Deraen followed the mercenaries to the briefing to hear the recommendations of procedure. He waited until the four from their party decided to take up a post on the [i]Babylon IV[/i], even as the bombing began just above their heads. In spite of the Captain's obvious weakness at least he'd had the sense to launch from a discreet location. Other than a few lightly-masked judgmental glances, the Andalite did not seem to be particularly worried. Now that the siege had begun, he was affirmed in the wiseness of his choice.

He waited until all designated crew were on board [i]Babylon[/i] before turning back round and reboarding the [i]Alamo[/i]. It was just as well, he would rather be within reach of his personal fighter in the event of a crisis, whether he ended up flying it into combat or not. In spite of himself he was excited at the prospect of a little danger. Deraen was not what you would call a risk-taker, but one does not become a fighter pilot by being a pacifist, and he preferred to take an active role in any sort of conflict. [i]That's why you're an outlaw,[/i] the bittersweet thought floated through his head, [i]That's why you're running around with this gang of misfits, shooting things for money.[/i] The more he thought about it the more he liked the idea. Up until recently he'd always thought of himself as a criminal, but his moral compass was more than a little off-point--it probably always had been--and he liked the word "outlaw" much better, as if he were beyond all authority. It must have been a human concept he'd picked up over the years, since humans had a funny habit of romanticizing certain illegal behavior. Still, he liked it.

Deraen decided to take up guard-duty on the [i]Alamo[/i], but made a stop at his ship in the hanger to outfit himself properly in the event they were boarded. Even so, while he was proud of the small arsenal of personal combat weapons he'd collected for himself, Deraen's favorite way to dispatch an enemy had always been the weapon he'd been born with. Namely, his tail blade. Andalite tail-fighting was really more a tradition than a serious practice these days, since modern warfare usually didn't call for ground troops and [i]shredders[/i] were much more efficient, not to mention cleaner. Nonetheless, if Deraen had excelled at anything in his life it was tail-fighting, and there was nothing more satisfying than lopping off your enemy's head in one clean cut. 

With this mindset he made for the bridge and took up a stance in the corridor just outside, blocking the way to the control room as well. The space was a bit narrow for his liking but if they were boarded he'd be able to see trespassers coming, since they would most likely attack the bridge in an attempt to take control. Pirates might disable the engines and weapons, or find other ways to cripple the [i]Alamo[/i], but in order to truly take the ship they'd have to go through one ornery Andalite. By no means was it the most important point though, if they lost engines, shields, or life support they'd probably lose the fight regardless of how well the bridge and was protected. Deraen projected his thought-speech ship wide to express this concern.

[color=6ecff6]<Raptor Squad ought to dedicate a unit to guarding the [i]Alamo[/i]'s power centers in the event of boarders. The rest should either take up a gunner position or be ready to launch fighters.>[/color] His own fighter waited for him just a few decks below, but he only planned to make use of it if they lost control of the [i]Alamo[/i], and he doubted that would happen. With all this sorted out, there was nothing left to do but wait for take off.