Hodinn.

" Talon 4-9, do you copy? You are deviating from your perimeter. Talon 4-9, please respond. Talon 4-9, please... Anvil, this is helmsman V'tal... The captain... He's not... Sharra preserve, it's like his mind turned off. What should... All Shi'ar warbirds, alert! Prepare for..."

The lead Shi'ar ship was ordering until Rachel, Atom, and Hal flew through the ship's hull blowing it up.

' I can hear them, Lilandra... They've already sent out the alarm. We've got about five minutes before the rest of the fleet arrives.'

Rachel explained to the woman.

' If any of the guard show up..."

Lilandra started to explain.

" We know the drill woman! Go!"

Hal yelled to the woman as he shielded her ship from fire from the Shi'ar ships.

" We could have gotten in there quicker you know."

Hal said to atom and Rachel as he dodged multiple star bolts from the many Shi'ar ships.

" We need to stand guard in case the guard does show up. Korvus and Lilandra aren't strong enough to handle them."

Atom explained as he returned fire, blasting one of ships to pieces as he did so.

The three space fighters held the line while Korvus and Lilandra worked their magic. The woman and the two men made relatively easy work of the far weaker shi'ar soldiers.

" What's taking them so long?!"

Hal asked annoyedly as he floated outside the ship.

" Do all you know how to do is complain?"

Korvus asked.

" Shut it and hurry the hell up already. The longer you take the more likely we are to get swarmed by the fleet."

Hal complained aggressively.

" Oh, just shut up. We got the damn ship. We're launching now."

Lilandra yelled at the man as she fired up the Starjammers ship.

The hull of the Shi'ar ship was destroyed as the Starjammer busted out of its cage, Atom turned and grinned brightly at the return of his old ship.

" All right! Let's go!"

Atom yelled to the other two with him. The two nodded and followed behind the man as he raced towards the ship.

The man boarded the ship with joy. Taking in the sight he hasn't seen in months. Though his crew was long gone. His home still remained.

" Home again. Hard to believe it has been six months since we lost it."

Atom exclaimed teary eyed, His pain coming to the surface and briefly overpowering his happiness. However, Atom quickly stifled himself and regained his composure, wiping the tears from his eyes before letting them fall.

Rachel hugged the man from behind and pulled his smiling face towards hers and kissed it. Atom grinned and turned to return the kiss to the woman.

" I'm glad you're happy again sweety. But can we please stop hiding?"

Rachel asked the man.

" You need to wait Rachel."

Lilandra said to the woman.

" Wait? How much longer do we need to wait? It's been months. Your contacts don't know where Alex and Lorna are. I can't get close enough to read anyone who knows... They could be dead."

Rachel explained rather agitatedly.

" My contacts found this ship, Rachel. Vulcan is keeping the others alive... Havok, Polaris, even Ch'od and Raza. Had he killed them he would let the whole universe know. We will find them, Rachel. This is my empire, not Vulcan's. Not Deathbirds or Ka'ardum's. Mine. And I will have it back before they plunge the entire universe into war."

Lilandra exclaimed with determination in her eyes, her fire still burning bright despite all of the failures and setbacks she and the others had face.

" You got anything you want to add to this pow wow Jordan?"

Atom asked as he watched the man excitedly study the ship and its gadgets.

Hal turned to the man and coughed into his hands before speaking up.

" Well, I've been thinking about things recently. And I think I might have a plan."

Jordan explained.

Intrigued by the man's statement the others turned to the man and listened to him inquisitively.

" Well, what did you have in mind?"

Lilandra asked.

" Well, I figured the only ones who would know where your friends are being imprisoned would be Vulcan and the imperial guard. Right?"

Jordan asked.

" Yes, what is your point?"

Lilandra asked the man.

" Well, it's simple. We use Gladiator. We let Lilandra distract him and have Rachel, pull the information we need from his mind. Simple."

Jord explained.

" Kallark has always had feelings for me. And he clearly does not like Vulcan on the throne. It could work."

Lilandra stated as she thought over the idea.

" It is a good plan. We will go through with it."

Lilandra declared.

The group began making preparations for the trip into Shi'ar space.

Lilandra would sneak into Gladiator's room and try to convince him to help her, while Rachel used her abilities to steal the information they needed from the man's head. Once the girls were done, Jordan and Atom would then be given the signal to attack the man. Once they were away Korvus would jump the ship back to safety. A simple plan on paper. But the danger of going into Shi'ar space so outnumbered would spell certain death even for this small team of powerhouses.

Once the group was within distance of Gladiator's ship, Lilandra and the others departed. Using rachels ability to hide their presence. The group snuck aboard the ship.

' Are you sure about this?'

Rachel asked Lilandra telepathically as the woman climbed into Gladiator's bed. Watching him sleep as she approached.

' No. But he is our last hope.'

Lilandra replied.

" Kallark..."

Lilandra called out the man's name as she gently rubbed the back of her hand against his face.

Gladiator's eyes suddenly shot open and he grabbed Lilandra's hand.

" No."

Gladiator stated as he shot up from the bed. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Lilandra sitting next to him.

" Lilandra... Why have you come here? you cannot surrender. He will kill you."

Gladiator explained to the woman as he got up from his bed.

" I am not here to surrender."

Lilandra said to the man.

" You should not have come here, empress! You know what I must now do!"

Gladiator exclaimed heartbroken and angrily.

" I know it is not what you want to do. I know you are loyal to the throne, and I know why. But I beg you... Vulcan is not the throne. His is not Shi'ar. And he will lead the empire to disaster. If you truly care about the empire..."

Lilandra was explaining to the man .

" I cannot think..."

Gladiator stated sadly.

Lilandra walked up to the man and placed her hand gently on his face.

" If you ever cared about me..."

Lilandra said to the man.

Gladiator turned to the woman with doubt and sadness on his face. Pained by the unfortunate position he has been placed in.

" Empress...."

Gladiator called out to the woman as he leaned down close to her face. Bringing his lips close to hers.

" If you ever cared about me... Then help me. Help me find Havok and Defeat Vulcan."

Lilandra asked the man as she leaned up to him.

Gladiator however, suddenly turned away from the woman.

" If you know why I serve the empire, then you know why I cannot help you."

Gladiator stated in shame.

" ... Do you have it?"

Lilandra suddenly asked Rachel.

Confused about what she said Gladiator turned back to the woman in confusion.

" What? Empress?"

Gladiator questioned the woman.

" I am truly sorry, Kallark. But like you, I do what I must for the empire's survival."

Lilandra explained to the man as Rachel and the others turned visible.

" Got it. They're on Kr'kn."

Rachel stated.

Gladiator's eyes widened in shock as the two men raised their hands at him.

" Sorry about this. For what it's worth Gladiator. I really don't hate you."

Atom said to the man before he and Hal both Blasted the man in the face, with their full power. The attack launched the man from his ship.

" Let's go!"

Atom turned to the others and yelled.

Rachel snatched up Lilandra and the four fighters raced to return to their ship.

In the background Gladiator recovered himself and began chasing after the group.

" LILANDRA!!!!"

Gladiator yelled out in anger.

The group had a good lead on the man, once they touched down inside the Starjammer Korvus was already ready to jump the ship.

Gladiator watched as the ship suddenly vanished from its hiding space.

" Empress..."

The man called out for the woman sadly

On the ship the ragtag team of resistance fighters strapped in and prepared for their invasion.

" We got what we need. Are you okay Lilandra?"

Atom asked the woman.

" I am saddened for having to betray Kallark. But I know I must do what is necessary for us to win."

Lilandra replied firmly, though her face betrayed her words.

Atom not wanting to push further simply nodded.

" Well, we have what we need. But we need to find a suitable strong hold to rest first. I say we head back to the clench worlds."

Hal explained to the group.

The others nodded and jumped once again towards the junk planets in the clench worlds. There the group, with the assistance of the dock master, waited and rested until their attack on Kr'kn began.

" How are you feeling, Nate?"

Rachel asked the man as she cuddled up behind him.

" I'm great now that you're here love."

Atom said as he turned around and kissed the woman.

" Been a while since we've had a moment to ourselves. We've been constantly jumping around and stealing and fighting. But now, the finish line is finally within our reach. To finally have a chance to rest makes me happy. Thank you, love."

Rachel said to the man as she nestled further into his chest.

" I love you too, Rachel. More so than I have ever loved anything or anyone else."

Nathan said to the woman.

Rachel smiled as the man happily held her face in his hands, the two sharing a sweet moment together after months of constantly being on the run. However, this sweet moment would soon be ruined by the arrival of Vulcans new guardsmen.

The room Rachel and Nathan shared began shaking violently. The two realizing they were under attack got out of the bed and rushed outside to see who it was.

" Hey, sorry to ruin the moment guys. But we've got incoming!"

Jordan yelled to the two as he fought against a woman who strongly resembled Gladiator.

" We're coming! Ugh!"

Nathan grunted as he was suddenly attacked by a man in a metal suit with energy flowing out of his body in the form of lightning.

" Gonna catch a good price for you captain."

The man stated as he continued shocking Atom.

Atom grinned at the man as his eyes began glowing blue.

" You chose the wrong one of us to attack with energy."

Atom said to the man as he began sucking in the man's energy.

The man looked on in shock and terror as he felt his power leaving his body.

" Ohhhh yeah. That's the good stuff. Here have a taste."

Atom said as he returned the energy he absorbed to the man, turning him into ashes in seconds. Atom smirked and then turned his attention to the others and to his shock there was a man in a golden suit.

" A HODINN!? EVERYONE RUN!"

Atom yelled out in terror as he snatched Rachel up in his arms.

" What's wrong?!"

Hal asked as he blasted Xenith away from him.

" He's gonna blow!"

Atom yelled as the man's suit began opening up to reveal a walking sun.

" LILANDRA!"

Atom called out to the woman.

" I'm alright. There was one on the ship. I managed to get him off. But we don't have time, the hodinn is about to burst."

Lilandra replied to the man.

Atom, Rachel, Hal, and Korvus all landed on the ship and Lilandra jumped them once again away from the planet just as the Hodinn exploded, taking the entire planet with him.

" This isn't happening. Please God tell me this isn't happening again!"

Rachel pleaded as Atom held her in his arms.

" Rachel..."

Atom called the woman's name as he gently rubbed her back.

" How many millions of people just died because we were there? How Many?!"

Rachel asked in anger.

" Too many. Lilandra set the course. We're going to get our people out now. We can't afford to wait around anymore."

Atom said to the woman as he carried Rachel out of the room.

" Dear god, what has Vulcan released?"

Hal asked in shock as he stared out the window at the passing stars.