It had taken a bit of doing and more than a fair bit of wealth on his part to arrange this but the bay off had been huge in Ven's opinion. He was trying to get his feet out beneath him again after his incarceration at the hands of the ADD. Fortunately he had gotten early release but at what cost?

The half breed had Hel'Corian, a biological experiment knew what it was like to be a guinea pig so to speak but everything was set. Now was but a waiting game that he knew with the bribes would not take long though he was aware that if it took more than three days it wasn't going to be the response that he was after and that he would have to leave but he was hoping that urgency would force their hand after he send out that broadcast as to the station he was at, that he had taken the agent Priscilla. He had fondled her throughout that message and demanded an unreasonable ransom or else …

Ven never had to detail the or else as he cut the message off with a shake of his head. He was not after money but rather he had hoped to draw out another agent. There was something that he wished to acquire from her … his reluctant assistance Vanessa had been hooked up to some of the mainframes in this sector and by his calculations it would take the ADD 3 days to get here with their quickest ships. He was given them 36 hours and not a moment longer. But there was one ship close enough to get here within that time. He had been following her progress and waiting for such an opportunity though it took months for an opportunity like this.

Ven was willing to bet that they would send her on a rescue mission, one of which he had his droids ready for. His traps had been set and it had taken him months to get the situation right, to get her in the right quadrant of space with the closet ships he had been aware of outside of that range. What would have sucked is if there were other ships that had been secretly assigned this sector that he did not know about but he took that gamble. If he pulled this off, well Quebos was willing to pay top dollar … but could he get the sample? Furthermore the slaver had considered selling his prize into slavery after having some fun with her perhaps but first things first, he had yet to catch her yet.

Routine Patrols were never exactly 'fun' so it had really been no surprise to the Technician when the computer hummed to life to show a sleeping Xui at the helm of her ship when she was needed.
“Please get up Xui dear, I know you're bored.”
The familiar, calm pleasant voice of Xui's personal handler always got her to stir.
“mmmm, Sorry father, I was just bored... Was having a wonderful dream.”
“It's alright darling, Humans and Drahn both need constant stimulation but, I did call with an assignment, that should cheer you up.”
Xui stretched in the cockpit with a long yawn before offering a pleasant smile to the camera.
“Alright, so is it an assault on an enemy base, assassination, maybe a little more under cover work? I wanna get mah claws dirty!”
There was a silence and then a sigh from the computer.
“Actually, it's a bit of a rescue mission...”
“A rescue mission!? I don't do Rescue missions damn it, you know that! Those require a lot more tact and self control! It's boring trying to escort weak and tired people out of anywhere...”
There was another sigh, the man took on a slightly more stern look
“Apologies for this Xui my dear creation, but you are the only hope, We'd send someone else normally but, it would take far too long to send anyone else. You are literally the ONLY hope.”
Xui crossed her arms under her chest closing her eyes for a few long moments before she'd finally sigh.
“Alright Tell me what I have to do...”
she said in what had to be the most defeated tone she'd ever used for anything. She was given the details of the assignment within an hour and the file on Ven. She took her time looking it over.

“So the target is a little like me then?”
“You know that's one of the least important details Xui, Please focus. Considering the very limited timescale we're assuming he was planning something, so do be careful dear, you're very important to me and very expensive to the ADD we don't want you hurt beyond recovery.”
She smiled a little offering a silent nod that said far more than anything she could say before turning off the monitor. She'd set the computer console to auto pilot and with the coordinates laid in she'd go ready herself for a long drawn out fight, which was something she did for every mission anyway... Drahn blood did so heat up for a good brawl.

She'd be ready at about the same time as her ship came within scanning distance of the target. Her outfit was far from simple, an armored nanoweave that fit her beautifully, atop that a holster for her favorite pistol, one for her favorite rifle, two for her favorite blades and a smile on her face. Whatever this creature was ready for she was sure he wouldn't be entirely ready for this.

All that was left for Ven to do was wait. He had baited the trap too, though of course the agent probably would be expecting the worse too so he could only do so much to make things a little convenient for her at the start.

As Xui's ship arrived initial scans on her sensor picked up the power signatures emanating from the nebulae. Ray shielding protected the hangers from loosing atmosphere but allowed for ships and other solid matter for that matter pass through without question.

Her long range sensors being military grade had picked up on the barest of things, her first brake seeing that the station itself probably had less superior sensors. In fact her own picked up two fighters in the nebulae, probably a means of early detection so no one snuck up on them though the fighters were at distance and actually flying a standard search pattern that took them further away from where they were at now.

So the sensors where the first lucky break, the second … she pick up energy emissions from the station, no shields, weapons off line at the moment anyway and nothing unusual. There were four hangers but only two were in use given the energy signatures. From the other two she had only picked up the Ray shielding and standard life support.

This told her that the station probably did not have a full compliment at least as far as ships went. Just twp hangers one to the East, the other to the West but North and South seemed vacant though the fighters she detected were towards the North, she could probably still get in that way with a little more work.

She returned to the cockpit of her ship ready looking far more ready for a war than a rescue, but that was more or less par for course for her. She looked over the readings the ship had taken with a subtle yawn,
Data... most boring part of any battle...
she wasn't stupid though, she wouldn't ignore the details though that never did mean she'd necessarily take the smartest action.
“so... fighters at 0 degrees, empty 180 degrees... 90 and 270 exist... sooo launch a decoy probe one direction, ship goes the other and I take an Extreme Environment EVA suit straight onto the base undetected and worst case scenario I hot-wire a ship to get away. Sounds like a blast.”
Always one for somewhat reckless options, part of early adulthood in humans and Drahn in general.

She'd head to the airlock and get into the heavily armored suit, her ship moving into the nebula towards the base's 180 degree isde while it launched a probe that would scan as an ADD fighter towards the 0 degree. She'd leave from the airlock and use the EVA's retrorockets to move her simply towards the 90 hanger at the 90 degree. A spec marveling at the immensity of the station and the nebula that surrounded it, looking like little more than a small bit of space debris to the scanners. It was a reckless, idiotic manuever really but, the view was more than worth it to the Hybrid.

((little bit shorter than I'd hoped but, any further and I'd feel like I was controlling things too much))

(not a problem I can work with most things anyway and never have anything set in stone as it is)

She launches the probe, not surprisingly the fighters don't pick it up right away, the nebulae interfering with their sensors it will have to get closer first before they peel off and investigate. Chasing down the dummy and then realizing the rouse of course will take a bit of time so she had calculated that she had 10 or 15 minutes before the rouse was detected and that was if the fighters out there could get within visual range to confirm the probe wasn't a ship and thus would be tipped off that something was amiss here.

But she had done well to avoid the trapped hanger, the one that Ven had been hoping she would take though her reckless daring was rewarded this time as she enters into the Eastern hanger. Passing through the Ray shielding was simple enough.

Life support was on here and there were 8 ships here, all fighters … unmanned fighters, drones she determined. This was good, right? If the fighters out their were governed by AI then it might take them longer to dope out the rouse. She could guess that there were 6 fighters in the other hanger with 2 having been deployed. No larger ships were here so Ven's personal craft was probably in the other hanger too.

There were machines here, droid mechanics that went about general maintenance of the ship. The droids were all shiny and new, there were 4 in total with a fifth, a beat up older model serving as a supervisor of sorts.

The droids ignored her for the time being, whether they had yet to notice her or had but did not care was another matter. They seemed to be focused on the ships though.

There were three doors here. One larger set of double doors lead into a cargo storage area, another up to a flight control tower and the third lead out into the greater station at large.

The safety of the hanger and the atmosphere within made it simple enough so she could slip out of her EVA suit safely and thankfully, she hated those things and the way they hampered her claws. She took a moment to look over the hanger proper. She wasn't one to take scans often, but she did want to at least check for life signs within the room; none there, the ships obviously drones; not quite what she had been hoping for. She could only huff to herself.
“No life support in these... there'd better be one somewhere if my ship doesn't make it back here.”
she muttered softly to herself as quietly as she could as she began walking the wall of the hanger looking for the furthest door, what she hoped would lead into the station proper rather than a storage room or a control tower, though she was ready with a weapon in hand; Xui wasn't one to ignore the possibilities of danger, Drones often patrolled stations and it wouldn't be the first time she'd get attacked by service drones.

She was able to strip off the suit though the fighters were not what she was hoping for if Ven was here there had to be a ship for him, perhaps in the other hanger though she had a weapon in hand after doing an initial scan. Unfortunately there were no nearby life forms other than her own indicating that the defenders were inorganic. Great. They were essentially invisible to her though at least they had not been expecting her arriving through this area it seemed.

She moves forward, weapon in hand and trying to make no sound though the older model must have had advanced audio sensors for it glanced in her direction. With the fighters and shadows it probably did not see her or cared to investigate. It seemed single minded and focused back on the ships.

Slipping out into the corridor there were two directions from this point. Both were dark at least from here. One followed the curve of the station to the North the other to South. If both were initial entry points and were trapped with the expectation she would come that way then the other lit area was probably on the other side of the station. There was probably a corridor that moved through the center of the station so that she would have to go the long way around and probably held rooms that controlled communications and sensors maybe even a brig and infirmary. No, maybe not the infirmary her guess was that their might be several smaller stations. Near the hangers in the event of an accident of some sort.

With inorganic life forms though they might not even have one. She then heard the repulsor engines of something hading this way from the South that seemed to be making a leisurely but steady pace as it neared her position.

(sorry about being away, net was down)
Having so few options never sat well with her, it left so many options for an ambush or a trap; the question of where the targets were was another question that left her bluntly stumped for the time being. She tapped her weapon against her claw a few times as she tried to decide on her path.
I hate missions on stations so much. Could've at least supplied me with some blueprints, but nooo that would make life easy...

she sighed some as she heard something heading towards her from the relative southern path; it left the options of a fight or taking the other path. Either could be a trap of some sort and she knew it, but maybe if she followed what she assumed to be the target's plan she'd be able to turn the trap against him. She decided it best to take the northern path that she could only assume the thing was meant to force her down.

(quiet alright )

She was over thinking things perhaps? Even so in a hostile station, not knowing what to expect she had been left to her own devices. Right now she was the best in, well there really was no one else. They did not even have the time to supply her with blue prints though from her scans she knew there was a hanger at each point of the station and there were probably corridors going from the East hanger to the West as well as one going North to South. It made sense rather than walking around the entire station but why wasn't there a corridor – she had returned to the hanger she had entered by before making her way all the way up to the one that she assumed had been prepped for her.

Xui had not noticed it before though now she was thinking about it she saw that their indeed was a door there concealed to look like part of the wall. She could see the seem with a close look and could only assume that her opponents didn't want or suspect that she'd go that way

The mechanical hum behind her had faded, she was much quicker than it and covered more ground but it was methodical as it pursued her or more likely headed in the same direction for there did not seem to be any urgency behind the sound whatever it was.

The lack of corridors did bother her, there had to be other paths than just the ones between the hangers it made no sense for there not to be. She assumed she had time though now that the sounds she heard had faded away; Looking for a corridor took only a few moments thanks to the seams on the wall, but opening it was another matter. Most would look around for a console, or a lever or a switch but, Xui... she wouldn't, it wouldn't be the first time a door was 'broken' when she handled it. Claws piercing as deep into the door as they could as she brute forced it open likely causing the gears and rotors to crack in the wall as she did. She again wasn't stupid, she made sure nothing she did would cause the vacuum to enter the station. She'd move through the opened door and replace the damaged and claw marked door to a close position, the computers wouldn't be able to open it anymore though, not until some lengthy repairs were done.

in the new corridor she'd take to a slow but steady pace looking about for paths or markers or even a console she might use to check the station for life signs, anything that might make this mission go by a little quicker.

Gaining access into the corridor beyond had been easy though the machine sounds grew louder as the thing neared. It was methodical though, slow and she could hear it pause then move again, pause then move on. Some sort of sentry?

Searching about there was a long corridor, four doors either side of it and another at the end of the corridor. Sadly there were no consoles here so she would have to get lucky by finding one in a room. All thus far was quiet though she was doing well thus far. She had avoided any real complications to this stage, no sense getting into a fight too early when she didn't know where she was going, right?

Had so many options when she was certain there was no console in the corridor. Being lost never did sit well with Xui. Still she decided to do this systematically taking quick looks inside the rooms starting with the one nearest the door she'd come through, still looking primarily for some method of orienting herself and her search; she didn't even know how much time she had left to find the targets.
“I should've asked someone that before I got off that damned ship... fuck.”
she sighed faintly after her quite mutter to herself. She'd keep an ear open for the machine as well just incase it decided to come through this somewhat hidden corridor.

No machine came back for her. She entered into a dark room, lights automatically springing on due to a motion detector sensing movement and showing her an infirmary of sorts … no not an infirmary she works out but some sort of repair shop. Instead of blood there are spare parts on hand and a mix of tools some for organic work though the bulk for machines.

What catches the agent's eye is the computer here. Among lists of parts for maintenance she reads the alien keys easy enough as they are in the Galactic basic.

She clacks a few keys and brings up the internal sensors to pinpoint life signs.

There. That made it easier. Beyond the door at the end of the corridor where three. One was faint, one was strong and the third was average. According to this all three were close together in the center of that room up ahead.

Little did she know that using the computer alerted Ven. He was aware now that she had bypassed some of his traps and would go on the move now, half a dozen of the floaters emerge from the room at the end of the corridor essentially floating balls with two arms ending in cannons. Soon she would hear the familiar whirl of motors from the intake of air as they neared, their otherwise lethal weapons modified to release a stun blast.

She made mental notes of the computer readouts, the locations of life-signs specifically. Though the whir of life from outside the room awoke Xui's mind from its work. She didn't hesitate to draw her gauss rifle. She could have just torn into anything that came for her and she'd have preferred that, but her orders were to avoid significant injury; she'd follow orders for the time being at least and be cautious as long as the situation would allow.

She'd activate the door and wait alongside it for before leaning out just enough for her to aim at the target; she fired off a burst of rounds at what she assumed to be average security drones. She'd only miss if they did something completely unexpected. Though she was still ready just in case she missed for another round of shots.

There were two of them, no three there was one hidden in the back of these floating drones that glided ahead on repulsor technology. Each was circular and about the size of a basket ball with guns for arms. Her first shot had taken one out though with the speed of machines the other two reacted as the first rained down to the floor in a shower of useless sparks.

The one in front opened up with it's lasers, the other going to get cover by doing the same, opening a door and leaning out. Suffice it to say the droid was blasted to bits before it could implement it's plan.

The last was tougher to deal with as her shots had to be blind shots considering it was advancing behind a wall of laser shots until she was able to take it out with a stray shot.

Ven obviously knew she was here, probably the moment that she accessed the compute come to think of it.