On the morning of the fateful day which would change all of their lives forever everybody tried to wake up early. They all thought that they would be the first one up and ready before the others would be stumbling out of their beds, but there was already somebody else up before them, tracing all the way back to Wren and Demi who had not slept in the first place.

Before the sun had even risen Raja was already awake and making coffee. He brewed a cup and Rune came by and stole it, sleepily, so he made another one and Hahn came by next, pilfering it again with a groggy thank you. Sighing, the bishop made two more for Chaz and Rika, miraculously summoning them from their room, but Rika made a cup of tea instead so Raja kept her mug for himself.

Warming his hands on the hot steamy mug Rune listened to Hahn complaining about Chaz's hard stone floor again. Later, when they were all properly dressed and awake the young hunter brought out a large wooden box and placed it carefully on the living room table. It seemed to weigh quite a bit as it strained the boy when he moved it. A ray of warm sunshine flooded through the window and lit up the house. Chaz hesitated, as if self-conscious of his work, then opened the box up for the others to see.

It was full of some weapons, and most importantly armor. Chaz had scrounged all through the house and storage for things that had been left behind from three years ago, and had bartered for hours at the hunter's guild and smithy for replacement gear. It had eaten up his savings but he didn't care. It'd be worth it if it wound up saving the lives of his friends. New daggers for Hahn, claws for Rika, and Demi's old impacter gun which the girl was thrilled to see. There was also a new, expensive pair of knives for himself.

But Rika was not coming anymore, so the claws were not needed. The numan girl was sitting on the couch, feeling extremely embarrassed and guilty looking at those claws. Along with the weapons lay brand new armor for Chaz (his current set was old and pretty banged-up from numerous hunter missions), and a set of concealed armor for Hahn that was practically invisible under his normal clothes. With this they were finally equipped and ready to go.

They said goodbye to Rika at the door. She would have gone to see them off at the Landale, only there was the chance that she'd suddenly change her mind and wish to follow at the last minute. She didn't trust herself to keep her resolve, certainly it took a herculean effort just to let go of Chaz after their goodbye hug and kiss. It might be the last time she'd ever get to hold him, so Rika didn't want the embrace to end.

Chaz felt like he had been punched in the gut as he walked down the street with the others, away from his home. He knew without even turning around that Rika would still be standing in the doorway, waving until they were out of sight. She wouldn't be crying. He just had a feeling about that. This would be the first time they'd be separated for, hell, for the first time ever. They had always been together since the very beginning. Chaz folded his arms, hugging his front and gripping the black material of his hunter's garb.

He began to feel a little better once they left his street and were well on their way out of the city. The group of six very different people would have drawn all sorts of staring attention had this not been Aiedo, the city of strangeness and variety. Everybody in the city already knew that Chaz kept odd company, anyway. Rune patted the youth on the back awkwardly as they paused for a few minutes outside of the post office, so Hahn could mail off the letter to his wife.

Rune knew that it must be difficult for the kid, and if they hadn’t needed his swordsman skill so badly he would have made Chaz stay home. Their attack on Zelan would be a team effort but in the end the Lutz just wanted it to be a one-on-one, himself against Siren. His pride as an esper had been wounded; he needed to redeem himself again.

Hahn walked out empty-handed from the post office with a drag in his step. Sending that letter meant he was in it for the long haul, to the end. He couldn't help but think that maybe he had made a mistake, but like Chaz he began to feel a little better once they walked further away from his problem. Instead of the usual party of five they left Aiedo as a party of six, the Landale waiting in the Nalya desert only a short walk away.

They were hindered by only a handful of weak biomonsters but Chaz and Hahn took them out quickly and efficiently with dagger and sword, venting their pent-up feelings on the beasts. Rune watched with passive interest along with the others. Their skill and technique had not rusted over the years, but Chaz had kind of stayed the same while Hahn had improved. The two cleared the sticky blood off their weapons and then they were off again.

Hot desert winds surrounded the great metal behemoth roosting in the flat, dry valley. It was close to midday when they arrived and half the party was sweating from the heat, looking forward to the lovely cool air conditioning they knew lay inside the spaceship. The Landale didn’t seem to have been disturbed by any monsters, locals or natives. After a quick outside check Wren allowed everybody inside. Demi thought that she might have seen slight footprints in the dust and sand, distorted by the wind, but that could have been anything so she ignored it.

A flight to Zelan wasn't anything like a flight to the next planet along the line; it shouldn't take more than an hour or two. It was just enough time to get settled down and become nervous. Wren and Demi went to the cockpit of the ship to get the old girl up and into the air, while the three palmans and one dezorian moved to the inner lounge where the passengers were meant to stay and made themselves comfortable there.

Chaz had smiled when Demi went scurrying off after her master happily, a smile on her face. Whatever uncertainties or guilt she had over Wren now seemed to be gone. That was a plus. There was just something not right about seeing the little android girl so upset. Chaz looked to Hahn, who was getting slightly tangled up in the space harness while trying to strap himself in. "Hahn? Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" The scholar replied as he finally remembered the trick to the straps and got himself secured nice and neatly, but bumped Raja in the ribs a couple of times. The dezorian didn't mind, he was just excited about every little aspect of space travel.

"Um…" Chaz said and wondered if he should have mentioned anything at all. If he asked he would sound like a nervous teenager unable to cope with his own feelings. If he acted now he’d still have the chance to go back to Rika, but he’d have to brand himself a coward forever. He’d have to abandon his friends over his girlfriend. Chaz couldn’t do that, despite the idea being frightfully tempting. "How do you do all the things you do without pining for Saya? Don't you miss her when you're apart?"

Hahn looked back at Chaz solemnly. Suddenly it was like staring at his younger self, from the first time he had left Krup and his life there for Piata and the academy. The historian smiled apologetically and shrugged. "Oh, I'm always pining on the inside, sometimes. I'm not going to lie to you Chaz and say that it gets easier, but you won't feel this bad forever. You'll be thinking about other things soon enough."

"Long, long ago way before you three were born and I became a priest, I once had this wonderful woman who could never stick around for long. She was always all over the world, climbing this mountain or that, or going on pilgrimages. Light she was lovely, so I used to wait for her to come back." Raja explained with a faraway look in his slitted eyes. He sighed the sigh of an elderly man, thinking of the past. "One day she never came back. I like to think that maybe she found some nice place and settled there. I’ve always had a thing for older women."

Rune gave a cheeky smirk. "Now there aren't any." He said.

Raja cracked up, laughing at the joke and thumping Rune hard on the back. Chaz and Hahn didn’t quite get the joke. It was funny, but it was also quite sad. Hahn spoke to Chaz under the gale of laughter. "Don't worry; you're not like I am. When you're married you can spend as much time with Rika as you like. For now let's just focus on Siren."

"I hope you remember how we're going to do this." Rune interrupted from across the flight seats, leaning forward as much as he was able with the restraints and placing his hands on his knees. "According to the androids Zelan has three main paths to the bridge. Siren could be along any one of those paths, or he could be waiting on the bridge himself. We'll split into three parties of two and head there, and once we reach the bridge we'll converge and backtrack along the path which delays any of the three parties."

"Because obviously Siren will be there." Hahn finished up for him while he thought. It was a practical plan but also quite dangerous. "You know Rune; you're starting to sound a little like Wren. So what do we do if any of us wind up in the party that meets Siren? Don't tell us to fight because he'd wipe me out."

Well, it wasn't like anybody else was going to brief them with the androids preparing the ship for takeoff. Rune was just being responsible. He was one of the few, possibly the only one who had nothing significant to lose. "If you see Siren on your way to the bridge get the flying fuck out of there and try to find the rest of us. Don't try to be a hero. I'm looking at you, shorty." He said, glancing to Chaz at the end.

Chaz rolled his eyes at him. "Oh shut up, I'm not a child anymore. I'll follow the plan." The youth in the dark hunter clothes smiled at the older man, in a way that suggested he was entertained by a private joke. "I'm taller than you are, anyway." He murmured.

It was like throwing a bottle of whisky into a lit fireplace. Rune took the bait and smirked like a shark. "Oh yeah? Wanna stand up and prove it, shorts?" He baited back.

"Gladly!" Chaz retorted and began to uncouple his harness as quick as his fingers were able. Rune copied him and did the same.

"Guys, come on. We're just about to take off…" Hahn warned them ineffectually, but he knew what happened when Chaz and Rune clashed because of something stupid. It was quite nostalgic actually, but he'd rather they behave.

"Hold on, I’ll measure." Raja volunteered himself with a chortle and struggled out of his belt himself. Rune and Chaz stood, glaring with their eyes and smiling with their mouths. The bishop took them by the arm each and spun them so they were back-to-back, ordering them to stand up straight with no tip-toes. Anybody who cheated would get a swift kick in the bum.

He used a level hand to measure. In the background Hahn sighed to prove he was not interested. Raja gathered the results. Somebody here was definitely not going to be happy about it. "Actually… Rune is still taller, only by a fraction of an inch. Sorry boy."

Chaz growled out in frustration while Rune snickered. He was so close, too! "You'll still be shorty until you can surpass me." Rune teased triumphantly. It probably wouldn't be long with the speed that the kid was growing, but for now he could still have his day.

Wren’s voice emerged from the PA system at that point, immediately breaking up the confrontation. All four men looked up instinctively to the sound. "I have noticed that most of you are now out of your seats. We will have liftoff in three minutes so I suggest you sit down again before the gravity takes hold."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Rune muttered and strapped himself back into his chair obediently. Chaz and Raja did the same without a word, but the young palman had quite a scowl on his face. They waited and three minutes passed, but there was no such liftoff. Rune assumed it might be a delay, but he hoped vehemently that there wasn't anything physically wrong with the Landale. It was the only spaceship they had.

Eventually the androids got back to them, but this time it was Demi who talked over the line. Rune could picture the girl trying to stand up as tall as she could in order to reach the intercom. "I'm sorry everybody, but it seems like there is an anomaly in one of the storage areas of the Landale. Master Wren will not launch the ship until the anomaly is checked out. Could you go take a look for us, please? I'd appreciate it."

"What kind of anomaly is it, Demi?" Hahn politely asked the disembodied voice.

"We think it might be a stowaway."

"Damn it, that'd be right. Some kid from Nalya sees a shooting star and goes out to investigate, finds a spaceship resting in the valley and climbs aboard for an adventure. They're gonna have an adventure alright, I'll make sure of it." Rune grumped and got out of his seat again with the others. This was an important mission, it couldn't be delayed by stupid kids. Time to give them a piece of his mind.

Chaz, Hahn and Raja followed the esper as he marched down the hallway to the storage bunker so he could kick out the intruder. His theory of a child stowaway was sound and made sense, but it bugged him in the back of his mind that a normal child shouldn't be able to creep on board the Landale without some former knowledge of the spaceship beforehand. It didn't matter, all that mattered was getting this bucket of bolts off the ground.

There was only one storage bunker on the ship large enough for somebody to hide in. Rune and his entourage trailing behind him headed straight for it, flung open the doors and the magician brandished his laconia staff to the anybody in the room. Hahn peeked over his shoulder while Chaz peeked under it, and Raja loitered around in the hallway out of trouble's way. "Alright brat, show yourself! You're being evicted!" Rune announced loudly and firmly.

The somebody who had been crouching down behind some metal boxes stood up and looked towards the three protectors standing in the threshold. The strange threat seemed to have baffled her. She blinked at them, her hiding place uncovered.

A heartbeat later Rune found himself sprawled out on the floor of the threshold, with an ache between his shoulder blades from where he had hit the frame of the doorway. Chaz had bolted for the intruder without any thought for his friend, roughly shoving Rune out of the way. The youth's heart had leapt right into his throat. He grabbed the intruder and hugger her tightly. "Rika!" He exclaimed, amazed and overjoyed.

Rika didn't mind the firm hug, happily she squeezed back. There were tears in her eyes, she was glad she was here but she also felt quite bad for jerking Chaz around and going back on her word. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do it. I couldn't let you go out there into danger without coming with you. When you all left and I went back into the empty house alone it hit me like a ton of bricks. I just knew I had to come back here."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm happy. In all honesty I didn't feel comfortable going off to battle without you. Ooh Rika, I missed you so much." Chaz said with a quaver of emotion in his voice, lifting his fiancée off her feet. It had only been an hour or two of separation but he'd half-feared that he'd never see her again.

"How exactly did you get to the Landale before us? You obviously left Aiedo much later than we did and it must have taken time to decide to follow us, so how? You must have run like the wind." Hahn asked as he offered a hand to Rune and helped the esper back up off the floor. Not to mention nobody had seen her pass them on the way to the ship.

The numan girl grinned as Chaz put her down. It was nice to know that her friends weren't angry over her sneaking aboard. "It's simple, really. When I decided to follow you I took a telepipe to Nalya and walked from there. It was easy to figure out the landing point for the Landale because all the townspeople saw the general direction of the falling star." She told the scholar happily.

That was rather lateral thinking. "You can never decide whether to stay or to go, can you?" Chaz chuckled mischievously.

Rika blushed slightly, remembering the time three years ago when she had jumped from this very spaceship into Chaz's waiting arms. She had chosen Chaz over duty and that had been the right decision in the end, now she had chosen Chaz once more and hoped it was also for the best. Rika reached up and poked Chaz's cute little button nose. "Shut up, dear." She chided.

Frowning, Rune adjusted his robes after being knocked over. He wasn't quite used to a lack of respect such as that after spending so much time in the Myst Vale. He was the Lutz, after all. They seemed to have forgotten something. He cleared his throat to draw attention to himself. "While it's nice that we have you back and you're sure to be a big help on the raid, I can't help but notice that you're not wearing your claws right now. You're unarmed."

She looked at her hands and realised they were bare. After a moment of consideration Rika swore under her breath. She had forgotten her own weapons! How could she be so stupid?

Somebody shoved Rune aside again, only this time it wasn't quite so rough and forceful. Raja waved his long arms over the heads of the palmans, displaying what he had in his hands. It was the new pair of claws that Chaz had bought for Rika yesterday. He had lifted it from the box early in the morning while nobody else was looking, hiding it in his inventory. Rika had told everybody that she wouldn't be going with them to Zelan the night before but Raja had faith in her. The bishop had an inkling, a whisper in his spirit that she'd need the claws soon enough. "Looking for this?" He asked.

"Raja!" Rika exclaimed and rushed to him, accepting the claws he held out for her. She tried them on and they fit nice and snugly as she flexed her hands. She sprung the catch on the claws, the blades sliding out and then in again smoothly. They were perfect. "Thank you so much!" She added as she gave the dezorian a great big hug.

"I'll go tell Wren and Demi that we're good to go now." Hahn volunteered as he made his way for the door. Rune, having learned his lesson already wisely got out of the way. "You all go and get yourselves strapped down in the lounge and I'll be back soon. Let's get off this planet."

They did as they were bidden, but Rune politely moved one seat over so Rika could sit next to Chaz. The couple held hands as they waited for takeoff, and a few minutes later Hahn returned and was harnessed up himself.

Before they knew it they were finally off into space.

†††

Siren staggered and nearly fell while walking from one operating table to another. His balance suddenly failed him and had Mieus not been around to grab him and hold him up he would have fallen to the floor. He was rather heavy but it only took one arm to support him at first, and two or three seconds to recalibrate his equalizers and stand on his own again. He was both silent and expressionless when this happened; he did not even cry out in surprise.

The first operating table contained a little robot body, the second one covered in tools and odd ends. Mieus had gone looking for her master and hadn't found him in the main area of Zelan where she had seen him last, instead she'd found the siren-type hard at work in block A, tinkering with a little whistle bot he had found trashed in the corner. It seemed like her master couldn't stand still, as soon as he was finished with one task, like familiarizing himself with Zelan's computer system he had to dive right into another task to keep himself busy.

Cessation of activity was merely a waste of time, but by the way he stumbled Mieus thought that he ought to be taking care of himself rather than some small white box on wheels. Siren pushed himself up off her body but she held onto his shoulder for a moment longer, then let go. He was stable. "Are you alright, Master?" She asked with concern.

He went right back to what he was doing, picking some parts and a tool off the second table and taking it back to the first, beginning to remove the broken parts and reinstall the newer pieces. He didn't ignore her though, Siren replied to her while he repaired some of the faulty wiring. "I am currently eighty seven percent repaired from prior combat. Injuries sustained from the layan black magic caused moderate self-repair complications which have hindered regenerative function until recently. I will be back to optimum condition in one hundred and twenty minutes."

Two hours. She hoped the layans wouldn't turn up within that timeframe. If possible she and her partner would try their very best to keep the filthy layans away from their master at all costs. However, if a confrontation between Siren and the layans was unavoidable then all she could do was hope that her master would be in the best shape manageable. Mieus folded her arms, shifted most of her weight to one leg and watched what the wren-type was doing. "What's that?" She piped up with slight interest.

"Nothing in particular." Siren replied airily and replaced the wiring panel back onto the machine. Now that that part was done with he moved on to check the power source. "Might I ask you something, Mieus? What is it that you want most in this wold? Without limitations, what is your ultimate goal?"

Mieus knew her lines well. "To serve you, of course." This elicited soft laughter from her master while he worked. Was that not what he wanted to hear? Well, in retrospect she had only really known him for a day or so. The red-haired girl revamped her answer, speaking with proper honesty this time. "… I want to be an important person, enough for people to pay attention to me. Enough for people to listen to what I say and actually care. I want to be heard."

"What would you say?" Siren pressed gently, hitting all the buttons he thought were right.

"It's personal. I don't really know." Mieus admitted with a little shrug, but she thought maybe it was about her mother and mostly her grandfather who had never understood her, not one bit. He never tried to learn new things about people, if he did not understand what Mieus wanted from him then he saw fit to ignore her instead. She had hated that, it was as if she didn't matter the slightest bit in his grand scheme of things. If that were true then why was she created in the first place? All she ever wanted was to be listened to; to be understood.

Okay, so that was pretty established in her mind. Once she was heard, what was she going to say? 'I hate you. I'll kill you.' she supposed. Siren put down the tool he was using, picked up the little robot and set it down on the floor, just making one final check that its wheels were properly aligned. He backed away and stood beside Mieus, putting an arm around her back. "If it is not inconvenient to me I will listen to you. I daresay your partner will do so as well. In time many will care about what you have to say. You will have a purpose here."

"Thank you, Master." Mieus said with a shade of surprise. She had figured Siren for the single-minded kind of android that was representative of his series type, but it appeared that he actually gave a damn about how she felt. Maybe it was all just words with no sentiment behind it, and the Light knew that that was all it would be, but for now to Mieus words were enough. She looked down at the little robot. It wasn't doing anything, it was just sitting there.

Siren placed two fingers to his lips and whistled once, shrilly. Mieus flinched a bit at the sharp noise but it was the little robot on the floor which reacted to the sound most. It raised its top section up a touch and spun it around several times, whistling back loudly, long and drawn-out. It had two lenses on its top section which acted as its eyes, one extended out on a rod to regard the two humanoid machines curiously. It spoke in clicks and whistles, but fortunately Siren and Mieus were equipped with language packs capable of deciphering the lingo. It asked where they were.

"You are on satellite Zelan." Siren replied dully.

Just as they understood the shrilling clicks the little whistle robot was programmed to understand the common tongue of Algo. Its extendable eye looked to Siren, then Mieus, and then back to Siren again. It assumed the bigger android was the leader of the two. It asked what it was doing there.

"You have always been here." The wren-type intoned curtly.

The robot did not recall. Its damages had been enough to totally erase its memory. All it could do was take Siren's word for it. It had no reason to disbelieve him, so it asked its third and final question. It asked if it could be allowed to stay.

Mieus fielded this one. "Yes!" She exclaimed happily and sunk down to her knees, while the other whistle tested out its wheels and rolled over to the girl eagerly. Its eye extended out again and looked at her all over, then she leant forward and gave it a big hug. "I'm going to call you Whistler, is that okay?" She asked. It squealed, its little wheels spinning madly off the ground. The squeal was generally a sound of thanks.

Siren was no longer focussing on the machines in the room. He'd built himself a wireless connection to Zelan's main computers while he was going over the databanks and had kept a good fraction of his mind occupied with watching the surrounding space around the station for intruders. The computers had a pretty good range and although his positronic brain by itself couldn't handle the entirety of the information, he'd be notified briefly should an approaching ship enter Zelan's range of detection.

That notification had just been issued. Siren strode professionally to the door and activated the sensor to make it slide open. He turned back to Mieus and Whistler, shooting them a glare serious enough to make the mieu-type put down the robot and stand up on her own. "Zelan detects a large spaceship rapidly approaching from the direction of Motavia. Estimated time of arrival is seventy five minutes. The layans are coming to take back their base. We are going to the bridge. Follow."

Then he was gone, heading briskly down the hallway, not quite a walk but not quite running either. Mieus chased after him with Whistler wheeling at her heels, the robot without an idea of what was going on but following anyway. The girl didn't like the sudden announcement; it was far too soon. Those damn impatient layans. "That's not enough time for you to repair yourself, Master!" She exclaimed to the android in front of her.

He didn't need somebody to state the obvious for him. It wouldn't be a problem though, it would not be a problem at all. That was why his servants lived after such an extended period of death. "Do not panic, Mieus. Just follow me and do as I say." He reassured her coldly.

It took five minutes to get back to the main area of Zelan and when they got there the computers were already going strongly. Many of the screens were showing jargon Mieus had no idea about, but a few of them showed the two planets and shots of surrounding space. The girl sat down in an empty chair and placed her hands in her lap. Whistler rolled to a halt beside her, it had practically become her shadow.

Siren was impressively accessing and inputting commands into the computer without actually using his hands to hit the keys on the keyboard. A screen full of information blacked out into faint starry space. They couldn't visibly see a ship traversing that particular area of space as the cameras couldn't see nearly as far as radar detection could, but give it another twenty minutes and they would all be able to see. Siren leaned forward and laid his hands on the control panel, glaring. "Ship detected in zone delta-nine-seven-nine-five. I have no doubt that it is the stolen ship of the layans. Where is your partner? I want everyone here at once."

Mieus slapped a hand lightly to her mouth. He had been missing for quite some time and she hadn't really thought about it because she had been spending time with her master. "I told him to go and find a handheld weapon that he could use, but that was a while ago. He can't use guns anymore so I guess he's still looking for something else. Maybe he got lost. Should I call him through the network?" She asked in embarrassment. Siren didn't reply, but he didn't say no, so that must mean yes. Good thing they had exchanged network addresses before they had gone their separate ways.

Whistler squeaked as Mieus sent a message to the missing servant of Siren. She wasn't certain where he was on the space station so she made it loud and encompassing the entire satellite. Everybody could hear it. // "Warren! Where the hell are you? Are you deactivated or something? Wake up! Master Siren wants to see you!" //

After about five seconds they got a reply. It sounded much fainter than Mieus' shouting, as if Warren was far off on the other end of Zelan or cowed by the force of Mieus' demand. // "Where am I? How about where on Motavia are you? I have been looking for you for well over an hour! You weren't at the bridge when I looked there. Were you hiding?" // He sounded a little out-of-sorts, feeling hurt that Mieus had yelled at him suddenly for no apparent reason.

// "Well, we're back here now. Hurry to the bridge as soon as you can, we have an estimated time of layan contact. Did you manage to find a weapon that doesn't clash with your lack of programming?" //

// "I think so. I'll just have to find out when the layans come. Stay right there, I'll be up on the bridge within three minutes." //

// "Okay. See you soon, sweetie." //

// "Bye." //

Now that that was over with they had to get back to the matter at hand. Siren picked up the heavy, wicked-looking cannon he'd left lying against the control panel while he had inspected the computers earlier and reconnected it back to the ports in his arm. Electricity flooded through the empty peripheral as it became an active part of his system again. "I do not like to do this but it seems I have little choice." He gave a predatory smile as the coupling was complete. "I need you and the major to deal with the layans or stall them until my self-repairs are complete. Can you do that for me?"

"I know I can." Mieus answered readily. She'd welcome any chance to show him what she could do. It would only be a forty-five minute timeframe before her master would be ready to fight by himself. A forty-five minute proving ground. The girl placed a finger on her lips and appeared thoughtful. "If Warren and I took three or four layans at once each we could wipe them out in one fell swoop, or maybe we could bottleneck them all in a narrow corridor."

"Do as you wish." He told her as he took a seat at the computer nearby. Had he a choice he would never trust anybody but himself, as the self was the only real certainty in the world, but a leader could never do everything by himself. It was time to test out the servants and see what they could really do. He was confident with the major because he had prior combat experience despite still being in a daze, but young Mieus who was so eager to please had yet to prove herself in anything. She'd better not be all talk and no substance, he had a place for servants like that; the trash heap.

The tip of the finger that had been on Mieus' lips had slipped into her mouth a little, the girl putting on the most adorable, irresistible, and downright beautiful face she could muster. Forget being a fighter, a thousand years ago during the height of Algo's hedonistic civilization she could have it big as an actress, a screen heroine. That was all it was though; an act. "Master… I don't know what I'd do if the layans got to you while you were still damaged." She admitted in a tone that could have melted a heart.

But Siren did not have a heart, and certainly no part of him was capable of melting. He looked at her blankly. "I am hardly defenseless, Mieus."

"Yes, but still…"

One of the doors to the main area of Zelan slid open and they were joined by Warren who clomped into the bridge. He was right on time, well, technically a few seconds late. He had a medical supply bag slung over one shoulder and a two-handed palman sword in his free hand. Siren and Mieus were drawn to the arrival by the sound. "I'm here! Sorry I'm late." He apologized, heading over to the computers as he spoke.

As Mieus waved to him a little somebody had been left ignored and uninformed. Whistler's top half popped up again and it scrutinized the new stranger in the room. It did not recognise him in its registry or memory banks. It saw that the stranger was armed and carrying an offensive weapon. Finally, it realised that allied units were far too close to the stranger for comfort. Whistler did the math. It was simple, really. There was only one thing to be done.

Whistler was off like a little shot straight towards the unknown android, squealing like mad and acting like a guard dog that had broken free from its leash. From within the widened groove between its top and bottom half a panel folded away to reveal the snub-nosed barrel of a small laser. It whistled again furiously, then fired at the target.

Warren dropped the sword he was carrying, it clattered to the ground loudly and he raised his arm up to shield his body and face. This barely would have offered him protection had he not raised his barrier shield up at the same time. It dampened down the laser to nothing, so when the barrier was retracted the accumulated surplus energy was harmlessly dispersed. That action had been entirely reflex-based, Warren would have stopped and stared like an idiot had his movements been voluntary.

He stopped and stared like an idiot anyway when he lowered his arm, then heard a noisy clank moments after. He looked down. When the laser had failed Whistler had just plowed into him as if it were a miniature battering ram. It was like a tank being assaulted by a tricycle. Warren seemed confused, watching the little robot trying to push him over with its entire body.

"Whistler, no! Stop that, honey! He's not a target!" Mieus called as she hopped off her chair and made her way over to the two other machines. Siren started to laugh. He found it all rather funny, and it was only very few things which amused him nowadays. He watched Warren take a step back and then the whistle robot immediately close the distance with another ram. This action was repeated again, and then again for a third time. If it kept up for much longer Whistler was going to push Warren all the way out the door.

The mieu-type grabbed the whistle-type to stop it from harassing the warren-type, while the siren-type had a good chuckle in the background. Mieus lifted the robot clear off its wheels and held it in her arms as Warren moved around her to pick up his dropped weapon. It made the most interesting scraping noise as it was removed from the floor. Whistler watched him with its stalk of an eye, cooing in question. "What is that thing doing here?" Warren asked.

"I've named it Whistler. Whistler, class this android with allied status, okay?" She said and shook the robot harder than was necessary. It rattled and whined at being scolded, but the whine was also a concession to her demand. Mieus put it down again and the thing didn't move anymore, save for wheeling a little closer to her ankles.

"I thought I was under attack by a vacuum cleaner." Warren admitted, relieved.

Siren had stopped laughing now and he was back to being serious again. He had his legs crossed with a hand on his chin, thinking. Three little robots with far too much frivolity in them. That needed to change. "Get over here now, the both of you." He ordered with absolute authority. They of course obeyed him and fell into line like good servants should, with Whistler sitting between them. He had no use for the whistle robot however, he'd only worked on it out of enjoyment and to kill time.

He assumed Mieus would put Whistler somewhere safe when the fighting began. The red-haired girl was up to date and ready to go while the major had just turned up with no clear idea as to what was going on. He could allow Mieus to relay instructions to him but they all needed to be on the same page here; required to run off the same set of information. "Stand at perfect attention for briefing, soldiers." He said smoothly, seeing that they were far too relaxed than they were meant to be.

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Warren suddenly looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.

"Sorry, Master Siren." Mieus was studying her nails while listening, smiling prettily.

Siren scowled. "Kill your palman personalities for the moment; they are not needed here. Save this information and follow my instructions before all else. Do you comply?" It was a high request, but one he was in the right position to demand. Personality and palmanity was not essential to an android's function but it meant quite a lot to them, as it was a part of what made them unique. It was pretty much the equivalent of forcing palman soldiers to strip and endure a briefing naked.

Thankfully switching off the palman side of their programming for a short time was nowhere near as serious as killing active emotion for good. They just needed to focus, and Siren could demand anything of them that he wanted. It would be an honor. The faint notion of expression faded from Warren and Mieus' faces. Their voices became monotone and synchronized. "Affirmative Master, we comply. We are listening." They droned.

That was more like it. The separation made things easier, frankly Siren couldn't see why the palman race would want to make flawed sentient beings like androids anyway. Sentience was imperfection. It was like degrading something that could have been perfect knowingly, on purpose. But that was not important right now. "I will be concise. In sixty five minutes the layans will dock and enter this space station. I am going to enable life support as a gesture of goodwill. When they arrive you Warren, and you Mieus will kill them on sight. Send them back to hell."

He paused for a few moments to let them absorb the information. No protest, only the look of silent obedient concession in their eyes. They had killed before, it was nothing new. "Approximately one hundred and ten minutes from now I will join you in combat. This operation will end when all seven layan bodies are accounted for and no longer showing vital signs. I will forward you brief target information through the network."

He didn't have much information so there was not a lot of data to send. It barely took two seconds. All Siren had was glimpses of them from their exodus and estimations of their races, genders and physical descriptions. His servants would just have to flesh out the files themselves. Siren waited patiently as they worked through the target registry. They spoke with such synchronization that as if it was only one android speaking with two voices.

"File received. Activating target registry. Classifying palman male as target zero one. Classifying palman male as target zero two. Classifying palman male as target zero three. Classifying android male as target zero four. Classifying android female as target zero five. Classifying dezorian male as target zero six. Classifying unknown species female as target zero seven. Persons will be killed on sight. Target registration complete."

Perfect. Exactly what he wished to hear. Siren straightened up in his seat but kept his weapon lying in his lap. The cables connected to his arm stretched as he gestured to his servants. "This is all you need to know and all you need to believe. Act as good, loyal soldiers of Orakio and fight for your right to live in this world. Remember, it is the layans who wish to put us back inside that dark place we know so well. Yourself, your partner and your master, too. We are all under threat. You may be yourselves again now."

Mieus awoke as if she had been daydreaming or in a light trance. She was smiling in a sunny manner after the orders were issued. He wasn't just trusting her with her own life, but with his life too. He trusted her! Nobody had ever done so before. "I won't disappoint you Master, I promise. I will fight them until my final breath!"

"But you don't breathe, Mieus." Warren reminded her as a soft aside. The girl just giggled and shrugged, it did not make any difference. Warren made a sighing sound and pinched the bridge of his nose with a finger and thumb. Sure, it was easy enough to look at killing orders through the cool, clear vision of machine acquiescence, but it was a different matter entirely when somebody was bleeding to death in your hands. "Master, I must ask a question regarding your orders. What if one of these target individuals does not show hostile behavior?"

"I don't see how that alters your orders, major. Kill them if they attack you. Kill them if they flee. Kill them if they proclaim their love for you; I don't care. Just make sure their hearts are quickly and effectively stilled." Siren announced with hostilities of his own, and yet he did not raise his voice once. Venom was wasted when one was shouting. "Please remember that every layan you do not destroy will be one more that Mieus will have to face on her own."

And one thing he did not wish to see was Mieus injured or killed. Warren grimly shut up. There was no escaping the fact that people were going to die tonight. At least they were bad people, evil people, people who deserved to die.

The only thing they could do now was accept it, and later, implement it.