Okay, I'll continue. . .*checks date* Wow, FOUR DAYS since my last continuation! Oh well, hear it is, y'all



"Now? Here? Where?" Grath gave her an impatient glare.

"Now, here, to the Assassin, and be quiet and stay still." Copper muttered something, but shut up when she recieved glares from not only Grath but Claw this time. Grath touched the golden eagle on his staff, and mumbled something. The warp that was behind him had vanished, and a new one sprang up in front of the trio. Claw flexed his razor talons as he watched an image form in the pool of shifting, swirling colors.

The image solidified, and Grath gave a lop-sided grin as he stepped through. He vanished, and Copper was hot on his heels. Claw glanced around, sighed, and moved forward. As he moved through the warp, he caught a glimpse of black, of hooded figure, and of malevolent red eyes. Watching them.



"Bring Commander Flairang to me, Corporal. And make it now." The tone of his voice showed that the old Kroys was back, and even more evil than before. Having shed his mantle of brooding and caution, he felt much better, and was determined that the intruders would not get away. This time.

The Corporal bowed impossibly low.

"M-milord, the Commander seems to have vanished. However, the sensors tracked his favored ship leaving the bay." Kroys stiffened, and cursed under his breath. The Corporal swallowed loudly.

"Where was he headed," he snapped. The officer bowed again.

"Towards the asteroid field, s-sir. Do you wish to follow him?"

"No. Dismissed." The turtle bowed for a third time and fled, leaving Kroys with his thoughts.

Belaine. How had that black rabbit known? He hadn't heard that name in decades, ever since having donned the name of Kroys. Belaine had been a fool, a trusting idiot who believed in setting limits and following laws and orders. Belaine was as dead as if he'd been spaced. Kroys was the utter opposite of Belaine, being heartless and totally independant. . .

But what would you do without your Destroyers, your troops? You'd be nothing, a treacherous voice in the back of his mind said. He replied with, I would start anew, begin at the beginning. . . But if his Destroyers went up in flames, so would he. There would be no Kroyan Empire, and his dreams would die with him.

I will be quite relieved when you are dead. Why did the traitor disturb him so? Because he is much like you, the voice whispered. He frowned slightly. If anything, the mercenary pilot Coppertop was the most like him, not Claw. Claw took orders from her, was totally obedient.

Not so, the voice said, and he recognized it as a shred of his old self, a part of Belaine. How had he missed it? He'd thought that he'd gotten every particle of the fool with the second purging of his mind. Certainly he'd missed plenty with the first; was it possible that the tiny voice had hidden once more where Belaine had once hidden?. . . He gathered his blood magics, preparing to wipe the shred of Belaine away, to totally rid himself of-

"Milord?" He whirled, cursing mentally. The Fleet Commander Shalarnag was standing with his head bowed respectfully, but from the almost painful look on his face he had bad news.

"Milord, the slaves are revolting!"



Copper didn't know how Kovu and Ducky had done it, but the Assassin was no longer in the Conquerer. Instead it was on Firen, hidden in the trees beside the slave compound. Kaz was limbering up his wings, preparing to fly over the ten-foot fence, and KRSplat was checking the ammo on his gun. They all looked up when Copper entered the room, Claw a step behind her.

"Prepare to attack. . ."



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Read my story in War Tavern! I named it: Conquerer!



"Whatever." ~Coppertop



I can do all things through Christ whom strengthens me. -Phillipians 4:13



No matter what this says, I didn't edit this.