Maverick Station 28

Death Star flipped through the air and landed behind Dark Strider, swinging in low at his backside. Dark Strider blocked with ease, knowing what Death Star was up to before even he did, and then side stepped a swipe from Garland. The two Hunters then leaped at him again, Garland hitting low and Death Star going high. Dark Strider leaped into Death Star's attack and forced him back, both landing behind Garland. Then he kicked out and hit Garland in the back of the head as he slashed Death Star down the chest.

"Argh!" cried out Death Star in pain. He stepped back, knowing that Iceheart was watching the battle with great interest. That angered him, which in return surprised him. Leaping at Dark Strider, he did a fake to the left and then went right, swinging. But Dark Strider blocked, never falling for it once, and ducked, forcing Death Star to roll off of him and onto the floor in front of the charging Garland.

Death Star rose back to his feet and circled around Dark Strider while Garland went the other way around him. Dark Strider stood there, an eerie calm about him. The two attacked at the same time and he stepped out of the way, but Death Star was ready for it, ducked and rolled along the floor and tripped him into Garland's line of path, who proceed to clobber him. Dark Strider threw Garland off and stabbed Death Star in the leg before he could move. Screaming in pain, Death Star tore away, standing up with great difficulty.

Garland stood there, eyeing Dark Strider and then glanced at Death Star. "Death Star, you can never beat him. He knows what you're going to do before you do it. Leave him to me and you go after Iceheart." Death Star wanted to argue, but stopped, knowing Garland was right. Flipped past Dark Strider, he began to run towards Iceheart. She stood up and took off down the hallway behind her chair, vanishing into the darkness. The wall began to come down, to seal it off. Running faster, Death Star dived and rolled under the closing wall, barely missing getting smashed.

Outside, Garland stood there, eyeing the clone. "Well, kid, lets see what you got, eh?" the clone taunted, walking backwards onto the catwalk leading out to the engine core. Garland had a feeling he was in for a big battle...

Infinity Station

"Who do we attack, sir?" asked Ridge at the comm. station.

"Attack only Infinity Inc. unless attacked by Titus Facilities. Lets hope Carlos won't want to fight a battle on two sides," Dominator told him, leaning back in his seat, growing a little bit worried. The ten Infinity Inc. battle ships flew through the air, opening fire on the seven Titus battle ships. One thing Dominator could judge already was this was going to be a hectic battle.

Slash's voice crackled from one of the other battle ships, which he was in charge of. "Infinity Inc. is releasing tons of fighter planes. We need to launch our fighters to protect the ship. We'll never be able to pick at them all day with our turbo cannons."

Dominator nodded. "You're right. Launch your squadron. I'll launch our Hunter squadron," he ordered. Slash nodded and blinked out on the comm. screen. Dominator turned to Ridge. "Get me on the comm. to the Hunters below..."

Ridge nodded and punched in the comm. number to contact the Hunters below. "Done. Just hit the button on the right of your chair to talk to them all at the same time. To talk to one privately, just click on a button and enter their comm. number," Ridge told him.

Dominator nodded and pressed the button to contact them all below. Blackjack, Ace, Dakota, Seraphna, Darien, and Slasher answered the comm. all in order of their numbers, One through Six. The remaining Hunters, including Mirri, where onboard the battle ships. Crystal was in charge of a battle ship of her own, like Slash, Ridge was helping Dominator with the comm. and keeping up with the placement of all the ships in the system, a key job. Mirri was doing the same thing as Ridge, but over on Crystal's ship.

"Well, guys, looks like you'll be heading out. You're all be flying defense, protecting our ships from those fighters. Just get the job done. When we send out a third squadron, which will be Omega-class ships, they'll be doing bombing runs, and you'll need to be sure to protect them. Blackjack is in charge of you five, your squad being Hunter. Good luck," Dominator told them and nodded at Ridge to release the fighters.

Dominator turned back to the viewscreen of the two sides ahead hammering each other. Suddenly behind the Hunter ships five more Infinity Inc. battle ships teleported in. According to Darien, Infinity Inc. didn't have that many ships, do the entire fleet must have been positioned here. Cursing, Dominator turned to Mirri. "Get Slash and Crystal to deal with the ships behind us, taking two of the other ships with them. Order two more to come with us and we'll head for the station and the other ten ships.

Ridge glanced at him. "Titus is launching fighters too. So far they are ignoring our fighters and plainly attacking the Infinity ones." Dominator nodded. He turned over to the view screen as Justice streaked through the stars towards the battle ahead. "Two minutes until we reach striking distance...and the same goes for them."

"Hunter Two here," came Ace's voice.

"Hunter Three is reading loud and clear," Dakota piped in.

"Hunter Four is good to go," Seraphna spoke up.

"Hunter Five is ready for action," Darien came through on the comm.

Slasher reached over and flicked his comm. button next. "Hunter Six, ready to toast some ass," he said. He grabbed the controls and began to fly downward towards the incoming fighters heading towards the battle ships.

"Okay, we're going to take this nice and easy. Fly in pairs if need be. Watch each other's backs at all cost also. Our mission here is not to see who's the best or who can take out the most pilots, but to see who can keep the fighters off Dominator, Slash, and Crystal's backs. Got it?" asked Blackjack over the comm. There came a volley of yes's.

Slasher dived downward in his Hunter-class Fighter, feeling the g-force press against him as he did so. His targeting system locked onto one of the Infinity Inc. ships and lit up. Pressing the trigger button, his first two shots smashed right into the shields of the ship, sending the pilot of scampering, but still on a course for the Justice. Slasher easily followed, staying behind the ship as he locked on again and pressed the trigger button, watching his three shots fly at it, the first two hitting the back engines, crumbling the shields, and his other missing.

Rolling to the right, Slasher flew right next to the ship and powered his shields to the left of the fighter and then rammed the other fighter, watching it spark and go flying off. Readjusting the shields, he flew behind the spinning pilot and fired again, blowing the ship up. Smirking, he watched the computer log his kill as he flew in a deep U-turn and target the next fighter near him. This was going to be easy...

Dominator turned to the officer at the weapons department. "Target those battle ships and let lose when we get in range." The officer nodded and powered the turbo cannons all over the ship.

"Five more seconds...heads up!" Ridge shouted as the Justice shook from the incoming blast from the Infinity Inc. battle ships. The Titus ships were taking a heavy pounding themselves, but were dishing it out also. "We have an incoming transmission from the Titus.

"On the comm. screen," Dominator ordered and glanced over there, trying to ignore the battle going outside for a second. Carlos' face appeared on the screen, looking tired and ragged. "Mr. Titus," said Dominator.

"Ah, Claw, I'm sure. You have alot of guts following me here."

"We have no ill will towards you, Titus. We're here for Infinity Inc. and to end their chaos. Which would profit you too, you know. With Infinity Inc. gone, Titus Facilities would be in full control. You'll find your business is all but intact. The only damage was those explosions that allowed us to take over your station. It's all yours again now," Dominator informed him.

Carlos debated it. "Deal, Dominator. We'll defeat Infinity Inc. together and then I'll be in control of my business again. But I swear, after this day, if you ever cross me again, I'll kill you personally."

Dominator nodded. "That day will never come, believe me." Carlos nodded and cut the transmission. Dominator turned to Ridge. "Send a message to EVERYONE on our side not to engage Titus ships. They are on our side."

"Got it," Ridge told him and relayed the message. The Justice rocked again from the incoming blasts from the ship, jerking Dominator back some. Nearby there was an incredible explosion that rang in Dominator's ears.

"What WAS that?" he shouted.

"A Titus battle ship was destroyed," Ridge said.

Dominator sighed. This was going to be a costly battle. "Okay, have our three ships join in formation with the Titus ships. We have to push the Infinity Inc. ships back or risk a similar fate. We need to destroy at least ONE of their ships for the sting to be felt," Dominator informed him.

An officer glanced at him. "Not much, actually. I would say the shields scattered the majority of the blow." He looked down at the battle readings. "However, we are chipping away at that one ship. I'm getting reports from the others saying that they are taking worse damage but they are managing to damage the Infinity ships too."

Slash nodded and sat back down. "Fire all the missiles this sucker has at that middle ship there. Lets see if my little idea works," Slash order. The officer looked at him but then issued the order. The ship shuddered as a row of missiles were launched, striking the middle ship over and over, collapsing it's shields and then impacting on the hull, bright explosions flying off of it. A few seconds later the ship exploded, the explosion hitting the two ships next to it. The two damaged Infinity Inc. ships began to turn their bellies to the Hunter ships, where there was still some shielding left from the explosion. "YES!" shouted Slash.

Maverick Station 28

"I'll show you who's spineless!!!" he roared and leaped at Dark Strider, swinging wildly. He easily blocked with his saber, it sparking as it hit Garland's sword, and thrust Garland back a few inches, swinging his saber quickly, slashing Garland across the chest, tearing a hole in his clothes and leaving a thin trail of silvery blood. Garland swung at Dark Strider again, with more control, and the clone ducked it, listening to go through the air. He calculated the right amount of time to wait and brought the hilt of his sword up, smashing it into Garland's head, sending him stumbling back a few inches.

"You'll never win a sword fight. And your kiama will be useless against me..." Dark Strider taunted.

"We shall see about that," Garland hissed, spinning his sword as he positioned himself to strike. Dark Strider waited and when Garland swung at his arm, he stepped back, watching it cut through the railing on the catwalk and go all the way to the platform part. The catwalk screeched in protest, but neither one noticed. Garland yanked his sword out and brought it up to block the incoming saber. Stepping backwards, Garland jerked his sword back, watching the saber continue on without the sword stopping it, and chopped at Dark Strider, skinning his shoulder. The reploid roared in pain and brought his saber flying at Garland's stomach, just barely missing.

"That was your first and last hit, Garland. Trust me," Dark Strider told him, holding his sword at a diagonal angle to protect his entire body. Garland moved back, getting into a defensive stance, waiting for him to attack. It came swiftly and on death's wings as it hit Garland's sword with such power it sent it flying out of his hands and across the catwalk behind Dark Strider, sliding to a stop went it hit a pole, part of the railing on the edge. The sword tottered on the edge of the engine core's abyss. Dark Strider laughed evilly, knowing he had won. But not in Garland's eyes. The punch smashed into Dark Strider's nose, sending the reploid stumbling backwards. Garland then used his speed tech and rammed into Dark Strider, sending him over the edge of the catwalk. He didn't stop to see if Dark Strider made it.

Reaching down, he grabbed his sword and turned, just as Dark Strider pulled himself back up and landed on the already shaky catwalk. "You got a little power behind those globs of fat on your arm," Dark Strider hissed, wiping the battery acid from his nose, flicking it on the floor of the catwalk, listening to it hiss. Garland held his sword angle, mimicking what Dark Strider had done earlier. That caused the reploid to laugh, twirling his saber. He dived at Garland, striking the sword with all his might, but the angle Garland held it at kept it in his hands. The sword and saber pushed against each other, both sides struggling to get theirs past the other's for the kill.

"Y-You know something? You talk to much!" snarled Garland and pressed his feet into the catwalk. Dark Strider blinked in confusion at this. Smiling, Garland shoved off the catwalk, causing it to shake and groan, and flew his body weight into the saber, the sword pushing back Dark Strider, causing him to land on his back. Garland, being on top, continued to push down on the saber, trying to get at Dark Strider's neck. Dark Strider slammed his leg into Garland's back, sending him flying down the catwalk face first. Standing up, he turned and laughed at Garland as stood up himself.

"Perhaps, but that's the only thing keeping me from falling asleep. So far I haven't seen what all the fuss is about your species powers. Even the memories I hold from Death Star says you're good. But so far all I've seen is a little man being thrown every which way," Dark Strider said.

"I'll show you some action," Garland told him, stepping back as he activated his Holy Prowess, strengthening his armor. Dark Strider smiled.

"I was ready for that." Suddenly he flew at Garland, ramming into him with his saber, slashing through the armor quite easily, damaging it beyond assessment in one blow, and delivering a painful blow to Garland, who collapsed onto the catwalk in pain.

"H-How!? That's impossible!" shouted Garland as he brought himself up, holding onto his sword, the Gospel.

"You have to understand, I've had a long to prepare for this battle, kid. There's no edge you have on me," Dark Strider told him. "Now, if you're ready to end this little game, I can kill you swiftly and painlessly."

"Forget it!"

"My, my, I must say, you're quite naive. I mean, taking me on so you can save Death Star's life, plus so he could go after Iceheart. Quite naive I say..." Dark Strider told him, slashing. Garland raised his sword and blocked the blow, thrust Dark Strider back some and slashed at his lower midsection, who in return jumped back.

"What are you yapping about now!?" Garland asked as he used speed tech and dashed forward, swinging into Dark Strider, who barely had time to raise his saber to block, stumbling backwards some.

"Heh heh. You see, while I am a clone of Death Star...I also have every memory of his," Dark Strider informed him, slashing at Garland's head as he dashed at him again. Garland raised his sword to block, barely in time, only receiving a cut along his cheek.

"So?" he snarled, spinning his sword, waiting for Dark Strider to attack.

"I have the memories of him and your father, Kilath."

That stopped Garland dead in his tracks. Dark Strider took the advantage and charged, swinging his saber in an arc at Garland's throat. Garland raised his sword up an inch and blocked, then rolled with the momentum of the blow, leading Dark Strider in the arc he had intended for Garland's neck. Using the now arcing Dark Strider's momentum, Garland jabbed his sword straight through his gut, twisted hard, and rolled onto his back throwing Dark Strider through the air and yanked his sword out. Dark Strider crashed onto the catwalk, hard, bleeding from his gut and pouring battery acid everywhere on the catwalk, eating it. "I already know what took place. The Hunters told me."

Using one hand to hold onto his bleeding gut, and the other to hold his saber at position to hold Garland off, Dark Strider spit out a ton of battery fluid, rising slowly and in great pain. "Sure, they told you the truth from their point of view. But the truth always hides behind a lie. You see, that lie is Death Star's. When Kilath battled Crucifixtion, Death Star intervened but was thrown into a pillar, supposedly being knocked out. But he wasn't. He was awake and watching the battle, pretending to be knocked out. He hated how much trouble your father gave him and was all to glad to see him face Crucifixtion alone, knowing all too well he would lose. He could have intervened and possibly saved your father but he didn't, kid, because he hated him. So, you see my ironic point of view now, about you helping the person who allowed your father to die," Dark Strider told him, pulling himself straight up as his internal systems began to deal with the damage.

"What!? What proof do you have?!" Garland asked.

Dark Strider tapped his head. "Right here. You kill me, you'll never learn the truth, will you? There will always be that doubting edge. But think about it like this, kid. I'm Death Star, I was born of his emotions, his memories, his feelings, his hatreds, and his likes. I chose to join the Mavericks because I see humanity as a bane to reploids. That's our only difference. So tell me, since I'm just like Death Star, since I am Death Star, wouldn't you believe him?"

"I-I..."

When Iceheart died, it shattered him completely. He felt like he had died inside and turned against the one's who cared for him the most. Then he was killed by Cran only to be brought back into the world, crippled. That left him even more bitter than before. Then, after fixing his crippled state, he was slowly dying from a virus. And now, just as he had been cured of that, Iceheart showed back up, as a Maverick. It was all too much and Death Star didn't know where to go now.

Stopping, he turned off the scanner as he arrived in a lit up hallway. Walking slowly down it, his heart fluttered, knowing soon he would catch up with Iceheart. To finally be able to talk to her...to find out what she was thinking. To know her again... His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of a machine being turned on startled him. Suddenly both sides of the hallway let up bright red and a sharp jab of pain shot through his entire body as they slowly began to burn him to death.

Collasping to the ground in pain, he choked on his body fluids. Looking around, he saw that he was in a middle of a big trap, as both sides of the hallway were lit up in bright red, the panels glowing with radiating heat. Crying out, he felt his hands hit the ground, sizzling actually going on down there. His armor slowly began to melt, dross forming along the edges from the melting metal. He calculated quickly he had only a few minutes before he was dead. And dead he would be.

Slowly crawling, Death Star felt his strength being slowly sapped out of him. It was all he could do to focus as the trap continued to melt his armor, burning at his skin too. Trying to ignore the aggravating pain that seemed to be in every cell of his body, he continued on. But he slipped on some of the dross that was forming on his hand and crashed to the ground, feeling the last of his energy fade away. He was dying and he had nothing to go on with anymore.

He struggled to continue thinking, but even that was becoming harder and harder, as if trying to run in a pool of water. He closed his eyes, giving into the pain, praying for a quick death. Images flashed before him, images of duty, responsibility. Then images of his friends passed through his eyes, each of the Hunters going by before his mind, smiling or laughing. Then X1 and Garland appeared before his eyes, how they had been with him every step of the way since he had begun his quest. How they stood behind him. How they wouldn't let him die. I will NOT die...I am not a quitter...I am a survivor... he thought to himself and yelled, screamed literally, inside his mind, forcing his limbs to move.

His hand reached out and firmly planted itself on the floor. Death Star pulled himself up got to his knees, one of his eyes shut tight in pain. Dross was pouring off his melting metal, making it difficult to move. Ignoring it, he forced himself to stand up and to take a step, an agonizing step. Then another one. Death Star ignored the pain, blocked it out, and continued on until he was on the other side of the melting panels, where he slumped down, victorious. Laughing, he could feel his armor stop melting, just centimeters from reaching his circuits. "I must say I'm impressed Death Star. No one in the world could have survived that..." came a voice from his left. He looked over and saw Iceheart there, standing at the entrance of a huge room. "But then again, you're not just anyone, are you?"

Infinity Station

Fade glanced behind at him. "Of course not. We have nothing to worry about. Titus nor the Hunters will be able to lay a finger on us. Besides, the battle has hardly begun. Be patient, Shell. You shall see what I mean. Now head off to your lab and work on the Mk.2 and leave me to deal with these...pests."

"If you say, Fade..." Shell sighed and downloaded himself to his lab.

Slowing down the ship, he jerked it downward, doing a big loop and appearing behind him as he locked on and fired, blowing one up. The other four quickly dived to the left and right, two to each side, and came on his side, firing. All four scored direct hits on his fighter, blowing out critical circuits. It sent Ace into a spin, which he barely managed to pull himself out of. Targeting one of the four pilots, he switched to missiles and fired, then locked onto another and fired missiles. Both blew up instantly as he flew on, scanning for the last two which were still on him.

"Hold on, Ace, I'm coming..." came Seraphna's voice.

"Thank you," Ace said, concentrating on the fighters. A blast into his rear alerted him and as he began to turn, he realized he had been tricked. The one pilot had got him to turn into the blast of the other pilot!!! The glass in front of him shattered as the blasts poured over it, blowing up the nose of the Hunter-class Fighter. Knowing he had only precious seconds, he locked onto the pilot that shot him, hearing an explosion behind him indicating Seraphna shot the other one, and fired, blowing him up.

Now he had only seconds before he too would join the debree....

I know how you feel... he thought sadly. But if they both didn't start concentrating, they would join Ace. Firing, he blew the pilot up and keyed in the comm. "Seraphna, follow my lead so we can clear a path with these fighters. If you don't stop thinking about Ace, you'll get hit next."

"Y-You're right," came Seraphna's voice. She filed in behind him and the two began to vape the incoming pilots.

Ridge glanced at him. "Sir, we might have more pressing matters coming up..." he said.

"What?" asked Dominator.

"Three of the Infinity ships are heading this way, towards the Justice alone. They must know this is the Flag ship and plan on destroying it. Dominator felt a lump form in his gut as he glanced out the viewport and saw the three ships coming in, turbo cannons firing. The ship roared and the next thing Dominator knew was a world of pain as the bridge collapsed around him.