures turned to face inwards. Quickly, the girl followed their motions to look where they had turned... and watched as each creature raised a long, thin arm, and one finger extended to point at the immense drill in the center of the ruins. "...?" Black Rock Shooter took a single step towards it. Why had they stopped attacking to point at this drill...? What was it there for?

# UMMA Vessel *Tanngrisnir* Dlanor wasn't the only one looking forward to confronting the intruders upon the ship, and someone else had started taking the nearest convenient corridor to their destination: an apparently short and slight girl, incongruously carrying a gleaming and rather... organic-looking blade, who happened to be flanked by two wolves that stood slightly taller than she did, and could appropriately be described as horse-sized. Completely unaware that one of their former associates was in the other cargo hold, Russ was the first to arrive and stood waiting outside the door. Though the idea of going in and dealing with it alone was tempting, it was tactically unsound and she had no idea what was in there. For all that the primarch knew, it was something that would be pretty hard to deal with using just a sword. A tank, for instance. She really ought to invest in some heavier weaponry.

# Bjorn the Fell-Handed Intruders were never a good thing. But it was rare that he had the chance to fight. He had not been allowed to since his mechanical body was crippled in his duel with Magnus. "I will assist you." he said "I have waited 7,000 years, but at last, the chance to go to war has returned to me. Lead me to these enemies." he ordered Dlanor. He was also curious to bare witness to the firepower that his new weapon afforded. Then again, these intruders could be the Space Wolves having come and found him... If that was the case, then he would have to kill the woman and assist them. Well, she seemed to be strong, so it might be a duel for the dogs to howl about in the coming years. He followed her as she ran off towards where the intruders were, he waddled behind as fast as he could. Although the oldest being in the Imperium, the fastest, he was not.

 "Y-you're welcome." Sylvester smiled as the perp dropped before his feet. He usually got a thanks or a congrats from a higher up, but never from any new recruits. Hearing it come from Blake, a recruit, made his day. As the thug's body hit his feet, Sylvester paid attention. "Alright, let's bring him to interrogation." Sylvester picked up the unconscious body.

**Hampus The Red, Meta-Ridley's Ship, Hangar** Someone was yelling. Someone that Hampus knew he should listen to. Waves of consciousness came flooding back as Hampus realized where he was and who was yelling at him. "-or I will break your arms and make you do two hundred push-ups! Initiate Hampus, **RESPOND**!" "Present, sir!" Hampus shouted, as he snapped to attention. The man who yelled at Hampus, a giant of a drill sergeant with breath like a morgue and a chin as craggy as Scotland, glared at Hampus' previous inattentiveness. After an incredibly uncomfortable pause, the drill sergeant stepped back and addressed Hampus and his fellow Initiates. "That's all you rats accounted for, then! LISTEN UP, MAGGOTS! You've been granted a _major_ gift from Lord Ridley just by being here! You boys are here to _prove yourself worthy_, in the name of Shadow Eternity! I do _not_ want you rats screwing this up! If you do, I will make damn well sure to keep your eyes intact so you can see what you look like _when I'm done gutting you!_ DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" "Sir, yes, sir!" The Initiates shouted. "Good! Your current posting will be in the _engine rooms!_ When the engineers ask you to clean out the engines, you damn well better be in the reactor with your own goddamn toothbrush by the time they stop speaking! _If_ you do well, you will be given the glorious opportunity to be the first off the ship and into the meat grinder! Failure to comply with orders will result in _immediate_ termination! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?! "SIR, YES, SIR!" The Initiates howled. "_Diiis-**missed**_!" Hampus and the four other Initiates he was with scattered. _Oh, dammit!_ Hampus thought, _I don't even know where the engine room is!_ His mind aflutter with all the lovely things his sergeant would do to him if he failed, Hampus hurried along through the halls. If he was lucky, he'd reach the engine room without trouble. Of course, Hampus was _never_ lucky.