"The tracer that I put on Jenna," Milly's face was pale as she picked the device off the ground, turning the disk over thoughtfully. "They're gone?" Sharin blurted, her expression dangerous. The tall blonde had summoned her battle armor, looking like some kind of goddess of war without a battle to fight. Milly's eyes were dark with surpressed anger, the redheaded catgirl's hair standing up slightly as she gazed towards the sky. "Slip-transit," she murmured, "but to where?" Sharin tapped her wristband, a holographic image floating just above the silvery band. She studied the readings before reporting, "A ship in orbit, the energy signature from the transit matches that of an Empire vessel." "So they've decided to send the military after the Princess," Milly growled, "we've got to go after them!" "And if we do, what then?" Sharin said firmly. "If there's a Dreadnought or Star Destroyer up there we'd be slaughtered on our own," she commented. "I am not leaving my Princess in their hands," Milly glared. "We're not going to," Sharin said, "but we need to get the others together." Milly hesitated, then nodded, "All right." Sharin picked her up bodily, bringing forth a startled squeak. "What are you..." "Hold on tight," Sharin rose up into the air, "we're taking a short cut." With that she took off straight up, then soared towards Jenna's apartment building. Milly had her arms around Sharin's neck, her face pressed towards the woman's collar as she tried desperately not to look down. A faint blush stole over her face as she realized how close their bodies were, how pleasant it was to feel Jenna pressed to her like that. "We're here," Sharin said as they settled down on the balcony, for a moment wishing the flight had been a bit longer. "Thanks," Milly bolted for the patio door, stepping inside and looking around for the others. "Welcome home," Roma said, the Galactic Patrol android calmly preparing something for dinner. Amara, Kat and Marilyn were sitting at the dining table, obviously waiting to eat. "You're back early," Marilyn beamed. "We've got trouble," Sharin started. "Jenna and Allison have been kidnapped," Milly hissed. Amara sat up from her casual posture, her eyes narrowing with anger. "And you two didn't stop it?" she demanded fiercely. "They were slip-transited away," Sharin kept her voice even, despite her own flash of temper, "there was nothing we could do." Marilyn asked crisply, "Do we know what sort of vessel it was?" The slightly goofy manner the blue haired woman usually had was gone, replaced by efficiency. "An Empire vessel," Milly offered. She frowned, the redheaded catgirl's tail lashing back and forth, "We've got to find a way to get up there...." "I can get us into orbit," Amara offered, the black haired woman pulling on her heavy leather overcoat. From various hidden pockets she produced various weapons before putting them back. "And how can you do that?" Kat blinked, pushing her brown hair back worriedly. "I kind of... acquired an Empire combat shuttle," Amara explained with a grin. "Acquired?" Roma raised an eyebrow, the android frowning slightly. "Those are never released unless to be scrapped, how did you...." "Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answers for," Sharin advised. She looked at Amara, "Will it seat us all?" "No problem," Amara shrugged. She looked over at Kat, "But I'm not sure if...." "Allison's my best friend," Kat said firmly, "of course I'm coming along." She set her hands on her hips to add, "And there's no way you're talking me out of it." "If she want's to go," Milly said, "she can go." "Then let's go," Sharin said, "we need to get to the Princess and Allison as soon as possible." The group left the penthouse together, following Amara across the city into the bad side of town. Jack looked up as Amara entered their office, the woman's eyes widening as the group followed her in. "Friends of yours?" the redheaded woman asked, suddenly holding a shotgun on the group. "Put the gun up," Amara advised her with a grin, "they really are friends of mine." She looked back at Sharin thoughtfully, "And I doubt a gun would work, honestly." "So what's up?" Jack asked, putting the gun away reluctantly. "Friend of ours has been kidnapped, maybe," Amara said as she led the others towards the door in the far wall, "we're going to ride to the rescue." "The shuttle," Jack made a face. "All right, it's been refueled and I think the weapons are fully charged. Just don't do too much property damage this time," she complained. "I'll try," Amara waved. "I'll be back when I'm back." They entered a darkened stairway, walking down into deeper darkness. Sharin's hands glowed, lighting up the shadows as she said, "No light bulbs?" "I don't want strangers wandering down here," Amara said dryly. They entered into a large chamber, lights triggering automatically as they went in. The vessel that crouched there was twelve feet tall and nearly twice as long. The engineering module was the largest, the vehicle tapering off to a pointed nose-cone. Wing surfaces stretched out on each side, coupled with weapons mounts on the top and bottom of the slim vessel. The access ramp was extended down, along with the slim legs that held it a foot off the floor. "Where did you get a new combat shuttle?" Sharin murmured, taking in the glossy sheen of the deadly looking small craft. "An Admiral was lining her pockets," Amara said dryly, "selling fleet tech to privateers. I helped shut her down, but not before picking this little lovely up." Amara led the way inside, heading towards the cockpit up front. "I'll take the scanners," Roma offered, "I can interface to improve their efficiency." "Go for it," Amara nodded. She looked at the others, "Any of you good pilots?" "I'm not bad at it," Sharin offered calmly, "why?" "I'd like to take the tactical station," Amara said dryly, "just in case we need the weapons up there. You mind taking the helm?" "No problem," Sharin said, looking the controls over. She pulled a data module from her wristband and passed it to Roma, "I got scan data on the slip-transit energies, you can use it to track Allison and Jenna." "Thank you," Roma said before plugging the module into the control panel, modifying the sensors as she went. "So how are we going to get above ground?" Marilyn asked a bit nervously. "There's a route preprogrammed into the helm," Amara said as she sat down at tactical, "it takes us out via an old subway tunnel." She looked back at the others, "Grab seats and strap yourselves in, it can be kinda rough." "Right," Kat sat herself down, securing the belts carefully. Sharin pressed the engage key, the ship rumbling a bit as it rose up another foot. It wobbled a moment, then shot off into the darkness. They skimmed down a tunnel at breakneck speed, arching up towards the surface then seemingly exploding from the ground into the night sky. "Could we go back for my stomach, please?" Milly whimpered. Sharin ignored that, the vehicle swiftly rising up above the city. The land receded behind them, the sky filling the viewscreen. In less time than it took to tell the effects of gravity began to be felt less and less, the view outside shifting from the cloudy sky to the darkness and twinkling stars. "It's beautiful," Kat murmured softly. Amara smiled slightly at that, 'Guess this is her first time.' She looked over at Roma to ask, "Are you picking up anything?" "A moment," Roma's eyes were oddly unfocused, a cable extending from her wrist to connect to the controls. "Got it, transferring coordinates to navigation," she said. Sharin smoothly changed their course, bringing the ship along the new vector. "If they're following standard procedure for a pre-spaceflight culture they're using a cloak," she noted, "can you put scan data on the screen for me?" The data appeared and she smiled, "Thank you." "So," Marilyn asked them curiously, "does anyone have any idea what we're supposed to do once we find them?" "Improvise," Amara said dryly. "We have no idea if it's the military, mercenaries or bounty hunters that grabbed them, so without more info..." she shrugged. "Nearing coordinates," Sharin reported. "We're being hailed," Roma noted. "Put it on screen," both Sharin and Amara ordered at the same time. Jenna smiled out of the screen, a smile on her beautiful face. "I knew you'd find a way to get up here," she said cheerfully, "the captain will open up a docking bay." "What's going on?" Milly growled, her red tail lashing irritably. "Long story," Jenna sighed. "Come aboard and we'll talk."
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