Dacota awoke with a start. He came up in his bed very quickly. Something about the sound of the engines had awoken him. He jumped out of bed, only to trip on his spear that he had lain there the night earlier. In fact it wasn't even morning yet.

He ran to the window and looked out. What he saw almost stopped his heart. Off the port stern of the ship was three PSI transports, and one of them was about to board the Seabird's Flight.

Dacota grabbed a jacket out of his closet and grasped his spear. As he ran out of his room he yelled to the crew at the top of his lungs. Heads started to appear in the corridor and as they appeared Dacota told them to grab weapons and appear on deck. He raced for the defense guns that they had on the ship. Only three of them and they weren't very powerful, but maybe they would be enough against the invaders. I just hope I am in time, he thought.

Jakar sat up straight and hit his head on the bottom of the top bunk. Muttering angrily to himself he got up and went to look out the window. When he saw the transport he started to curse up a blue streak. Blocky on the sides and top, with hatches and doors on the side and two machine guns on the top and a deck-mounted turreted cannon. These were Ssalkj-class transports each of them holding forty-five troops and six crewmen, the transports were nothing to mess with.

He still heard Dacota yelling to everyone to get up and grab a weapon and then report on deck. Well, whatever reason PSI is here, they aren't here by accident. He grabbed his sword off the rack and ran up to the top deck.

Already most of the crew was there loading the cannons while Dacota started giving orders to them. Mentally, Jakar started sizing up the situation. The Seabird's Flight carried a total of thirty-three people on board. Most of them could handle weapons reasonably, but if these were SIGS troopers they didn't stand a chance.

He saw Duncaan off the side flexing his muscles and looking very determined. As Jakar got closer, however, he noticed something about Duncaan's eyes. But as soon as he saw it the glow disappeared.

"Ready to kick some PSI butt, Jakar?" he asked.

"Ready as I ever will be," he replied. Then the loud voice of Dacota yelling for them to fire took them back to the cannons.

All three cannons fired, but they hardly did any damage at all to the transports. Then one of the transports fired back, hitting one of the cannons. Men and body parts flew everywhere.

By Chatorn, he thought these men are dying for me. Then there was no more time for talk as PSI troopers landed on the deck and Jakar rushed in at them with Duncaan right beside him.

Jakar used all of his training he had ever learned in SIGS to help him in this fight. Hack, slash, dodge, parry, and hack again. It all became a routine. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught glimpses of Duncaan and his fists flashing against a bloody head, Dacota plunging his spear right through the chest of a trooper, Faith getting knocked down by another blast from the transports, Lyta slashing with her knife for all she was worth, and Mystryl, slashing, parrying and kicking like he had never seen. Then, just when he thought that it was all over they were surrounded. Jakar looked around. Dead and dying PSI troopers and crewmen lay all around him. Faith was knocked out and Lyta was looking after her. Dacota dropped his spear in surrender. Duncaan having to be stunned to be put down below in chains to keep him locked up. Mystryl sitting down in frustration at having her arms bound. Then a voice yelled at him.

"Put down the sword, you worthless piece of shatur."

He looked up. About six troopers surrounded him. Slowly he put down his sword, and raised his hands in surrender.

Captain Darlie of the lead transport finally got a report in. "Sir, we have captured the whole crew. Thought not without many losses. Forty-eight troopers were killed and another fourteen were injured. Most of the Ship's crew have either been killed or injured."

"And what about the spy in their midst?"

"He has been injured, but he is alive."

"Good, good. Then Major, take us to Satori." As an afterthought he added, " And tell command that we have their experiment intact."

Duncaan raged against his chains. He was enraged that he was down in the brig while his friends were up on deck being interrogated by PSI. He pulled against them again. But it was no use the chains would not give at all. Duncaan could only imagine what they must be doing to them up on the deck. Then something within him woke, and he had the knowledge to escape from the chains, it would just take some time.

Lyta sat on the deck of the ship holding Faith's head in her lap. Since she had met Faith, Lyta had admired the way Faith just said what she wanted to without worrying about how the others felt about it. She hoped that Faith would regain consciousness. As she looked around, the PSI troopers were busy cleaning up the bodies. Among them Perri was missing, and she was worried. Lyta genuinely liked Perri as a friend, and now she thought he was dead. C'mon Faith wake up.

Dacota had been taken to one of the transports immediately after they had surrendered. His hands were bound and as he marched to the Captain's room, he started to memorize everything about the ship. The PSI trooper beside him was dressed in the typical body armor, with a side arm and a short sword on his belt. He carried in his hand the standard-issue rifle that all troopers carried.

Finally, they reached the office. The trooper motioned for him to go inside and he did so. When Dacota stepped inside of the office, his neck started to tingle. He looked up at the well-built man that was his warden.

"Ah, Captain Dacota isn't it? It is a pleasure to meet you sir. My name is Captain Darlie. Although I am quite impressed by the way your crew fought, if you had just allowed us to board your ship and get back our specimen, none of your crew would have perished."

"What have you done to my crew, you slimy piece of, of," he then used a Theba word for animal manure.

"Well, well. You are also an educated man. I am deeply impressed. But back to the business at hand. I am going to take your ship and crew back to Satori with us. You are all under arrest for harboring PSI property, resisting arrest, and for the murders of those dead troopers."

"WHAT?" Dacota screamed in outrage, "WHAT FREAKING PROPERTY WAS I HARBORING?"

"Why, a Mr. Jakar Nerak, and a Mr. Duncaan Keriador. I believe Mr. Keriador was sent below because he wouldn't co-operate with our troopers."

With that Dacota was stunned. Jakar and Duncaan were being hunted by PSI. Why were they being hunted? "I don't understand how they are PSI property," he said.

"And I am not allowed to tell you. Now your crew will be imprisoned for life most likely. You will be taken to an interrogation center, while your friends Mr. Nerak and Mr. Keriador, will be taking the nearest research facility."

Dacota stared in horror. No, it can't end this way. I won't let it. Then calling forth from deep in his mind, Dacota summoned for the waters to come to him. All of a sudden a might wave hit the transports.

"Bridge, what in Tigel's name is going on up there?"

"Sir, a storm has appeared and we have tidal waves heading for out position."

The captain had turned toward the monitor for just a split-second, but that was all the time he needed. Dacota raced for the door and kicked it open. He heard the Captain yell at him and fire his pistol. A blazing pain hit Dacota in the left shoulder. But he still kept running. Then someone stepped out of the shadows and hit Dacota with a mace. Dacota fell to the deck under the impact of the iron mace. He felt a few teeth go loose and his lip split. He dropped to the ground to look up at his attacker.

"No, not you! Anyone but you," Dacota said.

"Yes Dacota, it was I that betrayed you," said Perri.

"But why, Perri? I paid you well; you had a place to sleep and food. Why did you betray me?"

"'Cause your pay is nothing to what Jakar and Duncan are worth now. I was the one that told PSI where we was, I was the one that aroused your suspicion of the others by stealing the smuggled cargo, which by the way will be added to your sentence." With that Perri threw his head back and laughed.

Dacota sat on the floor like a dead man. His most trusted crewmate had betrayed him. It's all over.

Little known to Dacota in the transports or the others on the deck, Duncaan was readying his escape. He struggled with his chains one more time. They barely budged against the wall. Duncaan smiled grimly to himself. Then pulling against them his rage skyrocketed against the PSI soldiers. His eyes started to glow a strange bluish-white color. And he screamed an inhuman scream.

Jakar was trying to think of a way to get his sword back when out of nowhere he heard a scream. But it was no ordinary scream. It sounded like an animal being chained against its wishes. He knew instantly that it was Duncaan.

Without warning the back of the Seabird's Flight just blew up. Out of the remains of the end of the ship, a figure jumped straight into the air, at least forty feet. When the figure had landed they got a good look at Duncaan. He was positively charged with energy. Electricity sheathed him like clothing. And when he looked at them his eyes glowed a bluish-white. He looked like a demon from some netherworld.

"Kill the scumbag boys," the commander of the troops told his men. The infantry fired at Duncaan with their rifles, but the bullets disintegrated right before they reached him. When they ran out of bullets Duncaan looked at them.

"My turn," he said very eerily. He pointed his hands out at them and chanted something untranslatable. His hands shot out blue lightning blots to hit the chests of the troops instantly frying their brains. Duncaan turned and shot a quick ball of electricity at the group of soldiers running behind him.

Finally all of the troopers were dead and Duncaan looked at the group. "I have to get Dacota, otherwise they'll kill him." With that he jumped into the air again and landed on the top of the lead transport.

He has had the same power as me all those years. And I never knew it, thought Jakar.

On the transport, Dacota, Captain Darlie, and Perri waited for the report from the bridge about what the explosion was. Then all of a sudden the roof above them blew up. Duncaan was standing in the hole looking down on them, with murder in his glowing eyes.

"YOU!" he screamed at Perri as he realized who the traitor was, "I WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!!!!"

Perri took off down the corridor dodging Duncaan's bolts. Then he turned to find the captain also gone.

Duncaan turned toward Dacota. "Quickly Dacota, you must use your power of water to start calling up a storm with me."

"My powers? How did you know I had them?"

"I can see the faint glow in your eyes," he replied, "Now hurry, I will concentrate on the storm part, you concentrate on the water." But before Dacota could even start summoning, a shell hit the transport, blowing a hole in the side of it.

Duncaan quickly looked at the hole in the side and the water pouring in. He jumped out of the transport from the top hole. "Get out of here and get back to your ship. I will take care of the rest of the transports," he told Dacota. Then he was gone.

Water was pouring in and now it was up to Dacota's waist. He took a very deep breath and dove under.

Back on the ship Mystryl was pacing back and forth furiously, trying to figure out a way to help Jakar and Lyta get the ship running again. She had never been good with mechanics or anything of that sort, so she had taken the job of watching for either Duncaan's or Dacota's return.

When she saw the lead transport get hit from the blast, she thought for sure that they were both dead. But soon a young man that she recognized as a crewman had swam over to the Seabird's Flight and had disappeared in a hole somewhere. Suspecting trouble she was now also looking out for him.

Finally Mystryl saw Duncaan jump from the hole. And then the transport went down. Slowly she took another look around. Then out of the shadows a figure charged into her. As he hit her, Mystryl was already grabbing for a dagger to use on him, but then she felt a searing pain go through her body as she realized that she had been stabbed in the side. The young man laughed at her then quickly began sneaking up on the others. Mystryl tried to let out a breath, but she was in too much pain. Finally she pulled out the knife in her side and that made her scream.

Lyta quickly turned around to see what Mystryl was screaming about then saw Perri about to lunge at them with some kind of weapon. "Watch out Jakar," she screamed as she pushed herself toward the side.

Jakar also leaped aside, but not as much luck was with him. The short sword slashed into his side. A shallow but long cut appeared in it. Groaning in pain, Jakar pulled his sword with one hand while he held his side with the other. Perri lunged again, but Jakar was able to parry it before it struck.

They went on like that for a few minutes before Lyta could locate her knife, which she had dropped. As soon as she grabbed it she charged at Perri. But Perri heard her battle cry and turned around in time to miss her stab. Left off guard, she waited for the slash that would end her life. But all she felt was a quick punch to her shoulder and a snap as it came out of its socket. She yelled in pain and grabbed her shoulder. As she dropped to the deck she came up with the knife in her other hand and threw it at the traitor.

Distracted by Jakar attacking him again, he never saw the knife imbed itself in his leg. He yelled in pain and quickly pulled it out and threw it back at Lyta. Lyta was able to dodge the knife, but it flew over the side of the boat so she could no longer use it. She looked back in time for her to see Jakar's sword fly into the ocean.

Perri grinned evilly at Jakar, "You're mine, you worm!" Just as his sword was about to plunge itself into Jakar's heart, the knife that had gone overboard appeared and deflected the blade enough so it stabbed wood and not Jakar. Stringing out curses Perri turned to see who the opponent was.

Dacota stood on the deck with a spear in hand. "C'mon, c'mon you stupid..." he finished with a Darshire slang word.

Lyta just let out a quick breath of relief as Dacota challenged Perri. Go get him Dacota. Then she hurried toward Jakar to see if he was all right.

Dacota stood on the railing, his eyes glowing their aquamarine color. Perri slowly advanced on him with a PSI short-sword in his right hand. "You sure you could beat me old timer?" He was on the steps leading to the top deck now.

"Just as sure as you are a traitor," Dacota replied.

"Well then, Perri said, "Let's get on with it shall we?" With that, he lunged at Dacota, but Dacota quickly moved his spear to block it. "You know, with Jakar and Duncaan being given over to PSI I would have been a rich man for the rest of my life. But no. You had to go and mess it up by waking up and telling us to get ready to fight. Now I find you are of the same stuff as Jakar and Duncaan. What is the story here Dacota?"

Dacota blocked another quick stab by Perri before replying, "No story I would ever tell a PSI slave."

"A PSI slave is that what you think I am? I don't work for PSI, Dacota."

"Who then?" Dacota asked. But Perri didn't answer in words but only with another round of attacks. By now Dacota was getting a little winded, but he pressed on. They circled and fought for fifteen minutes before Perri was finally able to knock the spear out of Dacota's hand.

With Dacota backed up against the railing and Perri's sword on his throat, Perri finally answered, "A service that makes PSI look like wimps."

"What is their name?" Dacota replied, nervously looking at the sword at his throat.

Perri threw back his head and laughed. From the sound of the laugh, Dacota knew Perri was insane. "If there was one mistake you ever made Dacota, it was always taking to long and asking too many questions." He pulled back his sword for the killing blow, but at that moment summoning all the power he had in him, Dacota called to the sea and a mighty wave hit the ship.

Perri stumbled around and Dacota stood up straight again. "The one mistake you ever made Perri was being too cocky."

Perri screamed and charged at Dacota, only to fall short with one of Mystryl's throwing knives in his throat. Perri gurgled something inaudible and slumped to the ground.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you it's not polite to stab a lady?" she said.

Duncaan got back to the ship just in time to see Mystryl throw her knife and hit Perri in the throat, killing him. He quickly climbed up the rest of the way and threw himself over the railing. "Is everyone ok here?" he asked. Several of them looked wounded, and Faith was sitting holding her head. After destroying the transport's reactors, Duncaan blew several holes in them to sink them. "C'mon Dacota! Get this thing going."

Dacota looked at him and asked, "Why the hurry? Most of us are hurt."

"Because, before I destroyed the transports, I heard on the radio that fighter support was coming. Something called SIGS Avengers. They sound nasty."

"They are," came a voice from the middle of the ship. Jakar was getting up with a bandage tied around his waist.

"Those fighters will blow this ship to pieces. They are armed, with fast firing machine guns, and a new type of missile called Plasma missiles."

"How do you know this Jakar?" Mystryl asked him as she gingerly pressed a cloth to her side.

"I will explain it all later, let's just get away from here." But it was too late, because as he spoke three fighters flew overhead. And just from the look of them he could tell they were dangerous. Duncaan tried calling for his lightning powers, but he was too tired.

Sleek, curved and bristling with guns, the three fighters circled around the poor merchant ship again, each of them firing one missile at the boat. Two of them missed, but the third one hit on the side of the ship. Faith was thrown off by the explosion. The rest of them were just thrown to the deck. Before he could stop him, Dacota had dived into the sea after Faith. The rest looked up again as the three fighters fired their guns. Duncaan was hit twice, once in the leg and once in the shoulder. When he looked around he saw Mystryl had also been hit. Duncaan looked up one more time. The last thing he saw was three missiles that were heading for the boat. Then there was a huge noise, pain, and the sense that he was about to die.