Dresden walked into the docking bay with purpose in his stride. "Is the Hal ready?" He asked a technician, referring to the medium-sized ship-to-ship vessel.

Scratching her chin slowly, the technician looked around at Hal. "The ship can fly, but I can make changes to it all the time." She frowned and wiped her brow, smearing oil across it. "But it's good enough to fly right now if you need it."

"I need the shields boosted, and the thrusters charged with 80 degrees of Xartin-38," Dresden said, studying Hal. "Oh, and go ahead and take the locks off the hadron cannons. I need her prepped and ready for takeoff in three hours." Despite his calm composure, his enthusiasm belied his excitement.

"What you doing? Attacking a cargo freighter?" the technician asked, snorting and staring at Dresden "But damn if I can't resist a challenge. And a guy who knows what he wants." Laughing happily she swayed her hips at him as she walked off towards ship, holding her wrench firmly and tapping it off her thigh as she swayed.

Sojana and her drop squad arrived even though they weren't departing for some time. Sojana approached Dresden and waited to be addressed. She figured her men could offer a hand loading some equipment or do something useful.

"Ah," Dresden turned and saluted. "Chief Sojana. How can I help you?"

"The Boys and I came early to see if we could give you a hand." Sojana told him, relaxing her posture considering they both answered to the same big wigs.

"That's very kind of you," Dresden said, easing his stance and taking a moment to examine the group. "If you'll ask this technician here I am sure she'd be more than happy to set you to work," He pointed back to the technician working on Hal with a grin. "Although, I do wonder how much of helping will just be staying out of the way."

"We're good at that too." Sojana said being as Dresden finished his survey. She didn't mind being put in a corner but she prefered her men to be useful.

"You the army buffs we got?" the tech said, leaning back and coughing slightly as she wiped some oil from her chin "Hope you're strong. It'd take thirty minutes to get the lift over here, but if you can hold up the left gravitational stabiliser for a bit I can do some quick modifications that the man needs."

Ka'aias was fiddling again with her diagnostics when she got to the docking bay. She looked up, saw the tech, and smiled. Kai closed the panel on her arm and watched to see what exactly they were up to.

Sojana clicked her claws together and was quickly joined by her men, who'd seen fit to stow their gear. "We like to say Skiff has..." She looked at Rhodes for vocab conformation, he mouthed the word for her allowing her to finish her statement "Oh yeah... retard strength." Skiff stepped forward wearing a "Ha ha very funy." kind of grin. Having forearms as thick as his neck he was the obvious choice for any heavy lifting. Bringing up the rear the rest of The Boys accompanied him, no matter how strong he was it was always kind to lend a hand.

"Just lift that up" the tech pointed to an engine roughly the size you'd expect something that stablises an entire air craft's gravitational pull would be. It was good that they had some strong guys there it seems "Ok, now you guys don't be afraid to help" the tech said, looking around at Dresden and Ka'aias as she appeared "Just two things, don't drop it and don't stare at my ass."

"I make no promises." Rhodes said slyly as he moved to take up his end of the engine. The smile was quickly wiped from his face when Sojana's voice gave a snappy "Eyes front Dropman." The rest of The Boys moved into position to lift it. Skiff settled himself under the most sturdy section and planted his feet waiting for the order to heave.

"If you do I'll make you learn what a ballsocket wrench is first hand... litterally" the tech sniffed and looked at the men, just admirring them for a moment before saying "LIFT!" She snapped her fingers and pulled out her tools, grinning as she ordered the team of me around.

Skiff began the process followed by the rest once they felt him strain. He'd once lifted a troop transport (capable of carrying 10 soldiers and their gear) of Dave, who'd gotten trapped beneath it after an explosion. That was a piece of cake compared to this thing. Sojana saw their effort and shrugged out of her gear and pushed in with the Boys. Having virtually no fat content her body was comprised of taut wound muscles that gave her an advantage over most humans, except Skiff and his Retard Strength. 

"how does she control herself?" the tech wondered under her breath, shaking her head and the men and turning to crawl into the gap open beneath the engine now. Bent over double, there was an obvious reason why she'd explicitly said not to look at her ass; in order to get to the parts she was working on she had to put herself in a rather compromising position. A series of sparks came out from the gap she was in, the sound of metal on metal and loud cranks.

Considering the thing's weight none of the men really had the ability to sneak a peek, much to Rhode's and Jim's dismay. Sojana had to incorporate the strength of her tail to keep her feet from slipping, which would result in the dulling of their claws. And she just couldn't have that. If a Vidian could sweat she defiantly would be right now.

Dresden found it bizarre that she wasn't just using the mechanical lifts but attributed it to her attempt to make the team feel useful. He considered flipping off the gravity on this level--all the mechanical levels had that option for convenience, but was generally kept on as a safety measure. Instead, he crossed over to them, catching a glance of the tech as he passed, and had to stop himself from whistling in appreciation of fine craftsmanship. He lent his arms to the rest of the crew, his implants kicking in; at the mines, it wasn't unusual to lift a few tons of rock. He helped for about an inch.

"I regret not going and getting the lift myself." Sojana said in a goodhearted groan. She and her men hadn't really done anything useful since coming on board aside from the usual cleaning and maintaining of the ships defenses and weapons. Even if there was adequate technology on board to make this easier there was nothing wrong with some good old fashioned hard work.

"Few more minutes" the tech said loudly, grunting as she began to take more tools to the inside "If the pilot wants it up to his standards then I've got to really tweak this thing." Grunting a piece was tossed past her head, sliding across the floor as she pulled one that looked almost identical from her belt and began to create much larger sparks with her tools.

Kai watched the tech, shaking her head in confusion. There were easier ways to do everything. And faster. She slid under the machine next to the tech. She put one arm on the craft, pushing slightly to take much of the weight off of the guys and reaching the other inward to help the tech.

"Hands... OFF!" the tech said, tapping a spanner on Kai's knuckles. She paused however, grabbed the hand and eeped "A-ah... Ka'aias, ma'am, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you. W-what are you doing down h-here?" She turned slightly and began to work double time, trying to look good in front of the "boss".

Kai shook her head again. "You are doing this the hard way. Just..." She reached and pulled a cord loose, letting it hang. Taking the part, she popped it on, holding it in place with her elbow as she connected it and reconnected the cord. "Connect it right into the power source, rerouting the energy from the main power defusers right to the shield generator. Then..." Kai pulled another cord, removed a part which she, too, flung behind her. "We really don't need that. Connect the energy coupling right into the main drive thrust. That will boost the basic control board and make it that much more sensitive."

"B-but..." the tech sighed and let out a small grumble, hoping that the new dampener could control the fluctuations and wouldn't just blow mid flight. These things were designed this way after all, messing with them and ripping cables out of the actual machinery seemed dodgy to her. Shuffling out backwards she stepped out the way and said "Alright boys, lower it slowly. Don't want anything popping out."


"Easy fellas." Sojana said and they all began lowering their end. Skiff eased himself out of his current position she he didn't get himself squished. After much huffing and a few directions from Skiff, who had broken out into a prompt sweat during the female's conversation, the hulking device was sat gently down in it's former position. Give or take an inch or two.

The tech let out a small happy noise and hugged Sojana from behind, mainly so she could watch the men and say the words "Can I keep them? Can I? Can I?" in Sojana's ear quietly. She could do with a bunch of men about the house, for... heavy lifting and other such essentials.

Dresden let his arms down with a grin, stepping back from the ship. He was impressed that they'd managed to lift it at all. Kai was right, in any case; the modifications would work beautifully. He took a walk around the ship, going through a checklist of safety checks.

Kai slid from under the ship before it was lowered down. She tilted her head again, then shrugged, looking at Dresden. "I hope that is what you wanted," she said quietly. "If not, I can always repair it once we are on our way."

"Oh, no, it will do nicely, I think," Dresden said, gazing up at the ship with a grin. "Rerouting the power directly, that was gutsy, but the dampener should just switch over no problem. Very clever." He looked at Kai. "I guess you're not just a software buff after all."

Sojana stiffened immediately when the tech hugged her. She wasn't used to being embraced fondly by humans... Even Vidians for that matter. "Just glad we can help." She said and then asked "Can we stow our gear now or will it be in the way of your preparations?

"awwww..." the tech said in a sad voice, but pulled back from Sojana because she'd felt every muscle in her body tighten at a simple hug. "Yeah, you can start loading whatever you need now. Thanks for the help."

"I built ships on Earth. Flew them a bit, too." Ka'aias smiled at Dresden. "Cannot pilot as well as some, but I do alright in a smaller jet propelled engine." She looked down at her arm, noting that the metal wasn't holding up as well as she had hoped. "Hey...uh..." She paused, not having the tech's name in her databanks. Turning over to her, she looked at the tech. "Did anyone look into the new alloys that were being constructed for the ships? They may need to be used on a wider scale. Can you make a note for everyone?" Of course, this tech might not be able to, but it was worth a shot. "And the captain would like to make sure we have food and supplies for this voyage. And extra, in case we meet anyone along the way."

"I've been looking" the tech said softly, scratching her head slightly and trying to straighten up in front of Ka'aias "But I haven't implimented any yet. I'll make a note for everyone so they'll see it." She paused and looked at the ship, then at Kai "So, you're going with them ma'am?"

"Yes," Kai said. "The long distance communicator is in my office should someone need any of us." She looked back at Dresden. "I can hook my comm system directly into the ships main signal, should give it a boost. And it will save on the ship's power cells from trying to reach back here with the limited signal."

"Understood" the tech said, nodding to her boss for a moment before squirming on the spot and saying quietly to Kai "S-so... could you tell me... WHY you're going ma'am? I mean, I don't quite recognize everyone here, but you've got some strong lads, the other guy is the pilot... and he's a GOOD pilot by the sound of it... and... well... you. I mean. You'd tell us if there was something important happening right?"

"Not for me to tell," Kai said, giving the tech a serious look. "Ask the captain if you're curious." Her tone clearly said that the topic was ended.

Dresden nodded in assent to Kai. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to introduce myself," He winked and swung up into the cockpit and flipped the computer controls on, leaving the main engines off. He wouldn't need to fire those up just yet; this was just a test run to calibrate controls. His twelve fingers settled on the blue control, twisting and twitching to get a feel of how the ship would move.

With a silent order Sojana signaled to the men to begin stowing their gear.

Dr. Shaq'l'phard hobbled into the docking bay, carrying a small kit. "Is it not time to depart yet?" He asked of no one in particular

Kai looked over at the doctor and made a completely human gestured: she shrugged. "We are still waiting, if that is what you meant. The ship is ready, however."

"Is everyone here?" Rhod said, striding quickly towards the group "All set up? Where's Dresden?" He looked around, then without waiting for an answer strode into the cockpit "Here" he said, giving Dresden the chip and the piece of paper he'd received "It should help us fly through the meteors, if we needed any help."

"Thank you, sir," Dresden took both the chip and the paper, giving the paper a bemused look and putting it behind his seat and inputting the chip into the computer. "The blades have been oscillating for a good half hour now, we're ready to take off at any time," He reported.

"Good" Rhod nodded to Dresden and turned away, walking through the ship until he could stick his head out of the rear. "Ok people we're moving out! Get in here and strap yourselves down while we're leaving the ship's influence."

Kai boarded the ship and strapped herself in near the communication controls. She plugged her comm right into the main control, sending a boost to the radio signals.

Shaq'l'phard boarded and found a place in the back of the ship. He hated this little ships worse than he hated traveling on the larger ones. He preferred being safely on the nice firm ground

Once Sojana and her men finished stowing their gear and exuiptment the five of them strapped themselves securely in place. Sojana didn't like leaving her rifle behind but she doubted there would be much to snipe on a rescue mission.

"Ok..." Rhod nodded to the group as they all strapped themselves into place "All here? Good." It was a bare bones team, but it was the fastest he could manage and it was of his top people. He just hoped there weren't any conflicts along the way, he'd hate to lose one of his team so soon. "Take us out Dresden" he said, looking into the cockpit and seeing the looming bay doors ahead of the ship "As smoothly as possible."

"Yessir," Dresden guided the ship carefully out of the bay doors and launched into space. The Hal handled like a dream. He set the course to the fallen ship and quickly reached the asteroid belt. He took a deep breath and said over the intercom, "The fallen ship has drifted into the asteroid belt. Keep your belts on and everyone will get through this fine." He turned off the intercom and suppressed a grin. He had to focus. It wasn't just his life on the line, but he would be lying to himself if he thought he wasn't going to enjoy this.

"Alright everyone, we're heading into the asteroid belt, hold onto whatever's precious cause this isn't going to be a smooth ride" Rhod called out, wincing as he saw the hurtling balls of ice and rock approaching with deceptive speed.