As Zachary was given his mission, his hands started trembling, although he could not tell if it was from anticipation or dread or just continued symptoms, or a mixture of all three. He quickly pulled out the greasy rag and clenched it to cover up the movement. He looked to the bomber, with its potent weapons, and the potential battle loomed large in his mind and swirled around like a maelstrom. If he had been in his right mind he would have had doubts about being on the front line in that shuttle, tearing apart the military defenders while the risk of fiery death loomed large, then landing in the middle of the military checkpoint. But he was not in his right mind, and he could not afford to pass up this opportunity to satiate his blood-thirst and appease his nucleus accumbens.

"I'll take it," Zachary replied. With what could be mistaken for enthusiasm Zachary swiftly entered the cockpit and ran through pre-flight checks. As he sat there he made his best efforts to steady his breath. The nervousness made his chest feel knotted and stomach feel filled with lead, but he supposed that everyone here was feeling nervous too. Then he powered up the engines and took off.

______

Flying over the streets was not difficult. The Splinter Squad had already called for the shuttle so he was trying to hurry to make up for lost time. Over the comms he replied to Julian, "This is Zachary, the shuttle is on its way. Shouldn't be more than a minute."

Then he spotted another shuttle, flying in almost the other direction. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out why it was there. He realised that it must be a military shuttle, and also noticed that it was headed the direction of Sector Zero, so he aimed and fired the two splinter cannons and the plasma gun in sequence. However, he was not a skilled shooter, and those weapons probably aren't designed for aerial combat, so there is a reasonable chance that he would miss.

Over the comms again he asked urgently, "A military shuttle is en route to Sector Zero. Should I pursue or proceed directly to pick-up?"