The remains of the dreadnaught lay there, apparently dead and smoking. Portions of the Necrotroopers that had deployed had managed to get out of the way but most of the reinforcements that had been sent were crushed alive. That left the forces attacking the so called museum as well as the forces that succesffully raided the Comm Center and GC facility in the city. Gun fire rang out as blaster and flechette fire could be heard going off, the Kubaz making their way back into the city, fighting the suicide troopers still alive.

On the bridge of the ruined dreadnaught, the second Omega Thrax pulled himself up, his left arm hanging limply at his side, his mask gone, revealing a young man's face with wiring coming out of the eye socket usually hidden by the mask. Blood oozed from Thrax's nose as his single eye scanned the bridge, most of the crew was dead save for a few, all of whom were sporting severe injuries. One Necrotrooper was completely missing an arm and yet with another the bones could be seen sticking out of his combat suit where they were broken.

"Status report," Thrax said hoarsely

"All systems damaged, hull compromised, coolant and reactor leaks rampant. The ship is lost," reported one of the still operational Mk II crewmen.

Omega Thrax pulled himself back up into his command chair and noticed a metal shard sticking out of his right leg. He reached out to remove the item but stopped. The mission had been accomplished. The enemy would assume this was a victory. The employer would likely be upset, but that wasn't the Union's fault. The Union however would still profit from this, one way or another and that would please the Chairman. The information they'd found was already on its way to the Union's information master for deciphering. So that left little regret. The one dreadnaught had done a job of drawing attention. The other was investigating a odd reading, so now there was nothing left. One Omega Thrax was dead, the other still had his mission, but this one had completed his. All that was left would be a little parting gift so happily given by the Coaltion to the Union through the rash actions of its ship commanders. Omega Thrax reached out through the mental network still linking him to his soldiers and gave several final orders.

Just as that relay of thoughts was finished, Omega Thrax heard a deep groaning and looked up. A massive support beam crashed through the bridge's ceiling, crushing down on top of Omega Thrax, practically cutting him in half. He gagged and vomitted blood from his mouth before looking up at the ceiling as if he could see the GC ships that had doomed own member planet to perils similar to that of Honoghor so long ago. His pupils then went up into his head as this Omega Thrax died. A high powered comlink, surgically implanted next to his heart then triggered, flash copying his memories and transmitting them off into the depths of space for another Omega Thrax as well as the one still alive. Death only mattered to an entity that was actually alive, Omega Thrax was but an illusion of life.



Elsewhere, down in the city the damage could already be seen in the massive crater and noxious fumes being emitted from the wreck as well as the fluid pouring down from the other two dreadnaught segments, poisons and radiations now leaked into the city, dooming many to very slow, painful deaths as well as long term contamination. Several Necrotroopers who watched quickly carried this data recorded in their implants back to the Comm center, downloading it to a waiting datapackage contructed on Omega Thrax's last mental order. With the data taken, they sent it to the probe, away for Union use later on. The entire attack was perhaps a fiasco, but the GC hurt their own member world more then the Union had.

With the information sent, the Necrotroopers packed up, clearing the datalogs, the technician attaching a high powered explosive charge to the memory core of the Comm unit before heading out with the squad to fight to the death with the Kubaz forces. As they left the room, the charges timer ticked away

3...

2...

1...

The charge went off, destroying the last vestige of something that could even tell the GC forces just what all their nameless attackers had taken or sent. The only location they'd get is the probe which was only a relay to other hidden probes and shadowfeeds that would never be traced. As always, there was nothing and this attack would only encourage rumors, giving more power and clout then any real knowledge. So now all that was left to do was to fight until the Kubaz killed off last Necrotrooper, every one just as insanely fantacial and suicidal as the rest.



The last Omega Thrax stood there and paused for a moment as memories entered his mind from the last transmission of his second self. He pored through them for a moment and then looked at the facility his men were preparing to breach. The Union would still have a small victory no matter what but his focus was now upon this facility in front of him, sporting Azguardian markings since they were the only real backbone of the Coalition. Thus anticipated resistance would likely include them which was of little concern to Thrax. They were just bigger, thus easier to hit. Fear was no factor, nor skill. Thrax still had a large portion of his ship's crew, more than enough to take out any defenders and a number of weapons had been rigged up from what was available in case they needed something special.

"Sir, prepared to breach the doors, shall proceed?" asked Mk III unit known as Alpha.

"Yes, kill anything that moves."

"As you command, sir," Alpha replied and moved back to his men.

The Necrotroopers took up positions around the entry hatch and attacked an inward exploding breach charge to it. With a simple nod of his head, Alpha ordered its detonation. The charge went off and the door blew inwards, giving the Necrotroopers an opening into which they threw frag grenades into, waiting for them to go off before entering into what could be a very vicious battle ahead.



Up in space the probe beeped again and relayed information again, utilizing the Union's network of carefully placed phantom relays to get the information where it needed to go.

The Kubaz captain poured over information as it came in to the bridge. "Is this everything, lieutenant?"

"Yes... sir." said the lieutenant, gulping a little. "It appears we're detecting radiation leaks in the city."

"Solar radiation? We can deal with that, lieutenant, the city automatically vents that stuff straight out again-"

"No, sir. The enemy ship, it's leaking reactor fluids - chemical radiation, it's much harder to contain."

The captain paused for a second, looking up at the lieutenant. Calmly, he rose, and walked back to his command chair. A second passed.

"Of all the fracking sith-piss-drinking godsdamn sons of...!" for a few more seconds, the captain vented his rage much like how the city below vented the solar radiation, only it did the captain much more good. He calmed, and said. "All right, all right... I need to talk to the commander, get me a line asap. We'll need to plug the hole in the roof, quarentine the damaged area, and... and... and do something. Get some experts... call city hall - I don't know what! I'm a captain, damnit, not a radiologist! We already have Phage to deal with, this is just... just... goddamnit!"

He breathed deep again, and looked out the bridge. Below, he saw the wreck of one of the dreadnoughts, harmlessly smouldering on the surface. The other rested mostly around a large hole in the ground, dripping deadly toxins into the city below. The ground was littered with bodies of necrotroopers hit in the flybys, and the cave entrance saw a hazmat team even now rushing forth to contain the further spread of radiation.

Below that, as the ship drifted over the hole, he could see the wrecked mid-section that had fallen into the city, crushing a major road and mostly flattening a nearby market - entirely destroying a crop of recently captured beetles between two metal plates. The smoke leaked upwards, fires were tended by firefighters flanked by protective escorts as Kubaz soldiers hunted the last few Necrotroopers with untold hatred and anger.

The damage was considerable, and could be a great deal more by the end of the day. And yet... something didn't sit right. Maybe the main attack's purpose hadn't succeded, but why send one ship randomly out into the desert? There was nothing there for kilometers in all directions...

"Sir, what should we do about the radiation in the city?" said the lieutenant, with growing concern.

"There isn't much we can do..." replied the captain, who gave a heavy sigh "raise a shield up over it. Get our people with radiation shielding in there. It'll have to be contained, and the two chuncks of ship out here moved so as not to spill anything else dangerous onto the city. I don't know what else we can do besides that... get going!"

As the lieutenant moved to relay the orders, the captain moved to open communications with the Azguard commander.



"What's going on down there?!" demanded the Azguard commander, as he strode impatiently about the bridge. Every so often he'd stop, grip the rails, and fume with impotent rage.

"Sir - report from the planet coming in, it's the Kubaz captain." said a lieutenant, who quickly punched up the communication on the main monitor. The face of the Kubaz in question appeared, dour and serious.

"Captain, quickly, update me on the situation."

"Commander, we're in dire straits. The enemy attack has been stopped, it appears their primary target was a communications network in the city. The enemy has been eliminated, but we ended up dropping a piece of an enemy ship into the city. Radiation has spilled inside, and we're not prepared to handle it. We're also missing one Dreadnought, it seems to be going off with no discernable target into the desert."

"The desert?" said the Azguard commander, who rubbed his chin. "Transmit me its' last known direction, captain." In a moment, he began appraising its' movements on a side screen, before moving back "I'm sorry, captain, there's something I've been keeping from you - now is the time to reveal it, if ever. There's another reason we're here besides to provide assistance with the Phage. Well, actually, it's sort of the same thing... but not quite." The Azguard's hackles lowered, his eyes changed colour several times, and he seemed to generally calm as his minds switched controls.

"There's a lab in the desert we set up to conduct secret research on Phage, to try and find a cure, or some other solution. We've deliberately censored it's location and presence, for fear of it becoming a target for enemy attack, but it's entirely possible the lab was discovered by this task force and a portion diverged to deal with it-"

"Wait, this whole time - this whole time, you've been conducting research on our planet using one of the most dangerous diseases we've ever seen, without telling us?! That's got to be in breach of any number of-"

"The president of Kubindi knows about it, captain, and it was approved by Viryn Quell as well as a closed-doors assembly of the House of Representatives after being masterminded by the Prime Minister himself. It's not that we didn't trust you, it's just that the less people know a secret, the safer it is, all right?" The commander sighed "Besides, this will benefit you. Your problem is radiation? There's probably a couple dozen of the Coalition's smartest in the fields of biology, disease, radiology, and more out there. The faster you save them and bring them back, the faster this radiation problem of yours will be history."

The captain still seemed uneasy, and said "We lost track of it when it went too close to the ground, it might already be there."

"I know, which is why one of my Longswords has been pursuing it this whole time. I'll let them know your need, and we should bring them back soon. Until then, the question is, can you keep things together down there?"

The commander watched as the Kubaz captain turned to look down at his planet, in thought. Off-camera, crews wearing radiation gear and setting up a mobile shield generator, both generously 'donated' on the spot by KCU, while soldiers looked on with grim determination. "Yes, yes I can. I'll get right on it."

"Good man, I'm signing off."



The lab in question, was soon to be a battleground - but not yet. Through the cloud of smoke and dust from the grenades, silent and terrifying Necrotroopers marched in.

There was nothing. The entrance hall was entirely empty, save the T-intersection at the end. It wasn't until the entire unit of Necrotroopers had entered that anything noteworthy happened.

With a ring, the fire-alarm went off, and above the sprinklers opened up, drizzling water in sloshing motions all over the Necrotroopers. It would have been comical to watch, if there was any safe place to watch from, as the stoic, motionless, entirely sealed-in Necrotroopers took note of the change all at the same time, reacting with incredible restraint.

"Now!" bellowed the Azguard captain, as from each side of the intersection they hurled canisters of liquid nitrogen purloined from the research labs.

Landing in amongst the Necrotroopers, the smaller ones shattered on impact, freezing the troopers to the ground. Other, larger ones landed with resounding thuds in amongst the unit, the pressure suddenly causing them to burst with more freezing liquid. The cold hit the water falling from above, turning it to ice along with much of the soaked clothing and fibers worn by the Necrotroopers. Some were frozen like living statues, while many others simply couldn't move their feet. Guns jammed, knives became stuck in sheathes, and goggles fogged over.

After several seconds of utter chaos, slipping on ice, freezing in place, and general pandamonium, the captain nodded. "This is an Azguard thing." he muttered, to himself "Less martinis, more explosions." All together, three Azguards hurled their own grenades into the corridor before ducking back behind the cover of the intersection. "Draw swords and pistols, lads!" Roared the captain "Prepare to engage!"



As explosions rocked the facility, Proctor stumbled and ran, stopping at each secure door to check for Dr. Patan.

"Damn, why now, why here?" he said to himself "I always thought I'd die at the age of ninety, comfortably in my sleep... while on a transgalactic cruise... during my sabbatical as President of Coruscant University..."

"Quite a dream." said Rita, from his datapad. Getting an idea, Proctor grabbed it.

"Rita? Quick, tell me - can you find Lu here?"

The datapad hummed momentarily as the AI thought it out. "Yes. Sample Stress-test lab, C-7."

"Of course..." muttered Proctor "She wouldn't have heard the alert there, you have to wear ear-mufflers. Do you know if she's safe?"

"The door is unbreached as of the last security check." confirmed Rita "There is no camera in that room, further confirmation is impossible at the present. I would seriously reccomend returning to the bunker, C-7 is a remote section of the lab and highly unlikely to undergo serious damage."

More explosions vibrated through the walls. Proctor almost lost balance, before managing to regain some composure and running off towards the stress-test lab. "Easy to say, Rita, but we don't know what's going on. Knowing Lu she might not even know we're under attack yet! She might need my help!"

As Proctor tripped through another hallway, Rita privately calculated the percent chance that Proctor would be any use in an emergency. The answer was a single-digit. "Well, potentially..."

Alpha stood by listening to reports from the back squads of the breach team as the tactic used by the Azguard defenders was relayed to him. He then turned and calmly reported the situation to Omega Thrax who looked at the entry point. Without speaking a word he simply raised his hand and a special squad moved forward.

The problem with liquid nitrogen, as anyone with even the smallest inkling of chemistry knows, is that it very quickly evaporates into gas, so now, more groups of Necrotroopers entered the corridor that click and krinkled with the sound of melting ice. There was no more current liquid nitrogen to unleash and the front squads were now forming a wall to prevent another canister attack from hindering the whole group. There was no fear, no annoyance, only focus. The focus on killing anything that moved, to kill Azguards, to destroy this place.

With an unnerving lockstep, the front squads pushed on closer to the cross section before they finally stopped, far enough to prevent any physical attacks, but close enough for their next move.

"Bandoliers, deploy!" Shouted the Necrotrooper equivilent of a sergeant.

Another group of Necrotroopers came up behind the wall group, stepping over bodies of the dead. Each one was carrying an odd looking, jury-rigged bandolier of thermal detonators. With almost clockwork precision, they activiated the entire belt each with a special time delay and then chucked the belts into the entryways of the two parts of the T. With the sudden, sharp landings, the belts' intentionally weakened strappings gave way, causing the explosives to roll off and onto the floor with low clinks of metal on metal. What came next were a rash of explosions as specific thermal detonators went off, flinging the others further down the corridors amongst Azguard defenders from the force of the explosion.

Those detonators that went airborne never reached the ground again though because their time delayed motion sensors went off, exploding in mid-air as Azguardians dodged the unexpected flying bombs triggering the sensors, slaughering every living being in their proximity, butchering a fair number and cutting a swath through their ranks from where the weapons had gone off, never giving anyone time to really react.

"Attack!" screamed the Necro sergeant and the wall groups collapsed as Necrotroopers surged forward, taking advantage of their small surprise, unsheathing knives and aiming flechette rifiles, ready to chew apart anyone that got in their way and, if necessary, take them with them. Odds were that a decent number of defenders handn't died, but that mattered little, the detonators still killed a good number and the necrotroopers were intended to take care of the rest, though other items were already being called up in the back in case of any more Azguard tricks.



Outside, Omega Thrax watched as more troops surged in knowing he'd likely have to use more modified weapons soon. Azguards were brutal, but judging from the size of the facility, they just didn't have the numbers to cope with the full force Omega was aiming at them.



On board the dreadnaught, the sensor station remained active keeping an eye out for any incoming or unexpected interlopers. No risks would be taken here.

With savagery befitting their mindlessness, the Necrotroopers rounded the bend to appraise the damage done by their belts. Smoke, ruins, and bodies met them, as they charged forth, looking for survivors. In the midst of the charge, one of those motionless bodies stirred - a movement lost in the rush of black armored soldiers.

It did not go unnoticed for long. Like a leviathan rising from the depths of shadow, the Azguard captain rose from the ground, his armor scarred and burnt by fire and debries. Shards of metal, dirt, and other debries tumbled off as he stretched. He towered over the Necrotroopers, who quickly turned to attack - with a fearsome kick, he sent the first soldier flying back and knocking over his compatriots.

"Don't you know to check your kills, or do you just not think at all?!" roared the captain, as he began reaping through Necrotrooper ranks with a sword as long as a man, taking in a harvest of death with every motion, cleaving men in two.

All around the intersection, Azguards rose from prone positions, all burnt and many hurt, but preserved thanks to their prodigious strength and stature, not to mention thick armor that was now twisted and unrecognizable. The halls became slick with blood as the giants dug in with claws, fangs, swords, knives, and pistols, while the enemy struggled with slippery weapons and badly fogged vision. It was close-quarters combat against a foe that could lift them bodily upwards, and was all around - needless to say, it was brutal.

Of course, for Omega and the Necrotroopers still outside, all there was to see was the cloud of mist, water, nitrogen, and gas that shrouded the hall. In a few moments of screams, roars, and gunfire, there was again silence. Necrotroopers showed no fear, no curiosity, which made it a little less dramatic when the captain leapt screaming from the watery cloud, impaling a soldier on his blade and landing feet-first on another. In his wake, other Azguard soldiers followed, charging and knocking soldiers left and right, turning the rain of water from above into a red haze.

Cracking a soldier's helmet under his foot, the bloodied captain turned a spinning red eye to look at the carnage. The enemy was black-armored, red-eyed as far as the eye could see, except one. It didn't take long to spot the one human that was in clear command. Throwing Necrotroopers left and right, and snapping a fletchette rifle inbetween his hands, he made a beeline for Omega Thrax.



"C-7" muttered Proctor, who fiddled with the door locks. The door beeped, and he cursed. "Stupid security protocol!" Proctor began beating on the door, hammering loudly.

"If she didn't hear the alarm, it's unlikely she'll hear you." suggested Rita. "Your I.D. card should override the security protocol."

Proctor fumbled with his I.D. card for a few seconds, trying to get it out of his pocket. Quickly, he held it up to the door-lock, which scanned the card and gave a more affermative beep than before. The door swung open, and Proctor hurried inside. "Lu!" he shouted "We need to get out of here now!"

"Watch out for that-"

He took one more step in the lab before catching his foot on a loose hose, slipping on the tiles and landing smack on the ground.

"...hose." finished Rita, whose datapad fell from Proctor's hand and slid across the floor, tapping Dr. Patan's foot.

Doctor Lu Patan was a Twi'lek, of yellow and red complexion. She stood at a counter, examining a specimen under a microscope and behind a pair of goggles, as well as a tight set of earmuffs. Along with that was a lab coat, she formed a tiny island or normalcy in a lab shaking with explosions and battle.

Gradually, she noticed the datapad resting next to her foot. She leaned down, picked it up, and took off her earmuffs. "Rita? What's going on?" She paused, and said "And what's that noise?"

"The lab is under attack, Lu." answered Rita.

"And I'm here to... uh... save you?" said Proctor, looking up from the floor.

Lu looked down for a second, working that one out. "Yeah... good job on that. Okay, Doctor, let me help you up and let's get out of here. Who's attacking the lab?"

"I have no idea." said Proctor, as he got up "I also don't want to find out. Let's get to the bunker with everyone else and just ride it out."

"Are you crazy?" said Lu, pulling up her goggles to reveal a pair of glasses augmented with all kinds of magnifying devices and filters. "If they get in here, they'd destroy our research and samples! We have to get it to the bunkers."

"If they get in here, and we're still in here, they'll destroy us." said Proctor, pulling Lu by the sleeve back the way he came. "We can always get new samples and research, but I'll applaud the biochemist which can grow us new bodies."

Lu yanked her arm free of Proctor, and dashed off towards the sample storage room, with Rita under her arm. "Come on! It'll only take a minute!"

With a weary sigh, Proctor followed after her. "I just hope it isn't a minute too late."



"I hope we're not too late." said the Azguard in command of Gregarious, the Longsword sent in pursuit of the Dreadnought. "The target area should be coming up on the monitor soon."

"Sir!" said a lieutenant. "The Dreadnought has just entered our scanner range, we'll be there soon."

The captain nodded, and affixed his command hat firmly on his head. "All right... All hands, to battlestations! Raise shields! Prime our guns and prepare to engage the instant we can! And tell the soldiers to prepare to drop - if we're too late, the lab will be lost..."

"Here, hold this," said Lu, as she pushed another sealed canister into Proctor's hands. "And these... and this one here."

Struggling under the weight, Proctor looked quickly around at the cold storage room. "How're we supposed to get all of this stuff into the bunker?"

Lu didn't reply as she grabbed a sealed briefcase from under a shelf case, and turned back to the door. "That should be everything. If we're careful, the battle shouldn't be a problem."

Proctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, of course not." His sarcasm was cut short as another blast rocked the facility. "Come on already, let's get out of here!"

The two ran as best they could down the corridor, which was alread buckling and dented. Worrisome gas and smoke leaked from broken tubes running the length of the corridor, but there was no time to consider the potential health hazards. Lu quickly took the lead and hit the security override on the blast doors at the end of the hall. "Come on!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," wheezed Proctor. Despite the discomfort, he managed to catch back up with the stack of canisters in tow.

In the corridor beyond, quite suddenly, Proctor skidded and slid across the blood slicks. Lu gasped as she watched the fumbling doctor try to keep ahold of the delicate canisters of deadly plague while he slid along the bloody floors, holding his breath as though it would topple them from his hands.

Finally coming to a stop, he let out his gasp. In the ensuring silence, the two began to hear the sounds of distant battle. It was faint, explosions and screams just barely audible through the battered walls of the facility.

Curiosity piqued, the two inched carefuly along the hallway, stepping cautiously through the bodies of the dead before reaching the outer door.

"Wow..." murmured Proctor.

Azguards and Necrotroopers had turned the dirt and sand of Kubindi into a slippery bloody mess. The Azguardian captain tore his way through the enemy's ranks towards his target, the one human entity in the battle not under thick layers of black armor.

Omega Thrax, his target, seemed to realize this and broke for the Dreadnought. The captain tried to pursue, but the press of Necrotroopers was so numerous that they weighed down his mighty claws. Stabbing blades slashed and hacked at his frame, drawing blood all along.

He took a deep breath, before bellowing with all his might and hurling Necrotroopers in all directions. The captain picked knifes from his back like irritaiting needles as he rushed to close with Omega, but the enemy commander had already made the crucial run back to his dreadnought, and the armored ramp was closing back up.

It didn't seem as though he'd abandoned all hope of victory - the Necrotroopers on the ground would eventually wear down the few Azguard defenders, as they were doing now - but from the captain's standpoint it seemed as though he'd lost patience and sought to end the fight regardless of losses.

His eyes widened and he turned back to the melee. "Disengage! Fall back to the lab!"

"What's going on?" asked Lu, as she saw the Azguardian captain rush away from the Dreadnought.

All the colour drained from Proctor's face as he recognized what was about to come next. "Quick, we have to get out of here!" He grabbed Lu's arm and dashed towards the bunker.

The sound of Dreadnough weapons cycling up drowned out the sound of blade meeting blade, and the enemy's guns started to glow an ominous shade. The Azguardians paused in their fight to see the foreboding sight of turrets training on their position.

At the last minute, the Dreadnought burst into a ball of fire, the shockwave levelling the Necrotroopers and even tipping over the Azguards.

Overhead, the Gregarious hoved into view. With pinpoint accuracy, point-defence guns started mowing down the crowds of Necrotroopers that surrounded the Azguards. Though it took a few minutes to grind every last one to death, with the help of Azguard troopers dropping in from above it was accomplished.

Horribly bloodied and staggering, the Azguardian captain moved forwards to meet the reinforcements as the Gregarious touched down. "The facility has been maintained, sir."

The Gregarious's captain nodded. "Excellent job. However, we have no time to bask in the victory. Rotate your troops out, I'm deploying a new garrison to watch over the facility while we move the scientists."

The defending captain's brow forrwed. "Move the scientists, sir? To where?"

"Reactor leak in a city," said the other captain dismissively. "It's being contained by civilian countermeasures for now, but we need professional help to guide the cleanup effort."

It didn't take long for Proctor, Lu, and the other scientists to be herded out of their bunker and through the badly damaged research facility. The Azguards marched with pride around their successfully protected charges, even as those charges wretched at the sight of a field of dead Necrotroopers.

As they moved, however, Lu spotted something that caught her attention on a Necrotrooper. Leaning down, she peeled back some of the helmet and gasped. "What is this thing?"

Proctor, who was having a hard enough time holding on to his lunch as it was, was almost pushed over the edge at the sight of the state the Necrotrooper was in. Nevertheless, his medical curiosity got the better of him. "Captain... don't destroy the bodies. Seal them somewhere."

The captain gave a tight salute before giving further orders to his troops. Finally guided aboard the Gregarious, along with the surviving Azguardian guard troopers, Proctor turned to look at their protectors.

"So..." he said, uneasily. "Where are we going?"

"Reactor leak in a city," replied the captain greviously.

"Seriously? That's it?" Mildly disappointed, the doctor crossed his arm. "You do know what year this is, don't you captain? Radiation's not hard to get rid of."

"Try telling that to the Kubaz," said Lu, as she looked out on the blasted world below them. "We'll get right on it."

"Wait..." said the Cathar scientist from earlier. "What are those cylinders you're carrying? Are those..."

Proctor suddenly remembered what he was carrying, and almost tipped them as he jumped. "Holy Clamydia, they are!"

"What are they?" said the curious captain, as he reached out to touch one.

Lu slapped his hand away, replying "They're our samples of the Nanophage virus weaponized by the Black Dragon Empire. There's enough in those canisters to kill everyone in this ship and then spread to wipe out all life on the planet."

The captain gulped. "Then why do we have it with us?"

"It's this sample you fought for, captain," said Lu, who gently took one from Proctor. "With them, we'll be able to reverse-engineer the disease and find an antibody we can upload to Panacea. It'll save the entire war effort and the whole Eastern province from destruction."

"Oh..." said the captain. He and his troops leaned forwards to get a better look at the canisters, and even the myriad scientists took fresh looks at them. The three canisters were simple metal affairs, marked with hazardous symbols and warinings in a dozen languages. Self-consciously, Proctor tightened his grip on them.

"So..." said the captain, leaning back. "Good thing we won that battle. Gods' speed with yours."

In a moment of clarity, Proctor gently placed the canisters to one side. "The battle's been won, captain. Now we're fighting the war."