Mac glared at Jean for most of the time he was in the med bay before he carried Ursa to her room, moving around the stacks of books and records that filled her cluttered space to place her on her bed. He moved her purple coloured blanket up to her shoulders and had a brief moment of nostalgia. He remembered her as a little short haired brat, always pulling at his dreads and shooting him with laser bullets for fun. He always enjoyed the times when she was asleep. She was peaceful. He blinked and walked out the door, a smile on his face as he moved down towards the kitchens. Takashi stopped him mid-way through, "Hey we heard Cooper fainted over the coms. Is she alright!"

Mac nodded, "She took a beating and it caught up with her unexpectedly. She's gonna be out for a bit so I'm taking charge."

Takashi stuck out his tongue, "Figured. So...are we killing the new guy?"

Mac shook his head, "If it were up to me...I would send his ass to Neptune, but you know how Ursa is with her cop theory. So no touching him. Yet. Also when Ursa's up we have to have a crew meeting. New info on our stowaway and about our last mission. Anyone following our trail?"

Takashi gave a sick reptilian smile, "They tried, but I took some detours and pulled a few fast ones, whilst you guys were chatting. All good for now. Anna wants to know where we are heading though."

Mac started walking with Takashi as he spoke, "Good job, dipshit. That's why you're paid well. You can tell Anna we are heading to outpost 16. It's our...cheapest outpost. Not as many smuggled items for the cop to sniff out and we can grab fuel there. Plus anaesthesia."

At that point, a door to the left of them opened and Kira waved at the boys. She was dressed in a white wifebeater, jean shorts and some heavy steel-toed boots, "Hey guys. Are we going to land soon? I need to get a look at the gun belt on the left side of the ship after those blasts."

Mac walked up and ruffled her hair, "Yeah we will be landing in a bit. Dill made pizza if you want."

Kira howled her wolf ears bending slightly, "HELL YEAH! IM STARVING!"

Takashi laughed, "Me too! Beat you to the pepperoni!"

Kira snarled before pushing him to the ground, "You're on!"

She jetted off with Takashi on her tail. Mac shook his head walking down the hall where he saw Anna coming from the other side. He waved at her before walking into the main kitchen/dining room to see Jean, Juniper, Emmett, Dill, Damian, Kira and Takashi. The latter two were almost pawing at the pizza. Basically once the pizza was out of the oven the crew took turns taking some slices before heading back to there posts. Dill and Mac were the only two people from the crew in the room, and Mac walked over to the others with ambivalence, trusting none of them apart from Juniper who seemed to be of no harm to his crew. He spoke softly, "Please help yourself to the pizza, be mindful of the anchovies one. The captain loves it, but it's absolutely disgusting. Now, Miss Juniper, I apologize on behalf of the captain for not treating you with the respect your title is given, we on the Ranger are honoured to have you on board."

He gave her a warm smile, before turning to the men, "So I, of course, was not present for part of the conversation, but I am aware of the fact that you wish to go after Bob? That may be a bit of a hard sell for the crew if there are no means of payment involved."

Jean shoved his fingers into his gun belt, fingering the empty holster as he addressed Juniper. “Now don’t you go worryin’ y’self ‘bout me gel, I’m right as rain. Young’uns like you ought’a be concernin’ themselves over mornin’ chores, n’ schoolin’. Though to be fair I ain’t familiar wit’ how yew Royal Theonian’s operate. But I reckon it ain’t typical for y’all to be fretting over genocidal maniacs. You seem to be handlin’ it pretty well though, Theonians’ must be made of a tough stock. I’ve seen lesser evils break battle toughened grown men. But, les’ put that aside fer now, an’ fly at this ‘ere grub.” Removing a large slice of the pie for himself, Jean sniffed at the odd delicacy holding it under his nose as the melted cheese stretched to its max. Shoving a healthy portion of the steaming pizza into his mouth Jean’s eyes lit up like twin stars. “Well howdee damn, now that’s what I call vittles!” Finishing off the wedge he selected another, polishing it off just as swiftly as the first.

“My compliments to th’ cookie.” Jean chortled, “e’ should be lookin’ to get a raise or some better benefits.” Glancing over at Mac the cowboy snorted, shrugging off the big man’s concerns. “Then don’t concern them, I don’ see why they gotta participate at all. Jus’ drop me off, I’ll commandeer a shuttle an’ handle Bob myself. Y’all are th’ ones who mixed yerselves up in this mess by kidnappin’ me, an’ it’s y’all’s Cap’n who lookin’ to help us, Princess Juniper specifically. Unless this ship’s a fancy democracy an’ Miz Ursa’s jus’ a representative, ya don’t gotta sell shit.”

Just then the Ranger lurched violently almost succeeding in throwing Jean off his feet. Only by seizing ahold of the counter did he manage to avoid tumbling to the floor. The remains of the pizza, the cutlery, and other random items slid and clattered everywhere, some floating others plummeting like rocks as the artificial gravity struggled to readjust to the ship’s erratic movements. “What in tarnation!” Jean spluttered, regaining his footing and snatching his hat which was trying to float away. “Did we just get ripped out of hyperspace!?” As if to answer his question two blasts impacted the outside of the Ranger’s hull reminding Jean of the all too familiar sounds of turbolaser fire. The sheriff’s face paled as a second volley connected, sending ominous vibrations reverberating down the freighter’s cabins and passageways.

Ursa snored mercilessly her thoughts drifting into dreamworld. In her dream she sat on a pile of money dressed in a purple Zoley beast coat, her fingers, neck and earrings dripping in gold and diamonds. She leaned back, as Madonna's 'Material Girl' played in the background and sipped at a bright coral Bellini when suddenly she heard a splash and she pushed down her purple star shades to see a tall figure in the water. She scooted forward just as the man came up to the ladder to the left of her, his beautifully toned body glistening in the sun as he exited the water in slow motion. Ursa's breath caught in her throat as the handsome dark-haired hottie who seemed to resemble someone with a familiar roughish cowboy appearance came up to lean down near her. She bit her lip confidently leaning forward to kiss this beautiful creature when suddenly he reached up, his hands grazing her cheek, the moment of connection coming when suddenly a large alarm blared around her and she opened her eyes. She blinked, the ceiling a few inches from her face, her body hovering above her bed. She was sore all over and heavily confused so she rolled over looking at her room which was filled with floating books and CDs. A shiver of fear went up against her spine as she looked at her prized collection. She paused, her hands stretching out as she looked at her beloved items held in suspension. She whispered quietly to herself, "No...My children...It's okay...Mama will get you all down...Nobody move. Slowly...slowly...AHHH...SHIIII!"

Suddenly everything hit the floor, including Ursa who the hit the ground roughly before being slammed into the side of the ship. She slapped the ground yelling loudly,"CAN'T I GET JUST A FEW MINUTES OF PEACE! FOR FUCK'S SAKE WHAT IS IT NOW!!!"

She stood up slamming her hand on the com whilst grabbing a pair of pants, "TAKASHI! MAC! WHAT'S HAPPENING?" All that came out was a garbled mess. She pressed her forehead against the wall before she grabbed up her guns and a rugged denim jacket. She slipped it over her bandages heading out into the hall towards the brig.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mac was just about to respond to Jean when Anna came running in, "SPACE PIRATES! We have a cruiser on our tale and the ship has taken heavy damage. We are pushing up to super speed but they should be catching up with us pretty soon. We better be battle ready."

Mac groaned, "How far are they?"

Anna spoke hastily, her eyes darting to the messy kitchen and the 'guests', "Around 5000 clicks, but they are catching up quickly. We are low on fuel to, so we can't go to full burn without either blowing the engine or running out in enough time. What are we going to do?"

Mac went white, "Shit. We need to look at the routes and prepare the crew for battle. You three stay here and don't..."

Suddenly the ship lurched and the room turned in a 360-degree angle and the speed was visibly different. Most of the room crashed into the wall including Mac and Anna before the com went on and Ursa's smarmy voice carried out through the ship, "Sorry for the detour assholes. Mac, Anna get to the bridge pronto! Bring Emmett, Juniper and the studmuffin...I mean Jean. YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH TAKASHI! Anyway. Hurry up!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Bridge
Ursa dropped the com and gave Takashi the finger before she turned to Damian, "Damian let them take whatever heat we can send there way. Takashi, keep on course and Kira do what you can in the hull before we blow the airlock and we all get sucked into space."

She turned when Mac and the rest of the crew walked in. She gave Mac an exhausted look before he spoke up, "Cooper. What the hell do you think you are doing and how are you even awake right now?"

Ursa turned painfully, "We are in the Jerox galaxy about 80,000 clicks away from our destination. We ain't going to make that destination with the fuel we got now and we can't outrun these fuckers either. So we are low on fuel and enemies are at our back. If we try to go full burn to get away from them we could blow our ship so I turned us around, because not only are we going to outsmart those bastards, we are going to steal there fuel and weapons. Now as for your other question. We do not have any anaesthesia on this ship, but we do happen to have a pack of adrenaline needles. I am in an antagonizing amount of pain and honestly, I don't know how long this shit is going to last but I'm here, I'm mobile, and I want to show those pirates who really are the scourge of these space skies."

She howled walking past Mac over towards Takashi, "Keep our line jagged and veer to the left if they set up their cannon blasters. She then finally turned to her guests, "Emmett you still have your gun right. Prepare to use it. Juniper, if things go sour, turn into that little mouse creature and hide." She paused turned to Jean and blushed three shades of red, "We agree for this part of the junction that we are on the same side?"

She paused, lifting up her hand for a shake. When she got one she pulled him close so that she could whisper in his ear, "Good. Now don't make me regret this..." She handed him his gun before turning back to the screen, "Alright. Let's do this. Damian! FIRE!!!!!"

Emmett continued to his room that he always uses when on board the ship. "Family, what does that even mean" Emmett thought to him self remembering all the bad things that have happened in his life. Growing up Emmett was the smallest of the five children, and the slowest which he paid for dearly. Everyday his "parents" tested him to see if he could succeed in stealing, but he was never fast enough. For every time he failed not only was he punished by whoever caught him, but his own family also punished him. The punishing given from his family included starving, not being able to drink, use the wash room, being locked up in a room, and beatings not only from his parents but the other four children also. His true potential started showing the day he snapped, he was so mad at one of his brothers that he walked up with a knife and emotionless stabbed him in the neck killing him. From that point on Emmett was trained in killing instead of stealing.

Suddenly the ships alarms have started just as Emmett had entered the room, he turn slowly and started to move back towards the bridge as he new she would have orders for them. Half way down the hall the ship did a full 360 mid flight which shook the whole ship and knocked Emmett over, quickly Emmett rose to his feet and started walking much faster to find out what was going on. Mac appeared around the corner as Emmett was nearing the bridge "Mac are we under attack? Is that why there was the alarms and that blast? Also why did the ship jerk so suddenly what is she thinking?" Before Mac could fill him in Emmett walked into the bridge. "Emmett you still have your gun right. Prepare to use it. Juniper, if things go sour, turn into that little mouse creature and hide." Emmett smiled and opened his coat "You know I always have them ready, I do love fighting or did you forget."

Emmett watched and listened to Ursa's conversation with Jean and watched her hand him his gun back. "Listen I will trust Ursa's judgment due to the circumstances however do not make us regret this decision and more importantly harm anyone on this ship and you will have wished Ursa dealt with you and not me." Emmett said looking Jean in the eyes so Jean knew he meant what he said. "Lets have some fun with these so called pirates" Emmett said with an excited tone.

“They’re a clever crew of scallywags, ya gotta admit.” Jean paced onto the bridge to stand beside Ursa and all the others. “Caught us with our pants down out in open space, an’ used some sort o’ dinghiddy contraption to keep us from jumping away. Same thing that ripped us out more’n like-“ The cowboy found himself cut off as Ursa pulled him in close, her yellow eyes so close to his brown. Jean felt his breath catch in his throat and he shook her proffered hand without hesitation. “I - I c’n set with that Miz Cooper.” Jean murmured, acknowledging Ursa’s sincerity with a slight nod. He respected the amount of trust she was showing him by returning his prize firearm. Reverently he accepted his pistol back from Ursa, spinning the cylinder to ensure it was clear and undamaged. The weapon’s weight felt familiar in his hand, and fit comfortably back into its holster as if it’d never left his side. “M’sorry gel, I had too. I promise daddy won’t give ya away so easy ne’er again.” Jean reassured the inanimate object, patting the wooden pistol grip as if to comfort a child.

Returning his focus to the situation at hand Jean stepped up behind Takashi, observing the multiple view screens displaying their current situation. Tiny crimson blips flashed on a field of blue on one, while green circles crisscrossed and realigned in constant motion on another. The damage and artificial gravity reports most likely. The cowboy pretended to remain fixated on these displays, sensing Emmett’s presence behind him but not wanting to turn around and show his burning scarlet cheeks. “Listen slickheels,” Jean chuckled, referencing to his new favorite nickname for the assassin. “I ain’t gonna hurt no one on this ship, not yet anyways. An’ I rightly wouldn’t wanna even if I felt I could get away wit’ it. It’d be like pegging my own hoss. Them space pirates are just as likely to string me up an’ leave me to freeze out in th’ vacuum as look at me. We ain’t on first name basis if ya know what I mean. So for jus’ this once don’ be a biddy n’ trust me to shoot center wit’ y’all.” Jean rotated on Emmett his face having cleared somewhat to an acceptable level. “Cause when it comes down to it, tromping outlaws an’ spacewaymen is my specialty. Now, where’s the nearest gunner seat?”

~*~*~*~

The flaming engines mounted haphazardly upon the Gorefill’s up armored flanks burned brighter than a blue star as the pirate cruiser pursued the retreating Ranger across the empty expanse of space. Occasionally a yellow turbolaser blast would rocket from the cruiser’s main guns, arcing a plasma bolt towards the freighter which then exploded against the smaller ship’s armor or shielding. From inside the cruisers flag deck a large congregation of all manner of creatures had assembled. Nearly two score in number and wielding a wide array of malicious looking arms and armor. Every one of them were battle scarred, garbed in ridiculous finery, and tougher then nails, each looking fit to curdle milk with a single glower of their hideous faces. The worst of the lot however, sat on a durasteel throne on raised precipice in the center of the bridge. He was nearly seven feet tall with shriveled brown flesh, a triangular head, and outfitted with cybernetic replacement limbs, enhancements and weaponry like a walking breathing arsenal. The top of his head was ordained with braided dreadlocks and he wore a full kit of barbaric body armor to boot. He was the one and only dread pirate, Kapitan Nafaerio-Vad, the badest humanoid to ever set foot on a star ship’s bridge in many eons. When he spoke the testosterone practically reverberated through the air and his cheering crew grew silent and attentive.

“It appears we’ve hooked ourselves a fish boys, a smuggler craft, well-armed too. Our associate will be pleased.” He observed, shifting aside a mechanical farglass to peer at the Ranger with his naked eye. “Gunners, aim to damage their engines and ready the tractor beam to lock them in place, the fools are coming straight for us. So even you hopeless lot can’t foul it up. The rest of you scab-riddled ingrates prepare to board. I get the feeling these shark chums might ‘ave some fire in their bellies we need to quell. Oh, and weapons aren’t free this time, I want their captain alive. That means you Bosdamand!”

A scraggly blob of a creature grumbled something incoherent, switching the settings on his gun from ‘overkill’ to ‘hideously maim.’

“When I give the signal every one of you gunners fire a volley straight for their engines, and don’t you dare miss and destroy my lovely little fish.” Nafaerio raised his mechanical arm, tiny blue pulses from his neuron signals lighting the cybernetics’ inner workings to create an ominous glow. “NOW!” Nafaerio dropped his arm and the gunners squeezed the triggers or pressed the red buttons on their firing stations, sending a heavy volley of yellow plasma streaking towards the oncoming Ranger

Ursa moved to sit in the main captain’s chair, pulling out her ‘Tony Treo’s Pizza Hutz’ baseball hat, which she put on backwards to keep her hair out of her face. She listened to Emmett threaten Jean and gave a small smile. Honestly she was very shocked with Emmett’s loyalty with the situation. She wouldn’t expect the assassin to be so accommodating with her requests, but then again she wasn’t overly surprised. Anyone who looked at Draykon would know he had his demons, even if he hid them behind cheesy charm and threats, but not many probably knew that besides the killing he was actually a pretty nice fellow. When he looked her way she nodded giving him a grateful smirk before turning to Jean, who got her heart beating like a rabid raccoon, when he inquired where the nearest gunner seat was. She pointed to Damian who was setting the ranger’s weapon’s to on, “You can take a seat next to Damian. He can fill you in on what we have, and if you need it assistance with controls.”

She turned her body to look at Dill, “Dill, I want you to hack into their main com’s. I want to talk to this pirate fucker before I...SHIT!”

Suddenly the ship veered to the right, Takashi screaming, “HOLD ON!”

Ursa slammed into the side of her seat but held tight as the ship veered out of the way of some oncoming plasma blasts. They just managed to dodge the onslaught but she and most of the ship knew that another was going to be coming quickly. Ursa swore, “Anna, increase our shields. Takashi stay on course, and increase speed when we get within 100 clicks of that ship. Mac grab the weapons and prepare for ‘Plan Chicken’! YOU GOT IT!”

Mac looked over at Juniper, “We are doing ‘Plan Chicken’? THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO!”

Ursa nodded confidently, “‘Plan Chicken’..works every time Mac. Now go get the weapons!”

Mac walked out shaking his head, “‘Plan Chicken.’ Who comes up with this shit. Its embarrassing!”

Fitting himself into a nearby gunners station Jean ran his hands over the controls, guessing at what the different knobs and buttons did. Frowning the Sheriff turned to Damian, jerking his head towards the captain and first mate. “Ay, partner. Mind letting th’ new rider in on wotever the blazing hell Plan Chicken is?”

Ursa turned to the cowboy with a smug smile, “You will get the gist soon enough, Sparky!” She was actually quite proud of the name. It was awesome as hell, and they would all see that soon enough so she turned to look at Dill, “The Com’s. Are we up now?”

Dill bit his bottom lip, his hands working on a touch screen keypad, “Just one minute...and yep. There we are. You are live captain.”

Ursa suddenly looked up at the main screen and saw Naefario and a few members of his crew through the camera, “OH DEAR GOD! HE LOOKS LIKE A GIANT MECHANICAL BUG.”

Dill’s eye’s widened, “He can hear you!”

Ursa blinked then turned to the screen, “Oh...I mean a very handsome mechanical bug. I bet you get all the bug ladies….Anyway let’s cut to the chase. I am a pacifist at heart here, Mr. Crabs, so before we continue on this violent charade I was wondering if perhaps we can solve this on a more diplomatic level? I may not look the part but I have a few sheckles in the bank, and I am more then willing to work out a deal?”

She shrunk against the captain’s seat looking nervous and awkward, like a kid trying to take on a monster, but she knew ‘Plan Chicken’ would work she just needed to depend on what she knew best, her lies.

To his immense credit Nafeario kept his cool as a massive blown up holographic image of Ursa and the bridge of the Ranger suddenly materialized out of nowhere blaring everything at triple max volume for the entire crew, and several nearby star systems to hear. Clapping his cybernetic hands to his very real and ringing ear holes Nafaerio stood from his throne delivering a hefty kick to his cyberspace engineer. “WHY IS THIS FUCKING HOLOGRAM SO DAMN BIG AND LOUD YOU SCALY LUGRUFFER! AND WHY IS IT EVEN HERE!” He screeched leveling blows upon the hapless creature who struggled to regain control of his hacked workspace.

“They’ve infiltrated th’ ship’s mainframe boss! Th’ hackers’ good but if ye stop breakin’ me poor back Cap’n I’ll ‘ave control again soon.”

Giving his minion a few more whacks for good measure Nafaerio turned to the now reduced image, in both size and decibel. Now that he had a good view of Ursa, and wasn’t being deffend the kapitan’s furious snarl melted away and was replaced by a lustful grin. “Harr, I knew ye were some fiery fishes, but I did’n expect ye to be so burnin’.... Eh…?”

“Hot Cap’n.”

“Shut ye mouth Gismuch, but aye. Hot. Heheheh, say, I’m a pacifish at heart too ye know. So why don’ we jus’ reach an accord like ye want. What’da ya say? Come aboard an’ we’ll ‘ave a nice long talk, jus’ th’ two o’ us.”

Juniper was being thrown around like a rag doll by a 2 year old as the ship was being blasted at. She grunted each time she knocked into something and frowned. She heard Ursa command “Plan Chicken” and Juniper’s eyes widened, unsure what she meant by that.

“What is plan chicken!?” she said, trying to be heard over the chaos of voices. She noticed Mac was staring at her and she began to worry. Suddenly though, the big screen in front of them lit up and indeed, just like Ursa shouted, the ‘person’ on the other side looked like a giant mechanical bug… thing. But as Ursa spoke to try and buy her way out of the situation, the bug dude began… hitting? On Ursa.

Juniper stared at the captain and then at Ursa with a blank expression as first, and then had to bite down on her lip to hold back a bought of unexpected laughter. For the record, Juniper didn’t know what kind of beings Ursa was into, but she figured it was less bug, and more…. Cowboy. She smirked slightly, hiding it with a cough into her hand. So far, despite the ship having been blasted at, things didn’t seem too alarming. But, that could change in an instant.

Emmett grew excited as he loved the plan chicken, he also knew it was one of Ursa’s favourite plans when they were in a tight spot. As Emmett started towards where he normally hides in case of emergencies, Emmett heard Ursa talking to someone but Emmett wasn’t sure who. He looked back in the room making sure to keep out of sight just in case, and to his surprise he saw the pirate Nafaerio-Vad. Emmett had heard from his fellow assassins about a Mechanical Humanoid flying around stealing and killing from ships flying through this part of the galaxy. Emmett tried getting Ursa’s attention while maintaining his hidden position. Emmett had heard that Nafaerio was not one to be taken lightly, and not one to let people go unless it was in his best interest. Only way for them to get out alive is to hopefully be able to jump to hyperspace or take them head on.

Ursa crossed her legs, trying to get comfortable in the hot seat. The pirate captain was uglier than sin, and the fact he wanted to go to bootytown was really not what she was expecting. She gave an awkward smile, trying not to puke. She noticed Juniper trying not to laugh and she blushed three shades of pink. She then noted Emmett trying to get her attention. She nodded at him to hold on before she stood up and placed her hands on her bare hips. She kept her eyes on the screen but motioned towards Dill, snapping once before she pointed to Anna. They both nodded and Ursa put up an awkward smirk, “Well Mr Krabs, ain’t that an offer. I suppose I should be flattered that such a handsome bug man is interested in getting to know each other better, but I wasn’t offering ‘the goods’. No, I was offering kredits. MOOLAH! You know...the good ol green. I guess I didn’t explain myself fully, so let me reiterate. You let my ship go and I will send you 3 million kredits for payment. Hell I will even throw you some fuel and a favor for the future? Maybe even a few kredits for the crew. Hello fella’s! Any of you want to try some new employment? I am always looking for good workers. Now that is a good deal, a fair deal some would say. Seeming as you are in a disadvantage, you should be fucking grateful I am offering it.”

She looked over to Dill, before turning to Anna, tapping her legs. Anna held up her fist then brought up her hands to form a seven. The ship was still moving headfirst towards the pirate ship, the speed increasing to a high level, a worrisome level. Ursa remained calm, but also exhausted. She rubbed her eyes, not mentally prepared for what was about to happen, “So what do you say, we got a deal?”

Mac came in with a large bag and handed out the usual weapons to the crew before walking over to Juniper and Emmett, “Prepare yourself. Once he makes his decision this is going to go fast. Please god just let him take the fricking deal.”

Ursa stomped her foot and Takashi increased the speed, and she smiled up at the screen, moving back to her seat as she lifted her legs up and over the armrest, “Times running out for you to choose what route you wanna take. Our ship is moving at top speed towards your vessel, and we ain’t slowing down anytime soon. So best be quick with that response, Mr Krabs. Time is running out.”

Chortling Nafaerio pretended to ponder this alternative deal over, all the while watching the Ranger hurtle ever closer. He was really starting to like this girl, her brash confidence and defiant nature was almost as attractive as her looks, and whether she was willing or not he was determined to have her. Waving a mechanical hand he brushed off her offers of money and gifts, and even her subliminal threats. “Hark m’girl, I don’ go into nothin’ at a disadvantage no ways, no how. And three million kredits? Fuck off, that’s pocket change to me. Now let's make this nice an’ easy, and everyone will get along jus’ fine. Turn me ship you’ve got there over to my custody, surrender yer crew to my protection, and discontinue your forward momentum before you scratch me pretty fish and end up smashed like a soda can against me windshield.” Turning in his chair Nafaerio signaled to his crew operating the cruiser’s controls. “Extra power to the forward impact shields, sublight engines full speed ahead, and tractor beams away.” Twisting his bulbous head towards Ursa Cooper the dread pirate grinned, in all his malicious glory. “But please don’t, I’d prefer to ‘ave a little fun. All hands brace for impact!”

“Ursa…” Jean muttered, his knuckles growing white around the joysticks the operated the turret. “What are we doing?” He didn’t like the sound of ‘plan chicken’, nor the direction it seemed to be going. The pirate cruiser was growing very large, very fast to everyone on the bridge and seemed to have no intention of halting or changing course in the slightest. Standing from his battlestation Jean began to inch up behind Anna, his dark eyes flashing from Nafaerio’s vicious grin, to Ursa’s concerned expression, and lastly to the controls that Anna clutched.

When the pirate didn’t bother to accept the offer, Juniper watched as Jean grew more concerned. Her eyes moved to rest on the forward windshield and she shook her head, a pit growing in her stomach. She considered changing into something smaller that might have a higher chance at survival, but was unsure still, so hesitated. “This really isn’t how I pictured my life at all…” she muttered.

Ursa kept her eyes on the screen, watching Nefaerio with an exhausted expression, “Alright. Well I can’t say I am happy about your answer Mr. Krabs. Let me be honest in saying I sincerely didn’t want to have to fight you right now. Anyway...prepare to die...blah blah blah..let’s get on with this. Dill cut the line.”

Nafaerio was halfway through saying something when the line was cut and Ursa sat up, looking over at Takashi, “You heard him. Increase the speed.”

She then turned to look at Jean, her expression calm, “Relax..I’m Ursa Cooper..greatest smuggler in the seven galaxies..yada yada yada..I’m great...yada yada yada...I have been doing this for ten years...yada yada yada... honestly I am too tired for assurances. So let me be frank, I am rich as hell and have spent almost all of my first couple million kredits on two things. One is the badass sound system and a music playlist so awesome that I could have a dance party at any moment and the second is ship alterations. So have some faith and watch me kick some bug ass.”

Ursa walked over to Emmett, and lit a cigarette, her movements slow, “So you wanted to say something. Make it quick..because you know as fast as I do how ‘Plan Chicken’ works?”

Mac shook his head, moving to Juniper and handing her a weapon before moving over to Damian and Jean, “Alright. So let you in a bit cowboy, on the STUPIDEST plan ever created.”

Ursa turned to Mac and flipped him the bird as she talked with Emmett.

Mac shook his head, “Alright. So when we get to about a hundred clicks, we are gonna drop, and I am not talking about the beat. When we drop, we are going to flip and shoot. Just shoot at whatever you can when we get into the underbelly of that beast. Everyone knows that when shields are up there is usually at least a few week spots. Anna found seven. The targets are...here.”

He pointed to seven spots in the undercarriage of a holographic ship that mirrored Nefaerio’s. He stopped then pulled back, “We need to destroy at least 5 of the 7 to get through his shield. The gunners are going to be on full alert...but apparently they are going to be busy with an oversized robot chicken that will be holographically projected on the surface of their ship. We have been shooting moving floating camera’s with cloaking devices on them that will move to appropriate locations in order to project this visual image which will hopefully give us time to destroy the shield and get onto that ship where we will...perhaps be able to beat the captain and steal his fuel. Sounds like a plan?”

Chewing on his lower lip Jean gave the slightest shake of his head. “No actually, that doesn't sound like a plan, it sounds to me like a desperate ploy that ain’t gonna work… - An’ I love it!” The rough rider had undergone several similar insane strategies in his past, which usually involved walking into an impossible situation and using wits and guts to survive. The knowledge that they were not actually playing a interstellar game of chicken gave a serious boost to Jean’s moral.

Ursa gave the cowboy a warm smile, happy that someone realized her plans were cool! She pulled out some neon green sunglasses to amplify that fact and put them on her face, “I know. I’m a genius.”

She turned to Dill, “Track 82 Dill!”

Dill shook his head, “I should have stayed in college!”

Suddenly the classic Beastie Boys jam, “Intergalactic” erupted from the ships speakers.

Emmett listened to Ursa’s plan on destroying the ship from underneath, but was still skeptical about this plan working. Track 82 started playing and Emmett knew that this was one of Ursa’s favourites but was only played on special occasions like a space battle. Emmett went to his battle station and got ready to help destroy the seven spots from underneath, he entered the gun mount and waited for the right moment to fire. Emmett didn’t have the best success when it came to the mounted turrets but he always had decent accuracy. Emmett has been in a few battles with Ursa and they seem to always work out one way or another, that’s why Emmett followed her orders when it came to the plans that she created. As the ship started to move faster all Emmett could hear was Intergalactic by the Beastie boys playing over the ships PA. Emmett never understood her liking for the band but never complained; it seemed decent just not his cup of tea.

Aboard the Gorefill Nafaerio was in high spirits and clunked to the forward end of the bridge eagerly awaiting the oncoming maneuver he was about to witness. Yes, he expected Ursa to pull away. His own ship could handle the impact, suffering only major damage and lives lost, which could all be repaired in time. The smaller freighter on the other hand would be demolished and all aboard killed. No, a fiery girl like Ursa would pull something spectacular, and Nafaerio couldn’t wait to see it. “C’mon fishy fishy.” He growled motioning towards the Ranger. He could nearly see the faces of those on the opposing bridge, moving about and conversing. Soon they would all be prisoners, destined to a life of forced service in the growing Bobian army. Almost all anyway, Ursa would be serving a different task. “Make this chase easy my little fish, take th’ bait, hook line and sinker…”

Watching the ship come closer at the pace it was, Juniper’s instincts kicked in despite having not made the decision to shift. Her body began to change and transform like it had many times before, into one of her most favorite creatures when in need of hiding. A small shrew, the same form as when she originally hopped a ride onto Ursa’s ship. This time, instead of hiding under or behind something, she scurried over toward Ursa and climbed up and onto her lap. Her dark black eyes stared at Ursa’s face, which seemed fairly confident, but the look might not portray what she truly felt inside.

Ursa’s focus was away from Emmett and currently was on the large ship in front of her. She stalled as best she could so that the ships would collide by around the time the track wound down to around two minutes and thirty seconds. She took these lasting minutes to think how she could perhaps try to get out of this fight and back to bed. She could sacrifice the crew but she assumed the survivors would mutiny so that was out. She also would miss them, so she figured that she would probably have to fight. Which was basically suicide in her condition. She dug into the pocket of her denim jacket to pull out two adrenaline shots. She could already feel her energy draining her, the body becoming heavy after a long day. Suddenly her thoughts were pushed away when she noticed a small shrew crawl up her leg. She knew it was Juniper and pushed up her glasses, placing her hand beside her legs so she could hop onto her hand. When Juniper did, Ursa brought her up to face level and smiled, “Hmmm….I forgot you can do that. Stay that way for a bit. You just gave me an idea.”

She opened the front pocket of her jacket and let Juniper crawl into it so her head could pop out at any time. She then shoved the lid of one of the adrenaline needles into her mouth so she could pull it off. She spit it out of the way then shoved the needle into her skin, biting her lip before she jumped up and headed towards Takashi’s chair so she could see out the window. Naefario’s bridge was getting closer, the engines grinding as the beat of the song got louder. Anna screamed out, “Cutting gravity. 100 clicks!”

Suddenly anyone and anything that wasn’t belted down started to float in the air. Ursa floated up slightly but she held her body down and vertical by Takashi’s chair. Naefario’s bridge was now fully visible and Ursa gave him an awkward wave before she screamed out, “Alright guys! Get ready AND listen to DJ ADROCK who knows WHEN TO LET THE BEAT….MMMMM Drop!”

Suddenly the engines were cut off and Ursa gave Naefario the classic “Fuck you” finger gesture before the ship dropped down into empty space. Ursa flipped right off her feet rolling around into the air as she hollered out, “DILL! Send the chicken!”

The camera’s turned on when suddenly a ginormous meteor sized chicken with a red laser eye, razor sharp teeth and metal claws started to peck and squawk at Naefario’s ship. Ursa finally gained some control and crossed her legs in mid-air, “Alright. We got about ten minutes to break those shields then a small group of us will board the ship. I’ll stay here and go to sleep, so you can tell me how it goes..”

The crew suddenly looked at her with a few disgusted expressions and she shrugged, “I’M KIDDING!! Of course I’m coming.”

She inwardly sighed, wishing she was just the cabin girl who could go hide in the potato bin while she whispered to shrew Juniper, “I really wasn’t…”

Suddenly the engines turned on and the gravity was back. Ursa fell onto her captain’s chair as Takashi pushed forward under Naefario’s ship, forcing their own vessel to face up while Mac and Damian sent large plasma blasts towards two weak points.

Jean jerked on the command station’s control, bringing the aft cannon about so that it was aiming for the pirate ship’s underbelly. The cannon was a small auto firing one, more likely used for shooting down snub fighter or pursuit craft rather than large cruisers. Nevertheless he sighted in on the screen, adding extra power to the weapon’s energy cells to coil up for an extra powerful burst. “Underway!” He cried pushing down on the safety and fire simultaneously.

A jet of red plasma rocketed from the turret’s guns arcing in a predetermined path straight into the pirate’s shields. They held momentarily before a few shots punched through, slamming into the armored hull and sending tiny melted shards fizzling into space. “Yeeehaw!” Jean rotated the turret once more, sighting in on another weak spot. “That’s three down, four left to burn!”

As plan chicken began Emmett held his ground as he knew it would be a rough ride. When Ursa gave the mark both Emmett and Jean started firing destroying the weak spots on the ship. As the cannons were blowing up inside the shield Emmett noticed he was starting to have fun with it, Emmett knew that once the shields were down it would be his turn to take the lead on entering the ship as he was the best they had with doing things stealthily he was an assassin after all.

After they had destroyed the ship Emmett spoke to Ursa. "Ursa once we connect to his ship i will take off on my own inside with your permission of course. I have a plan that just might work but I will need help from you guys. If you can keep Naefario busy I can sabotage his ship so that if he tries to follow it will blow up in his face. Once I do we can just take off and not have to deal with him. How do you feel about that plan" As Emmett waited for her reply he thought about how he would complete the mission, would he sabotage the thrusters or simply just rewrite the coding to the ships mainframe from a different room. The only thing that would be the most troubling for Emmett is if the ship is different then the average ship and nothing that he could do would work.

After Ursa gave him her answer he went to get his coat that he normally wears as well as putting on his hidden weapons and his trusty sidearms.

Ursa stood up from her captain's chair and moved over to see Jean, Emmett, Damian and Mac destroy the weak points to the ship's lower hull. They were working quickly but Ursa doubted that the holographic chicken would keep Naefario busy for long. She turned to Emmett after he talked to her about his plan, giving him an awkward smile when he asked for her permission and help. Emmett was a highly trained assassin and she felt honoured that he was taking her seriously. She rubbed her mouth before speaking, "Sounds like a plan Emmett, but with one exception. Damian and Kira will need to smuggle around eight barrel's of fuel before we can be able to get out of here quick enough."

She turned to Damian, "You best go prepare Kira for travel and when you get on that ship stay in touch with me and Emmett through coms. I won't be able to respond if we are in combat but update me when you are off that ship so that we can get the hell out of dodge." Damian nodded, "I will go grab Kira and meet you at the ramp." He exited the room, turning on his com so that only Ursa could hear him, "I assume you also want us to smuggle out a few pirate treasures as well eh?" Ursa smiled beneath her sunglasses, speaking to both the crew in front of her and to Damian in her ear, "If we want to get through this we have to play it safe. I wouldn't want anyone to leave the ship without their one most valued treasure. Their lives.So everyone who isn't a crew member grab a com from the drawer to the left so we can stay in touch. "

Mac kept his eyes on shooting but he let out a smile, a relief knowing that Ursa was still the greedy smuggler willing to risk it all for the kredits. Damian spoke through the coms, "Our most valued treasure. How sentimental Cap-i-tan! Take it all...what a shock."

Ursa walked over to the pile of weapons and grabbed out a large plasma gun which she strapped to her back and a few knives which she strapped to her leg, arm and belt. She spoke up while she was doing this, "Alright. So as for the rest of my crew, Mac, you and I head out to the ship and take on Mr Krabs. Anna and Takashi you stay on board and keep the flight crew busy. With this big of a ship, you are going to need to take out a few of their guns before we would be safe enough to get away. Juniper..or shrew-Jun! You might be useful in getting into the ship so you can hang with me or stay on board. It's your choice?"

She then looked over to the cowboy, "As for you Mr. Wylder you can choose to either help Emmett in sabotaging the ship, staying on board to take down those guns or you can come on board with my group to take down the captain? Your choice, just make it quick."

Suddenly the last weak spot was hit and the shield fell apart, making Takashi move at full burn towards the back end of the ship.

The sheriff hesitated for only the briefest of moments before he made his decision. “Tell ya th’ truth, I’m thinking I’ll stay aboard an’ keep blastin’ those cannons. I ain’t th’ sneaky type, not my style, so I wouldn’ be ‘elping you nor Emmett none, an’ I ain’t a looter. Wot I’m good at is shootin’ an’ brawling, so ya c’n count on me to ensure none of em scampin’ two-faced larva-bait pirates come aboard an’ take over while yer off gallivanting through th’ corsair’s halls. I’ll remain here, hold th’ fort down, create a perimeter, an’ perform operation control, y’know police shit.” Jean tipped his hat to the Ursa, just as the final shielding crumpled away.

“Best of luck to ya Miz Cooper, an’ if y’all get in a spot of trouble just holler for reinforcements. I’ll come storm th’ place.”

---

Chaos reigned on the pirate bridge as numerous laser volleys tore through the oversized fowl that now dominated the ship’s prow. One of the blasts got lucky, hitting one of camouflaged cameras creating a one-legged giant chicken preforming its name-sake dance in outer space. It was quite traumatizing for some of the more avian races amongst the crew, one of which fainted dead away. Though, perhaps that might’ve been due to Nafaerio’s metallic fist slamming into anyone nearby in an attempt to regain order throughout the startled crew. His dominating voice rose loud over the ensemble of shrieking and squawking and gurgling and he stood tall atop the edge back rest of his durasteel throne, his massive hand clutching the throat of the unconscious avian pirate he’d knocked out.

“Quiet, quiet th’ lot of ye! Silence I say, tis nothing more than a hologram, see yer shots go straight through. Be quiet before I flay ye all wit’ th’ cat-O-nine-tails ye gibbering, pathetic pack O’ curdled swine!” It took some time before the crew calmed to the point where Nafaerio could make sense of the situation, behind him the massive bird continued doing a very offensive chicken dance, one of its legs still missing. “Targeting, where be th’ little smuggler craft? Did they try’n jump to hyperspace?”

“Er, Cap’n, yer holding th’ poor chap by th’ throat.”

Nafaerio glanced down at the strangled crew member he was holding, releasing a growl of annoyance as he tossed the corpse away. “Hell be damned, one O’ ye scabs who knows how to operate his station scurry up here and do a fucking scan!”

“Aye, aye Cap’n.” A little weasely creature with yellow fur and absurd bulbous eyes scurried up and pressed a few buttons on the command board. After a few seconds of silence he scratched his head, looking nervous. “Eh, they be right below our hull-line Cap’n, off our aft.”

“What in th’ name of Zagggith are they doin’ there?”

“Boardin’ Cap’n…”

For a moment Nafaerio looked stunned, unable to fully grasp the Targeting’s words. He slumped back into his throne, stroking his chin, one eye locked on the dancing chicken as if interpreting its dance to be more meaningful than it was. “Tricky… Tricky little fish.” He murmured, ignoring his stunned crew who sat about, clutching their barbaric weaponry awaiting their despot’s orders. Curling one of his dreads around a cybernetic finger Nafaerio stood, turning on a heel and marching from the bridge. “Targeting, I don’ care wot yer name is, you’re in charge. Set up a defense an’ try to capture th’ enemy ship, and set guards to protect my bridge.”

The little yellow creature looked thrilled, his small chest puffed out as he stood a little straighter, gloating over his once peers. “Aye Cap’n, at once Cap’n, won’t fail ye Cap’n. Say… Where ye off to Cap’n?”

“Engineering.” Nafaerio snapped, before vanishing out the door.

A large number of pirates patroled in groups of three to five, prowling about the cruiser’s halls, guns at the ready. Another force numbering twenty and three rushed immediately to the rear of the ship, intent on boarding and capturing the Ranger. Meanwhile the cruiser’s main crew, about ten in total along with another eight guards protected the bridge, weapons bristling from every hand, tentacle, and claw. They maintained the anti-slip-space field, and kept the cruiser’s weapons ready to fire should the Ranger attempt an escape.
Nafaerio was nowhere to be seen…

From inside the little pocket, Juniper listened and poked her head out to watch the commotion going on around her and Ursa. Her little eyes squinted just slightly and she listened as Ursa called out the plans to everyone. She then suggested one option and another to Juniper, and she listened curiously at the two. She looked up at Ursa again, tilting her head to the side and then clung on with her little claws a bit tighter to her shirt. She nodded to signify she would stay with Ursa, figuring she could be of some use on board the pirates vessel.

Suddenly the shields were blown apart and the back end of the pirate ship was available. Takashi moved the Ranger in that direction, and Juniper began to prepare herself for whatever she might need to do.

Ursa listened to Jean and nodded, slightly relieved that he wouldn't be in the line of direct danger. She spoke before she could read too much into her own emotions, "Sounds like a plan. Takashi is staying on board as well so follow his directions and if my ship takes on damage because of your choices. Might as well empty your chequebooks because I ain't paying for it. And you Jun?"

She looked down and watched as the small girl/creature nodded and Ursa crumpled slightly, "Eeee...That was the cutest submission to dangerous actions I have ever seen. My cold greedy heart can't take it."

She suddenly saw that the shields were down and she gave one last look towards Takashi, Anna and then Jean, "Alright...Well, goodbye..and if I die too, play track 72. Austa Bitches!"

She turned around quickly turning to Mac who handed a spare com to her for Juniper for later and then to Emmett who was all geared up to go. Ursa headed out the door without looking back towards the main cargo bay of her ship. Mac ran up beside her and whispered at her, "Ursa are you physically able to do this?"

Ursa looked up at, "Of course I can! I feel great!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

She gave him an idiotic look, "No! IM NOT SERIOUS! Are you kidding, look at me. Hell no I can't do this in my state. I want to pass out, take enough meds to block out the pain and cry like a baby, but I'm here and I know what I am doing..so don't get soft on me. Buck up and focus on what you need to do. We worry about my bruises when we make it through this. Got it."

Mac gave her a nod in understanding before he cracked his neck, holding out his fist to her with a smirk. She laughed before pounding it like they always did before a job. Mac suddenly started to focus, one of his eyes turning red as he started to check his circuitry, preparing for battle. Ursa let him proceed as she waved over to Damian and Kira who were waiting near the loading dock with two duffle bags at their feet. Ursa picked up a bag by Kira who was wearing nothing but a small tank top and shorts. She was chewing some gum and nodded at Ursa and Mac, "So we barraging through?"

Ursa nodded, "Emmett we will need you to help us with the oncoming crew when we first enter but when you find a moment to separate, do it. Kira Damian same with you two. Dill, you connected."

Dill spoke up through everyone's coms, "All connected Capitan. We going with the playlist?"

Damian started to hand out some small Krell earpieces to Emmett, Kira, Mac and Ursa who placed it behind her right ear by her com. She tapped it once and it materialized into a mask that protected the wearer from air pressure change, oxygen toxification and provided air supply for a small amount of time. Ursa tapped it off and looked down at Shrew Jun, "Seems like out best bet Dill. Be ready on my command. Now Jun we don't have a mask that can fit you in that form so climb up the back of my neck so that you can fit in mine."

Suddenly the ship jarred and Takashi spoke throught the coms, "Alright guys We are on the back end of their cargo hold. Opening the airlock in 5. Be ready with the bombs." Ursa tapped her com, "Roger that Takashi. Keep the ship steady until we enter then boot it."

Suddenly the inner airlock started to open in response and Ursa let out a breath. When Juniper moved to the back of her neck she tapped her helmet and turned to Kira, "Heard there was a full moon on Sorta right about now."

Kira gave a wolfish smile before turning on her helmet, "Full moons always make me hungry."

Ursa pulled out her plasma gun as the door sealed behind them and the outer door began to open, "Well then..hope you like take out. Everyone hold on."

As the door opened Ursa shoved her foot into a small hook in the ground as her body lifted off the floor due to lack of gravity. She smirked behind her mask as she let out three shots which hit Naefario's ship with a thud. Small greenish slime was sticking to the yellowish black paint with small devices on it that were all simultaneously counting down to five. It wasn't long before it hit zero and three large explosions filled the black skies. Ursa and the crew were pushed back slightly when suddenly items within the ship's cargo bay began to fly out into space. Including a few of the crew members. Mac grabbed a metal rope and ran head first out of the ship, before throwing another device on the edge of the ship's opening. Before he was drifting out to space he hit a button and the device pulled his arm and leg towards the ship. When he reached the edge he tied the rope to a latch off to the side of the hole and tapped his com, "Magnet gone. Rope secure. Move it."

Ursa pushed Emmett, Kira and Damian out first before she grabbed the rope and shimmied onto the ship, all whilst trying to dodge cargo and slamming into Damian's butt. When they reached the other side, Mac was already at work creating another rope towards the airlock door. When he reached the panel he went to work on the keypad, pulling away the front cover to expose the wire to the door beneath it. Damian came up behind him and held on as he began to re-work the wires. After a few minutes of trying the door opened and Mac pushed everyone through before climbing in and slamming the door shut. Ursa, Kira and Damian all helped to shut the door, there bodies all hitting the ground when the airlock was finally sealed. The crew was now in a dark hallway. Ursa tapped her helmet off before she turned to everyone, "Alright Takashi we are in. Give em hell cowboy!"

Kira tapped her own helmet off, her wolf ears perking up as she looked down the empty hallway, "Footsteps..We got about twenty or so men headed this way."

Ursa gulped before pulling out her guns and taking a deep breath the footsteps drawing nearer, "I HAVE NO WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. JUST DON'T DIE OR I WILL KILL YOU!"

Suddenly Kira let out a wicked howl, her eyes going full red as her body started to morph and change into that of a large mutated red dire wolf. She let out a snarl that sent fear even down Ursa's neck when suddenly the first wave of crewmembers came upon them. As the crew ran forward Ursa leaned down onto her knee and hit three of the camera's with precise accuracy before she stood letting forth a barrage of shots towards her enemy.

Over the communications link it sounded like all Hell broke loose between the smugglers and pirates. Gritting his teeth Jean attempted to discern the voices of his allies over the chaos. Screams and laser bolts intermingled in a rising cacophony of sound as the two sides clashed, making comprehensible conversation nearly impossible between Jean and those boarding. Swiveling his gunners chair Jean brought up a command data display, pressing a few buttons on the touch screens. He was all business in a moment and his hands flew across the board with practiced ease. “Takashi, send me th’ scans we got on th’ cruiser. I’m settin’ up a tactical overlay. Ursa’s going to need some fire support, I think we might’ve underestimated just how many pirates are nested up in there.”

Takashi looked concerned by this reasoning but flipped a switch sending the information requested to Jean’s station. A holographic image appeared levitating several inches above Jean's screen. It was a rough blue outline of the enemy ship, showing all known locations. Tiny green dots flashed in the rear, demonstrating the current positions of Ursa’s boarding team while larger red triangles showed the estimated location of the pirates engaging them. They wiggled back and forth across the hologram in what Jean could only imagine was an intense firefight. Tapping his com link Jean spoke to Ursa and her team, a hard note in his usually devil-may-fly tone. “Miz Cooper, I’ve got an estimation on th’ blackguards placement. I’m’a gonna see if I c’n thin th’ herd for ya. Y’all keep a healthy distance now and turn your helmets back on. It’s about to get chilly up in there.” Shrinking the holographic display Jean scooped the lines of blue code into his hands and fitted them right into the gunner optics and fire controls. The Ranger’s main gun shuddered, sighting on a particular spot along the pirate vessel’s hull. Flipping a few more switches Jean set the modifications Armor Piercing, Low Power, and Non-Explosive to the weapon system. He didn’t want to accidently fry any friendlies. Giving everything one last check Jean powered up the weapon and lifted the safety. “Underway.” He laughed, squeezing the trigger.

Aboard the Gorefill the would-be boarding team fell back at first at the ferocity their smuggler counterparts displayed. Two aliens went down clutching bloody wounds while their comrades attempted to rally. It soon became apparent however that one side firmly outnumbered the other. Taking up covered positions the pirates reclaimed fire superiority, hemming in on their foe. Another was felled, this time by a headshot slaying her instantly, but she was soon avenged by the suppressing fire, pinning her killer’s head down. The pirates were experienced combatants, the veterans of dozens of firefights. Not even the skilled viciousness of the likes of Ursa, Mac, or Kira could waylay them for long. Grinning they advanced, slowly, meticulously breaking down the simple defenses that kept their opponents alive. Chipping away at any breathing space still afforded to the smugglers. One pirate stalled in his shooting, drawing out an incendiary grenade.

“Cover me Cajiji.” He snarled through his gold plated teeth, his puffy fingers pressing the buttons activating the grenade. “Lookers ter me fired smuggler be on th’ menu.” He rose, his friend Cajiji releasing a particularly nasty volley towards Ursa. Pulling back his arm the pirate made ready to burn her alive when a burning red bolt of pure energy tore through time and space disintegrating him in and instant, leaving only a crispy red haze and a momentarily floating arm clutching the incendiary grenade. Cajiji looked shocked, his bulbous jaw hanging wide open as several things happened all at once.

The incendiary exploded sending purple chemical flames rippling across the assembled pirates. Three more red bolts from the Ranger’s main armament punched their way through the pirate ship’s hull and into its crew’s ranks, frying anything in their path. A mighty whoosh lifted the burning pirates off their feet as all the oxygen attempted to escape through the four fist sized holes that were now very much present. In a moment they were clogged by the bodies of the dead restoring some pressure to the compromised bay, though ice was still collecting along the walls and across the hands and toes of those still living.

All in all it caused quite a bit of chaos amongst the six remaining pirates.

Gurgling in horror they attempted to restore their fire superiority on the enemy, but with their considerable losses and the purple flames burning all around them, not to mention the growing sheet of ice it seemed a lost cause to even the most optimistic among them.

Jean held off releasing a second volley, instead pressing the transmit tab on his command station. “Yeehaw, I bet that ticked off a few of them. Tell me true Miz Ursa, ‘ow many of th’ scoundrels did I peg?”

As everyone readied them selves for the boarding, Emmett could hear the blasting from Jean taking out the aliens but not only that. As Emmett was ready to move Kira let out a wicked howl, her eyes going full red as her body started to morph and change into that of a large mutated red dire wolf. Emmett knew Kira but never saw her in her wolf form it was new to him. The howl seemed to not only scare him but all the fellow ship mates also.

Emmett let Ursa and the crew members go first as he had his plan to follow once he was done helping Ursa. As the crew ran forward Ursa leaned down onto her knee and hit three of the camera's with precise accuracy before she stood letting forth a barrage of shots towards her enemy. Emmett was watching the battle field as it wasn't in his best interest to go in randomly. Emmett knew he had to also make his shots precise. As three more enemies came around the corner Emmett flicked his left wrist forward and took out the enemies using his trusty hidden Remington 1866. Looking over to Ursa as she is starting to stand back up " so what exactly do you need my help with? you seem like you have this under control. Oh that's where you went Juniper, this is a little to dangerous for you don't you think?.. Ursa don't push your self to hard and remember tell me if you need me to cover your ass as usual" Emmett said with a quick chuckle

Juniper clung onto the back of Ursa's helmet as she moved and crouched around. Her claws held her in place, and she breathed quietly the false oxygen from the mask. She wanted to help but knew she didn't have her own helmet to help her breathe in case of some emergency. She looked out of the mask at the pirates that were coming their way, and she could suddenly hear Jean speak through the com. He made his plan to help destroy some of the pirates clear, and told them to stay back while he did so.

Shortly after announcing his plan, Juniper watched as a blast was fired inside of the ship, almost quite literally disintegrating the pirates in its way. After that explosion, another explosion happened from a grenade that had been triggered just prior. Purple flames engulfed the area, killing off a few more of their foes. Though only to be immediately followed by three more blasts. Though this time, the pressure released from the area. Juniper's eyes widened, staring as bodies were lifted and sucked toward the holes, blocking them for the moment. But as she squinted, she could see the ice creeping steadily along the walls and people around.

"We need to keep going! It's not safe to stay here or we'll all freeze..." Juniper thought, and tried to speak her mind, though the sound came out as frantic squeaking next to Ursa's ear. In that moment also, she realized that Emmett had also spoken to her before the attack. He had mentioned he thought this mission was too dangerous for her, and she narrowed her eyes stubbornly.

Jean's voice broke through her stubborn glare, and he asked Ursa how many he had gotten rid of for them. As Juniper waited for Ursa's response, she looked out the mask again frantically. She was no use being in here. Not like she would be much use out there either, but maybe another set of hands would be better than a set of tiny paws. In that moment Juniper took a deep breath and crawled down out of Ursa's helmet mask, holding her breath while she jumped to the floor. The air was ice cold, and she shivered hard in response, though her fur would normally have kept her fairly warm. She immediately began to shift into her human form, and all the while holding the now stale air in her lungs. She would die for sure if she didn't find a mask of some kind with oxygen to help her breathe. Panic began to show on her face as she looked around at the dead bodies for something that might be of use, or even some sort of equipment on the wall she could use.

Finally her eyes came to rest on one of the poor pirate creatures who seemed to need to use a helmet to breathe, and Juniper scrambled over to her. The floor was beginning to get slippery due to the ice and her fingers were cold as ice crept up around the tips. With shaky hands, she tugged a few times on the helmet until it came off. There was blood splattered on the outside eyepiece and she wanted to frown but had no time to even care. She stuck the helmet on over her head and hoped and prayed it would work. She felt around on the outside for something that would tighten and secure the helmet, and activate the oxygen. When she did she clicked it and without even waiting to know for sure if it would work, she opened her mouth and dragged in a huge lungful of air.

Immediately Juniper was relieved and she took a few more deep breaths, then paced her breathing. She wasn't sure how this helmet fully worked. It was possible that it filtered the air, or lack of inside the helmet and rotated it through, since she couldn't see anything that held oxygen. She had no idea nonetheless, and realized she didn't have her own com. It would be difficult to communicate without one, but she looked over at Mac, who tossed her a little black earpiece. She quickly put it on and replaced the helmet, and gave a thumbs up to thank him.

"Anyway, as I was trying to say earlier Ursa... We have to keep going or we're all going to freeze!"

There were still some pirates waiting there, but at this point, most if not all of them looked discouraged.

Ursa turned to Emmett with a weary expression, "I appreciate the care Emmett, but we are covering you. Now get the fuck out of here and destroy this fucking ship." Her frown turned into a small smile, "And keep your eyes away from my ass. I'll watch out for Juniper. NOW GO!"

Ursa ran forward pulling out her Beretta's each set with an infinity core that made running out of bullets a matter of the past. They were beautifully designed to resemble the Earth replica's and cost Ursa half of her life savings. Well, they would of if it weren't for Ebenezer Morlox a wealthy CEO on the Trethor planet whose stolen kredit card paid for the 'betties.' She let out a scream,"ALRIGHT YOU VOGON BUTT MAGGOTS! TASTE THE FIRE!!!!"

She let out a barrage of bullets covering Kira whose body slammed forward into the crowd tearing and clawing apart any pirate who dared to come near. Mac was also in full burn, his skin glinting metallic as his one eye glowed a vibrant blue. He shot out energy blasts from his palms, whilst smashing and punching through the crowd as if they weighed nothing more then ants. He laughed, "TASTE THE FIRE! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF FIGHTING QUOTE IS THAT! NO THIS IS HOW IT IS DONE,' TASTE MY PLASMA CANNONS YOU VOGON NOSE NUGGETS!'"

Ursa rolled her eyes as Damian spoke up, whilst he was cutting through pirates with a deft grace,"YOU ARE BOTH IDIOTS! IT'S TASTE MY BLADES YOU VOGON EAR LEECHES!!"

Dill chirped in after through the com's, "YOU ARE ALL WRONG! IT'S TASTE MY HACKING YOU SON OF A VOGON ASS MAGGOT!!!" Ursa's bullets skated past the group whilst Juniper seemed to be holding on for dear life. She shouted into the coms, "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! WHY DID WE HAVE TO BRING THE VOGONS INTO THIS! JESUS! WHY CAN'T I EVER JUST HAVE A COOL MOMENT!!!!!"

After a few moments, Ursa pulled away from her group, slightly behind to cover for her team. Her aim was superb, allowing most of her crew to fight without worry if someone was coming to take aim at the back. At first, this technique was working and the group had the upper hand allowing Emmet some time to escape through but then a fresh wave of new enemies rushed forward, better trained than the first group and these guys brought the fire. Ursa grit her teeth, her shots more aggressive with the new enemy as a few pirates broke through the crowd towards her as she was covering Damian. She reared her gun over taking down two pirates but not the third who got right up in her face with a harsh sucker punch before he slammed down into her with a rusty knife. Ursa hit the floor hard barely time to think before she let out a shot into his kneecap, making him fall to the side but not before he slammed the knife into her leg. Ursa let out a savage scream of pain before she heard Mac scream, "URSA.. COVER KIRA!!!!"

Ursa grit her teeth, agonizing pain ripping through her as she pulled out the knife, "OW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE THE LEGS. I ALWAYS GET STABBED IN THE FUCKING LEGS!!!" Her jeans started running a shade of red as she stood slowly and shot her attacker in the neck. When she found her balance she stood up and let forth a clean headshot into a female pirates head just before she was about to burn Kira to bits, before she hit the deck a barrage of bullets keeping her head down behind a dead pirate with a slightly large ass. Before she could think of what to do, Jean was on the coms and she listened, her body wavering as she tried to put weight on her already wounded leg, "Alright Jean. We hear you. OKAY EVERYONE PULL BACK AND PUT ON YOUR HELMETS! I..FUCK!!!"

Suddenly a barrage of plasma bullets went her way. She dropped to the ground quickly trying to find cover behind a dead pirate when suddenly she saw that one of the pirates was preparing a grenade. She took aim hoping to make the shot before he threw it but she knew she couldn't raise her head past the dead pirates ass too shoot with the other pirate keeping his gun on her. She turned her yellow eyes towards her soon to be killer and tried to comprehend that her life was about to end when almost humorously he disintegrated leaving the grenade at his and his comrade's feet. Ursa's eyes widened as she stood turning on her mask, "SON OF A VOGON'S ASS MAGGOT!!! RUN!!!!!!"

She ran as fast as she could away from the blast, along with her crew who turned on their masks and changed back to their normal form, already prepared by Jean's words when moments later the crew was thrown forward by the blast. Ursa let out a few ragged breaths her body sore as she watched the pirates scramble through the fire as their dead comrades began to fill the holes left behind by Jean's shots. Ursa moved to her knees shooting out the few remaining stragglers, before she leaned forward in thanks as Jean came onto the com's asking how much pirates he took out. She let out a hysterical giggle, "Enough to make me consider paying my taxes..you cops are soooo underpaid."

She suddenly noticed Juniper running off of her to snag a mask from a pirate. Mac tossed her a black com then gave her the thumbs when she was all set up. She suggested they head out seeming as this section of the ship was already turning straight to ice, and Ursa gave her a quick nod as a respone before she sucked in a painful breath, "You're right. Damian. Kira. You head towards the fuel hull. Juniper. Mac. We are going to the main control room. Emmett..we made it through the barrage, how much time do we have?"

She waited for an answer, as Damian and Kira headed out before she began standing up her eyes going cloudy. She wavered falling back onto the cold floor, "Shit..." Mac was there instantly, pulling out the duffle bag as he started to place some cloth around Ursa's leg and then some spare duct-tape. Ursa looked over at Juniper, her face pale and her breathing gaspy as she felt light-headed. Mac swore, "She's lost too much blood. Ursa we need to get you back to the ship."

Ursa shook her head, pulling...out another adrenaline needle. Mac stopped her hand, but she just gave him a look, "Don't." he said, before they stared each other down for a few minutes before she spoke evenly, "I'll be fine..I just need enough energy to get through this...whatever the outcome later." She pulled part of her jacket down her arm and stabbed herself in the arm, letting the energy fill her. She sat up instantly, letting out a few breaths before she turned looking past him at the dead pirates before her yellow eyes found a large overweight avian looking pirate who was very much dead, "Plus...I have an idea. Juniper...how is your acting?"

“I’d appreciate a raise.” Jean joked as he pressed a series of buttons on his dashboard. “Us Sheriff blokes don’t get the appreciation we deserve from th’ Federation community. Thing is though, I’m likely to be promoted to galactic director if I bag our buddy-ol’-pal Bobby an’ I won’t have to worry bout finances ne’er ‘gain. So keep your head in th’ game an’ don’t die on me. I heard wot Mac said, I don’t wanna have to come carry y’all out.”

The Ranger shuddered ever so slightly as the pirate cruiser drifted into it, causing the lights to flicker as extra power was directed to the shields. They held, but Jean didn’t like the grinding sound emanating from the ship’s stern. “Look,” he told Ursa, his voice growing more serious. “I’m impressive right, but even I can’t keep pulling stunts like that, the deeper y’all dive into the belly of th’ whale. The shielding and armor is just too much to punch through. So try not to engage th’ pirates in all out warfare again. If ya don’t mind that is, I prefer your pretty face in one piece.”


-----

Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor the five survivors of the original pirate score took to the figurative hills in something more akin to a rout then a fighting retreat. Tearing down the hallways at full tilt weaponry and honor abandoned they moved faster then they ever thought possible. Further along they came across a patrol of four others, who in voices of dismay realized these five were the only remainder of a much larger force. This understanding led to more than one pirate shaking in their boots at the idea of an enemy who could slaughter fifteen of their brothers in arms with ease. Moral considerably lowered the scheming pirates rearmed their compatriots and scattered about in hidden positions, preparing an ambush for the encroaching invaders. Fingers steady on triggers they waited on baited breath, watching for any movement to emerge around the corridor.

Emmett left towards the engine room. Once inside Emmett quietly moved through the ship staying in the shadows. As he moved towards he heard some scuffling of the aliens. Emmett made short work of the four Alliens that we’re moving past him towards the rest of the crew. Ursa’s voice came on the com “Emmett..we made it through the barrage, how much time do we have?" “I just need about 2 more minutes think you can hold on” Emmett replied to her Emmett knew he had to move fast. Now that he was in the engine room he knew there was only two wires he had to pull, but finding them would be the problem. After two minutes Emmett decided they weren’t worth finding he took out his gun and start shooting in the area he thought they would be until he could hear the engine failing now they wouldn’t be able to hit hyper speed. Once it started having issues Emmett evacuated the ship “okay were good they won’t be able to keep up with us now. Do what you need to do then let’s go”

Ursa leaned against the wall tapping her com as she listened to Jean. She blushed slightly at his pretty face comment, opening her mouth to respond with something smarmy, but all that came out was a high-tilted awkward giggle, “I’ll try to be more careful with my face in the future. I mean my whole body will be taken care of...I mean...yeah...I will be safe...Right-o! Yep...Super safe.”

She bit her bottom lip, leaning her head back against the wall, shaking her head in shame as she mouthed the word 'Idiot' to herself. Mac just shook his head, trying hard to suppress a laugh when suddenly the com's rang again.

Ursa turned serious again as she listened to Emmett and responded quickly, “I’m sure we can survive a few more minutes before I either freeze or bleed to death. Good job man. We will see you on the ship. If you can make sure the cargo bay is free from enemies in about twenty that would be awesome. If we don’t show up by then, go on without us. We died an agonizing and painful death. Just kidding. We will see you there. Hopefully.”

She turned to Juniper with a sly smirk waiting for her answer.

Juniper looked at Ursa as she asked how her acting was. Juniper’s neutral expression shifted to a smile and then she giggled, her expression turned smug. “I’m a political figure… My acting is phenomenal. What’s the plan?” She couldn’t help but continue to laugh a little more to herself at her comment, and then waited for Ursa to answer her.

Ursa smiled back at Juniper, always willing to appreciate a good joke when she pointed to a larger overweight pirate that lay half frozen on the ground, “Meet your case study. If you can change into him and copy his voice I think we can pull off getting into the control room and make sure that there is no way they can follow us.”

Mac shook his head, “They aren’t just going to let us walk in with him. You think that they are going to believe that that guy took me down?”

Ursa turned to look at him, “No. They won’t believe that...but they would believe that he took me down, with all my wounds...all we have to do is Edward Scissorhands them?”

Mac’s face blanked, “For fuck’s sake Ursa. You know I don’t get these stupid Mars references! What does that mean!”

Ursa guffawed, “How have you not seen Edward Scissorhands?”

Mac looked around, “NOT THE TIME TO ARGUE DEAD EARTH CULTURE URSA!”

Ursa was about to speak but she resisted and just replied back with, “Tim Burton be damned then...We are going to need your arm!”

Mac looked at Juniper then Ursa, “My what??”

Ursa slapped his arm, “This.”

He deadpanned, “That’s a joke. Right?”

She shook her head, “Nope. I know it detaches...but they don’t. I take it, cover it in blood and it looks as if you were ripped apart by those pirates. Then you follow us behind at a safe distance and when I give you a signal you help us escape. Then we hightail it towards the cargo hold and get the hell out. What do you say?”

Juniper looked down at the dead pirate. He was not her typical choice when it came to shifting, but it would do. Hopefully, she could get his voice well enough to be convincing since she didn’t hear him speak beforehand.

She turned then when Ursa and Mac started to argue about something she had never heard of before. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she just shrugged a little before turning back to the dead pirate. She focused then and began to shift into him. Her bones stretched and cracked into their new positions as everything else changed, including her clothing. By the time she was done, she was much taller than her normal form, and she turned to the others. She tried to picture what his voice might sound like and spoke up.

“Alright how’s this?” She said softly.

“Holy Guacamole! You look just like him. You fricken rock Juniper damn! I think he just had a bit more a grizzle in his voice.”

She waited for a response, before turning to Mac, shivering slightly, “See. Mac she’s going to kill it. Now give me your arm and try...try...shit...it’s cold...try to follow behind us. Here are my guns. If you see Naefario let me know immediately or if we look like we are in trouble do what you can to get these to me.”

Mac let out a breath closing his eyes before he adjusted his arm, clicking it into an unnatural position before pulling it off and handing it to Ursa, "You know Jerry would never do something as stupid as this."

He took her guns and holster, throwing them over his empty shoulder before Ursa leaned up and hugged him. She then leaned down and coated it in some blood that was on the verge of turning to ice. With the plan set, she walked over to large ghastly Juniper and gave ‘her’ a pat with Mac's arm, before she looked down at it, "Well I guess he never thought that you could be quite...handy!!!!"

She paused for dramatic effect then continued, "Alright Juniper. Now you’re going to have to be rough with me. We have to be fully into this and I need you to connect with me. Nothing is off the table. Now when we get in there I need you to throw me near the panel on the right. Not the left the right. It will be awkward but I will give you an opportunity, it just needs to feel realistic alright?”

She let out a breath before she tapped her com, “You all should have heard that. Dill listen close and make sure you are ready when I say to take over this thing. Takashi, Anne, and Jean be by the cargo bay in about twenty...Make sure my crew makes it out alright as priority! Damian. Kira. Keep me updated and if necessary do what you can to make it by the time I tell you to. Do your best to make your stay worth it though.”

She turned back to Juniper, “Alright...Ready?”

Juniper looked at Ursa who was instructing her on what she needed to do. She didn’t really want to throw her around but she knew she had to make it as realistic as possible. Ursa was already just so injured that it kind of made juniper sad. She nodded though.

“Throw you against the wall by the circuit board to the right. Got it. Anything else?” She asked. When she waited for her response, Juniper looked at Macs bloody arm. She stuck her tongue out and then smiled just slightly at the humour.

Mac stretched slightly, feeling slightly unbalanced as he watched Ursa take his arm. He turned to Juniper who stuck her/his tongue at Mac and he gave her an awkward slightly creeped out smile before Ursa nodded, “Nope that basically wraps it up. Now I just have to get into character… and then we go! Mac follows in ten. I will be loud enough so you can hear where we are going.”

Ursa let some of the weariness she had been repressing go and slumped forward gripping Mac’s arm tightly as she shut her eyes shaking violently, before whispering softly, “You killed him….” She changed her tone quickly, “YOU KILLED HIM!! YOU MONSTER!!! YOU BLOODY BASTARD! MAC...NO! LET ME GO YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! LET ME GO!!! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!!! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!”

Juniper watched as Ursa shifted into character. It was strange and made her chuckle a little to herself. To fit the bill, Juniper shifted her new, bigger body toward Ursa and grabbed her by her upper left arm. Juniper’s temporary body had decently big hands, which wrapped around the limb with ease. She shoved Ursa forward slightly, though not enough to actually injure or hurt her. “Shut your gab and keep walking…”

“YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!! YOUR WHOLE CREW WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE YOU LOUD OAF!!! YOU UGLY VOGON SLIME BUCKET!!!” Ursa howled as they walked forward. At a safe enough distance away she tapped the mask off of her face and tried to let go of her control. She didn’t have to pretend that every step was painful. It was, and when she rounded the corner, if not for Juniper’s grip she would have fallen face first into the ground. She tried to fight away from Juniper before she gave the crew the finger, “FUCK EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU HOSERS!!! YOU'RE LUCKY IM CAPTURED OR I WOULD DEADSHOT EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU A-HOLES!!!”

“Wow I suppose what they said about you is true. Shut it or someone might cut your tongue out.” Juniper said. As they continued on, a group of nine people came into view. She squinted her eyes slightly and turned her expression to one of annoyance. She made sure to keep Ursa up on her feet, knowing she was weak.

“Don’t shoot! It’s just me… I got her boys!” Juniper said. “I think the boss man would like to play with this little’un…” she smirked slightly.

The Ranger’s heavy cannons fired again, the red beams absorbed by the somewhat still functional shield of the pirate cruiser. Despite his lack of success against the shielding Jean grinned like a con man. “Your entire body is preferable, but the face is priority Miz Cooper. Oh, and the feet, don’t lose the feet, metal clunkers turn me, ah… Well never mind. All that matters is that you come back in as few pieces as possible. Let's just leave it at I’m neither king’s men nor his horse, and I can’t put you back together again.”

“I CAN! TAYLOR CAN PUT URSA BACK TOGETHER, USING ROBOT PARTS! I HOPE SHE LOOSES HER - HEAD SO I CAN REPLACE IT - WITH MINE! HAHAHAHAHA!” Jean winced as the whirling pink medical robot spoke directly into his ear. It’d snuck onto the bridge and was spinning a rather rusty looking circular saw like it fully intended to replace someone’s head. Shoving the suspiciously gleeful droid away Jean dug a finger into his ringing left ear, glaring daggers at the robotic medical assistant.

“You’ve got a few bats loose in yer software.” He muttered, “You, sit over there, away from me, AND GET THAT SAW AWAY FROM MY CROTCH, before I replace your head with a plasma crater. Not another word out of you, or I swear to all that’s holy I’ll end ya rightly.” Ensuring the bot was a sufficient distance away and silent, Jean fired the lasers again, ripping off a random bit of durasteel on the pirate hull. This one sparked and crackled with intense energy as it came away, lighting up the vacuous space in chemical light. The spectacle, though brief in longevity served a vital purpose in keeping Jean and Takashi’s eyes off the bridge’s doors which slid open silently, allowing a dark shape to slide inside like some oversized cat.

Distracted by working their separate tasks, only Taylor spotted the tiptoeing form, sliding seamlessly across the polished floor. The robot’s panic functions fired up and it prepared itself to warn the bridge of this impending threat, but another command flickered in its programming. ”Not another word out of you.” The robot began waving its arms wildly trying to catch Jean or Takashi’s attention, its head spinning like a top and looking thoroughly insane all the while. Jean caste a baleful glanced towards the seemingly possessed machine but went back to calibrating the turret, Takashi didn’t even look up.

The figure loomed up behind Jean, hands rising at unmatchable speeds, a thick voice rattling Jean into action.

“It seems ye ‘ave become becalmed beneath me ship ranger.”

Jean had always been known for his fast gun, in fact he was by far the fastest gun in the galaxy matched by none. But Naefario had a whole millisecond head start, and that was all it took. The revolver rose, for a half a heartbeat centering on the pirate captain’s forehead before a massive mechanical hand closed around it. The gun fired, screaming off in a random direction. Jean yelled reaching for the com, Takashi went for his gun, and Taylor screamed in programmed agony, a fresh hole burned through his mechanical vital functions.

Moving like a martial professional Naefario twisted on his heels bringing Jean forcefully out of the command seat, slamming his metal kneecap into the cowboy’s stomach, the gun came away even as the cybernetic pirate fired his palm blaster, the yellow plasma bolt connected with Takashi’s shoulder. The pirate let out a pained cry, slumping against his command station, but not out of the fight yet. Using his left and good arm he leveled his gun, the defiant yell on his lips replaced by a guttural cry of terror. In two bounds Naefario crossed the empty space between himself and Takashi, Jean stilled clutched in his offhand like a hapless toy doll. Takashi couldn’t even pull the trigger before the cybernetic enhanced fist ploughed into his head like a locomotive, the unstoppable force careening the little green lizardman a full length of the deck, until he slid to a stop, lying dangerously still, blood pooling from his ear slit.

Jean gurgled in rage, kicking desperately, trying to free himself from the vicelike grip of his captor. Raising the struggling sheriff into the air Naefario pounded him once into the command station, stilling any attempt at further resistance. Jean lay limp wheezing, the pirate’s oversized hand clenched around his upper chest and throat.

“Hold ye still now me little fish, I ‘ave use of you alive yet.” Keeping Jean secure under his hand Naefario fiddled with the Ranger’s controls, inserting a disk into one of the attachment ports. He then extended a thin wire from his throat stretching the conductor out and using a small bard to hook Jean’s neck. Working his jaw Naefario mouthed a few test words, his usual deep, gravelly voice replaced by Jean’s higher twang. “Fish, test, fishy test. Heeeeeey beautiful.” Although Jean’s accent wasn’t there, it was barely indistinguishable, most people might’ve thought it was Jean speaking, especially over a scratchy communication device. Leaving the wire connecting the two of them by their throats Naefario pressed a few more buttons on the command station. A electronic “bing” sounded, similar to Microsoft Windows opening, followed by a detailed visualization of the Gorefill’s bridge, including the lackey he’d left in charge.

The weaselly creature saluted when he saw Naefario on the big screen, an evil leer on his face. “Good news Cap’n, one o’ th’ crewmates captured th’ enemy Captain. We ‘ave ‘er in custody and we’re about to bring ‘er onto th’ bridge.” As if to reiterate this point the bridge doors swung open admitting the pretend captive Ursa and the pretend pirate Juniper onto the bridge flanked by half a dozen other pirates. Naefario laughed aloud, though it quickly died in his throat when he saw the state of his concubine-to-be. Ripping out the wire, from a plan that was no longer necessary he instead glared at the pirate holding his fancy.

“Could ye blackguards ‘ave fucked her up worse? One o’ ye tend to ‘er before she keels over!” A willing pirate stepped forward, dabbing at Ursa’s wounds with a healing ointment. Meanwhile Naefario sneered down at the disembodied arm the crew aliens were showing him. “Fair enough, promotions to th’ ones that did it, an’ a greater share o’ th’ booty. But are ye sure, there be no more o’ them smugglers aboard me ship oo’ might cause trouble?”

The weasel lackey shook his head. “Nay Cap’n, nary a one we’re sure.” He of course, did not know of Emmett waiting in the hanger bay or any of the other smugglers who were very much not dead.

“Excellent First Mate. Now continue tending to me pretty fish, but bring her closer so I might speak wit’ her.” He spoke to Juniper, and didn’t wait to see whether she obeyed. Motioning towards Jean’s defeated form Naefario laughed in Ursa’s holographic face, his voice cruel and menacing. “This could’ve been so easy, an’ maybe not so many o’ ye friends would’ve ‘ad to die. Instead ye decided to fight me, an’ th’ inevitable occurred. Such a shocker I know. But I always get want I want, and I want what I get. Harr, harr. Hahaha!” Naefario’s cruel laughter was taken up by his crew who beat their weapons against the walls and floor to raise the volume of the clatter. Naefario’s guffaws ended abruptly, and the crew aliens stammered into an awkward silence to match him. “Your ship is captured, your crew is dead or captured, and you are captured. You put up a fight, I’ll admit it. I admire yer tenacity and clever tricks above all else, and ye’ll make an excellent bride. I see many long years ahead o’ us together. Thanks for th' fun though, ye made me day!

“Hark lackey, I need ye to send six o’ th’ crew onto this smuggler ship to pilot it, the rest o’ ye start swabbing an’ clean th’ blood an’ gore off me ship. Well done crew, we win again ha harr!”