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Assignments were made ahead of time. Dante would lead most of the crew, while Sere, Cratis, and Wendy would stay on the ship, "I thought we were done with this horrible place..."

Earth had been colonized, the plethora of resources was simply too much to resist. Fallen Sky, a major leader in the galaxy, had opted to not claim a piece of the land, but there was no shortage of contracts to help out the colonists. Most human settlements were peaceful if left alone, but some would attack like there was no tomorrow.

This contract was more serious than the others though. A group of humans, declared savage by the colonists in the area, were able to raid their town and steal very powerful weapons. Given enough time to learn how to use them, this would mean chaos and many deaths. Dante didn't want to come back to New Earth (as it was now called), but Isa insisted.

Ratchet scanned ahead of the landing spot with her scope, "I see... an old town up ahead."

"Well, not everything was destroyed, some places were simply abandoned. Not enough to make them worth defending or invading. Keep your eyes open, wild creatures and bugs tend to take up residence in these places. Angel, keep a constant scan, inform us of any threatening heat signatures. Wendy, Cratis, you two guard the ship. Sere, make sure it can move any time. Let's move."

Jill took point, never lowering her guard for a second, while Titus and Chey stayed close behind. Ratchet kept to the back, making good use of her excellent vision, "So, what, people just left?"

"Yep. Not much here as you can see." Dante squinted his eye, "A local convenience store for food and water, not really sustainable. Some houses, general stores. The people knew this place wouldn't last a day against an attack."

Cars had either left before the war that never hit, were stolen by survivors, or scrapped until there wasn't anything left. Even simple bikes were gone, the only reminder of their existence were some chains attached to rusty poles. In rare instances, the remains of luggage bags could be seen, but the contents were long gone.

In was a quaint little area, a convenience store, a sort of game shop from what they could read of the sign, and houses jammed close together, "Hey! This one is boarded up from the inside!" Chey looked into the game shop's windows.

The wind picked up, "I detect no heat signatures. However, there is a sandstorm approaching. I recommend you enter and take cover. The Albatross will fly up for now."

"You heard Angel, get that door open people." Titus used his hard head to tackle down the door, "Inside! Inside!" He could see a wall of sand approaching. Ratchet was the last in, so he shut the door behind him, "Wonderful."

Jill was the first to really look around, also the first to turn on her light, "Huh, this place looks pretty well off. Not a lot of decay."

"Duh. It's a dry climate, plus not many people would want to rob a store like this when food was the most valuable thing."

Dante picked up a rectangular box, small enough to fit in his hand, "I used to be good at this game, long time ago now. I think I may borrow a few of these." He found a satchel of sorts (at the very least, it had handles) and filled it with some cards, "Wendy and the others can pick this stuff up later. This storm shouldn't last too much longer."

Dante was right, the storm didn't last more than a few minutes. The mission was to track down those that stole the technology and eliminate them, but the problem was that the exact location was unknown. Clues helped point the colonies to the small forests, but that was all Dante was told. They took their standard formation and slowly walked down the old road.

"So what now? Take the big road or stay below?" Jill stopped in front of a highway exit. Going over the highway would be much quickly, but an ambush would most certainly prove fatal. Jill knew the answer, but it was nice to respect the chain of command on occasion.

"Stay low, keep your eyes open even wider than before. Those bastards are close."

"Correct. Two heat sources the size of the average human have been keeping steady distance, though it is likely they are underground."

Dante nodded as the marched on, "Makes sense. You can't assume a major heat spot underground is a group of people. Could be anything. Smart."

Ratchet didn't lower her guard though, "Yeah, well, when they pop their heads up I'm taking them off."

"Fair enough. What about you Titus? Still sore?"

"H-Hey! I told you Angel tripped me!"

Chey giggled, "No, you tripped you. On nothing. Then you took out a corner of the bar with your thick skull. That poor, sweet nectar..."

"Why are you still picking on me?"

Jill was curt, "It's super easy. Contact!" Ratchet fired first, taking out one, while Jill took out the other, "They look savage all right. My planet is pretty behind in terms of technology, but they look like barbarians or something."

Scraps of random cloth and hides decorated the bodies of the two men. Primitive tattoos covered every uncovered inch of skin, but they only carried pistols, "Take them. These were just scouts. How much did the colonists claim was stolen?"

"Uh..." Chey rolled her head on her neck, "A crate of rifles, pistols, and at least one beam cannon. Not sure why it was all together, but there you have it."

Dante kneeled down, "The tunnels probably took a hit in the attacks, even if the town didn't. Crumbled stretches of pipes, dead ends, I guess they thought they could sneak away before we noticed. Dumb move by smart people. Wouldn't be unheard of though." He stood up, "Over there, in the distance. I saw a signal, Ratchet,"

"I'm on it. I see one female, seems terrified." She fired, "One down."

"Time to pick up the pace people, they'll notice. Angel! Scan in front of us, get the ship close!"

The savages were using mirrors to send signals to each other, but Ratchet made sure to take them out as fast as she could. Cutting the lines of communications was one of Dante's lessons to Wendy, and she just happened to listen in.

"Dante, large mass of heat ahead. It would seem you have their attention, but I do not detect elevated levels of stress. Be cautious."

"Nobody's shooting..." Titus stopped just at the edge of a clearing, "They definitely seem me though."

A tall, muscular savage was standing in the middle of a group, "You! I challenge your leader!"

Dante slowly walked forward, " Challenge? What do you think this is, a movie?"

"Damn, he's about as dumb as they come. Hurry this up Dante, this place smells funny." Ratchet stretched her arms, "Plus it's kinda hot here."

A long sigh, drowned out by the chanting of savages, "Come now!" The man roar and flexed.

Dante rested his rifle on his shoulder and walked forward, "I'm not playing any games with you." A gunshot went off and the man dropped, "I'm not here to chat." A few more rounds were fired and more savages fell, "I'm here to do my job, which means you're all gonna die now."

The Albatross hovered over Dante and fired upon the savages. For intelligent thieves, they were horrible at hiding and defending themselves. Dante watched as the last savage fell, "Dante, the weapons should be located nearby. The location ships are still active, I would suggest that building."

He looked to the remains of a house, "Jill, Titus, check it out. Ratchet, Chey, scan the area. Take out stragglers."

Savages were all around, all bound by something unique to them. This was the fate of people who couldn't manage on their own, so the strongest took over. A twinge of pity filled Dante's stomach, but nothing more. They chose this life, they chose to be weak and follow. The main difference between them and the other human settlements was order.

"Got the crate, most of the weapons are still inside."

"Good enough, let the idiots here deal with one or two guns. Albatross, pick us up."

The crew boarded, "So, back to the colonies?"

"Nope. Check inside." Jill opened the top of the crate. At the bottom, just barely visible under the crammed guns was a bag of powder, "They're shipping drugs."

"Figures. I guess that's the real reason they wanted their shitty weapons back so bad..." Wendy was drinking something purple, "So, what's the new plan?"

"Sere, you like to scrap, so take anything worth taking, the rest..." Dante smiled a devious smile, "Set the crate on fire, dumb it on the colony, then report them to whatever organization is in charge of this sector."

He plopped onto the lounge couch, the umpteenth couch in the Albatross' history. Everyone went about their business, but Ratchet brought over the bag of cards, "So, you used to play this game?"

"Passed the time, lot of luck involved though." He rotated his shoulders, "From what I remember, an older guy told me when I was younger that the richest would usually win because they could get the best cards. I tended to not lose though."

"Got lucky?"

"Good bluffer."

She laughed, "I can see that. Think you could still teach me how to play? Have to do something to pass the time on this ship, and we can't keep jumping you. You hid all of the lockpicks... and Angel doesn't help at all."

"Pretty sure you have something else on your mind Ratchet. You were quiet today."

She fidgeted in her seat, "How long have we known each other?"

"What's it been... about ten years maybe."

"Right... so... well... I was wondering..." Her tail was flailing out of control, "How about a real... date? Like, not goofy, but dinner or something?"

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do really, and you seem more reasonable with age."

"Calling me old?"

He sighed, "Women... I'm just saying that you no longer act like a kid. For the most part."

They sat and stared into space for a while, "Something wrong? Was it bad to ask?"

Dante took a slow breath, "Can't you feel it? This is going to be a horrible week. I bet you that someone will run in here soon, saying something is wrong."

The stars shone brightly through the window, "Dante, how do you feel? You look tense."

He waved it off as though it was nothing. Tension was an understatement, and though he was always calm in battle, he never once forgets that death is often a split second away. Secret reports from Marie have brought to his attention a faction of mercenaries that wish to have dominance over the galaxy. The reports stated that they began as hackers, stealing money, data, and any digital information they could acquire. Seeing as how most of that information was on personal devices with no external connections, that meant that only unsecured banks and governments were hit hardest.

Fallen Sky headquarters would be a prime target, and while Isa and the others were trustworthy, sometimes they were a bit uneven and naïve when it came to war. Without Dante, Isa and her "pirates" would have been nothing but a footnote in history. Marie, for all her experience and guile, didn't even pose a challenge to Dante. The Goddess, Mira, and Rachel were not trained in war, and would do little to help. He had to prepare himself, as it was most likely he would be doing most of the work.

"Sere..." He thought for a bit, "Do you mind doing some extra maintenance on the Albatross? Cutting out spare wires and such."

A beep, "Sure thing, I was down here anyway, messing with the power outputs. Any reason?"

"Just a hunch. Angel can help you pinpoint unnecessary drains and lost power outputs." He shut his computer display and sighed, "Can never be too careful."

Ratchet sunk into the couch, "What exactly aren't you telling us? It's not like you to try and be subtle. You'd tell a child their parent died right to their face."

"Indulging in real paranoia, none of the fake stuff. So, what's to eat? Feels like it's been a while."

"Dante, we are over the colony. Would you like to set the fire yourself?"

He looked to the speaker, "Nah, you do it, I'm tired. Then send the information, let those pricks deal with the druggies." He stood up and walked over to the bar, "I miss being a nobody."

Ratchet let her head fall over the edge of the couch, "I wouldn't be able to tell you. Priestess over here you know, never had a chance to relax by myself for more than an hour at a time. Hell, bath's were so frantic that I doubt I really got clean."

"Right, right. I was a monster on Earth. Can't really say I had much good going for me, as long as you include people trying to kill me as good. That was about the highlight of my time on Earth." He poured himself a tall drink, "How can we go ten years without a major incident, and yet now... I don't get this galaxy."

Ratchet smiled, "Time to make a display of dominance again?"

"Could be." He downed the entire drink, "Though I think that it might be Isa's turn to show that she isn't just another nobody in charge of armies."

"Dante."

Angel's voice ruined the peaceful mood, "Oh joy."

"Jill received contact from Miss Star. An emergency message. She is on her way now."

Ratchet stretched out, "Well, you certainly called it. She goes to spend some time on her home world for a week and already something is wrong."

Jill didn't need to run far, but she was certainly out of breath, "Dante... Miss Star... trouble..."

"Tell me something new."

She took some deep breaths and stood up, "I got a message from her. Something about the Queen going crazy, imprisoning offworlders and executing those who work with offworlders. She's going to be killed soon!"

Dante sighed, "Alright. Angel, hurry your ass up and get us to that planet. Jill and Ratchet, get everyone ready. Fully equipped. Move!"

The two women ran, and Dante's computer beeped, "Dante, it's Marie. Something weird is going on, a lot of allies have broken off ties with Fallen Sky. Something about us trying to control them. You have any idea why?"

"Listen, you have five people there, figure it out. I need a few extra ships to the wolf world, they are planning on killing one of our own."

"What?! You've got to be kidding me... it's not Miss Star, is it? 'Cause she just said that everything was going well."

"Bull. Shit. Look into your comm system, maybe you have a traitor in your midst. Miss Star sent a barely legible message, and only Jill got it."

A long, nervous pause, "We'll crack down. If they're in our people, we may have a major issue down here."

"Keep your trusted people armed, including yourself. Track all signals too and from your planet, then check the sources. Got it? Even if you recognize the ID, check the sources. I'm going to be busy for a bit."

"Understood. I'll send two combat vessels your way, they aren't too far. You want them attacking or hanging back?"

Dante looked towards the window, "Hang in orbit, strike when I give the order. Be careful Marie."

"You too."