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"Get it together. Piledrivers! To the entrances. Block off tunnels 1 and 3. Gunnars, take positions at the choke points. This will be like killing rats in a maze. Like last week, remember? Ha!" The men ran off, "Vangard! On my right. Scout, my left. Sniper, climb up into the rafters. They won't know what hit them."

"We're in position, waiting on further orders commander."

"No record of the Albatross yet. Suggest getting comfortable and checking weapons."

The woman stood in the large room, "Dammit, why would they keep us waiting? His head had better be worth it. I want a fight." She spoke into her comp, "If he's as good as they say, the surprise will wear off quickly. Piledrivers, when I give the word, cave in the entrances and move it back here. Gunners, when I say so shoot anything that moves."

"Roger."

There was a faint rumble overhead, "About damn time. Get ready, on my mark."

The halls could be heard crumbling, "Piledrivers, report!"

"Seems the structure was weak already, nothing we could do."

The woman was concerned. She knew their voices, and even over the radio they sounded different, "Identify mission and accident code."

There was a silence, then, "A23HIU894, accident code Alpha-685."

"Checks out... " She looked around, "Everyone get ready. They won't go down easy."

She waited for a few minutes, but the men she sent didn't return, "Commander, should I go check?"

The scout opened her computer, "Gunners, be on alert for any movement. Shoot first, then ask questions. Keep in touch." The scout nodded to the woman, "Nothing seems amiss."

"Open communication to the loudspeakers." The scout nodded and hit a button, "Hello Dante. I'm Commander Marie of The ship Thedian. No offense, but you and your people will die here. That being said, I look forward to meeting you." She looked to her scout, "Seal the doors."

There was some gunfire, then silence. No reports either, "Commander, I don't see anything in thermal scanning. Moving to another position." The sniper stood up and moved along the rafters overhead.

"I have visual commander!" The vangard raised his gattling gun. At the end of the hall leading to the room stood a single person, human, not wearing armor. He was resting a rifle on his shoulder, and only one eye was visible in the dark light.

Marie growled, "Dante... you are good. Too bad you have to die. Do you mind?"

"Gurr!" Something splattered, and the vangard fell to the floor, lifeless.

"What was, how did he-Gah!" The scout's neck opened up and blood poured out. Marie stared in horror as her scout fell.

She looked back at Dante, who was slowly moving towards her, "You bastard!" She raised her rifle to shoot, but her wrist opened up with a sharp pain and she dropped her gun. While she was in shock, something hit her head hard, and she was soon on the ground. A woman in tight, black clothing and a hood stood over her with a knife in her hand, "Who are you?!"

The wolf giggled, "I knew the training would pay off, but I'm not the one you should be worried about." She looked over while playing with the knife, "I took your advice and it works." She backed away.

A large handgun was pointed directly at her head, "You were good, I was better." The trigger pulled.

................................................

A few days ago...

"Really? You want us to take him out? Pay better be worth it."

The man at the head of the desk spoke in a deep voice, "He betrayed us, and you are a very skilled unit. The details of the ship and Zero Unit are in the files sent to your ship and scout."

Marie glared, "Why don't you have the ship returned? With them on it? Why risk our lives?"

"It would seem the human was more clever than we imagined. He slipped a few other pieces into his contract. The ship is now his, as well as any property of Fallen Sky on the ship." The man leaned back in his chair, "I warn you, he has new members added of his own volition, and more training than we can offer. His recent activity has also been sent to your ship, but we cannot say it is full intelligence. It seems to blend myth and reality."

"Wow, you know I've read a bit about him. Seems like an awesome guy, wish he was in my unit." Marie blushed, "Oh, but look at me, prattling on like a little schoolgirl. I assume you can set up the trap?"

Another person at the table nodded, "Yes, we have it ready. He won't be able to resist. We must warn you, do not underestimate him. If you think you have all of your bases covered, you are wrong. He defies logic."

Yet another person spoke, "If we had known he would be this influential, we would never have sought him out. Be careful out there."

Marie slammed her fist on the table, "Please, we'll take him down and bring you his head on a silver platter!" She began to walk away, but the person at the head of the table grabbed her attention, "You are making this a lot harder than it needs to be."

"Despite your title, you are no direct match for his tactics and strategies. Plan ahead young one. You have the maps, take advantage."

"I'll be back, and I want double pay for the hazard."

....................................................

Marie saw her life pass through her eyes, up to the meeting which sealed her fate, but nothing happened. Dante cleared the chamber, took her hand, and put the bullet in it, "You do not deserve death Marie. What you do from here is up to you."

"Wh-what? What happened? H-hey! Don't go anywhere! I'm going to kill you!"

Someone dropped from the ceiling just behind her and put a hand on Marie's shoulder, "Drop it Marie. Dante knows what he is doing, so does Anima. As far as Fallen Sky was concerned, you were all dead. We got the intel thanks to our little spy."

The woman in black clothing smiled, "Wait... Ratchet? And who is that?!"

"I'm nobody. You were all sacrifices. We have about ten minutes before Fallen Sky bombs this area. Get up, we'll get you off this planet."

Dante was slowly walking away, "You heard the ladies, move it. We'll drop you off at a safe zone."

Before long, they were leaving the planet. Just as the spy said, the bombardment started. Jill put the video feed on a visual monitor so Marie could see what Fallen Sky thought of her, "Why..."

"Simple." Dante was behind them, "They wanted no witnesses. Killing someone they paid money to work for them, looks bad. They only wanted you to hold us off until they could start the attack."

Marie was shaking, but luckily Rachel, the onboard medic, patched her up, "It... was nothing personal. Just a job. Sorry, even those men weren't my own. They assigned them to me cause most of my men retired."

"Dante, we will be arriving at the free area in a few minutes. Check your computer for details about shopping and entertainment." The AI shocked Marie, "Guest, I have made accommodations for you at the hotel closest to our docking point. From there you can access your acquired funds. You are free from Fallen Sky as of twenty seconds ago."

Marie was looking around at the Members of Zero Unit, who were all in the lounge. They were drinking, relaxing, acting as though nothing had happened, "How are you, no. Why are you so nice to me? I tried to kill all of you."

The spy was the first to speak, "Because that's what we do. I know this is odd for me to say, as I was pretty childish. But... Dante made me think on the last mission I did with Zero Unit. I'll save that personality for the stage, and be serious here. Dammit! I went off track again!"

The feline in the wooden wheelchair smiled, "We were also attacked and betrayed. So this is the least we could do, especially since you have no personal grudge. As it stands now, returning your weapons would be unwise, so we can't do that."

Marie stood up, "I understand. I'll leave you all alone, try to do something on my own. You aren't my enemy."

................................................

A few minutes passed and they were able to dock. Marie immediately followed the directions to her hotel. She checked in and went to her room to lie down on her bed, "You know... I bet they miss me about now. I should charter a flight back home. Hm... stick to the big city though, they won't let me back into the temple guard. Perhaps there is something I can do for them." She hopped out of her bed, "Of course!"