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The Albatross was finally in good shape, both inside and out. Isa ordered upgrades on everything, so it also had more power than ever. The Siren II was also in operation, and for the past three days it had been slowly rising up into orbit. The cannon on top was nearly as large as the ship itself, "Everyone keep your eyes on the prize, our job is to cover the whale until it fucks up that planet."

"Dante, we're ready. Any last words of advice?" Isa had calmed down in the few months that passed, but she was still tense.

"Listen up, everyone on this radio signal, even you hackers." They chose to open radio communications to their enemies, "These pricks had most of their ships decimated in a single attack, we did not. Most of their ships will be transport with added weaponry and the like. There may even be civilian pilots." He took a calm, collected breath, "Kill them all."

A large fleet took off for their ultimate target, the home planet of the hackers. Dante was twitchy as most of the operation wouldn't involve much strategy on his part. Angel would be performing most of the acrobatics and firing, and the Siren II would handle the bulk of the combat. Even worse, the bar hadn't been restocked before take-off.

"Sorry Dante, but with all the commotion..."

"Zip it."

Ratchet was busy checking her rifle, "No alcohol during a fireworks show, how lame."

"Tell me about it!" Chey was frustrated not only because she didn't get to do much, but because she purchased some new toys she wanted to try.

The rest of the flight was silent, and when they did finally arrive Angel took over. Just like Dante said, most of the ships left were either private or transportation, hastily outfitted with weapons. A few larger ships were attempting to fly off in another direction, "Isa, your call."

Within seconds, they were destroyed, "Dante, I'm sending you a ship code, dock and take out whoever is inside, but spare a few of them."

"You heard the lady, all of you get ready. Angel, disable the ship without blowing it up. We're going in."

The perks of having an experienced crew were showing, Zero Unit was able to disable the ship, dock, and begin to enter within a minute. Titus and Chey covered each direction of the hall they entered, "Here they come!"

"No mercy!" Dante opened fire with his rifle easily taking out the inexperienced hackers, "You can't just read books all day! Practical knowledge is infinitely more useful!"

"Dante, we... uh... cut down the population of the ship by a lot..." Jill was tapping on her computer.

Dante rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I'm starting to feel sorry for these piles of shit... Move forward, capture the bridge and anyone there. Damn." They moved together as one, occasionally shooting a straggler. Dante kicked down the door to the bridge, "You've got to be kidding, it isn't even an airlock door. What is wrong with you idiots? Not even yours ships are any good."

Five people scrambled for cover, "We'll shoot! You better run!"

"Ratchet, fire a warning shot." She took aim and hit both a gun and the hand holding the gun, "Now then, surrender or else. We can always take another ship." Dante turned away, "Not like you bunch put up a fight..."

Nine hands rose up along with a bloody stump, "What now?"

"Bind them, strip them down, then throw them into our brand new holding cell. Make sure to have Angel scan them before they get too far onto the ship."

Dante's head drooped, "We're getting too good at this, I'm bored."

Wendy patted him on the shoulder, "Well, the fireworks are about to start, let's get back to the Albatross." Zero Unit made it back to the Albatross and sat in the lounge. Chey was all too eager to opened the shutters.

Cratis and Titus were sitting around, not quite thinking but most likely wondering how work got so damn lame, "You two, wake up or you'll get a shock." Sere was aiming a wrench at the other dragons, "I didn't work my ass off to not see that monster fire."

Dante poured himself a drink, "There are too many people here, can't even get a good seat."

All eyes turned to him, "Where did you get that?"

"Brought it myself."

The Siren II positioned itself in front of the Fallen Sky fleet and started the final stage of charging for the main cannon. The smaller ships had been annihilated by the new ship and the rest of the fleet, so at this point it was nothing more than target practice. A ball of white energy formed in the cannon's barrel. A few minutes later, and the weapon fired.

The force of the cannon rattled even the Albatross, which was further away than the other ships, "Hot damn!" When the beam hit the planet, it was all over. The green land was turned instantly brown and a crater that reached down into the core was formed. The round shape the planet once held was transformed permanently, and there was no doubt that any survivors would not be alive for long.

"I don't know... didn't seem all that flashy. We probably could have taken the Siren II down before it fired." Dante downed the drink, "I'm getting too old to feel any sort of thrill here. What's next? Right, delivery."

Angel directed the ship to dock with the Siren II. Some of Isa's men took the hackers onto the ship, "Order from above, you're to return to headquarters and await further orders."

"Great. Now she's power hungry AND psychotic. What is it with you women?" Dante waved them off and returned to the lounge, "This had to be the most boring mission I've ever been on... ever."

Ratchet climbed on top of the bar and relaxed, "Yeah, easy money though."

"Miss Star, aren't you happy? Nobody got hurt this time around."

She could barely move, "So... exhausted..." She spent most of her downtime cleaning and repairing the Albatross, and although she was trained for combat, endurance was not one of her specialties.

The rest of the crew tried to take a nap, flat out ignoring weapon maintenance and a debriefing. There wasn't much of a challenge anymore, why bother? Hours passed and they woke up to yelling, yelling that echoed in through the open airlock, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"What are you talking about?! This is a reward!"

"Like hell it is! This is grunt work! This is something for idiots!"

"Too bad, I made my decision! I rank higher than you after all!"

"Are you high?! I outrank you, both on paper and experience! Did you bump your head?! Couldn't handle the stress of killing?!"

Dante and Isa were fighting it out, it was unclear for how long, "I know what I did, I have to live with it and I will!"

"Then give me a real job, not something for scrubs!"

"Get back to your ship and get stocked up!"

"You will pay for this Isa, mark my words."

"Is that a threat?"

"A promise."

The Albatross echoed with a bang and Angel made an announcement, "We will be departing in two days, you are free to do what you will in that time."

Jill and Wendy met up in a hall, "That didn't sound all that good."

"Yeah, Dante is pretty pissed. I don't think I've seen him yell at Isa like that before."

Jill shrugged, "Whatever. I don't mind easy missions, but not back to back. Wanna help me stock up the bar?" Wendy nodded and the two left the Albatross. The commercial district was near the ship port for some obvious reasons, such as making importing easier. They stopped by a rather large liquor store and grabbed two large carts.

The women went down the isles, never skipping more than two bottles of anything at a time. They had to get the help of an employee for another cart, as most of the glassware was broken as well. He was not exactly happy about this seeing as how the cart became very heavy very quickly. The liquor and glasses were charged to the Fallen Sky account and were to be delivered by the end of the day, "So what now Jill?"

"I wouldn't mind checking out that new gun shop, heard they do some nice custom jobs." Just like before, the women made their way to the store, a rather small building on the outside but no doubt there was a large basement. Rifles, pistols, shotguns, just about what you would expect, "Hey, do you have anything interesting?"

The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow, "Well... you know how things are, the good guns are too expensive for most."

"Jill, a Scout in Zero Unit, this is Wendy, same deal."

His smile was a mile wide, "Oh, my apologies, right this way!" He tapped something with his foot and a section of wall slid open, "Can't be too careful, I'm here to make money, not to be a charity." A short stairwell down and a much nicer array of weapons were placed into high quality glass cases, "Now then, may I suggest a few weapons perfect for scouts?"

Wendy looked around, "Sure, let's see what you got."

The man ushered the women over to a case, "This here is a rifle whose frame is based off of an older model show to be sturdy and durable while avoiding excess weight. The stock is from a rare petrified wood and dyed in a crimson liquid derived from the same tree's fruit. This rifle is accurate up to half a mile even during burst fire and... well you'll just have to see this." He removed one of the four rifles, turned his back, then loaded it, "Please follow me."

The three walked to a shooting range, "Yes, we know how guns shoot."

"Oh, of that I have no doubt, but watch. As a scout, you'll mostly be dealing with targets at range, but what happens if an enemy gets really close? Unless you have expensive piercing rounds they'll take you out. With this gun..." He took aim and pulled a second trigger. A shotgun blast shattered the relative silence, "A secondary firing option, a high-powered shell that will rip through just about any armor. Indispensable in the field, don't you think?"

Jill gestured to hand over the rifle, "Light weight, standard magazine, I like it. We'll take all four. Plus some of those shotgun shells."

"Absolutely! I'll even throw in some custom tools, I know how you elites like to tinker!" He used the second register in the basement, "If any other members of your unit would like to look around, give them this card. I won't be as secretive." He handed over a plastic card to Jill.

"Actually, I can get most of them down here now. I don't think we've upgraded our weapons in a while. Only Sere has been really designing things." Jill tapped on her wrist computer, "Hey, get down here and get some new weapons. Hurry."

Jill and Wendy fired two of their new rifles at the range just to get a feel and adjust the sights as the rest of Zero Unit entered the shop. Wendy handed a rifle to Chey, who was fascinated by some rocket launchers, and Cratis who was looking to get a new sidearm. Miss Star found two pistols she couldn't live without and Sere was eying up weapons to salvage for parts. Titus was looking at the shotguns, but he would never admit that he was choosing based on color than function.

Ratchet had a harder time, as a priestess for Abuio, a weapon was as much an extension of your own body as it was an extension of the soul. She loved her rifle, but knew that it was starting to become a bit dated in terms of raw power. The owner strolled over to her, "I can't help but notice, but... you are no doubt a priestess of Abuio, correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

The fox smiled, "I understand your issue, and I believe I have something... special. Allow me to retrieve it." Behind the basement counter sat a large safe, much like one you'd see in a bank. He opened, walked inside, and returned with a long rifle wrapped in a tapestry, "This is a gun crafted by a man no longer with us. I apologize that I can't remember his name, but his skill was beyond measure. Rumor was he never missed and every shot was a kill." He unwrapped the rifle after setting it onto the counter.

It was made of a sacred wood on Ratchet's home planet, known to be as strong as tempered steel and colored blue like the ocean. The metal insides were made of a brass-colored material, and the length was just a bit longer than her current rifle. The scope was clearly high-powered, able to make out each individual grain of wood on the far side of the basement. A small carved ring was around the mid-point of the rifle, a standard practice for all weapons. It existed to tie your own personal charm around your weapon, "It's... a beautiful weapon."

"Yes indeed. It was gifted to me by my grandfather in fact, and he received it from the original owner. I was told to give it to someone who could truly appreciate and use this tool. As a priestess of Abuio and one who abandoned her temple to fight... take it. I have no right to own such a magnificent weapon."

"Thank you... I will treat it well."

"May I ask a question?" Ratchet nodded, "Does that dragon understand how to choose a weapon?"

Ratchet sighed, "He's a vanguard, you know, someone who charges in. I'd help him if I were you."

The owner nodded with a concerned smile and quickly rushed over to help Titus. After only a minute and choosing an appropriate weapon (one that could fire single shots or rapid shots, then light machine gun for good measure) Dante descended the stairs. Even though his face showed some drunkenness, he was sober as a bird, "I was wondering where everyone went."

He walked over to a display holding a single weapon, "Hey, I need a few guns. Tell me about this one."

The owner walked so fast that the rest of Zero Unit believed that he ran, "Why yes indeed! A weapon crafted from metal mined from a dying star and finished with a metal mined from an asteroid, this rifle is nearly indestructible. It has a good weight, high heat capacity, and a special treat!" The owner slipped on some gloves and lifted the gun. He hit a switch hidden just in front of the trigger guard and a foot-long blade protruded from just under the end of the barrel.

Dante lifted the gun from his hands and took a better look. The barrel was held steady by a large, but shaped, bar of metal, making the gun look very sturdy but no doubt giving it extra weight. The size was perfect, "Is this limited to only standard ammunition?"

"No no no! All weapons in this room can use any ammunition that fits. Do you need other weapons?"

"A sidearm, preferably rapid fire capable."

The owner returned to his massive safe and returned with a large pistol, "This is based off of a weapon from a distant planet. The magazine can be filled with standard sized bullets, and the pistol itself is known for high accuracy and multiple firing settings. The outside is brass, but the inside is crafted from diamonds. I have no doubt this gun could survive just about anything!"

"Anima?" Dante looked at Anima for a few seconds, "Alright, I'll take these two for now. How about a deal though?"

"Well I don't like to barter on such rare weapons..."

Dante sighed, "I'm talking about a deal directly with Fallen Sky leadership. You give a slight discount and I can promise that Fallen Sky will come to you to arm the elites."

"You don't say..." Dante looked over and saw Ratchet tying a bit of fur from his time on Paradise, "I think I like that idea."

"Then you've just made a powerful ally today. I'll pay for you to stock up piercing and magnesium ammunition on the Albatross as well."

Dante paid for his weapons and left the store. Mira was waiting outside, "You know you really upset Isa."

"Not my problem, she's sending us to guard duty against a people that don't even use guns. She should have known better, we need a challenge."

"Dante, Dante, Dante... tell you what. Finish your job, get paid, and come to the meeting room. I'll mediate a talk between you and Isa."