The relay station hung in space, bristling with armor plating and weaponry. A small fleet flew around the giant station. The enemy flotilla consisted of four Sedementarian Grokgrn-class battle cruisers, five Vingian Killik-class battle cruisers, eight Vingian Nieav-class assault ships, and ten narrow Sedementarian Grokgok-class frigate gunships. A swarm of fighters covered the flotilla.

A small unmarked freighter entered the outskirts of the system and limped towards the station on half power. The cruiser was bottle shaped with a bulky twin-engine assembly.

Two of the narrow frigates broke formation and moved forward to investigate the craft. The rest of the group held back in attack formation, suspecting a trap.

The gunships opened fire on the small craft after it denied answering hails. The ship exploded into a burst of flames, but not before shooting off an undetected volley of transporter beams towards the station.

Trefli'ah's battle group blasted from hyperspace near the relay station and immediately launched fighters. The enemy fighters launched to intercept.

Trefli'ah wrinkled his fur as he stared through his viewport at the incoming fighter craft.

"They want captors," the commander said. He looked down to the crew pit. "Dispatch fighter groups A and B to counter attack. Pattern starburst. Lure them into position of our gunships' firing range."

Tommy shook his head. "You'd be leaving us wide open...how can you be sure they want captives?"

Trefli'ah continued to look forward as the fighters broke formation to attack.

"The Vingian are commanding this fleet," he said. "The Sedementarians would attack in one swoop with full force. They lack creativity."

"Still..." Tommy started to say.

"The Vingians believe we are attacking in desperation," Trefli'ah continued. "That our plans failed. They want to learn more about our forces. More specifically...more about you and your Rangers. They plan to lure us out and disable one of our craft."

Trefli'ah pointed a clawed finger towards the viewport at the enemy formation. "Look at their positioning. What does it tell you?"

Tommy looked closely at the enemy ships. The Sedementarian ships were holding back in tight formation while the saucer-shaped Vingian craft were moving forward. He'd seen the approach used before, when monsters sent grunts forward into battle.

"The Vingian aren't really in control," Tommy said.

Trefli'ah nodded. "Division in the alliance between their two peoples." He looked down into the crew pit. "Order all cruisers to form up around our vessel. We will move forward, past their front lines and attack the Sedementarian cruisers."

A group of Vingians walked through the dimly-lit relay station corridors towards the turbolift. They were assuming battle stations in the midst of the Coalition's attack.

The turbolift doors slid open as a pair of heels suddenly slammed upside the lead insect's head. A volley of plasma fire quickly mowed down the remaining soldiers as a group of four Spriggan entered the hallway behind them.

Chris and Ashley were among the Spriggan with their blasters drawn, and Ashley held a small data pad in her hand. The pad had a diagram of the station's interior.

"This way," she said as they started to sprint down the hall.

The mines suddenly stopped blasting at each other, their countermeasures allowing the return of control.

A long and jagged Sedementarian battle cruiser entered the system along with an escort of four Vingian frigates. The enemy task force closed in on the Coalition's flank.

"We've got company," Justin reported on the Megaship's bridge.

"We were expecting them," Cy reminded as he commanded the Delta Mega to move in and attack the new arrivals.

The Delta Mega turned hard to port and shot towards the enemy group while firing darts of yellow energy. The blasts exploded against the main cruiser, pounding against its shields and rattling its hull plating.

Trefli'ah's ship flew through the front lines of Vingian saucer craft while hurling volleys of disrupter discs from its prongs. The cruisers were no match for the Fray'loth battle ship.

 "Port gunners," Trefli'ah commanded. "Increase firing strength to full yield. Starboard gunners, focus fire on the frigate analogues."

"That will leave our right side open to those Vingian Cruisers," Tommy said.

"Precisely," Trefli'ah said.

Tommy watched as the Vingian saucer craft arced towards the Battle Cruiser's port side. The enemy ships opened fire with blasts aimed to cripple, not destroy.

The deck shook with each impact, and Tommy looked to Trefli'ah with concern. "We might want to fire back..."

The Vingian craft loomed closer as Trefli'ah lifted a clawed hand. "Wait."

The saucer ships continued their advance unchallenged, firing away with disrupters and plasma charges. They tightened their formation as they continued their push towards the Battle Cruiser's port side.

"Now," Trefli'ah said. "Port cannons to lowest setting. Maximum spread."

With the port cannons at their lowest setting, they blasted a rapid-fire spray of plasma. The shower of energy did little damage, but exploded against the vessel's hulls just the same. The ships were distracted by the sudden onslaught of fire and immediately shifted most of their deflector shield energy to front, not realizing how ineffective the blasts actually were.

A Triforian battle cruiser and two gunship escorts suddenly throttled towards the Vingian saucers' flank. They opened fire with lances of red-and-gold energy that tore through the Vingian ships' unprotected hulls.

The saucers exploded in fiery bursts of destructive power, creating an opening in the enemy lines that Trefli'ah's ship pushed through.

Tommy watched the Triforian ships and gunships break off and attack the enemy group, taking them off guard. Trefli'ah turned to him.

"The Vingian are not capable of countering such a maneuver," he told the ranger.

"How did you know?" Tommy asked.

"I have seen Vingian art. Listened to Vingian music," Trefli'ah said. "Know your enemies, ranger, if you expect to survive in space."

Vingian and Sedementarian soldiers manned their posts in a rectangular control room on B-deck. They were locking the station down and bringing its weapon systems online to attack the incoming Coalition fleet. They didn't notice a small spherical object roll across the metal deck until it was too late.

The object flashed a brilliant pulse of light that knocked out most of the soldiers. The others were dazed as Ashley, Chris, and the Spriggan burst into the room with guns blazing.

Ashley picked off the Vingian nearest the main control terminal with two quick shots, while Chris watched her back and blasted a Sedementarian straight through the chest.

The Spriggan moved in and fanned out, securing the area as Ashley and Chris hurried to the main control console.

"I'm accessing the main turbolift shaft," Ashley said as she pulled up a 3-D holographic schematic of the station's interior. The main shaft ran through the station's center.

Chris reviewed the station's internal sensors to review troop deployments.

"We should take this junction here," he said while stabbing his finger at the holographic map. "To C Deck, then along this stretch. Less will be in our way."

"Well," Ashley said as she downloaded the info into her data pad. "What are we waiting for?"

The Sedementarian battle cruiser and its frigate escorts opened fire with torpedoes, missiles, and plasma blasts aimed for the Megaship and Delta Mega.

Cy guided the Megaship through evasive loops and turns while the firing density increased.

"Hey Cy," Justin said as he was nearly knocked to the deck. "Think it's time we left this party?"

Cy nodded, focusing his eyes on the instruments in front of him.

"Kat," he said. "Have the V-Fighters cover us while we pull back."

The squadron of V-Fighters fell back and regrouped before launching everything they had against the enemy battle cruisers and frigates. Blasts of plasma and disrupters slammed against the enemy's weapon emplacements while the Megaship, Delta Mega, and Coalition vessels blasted along their exit vectors.

"DECA," Cy said, his hand ready to throttle the ship forward into hyperspace. "Hyper-rush nine."

Before the ship's computer could respond, a trio of Vingian saucer ships speared into real-space along the Megaship's exit vector and immediately opened fire with full cannon barrages.

Plasma discs exploded against the Megaship's hull, and the enemy vessels launched a wing of fighters.

"We're boxed in," Justin said while frantically firing the ship's Mega-lasers.

The Megaship climbed and looped backward away from the newly arrived cruisers, only to be met by a small squadron of Sedementarian fighter craft. The Megaship showered the fighters with laser blasts while rolling to port, directly towards the mine field.

"Uh, Cy," Justin said as the mines grew closer in the viewscreen.

The mines opened fire with streams of particle weapons that illuminated the darkness of space.

Intruder alert sirens blared throughout the relay station as Sedementarians and Vingian soldiers rushed through the corridors in search of their prey.

Ashley and Chris crouched in the shadows of a dark corner as the soldiers ran by. The two rangers and Spriggan  managed to move significantly close to the central shaft before the alarm was sounded. They still had a few more meters to go however.

Ashley looked over her data pad. "We can't just make a break for it...they could seal us in the central shaft."

"We could just break through and climb up," Chris recommended.

Ashley shook her head. "That's not a good idea either...there has to be something we could do…"

One of the Spriggan cocked his rifle. "Think faster."

"Faster..." Ashley said with a grin. She looked to Chris. "Come on. We're going for a ride..."

"It's always bad when you get that look," Chris said as he followed her.

Ashley turned around a corner and saw the backs of several Sedementarians walking down the corridor.

"Get ready," she said as she aimed her blaster.

"Actually," Chris said. "We should probably just try to sneak-"

Ashley opened fire with her blaster. Shots of plasma ripped through the backs of several soldiers. The other Sedementarians turned with their blaster rifles level and opened fire. Lances of blue energy stabbed from their blasters as the rangers and Spriggan leapt for cover.

A crossfire erupted in the corridor as the Spriggan returned fire with their own energy rifles.

Ashley grabbed the sleeve of Chris's jumpsuit and pulled him backward. "Come on..."

Chris reluctantly followed, along with a trio of Spriggan. "The central lift is that way...behind the soldiers..."

"I know," Ashley said as they started to head in the opposite direction. "That's why we're going this way..."

Chris simply shook his head and followed.

Chris thanked The Maker he wasn't claustrophobic as he followed Ashley through a tight ventilation shaft barely large enough for him and the Spriggan to squeeze through.

"Ya know," Chris said. "Remind me sometime to ask you how 'faster' made you think of this particular plan."

"Oh, we're getting to that," Ashley said as they continued to crawl.

The Megaship continued to blast forward towards the mine field as rays of particle-beam cannons illuminated the forward viewport and scorched the ship's hull.

The Sedementarian and Vingian fighters didn't break off their tight pursuit of the Megaship. As a result, particle beams speared through them with fiery explosions. A group of around a dozen mines activated their thrusters and started to shoot towards the Megaship. The mine cloud increased speed as the Megaship looped backward and fired its afterburners, streaming towards the opposite direction.

Justin looked over his sensor display. "Thos mines are still on our tail..."

"I know," Cy said calmly while staring through the viewport at the Sedementarian cruiser loomingahead.

The Megaship weaved in and out through the cruiser's firing pattern. The giant vessel hurled plasma discs at the Megaship, but Cy did his best to avoid the blasts. The cruisers' weapons were better suited for defending against capital ships.

Cy poured on the speed.

"DECA," he commanded. "Transfer auxiliary and emergency power to thrusters."

The deck shook violently as the Megaship jolted forward.

"Warning," DECA said. "Collision course."

The enemy fire intensified and filled the forward viewscreen as the Megaship shook from the impact.

"Warning," DECA chimed again. The three rangers could see the detailed groves of the cruiser as its bow filled their forward viewscreen.

"Hold on," Cy said.

Cy drove the ship downwards through a tight barrel row meters away from the ship's bow.

The mines arced their course to follow the ship downward but they weren't maneuverable enough to pull off the turn. The cloud of mines slammed against the Sedementarian cruiser, ripping its bow to shreds in a series of bright explosions.

The explosion opened a gap in the enemy formation, and Cy was quick to lead the small Coalition group through it.

"Let's get out of here," he said. "Maximum hyper-rush."

He pushed forward on his console's control levers as the Megaship blasted towards the safety of hyperspace.

Two Vingian soldiers protected the main turbolift shaft. Ashley and Chris hopped onto them from the ceiling above, tackling the soldiers to the ground. The Spriggan aimed their rifles towards the corridor and started spraying blaster fire to cover the two rangers and three Spriggan that entered the lift.

Once the lift doors shut, Ashley smashed open its control panel with her blaster's handle.

"Going up," she said as she keyed a sequence into her data pad that overloaded the turbolift systems.

The lift shot upward like a bullet, nearly knocking its passengers to the floor in the process. Metal screeched against metal as the lift blasted upward, out of control.

Tommy came to a realization during the battle surrounding the relay station: Trefli'ah's vessel wasn't just a ship. It was a fortress.

The vessel barreled ahead while firing a stunning variety of disrupters, plasma cannons, and particle beam cannons. The battle ship launched multi-phasic torpedoes into formations of enemy fighters, tearing them apart by causing ripples in space.

The ranger was glad Fray'loth was on the good guys' side.

"Starboard guns," Trefli'ah commanded, "Concentrate fire on the Vingian frigate off our bow."

Tommy looked over a hovering holo-diagram.

"A fighter wing just dropped in system," Tommy said. "Looks like they're trying for some kind of pincer movement."

"And?" Trefli'ah asked.

Tommy looked at the diagram closer. "It's a feint..." he looked down into the crew pits. "Have fighter wings three and four form up on flank. One and two, move against those incoming fighters."

Trefli'ah flashed a toothy grin of approval.

The relay station's central command room was circular and lined with holographic displays and control panels. The central turbolift shaft protruded from the center of the room. The shaft started to screech as the Sedementarian and Vingian soldiers turned their attention to it.

They reached for their blasters in alarm as the lift doors opened and blue lances of blaster fire erupted out, striking most of the soldiers down in the first sweep.

A Spriggan rolled across the deck and rose to his knees while aiming his rifle forward towards a trio of Sedementarians. He opened fire with a volley of shots that ripped through the soldiers with cold precision.

Ashley ducked and leapt to her side while extending her metallic blaster forward and firing a lance of red energy through a Vingian head.

Chris dropped to his knees and opened fire on the doorway controls to the room, locking them in so no more soldiers could enter.

The smoke cleared as the Spriggan secured the room. Ashley and Chris ran to the main station.

"Okay," she said as she downloaded the virus program from her data pad. "This should do the trick..."

Her fingers danced across her data pad as she fed the virus string into the stations' systems. She guided the virus around twists and turns of code, helping it creep past firewalls and spread like a cancer.

"It's working," she said.

Alarms suddenly started to blare throughout the control room as slabs of armor slid along the walls and slid across the turbolift shaft. The air vents opened, and a hissing noise filled the chamber as gases started to leak in.

"Not good," Chris said while holding his scanner. "It's some kind of poison gas. We're locked in."

Ashley looked to the three Spriggan with concern. She saw no fear through their military hardness.

"Okay," Ashley said. "You and I will morph. I'll hold them in a digital pocket dimension using my icon."

They opened their Digi-morphers and input code 3-3-5-enter as their armor shimmered to life around them.

"Hold still," Astro Yellow said while looking to the Spriggan. She activated her helmet icon and sucked them into a digital pocket dimension where they'd be safe from the toxic gas. "I won't be able to hold them for long. We need out of here...

"Astro Snipers," Astro Yellow said to Astro Black as they pulled out their sidearms.

The Rangers blasted lances of blue energy at the lift's armor. The blasts reflected back at the Rangers and sparked against their chests.

"Blast," Astro Yellow said.

Astro Black activated his helmet icon.

"Satellite scan," he said. His helmet and visor scanned the room and armor plates for any weak points or escape routes.

Astro Yellow noticed steam rising from her armor while Astro Black surveyed the room.

"Chris..." she said. "That gas is eating through our armor!"

Astro Black looked down at his hands and noticed steam rising from his gloves. The surrounding control consoles started to crack and sizzle as the gas ate through them as well.

That was the least of their problems. Astro Yellow noticed a small side effect of the virus she inserted into the main computer. The relay station was about to explode.

"Admiral," one of Trefli'ah's techs called from the crew pit. "Strange energy fluctuations from the relay station."

Trefli'ah wrinkled his fur with annoyance. "A better explanation is needed, crewman."

Tommy shook his head as he looked at one of the holo readings above the forward viewport. "The station is going to explode..."

Ashley...

"Satellite Search," Astro Black commanded as his visor flashed him warning because of the corrosive gas. His eyes darted across the room while frantically searching for a way out.

He pointed off to his right. "Over there...a weak point in the armor plating..."

"Good," Astro Yellow said as they started to combine their weapons with their Astro Snipers to form more powerful sidearms. "I can't sustain this pocket dimension for the Spriggan much longer."

The two Rangers aimed and fired blasts of black and yellow energy that shot through an unseen seam in the reflective armor plating. The plating shattered as the circuitry behind it exploded.

"There's still gas leaking on the other side," Astro Black said.

The deck plating started to shake, as if reminding the Rangers about the core overload in progress.

"Then we better hurry," Astro Yellow said.

The deck plating shook from another blast to Trefli'ah's ship. Tommy stood firm.

"Send a gunship and V-Fighter escort to punch through their defense screen bearing 3-8-mark-1," he said, directing the fighters towards the station's main docking ring.

He knew Ashley and Chris would find a way out before the station exploded. They had to. Tommy held onto his hope even while watching a series of explosions erupt around the relay station.

Astro Black and Astro Yellow ran through a long stretching corridor as the sound of screeching metal followed them. Their armor sizzled from the corrosive gases as the air started to super heat around them. Deck plates trembled as a series of explosions started booming from behind them.

"Just up ahead," Astro Black said.

They approached a large metallic door and opened fire with their weapon/sniper combos. Their blasts tore open the doors and led into a small docking area.

The Rangers quickly entered a small freighter while a geyser of flame erupted into the docking port. Astro Black and Astro Yellow fell to the deck plating, their armor shimmering offline before they could reach the cockpit.

Tommy's heart sank as he watched the relay station go up in flames.

"No..." he said quietly as he rolled his hands up into fists. "Not her too..."

"Admiral," one of the sensor officers called. "The Vingian and Sedementarians are falling back."

Trefli'ah nodded. "Navigation, move ahead to our rendezvous point."

"No," Tommy said as he glared at Trefli'ah. "They may have gotten out. We can't be sure-"

Other Spriggan units had reached escape pods in time. Surely Ashley and Chris had. He wouldn't allow himself to believe otherwise. He couldn't.

"Sir!" a different sensor officer said from the crew pit. "A small Vingian freighter just emerged from the wreckage. It's emitting a friendly signal. Heavily damaged."

"Life signs?" Tommy asked.

"Two human, three Rigelian," the officer said. "All faint."

"Send a flight to escort them in," Tommy said. "Have a medical team standing by."

The officer looked to Trefli'ah.

"Do it," Trefli'ah said.

Ashley slowly stirred as her eyes opened. She was on a bio bed on the Fray'loth cruiser's medical deck. Tommy was standing over her, fiercely gripping her hand. She smiled weakly at him.

"Hey," she said.

He squeezed her hand. "Hi."

"How did we..." she started to ask, but her voice trailed off.

"The Spriggan were released from your pocket dimension when your armor powered down," Tommy said. "They piloted the freighter away while the docking port literally crumbled around them."

"Is Chris okay?" she asked.

Tommy nodded. "You two will both be fine. There's a medic here called a...a Thrycie. Their bodies naturally secrete chemicals like those Tensian spores. Only better."

She nodded. "Good."

Tommy leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Get some rest..."

He turned and walked away, leaving Ashley's mind a cloud of confusion.

The two rangers had kissed during their Christmas gathering on board the Megaship. Things turned odd for the two of them almost immediately after. At first she told herself it was just because of the mission. The Rigel Campaign. But Ashley knew better.

He's been avoiding me...he's scared...she turned to her side and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Raisik stood on the balcony of his obsidian castle and looked up into space, a glimmer of predatory delight shining in his eye.

"He's here," Raisik said.

The small ant creature Zergain clung to a nearby wall.

"Allow me to test out my prototype battle armor," Zergain said. "To distract the others while you kill Tommy."

"No," Raisik said as he shook his head. "I have something better in mind..."

The Coalition battle groups entered Rigel's orbit and immediately launched drop ships and troop transports.

Tommy and the five other rangers were in a small stealth shuttle pod descending towards the main continent.