[right] [color=00b6d6][h2]𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓼[/h2][/color][/right]
[right][b]Location:[/b] Pirate Ship [/right]
[hr]

	Mason ducked back behind the alcove as laser fire filled the hall. Their spooked ally didn’t seem to have been hit as he join Rod and the others in the battle. Mason Stayed behind the alcove, following the team forward as they moved up to close the distance between them. It wasn’t a long fight, but it felt like it lasted ages. Once the gunfire had ended, Mason cautiously looked in either direction down the hall. So far it was clear. But his quick assessment was soon proven false. Not soon after, another figure, a pirate came up and took a shot at Rod. Mason was not sure where he came from, perhaps hiding in another alcove much like the one the trash chute was stationed. What followed was a rollercoaster of dangers. First was the shot, which missed, but released the incendiary grenade Rod had stashed in his pack, which wasn’t damaged.

	“Bad is right.” Said Mason, “I know Astrid mentioned a grenade, but I can see almost no reason why you would actually bring one.” Mason shook his head, but soon his calm lecture turned into a startle. With the pirate’s death, he seemed to be able to fire his rifle one last time. Rod was in the perfect position to take the shot head on. Mason acted quickly. The pirate was indeed dead, so that was the last the rifle would fire. The helmet was designed to help deflect oncoming fire, but not even it could completely withstand a pointblank shot from a high charged energy weapon. Mason was not equipped to deal with such trauma, and even if Rod was still alive, he’d be dead by the time he could bring him to the emergency medical kit back on the shuttle.

	Things were going from bad to worse. The pirates were more than likely alerted about the fire fight. Undoubtedly reinforcements were on their way. This gave the team very little time. They’d need a distraction in order to give the team enough time to get the hostages registered with the teleporter. Mason noticed just to the side of the two bodies was incendiary grenade.

	“That might work.” Mason grabbed the grenade. He removed his mask and put it over Rod’s damaged helmet. While the damage could still be seen through the faint blue light the mask emitted it worked well enough to hide any obvious trauma at a glance. It would look like an enemy soldier was sitting against the wall to any pirate who rounded the corner. The pirate might then immediately engage without noticing it’s a dead body. He then rested the grenade under the man’s thump and primed it.

	“Sorry Rod.” Said Mason, “We thank you for your service” He then led the rest of Alpha team down the rest of the hall towards the cargo hold. Just his luck, there weren’t any guards. If there were, they were probably the ones that engaged them earlier. The door was locked, however, but nothing that one of his team couldn’t handle.

	“Give me a second.” Spoke one of the lesser crew who join team Alpha on this mission. He started working on the keypad that was next to the door. It was a six by six grid without any discernable markings. As the man worked, different symbols appeared over each of the buttons. As he worked, Mason could hear footsteps coming from down the hall. A loud voice accompanied them.

	“Damnit Winky. I will not stand if you killed any of the…” the voice trailed, “We have an intruder! Find them! Secure our bargaining chip!” the voice was loud and held an air of authority. Was that Du-Vos? It didn’t matter, their time was running out fast. Mason was really counting on that nerve gas now. If it would not make them drowsy, at least he hoped it’d throw off their aim just a bit.

	“Got it.” Spoke their lock picking friend. The doors opened, and the team quickly entered the room. Huddled in a corner were a large group of men and women, the passengers from the Moray. Perfect. Most if not all of them were sitting on the ground, laying against each other. Some were dozing off to sleep. The nerve gas had done its job well with the hostages at least. They were groggy, and a bit sluggish in their movements, but seemed fine for the most part.

	“Quickly, register them and then get them out of here.” Commanded Mason. He heard some laser fire from out the door, which the team had sealed behind them. It was only a couple shots, but if they had shot Rod’s body then…

	A loud boom echoed through the hall. By disrupting Rod’s body, the pirates had fully armed the grenade, and it had gone off. Hopefully the blast would block that path with debris and flames. Mason only spared a couple seconds to pay attention to the sounds coming from the hall. The foot steps resumed. Damnit, these squid people were a resilient bunch. He urged everyone to work as quickly as they could. As each team from alpha registered a hostage, they immediately teleported them to the shuttle. Hopefully Robin and the pilot would help sort them so they weren’t tripping over each other.

	Mason walked up to one of the older gentlemen who seemed more awake than the other, “Quickly now, is this everyone?” questioned Mason, “We know the little boy was returned, but was anyone else taken?” The man seemed groggily unaware of the question, taking painfully too long to realized what the question was. Once he snapped out of it, he confirmed that no one else was removed, and that everyone who was taken hostage was here in the cargo hold. Mason sighed with relief and then got the man out of there. 

	When the team was about halfway finished with the evacuation, the hold was filled with the sound of banging as someone very large was bashing the door. This Du-Vos character. His size really complimented his strength as the door began to cave. One more good hit, and the lock would be useless and the door could open freely. Mason waited with baited breath, grabbing a hold of one of the team’s laser rifles and took cover behind one of the larger metal crates prepared to fire at the intruder. The chance didn’t come as soon the whole room shook. That wasn’t another incendiary grenade. Mason paused, as did the force banging the door. Soon the room shook again. The lights dimmed and an alarm blared throughout the ship. A voice spoke over the intercom. “W-We’re under attack! The Prize has opened fire. The Moray has also opened fire.” The hall was then filled with expletives as heavy footsteps quickly rushed away.

	“It looks like team Beta had done what they needed to and were now attacking the pirate’s vessel.” Shouted Mason, “We don’t have much time left, lets go.” Mason dropped the gun and went to help get the other hostages. His coms were blowing up with communications from Captain Carabello urging they hurry with their mission. Mason didn’t pay it much mind as he was doing just that. Sparks flew as the pirate’s ship took damage. Loud booms of impact could be heard within the cargo hold as it continued to be attacked. Energy being diverted and fire from the pirate’s own weaponry could also be heard, a proper battle between ships was well underway.

	Once the last person was registered and teleported, Mason and his crew left as well. Back on the shuttle, Mason found himself crowded with everyone almost shoulder to shoulder. All the seats were occupied, and the rest stood in the center of the cabin. Mason pushed his way to the front where the pilot and presumably Robin were. 

	“That’s everyone.” He stated almost out of breath, “We should go now. As you can see, beta and the Captain are engaging now. I don’t want to be caught in the crossfire. I’m going to look after the hostages to see if any of them need medical attention.” Mason left the front before any of those who weren’t present on the actual pirate ship could ask about Rod. It’d be brought up if the captain held a debriefing, but for now they should just get out of harms way.