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Here is the next chapter. It's another lengthy installment, which took me a while to plan and work out. I enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you enjoy reading as always.

For Reference:

Kyree (key ree): anthromorph wolf-like race

Kenseng (ken sang): anthromorph tiger-like race

Arastos (a rest tos): alien starship http://www.sofurry.com/page/248059

Arastos Crew:

Kanolos (ka no loss): male kyree, starship helmsman, mated to Riyla

Riyla (ri la): female kyree, starship captain, mated to Kanolos

Shyla (shy la): female kenseng, starship tactical officer/cook, mated to Yanashi

Yanashi (yana she): female kyree, starship tactical officer/physician, mated to Shyla

Eriras (ear rass): female kenseng, starship engineer, mated to Taylo

Taylo (tay low): male kenseng, starship engineer, mated to Eriras

Lumina (loo men na): holographic female kyree construct, starship supporting A.I.

Keith (key th): male human, human ambassador

Territory Map Diagram: http://www.sofurry.com/page/222716/

The Lone Wolf Pack

Written By: Spudz

Slowly light began to fade with the coming of night, the sun retreating gradually below the horizon. With the growing darkness, shadows expanded across the soft carpet of the White House Oval Office, providing a subtle backdrop to match the reflective mood of the room's sole occupant. Quietly President Harold Schrader sat at his office desk, his chair reclined back slightly as he steepled his hands in thought. The day had been long and challenging, but now the Commander in Chief could take a moment to relax.

Utter chaos... complete and total disarray... the past week had been nothing less than the greatest challenge President Schrader had ever faced in his lifetime. A collapsing economy, widespread riots, strained international relations, brutal terrorist attacks; each crippling situation working to destabilize the social fabric of the country he had sworn to protect. And of course there was the mysterious alien starship that had appeared and instigated this whole predicament.

Now however, it appeared that circumstances were beginning to return to something resembling normal. With the alien vessel's departure two days prior, matters had begun to settle down, allowing the president a momentary breather to assess the health of his country.

The stock market had stabilized somewhat, resolving into a steady state with the DOW Jones roughly 1000 points lower than a week ago. Considering how absurdly the DOW had fluctuated, this was a welcomed relief. Unfortunately, significant financial hardship had been endured as a result. But, the downturn would no doubt only be temporary.

Order was slowly being restored to the major cities plagued by riots and looting, as law enforcement gained the upper hand over the fanatical gatherings predicting the end of humanity with the coming of aliens. Schrader could never understand why people felt the need to destroy their own community at the slightest excuse to wreak havoc, apocalypse or not. He supposed there was some complicated reasoning behind it that required delving deep into the human mind, only to vaguely understand why.

Among all of the madness, perhaps the chief concern that had accosted the president was the sudden and ruthless terrorist attack against the International Space Station. However, this problem had been quickly and unforeseeably resolved, by none other than the aliens themselves.

To Schrader's outright amazement, one of the creatures had actually possessed the balls to sneak into the White House using some sort of light projected disguise, and had managed to work his way into a command briefing. He could distinctly remember the alien's appearance, which had turned out to be completely different from what Schrader had imagined the creature to be. A wolf... that was the only thought that came to mind as the president had first set eyes upon Kanolos.

The kyree, as the alien called his kind, possessed all of the outward characteristics analogous to that of the grey wolf, although Kano stood on two legs as opposed to four. His fur coat had been quite striking, consisting of a multifaceted nature roughly resembling a red fox. However the feature that stunned Schrader the most was the kyree's deep golden wolfish eyes, which appeared to stare right into his soul... seemingly judging the president's worthiness.

Contrary to his intimidating appearance, Kano was quite a friendly individual. To Schrader's amazement, the alien had placed an intriguing offer on the table; that being a proposal to take care of the terrorists responsible for starting this whole mess. In his overwhelmed state, the president had agreed to Kano's request. He could still distinctly remember shaking the kyree's hand, reveling in the alien's soft fur while he gazed intently into those ever prominent golden eyes that regarded him knowingly.

And just that quickly, Kanolos reengaged his human disguise and promptly departed the White House to vanish back into the shadows.

President Schrader never saw the kyree again. However, he did come to observe the alien's handwork firsthand, which took the form of nine bound and gagged terrorists suddenly appearing within the White House Roosevelt Room. That had certainly surprised the Commander in Chief, since he had no idea how Kano and his counterparts completely bypassed the formidable security of the building to sneak in and out completely unnoticed.

The president had to chuckle softly to himself as he recollected the scene, noting how each terrorist had a decorative red Christmas bow attached to the top of their head. The aliens certainly seemed to lack tact when it came to political relations... but Schrader had to give them credit for making him smile at the sight of seeing those ruthless bastards brought to justice in so deserving a way.

Not only had the liable terrorists been placed in American custody for interrogation, it also appeared that the hacking facility used in the ISS attack no longer existed. This fact had been ascertained by a satellite pass over the remote Syrian mountain range at the coordinates specified by Kanolos, revealing nothing but a large crater atop the ridgeline where the building once stood... one less opportunity for Al Qaeda to wreak havoc on the west.

The president was jarred out of his thoughts by the rumbling of his stomach. He had almost forgotten about forgoing lunch to meet with the Director of Central Intelligence earlier in the day. The conference with the DCI and other head intelligence officials had brought Schrader up to speed on the newly divulged information from their captive terrorist friends, courtesy of Kanolos. As such, the meeting had been well worth missing a meal to hear the recently acquired intel on the organization's plans and activities.

Schrader decided to he would reward himself with a nice juicy cheeseburger for dinner, a particularly beloved food of the president that he lately had to do without. Oh, how the First Lady loved to lecture him about his high cholesterol, but damn it, he deserved to treat himself now and then. Since the wife was overseas on a diplomatic capacity, now was the perfect time to indulge. At least the president had the White House cooks on his side in that regard. With a groan of effort, Schrader lifted himself out of his cushy chair to move for the door.

Abruptly, a shadow passed across the large window of the Oval Office, giving President Schrader pause. He almost dismissed the occurrence for just a simple grounds worker moving by outside. However, something nagged at his thoughts, imploring him to turn and walk toward the room's side window in curiosity.

Casually, the president looked out toward the surrounding lawn, where the helicopter designated Marine One landed to pick him up for his presidential outings and political journeys. There was no one milling about just outside his window, or in the open grass nearby for that matter. However, when Schrader turned his attention skyward... just what on God's green Earth was he looking at?!

Hovering roughly 200 feet off the ground appeared to be some sort of bulky spacecraft, approximately the size of a small house! The vessel had quite an ungainly appearance, with a cubical fuselage that hardly seemed aerodynamic. Aside from the cockpit poking out along the one side and four cylindrical thrusters mounted at each corner of the airframe, the ship didn't appear airworthy at all... it almost looked to be a flying box.

Startled, President Schrader could only stand and eye the unwieldy craft in silence through the Oval Office window. Had Kanolos and his counterparts returned to visit him? No, that didn't seem right. While the kyree's starship possessed a stunningly blue-tinged metallic hull in conjunction with a sleek and slender shape, this vessel's design was completely different... its exterior clad in a lackluster black alloy, the overall construction appearing compartmentalized at a glance.

The small spacecraft hovered awkwardly just above the lawn adjoining the White House, the four thrusters rotated downward to keep the cumbersome craft airborne. Suddenly, Schrader felt a deep chill crawl down his spine, putting the president's senses on high alert.

At that very moment, the White House security element swung swiftly into action. Atop the building roof, a two-man team of Secret Service agents quickly snapped out of their shock and moved toward the FIM-92 Stinger launchers that sat inside a nearby storage locker.

The anti-air weapons were a last ditch effort to protect the safety of the president from any airborne threats. Designed to down enemy aircraft and helicopter platforms, the Stingers were perfectly capable of destroying a single engine Cessna. Yet, it was generally accepted that a much larger aircraft such as a Boeing 747 would most likely still be airworthy after taking a hit from the small explosive charge of the missile's warhead.

There was no doubt in the agents' minds that their inadequate Stingers wouldn't be capable of downing the mysterious alien starship, which had sudden appeared low over the horizon and came to hover above the White House grounds. However, the vessel had violated a no-fly zone, granting the Secret Service personnel automatic authorization to fire... rules were rules when it came to protecting the president.

Shouldering the bulky Stinger launcher, the one agent prayed that the ship wasn't a diplomatic envoy. Nothing would have been worse than to fire upon a peaceful alien diplomat arriving to open political dialog with the president. Surely any friendly extraterrestrials would know to not approach the White House so brashly.

The anti-air weapon quickly found the massive thermal plume of the nearest thruster assembly holding the vessel airborne, providing a steady tone of acquisition to the operator. Lining the launcher up, the agent depressed the trigger while he held his breath.

Instantly, the launcher's onboard battery shot an electrical charge to the missile ejection motor, beginning a chemical reaction to initiate the rocket's flight. Within a fraction of a second, the missile assembly roared to life within the launcher tube as the small pusher motor ignited and thrust the rocket free of the housing in a burst of flame.

Before the firing even registered with the operator, the ejection motor fizzled out and fell free of the missile assembly. Immediately thereafter the first stage of the main solid fuel rocket thundered in ignition, spewing a thin concentrated stream of flame as the warhead screamed toward the intended target.

Designed to down aircraft at a maximum range of 15,000 feet, the distance to the target spacecraft was certainly on the low end of the effective range profile for the Stinger. Just as the missile's flight registered with the agent shouldering the weapon, the warhead found its target and quickly detonated. In the deafening explosion, a sudden shower of fragmented projectiles designed to shred a delicate aircraft fuselage swiftly fanned out and impacted the exterior surface of the starship's thruster assembly.

To the agent's outright horror, the explosion fragments bounced right off the armored hull of the thruster nacelle, only causing a slight dent to the outer casing. This was not good.

Noting his colleague's dismay, the second agent shouldered his launcher and without delay fired a second Stinger toward the bulky spacecraft, only to watch the missile detonate harmlessly against the side hull of the vessel.

Already both Secret Service personnel could hear frenzied chatter over their earpiece communication equipment. They may have failed to disable the alien ship, but at least their counterparts below where going to ensure the safety of the president at all costs. As each agent frantically reached for two more nearby Stinger launchers, the defensive weapon turret atop the starship hull smartly swiveled around to train onto the White House roof.

Bringing his second launcher to bare, the one agent came to stare directly down the gun bore of the alien armament in grim determination. Without thought, he triggered another missile shot. However, the human would not live to watch his weapon ping harmlessly off the starship exterior, as the White House roof was promptly and mercilessly consumed in a brilliant fiery explosion. Together the two Secret Service agents would become the first human fatalities of the brutal Earth conflict.

Several moments earlier, President Schrader had continued to observe the alien starship with growing concern, before his thoughts were violently interrupted by the nearby door flying open. In stark professional chaos, several Secret Service agents barreled into the Oval Office, guns in hand as they scanned for possible threats.

Soon, even more personnel swarmed the room, some brandishing assault rifles while Schrader's expression melted into utter confusion. Before he could even voice a word, a nearby agent forcefully reached out and pulled the Commander in Chief to the carpet, before kneeling atop the president's prone figure.

"Sir, we have an imminent threat!" The agent exclaimed in a professional air, his eyes roaming across the Oval Office space in search of hostile targets with gun drawn. His sole and dire task was to act as a human shield for POTUS (President of the United States) and meet any hostile threats with the business end of his SIG Sauer P229 pistol, if any had the misfortune to wander into the agent's kill zone. "Please stay down for your safety!"

"But the alien starship hasn't done anything hostile!" Schrader cried out over the shouts of agents above him.

"Sir, it is Secret Service directive to automatically treat any foreign aircraft within the White House no-fly zone as hostile," the agent above the president replied, still keeping his attention focused all around while the others set up a perimeter.

Schrader realized it was his personal head agent, Bill Dublin, who currently had him pinned to the floor. The man was always a quiet and unassuming person when attending to the president's safety, always one for laughing at the Chief's jokes. Now, however, his demeanor had changed with the flick of a switch, bringing about an expert trained in the art of killing to protect his charge.

At that moment, the muffled explosion of the first Stinger impact shook the walls of the Oval Office. Unfazed, Agent Dublin raised his hand to speak into his wrist comm.

"Secure the underground escape route for the president's evacuation!" he spoke quickly in an assertive tone. They could not afford to stay within the White House and risk getting trapped by the hostile contact, even holed up in the building's Emergency Operations bunker. The easiest target to defend was a mobile one... and the Secret Service had an ace up their sleeve in that regard.

After a brief pause, Agent Dublin abruptly pulled the president to his feet as the Secret Service comm. circuit announced a path was clear toward the basement for evacuating POTUS. Not wasting any time, a horde of security personnel formed a moving perimeter around Schrader as they moved out into the hallway, while the second Stinger missile explosion rang out.

The Commander in Chief had one agent firmly grasping each of his shoulders, while those forming the human shield around him walked with guns pointed outward in a concentric circle of bristling protection. Swiftly they moved toward a concealed staircase leading downward to the underground facilities, until all hell savagely broke loose...

The White House suddenly shook violently with a thunderous detonation, its foundation rocked viciously while the roof erupted in a fury of fragmented rubble from the starship weapon's fire.

Schrader lost his footing in the sudden chaos, finding himself swiftly dragged by two supporting agents as glass shattered all around the group. Still the entourage pressed forward through the plume of dust that enveloped the interior, working toward their destination with the precious package still in their care. It seemed that their colleagues on the roof had been unable to disable the hostile ship, giving more urgency to the agents' movement.

Reaching an unassuming staircase, the contingent of armed personnel promptly worked their way downward, soon entering the underground bunker facility below the White House building structure. In spite of the formidable protection the shelter offered for POTUS, it was not the final destination of the group.

To President Schrader's curiosity, Dublin moved over toward an inconspicuous wall of the bunker, before coming to stand near a small hole at chest level along the surface. The Commander in Chief had never taken notice of this ordinary looking feature. Carefully, the agent poked his finger into the small cavity, while bending it downward to gently depress a hidden switch within the hollow opening.

A rectangular segment of the wall surface abruptly separated and pushed outward slightly, revealing a hidden doorway. Not wasting any time, Agent Dublin carefully gripped the corners of the extended wall section and yanked the detachable door away.

With mouth ajar, Schrader eyed the small stairwell beyond the wall's threshold. "I don't presume I was supposed to know this existed," the president spoke with an even tone.

"This is a last ditch escape route," Dublin replied professionally. "Given the current situation, this is the best course of action."

The stairwell led down to a large drainage pipe that ran underneath the White House. Yet, this particular channel was not designed to mitigate rainwater runoff, but rather the tunnel was built with the sole purpose of providing a clandestine escape route for POTUS. While the duct was that of a typical high volume drainage pipe, there was one distinct difference.

Running along the bottom surface was that of a narrow gauge rail, with a series of small rail cars sitting at the end of the small path. To Schrader, the vehicles appeared to be that of a mining train.

In fact this was exactly what the escape system was. A relic of the Cold War, the escape tram had been built in the late 50's to provide the president with a quick and safe method of vacating the White House grounds in the event of an emergency. Using the drainage pipe as a tunnel, the modified mining train ran along the narrow gauge to bring POTUS outside the city limits without having to deal with troublesome street traffic. Only the head Secret Service personnel, along with a select few maintenance workers, knew of the tram's existence... the escape system was truly a last ditch effort to remove the president from danger.

The three tram cars only allowed for six occupants to ride, forcing the majority of the Secret Service personnel to stay behind. Quickly, Dublin organized the remaining agent detail into strategic positions around the bunker above, since several of the president's Cabinet were huddled within its confines.

Almost being thrown into the tram car by his security detail, President Schrader hurriedly crouched down inside and donned an oxygen mask. The supplied breathing air was only a precaution, but it certainly helped remove the damp smell of the tunnel from his nose. The Commander in Chief was stuck in a complete state of absolute disbelief as the situation continued to unfold... it was just... surreal.

Once the six occupants were secured within the tram, the train swiftly rushed away from the White House grounds, throwing the passengers into a disquieting void of complete darkness while the vehicles accelerated. The sound of air rushing by the president overwhelmed him, as he continued to breathe through the mask supplied by an onboard oxygen bottle source. The lack of light removed any reference points he could've used to gauge the vehicle's speed.

They seemed to travel on for quite some distance, the cars rocking and heaving slightly along the narrow rail to the continuous clacking of the steel wheels. Schrader could not begin to imagine how this escape tunnel had been so expertly constructed in complete secrecy. The engineers must've disguised the construction efforts as a simple process of installing a new drainage tunnel, or even a sewer... no one would think to question the sight of the massive concrete pipes being placed underground in that event.

After about 30 minutes, the tram began to slow its speed, causing President Schrader to focus his gaze out toward the distant faint light that grew as they approached. The brakes abruptly applied in a high pitched squeal while the train slowed faster, until the cars pulled up to a small dimly lit underground platform not unlike the one they had left back at the White House.

Not wasting any time, Agent Dublin and the other four remaining Secret Service personnel removed themselves from the small vehicles, and promptly moved to help Schrader to his feet. The group of six then ascended the narrow stairs nearby, to emerge out into a small secure warehouse located in a northern suburb of Washington D.C.

A large group of new Secret Service agents stood within the protected structure, most armed with M4 carbines instead of the standard issue SIG pistol. As it turned out, this particular warehouse had been built specifically to act as a secure location to house a series of backup armored cars. In the event of an emergency where the president was forced to utilize the evacuation tunnel, this building served to provide a sheltered environment to transfer POTUS from underground into said armored cars for transport.

Since the appearance of Kanolos several days ago, plans had been in the works to revise emergency procedures for the president. One such change had come with evacuating through the tunnel instead of securing POTUS inside the White House bunker. Another alteration was to address the problem concerning how easy it was to locate the president's motorcade visually.

Schrader soon found himself hurriedly forced into a white armored Cadillac not unlike the black version he typically used. However, this vehicle lacked the conspicuous American flags atop the hood as well as the presidential seal across the side panels. The objective now was for the president to fade away into the shadows, and one way to help in that regard was to try and have his vehicle blend in with normal civilian traffic.

With the package secured, the armored vehicle's tires peeled out as the car roared out of the warehouse onto the adjoining street. At that moment, several nondescript government SUVs quickly fell in step behind and forward of the president's vehicle, forming a buffer of armed support while the convey rocketed away from the area. To help with the motorcade's camouflage, none of these accompanying SUVs manned by the Secret Service were of the same make and color.

As the convoy roared down surface streets, Agent Dublin chanced a glance through the back window of the vehicle, noting that the alien vessel was nowhere in sight. Good, now they had a moment to evaluate the situation and determine which emergency bunker location would be best suited to accommodate the president.

Washington residents stood along the streets in confusion while the vehicles rumbled by hurriedly. Civilians quickly scattered out of the way, as the lead SUV blared sirens in a pronounced warning of the approaching convoy. Had these vehicles not vacated the immediate path fast enough, they would've no doubt met the speeding reinforced bumper of the lead unit.

The sight of a nondescript government convoy tearing through evening traffic in Washington D.C. wasn't all that uncommon a sight for the populace to see on any given day. However, what suddenly appeared to follow the vehicle motorcade just behind the speeding procession caused all to stop in their tracks, while an untold number of car accidents abruptly occurred with drivers staring wide-eyed in terror.

Again Dublin turned to check behind the convoy again, only to find the massive bulky hull of the alien starship hovering menacingly behind the weaving vehicles. In an abrupt overwhelming sense of dread, he realized that POTUS was in real and immediate danger. The gravity of the situation was far more extreme than the agents were equipped to deal with. Just how in the bloody hell had the aliens tracked them here?!

"Where the hell is our air support and marine backup?!" Dublin called out loudly into his wrist comm.

Keeping pace just behind the vehicles as they careened through street traffic, the ungainly starship hovered ominously above the building rooftops of the suburban street. Below the fuselage a single defensive turret trained rapidly toward the convoy, the sight constantly correcting its alignment to compensate for the moving target and ship platform. Once the targeting system was lined up, the armament's energy coils unleashed a volley of sickening green energy pulses that sliced through the air.

The concentrated energy rounds traversed the distance to the target at the speed of light, impacting the lead Secret Service SUV with several devastating hits. The vehicle's armor plating melted instantly at the points of impact as the car lurched wildly. With the interior of the vehicle suddenly engulfed in intense fire, the top-heavy SUV slid sideways and rolled over as its momentum continued to carry it forward.

"EVADE!" an unnamed agent's voice shouted out into Dublin's earpiece.

The remaining cars of the convoy reeled violently away from the carnage as the first SUV came to rest upside-down against a light pole in a roar of flames. Assessing the demise of the car in front of him, the driver of the second unit suddenly heeled his vehicle sideway onto a side street, attempting to throw off the pursuing spacecraft. The rest of the motorcade promptly followed suit. However the tailing SUV was unable to follow, as its frame blew apart with several direct hits from the alien gun turret.

By unexpectedly changing direction, the convoy's move caused the starship to overshoot the turn as it flew by the narrow street. Quickly adjusting the orientation of the four thruster nacelles, the vessel banked hard to its side and adjusted its course to intercept the vehicles on the new heading.

President Schrader was completely overwhelmed. Since the motorcade had sped away from the warehouse, he had been unable to speak, instead lying uncomfortably across the backseat of the armored car in silence with Agent Dublin on top of him. Being so helpless... the Commander in Chief just couldn't come to grips with his vulnerability. All he could do was keep quiet and allow the Secret Service to do what they did best, protect his well-being ... God, he hoped his wife was ok...

Again the alien vessel lined up behind the convoy, with the lead SUV unable to sneak down another side street... they were trapped within the confines of the road, buildings restraining them on either side.

With cruel precision the under-mounted turret trained in on the vehicles again, refining its targeting alignment... until...

Again the energy coils discharged from the alien armament, although instead of unleashing a barrage of concentrated pulses, the weapon discharged a single powerful bolt of energy with a loud sharp report. Quickly the weapon shot impacted the asphalt of the road just in front of the president's armored car, resulting in a massive eruption of rock and road surface.

And just that suddenly, a giant crater appeared in the street before the barreling armored Cadillac. In a vain effort, the driver slammed on the brakes while throwing the steering wheel over in a panic. With tires locked up the presidential car flew into the hollowed out depression, creating a sickening sense of brief weightlessness for the vehicle's occupants.

Swiftly becoming reacquainted with gravity in quite the brutal fashion, the president and his accompanying agents were thrown about inside the back of the vehicle violently. After a few moments of disorientation, Schrader again came to his senses, finding himself upside-down with his legs resting against the seat's backrest.

"What the hell... just happened?" the president asked in a hoarse voice.

"That doesn't matter," Agent Dublin replied sternly. "We have to get away from the vehicle!"

The president's personal agent deftly threw open the back passenger door, causing light to flood into the backseat space. Still slightly dazed from the force of impact, Schrader found himself pulled urgently from the stricken armored car. The vehicle currently sat with the hood embedded firmly in the soil of the crater; the depression being roughly four feet deep... they weren't going anywhere.

After pulling the president out of the smoking crater that had swallowed their ride, Agent Dublin quickly and expertly surveyed his surroundings. The street they currently found themselves on was completely enveloped in chaos, as civilians fled in outright panic. Three remaining SUVs were in the process of circling around to setup a perimeter around the disabled vehicle... Jesus, the convoy had started out with eight.

Looking up, the Secret Service agent caught sight of the alien starship, which now hovered approximately 200 yards distant just above the surrounding building roofs. Why hadn't the vessel attacked again? Was it waiting for something?

Suddenly, Agent Dublin came to a horrifying realization.

The aliens wanted to capture President Schrader!

That fact would explain why the ship had not directly attacked the president's vehicle, and probably why the vessel was holding fire at the moment. At least they seemed to want him alive... a fact that would work to the agent's advantage. So if they wanted to capture POTUS, just how would they go about accomplishing that?

His question was soon answered, as four gravity lifts materialized across the underside of the square-shaped hull. While Dublin watched anxiously, heavily armored personnel began to float down toward the street, each wielding large imposing rifle-like weapons... this was not good at all.

At that moment, the agent caught sight of a coffee shop along the nearby sidewalk. That would have to do...

"Quick, we're moving POTUS into that Starbucks," Agent Dublin commanded aloud to the remaining Secret Service who had dismounted their vehicles around him. This was by far a last-ditch effort by him and his colleagues. They would fight to the last man to protect the president, come hell or high water.

The others assented to his idea, and before Schrader could protest, two agents had seized him by the arms and began to forcefully move him toward the nearby building. While the others tended to the Commander in Chief, Dublin again turned to study the aliens down the street. The area had already become empty as the general populace fled in terror, leaving him a good view of the soldiers through the tangled mess of abandoned cars.

The creatures did not resemble the kyree in the slightest. From what he could observe at his distance, they appeared somewhat reptilian in nature, although there was no evident tail. Each soldier looked to possess heavy armor immersed in a strange black camouflage, although their helmets left the face exposed. This was good news, as the Secret Service could exploit this weakness if the armor absorbed their gunfire... which was a very real possibility given the technological superiority.

What turned out to be a drala troop dropship finished unloading its soldier cargo, and again moved to hover overhead to provide suppressive fire with its two point defense turret systems... although only if the president was not in danger of being injured as a result. Meanwhile below, the company of 50 soldiers began to advance toward the human position, moving in squad formations while using the abandoned cars as cover.

Agent Dublin looked down to check the condition of his SIG pistol, pulling back the gun slide to ensure a bullet was loaded. Let the bastards come... he would fight till his dying breath.

With that thought he turned to move for the Starbucks, where the 12 remaining agents were already in the process of hashing out a defensive plan. As the others worked to coordinate a strategy, one Secret Service agent tried to contact nearby military help through the group's one useable radio. However this proved to be useless.

"I think we're being jammed," the man spoke grimly. "All I'm getting is a steady tone on all channels."

Setting the radio onto a nearby table, he cocked his M4 carbine and moved to take up position behind the shop's counter. It appeared that there would be no immediate help for the survivors. They were on their own.

The hastily readied plan called for a run and gun defense. Since the starship appeared under orders to not fire upon the president's position, the Secret Service would use this fact to their advantage. Moving as a group, the agents intended to continuously shift locations from building to building, constantly changing positions to keep the hostiles guessing on their whereabouts; although, this strategy ran the risk of backfiring if the enemy proved more mobile than the humans.

"Alright, let's move!" Agent Dublin commanded with authority as he took up point. Together the group moved for the shop's back door, soon spilling out into the back alleyway to proceed in the opposite direction from the approaching troops.

A distant siren soon announced the arrival of D.C.'s police force, much to the dismay of the Secret Service. Their worst fears were confirmed when the distinctive report of the starship's weapons echoed across the alley, followed sickeningly by a muffed explosion. The gut-wrenching nausea was shared by everyone as they knew innocent lives were being lost to help them escape... they had to keep moving.

With expert precision, the Secret Service personnel moved in teams of two as each provided covering fire for their partner, while they advanced to a new firing point. Meanwhile, Schrader moved carefully in the middle of the bunch. The Commander in Chief made sure to keep his head low, and trust in his men to safely get him to the next building.

Suddenly, more explosions rang out nearby. The group paused in their tracks, listening as the sounds of battle emanated from a street over where the aliens were most likely located. It would seem that the military was finally on the scene.

However, the brief hope that had swelled at the realization, quickly faded into horror as a damaged Blackhawk helicopter swirled over their heads. The wounded bird was trailing a plume of smoke with her tail rotor section blown clean off. In muted dread, the agents and POTUS watched the helicopter disappear over the rooftop of a nearby building, before a far-off explosion marked the end of her ill-fated flight. Quickly thereafter, the sounds of battle and weapon's fire ceased, bringing about an eerie quiet that unnerved the group.

"We should keep moving," Agent Dublin stated tersely to the others. Someone had emerged the victor from the brief skirmish, and they probably weren't friendlies. He no doubt assumed the extraterrestrials had simply swatted the human assault right out of the sky with a proverbial flick of the wrist... so much for help.

The unit of Secret Service pressed onward, soon emerging into the kitchen area of a family restaurant. This building turned out to be occupied still, as civilians huddled nervously inside the walls of the structure with all of the terrible explosions nearby. Further confusion and anxiety quickly spread as everyone caught sight of the president and his accompanying Secret Service standing warily within the small restaurant, guns out and at the ready.

Once everyone was inside, the last agent in the contingent quickly closed and secured the back door to the establishment. He then turned to rejoin the group.

Suddenly, three sharp reports resounded out from behind the shut entrance. As Schrader looked on in horror, the agent near the door froze mid-step, his eyes wide with pain and surprise. Immediately his pistol clattered to the floor as the man's legs folded, before he collapsed forward in a crumpled heap. Three pronounced burn marks were clearly evident across his back, matching the three adjoining holes that had been melted through the door surface... shit, the alien

had caught up!

At that very moment, screams of terror emanated from the street outside the front of the restaurant. Several distinct weapon shots accompanied the shouts, sounding in a series of sharp thwacks the agents were beginning to distinguish as the signature of the alien plasma rifles. As they looked out, the imposing shadow of the dropship was clearly evident across the street surface outside the restaurant. They were surrounded.

Agent Dublin could see the look on all of his colleague's faces. So, this humble restaurant was going to be the location of their final stand. It was time to valiantly stand fast, and fight to the last man. Let them come!

Several Secret Service personnel took up firing positions looking toward the back door, while the rest focused their guns in the direction of the larger open front. Meanwhile, the civilians, along with POTUS, were herded into an isolated corner of the eatery's walk-in freezer, since that was the safest location within the building. All they could do now was wait.

In a blinding fury of death and destruction, wicked green lances of superheated plasma shot forth in an overwhelming volley from the street outside. Agents dove for cover as glass shattered around them, while wood melted and splintered into tiny broken shards. Everywhere objects absorbed brutal energy shots in an eruption of chaos that held the agents under cover from the suppressive fire.

However, the Secret Service personnel soon could distinguish alien hostiles moving about behind the cover of abandoned cars out in the street. Threading the bores of their carbines through tiny openings in their shooting positions, the agents quickly returned fire in small concentrated bursts. The return shots swiftly zeroed in on the intended targets, scoring a few hits across the imposing body armor of the drala soldiers.

To the dismay of the agents, the protection absorbed the hits readily as the infantryman struck simply staggered or fell backward. Yet the humans continued to expertly concentrate their fire, attempting to aim for the unprotected faces of their adversaries.

Mercilessly, the plasma shots were also deadly accurate. In a cry of pain, a nearby agent took a hit to the chest through the inadequate cover of an overturned table. With his gun clattering to the floor, he fell forward dead on the spot. Others began taking hits, while the overpowering barrage of sickening green bolts continued unabated as the withering fire took its deadly toll.

Agent Dublin stepped out from behind the wall he was using as cover and leveled his pistol toward a nearby soldier out on the street. With cold expert precision he let loose three consecutive shots with his weapon, noting with satisfaction as one bullet connected with the alien's exposed face. The infantryman's rifle let loose a wild burst of shots as his finger held the rifle's trigger down, his body quickly collapsing to the pavement to lie motionless.

At that same instant another nearby drala fell in a crumpled heap with an M4 carbine finding its mark. This was promptly becoming a battle of attrition, and the humans were already outnumbered grossly. They had to figure out a way to level the odds.

Suddenly, Dublin came to a shocking revelation... this was a diversion. There was probably an entry team poised to storm in from the back door any moment now!

Quickly the lead agent whirled around in time to see the backdoor's hinges blown clean off by a weapon shot out in the alleyway. Just as suddenly, the wooden door was violently thrown forward to fall flat on the kitchen floor... while a tiny metallic ball rolled into the room from outside.

Jesus, that was not good!

Agent Dublin deftly rolled his body back around a nearby wall, just as the stun bomb detonated in the open space around the corner. A disorienting pressure wave swiftly washed over him, before he regained his composure to see another agent stumbling about in a blind daze.

In ruthless fashion, several energy shots lanced out from around the corner Dublin had his back against and struck the disabled man several times. At that moment his mind completely blanked out, and his military training kicked into gear.

As his counterpart's body crumpled to the ground, Agent Dublin adeptly rolled his figure around the corner toward the breached backdoor, his gun swinging up in mechanical fashion. He was summarily presented with the sight of two drala infantrymen storming into the kitchen, their energy rifles still trained on the dead man's body. Time seemed to slow and almost stop... as he took in the physical appearance of the human's soon to be victims.

The creatures were quite reptilian in appearance. They possessed overlapping scales that covered the entirety of their facial features; and no doubt the rest of their bodies, which were currently covered in jet black armor. Dublin also took note of the distinct cranial ridges that adorned the alien's forehead above the reptilian eyes. Their expressions were one of surprise, as neither soldier had expected to meet an agent with his gun at the ready after the stun blast.

Before either alien could traverse their bulky rifles onto the new threat, Dublin cut loose with two round bursts into each face of the hapless creatures. While their limp bodies fell to the floor, the human again threw himself around the corner as the dead infantrymen's colleagues still out in the alleyway opened up with frantic suppressive fire.

Damn, this was going badly. Already the aliens had breached the human's perimeter, and it was just a matter of time before the remaining agents were simply overwhelmed by numbers. With a deep sigh of helplessness, Dublin ejected his spent magazine. Reaching into a pocket, he quickly retrieved the last ammo clip in his possession, skillfully slapping the mag into his SIG and pulling the slide back to load a round.

Still the firing from behind the restaurant was keeping up a sustained barrage, preventing Agent Dublin from whirling around for another shot. God... if another one of those stun bombs hit him, he was a goner for sure.

And just that quickly, the situation changed violently...

A thunderous explosion suddenly and viciously resonated just outside the building, rocking the structural foundation to the core and throwing the humans off their feet forcefully. The concussion wave of the sizeable denotation shattered all of the remaining glass within the nearby vicinity, while a fiery barrage of twisted burning metal cruelly rained down upon the drala soldiers unfortunate to be caught up in the open street.

To the Secret Service personnel's amazement, the alien dropship abruptly appeared as it crashed unexpectedly onto the street in a flaming wreck right where the hostile infantry were taking cover. The force of the collision between asphalt and starship hull shook the surrounding ground violently, seemingly setting off an earthquake.

For what seemed like an eternity, chaos reigned across the battle scene. In an earsplitting groan of fatigued metal, the ship's destroyed hull ground awkwardly across the street surface, before coming to rest up against the restaurant front after destroying everything in its path.

Enveloped in a suffocating cloud of dust, the remaining humans quickly shook off their disorientation and reassumed their positions inside the restaurant. However, the shattered hull of the alien dropship now sat jammed up against the front entrance of the building, effectively blocking any hostile access points.

Coughing hoarsely with the choking dust irritating his lungs, Agent Dublin pulled himself onto hands and knees. The ringing in the human's ears slowly faded away as he scrambled to grasp his pistol, which lay on the floor a few feet from where he had fallen. His professional training taking control, he then pushed himself upright to prop his body against the very wall that had saved him from death mere moments ago.

The front door may have been temporarily blocked, but that couldn't stop the hostile troops storming the restaurant from the alleyway behind. Only four Secret Service personnel were left alive to defend the single entrance after sustaining casualties in the crippling barrage of weapon's fire. The humans had no idea what had caused the destruction of the alien dropship; nevertheless, they were willing to take every lucky break they could get.

At that moment, a series of deep loud thuds resonated out in the alley behind the building. Dublin swiftly perceived the difference in tone between this new weapon's fire signature and that of the drala rifles. Gun pointed steadily toward the doorway, the human stood and eyed the threshold of the entrance with unwavering attention, while chaos unfolded outside away from his point of view.

Abruptly, the ground shook again violently as an explosive denotation resounded from the alleyway... and then... eerie quiet.

Still the Secret Service held weapons at the ready, all of them watching the doorway for any signs of movement... until the situation unexpectedly changed.

"It's ok now," a slightly muffled voice called out from the back alleyway. "The situation is secure now."

The human security detail was caught completely by surprise at the sudden words. Was this some sort of trick to catch them off guard?

"Trust me please," the voice spoke from just outside the doorway. "I am not your enemy."

At that moment, an armor-clad hand came into view holding a sleek energy rifle along the barrel so that the business end of the weapon pointed upward. Another hand soon appeared alongside the other, quickly followed by the complete figure of a fully armor-clad alien. However, Agent Dublin and the others swiftly realized that this particular individual was not one of the hostile aliens that had attacked them so ruthlessly... but that fact still didn't justify the security detail dropping their guard.

The creature's armor was drastically unlike the protection worn by the reptilian-like infantry. The suit completely covered the wearer from head to foot... and the design bore a striking outward similarity to that of the kyree alien that had infiltrated the White House days ago.

The facial characteristics of the helmet possessed a distinct muzzle and pointy ears, while two eye shields completed the wolfish appearance. As Dublin eyed the suit's construction, he took note of the numerous overlapping plates that seamlessly contoured around the soldier's body, each contracting and extending above or below the neighboring cover to provide almost unrestricted movement to the wearer without sacrificing protection.

This feature also extended to the wolfish tail feature. The appendage appeared to be wrapped in overlapping segments of armor, each partition capable of moving independently from the others. As a result, the tail was free to shift and wag to the user's content... as evidenced by how the appendage swung about to provide counterbalance for the alien as he came to stand in the doorway with arms raised in surrender, still clutching the rifle with the bore pointed to the ceiling.

However, the most striking feature that caught Agent Dublin's eye was the armor's appearance. As the alien stood within the restaurant, his suit's camouflage pattern actually appeared to adjust to the surrounding background. Not only did the outline of the creature seem to almost blend in with the backdrop, as the human tried to look directly at the armor his eyes abruptly dilated and unfocused.

This particular feature of the combat armor was designed to throw off a hostile's aim. If an enemy looked directly at the active camo of the suit, their eyes would be subjected to a visual stimulus that caused the pupils to dilate and throw off concentration. The feature was a passive defensive measure, and one that greatly aided the wearer in combat.

A stalemate ensued, with the Secret Service personnel holding the new alien at gunpoint. In spite of the formidable M4, in actuality the meager 5.56 caliber rounds chambered in the human's assault carbines would not so much as dent the armor protection of the creature. But, that fact was a moot point.

"Please... I mean you no ill will," the armored alien spoke coolly, his voice emanating electronically from the helmet's speaker.

Slowly the soldier leaned over to rest his rifle up against the nearby wall while the agents looked on in curiosity. Straightening his posture again, he then reached over with a hand to thumb a control located on the suit's wrist armor plate. To Dublin's relief, the disorientating active camouflage of the armor powered down, revealing the base shadowy grey hue of the protective cladding.

Quickly the alien's armored hand reached up and depressed a button along the neck surface of the protective covering, resulting in a perceptible hiss of atmosphere as the insulating seal of the neck plating was disengaged. To the agents' surprise, the alien reached up and removed the helmet from his head... revealing none other than Kanolos... the very individual that had snuck brazenly into the White House.

"You?!" Dublin blurted out in outright shock. "Where did you come from?"

The fox-furred kyree's expression was one of barely contained rage, as he set the helmet down next to his propped up gun.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner," Kano spoke somberly, as he turned to gaze grimly toward the agents' deceased counterparts nearby.

The kyree's muzzle curled upward slightly in a silent snarl, while he closed his eyes and murmured a solemn prayer to see the fallen humans off to the next life...yet more innocent blood to stain the hands of the drala.

"Just what the hell is happening?!" Agent Dublin exclaimed suddenly, voicing the thoughts of his fellow colleagues. "Out of nowhere this fucking spacecraft appears and begins bombarding the White House. Why are these creatures attacking us?!"

"I'm not sure," Kano replied earnest, opening his wolfish eyes to regard the human agent with a serious gaze. "Either they are here to kill the president, or capture him. For what exact purpose I don't know. However, we have to vacate the area quickly."

At that moment, another armor-clad figure appeared behind Kanolos. This newcomer sported similar full protection much like the kyree; although, the facial features of the helmet were slightly dissimilar.

The muzzle segment was shorter and also wider in a fashion analogous to a tiger's appearance. While the helmet bore the same eye features as Kano's, the ears were more rounded in adherence to the large feline's qualities. Additionally, the overlapping breastplate segments were arranged in such a fashion to display the armor-clad alien's distinct feminine figure, while a distinguishable armored feline tail swayed hypnotically behind her form.

This second individual did not sport the same rifle as Kano, but rather had a large cylindrical device hefted across her right shoulder, with a hand clasping a grip that extended down from the front end of the apparatus. To Agent Dublin's observation, the bulky mechanism appeared to be some sort of shoulder fired weapon much like an RPG. However, the bore of the weapon consisted of a central wound coil housed between four rectangular segments, which were positioned along the inner surface of the hollow tube.

The weapon was known as an Anti-Armor Pulse Cannon. The sole and deadly purpose of this ungainly weapon was to pierce heavily armored vehicles... and dropships. When the sight was lined up with the target, the user simply depressed the firing trigger to instigate a powerful reaction that created an intense ball of concentrated plasma through the central energy coil.

At that same instantaneous moment, the four high powered magnets situated around the inner bore produced a potent electromagnetic field, resulting in the intense concentration of plasma bolting free of the housing to careen down range at roughly ten times the speed of sound. As a whole, the weapon concept was similar to that of a rail gun, except for the use of highly concentrated plasma in place of a humble projectile.

The second armored alien carefully removed the bulky weapon from her shoulder, before placing it against the wall alongside Kano's rifle. Mimicking the kyree's actions, she then reached up to remove her helmet.

The human agents were suddenly shocked to catch sight of the creature hidden beneath the protective suit... she was... appeared just like a Siberian tiger?

Her fur was of a snowy white, with black stripes weaving across the alien's feline facial features. However, the most striking aspects of her appearance were the long whiskers and intimidating predatory eyes, which gleamed the same golden hue as Kano's... so this was a kenseng.

While the human agents eyed the unfamiliar features of the newly arrived Arastos crew member, Eriras turned her attention to Kanolos.

"I can't tell you how satisfying it felt to blast that damnable dropship clean out of the sky," the kenseng spoke heatedly. "Those bastards never expected such firepower... the damned thing landed right on most of their infantry out on the street."

At that moment, the engineer caught sight of the motionless drala soldiers heaped near the backdoor entrance, as well as the nearby human casualties.

The scene of the restaurant was utterly horrendous, with all of the furniture broken or completely destroyed while numerous holes covered the surrounding walls of the building. All around, Secret Service lay motionless amidst the destruction, their bodies unmoving where they had fallen victim to drala weapon's fire. As the aliens looked on silently, the remaining agents moved to check on their colleagues, noting with grim silence how no one retained any life signs.

"You all should be commended for holding them at bay for this long," Eriras spoke to Dublin and his counterparts. "It is a testament to your skill and training to be capable of inflicting casualties while so hopelessly outgunned. I am truly sorry for the loss of your comrades... they fought bravely."

"We can reflect upon that later," Dublin spoke assertively, seemingly ignoring the death around him. "However, right now POTUS is in a dangerous position and needs to be evacuated to a secure location... although I am not sure what our best course of action is at the moment."

In response to the agent's statement, Kano suddenly reached down to unclasp a fastener on a small pocket compartment along the waist of his armored suit. As the humans looked on, he skillfully reached in and produced several small devices.

"Before we pursue any course of action, you all will need to wear these bio dampeners," the kyree stated evenly, while extending his armored hand out toward the agents with the mechanisms resting in his palm. "The drala have been tracking your movements using thermal sensors. These dampers will disrupt the thermal signature of your body and effectively mask your presence to their detection."

"Is that how they tracked our progress through the escape tunnel?" Dublin asked alarmingly. The notion that the aliens retained such technology frightened him greatly. Just how could the Secret Service hope to defend against that?!

"Correct. Each living creature emits a distinctive thermal signature that is completely unique to that being. Once they acquire the frequency of your heat resonance, all the drala have to do is simply track your progress from a distance... while planning the best location to intercept. We used the same technique to follow you here as well."

That statement resulted in looks of horror and dismay from the human security personnel. The fact was certainly making itself known that they were technologically outgunned in every way imaginable. Thankfully, the crew of Arastos had managed to even the odds... if only temporarily.

"Ok... so how do we use these... things?" Agent Dublin asked tentatively, after taking one of the offered devices from Kano's hand. Carefully, the human turned the mechanism over in his grasp, noting how it was roughly the size and shape of a microprocessor chip.

"It is simple," Kano responded, while motioning toward one of two controls located on the unit. "You just push that button there on the device, and then place it against your skin just behind the ear with the button surface facing outward. The mechanism will adhere itself to you automatically and begin to emanate the damping field."

"And what is the second button for?"

"Instead of damping your heat resonance altogether, the damper can also alter your frequency to create the appearance of a completely different individual," the kyree added coolly in reply. "Sometimes the situation calls for blending into a crowd, and that is what that particular function is designed to do."

Tentatively Agent Dublin pushed the indicated control of the bio damper. At once a small blue marker light began to glow faintly, signaling that the device was active. Steadying his nerves, he then placed the mechanism gently behind his ear.

Almost at once, the bio damper created a light suction against the human's skin. Tensing up somewhat, Dublin waited for something more to happen; but, nothing more transpired.

"As simple as that," Kano added as he noticed the human's expression of unease. "Your thermal signature is now completely suppressed."

Quickly the other three agents snatched up their own bio dampers and attached the mechanisms to their bodies. In the meantime, Eriras moved back to kneel before the Anti-Armor Pulse Cannon, while she reached over to grab a metallic cylinder attached to the armor plating against her hip... the cylindrical object being about the size of a 20 ounce soda bottle.

Tilting the weapon up onto the front bore, she thumbed a latch along the surface. With an audible hiss, the back end of the pulse cannon extended out away from the weapon, to the startled looks of the humans. In a puff of steam, an identical canister to the one Eriras had removed from her waist ejected out of the now open breach to fall onto the floor with a rattle of noise. Even after several minutes had elapsed since the cannon was fired, the spent plasma cartridge was still quite hot to the touch.

Not wasting any time, the kenseng skillfully inserted the new ammo cartridge into the opened breach and quickly slapped the extended section back into the weapon with a forceful shove. She then pulled the priming handle back to lock the plasma charge to the weapon assembly, readying the pulse cannon to harness and subsequently fire the energy supplied by the canister at the mere pull of the trigger.

"How many charges did you bring Eriras?" Kano asked the engineer with an introspective look.

"Only three," the kenseng replied as she moved to stand upright after leaning the unwieldy weapon against the wall again. "Only fired one to down the dropship, so that leaves two more shots, counting the canister I just loaded."

At that moment, another armor-clad figure appeared at the doorway from the alley behind. To Agent Dublin's scrutiny, this third alien possessed the same helmet features as Kano, implying that it was also kyree. Yet, the armor plating was feminine in design like the kenseng's. The newcomer held her rifle at the ready,

gaze seemed to settle on Kanolos.

"The path is clear to the vehicle," the female kyree spoke through her helmet speaker. "The remaining drala infantry have withdrawn down the street to assess their wounded and regroup. However, Lumina is reporting more dropships on route to this location... we need to leave now!"

"Ok Yana, keep talking with Lumina to keep us updated on the inbound hostiles," Kanolos commanded.

"Where are we going?" Agent Dublin asked hurriedly, not liking the fact that control of the situation was slipping out of his hands.

"Don't worry about that," Kano countered tersely. "Just go get the president quickly!"

The agent hesitated a moment, before turning to run for the restaurant freezer where the Commander in Chief was still huddled. He may not have liked taking orders from the kyree, but right now the aliens were better equipped to defend POTUS, and certainly had superior plans than what Dublin could think of.

After a few moments Agent Dublin returned, with one very confused President Schrader trailing in his wake. Quickly the president took notice of the aliens clad in their dark gray power armor, his eyes going wide with sudden horror... until he recognized a friend.

"Kano?!" Schrader spoke in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'll explain later," the kyree answered. "Right now we have to get you to safety."

Kanolos took note of how the president saw the fallen Secret Service personnel around him. The human's expression briefly flashed with utter pain and guilt; before the Commander steeled himself and threw up an emotional wall... there would be time for grief and mourning later.

The fox-furred kyree suddenly had an idea. As the others watched, he moved over to one of the dead drala infantry and bent down to pick up the soldier's rifle. Shifting through the dead body's storage pouches, he eventually found and removed several ammo clips. Looking on in curiosity, Dublin stood his ground as Kano then approached him with the alien weapon in hand.

"Each clip of ammo is capable of firing 50 energy shots at maximum yield before it is automatically ejected from the gun," Kano began, as he motioned to one of the ammo clips in his possession. "The drala weapons are capable of firing more shots at a lower energy yield, but that won't punch through armor effectively."

The kyree moved the rifle out before him and demonstrated how the ammo clips were loaded into the weapon. For all intents and purposes, the act of charging and priming the alien rifle to fire was not all that dissimilar to a standard human assault carbine. All the action required was to slap the ammo clip into the bottom breach, and ready the gun by pushing a primer rod upward to ram the ammo cartridge directly into the pulse barrel. Unfortunately, it seemed there was no easy way to change ammo clips without fully discharging the cartridge already inserted into the gun.

Kano handed the rifle over to Dublin, who accepted the weapon with a nod of thanks. Hefting the large gun the human noted that the weight was only slightly more than the M4; although, the aiming sight was going to take some getting used to. Still, the unfamiliarity of the rifle was only a small nuisance he could deal with, since the agent now retained the capability to reach out and touch his enemies through their armor.

Kanolos and Eriras both donned their helmets once again, each locking the protective armor over their heads with a perceptible hiss as the suit pressurized the internal atmosphere. Meanwhile, Agent Dublin attached a bio damper to President Schrader. As it so happened, the damping technology was already built into the combat armor Kano and Eriras wore, allowing them to forgo the need to wear the small device.

Not wasting any more time, the three members of the Arastos crew along with the human contingent of agents and POTUS made their way out into the alleyway behind the restaurant. To the humans, the scene that presented itself beyond the threshold of the backdoor was one of absolute carnage.

Seven dead Domain infantry lay motionless across the alleyway, each soldier's armor punctured by numerous plasma shots that had originated from the undermount shotgun attachment on Kanolos's rifle. Agent Dublin observed that the weapon's fire seemed to originate from the adjoining roof, leaving the exposed infantry below with nowhere to take cover.

However, two of the soldiers had appeared to return fire, since their bodies were angled toward the rooftop position in slightly covered spots behind some trash cans. Little good it did them though... they had met their fate via some sort of explosive, which melted the protective armor like wax and left the reptilian infantrymen underneath almost unrecognizable.

The remaining three Secret Service agents quickly procured alien rifles much like Dublin, while the president had the sense to arm himself with a smaller plasma pistol. Once rearmed, the group made their way carefully down the narrow alley, with Kanolos taking point.

It wasn't long before the odd contingent of armed individuals came to pause at an opening leading out into a main thoroughfare. The street was fairly crowded with civilian's standing about gaping in surprise toward the massive column of smoke emanating from the burnt wreckage of the dropship. Meanwhile, cars sat idling and abandoned all along the asphalt, clogging up the roadway.

"Ok, we are going to engage our active camouflage now," Kano began, while kneeling down and motioning out toward a parked vehicle. "That van over there is our means of transportation out of the area."

Agent Dublin followed the kyree's finger out toward a white unassuming work van, which had the lettering "Rosewood Plumbing" inscribed across the back side paneling. It seemed the plan called for blending in with the general populace as they vacated the area. The thought of actually loading the President of the United States into a humble plumbing van was a strange one at that. Perhaps if they made it through this dangerous situation, Dublin might find time to look back and laugh at the notion.

"We will remain cloaked out in the open so as not to draw attention," Kanolos continued, as he began to fiddle with the power armor controls on his wrist. "Can any of you drive?"

"I'll take the driver's seat," Agent Dublin replied after a moment's hesitation. Suddenly, a thought occurred to the human. "What do you mean by cloaked?"

In reply, the fox-furred kyree initiated his suit's cloaking mechanism. At once, the air around the armor began to fizzle visibly, while the integrated power systems shunted energy to the exterior emitters. As the humans watched in awe, the air around Kano's figure hummed audibly while the camouflage bubble slowly phased into existence.

The power armor that Kanolos wore was capable of sustaining a personal shield to help deflect incoming hostile weapon's fire. This protection system was generated via the series of said emitters located strategically across the suit's exterior. While the energy shield wasn't overly powerful, the defensive measure still provided enough protection to absorb at best, two solid hits from an infantry energy weapon. The emitters only took 30 seconds to recharge, requiring a Federation soldier to simply assume cover in the meantime...though, any weapon of a higher caliber would have no trouble defeating the protective measure with a single shot.

Additionally, a relatively new innovation of the power armor was that of the optical cloak. In much the same manner as the holographic disguises utilized by the Arastos crew, a holo light pattern could be shrouded around the suit's exterior utilizing the shield emitters. However, this technology took matters one step further by projecting an almost perfect background inside the camouflage bubble... in effect presenting to an outside observer the backdrop visual scene while removing the suit's appearance along with any firearm the soldier might be carrying.

The technology wasn't perfect. If someone were to eye the cloak closely enough, a faint almost indistinguishable outline of the power armor would be visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, employing the cloak was not without risk, as the armor's shield was inoperable during its use. And if any weapon's fire pierced the cloaking bubble, the disguise would instantly be lost. If that were to occur, it was up to the disorientating active camouflage of the suit to defend the wearer.

After a brief moment, an exceedingly faint outline of a spherical bubble suddenly snapped into focus around Kano's power armor. Quickly thereafter, the kyree's appearance seemed to slowly melt away into thin air, as even his rifle vanished within a matter of seconds. The Secret Service agents' jaws dropped at the fascinating sight... or lack thereof to be more precise.

Blinking his eyes rapidly, Agent Dublin soon could barely differentiate the suit's faint outline from the background behind. Kanolos hadn't so much as moved, as his figure still kneeled just before the security personnel with rifle at the ready... humanity really was hopelessly outgunned, technologically speaking. If some sort of war was upon them, just how could his kind defend itself?

"Try to keep your weapons concealed," Kano's seemingly disembodied voice spoke. "Don't want to alarm anyone and draw attention to ourselves."

After Eriras and Yana had engaged their cloaks, the group slowly moved out into the open exposed street. Thankfully, no one appeared to pay them any mind, as most of the civilians eyed the imposing bulky silhouettes of several Domain dropships descending onto the wreckage scene of the first hapless vessel.

Quickly the contingent piled into the white van without anyone noticing their presence, while Dublin assumed the driver's seat. The agent noted that the ignition was already punched as a result of the aliens' previous handiwork. They must've procured this vehicle somewhere else and drove it here.

With a grumble of protest, the van's engine turned over grudgingly. Not wasting any time, Agent Dublin eased the vehicle out of its parking spot to begin weaving slowly through the tangle of abandoned cars.

"Where am I going?" he asked Kanolos, who was now decloaked and sitting on top of a toolbox in the back.

Fortunately the three members of the Arastos crew had thought to remove most of the random clutter from the back of the van when they had borrowed it earlier. Even so, it was a tight fit with eight individuals crammed into the vehicle.

"Jump on Interstate 95 and head south for now," the kyree responded curtly after removing his helmet. "We need to put some distance between us and the city."

"And where do we go after that?"

"I'll figure that out once we are safe," Kano replied with irritation.

The alien's retort caught Dublin off guard... something was bothering the kyree, but he had no idea what... not to mention the fact that his counterparts seemed equally stressed. Now that he thought about it, the circumstance was odd that only three soldiers had come to rescue the humans... could that be the reason behind the alien's unease?

As the van continued to weave through stalled traffic, President Schrader stood quietly, looking out the front windshield from just behind the driver's seat in silence. Just an hour ago he had been quite comfortable within the confines of the White House, contemplating what draft of beer he wanted with his cheeseburger. Now here he was... standing in a plumbing van after being so suddenly and violently attacked from out of nowhere. Goddamn it he wanted answers!

"Just what on God's green Earth is happening?!" the Commander in Chief asked the aliens vehemently. "I want to know why these creatures are attacking us!"

Kanolos sighed heavily as he continued to sit atop the toolbox with shoulder's slumped. The fox-furred kyree turned to regard Eriras and wordlessly asked her to take up the conversation.

"It is an invasion," the kenseng responded flatly. "Apparently the Domain wants your planet."

The engineer's words were like a kick in the stomach for all of the humans present.

"You can't be serious," the president stammered after a slight awkward pause.

"I am very serious. There is a Domain armada in orbit around Earth right now. We barely managed to intercept their communications in time, which detailed the mission to capture you."

"What exactly are they planning?!" the president continued, having briefly overcome his shock. "What could these aliens possibly hope to gain by attacking us?"

"We don't know exactly," Eriras responded, after taking her helmet off to address the human. "For the moment the fleet is maintaining orbit. However, numerous dropships were dispatched to the surface, with missions to capture and detain all leading figureheads worldwide. You were one of those targets. We're guessing that this was a step to gain control of Earth's governments and cripple humanity's capacity to resist the coming invasion."

The president's expression became unreadable, belying the horror he really felt at the startling revelation.

"So the British Prime Minster? Russian President? The Premier of China?"

"I'm afraid all are targets... and more," The kenseng added somberly. "You were the only target we could reach in time unfortunately."

The news was grim. Each human in the van could not begin to imagine what constituted an alien armada. However, if the vessel that had attacked the White House was only a mere dropship... the information did not bode well at all for humanity. What would be the Domain's next step after crippling most of the government infrastructures worldwide?

"And your race only sent three soldiers to rescue just one of the many targets the Domain is after?" Schrader continued with frustration. "Where is your goddamn military?!"

His words made the aliens wince painfully. Each of their eyes became cold with hatred, their golden predatory gaze suddenly searching for a target to rip apart like a wolf hunting prey.

"We are not soldiers. I am an engineer, Kano is a pilot, and Yana is a doctor," Eriras replied icily. "We are the only Federation personnel that can help you at the moment."

The three of them were the only crew members of Arastos capable of mounting a rescue mission. The others were still aboard the ship, recovering from their injuries sustained during the initial surprise attack on the orbiting space station. The odds of such a small rescue mission succeeding hadn't been that great. But, the crew had to at least try and save the president from capture, and perhaps eventually assassination.

With cold anger, the kenseng relayed the events that had unfolded prior to their arrival back on Earth. As she spoke, her voice filled with conflicting rage and grief, Kano curled his muzzle in a silent snarl, his eyes staring fixatedly at the floor of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Yanashi stood quietly at the back of the van, as her helmeted figure looked out the back window to the passing scenery.

President Schrader was utterly horrified by Eriras's words. The Commander had been attacked by surprise; his protection promptly overwhelmed by superior technology and firepower... and as a result he had taken his frustration out on his rescuers, not knowing just how much pain and suffering they themselves had to endure. The notion made him sick to his stomach.

"I'm sorry," the president spoke sincerely. "I didn't know."

The interior of the van fell into deafening silence, as Dublin merged onto the interstate while still minding the stalled traffic. Looking back in his rearview mirror, the agent caught sight of numerous small alien vessels hovering about through the urban suburbs of Washington, seemingly searching for something. No doubt they were hunting for the occupants of the very van he drove.

Meanwhile, the tension in the vehicle continued to build uncomfortably. Agent Dublin decided to try and strike up a new conversation to keep the Arastos crew talking. Besides he needed to find out more about their collective enemy.

"What can you tell us about the drala?" the agent spoke, while he kept his attention on the road ahead. "I'm sorry about your terrible loss, but we need to keep our emotions out of the equation... both human and alien alike."

His words hit the Arastos crew like a slap across the face. With a heavy sigh, Kanolos pulled himself to sit upright atop the toolbox as he turned his attention to Dublin's face in the rearview mirror.

"You're right, but damn it if I can't feel outright fury for what these bastards have done!" the kyree breathed angrily, his words echoing the thoughts of Eriras and Yana.

The kyree sighed again and seemed to calm down slightly. "The Drala Domain is a fairly powerful territory that butts up against our own," he continued with an even tone. "They are in the midst of expanding their region by building colonies on asteroids and terraforming uninhabitable worlds. However, the Domain has run out of space to develop without infringing on the neighboring powers."

"From what I understand, the region is facing crippling food, labor, and resource shortages," Kano added, as Eriras moved to sit atop the same toolbox as him. "As a result their military is vast, but fairly underequipped. You saw how their infantry armor was inadequate, to the point that a well-aimed projectile weapon could compromise the protection. What they lack in technology and resources, the Domain more than makes up for in numbers. I suppose their military views the common foot soldier as expendable in that sense... the philosophy being that all you need is enough numbers to eventually get the job done."

"Well that means that humanity isn't totally defenseless," Dublin added after Kano had suddenly stopped speaking. "How damaging would a nuclear attack be to this Domain starship armada? We have to plan for the worst, and honestly such an attack is our only trump card."

Kanolos's brow furrowed in thought, as he contemplated the agent's question.

"Honestly I don't know," the fox-furred kyree replied with uncertainty. "Such a weapon has never been used against a starship in my recollection. I'd imagine that any vessel caught directly in the initial blast would probably sustain heavy damage to the exterior; anything further away would only endure a drain to their protective shielding."

Kano turned his attention to President Schrader with a foreboding expression. "I would not recommend using such devices, as the risks to your planet and people are far too great for the little damage it might cause."

"So what can we do then?" Agent Dublin countered. "I'd rather not just sit back and let these bastards take over our planet."

"I... don't know," the kyree replied dismally. "The Federation fleet will eventually reorganize for a counterattack. But, the Domain starships are orbiting about Earth... basically holding your world hostage. If we retaliate, their vessels will probably retreat to positions above populated human cities. I have seen the drala use this tactic before when they were at war with the neighboring algardions."

"That is just monstrous," President Schrader breathed. "They plan to use humanity as a shield. I can't let that happen."

"Then once you are safe, we will work to begin issuing evacuations of all major cities. Doing so will lessen the loss of life when the Federation comes."

A thought suddenly occurred to the Commander in Chief.

"If the Domain is holding this planet hostage," Schrader stated in thought. "How did your ship and crew make it here without the drala noticing your presence?"

"That was more a feat of luck than anything," Eriras spoke, taking up the conversation. "Kano was fortunate to correctly assume the underlying goal of our enemy and managed to slip our ship into Earth's atmosphere before their fleet arrived to lay siege. We dispatched a message to Federation High Command detailing the situation, in hopes a counterstrike will be organized. However, the military is in such disarray that we haven't heard a reply back yet. So for the moment we are acting on our own initiative."

"The lone wolf pack..." President Schrader reasoned.

All three Arastos crew members turned to eye the Command in Chief meaningfully.

"I like the sound of that," Yanashi spoke through her helmet from the back of the van space.

The group fell back into silence as the plumbing van ambled on down Interstate 95. After driving for some distance, Eriras carefully stood and moved to gaze out the front passenger window over the shoulder of the agent currently occupying the seat. At that moment, the kenseng caught sight of a bridge approaching, signifying they were about to cross over a smaller branch of the Potomac River.

"Take the next exit," the engineer instructed abruptly.

"What? Why?" Agent Dublin asked in bewilderment as he quickly merged over to take the fast approaching off-ramp. "Do we have a specific location we're heading to?"

"Not precisely. We just need a new ride."

Once off the highway, the group found themselves cruising through a sleepy suburban town named Woodbridge, which was just south of the Washington D.C. area. Following the kenseng's instructions, Dublin turned the van onto several different surface streets, as they backtracked to the small river. After searching for several moments, Eriras found what she was looking for.

"Turn into that marina," she commanded, pointing over toward a side street and building complex with a number of boats moored nearby.

Dublin promptly obeyed, now having figured out what the plan was. Although, he had no idea why a boat was a better means of transportation than the inconspicuous van they possessed now. Pulling into the parking lot, he quickly maneuvered the vehicle up alongside the dock before killing the engine.

Several civilians were currently milling about across the marina, not one person being aware of the growing chaos unfolding just several miles up the highway. By now nighttime had taken hold of the landscape, causing the black silhouettes of the Domain ships to become invisible in the evening sky. After the three Arastos crew had reengaged their cloaks, the contingent piled out of the plumbing van and moved toward the water.

"Is there any particular boat you had in mind?" Dublin asked the ghostly figure of Kanolos beside him while they walked.

"Pick one," the kyree replied curtly. "Just make sure it is fueled."

The human scanned quickly around for a target craft, soon spotting a vessel that fit the bill. The particular ship was a bi-layer yacht, with a lower cabin space perfect to house the president. As it turned out, the unfortunate owner currently had the vessel tied up to the pier while he refueled via the marina's gas station... perfect.

A lone light pole illuminated the immediate refueling area, causing the unlucky ship owner to not take notice of the approaching group until they were a mere few feet away.

The many footfalls of feet and armor-clad paws on the metal dock caught the owner's attention, causing him to turn and cast eyes upon a particularly odd sight.

"Sir, I'm going to need the keys to your boat please," a man clad in a black professional suit demanded politely, while extending out a hand with palm up.

This stranger's presence was quite intimidating. However, the bizarre rifle-like weapon he held was far more terrifying than anything else... not to mention the others behind him were equally armed. In a panic, the owner hurriedly reached into his pocket as his eyes remained focused on Dublin, before producing the boat's keys.

Without a word of thanks, Dublin swiftly snatched said keys from the owner's grasp and promptly motioned over his shoulder for the man to leave the scene with upmost haste. In his rush to get off the dock and call authorities, the owner never noticed the three barely visible armor-clad aliens standing quietly nearby. Kano actually had to scramble out of the man's way to avoid colliding with the human.

While the owner fled in panic, the contingent of Secret Service, POTUS, and the three Arastos crew boarded their newly acquired transportation. Quickly one of the other three agents from Dublin climbed the ladder to the steering controls on the second deck. Since he himself owned a fishing boat of comparable size, the agent was assigned the roll of navigating the sizeable yacht through the dark waters of the Potomac.

In a rumble of thick diesel smoke, the first engine cranked to life beneath the deck, soon followed by the second. After the lines were cast off, the agent turned helmsman eased the boat away from the dock while the rest retreated below to the cabin.

Holding a navigation chart in hand, the lone agent at the wheel plotted a course toward a distant marker the aliens had made out in a deeper part of the Chesapeake Bay, roughly two hours away by the boat's maximum speed. He had no idea why the Arastos crew wanted to travel there, but there must've been a very good reason.

Meanwhile below deck, Kanolos and Eriras again removed their suit's helmets, while Yana elected to stay fully clad in her armor. As the group looked around, it became apparent that the comforts of their new ride were quite different from the cramped confines of the work van.

The living space of the yacht was fairly impressive, with a large couch and reclining chair facing out toward the stern sliding glass door and aft deck. There was also a sizable kitchen, and a luxurious queen bed further forward. Meanwhile along the side bulkhead, a rather large flat screen TV sat mounted to the wall, while an extensive liquor cabinet was positioned nearby.

Taking notice of the alcohol, President Schrader swiftly moved to open the cabinet, observing how a small refrigerator was mounted inside to keep the precious drinks cool for consumption.

"I don't suppose the owner of this nice boat would mind the president stealing a beer," he spoke emotionlessly, while opening the clear glass refrigerator door. After everything he had been through today, he damned well was going to have a drink to take the edge off.

"Does anyone else want one?" Schrader asked, before he popped a can's tab and took a large swig to quell his anxiety. He knew the Secret Service were under strict guidelines to never consume alcohol while on the job... but they had lost too many good men today... their colleagues and friends sworn to the same oath. The Commander felt it was only right for him to offer a bit of comfort, however meager it was.

"No thanks, Mr. President," Agent Dublin replied professionally. The other security personnel gave the same response, not showing any hint of pain or grief after all that had happened.

Schrader himself felt so numb. He just couldn't come to terms with the full gravity of the situation. Part of him wanted to grieve for the dead, to mourn those who had sacrificed their lives to protect him. While his professional self held fast to his duty, and accepted the loss as a heroic deed worthy of the greatest honor.

However, the death of a comrade was always tough to deal with. President Schrader had borne witness to this harsh lesson firsthand, while serving his country in the hellish world of Vietnam. He had watched his closest friends die; their lives tragically cut short for their country... every death seemingly killing a small part of Schrader himself. It just wasn't fair... for these men to be so perfectly trained, to the point that they could not express real anguish for their fallen friends.

At that moment, the group felt the boat slowly pick up speed, as the engines throttled up.

"Please... it would make me feel better to share a beer with my friends in remembrance of those who gave their lives," President Schrader spoke quietly. His eyes pleaded with his agents, finally convincing them to cave. With a slight grim nod, Dublin moved forward to accept the offered beverage in silence.

The other two agents followed suit, and quietly, the four humans took drinks in commemoration to the fallen. Meanwhile the Arastos crew watched in rapt silence, marveling at the close bond that the Secret Service personnel shared with their primary charge. The humans' composure under such dire straits was compelling to the aliens, giving the kyree and kenseng newfound optimism.

"I never had a taste for beer," Kano suddenly chimed in, as he stood to move toward the fridge. "But, right now I think I need one."

"That sounds like a good idea," Yana joined in tentatively. The kyree had removed her helmet to reveal the grey fur of her wolfish facial features. Her ears were pinned back timidly, while she walked forward to join Kanolos. Eriras was right behind her as all three Arastos crew, still clad from the neck down in their gray power armor, joined their human counterparts in remembrance.

Kanolos didn't honestly enjoy the taste of human beer; nonetheless, the fox-furred kyree felt a sense of relief as he took a sip of the can he now held. He felt a wave of happiness wash over him, satisfaction that the three Arastos crew members were able to accomplish a rescue attempt. Now with the president safely in their care... at least for now, they could look forward to planning more aggressive attacks against the Domain fleet.

For the next couple hours, the yacht plowed onward through the calm waters of the Potomac River into the Chesapeake Bay, the navigation lights of her hull casting an eerie glow across the nearby water surface. Now effectively out of danger, those aboard found dissimilar ways to pass the time.

Kanolos had taken possession of the reclining chair, as he tried to figure out the crew's next move in the deadly game of chess they found themselves playing. However, his ambitions soon took a backseat to his body's needs, with the kyree now sleeping soundly in a reclined position, still wearing his power armor. He was actually snoring slightly, while his canine tongue hung out to the side of the kyree's slightly ajar muzzle... to the mild amusement of the others.

Meanwhile, Eriras had elected to flip on the flat screen TV and view a news broadcast via the yacht's satellite dish. She was joined by Dublin and Schrader, as all three watched the news station try and discern just what had happened earlier in the day. The situation was quite frenzied, since alien dropships now patrolled the skies around Washington. It also appeared that extraterrestrial infantry had seized control of the Capitol building, White House grounds, and Supreme Court building, seemingly aiming to detain all three branches of the government. The visual picture of the broadcast clearly showed the extensive damage to the White House roof, a telling scar of the earlier skirmish.

Most of the top ranking officials of the American government were unaccounted for, the president included. On top of that, confusing reports were beginning to surface detailing similar incidents at government buildings worldwide, only adding to the growing disorder. Watching the chaos unfold was completely surreal for Schrader. No doubt, had the Secret Service not reacted quickly enough, he'd probably have been captured and possibly killed by these ruthless drala aliens. God, he hoped the First Lady was ok wherever she was.

While the three watched the news unfold, Yana had decided to walk out onto the aft deck and gaze up toward the breathtaking stars dotted across the night sky. She was joined by the remaining two agents, who stood guard looking out toward the surrounding horizon for any possible threats, which was a moot point really.

After watching the night sky in silence for some time, the voice of the fourth agent piloting the yacht suddenly called out to Yana from the deck above. Snapping out of her thoughts, the kyree quickly ascended the nearby latter to the upper level, where the human promptly informed her that they had arrived at the indicated coordinates.

"Ok, give me a moment," Yanashi replied to his statement, before she quickly tapped a button on her wrist and spoke a few words in a dialectic the agent couldn't understand. After a few moments, a distant red strobing beacon appeared on the horizon, looking very similar to that of a channel marker buoy.

"Head toward that illumination," the kyree instructed while pointing out toward the light source. "When you get close, keep roughly 100 yards distant for the time being."

In compliance, the agent brought the steering wheel around to change the ship's course. "Just what exactly is that out there?" he asked curiously.

"Our next ride."

Slowly the yacht ambled toward the far-off beacon, while the helmsman wondered just what was out there. After ten minutes, the boat finally came upon the source of the flashing light, leaving the human perplexed as he idled the engines.

All the agent could make out in the darkness was a small shaft floating in the water, with the strobing red light emanating from the top of the structure. For all intents and purposes it appeared to be a simple floating buoy. So why had the aliens steered him all the way out here for this?

"I don't think all eight of us can fit on that tiny thing," the Secret Service agent spoke with apprehension to Yana.

The grey-furred kyree simply shook her head in response. At that very moment, the water around the beacon began to swirl and surge upward, catching the human off guard. As he watched, an upwelling of the nearby sea lifted up and gave rise to a solid shape of immense size.

The spectacle reminded the agent of a nuclear submarine broaching the surface in a crash ascent. As cascades of water flowed down the newly emerged object, he tried to determine just what he was looking at. The darkness made it difficult to see clearly, as the only illumination sources emanated from the red flashing beacon and yacht navigation lights. Nonetheless, he could determine that the structure was roughly a story high.

"What is it?!" the Secret Service agent asked in shock. "Some sort of submarine?"

"This is our starship," Yana replied simply.

The human's expression became that of revelation and understanding. Ah... so this is where they have been hiding, and how they were able to mount a rescue mission. No doubt, the spacecraft was equally capable of navigating underwater just as effortlessly as in the void of space.

As it turned out, the simple red flashing illumination was an anti-collision beacon, mounted atop one of ship's subspace communication antennas. At the moment, only the top deck of Arastos was visible above the waterline. The remaining two decks were still submerged beneath the surface to keep the vessel concealed as much as possible, lest a random fishing boat discover their whereabouts and draw unwanted attention.

"We're going to transfer the president to our ship," Yanashi continued, as everyone else came out onto the lower aft deck of the yacht to see just what was happening. "We can't think of any place that will be safer."

At that moment, a small section of the starship's outer hull extended out slightly toward the idling yacht. Quickly thereafter, two partitions on the outward face of the extension slid sideways to reveal the ship's airlock, with the lighting dimmed down drastically to keep the vessel hidden from view.

The helmsman agent understood what he had to do. Without delay, he began to carefully maneuver the yacht closer to the airlock access point. The task at hand was quite difficult, since Arastos wasn't exactly designed for docking with boats. While he performed a delicate balance of power adjustments between the two engines, Dublin and the other agents quickly snapped out of their shock and scrambled to position rubber bumpers along the boat's outer hull.

After a few moments of awkward positioning, the yacht smoothly slid up alongside the open port of Arastos, with the rubber buffers contacting the outer hull of the starship. Once this occurred, POTUS and his accompanying agents gracelessly jumped over onto the alien deck, while the helmsman held the boat against the spacecraft with finely tuned adjustments to the engine settings. When the entire contingent was safely aboard Arastos, the piloting agent killed the engines and deftly vaulted down the aft latter to swiftly jump over onto the alien vessel.

And thus the commandeered yacht's journey came to an end. For the next several days, the hapless boat would be fated to drift aimlessly across the Chesapeake Bay, before the tides eventually washed her ashore on a nearby beach. Meanwhile, the hull of the Federation starship sank down beneath the waterline, to again become fully submerged in concealment.

The contingent of POTUS, Secret Service, and the three Arastos crew now stood within the rather cramped confines of the starship's airlock.

"Welcome aboard the Federation Axis vessel Arastos," Eriras spoke blearily to the humans, while they took in their surroundings with varying degrees of awe.

Propping his beam rifle up against the side bulkhead after removing his helmet, Kanolos suddenly felt completely drained. Over the past day he had woken up several light-years away, been thrown head over tail in a violent explosion to end up bashing his head rather nastily, to subsequently dodging damaged spacecraft debris, and eventually mounting this crazy rescue mission he had figured would not succeed. Now...he just wanted a few meager hours of sleep.

"Lumina?" the fox-furred kyree called out tiredly to the ship's A.I.

In response, the construct's hologram materialized within the airlock, surprising the humans greatly as they recoiled away from her presence. The white fur of her persona was always quite a striking spectacle to behold for the first time, as President Schrader and the others eyed her warily.

"What do you need Kano?" Lumina asked sincerely, her expression filled with concern and sympathy for her flesh and blood colleagues as she ignored the humans.

Over the course of the rescue mission she had tracked and monitored their progress through the power armor's communication systems. What the three of them had accomplished was nothing short of a decisive blow against the Domain. With the president secure aboard, the crew could now work to begin a series of small, critical counterattacks to throw the enemy off balance, using the political weight and power of the Commander in Chief to help them coordinate with humanity.

"Can you take care of the president and his security personnel," Kanolos requested, his expression one of complete exhaustion.

"Of course. The three of you should turn in for some well-deserved rest. Your mates have been recovering in their quarters, and would certainly enjoy your company."

Kanolos simply gave a nod of agreement to the A.I.'s request, before he moved for the doorway out into the corridor. Eriras and Yana followed suit, after both had deposited their weapons alongside his own against the bulkhead. Wearily, the three crew members crossed out into the hallway, while they overheard Lumina introducing herself to the humans.

Soon reaching the door to his quarters, Kano gave a slight nod to Yana as she padded through her own doorway opposite his own, while the other kyree returned the gesture. With a sigh of fatigue, he pushed the control to open the entrance, allowing him to cross into the relatively dark space of the kyree's living accommodations.

Dropping his helmet to the deck, Kanolos quickly reached up to begin peeling away his power armor, starting with the chest and back plating. He didn't even bother to store the armor segments properly, as he instead just cast the pieces to the floor without caring. Once his body was free of the protective cladding, the kyree gave a good shake of his body in a canine fashion to ruffle his fur, which had been matted down by the constraining equipment.

Lumina had instructions to wake him if the situation took a turn for the worst outside; but, for now he could enjoy a few hours of undisturbed rest... just what he needed.

Kano slowly changed out of his underclothing, to eventually wear nothing but his fur... clothing really was just a formality for the kyree and kenseng, and Kanolos liked to sleep naked. He then turned his attention to the large bed of his quarters, where a sleeping figure already occupied the sheets.

During the surprise attack at Federation HQ, his mate had taken a nasty blow to the head, resulting in a severe concussion that rendered her incapacitated. As such, Riyla had been bedridden in their shared quarters over the course of the day. Thankfully Yana had tended to the captain's injuries before they departed on the rescue mission, allowing for the kyree that now slept before Kano to recuperate while they were away.

As Kanolos carefully slid onto the bed surface, he noted that the sheets were all crumpled and strewn about. The full splendor of Riyla's naked black fur lay bare to her mate's gaze, as she snoozed comfortably curled up on her side... she really was a violent sleeper and loved to toss and turn about.

Carefully, the fox-furred kyree snuggled up behind his mate, while he skillfully arranged the covers over both of their bodies. The slight stirring of Riyla's figure, coupled with her murr of contentment at the sudden warmth of his presence announced that she had awakened.

"Mmm... is that you Kano?" Riyla asked sleepily, as her mate wrapped an arm around her waist from behind the kyree's curled up form.

"The one and only," he replied lovingly, while she rotated around to look into his eyes with her affectionate wolfish gaze. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired... but otherwise fine. I tried asking Lumina what was happening, but she refused to fill me in... I don't suppose you could let me know what is going on."

"I'll bring you up to speed in the morning," was Kano's simple response.

He lovingly licked the side of her muzzle, tickling her whiskers as Riyla murred with approval.

"Oh... fine," came her sleepy reply. Riyla returned his gesture of affection with a tender caress of her tongue across his cheek, causing Kanolos to smile genuinely. "I love you."

The black-furred kyree closed her eyes and nuzzled herself up closer to Kano's body, enjoying the familiar warmth of his presence.

"I love you too," he breathed softly, feeling sleep overtaking his awareness.

Together the two kyree drifted off into deep slumber, both relishing the tenderness and intimacy of their mate's company as they snuggled together underneath the bed sheets. For several hours the chaos and turmoil of the outside world were long forgotten, as they enjoyed the comfort of their dreams.