Of course I will, Phoebe! How could I not, with such intriguing characters. . .

Oh, by the way, y'don't always have to call me "CopperTop," y'know. CT or Copper will do just fine.



There were a couple of rarely used passages that led to the medical, and Omega dodged down one. Trying to both hurry and be extremely careful was hard, but somehow he managed it and reached the medical without incident.

The first thing he saw as he entered was Thye, with a large gash on her shoulder and a look of agony on her face. Having shed his disguise he hoped she wouldn't call security when she got a look at him, but nevertheless he paused to ask her a question.

"Thye? What happened?" The russet squirrel looked up at him with tear-blurred eyes.

"Oh, Commander. I-I'll be alright, sir- but you're not the Commander, are you?" Her eyes widened with surprise. Omega sighed wearily.

"No, I'm not the Commander right now. I've got to get the cat out of here, and you, but how did you get injured?" Thye looked down at the floor.

"Chye was trying to stitch up Sia's wound, and she must have given him the wrong amount of painkiller because it wore off in the middle of the operation. He woke up and- it must have really hurt, I suppose." She smiled slightly. "I think instinct made him do it- his claws came out and I happened to be in the way. I'll be alright." She straightened.

"Who are you?" Omega gave her a wry half smile.

"To most, I'm Commander Flairang. To some, I am known as Omega. Is Chye finished with Zanzibar? And, most important, will you help me get him out of here?"

Thye's answering smile was like the sunrise after a storm.



Copper had her blaster ready, but she was hoping that she wouldn't have to use it.

"Stealth is what we need now," she'd told her companions time and time again, and for the most part they agreed. She'd left Shinyso, Wild Angel, Emerald Dragon and Blacksheep at the ship to guard it, and sent KRSplat and Ducky yet another way. Kaz and Grath, while not being exactly the BEST of friends, were a team yet again, and that left Copper with Claw. Who was, at this moment, grumbling about Shellions.

"Why do I have this impending sense of deja vu," he demanded as they saw a troop of Shellions tromping down the corridor towards them. Copper gave him a quelling glance -or at least, it SHOULD have been quelling. Claw, however, merely returned it.

Copper bent and slipped a hand into her boot. Then she straightened and motioned to Claw for him to join her in the shadows. He saw the light glint off of something she held, but couldn't get a clear look at it. He didn't need to. He knew that she held a dagger at the ready, but didn't see what it would do if the band decided to see them and fight.

"Can't you use Shale?" he hissed, and she shook her head. He contented himself with watching the turtles troop by and trying not to laugh at their stupidity.

Once the troop was out of sight, Copper continued on, hoping to reach the slaves' prison.



KRSplat was bored. There wasn't much excitement on the Assassin, and he doubted if they would get any trouble.

Why do I always miss the fights? he wondered, and tried to prepare himself for a long wait. But the wait wasn't nearly as long as he expected.

Ten minutes after the "gang" had left, he heard the soft hiss of the doors opening. Then he saw, by the light that Copper had left them, a large black lizard. He looked dangerous. KRSplat silently drew his blaster.

The lizard paused and looked directly at him, then stepped back into the shadows. A second later a black rabbit with gold armbands, red eyes and a sword with a glowing gem entered the ring of light.

"You are a friend of Alpha's?" KRSplat nodded cautiously.

"Good. I am her brother Omega. Do you have room for a few more passengers?"