Out in the hanger with frayed nerves Phoebe could see the remains of the crew here along with a few of the marines that had been left to secure the hanger and marshal the wounded. The bulk of the ships were disabled drone fighters. Some needed to rearmed or refueled. Most were undergoing routine maintenance in one fashion or another.

A terminal in the hanger was on. It had lists up as to what was being done to each drone, a schedule as to who would be working on what and so on. General stuff to help the crew with their assignments. The terminal wasn't locked but it took a bit of time to back track out of the records for the hanger. The work being done here was a priority for this department but Phoebe found that all the terminals were networked so someone could access files without having to be in that department. Still there were sensitive things that were isolated from the network. What she searched for wasn't one of those things.

There might have been a means of searching through records of the crew but seeing how the scientist was just brought here he wasn't going to be on it. What she could discover was that the ship had a brig which was empty. She wasn't able to get into any security feds from that area but it appeared that the scientist wasn't there if what she read was to be believed.

Phoebe could rule out the bridge too. With the space battle going on that place was in chaos. Schematics of the vessel displayed a few labs and the location of sensitive areas such as the engineering department where the FTL drives were.

Viryon snatched up one of the weapons of a wounded marine turning it over the blaster rifle to Phoebe. She patted the blaster pistol at her hip having gone through a number of sims already Viryon was prepared.

The chimera couldn't read all that well yet. She knew enough to co-pilot though picking out needed information wasn't her thing. Now pictures were something else. She studied those schematics in a timely fashion. She closed her eyes picturing everything in her head, opened them and confirmed the map.

“Then perhaps we need to take the drive offline. If the ship cannot jump out of this system it fails. Even if the ship has to be destroyed. The main objective is to recover the scientist. Or ensuring that the enemy doesn't get him if we fail that.

“I could prep one of the fighters to launch.” It wouldn't be comfortable but it was only for a short flight. That and the capacity would be limited. It could be done with one of the fighters that needed to be rearmed with missiles. Viryon considered something then looked to Phoebe.

“Or we could use it to fly to this hanger here rather then fighting through the entire ship. From there it's a quick shot to the FTL drives. This ship might not even fire on us too. Of course we'd have to avoid our own side if they can manage to get this close.”

There was the problem of not having a pilot here should Hope get back before them unless they split up. All in all the scientist was possible in one of the labs, maybe even working on the weapon as far as anyone knew they put him straight to work. Were they that close?

Far off they could hear the discharge of weapons. There was a brief firefight. “Security bots. Not the greatest model either.” Hope announced over comms. “Looks like the humans are attempting to stay out of the way. Any luck with a location yet?”

Viryon had the right idea. The marines handled their primary objective while the two blondes should play to their strengths. Nothing would be gained from waiting things out when preventing the jump bought much needed time for the operatives on site. All the information offered up by the ship’s manifest might actually suffice to make it happen. Taking one of the fighters from here to there should be easy enough. Still, while the thought of going back out there gave her goosebumps, Phoebe didn’t bother checking in with Hope first as she was already nodding in approval. “Do it.”

It shouldn’t be difficult to make use of the fighter’s armaments either. If engineering was too far from the hangar there, maybe rigging one of the missiles to detonate could work, or simply blowing it up on the spot would resolve the matter if taking the drive offline by any other means couldn’t be done. She’d worked with such devices outside of the simulation before and while far from as talented as her former mechanic, manipulating these weapons to her liking wasn’t impossible.

Things might get ugly without a pilot here, but in her mind the benefits outweighed the risks. With any luck their opponents weren’t expecting them to make the split either. Just the two of them could get around without drawing too much attention either, at least after any initial opposition had been dealt with. What life among the stars taught her, however, was that it’d never be as easy as she was hoping for.

Hope’s message roused her from that particular train of thought as she relayed what she knew. “We’ve got access to the ship’s schematics. There are a few labs here that could be of interest. I can’t confirm our target’s there though. Looks like you’ll have to sweep them yourself.”

That seemed to be their best shot, anyway. She guided the agent through the steps necessary to reach the aforementioned labs and confimed Hope recalled them before moving on to another matter. “Viryon proposed taking out the Pyro’s FTL drives before it can make a jump. I agree with that. We've got to act before they can make their escape.” She let the other woman think on that for a moment, awaiting either approval or disapproval upon hearing about their plans. “She and I will be taking care of it. You focus on the scientist. If you can’t establish contact with us anytime soon, assume we’ve failed and move on.”

As for what came next, well, they were already committed to taking the risk of heading over to the engineering department. Was she still shaking? A little. It might’ve just been too long. Flying, let alone dancing with death, hadn’t been on the menu in quite some time, especially in recent times. Gorjen let her pilot once, then there was that whole trip with Gersham and the flight here ..

The blaster rifle in her hands certainly didn’t feel any lighter when she inspected the sights, how it handled, what firing modes it had, whether it ran on charges or a generator of some sort and the like. She was a bit worse off when it came to weapons compared to flying outside of challenging Gersham to a game once they made their escape to retrieve Kurgan.

That was in the past now. She was playing a game here as well, and didn’t want to dwell on those fleeting insecurities. Somewhere, that hot headed agent inside her still remained. She’d best make good use of her here and not waste time worrying about how well she performed right off the bat.

“On it.” Viryon rushed off to the fighters. She examined them finding which one was best suited to their needs before getting started.

The fighting was distant and sporadic. While with her own senses it wasn't too loud over the com she could hear each bolt clearly. Small explosions and sizzling sounds. The clank of machinery. Someone saying they were hit, calls for a medic and so on.

“Got it. If the ship can't go any where it won't matter if I can locate the scientist.” Hope announced. The loud sound of metal on metal could be heard followed by something heavy hitting the floor. “Oh, that's not good ...”

Clearly something amped up. The fighting erupted. A cacophony of roars resounded. When Hope returned to the line it was after something roared out in agony. She was fighting and evading something. Swinging and shooting.

“Be careful they have some rather large aliens here. That scientist must be close.”

Once gutted the fighter would prove to be a tight fit for the two of them. There were actual controls on the inside but no seats. The controls were a bit baffling but Viryon got it.

“It's for deception. A pilot can fly instead of the AI. You think it's a computer and can predict what it does only to find out your wrong.”

In the animal kingdom lots of things used deception. Still any pilot would have to lay on their stomach and be fairly small. The advantage of her stature. It was cramped with the two of them and the tight space made them have to split who controlled what since it was impossible to reach particular controls.

Going over things it looked like this ship had limited life control. Which shouldn't be an issue given their short flight. The vessel wasn't converted over yet or maybe it wasn't going to be. It had excellent sensors. Of all the ships in the hanger it had the best armament, suffice it to say that wasn't much. Two missiles and no charge coils for the lasers. So maybe they had a shot charged up. Maybe they could get two shots off but had no means to charge the energy for a second or third shot if fortune went their way.

Back out in the maelstrom about the ship fighting wasn't as bad as they had left it. The drones were busy screening attacks from other fighters. Capital ships fired at them from range or rather they were just in the way of those big guns. Fortunately the big guns were at range and not designed to hit so small a target. Suffice it to say they were attempting to target the vessel they just left.

They found out the hard way that the ship had no coms in a traditional sense. There was means of talking with the parent ship but not the fighters that attacked them. Only her superior flying saved her. That and the Pyro's point defense weapons that no longer targeted her. It was fortunate too that her skill made up for the lack of reflexes. Evasive maneuvers may not have been practiced much but the chimera had a knack for them it seemed.

With the point defense weapons getting closer the two fighters eventually gave up on them. Getting to a separate hanger they found that it was virtually empty. There were a few ships here along with a few crew. Not as many as in the other hanger, most had been too busy prepping another craft to notice her arrival. Those that had were the maintenance droids.

As she approached the hanger an auto guidance kicked in to make landing, well automatic. She could still manually control the ship but landing it was unnecessary. She could wrest control if she wanted but the control would reassert itself if she was going to collide with anything preventing any accidents. On top of this the speed of the ship would be reduced and tractor beams used to halt her progress and slow it if the ship was going too fast.

There were two small tractor beam generators. They had enough power to assist small craft such as the drone fighters and shuttles but would fail to affect even small ships. Her drop ship was too large for them to affect, probably the reason she hadn't noticed in the other hanger. Their vessel at the time being foreign to the ship hadn't tripped the beams which only activated when there was a safety issue detected. In a way an unconscious pilot could be safely recovered if they managed to set a course towards a hanger before passing out. Maybe there was a recall device aboard, if so Viryon hadn't found it when stripping the drone.

In any case her arrival went off unnoticed with that crew working on the ship. Sensors would tell that it was powered up. In fact all the shuttles here were powered and on standby for some reason. Disembarking would be easy, Phoebe could attempt to find out what was going on here or stay on target. Getting to the doors would be challenging but possible.

Viryon pointed out the door then gazed toward the crew. On closer look there were a few security droids with the crew. Two, no three. There was on inside the shuttle at the top of the ramp looking out while the other two were mingled about. Most of the crew were busy loading the ship with something.

Taking out these old security droids would be easy with surprise on their side. The one inside the ship would be the hardest to take out but if she got into a decent position it would be a clear shot into the ship. The crew were unarmed humans, perhaps a half dozen in all.

“We need not come back this way.” Viryon whispered to her. Fighting back through the ship to get back would be harder, longer.

As she watched she could see that they were loading up something using repulsor sleds. Covered, heavy machinery. Once inside the ship techs seemed to be securing it or attaching it. The ship's sensors before she disembarked would tell her that they were shielded components. Whatever they had been draped in scrambled the sensors. She got a shape but little else of value.

“I can take a closer look.” Viryon indicates the other shuttles which all showed signs of being powered up. “Whatever they are doing they probably did it to the other ships that have been powered up.” She glanced to the door again as if contemplating ignoring the matter to disable those drives.

All went well, up to a point. The ship turned out to be a rather tight fit. Once inside the other hangar, relief washed over the young woman. With that kind of limited life support setup, spending any more time in there would’ve been more of a distraction that the fighters outside. It was much to take in even now, but thankfully Phoebe was slowly getting back into a more focused state. There were some things you just never forget, like riding a bike these skills were unlikely to ever fade from memory.

What didn’t go well happened to be what they chanced upon in the very hangar they entered. It might’ve been nothing serious, or it could’ve been luck that allowed them to spot something none of their forces had been aware of. Scouting out the door leading deeper into the ship and what’s happening right in front of them, Phoebe had to agree with Viryon on taking a chance here.

“We best look into it while we can. I don't think we should come back this way either.” She nodded to the closest shuttle, one that’d be farthest from all the organics and droids moving about the area. Likewise, Phoebe was already looking for a better vantage point to keep an eye out on her friend without being too visible herself. If things went badly and she was discovered, it was best to have at least some surprise on their side. “Go on then. I’ll keep an eye out for trouble, but be careful. We still have a fair distance to go and it’ll be easier the less attention we draw to ourselves.”

The whole operation gave off an ominous vibe. Phoebe didn’t like it. Hell raged on outside the ship. A well equipped boarding party cut through their defenses. Yet they were here, unarmed humanoids with minimal security, moving heavy equipment. Shielded components? Shuttles being powered up? The same shuttles that probably wouldn’t last long out there? An evacuation would’ve looked different.

Whatever it was, the blonde duo lacked answers. Seconds mattered in the grand scheme of things. Whether checking it out cleared things up was up in the air. Sending her comrade out to have a closer look had been based on the assumption that the shuttles and their contents could be detrimental to the fleet at large, perhaps even the very planet fending off this invasion force.

If they were, something had to be done. They had no contingency plan for dealing with their own potential failure. If Hope succeeded, but their pilots failed, getting off the ship would be a lot harder, if not impossible. The same could be said for the opposite. Should these shuttles pose a threat, the crew and those droids had to be taken out. After all, if anything happened to their fleet, then it wouldn’t matter whether they blew the drives or captured the scientist.

She might’ve just been getting worked up over nothing. It’s still a game. The settings were bound to render their situation anywhere from unpleasant to hellish, but in the end they lived in a simulation where failure wouldn’t ruin their actual lives.

Then why was she still nervous? Pain would be pain. Although her friend played the game before, the thought of having to watch her suffer put the former agent on edge. She could only hope things turned out alright and depend on her skills until they simply weren’t enough to overcome the obstacles placed in their path.

Viryon watched the crew for a moment then gave a nod. Focusing on their lack of attention she waited before advancing on the shuttle farthest from them. Before she slunk off she blushed, caught sight of her own hands and looked at them before shrugging. Had she just attempted to change color? If so it didn't work though blushing on command was an ability few humans could boost of.

Not that it would help much in this case. Her clothing wouldn't change along with her so the assistance would have been marginal at best. She got onboard the shuttle. One deck hand looked toward the shuttle as if hearing or possibly seeing something. He watched for a long moment then assumed it was nothing getting back to what he was doing when others complained that he was no longer working.

Minutes slipped by. Phoebe could see the not so distant explosions outside the hanger as vessels were struck and exploded. The naval battle still raged on out there. Once she even saw a fighter zip by with drones on it's tail. Those ships were damn close given that she could make them out against the black background.

Viryon returned. Looking confused. “I checked out that shuttle as well. Both are the same. Unremarkable except for the cargo they loaded. Beneath that tarp is something I have never seen. Some sort of boxy thing beneath a tarp. Cables connect it to the engines. I don't believe they are on. The ship's too small to have internal sensors outside of ones that detect hull breeches and toxins in the air. I did check the console to see what it's suppose to do.

“There were words I couldn't understand. The few I did initiated the devices. A power increase of some sort?”

As Viryon tried to explain as best as she could numerous arrivals entered the hanger. Several humanoid droids arrived though they were not security droids as far as she could tell. None were armed and each went to a separate vessel.

“They're all set to go.”

Another human, this one armed with a blaster pistol nodded at that. Just behind him there was a trio of large hulking reptilian creatures. She couldn't make out any weapons on them. They spoke in an alien tongue. Then one spoke to the armed human.

“Thisss better work.”

“What choice do you have? Would you rather languish in prison for the rest of your life? This ship has been boarded and those ships out there are making it tough to engage our FTL drives. They're keeping us too close to the gravity well of the planet. Our speed has been reduced drastically. You and your team can get to the Orion. With the smokescreen we'll put up those ships out there will be too busy to care about your shuttle.”

The lizard appeared weary of this. One of his associates snapped a head up, turning it in her direction. He, she said something and pointed to the fighter. One of the other lizards glanced around will the other remained calm. The first moved towards the end of the hanger, the second moved the third behind him as if acting as a shield. Scanning the hanger. The humans seemed puzzled and confused all save the armed one that was doing his best to calm down things and get the lizards into one of the ships. The first was having none of it too far to be influenced it already covered half the distance swiveling it's gaze back and forth trying to locate her or something else that was out of place.

There were numerous doors that lead into the hanger. They should be able to reach some if they gave up their positions. With a head start on the others they might get off with only having to deal with one of them as the other figures were on the other side of the hanger. She could stay hidden and hope it had not seen either of them or even attempt to loose it in the ship. It didn't seem that they could stop whatever was going on here. Based on what little they heard if they got a message out they might succeed in countering it a little. Maybe if the pursuing lizard was important they would not launch while it was in pursuit of them. So if they could keep it engaged long enough they could delay whatever was going on.



lizards

The anticipation was killing her. Someone could’ve been breating down her neck and that’s all it’d have taken to make her jump. Waiting made Phoebe more uncomfortable than being out there with those ships. At least you were in control to an extent. The humans were still loading the shuttles, but who knew when exactly that’d change? Viryon would be in immediate danger if they decided to take off. She held back a sigh of relief when her comrade returned unscathed and unseen.

As Viryon relayed her findings, her friend took a moment to think. “An engine boost? What for? An attack or potential escape?” It seemed to be a blend of both when a few new arrivals met up with the humans. The droids may have been pilots. What mattered for the moment was that they weren’t armed even though looking at the huge lizard beasts they probably wouldn’t need any against two meager blondes. The reptilians looked the type to shrug off a blaster round or two without going down. Soon to be prisoners or the like, she couldn’t really tell.

Unfortunately, their arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed. She ducked back into cover when one of the three aliens started scouting the place. How strong their sense of smell was or how whether they could detect them in some other way had been unknown. As the other two were unable to recall the third thus far, staying here might only leave them surrounded by enemies.

With that much opposition on site, they had better leave now. Attempt to relay a message through a comms terminal, if they could find one, and keep moving towards their original objective. If the reptile was in pursuit, maybe they could lose him or split up at a junction. The one that wasn’t being chased could then fire at his back. She didn’t want to try it though considering if that one was confident enough to chase after two armed individuals, perhaps their weapons turned out to be utterly ineffective against his kind.

Still, the choice was made. Phoebe had a look at the map earlier, as did Viryon, though the latter might've been better at recollecting the details. With a nod to the other woman, then to one of the doors she assumed to be the safest and closest escape route, she gave her a few moments to either nod in understanding or propose a different route altogether.

Time was of the essence. They’d wasted enough of it already, and even though they learned a thing or two, it did expose them to a certain risk. A risk they now had to distance themselves from as quickly as they could.

“I don't think it's for escape. Those shuttles are slower than the fighters out there and good for in system use, not long journeys.” Most shuttles were a means of going down to planets without the arduous labor of landing a capital ship. Most of which stayed in orbit or docked to stations. Getting closer to anomalies and scientific studies without risking the larger parent ship was an option.

As far as escape the shuttles didn't have the range to get more than a system out. Limited supplies, inferior speeds. However, it did occur to her that they could be used to reach rendezvous points or in a naval battle such as this they could be launching to another ship.

As crazy as that was. Shuttles would be easy pickings for those fighters. Their shields were alright against galactic dust and such but could hardly hold up for long against ship weapons. Phoebe guessed if enough of them launched some would make it to other ships.

As she debated this one of those reptiles approached. Viryon nodded as she signaled to one of the doors. Once in the hall and a plan made to get to a coms station she pointed in the best direction. No sooner had they been on the move did the reptile make it to the hall catching a glimpse of their retreating forms he hurried after them. He said something that had to be a command of some sort.

In pursuit from the reptile she had to avoid the crew as well. Avoiding large concentrations were they might be the few that she crossed paths with were hurrying here and there. Some had to be gunned down. The majority were unarmed and more than eager to get out of her way or rather the way of the huge beast that followed on their heels.

They had to split up at a junction. The reptile was too close and to make matters worse there was a security team of droids that had been called in from someone. So far they avoided getting pinned down. The droids were overtaken by the reptile and didn't chance a shot at them after the creature passed as if concerned with hitting him. So shots were scarce. They had to keep moving though neither had a chance of achieving their goal with all the pressure.

The scenario was tougher given her selection of the difficulty. While the crew hadn't been much of a challenge to this point they had been responsible for activating force field barriers that cut her off from important sections of the ship. While these fields weren't everywhere doors in certain sections were locked funneling her into areas. Fortunately she was lead into any traps as sections were cut off from her after crew from various areas called in. The ship was dealing with a lot at the time so efforts weren't coordinated well. In other situations it would have been far worse. Was Viryon faring any better?

One final door lead into the mess hall. Things dead ended here. There were doors into the kitchen and out of this place back the way that the reptile was coming from. The best she could hope for was making a stand, possibly hacking and locking the doors had she the time for it. Any second the reptile would be upon her.

There was a lot of cover here due to all the chairs and benches. Most were bolted down. There were areas were buffets were set out too. Carts that held trays and others that held dishes all secure in the event that the ship lost gravity. These carts could be opened where the material in question was stored so it wouldn't float around. Conversely if she emptied one she could hide inside or get even more cover.

In the distance she could hear the discharge of energy weapons. Had Viryon gotten herself in trouble?

“A dead end?” Skidding to a halt more so than a calculated stop, Phoebe slammed the doors shut behind her. The scene in front provided nothing short of gut wrenching disappointment. She scanned the mess hall for a moment, heart beating rapidly all the while. There seemed to be no one around. Quickened breaths filled her lungs only to be exhaled through those tender lips, each intake of air hefting her supple chest with greater emphasis time and time again. Somewhat unsteady hands clutched the blaster rifle hard, knuckles on the verge of turning white. Where to now? It wasn’t looking good.

All she had to show for that mad dash was losing sight of her friend. There’s no way she could empty out one of the carts and make it not look like an absolute mess. She’d be a sitting duck and make it more than obvious she was hiding here. If the kitchen didn’t open up any further escape routes, that’d be the end of it. Could she really take that chance? Making a stand here was as good a plan as any and getting into position sounded like time well spent.

Aiming down from where buffets were set out should allow for a fairly extensive shooting range. Anyone in it could be peppered with blasters on approach. Time to find out whether the rifle could dispose of that reptile or not.

She didn’t lock the doors, but quickly loosened whatever held the carts in place, then hastily brought them close to where she was setting up. With any luck they’d cover her flanks to a degree though given the minimal number of pursuers on her tail, especially one that was unarmed, they might not be necessary at all. She couldn’t be certain he’d show up all by himself, however.

Just as Phoebe propped her rifle up against the counter, now trained on the doors leading inside, another skirmish erupted elsewhere, but within audible distance. She couldn’t be sure about it being Viryon, but who else could it be? Hope’s been unheard of for a while. Her team had no business being here either. It could’ve been nothing for all she knew, but that seemed even more unlikely. Phoebe hesitated, being in trouble herself, and going anywhere likely amounted to running back into that lumbering beast of a man and those droids she managed to slip away from quite nicely thus far.

The seconds passed, but the thought wouldn’t let her go. “What if it’s Viryon? What if she’s in trouble?” It’s just a game, but it made her worry nonetheless. It was her idea to run this way, whether they had any other option or not. Splitting up became inevitable. Right now, the blonde didn’t even really know how far off the desired path they ended up.

Still, Phoebe waited. The urge to move intensified by the moment, for every moment that reptile didn’t come bursting through the door was a moment spent not even attempting to check up on Viryon. One, two, three ..

“Screw it ..” If he didn’t show up now, it was her time to make a move. What little she could do meant more to her than having done nothing at all. If killed in the game, then at least she’d no longer have to worry about abandoning Viryon in the first place. If they were killed, that is.

The carts were simple to operate. Their contents sealed away to avoid floating around if the gravity failed the carts themselves had magnetic locks keeping them affixed to the deck. Simply turning off the lock she could move the carts and lock them back in place. Not that she needed to reactivate the locks but it did make it harder for anyone to push aside the carts or tare them out of position. Not even as large and probably as strong as that reptile was had it been likely to brake that lock. Of course destroying the carts themselves had been a different matter entirely.

Getting in position the wait had been longer than expected. Long enough to fray her nerves as she considered what was going on. The distant fighting ceased. Just as she prepared to advance out of cover the doors opened. Droids poured in. The first few were easy to gun down. They advanced soon locating where she was firing from. Returning fire as they advanced the model of droid was simple enough that they didn't seek out cover.

They did scatter both left and right of the door while others continued on straight ahead. Most went down in a shot or two. Some of the return fire was close but most ended up in her cover. After the last droid went down it was quiet for a moment. There was quick movement at the side of the door. Her mind barely having time to process the grenade that was tossed into the room. It blossomed in white blinding light emitting a shrill noise at the same time. A flash bang that disoriented her.

This allowed the reptile to close without taking shots. With him had been four humans, two entered flanking either side of the door, weapons aimed in her general direction. The last two remained in the hall. Each decked out in body armor that could absorb a little energy damage.

Gripped by the reptile Phoebe found herself lifted off the deck. He glared at her drawing her close to his face. His hand around her throat. Drawing her away from her cover the humans scanned the room then moved into the kitchen declaring the area clear.

The reptile sniffed her. He snorted out something to her. She may have not noticed but the humans departed after clearing the rooms leaving her with the brute. She may not have been aware that the distant fighting ceased as well. The humans were busy leaving her alone with the reptile after a once over. None showed concern as to who she was ensuring that the threat was dealt with. They couldn't dawdle here though the reptile saurian alien did just that.

It appeared that he was unconcerned with everything else. Even as he held her aloft he caressed the side of her face. His gaze locked on her. Her struggles made the difference in her being tossed half way across the room or slammed on one of the tables.

Her blows were feable in doing any real harm to the thick scaled beast. Even his eyes were somewhat protected by a second eyelid that was tough, not as much as his scalebut it did offer some protection. He stalked her if he had to toss her aside. That second eyelid in place. However, if she didn't resist or go for his eyes he loomed over her at the table displaying all those wicked teeth.

Phoebe unloaded on the first wave of droids pouring through the door. Shots connected with their intended targets, bringing down one, then two, then the others. Tension tore through her body when they returned fire. Blonde hair stood on the edge. Her heart skipped a beat. She had trouble keeping both breaths and aim steady, thinking even one of those blasters could be the end of her. It often felt as though they tingled her skin on approach, an indication of how close they were. Just keep shooting, she thought, and you’ll be fine. The droids fell, as would those coming after them, until-

“Ahhhh!” She’d never been on the receiving end of that type of grenade before. A bright flash blinded her, along with noise that knocked any sort of focus out of her now addled brain. The rifle slipped from her grasp as she struggled to recover. Slivers of coherence had been returned to the young woman when the world around her shifted again. “Guh!” Feet left the ground as arms raced to her throat, instinctively fighting the insane grip that mountain of a reptile forced on her. “Hnngh! Uh! L-Let go of me ..” She was suspended like a doll trying to reach solid ground beneath her, fighting for breath. Had he desired it, he could’ve crushed her puny frame right then and there.

Amber eyes drifted to her attacker, only to avert themselves with that breath hitting her pained grimace. She kicked him, squirming in vain all the while. They might as well replace him with an anvil and the results would be the same. That was it. Game over. It’s either execution or imprisonment from here on out. No way she could break his grip without a miracle.

She froze when he caressed her cheek. Heat flushed the explored flesh. Up close, he certainly had a better view of the specimen before him. The flight suit covered the blonde up, but made no secret of a pleasantly narrow waist and shapely hips embroidered with an all the more plush derriere, filling out her uniform quite beautifully. Staggered breaths heft her small yet perky chest, a view ruined only by her constant fidgeting.

Since he was in no hurry to be anywhere else, one thought led to another. All her muscles locked up when realization kicked in. He wouldn’t, would he? Was that part of the game as well? Having escaped a similar fate not long ago, the horror came flooding back sooner than any rational thought ever did. His looks, his demeanor, it brought her back to that one time those Saurians nearly ended her for good. She never quite learned to cope with that day. For just one moment, she was back to being that scared little agent. Fear swelled to panic, each rolling down her spine to the point of etching that same anxiety into the woman’s features.

Her efforts intensified. One hand abandoned his mighty grip to aim for his eyes while supple thighs were driven into whatever they could find. As he chucked her down the hall, a bag of meat tumbling around until it came to a stop, it all seemed even more hopeless than before. Limbs ached from the hard floor, more putty than willing to put up a fight, but it’s all the woman could think of right now.

“Oh fuck .. Fuck!” Phoebe barely had time to recover before he advanced on her. The young pilot scrambled back to her feet in a hurry, or at least attempted to. Where to now? Back to her weapon? That seemed out of the question, second only to running straight into his arms when it came to terrible ideas.

She opted for the next worst thing and darted for the door flanked by all that robot debris. The humans had departed and might still be there, but it seemed better than staying. Maybe Viryon was still out there, or she could elude these people one more time. Whether Phoebe actually got to that door was another matter entirely. Truth be told, she had her doubts about getting out of this situation unscathed.

Doubt, perhaps confusion flooded her mind. It was suppose to be a game and yet here they were. Had the difficulty added this scenario? Had particular memories been added to it? Or was it all a coincidence that the reptile reminded her of that day so long ago now?

Her body tossed away the reptile regarded her for a moment like a cat eyeing a mouse. He followed her gaze to the discarded rifle. A sneer on those alien features dared her to make an attempt. Closer were the destroyed droids. Their scattered weapons and the door had been chosen by Phoebe.

He was unsure if she was going for a weapon or escape. The weapons were in the same direction. She fled and he sprang forward. The debris of the droids slowed her down as she got close to the doors. She had a head start practically tossed half the way there. The reptile was fast. Even he had things to deal with. The tables for instance had enough space between them for her to move by with ease. For him it would take work. At least if he didn't leap atop them as he had as he came after her.

Nearly there she was pulled back by the shoulder. Claws ripped through both flesh and uniform. She was jerked back toss into one of the tables. The small of her back connecting with it. The alien spinning back to face her upon her in little time. Again he grasped her by the throat lifting her up then planting her down on that table. His hand loosened some but remained in place pinning her down.

The other hand inspected her. Brushing down her side. Again he sneered. Then the cutting began. Claws slicing into the uniform. Sometimes nicking flesh. After there were a few slices he tore bigger holes with his hand exposing her ribs and a breast.

It was clear that the game did in fact allow for this. A large hand grasped at the exposed tit. A tight squeeze, his scaly palm pressed her nipple into his palm. After a small moment when he grew bored he turned his attention to her leg, cutting and taring the fabric there. All the while he watched her features as he held her smaller body in place.

Taking his time he began to cut along the inner thighs. Taring holes near her crotch intending to get better access to her. Saying something he leaned down closer. Inhaling her. A tongue sweeping along her neck nice and slow as a scaly finger runs along that slit. It reverses direction flowing back up it repeats the action then caresses her clit rolling over it.

His tongue moved to her exposed breast. It caressing and nudging her nipple. Then that errant finger left her clit only to tease along the slit of her sex again. This time with a little more urgency.

Something caught her right shoulder, his strength bringing her to a stop right then and there. The woman’s uniform did nothing to protect any of that precious milky skin. Sharp claws were sinking into unarmored flesh, drawing blood. Pain shot up her arm, a wildfire of anguish that burned through her body and mind. Eyes widened in shock when the thought of just how realistic things would be struck once more. Lips pressed together, but couldn’t hide how much it hurt. All that came out of her mouth was a scream.

“Kyaaaaa!” The exit seemed further and further away even before the brute forced Phoebe back into his domain with a single pull. The small of her back ached, then her throat, followed up by her head slamming down on the table she collided with. For a moment, Phoebe was stunned, only for the gravity of the situation to come rushing back.

Soon thereafter, her uniform was in tatters, revealing more than it covered up. Each cut had her wince and whimper in ways that bordered on admitting defeat though Phoebe wouldn’t dare accept it. “Nnngh! Ba- Ah .. Bastard .. I .. I’ll ..” She squirmed, albeit weakly, gasping for breath even with that loosened hold around her neck. “S-Stop it! Get your filthy hands off me!” Hers clutched that cruel lock once more, a visage of discomfort and desperation etched into an otherwise pretty face, a sight that virtually spat venom at him past gritted teeth. She was all bark regardless, no bite. His kind and thus presence alone instilled a creeping sense of abhorrence and fear in her heart and on top of that what he had in mind was far worse than being afraid.

More hot blood shot to her cheeks and other places. Saliva trailed against her neck, then a soft and perky mound, the peak of which had been roused from hiding as each deft left engorged the throbbing nub until it stood proudly erect for the reptile to sample. Pink netherlips twitched when exposed to the cooler air, spasming when first explored by the questing Saurian. “N-No! Stop! Stop!” Supple thighs closed to prevent access, but even one arm of his could force their luscious bounty aside. “N-Not there .. Mnngh!” She tensed when he found his mark, squeaking in shock and unwanted pleasure alike as he broke her defiant form little by little. Those scaly digits felt good, their texture a swarm of miniscule bumps and ridges that ground her tender cells towards a new high.

As the body betrayed the mind, he found her sex slowly grow more and more eager. Hips bucked involuntarily, imbued with a jolt of bliss that rolled through the woman’s swollen pearl. The glistening evidence of desire rolled off those heated petals, all while his actions elicited sweeter sounds from the blonde captive. Surprisingly, the altered cells in her throat weren’t functioning the way they once did, or at least she was too agitated to have noticed those tingly pleasures until now.

One good thing to come out of her capture had to be that Viryon wasn’t here. She could take solace in that one fact, despite how little it mattered in the end. Even now, damp patches of tattered apparel adhered her shoulder’s wounds. They were warm, anxiety inducing trails of her own blood, with more cuts that marked her nervously shaking frame everywhere the creature opened her uniform. On top of the humiliation and abuse, what’s to come would’ve been worse on Viryon than her. She wouldn’t wish that on her friend at all.

Still, the girl fought, kicking and attempting to hit those eyes again if possible though there weren’t any particular weak spots Phoebe could make out. All the while, her limbs trembled, downright weak and feeble as a never ending stream of emotions came over her. Worse, it hurt to raise her injured arm and fighting with it seemed futile. All she could muster was the combined strength of two pool noodles compared to the specimen that was dialing up her excitement every waking moment, followed up by an equally miserable retribution.

It felt like pounding her fists against unyielding steel. Phoebe was unable to hit his eyes but came close enough once that he drew back his head. A growl followed, perhaps a warning. The hand holding her down tightened for a moment then relaxed once his attentions shifted back to her.

Blows against his arms and torso didn't seem to have any effect. As it were he paid more attention to her. Despite her protests his finger crept along her sex. Gathering more and more moisture from her body. For the moment it had been just the two of them. She couldn't hear much over her own panicked breathing and his occasional growls.

His finger trailed down her sex a final time. When it stopped it was poised right over her entrance. Resting there he turned his attention back to her. Regarding her with those cold eyes. Waiting for her to struggle or move. Even if she relaxed completely the moment was drawn out. That finger ultimately slipping inside her. One quick thrust into her core. Halting once it was completely inside.

After a second or two it began to wriggle. Almost as if it was trying to stretch her out more. After a small moment he stilled again. Daring to dip his head again he engulfed her breast. Jagged teeth grazing against her flesh. Their points pressing into the skin yet not puncturing her. Holding that breast firmly in place to allow for his tongue to trace against her nipple whenever he wasn't sucking on that flesh.

With his renewed attention to her breast his finger began moving again. Slowly he extracted it, nearly vanishing completely from that sheath. Pausing at the brim of her sex he thrust it back inside her, hard and fast. When it was engulfed within her once more he stilled then began to slowly retreat for another wild thrust.

By this point the hand holding her down shifted to her other breast. Pinning her down while at the same time manipulating the small orb beneath the uniform. His finger fell into a rhythm that alternated between slow and fast.

Her thighs did little to slow him down try as she might. He was just too strong easily overpowering her in that regard. She felt the sting of her wounds. Even the minor rock of the ship once reminding her that they were still in battle. Yet the reptile didn't hurry with his prize. Either he wasn't leaving with the rest of them or they still needed time to do whatever it was they were doing.

“P-Please ..” She watched in horror when he stopped moving. Anticipation shot up her spine, as did the tension that wouldn’t allow for a moment of calm. “Don’t .. don’t do it!” Shallow breaths fill her lungs. Swallowing hard, the realization those pleas fell on deaf ears made it even more shameful to admit defeat. The final humiliating blow turned out to be her own bedroom voice when he thrust his finger into her core, moist petals spread apart with a squelching sound that echoed just as clearly as her bliss filled cry. Her head shot back as well, at least denying him the flustered look of the woman's rapture at that very moment though not the heavenly sound of it.

Sensations of pleasure and terror alike jumbled her thoughts. Sleeping with others without having a choice had been part of her existence for a while. Some of it felt good, often even downright amazing. The thrill of bouncing on one patron’s lap while another used her mouth to satisfy those altered bundles of nerves was but one of many fond memories haunting Phoebe in the middle of the night. Today was not one of those times.

What faint degrees of clarity and defiance occupied her mind were drained by the same hand that rocked her tingling flesh across the table. Fighting him seemed futile. Even when he no longer held her down by the throat, Phoebe couldn’t picture herself running anywhere in her current state. All strength ebbed from the blonde’s limbs the longer he kept her in his possession. She couldn’t move on her own accord anymore. As a matter of fact, the lizard brute had more control over her movements than the pilot herself.

Spasming muscles gripped him like a vice, thirsting for more. Warm, glistening nectar drenched the lucky digit, eliciting more with every thrust that’d be left to drool on her upper thighs and the curve of her ass, straight down onto the table. Toes curled in delight while helpless hands gave up wailing on him, instead silencing moaning lips from announcing her pleasure any further.

Yet there was no shortage of molten heat coursing through her needy sex and chest. “Hmmf .. Mmmph!” He found her back arched, bringing more of those swollen orbs into his maw and palm. Hot blood pumped through erect teats that ached for attention. Her insides were stirred into a froth of pure want, slowly but surely bringing tears to her eyes as no matter how much she despised this, the flesh liked it all the same.

“Someone .. Anyone .. Save me!” Those internal prayers would likely remain unanswered. If no help came, there’d be no avoiding what came next and she had a pretty good idea what that was. Did she have a choice? The lizard wasn’t armed, which made getting a weapon impossible. There weren’t any other ones close enough to grab either. Hitting him did nothing, not that Phoebe could muster the strength to keep doing it. Without assistance, there’s only one way this situation could unfold.

Her own nightmares were used against her. Her body surrendering to that treatment as she arched into him. The reptile ignored her playing with her. His grip on her breast growing tighter, his palm swirling her nipple with more vigor as his finger pressed into that tightness.

Phoebe would hear that steady hiss of delight as her body was prepped. She was played with for quite a few minutes. That saturated digit finally pulled free. A hiss louder than the last followed in order to grab her attention. When he had it both his hands moved to grab hold of her ankles.

Pulling her closer along the table his genitalia extended out from a slit in his scales. Swiftly it grew in size upon it's release. The member was scaleless, a moist pink mass that engorged itself to a respectable size as thick as a pair of his fingers. That only told her that he only partially prepared her. Ensuring that she was loose enough to squeeze inside her, yet still damn tight.

That member slid against her thigh. The head felt spongy against her as he struggled to line up their sexes. His grip on her ankles growing tighter as he prepared to thrust within her. That contact was brief as he drew back their hips preparing to slam them back together only for him to let loose with a hissing roar.

In what was a surprise he released her whipping around. Something grabbed his attention and it took a moment for her senses to process everything. The reptile was fighting someone. Claws flashed at a smaller armored figure armed with a sword. The whole situation would seem to be a mismatch but her eyes settled on the thin diangle line across his back.

It wasn't deep but something punctured those scales. The reptile was bleeding. He had been hurt given that roar. In any case attention was off her for the moment. Clearly the lithe figure was Hope but where was the rest of her team? Where was Viryon? The fighting earlier could have been either her friend or the agent. Hope was armed with more than that blade. Perhaps using it now had been the reason why she didn't want to risk a rifle or pistol blast fearing a miss or shooting through her target and taking her out.

Hope may not have known she was even there. Seeing the reptile hunched over something she may have guessed it was her or Viryon or someone else from her team. In any case she was distracted. Quit quick she danced about narrowly avoiding counters and launching feints of her own. Of course the tables would turn as energy was spent. Who would run out first? Given the stamina of most aliens she had encountered that would most likely be the human.

Among all those scales she glimpsed streaks of pink. The reptile was fighting with his member out. Unable to extract it in it's hard state the reptile was still aroused figuring it would deal with the interloper and get back to it's fun. A piss poor evolutionary design. He would need to cum or grow disinterested sexually to spool in his junk. It probably didn't occur too often in the species that they were interrupted.