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"Dante, we're in orbit. Fallen Sky combat vessels will arrive shortly. In addition, an unmarked ship wishes to dock. They seem to be friendly."

He nodded, "Tell them it is acceptable, but if they try anything I'll blow their heads off one by one."

The rare sound of docking with another ship put everyone on edge. The last time that happened, the Albatross plummeted towards the ground, "Good thing we're armed, eh?"

Dante tapped his foot, "We don't have all day, hurry it up..."

The airlock opened and before him stood an albino wolf, stained with blood, and four men in ragged clothing. The men had simple rifles, while the woman was unarmed, "Ah, the Beast in person. I had only dreamed of this meeting. They call me the Bloody Knight, these are my most trusted guards." Her smirk would disturb all but those with the most resolute of wills.

"Speak. If a single drop of her blood spills on that pisshole of a planet, I'll kill all of you first."

She nodded, "Of course. I believe we can shed some more light on the situation, as we, the true Knights, were fond of outsiders. It happened approximately two months ago, the king married a new queen. Immediately, the pushover king stepped aside and let that woman rule. I'd be upset if I didn't mention that he developed a new... hobby... but she is the most pressing concern."

Dante rolled his head on his neck and shifted the weight of his rifle, "Let me guess, mindless executions of anyone who would stand in her way or threaten her power. Typical."

A curt chuckle, "Quite. You want your girl, we want our world back to the way it was. This is but a temporary alliance that may turn into a more permanent one in the future, but I ask that you allow us to assist."

Dante waved her onto the bridge, crowding it beyond belief for the first time in a long time, "My plan is to go down, take her back under cover fire, have our backup fire into crowds of enemies and take down ships with the Albatross' aid, then leave. I'm not sure what more you can add really."

She held out her hand and one of her guards placed a square tablet into her hands. She set it on a flat surface and turned on the hologram, "This is the courtyard, where executions are held. We have... exactly one hour and 56 minutes before the scheduled murder. I want my people here, here, and here. When you first jump in, we'll cause some ruckus in the back and throughout the crowd, giving you a more open window of opportunity while minimizing citizen casualties. If the queen sends out the royal guard, which is likely, they are your main targets. The common soldiers are weak-willed and would give up faster than you can call them cowards."

Dante scratched his short beard, "So, you're trying to help the ones trapped there, I have no complaints. Get in our way though..."

"I assure you, we're on the same side Dante, Captain of many things by now." It was in the natural lighting from the window that he could see that the blood was fresh, "Are we in agreement?"

"What are your capabilities? Numbers? Weapons?"

"I have one hundred men under my command. Standard issue equipment including energy swords, rifles, and sidearms. All ready to fight or die by my command."

Dante sighed, "Great, another group of crazies. Just what we needed. Whatever, just be ready to act. I don't give a lot of warning, I act." He checked his own weapons again, "When will she be placed into the public eye?"

The Bloody Knight paused, then put a finger to her ear, "Change of plans, they're moving up the execution. Something about new intel on a threat... you didn't broadcast any signals did you?"

He knew what had happened, "Get on your ship, we're moving in now. Zero Unit! Kill anyone in your way!" The hackers had infiltrated Fallen Sky ranks, most likely in the communications departments. That would be the only way they could know where the Albatross was.

The Knights left quickly, and the Albatross swooped down. Immediately, they were met with small arms fire, completely powerless to the advanced armor on the ship. Angel fired the main cannon at a small heliport before dropping low enough, "Dante, move quickly."

Dante jumped from the ship, secretly grateful that his shield could withstand a big drop, and ran towards the wooden stage where a frightened Miss Star stood, complete with a noose around her neck. Gunfire erupted behind him just as he shot the few soldiers around his crew member, "Hold on!" He shot the rope and Miss Star collapsed.

"Dante... Dante... they were..." She was shivering and crying, "Why?"

"It's okay, calm down." He hugged, her, confident that his crew and the Knights would be able to hold off the brunt of the attack, "You're safe, the ship will be around in a second."

"The Beast of Fallen Sky! I knew you couldn't resist the bait." A piercing, uptight voice echoed over the sounds of screams and gunshots.

A woman in a poofy dress, with a cocky smile that would make the most peaceful of people desire her demise, "Oh great. Another person who wants to die. Angel, we need pickup!"

The queen sneered, snapped her fingers, then retreated to the inside of her castle. A hidden door in the stone tower slid opened, and fully armored men with weapons fit for the finest soldiers marched out in formation. The Royal Guard.

"Concentrate fire on them! Titus, take the lead!" He picked up Miss Star and ran towards the only location big enough to accommodate the Albatross, "Angel, where are you?!"

"Landing now, stay clear. I had to fight past interference to hear communications Dante." Landing gear opened and the ship landed.

Sere was at the door, "Hurry up! I'll trade you!" Dante set Miss Star inside, and Sere handed him the Reaper v.2. This model had the impact plate built in, "Kick some ass!"

Now it was finally Dante's turn. His crew had taken cover behind a destroyed wall while the Knights were busy fighting what was left of the regular army. That being said, they had taken quite a few casualties since the Royal Guard appeared, "Get down!" He planted his feet and fired the beam of energy, using every ounce of strength to wave it back and forth. A good portion of the royal guard was cut in half before the energy cell went dry, "Angel! Yell at Marie!Ask where those backups are!"

He put the Reaper v.2 on his back and drew his rifle. Dante fired into the scattered Royal Guard before finding his own crew, "Dante, something isn't right! I've been trying to contact everyone, but the messages aren't getting through!"

"Listen up! We've taken down stronger! Chey, why haven't you used all of your grenades yet?" Her eyes perked up, "Angel, when you can, blast that tower. Sere and Cratis can handle Miss Star. The rest of you, don't let go of that trigger! If I don't see bullets flying, I'll crack you over the skull!" He fired from behind some rubble, "I'll take point! Titus, Chey, Wendy, on me! Ratchet and Jill, take that overlook up there! Move it!"

The Royal Guard was better equipped to take out uprisings and the Knights, but less so for a mercenary unit led by a one-eyed human. The barrage of bullets from Zero Unit in addition to their own bullets being reflected broke their remaining ranks very quickly, an opportunity seized by the remaining Knights. Led by the Bloody Knight herself, they sliced through the Royal Guard, and often not in a fatal way. They made them suffer.

"Bahahahahaha! Dante, what now!? I want more!"

He looked up into the tower from which the queen retreated, "Off with her head." He gestured for Zero Unit to charge in, "Angel, shoot anything that isn't begging for its life!" Dante tackled through a line of surviving Royal Guards and found the inside of the tower to be high tech.

Titus and Chey ran up the stairs first, followed by the rest of Zero Unit and the Knights. Most of the opposition was outside and taken care of, and as Dante would later learn, many in the army deserted after the queen took charge and the new king developed questionable tastes.

Only a few bullets were fired as most of the remaining soldiers quickly threw down their weapons and fell to the floor in submission, "Way too easy."

"Dante, these people believe they are gods. Nobody would have dared take on the Royal Guard, so nobody did. Just kill anything that moves for now on." The Bloody Knight was running alongside Dante, rotating her energy blade in small circles. It was clear that she earned her title, though how was another mystery, "I find this hard to accept... seriously. Couldn't they leave some stuff for rumors?"

Massive doors made of pure gold and embedded with precious jewels. This would have cost an unfathomable amount of money, and yet it happened. Explosions shook the castle, the Albatross was making easy work of the survivors, "Chey, blow it down."

With glee, the squirrel set many powerful explosives around the door frame, "Step back! This is gonna make a damn big hole." Everyone took cover down the hall just as she hit the trigger switch. Not only were the doors blasted into tiny pieces, but the outer wall of the hall was blown clean off of the castle, "Heh heh... boom."

Dante and the Bloody Knight took positions by the side of the opening, "On my orders..." He dared a quick glance, "Now!" Dante jumped out and shot at the queen and king to incapacitate them, "Move move!"

"Like you said! Off with her head!" The Bloody Knight quickly decapitated the queen, "Now, what about this pile of waste?"

"Please, please spare me! I can make it worth your while!" His voice was soft and weak.

Dante felt as though something was wrong, "Who put you here hacker?" The mood changed in an instant.

The false king shivered, "Uh... well... you see... uh..." Dante shot him in the leg with his pistol, "Dammit! Agh! They told me this would be easy! Take over, cut support and ties... let me go and I swear you'll never hear from me again!"

"You, what's the most painful execution on this planet?" The false king shivered while the Bloody Knight pondered, "Titus, take three others and find the real king, I want to hurt him too."

Titus nodded and took Jill and Wendy, "I suppose he could be drawn and quartered. Always a crowd pleaser."

"Make it slow, I want him to suffer as much as possible."

The Knights restrained the injured imposter and took him outside just as Titus came up with an identical man, "Thank you, I have been down there so long..."

"Nope."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Not interested. If you're this weak, I want nothing to do with you. Also, since you're technically in charge here, pay attention." Dante holstered his weapons, "As of this time, all contacts between your nation and Fallen Sky are null and void. There will be a fifty year ban on new contracts. Let's go people."

Zero Unit trudged through the piles of bodies and debri to make it back to the Albatross, "Wanna tell us what that was about?"

"Got a message, someone is challenging Fallen Sky. Group of hackers from what I've been told. I know we sent a message for backup and it was received, so that would mean that there is at least one of them in headquarters, changing outgoing messages or something. We're on our own out here, so don't put a lot of trust into anyone." He sat on the captain's chair and stared into empty space.

Wendy sat on a console panel, "Well doesn't that just suck the big one."

"Agreed." Sere was rubbing her eyes, she was exhausted from the lack of sleep. It was self-inflicted though, she was working on improvements for the Albatross non-stop, "What can we do for now?"

"Head back, smack around Isa and Marie for a bit, get drunk. Same as every day."

Jill walked onto the bridge, "Miss Star is a little shaken, but alright. I gave her a sedative to help her sleep it off. What did I miss?"

Chey scratched at her nose, "Well, we may or may not be screwed."

Dante looked at his recent messages, hoping to find something suspicious, "Angel can't be hacked, so the ship is safe. Still, that's not a big comfort." He paused, "Angel, get a video message opened into the round table room."

"Do you mean the Meeting Room?"

"I don't look at the signs, I just sit there now and then. Do it."

The video popped up in a holographic screen, much to the surprise of the ladies in the room, "Woah, Dante?"

"Listen. You have a hacker working for you, probably in communications. That, or Marie wanted me dead."

"How can you..."

Dante stood up and slammed his fists onto the console, "Where the fuck was my backup?! We barely got out of there alive!"

"I... I sent the order..."

The Goddess shut her eyes, "Perhaps Dante has a point. Marie, can you send out an innocent little checkup message to all ships? That way it won't be blocked for sure."

Marie opened a computer on the table and typed away, "So Dante, what do you suggest? Don't get me wrong, I want to try too, but you have the most experience right now with these freaks." Isa's hat was on the table as she was rubbing her temples.

"Mira, re-interview everybody in any position that would have access to messages. Ask questions they would expect, then a random question that would be impossible to answer correctly. If someone gets it right, act as though nothing is wrong and move on, but report him or her."

She stood up with her cane, "That's a good idea. May not work, but worth a try. I'll get on that."

"Good, stick with that, work your own magic, I'm not your parent. We're on our way, try not to get tripped up." The video screen turned off, "The rest of you, make sure we're in the best shape possible. Sere, you get some rest, you aren't much use exhausted."