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Sometime in the distant future, in a spot far off in the deepest recesses of outer space...where the only light comes from distant stars, and the only sound is the dull hum from internal noise of many planets and suns...there drifted a great, sharp-edged ship.

The ship was called The Fang; it was the pride and joy of the Ravagers, a band of warriors and explorers - mercenaries, some called them - currently under the command of the Federation of Free Peoples. While in the employ of the Federation, the Ravagers could handle jobs that the Federation space fleet couldn't manage on their own. They were the anti-heroes; the warriors with no official allegiance, ruled only by their own private code of ethics...and the state of their wallets.

The Fang was a deadly-looking ship indeed; they called it "The Dagger of the Stars." It looked the part: a sharp, sleek, rather triangular craft, with a sharp nose and smooth edges. It was slim and swift; armor-plated, but not bulky or jagged. It was well-armed, with two large guns (one on starboard and one on port side), and a fixed-placement plasma cannon on the bottom, in front of the flagship's hangar. It was gigantic, but also nimble; able to sweep through space faster and with more ease than most similar starcraft.

It was morning on Seullis, the most recent planet visited by the Ravagers, when the Fang was en-route to its next destination: the lunar dock of Fraunking. As various crew members marched about, attending to their duties, or just heading to the mess hall or their quarters to relax between jobs, two particular figures were moving through the Hall on one of the upper decks.

Well, more appropriately, one figure was moving: a seven-foot-tall, female Doberman anthro, with brown fur and blonde highlights, and matching brown eyes. She was dressed in in a long red trenchcoat, with golden lining, and a golden belt around her slender waist, with two pouches attached to it. Stenciled onto her right shoulder was an image of a Tyrannosaurus skull. She wore red trousers, along with black leather gloves and boots. Strapped to either arm was a silver gauntlet: on her left arm she wore a wrist-mounted minigun; on her right, what appeared to be an energy shield generator. She walked with a stiff, strict gait as she tromped across the deck, surrounded by various creatures of all sorts, all dressed in black or red uniforms.

The female Doberman turned her head to glance at the other figure, who was seated on her shoulder: this other figure was only a foot tall, and also feminine. She was a young anthropomorphic skink, with black and blue scales on her limbs and tail, and a head of red and gold, with deep black eyes. She was dressed in a crimson military-style uniform, similar to the Doberman's, only with a short-cut jacket as opposed to the trenchcoat, and dark lining as opposed to glittering gold, and under one of her tiny arms she held a miniature electronic tablet, and a small blue stylus, tapping and swiping it across the pad as she glanced about at all she saw around her.

"Miss Teska?"

"Yes, Ma'am?" the skink asked, looking over at the Doberman, who nodded upon being acknowledged and continued on her way, her face as stern as ever.

"I trust you understand your duties aboard the vessel?"

"Very well, Ma'am," Teska nodded, a serious, eager look on her face.

"I must say, it's...odd to find a science officer fresh out of the Federation Academy, wanting to join us," murmured the Doberman as she continued through the hall. "Generally speaking, our crew is made up of those who feel dissatisfied with the Federation's rules, but still wish to continue working against their respective enemies. People with more...field experience."

"I was surprised you accepted me, Lieutenant Von Stricka," smiled Teska. "I...know it's strange."

"Strange, but not unwelcome," Von Stricka said, crisply. "We ally ourselves with the Federation of Free Peoples only because it currently suits us. The fact one such as yourself feels compelled to join with us, rather than heading straight into active duty for their navy, is...uplifting."

Teska tilted her head down.

"I...learned things at the Academy," she murmured.

"We noticed," the lieutenant said, brusquely. "You graduated top of your class in Naval Science and Intelligence; Specializations in Macro Augmentations and Biomechanical Engineering. "

The canine paused and lowered her voice.

"You...could have had anything you wanted from the Federation," she said, narrowing her eyes, though it was hard to tell what she was seeking as she glanced to her shoulder once more. "You are aware of that, aren't you?"

Teska paused, then nodded back, a little unsettled by the way the canine mercenary looked at her. It was her size, above all, that bugged her; it would take getting used to being only a foot tall around six-to-eight-foot giants. At the Academy, she'd dealt with "macros" very rarely; on this ship, there was little such segregation in the halls. She could very clearly see mice and even a few small birds skittering about on small balconies specially built for them in the main corridor.

However, it was those very same qualities that drew her here. The Federation was sterile and organized almost to prejudiced degrees; micros and macros supposedly lived in harmony, but Teska had learned - often the hard way - that things were not always as they seemed. Here, however, she saw no such bias. And that intrigued her. She wanted to do what was right, and she wanted to do it in a place where she could be seen and respected for her mind properly, not just scoffed at as a "little bitty lizard." If that meant joining an unorthodox fleet, so be it.

These were all the things she THOUGHT. However, all she SAID to the curious lieutenant was: "Yes. I am aware."

Von Stricka looked at the skink for a moment more, then tilted her head. A look that seemed...impressed flickered over her face, almost as if she had read Teska's mind, before she turned back and continued on her way.

"You will be working under the direct supervision of Commander Roy Gregorio Biv; he'll insist on you calling him 'Roy,' by the way," the lieutenant said, calmly. "You'll meet him tomorrow morning, when your work will begin properly. You answer first to him, then to me, then to the Captain."

"And...when will I get to meet him?" asked Teska. "I...don't know anything about him."

Von Stricka stopped...then lifted a hand, and allowed the skink to step onto it. She was only about the size of a doll compared to the tall and elegant Doberman, who furrowed her brow.

"You don't?" she asked, disbelieving. "I...would have thought you learned...SOMETHING before signing up to this crew."

"I know he is a macro, and that he was involved with a secret project for the Federation at some point," shrugged Teska. "The Academy kept a lot of those kinds of files and documents out of our reach; I guess all the better to make sure we stayed on their side."

"I see," Von Stricka murmured, then shrugged, and carried Teska off again. "Regardless: you can meet the Captain tomorrow, as well. He'll want to take a look at you come afternoon, just to make sure you know his code of conduct and plans thoroughly. We don't believe in too many secrets aboard this ship, you see. By tomorrow, you'll know everything you need to know; by the end of the week, you'll know much, much more than that."

"I...um...I understand...I think," murmured Teska, not sure what else to say.

"We'll be at the micro quarters entrance soon enough," Von Stricka added. "You are welcome to choose any room that has not already been claimed. We change out crew here somewhat infrequently, for...various reasons..."

"I can imagine."

"Yes. At any rate, you will be supplied with a door tag and a code number identifying your quarters to all, to avoid anyone interfering with your place. Should you at any point, during your tenure here, wish to change quarters, you are to report to me. Not to Roy, not to the Captain, ME. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Think of this place as a theater. Roy is the Technical Director. The Captain is the Head of Production."

"And...you, Lieutenant?"

"Stage Manager," shrugged Von Stricka. "Some would say the most important part of the entire thing. At any rate, you are a member of the crew; our fighters and gunners are the cast. Any other positions within this analogy will be made clear as time goes on. Do you understand?"

"I believe so, Ma'am."

"Perfect. As you can see, we have special walkways and corridors built into the ship to allow our micros in Science, Medical, and Engineering to move throughout this vessel without fear of being stepped on or otherwise injured or inconvenienced. I advise you strongly to make use of these at all possible times; to be blunt, we've lost people who haven't taken that advice. Horribly."

Teska gulped.

"I...I'll be careful, Ma'am."

"I'm sure you will be," Von Stricka grunted. "In two weeks we shall reconvene at our Home Station to meet with the other Ravagers; the Captain's Family, and our head superiors. It is not uncommon for crew members to be traded between ships in the fleet as needed; you will be introduced to the other Captains then, as shall any other new crew members gathered for this vessel or the others by that time. If you are assigned to work on another ship in the fleet, you are permitted to respectfully submit reasons why you may wish to remain on your current vessel as needed, but please know whether these reasons are accepted or not is entirely at the discretion of the Captains. Got it?"

"Aye, Ma'am."

"Beyond that, the rules are as you would imagine: please try not to start fights aboard the Fang, be respectful of your superiors and crew-mates, follow orders as needed...you know the basic drills and summations, I imagine?"

"Correct, Ma'am."

Von Stricka stopped, and narrowed her eyes at Teska again.

"Miss Teska," she said, coldly. "The Captain himself will tell you..."

She lifted Teska up a bit higher, so the skink and the commanding Doberman were eye to eye.

"...I am ALWAYS correct."

Teska bit back a squeak of fright, and nodded.

The Lieutenant nodded back, then lowered her gloved hands...and placed her doll-sized new crew mat on a ledge leading into a miniature, dimly-lit hallway. Teska glanced down the hall, then back up at Von Stricka, who stood imperiously with her hands on her hips.

"There. Now, Miss Teska: you are aware that, as Chief Lieutenant, among my duties is discipline aboard this vessel, correct?"

"Y-ye-yes, Ma'am."

"Well...I doubt you'll be a problem here...but for the record, when micros such as you ESPECIALLY screw up, I have a very particular...holding cell for tiny troublemakers..."

So saying, the Doberman smirked somewhat wickedly...and placed a single hand over her abdomen...which she patted gently.

"Temporary, of course," she said with a slight hiss. "But it usually gets the job done."

Teska turned VERY pale. The Doberman's grin widened mischievously.

"You...make your point very clear, M-Ma'am."

"I should hope so," chuckled Von Stricka, then crouched down, nearly placing her chin against the ledge as she smirked at the skink. "That about wraps up things for the moment, Miss Teska. However, there is one last thing for me to say..."

The lizard bit her lip, took a step back cautiously, and nodded.

"Yes?"

Von Stricka blinked...and then, that smile became softer. Gentler. Friendly and sweet, rather than impish; a far cry from her usually cold demeanor thus far.

"Welcome Aboard," the Doberman said quietly, then winked. "And, please...feel free to call me Ari. But only in private."

Teska blinked...then smiled timidly back.

"Thank you...um...Ari."

Ari's smile widened, she nodded...then stood up and, without another word, marched off to take care of other duties.

Teska watched the Doberman go, drumming her fingers around her tablet, glanced at her notes, took a deep breath...then headed down the corridor to claim her quarters, find her luggage, and get settled in.

"And so it begins..."

---

In space, time is meaningless. When one is adrift at sea, you at least have the Sun and the Moon to keep the time, if no accurate clocks. But for those who venture into the dark unknown beyond their home planets, time has no purpose; you are travelling to various worlds, each with their own respective calendars, each with their own Suns and Moons, each with their own cultures, however unified or varying. There is no real way to keep track of time beyond your own internal clock. Therefore, those who ventured on these journeys had to keep schedules in other ways, dictating for the crew how time worked aboard their vessel. For without time, there can be no control.

Teska was quietly reading in her quarters on Micro Deck 12. Joseph Conrad's_Heart of Darkness_ was her choice of poison for that "evening," and as the novella was thin, she was just about finished with it. She'd spent a few hours, following her arrival aboard the Fang, mingling with her fellow Micro Crew Members. It turned out there were more of them than the Macros; logic seemed to play a hand here. In a decent sized house, you can usually house four to six human beings decently. In this same house, you can have over a dozen rodents, and hundreds of insects, slipping through the cracks in the walls. Therefore, on a ship the size of the Fang, it made sense that room was more plentiful than perhaps even the heavy-armored footsoldiers realized.

Teska sighed softly as she finished the book, and put it aside. She had changed into a set of olive green pajamas, and made her bed tidily. She brushed at the blankets over he knees and then paused, tilting her head slightly. She listened...she breathed...the ship seemed quiet as the grave. What commotion she heard was distant and irregular; the people on the night shift, no doubt, to keep the craft on its course, and to keep a watchful eye for any great disturbances.

Teska nodded silently, as if affirming something to herself, then yawned - a squeaky sort of sound that might have been described as "cute" - before lying down and pulling the blankets up. It was chilly inside the ship. She shut her onyx eyes, and soon fell peacefully asleep.

Two quiet hours, by the ship's timekeeping, passed in stillness and relative silence. Teska's slumber was dreamless, serene, and unperturbed...

...Until...

_ BANG! _

WHEE-OH! WHEE-OH! WHEE-OH!

"GAAAH!" Teska cried out, madly flailing as she all but tumbled out of bed, her blankets entangled around her. She kicked free and panted as the blaring siren continued. She felt the ship shaking, heard commotion beyond her quarter doors...voices of all sorts yelling in all kinds of languages, and footsteps - both heavy and light - thud-thud-thudding rapidly in the halls of the Fang.

Startled and only half-alert, the skink stumbled to her feet lurched towards the door. She slapped her palm onto the electronic locking device - found both inside and outside the room - and waited till the quarters opened automatically before stepping out to observe the insanity.

Bright red and blue lights blared all over the ship; she saw micros of all sorts flying through the area (sometimes literally), from canaries to jerboas, all scared out of their wits.

"What's going on?" she yelled, racing into the crowd and moving over to a chubby chipmunk. "What's happening, Calvin?"

"Pirates!" shivered Calvin, his whole pudgy framework quivering. "Space Pirates! They were waiting to ambush us! They're trying to board the ship!"

Before Teska could ask anything more, as if on cue, something slammed into the wall - THOOM! - right beside the two. Both jumped aside, nearly toppling, with Calvin hugging onto Teska instinctively for dear life.

"Looks like they HAVE boarded," shuddered Teska.

THOOM-CHUNK!

With a horrible wrenching sound, the wall to Micro Deck 12's main corridor broke apart. Through the gaping hole in the wall, the pair peered out onto Macro Deck 6, where the larger crew members could move freely...

...And saw a single, blood red eye glare back.

Calvin screamed as, through the hole in the wall, a huge, slimy-looking, gray-green hand reached out and reached right for him and Teska. The skink tried to move aside, but wasn't quite quick enough! The slippery hand latched onto the chipmunks hind legs, and before Teska could get better hold of him, he released her with a jolt...and howled as he was dragged through the hole.

Teska hurried to the hole itself...and saw a huge creature, about seven feet tall (which, to her, was about the size of a house to you or me), dressed in spiked black armor, carrying an energy rifle in one slimy-looking, clawed, webbed hand. Its head resembled a giant eel, with glowing green eyes and huge, yellow teeth. The Eel-Man hissed at Calvin, holding him upside-down...and as the chipmunk flailed, pleading for his life, it wordlessly opened its mouth, revealing a maw oozing with black goo.

Teska thought fast; she glanced about and saw a jagged shard of metal - no bigger than the beast's thumb - that had broken off when it punched through the walls. (She didn't want to know how strong it was in order to do that.) She picked it up in both hands and hurled it towards the Eel-Man's face like a harpoon.

"SSSCRRREEEEAAAAWWWRRRRR!" the pirate screeched, as the shard of metal pierced its eye. In pain, it dropped Calvin, the chipmunk yowling as he fell through empty air...

...Before being snatched up in a black gloved paw.

"Ari!" exclaimed Teska with a relieved chuckle.

The Doberman held Calvin close to her chest, then growled as she lifted her wrist gun and aimed for the Eel-Man's chest. The pirate was too distracted trying to remove the offending object from his eye - which oozed hideous yellow blood - to notice...before Ari fired a single orange energy bolt through it, sending it to the floor in a silent, dead heap.

"GET MOVING!" Ari barked at Teska. "THAT'S AN ORDER!"

"Aye-aye!" Teska called, and - knowing the quivering Calvin was safe in the Lieutenant's hands - she hurriedly barrelled down the hall of Micro Deck 12, hoping to catch up with the others who were in flight.

After racing down the quarters deck, she came to the ledge where Ari had first dropped her off, leading to the exterior "balconies" where the Macro Deck and the Micro Deck collided. She froze for a moment; everywhere she looked, the footsoldiers - lions, tigers, and bears, oh my - all garbed in the Fang's red uniforms, were clashing with Eel-Men. Blades clanged against one another, energy blasters sang out, and red-and-yellow fluid spurted here and there. It was a gruesome and yet awe-inspiring sight to behold; to the 12-inch-tall skink, it was like a battle of the titans, a war between what seemed like hundreds of giants (though it was likely only dozens, if that), each one bigger than the last.

The skink shook herself out of it, and glanced from side to side. She couldn't find the group, and she couldn't recall the way to the hangars; she'd learned that escape plans had Micros retreating to the hangars to avoid capture...or worse.

An Eel-Man noticed her, hissed, and raised a huge, crooked-bladed sword over its head. Teska squealed and darted forward towards the right, not thinking any further, never even noticing the panther who shoulder-checked the pirate before clubbing them over the snout with the butt of a plasma gun.

Teska hurried as fast as she could, not looking anywhere but straight ahead. She grinned; she saw a group of micros not so far off. She was finally catching up! She was going to be safe at-

KRA-KOOM!

"YYYAAARRRGH!" Teska wailed, as a stray energy bolt from one of the brawlers around her blasted the "balcony" on which she ran. Unable to stop in time, she toppled over the edge, and howled as she fell down towards a broken ventilation duct...

...And soon found herself sliding deep down into the darkness.

Teska slid through the vents in silence; she wasn't sure for how long she went down. The smooth, steel-and-ugranium blend ducts were pitch black. It was like going down a ride at some twisted amusement park; a roller coaster without the cart; a log flume without the log. Her breath was stolen as she fell through the darkness; her heart seemed to stop. She silently prayed that fan blades wouldn't be waiting for her, wherever she landed...

...Then, finally, after what felt like at least an hour of sliding in the cool, consuming blackness...THUNK!

"Ouch!" Teska hissed out as she finally came to a stop. She paused and frowned, rubbing her sore tail, before taking a deep breath and inspecting her surroundings.

She was still inside the air ducts, but the space had widened to create a "room" only a few inches taller than herself at full height. Dim light came from a slotted shaft only two or three feet away from herself (which, in relative terms, was perhaps a few yards away for someone like you or I), and from the shaft, she could hear distant voices. She couldn't quite make them out, or tell who was speaking, let alone if she knew them. Above her, through the vents, she heard the commotion going on somewhere on the upper decks.

Teska glanced back and up into the blackness from whence she had come, then approached the shaft and peered through the slots to better understand what was going on.

Her eyes widened, and her heart leaped into her throat.

Through the slots in the shaft, she saw three MASSIVE figures. Even from her high perch, she could tell very plainly that they were the largest Macros she had ever seen: each stood at roughly a dozen feet tall, veritable mountains compared to the foot-high skink. They were a trio of anthro sharks, each a different species.

One was a Hammerhead shark, colored a solid cement gray; he carried what looked like a large, black rod or staff in one hand, with dials and slits on the end; Teska quickly realized it was some sort of light-blade weapon, but exactly what sort was hard to say. The Hammerhead wore a blue leather jacket and dark blue trousers, with silver armored shoulder plates, knee plates, and elbow plates, along with what appeared to be a metal-plated vest or breastplate beneath the jacket. His eyes, fittingly, were a glittering cerulean.

Beside the Hammerhead stood a Goblin Shark, with unsettling pinkish-gray flesh and horrible lime green eyes. He was dressed in a hip-length green coat with faded silver lining, underneath which he wore what looked like a dark green skin-tight suit, and fingerless green gloves on his clawed, slimy-looking hands. He wore no visible armor whatsoever.

And before them both stood the largest and most imposing of the three: a Great White anthro, with eyes that were an unusual shade of glowing violet. He wore a long, dark purple trenchcoat, underneath which was visible a full-body outfit of mechanical-looking armor, as black as ebony, but with purple highlights on the joints. A pair of dark gauntlets were on his armor-gloved hands, and his metal-plated boots ended in spiked toes. Across his snout was an X-shaped scar, jagged and atrocious, and as he sneered at his fellow sharks, Teska saw that several of his teeth were missing.

Knowing how many teeth sharks had in general, that was both impressive and a little horrific.

"Move it, you fools!" the Great White snarled. "Get those energy cores ready for transport! The men can only keep up the distraction for so long!"

"With all due respect, Captain Megalo," the Goblin Shark began in a sibilant voice, tending to a large metal crate, "Shouldn't you be fighting alongside them?"

"He doesn't trust you to get these taken care of on your own, Jareth," snorted the Hammerhead, as he attached what looked like huge metallic straps to another.

"I don't trust either one of you, Gavel," snorted Megalo. "Now, hurry it up; fuel like this can sell like mad on the black market."

Teska bit her lip; quickly deducing the plans of the pirates, and just where she was: somewhere in engineering, where the energy cells for the ship's main fuel supply were kept. She took a deep breath and peered about...then spotted a "tunnel" in the ventilation ducts, dead ahead. Perhaps she could find a way out and figure out a way to get word to her fellow officers?

Carefully, Teska began to creep across the slotted shaft...blissfully unaware of the fact that, no matter how technology advances, there are some banes of technical existence that always seem to crop up when least desired.

Case in Point: The Dreaded Loose Screw, such as that which held part of the shaft in place.

Before Teska knew it, she stepped a mite too hard on the shaft below her...and let out a shrill yelp as her foot slipped through the hole in the vent cover, and she soon found herself half inside the vent, and half outside it.

"Did you hear that?" grunted Gavel.

"Something's in here!" hissed Jareth.

"More like someone," growled Megalo.

The sound of sniffing...a low, beastly rumble...then...

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Footsteps.

Giant footsteps.

Giant footsteps...coming straight towards Teska!

The skink whimpered, squeaked and tried her hardest to pull herself back up and flee...but too late! With a sharp squeal, Teska felt a huge, muscular hand wrap around her legs and tail, and drag her out.

As she was brought into the dimly-lit, shadowy room, the skink whimpered, her gold-and-scarlet scales turning almost white as a sheet. She was in the grip of Megalo, the massive Great White anthro's huge teeth only inches away from her.

"Well, well, well," growled Megalo, baring his fangs in a sickening smile. "What have we here?"

"Looks like we got ourselves a little eavesdropper, Captain," cackled Jareth.

"Emphasis on little," smirked Gavel, crossing his arms over his chest with a cruel smirk.

"L-Lemme go!" Teska cried out, and struggled to break free of the Pirate Captain's grip...then let out a pained yelp as he squeezed her tightly.

"How do you think we oughta deal with her?" snarled the shark-like pirate.

"Squash her like a bug!" voted Gavel, pumping one fist into his hand for emphasis.

"Cut her open like a lab rat!" suggest Jareth, rubbing his hands together.

Megalo hummed thoughtfully, tilting his huge head as he lifted the squirming skink over him, his free hand on his hip.

"Nah," he rumbled at length. "I think I got a much more...delicious idea in mind..."

Right on cue, the space pirate's gut let out a deep, bellowing rumble. Teska froze as the Great White grinned...and patted his armor-plated belly with his free hand.

"It's a long way back to port," he growled. "I could use a snack...don't you think, boys?"

"Very wise, Captain!" nodded Jareth.

"She does look tasty," agreed Gavel, licking his lips as he spoke with an ugly black tongue.

Teska shuddered...then yelped as Megalo brushed a claw over the back of her head, and chuckled nastily.

"It's a shame," the captain almost purred out, his mouth watering as he spoke. "Such a pretty little head...I'll almost feel bad for biting it off. Almost."

Then, without another word, the Great White Pirate closed his purple eyes...and opened his huge, jagged-toothed maw as wide as he could. The gaping, drooling red abyss gaped before the small lizard, who let out a scream of terror as steaming, stinking breath - reeking of old meat and bad blood - billowed up over her, the hungry beast's fangs ready to cleave through her soft scales...all while his cronies guffawed at her peril...

"HELP ME, SOMEBODY!"

BANG!

The door to the room suddenly fell open, and all eyes turned to the disturbance. Teska once again froze up.

Standing in the open doorframe was an EVEN LARGER Macro; at least a head or two taller than any of the sharks, and probably more! But this particular creature was not one she'd seen before...she KNEW what it was, naturally, but she'd never thought she'd SEE one in the flesh.

It was a Saurian; an anthro dinosaur. A Ceratosaurus, for short; it's eyes were red and yellow, smoldering like the fires of Hell itself. Dark horns ran over its head and snout, and its scales were a dark brown, with a brick-colored underbelly, giving it an overall demonic appearance. It was broad-shouldered and muscular in form, which was accentuated by the armor it bore: black and red, with silver spikes on its gauntlets and shoulders. On his chestplate was stenciled the bone-white silhouette of an alien skull. In one meaty, clawed hand, the beast carried a massive blade, a sword with a strange, jagged shape that looked vaguely like a sickle. On his other arm, he bore a circular black shield, with two gun-like chambers on it; a Bulker.

"Put. Her. Down," the Ceratosaur snarled at the sharks as he loomed over them.

Megalo and the three sharks looked up at the Saurian...then Megalo snarled, and spat at the creature's feet.

"Sic 'im!" he shouted to his partners. "Carve him up!"

Jareth hissed, and crouched in a predatory manner. He threw his arms out...and a pair of long, sharp blades, seemingly made of a green, crystal-like substance, flew from his sleeves and into his hands.

The ceratosaur just narrowed his eyes and lifted his jagged sword, challengingly.

With an unholy screech, the Goblin Shark hurled himself into the air, spinning like a whirling dervish as he flew back down. His crystal blades clashed with the Saurian's, and the pirate sneered as he then launched a kick, knocking the larger beast back as hit him in the waist. Jareth twirled his blades and lunged, meaning to stab the beast straight through the chinks in his armor, only for the shield to come up and block the strike. With a growl, the Saurian pushed forward, and at the same time, swung down his weapon. Jareth lifted his blades and parried the strike, then leapt up, swiping his weapons at the dinosaur anthro's face.

Jareth missed, and the Ceratosaurus stepped back for a moment...then swung out with his blade in a wide arc. The pirate nimbly backpedalled, and hurled his blades at the Saurian. Once again, the dinosaur soldier lifted his shield, and the crystal blades flew against it...and became embedded in it.

With a grunt and a sneer, the Ceratosaur knocked the blades away...just as Jareth reached into his coat and began hurling more towards him. The dinosaur ducked and raced towards the Goblin Shark, then dropped to the ground...and kicked Jareth's legs out from under him.

The pirate growled, and hopped to his feet soon enough, before the dinosaur could strike again. He somersaulted away, and pulled another two knives out, and then sprinted towards his foe in a mad charge. The Ceratosaur crouched low, as if ready for the charge...

...Before reaching forward and plunging his blade straight through Jareth's unarmored chest. The Goblin Shark's crystal blades hit the floor with a clatter; he was killed instantly.

No sooner was Jareth's limp body thrown aside, then Gavel stepped forward. His blue eyes flashed as he snarled, teeth on full display; a ferocious show of defiance that his enemy matched immediately. The Hammerhead twirled his black metal staff and swung at the Saurian, who blocked it with his shield, stepping back, before reaching up and bringing down his blade in a chopping motion.

Gavel managed to dodge the strike and lifted his staff in both hands. He turned a dial on one end of the weapon...and out of that end popped two blue-colored beams of light, in the shape of a double-bladed, almost medieval-style energy axe.

"I'M GONNA SPLIT YOU IN TWO!" roared Gavel, and swung his axe wildly, nearly making good on his work as the Saurian barely managed to back away from the strike...the weapon cutting a smoking gash through his armor. The Ceratosaur looked down at the slice...then sighed irritably, as if his favorite shirt had just gotten a slight tear in it.

Gavel bellowed like a wild beast and ploughed forward, bringing his axe up and swinging it down, as if to cleave his enemy smack dab through the middle. The devilish dino dropped and rolled aside, then launched a kick upward, catching the Hammerhead under his oddly-shaped snout.

Gavel cried out; stunned by the blow, he stumbled back, and taking the initiative, the Ceratosaur lunged forward, grabbed him by the ankle, and tripped him over. Gavel growled as he thudded onto the floor back-first.

With an almost feral cry, the Saurian, fiery eyes wide and filled with hate, pounced upon the Hammerhead. Gavel lifted his energy axe to try and block the impending strike...only for the Saurian's jaws to wrap around the weapon...

CRRRUNCH!

Gavel's light blades fizzled out as his axe fell in two sputtering halves.

Gavel blinked at his empty hands, then up at the savage grin of the Saurian.

"Oh, no," the shark gulped.

"Oh, yes," the Saurian purred...then lunged down towards Gavel's throat with his jaws wide open...

Teska covered her eyes, unable to watch what happened next. The doomed pirate's screams were cut mercifully short.

A moment later, the Ceratosaur panted, and licked the blood off his fangs...then turned to face the Captain who still held the skink in his hand.

He glared darkly...as he found the Great White aiming a disintegration blaster straight at the doll-sized lizard, who whimpered, and looked to the Saurian pleadingly.

"H-help me..."

"Shut up!" the Captain snapped, then glared at the Saurian coldly, his purple eyes filled with ice and anger. "You can kill me, but not as fast as I can pull this trigger. If you care about this one, you'll-"

"You're right."

"...What?"

"I said, you're right," the Saurian said, calmly. "I can't kill you as fast as you can pull that trigger. And I don't want to."

The Great White blinked...then growled and glowered.

"This some kinda trick?" he snarled.

"Nope. It's the truth. Bites, doesn't it?"

So saying, the Saurian gave Teska a subtle wink.

The skink blinked, looking from the evil captain to the Saurian...and quickly put two and two together.

Before Megalo could respond to the Saurian's words...she opened her mouth...and sank her own sharp, needle-like fangs into Megalo's hand.

"ACK!" exclaimed the space pirate, immediately letting go of Teska...at which point, the Saurian plunged forward...

SNAP!

He caught Teska in his mouth...

THWACK!

And smashed Captain Megalo over the head with the hilt of his sword.

The pirate captain was knocked out cold, and crumpled to the floor - alive, but unconscious.

The Ceratosaur nodded, stood up to his full height, and sheathed his blade...before - PHUT! - spitting out the little lizard into his free hand.

Teska panted and gasped, covered in slick, sloppy saliva...but otherwise unscathed.

"Sorry 'bout that," the Saurian apologized, sincerely. "You, uh...you're probably gonna smell like dino breath for an hour or two, heh..."

Teska blinked up at her very, VERY large savior...then let out a soft, nervous laugh.

"I...at least I'll...l-live..."

The Saurian smiled back, looking amused. Teska bit her lip, gulped, then looked up at him a bit more boldly, causing him to tilt his head.

"Um...e-excuse me, but...who are you?"

"Captain Grim!" a familiar voice called out.

Both the Saurian and the skink looked up, startled...to find Ari Von Stricka standing in the doorway. She was panting, her headfur disheveled, a few speckles of yellow blood on her red trenchcoat.

"Th-the pirates are all gone, sir," she managed to sputter out. "We managed to-"

She froze...then narrowed her eyes when she saw the spit-stained Teska.

"What are you doing down here?" she demanded. "And why are you covered in drool?"

Teska let out a squeak of fear. The Ceratosaur chuckled.

"She got into a bit of a jam," he explained, gently. "Don't worry, Arisa, she's not hurt. I helped her out."

Ari sighed with relief, and entered the room fully; she was only about half as tall as the Ceratosaurus, perhaps a little shorter. She glanced around thoughtfully, and grimaced as she saw the bodies on the floor.

"Well...maintenance is gonna have a fun time with this mess, Grim..."

The Ceratosaur shrugged rather cheerfully. Teska blinked up at the huge Saurian and gulped once more.

"...Grim...Captain...Grim?"

The Saurian looked down at the skink and smiled.

"Yes."

"...Y-you're...you're the Captain?"

"That's right."

Teska thought she might faint; everything felt so overwhelming at this point.

"W-well," she finally said after a moment's pause, and let out a slightly hysterical-sounding giggle. "I...guess I was gonna meet you sometime...heh heh..."

Grim rolled his eyes, then gestured for Arisa to move closer. The Doberman Lieutenant obeyed, and the Saurian crouched down before very carefully offering the skink to his second-in-command.

"Take this young lady somewhere where she can change and clean up; meet me on the main deck once she is taken care of. I'll have a few officers take care of the other Micros."

Ari nodded back, and pulled a black-and-white handkerchief from her trenchcoat pocket, which she used to take the slime-coated skink out of Grim's hands. The Captain wiped his claws on his armored leggings, then thumbed at the unconscious Megalo.

"That's their ex-Captain," he explained. "I'll have Snarly and Chettler lock him in the brig. There's a bounty on his head in five separate systems; when we reach port, we'll turn him in for it."

"Aye-Aye, Captain," Ari acknowledged. "Anything else?"

"That'll be all," said Grim, and without another word, the mountainous Macro walked out of the room.

Teska watched him go, mouth gaping and eyes wide. Ari noticed the look on her face and raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?"

Slowly, Teska looked back at the canine.

"...Ari...Ma'am...after all that...I just have one thing to say..."

"And that is?"

Teska very, very slowly grinned.

"Lieutenant," she said excitedly. "I think I'm gonna like it here."

The End of chapter 1