Author's note: Helios’ undercover name is “Odysseus” and that is what the other Brekkens will call him. "Arrowhead" is his comm codename. However, for all intents and purposes, the “omniscient narrator” and Cara will still refer to him as “Helios.”

Brekken Military Base, Terra V

"Uh, Helios, the ship's scanner says there are seven Brekkens headed our way. And I'm guessing they don't want to just talk,” Cara said tensely.

“Then, we don’t have much time. I’m going to chance sending out a rescue signal.” Helios began pressing various buttons in front of him to activate the emergency signal.

She gave him a look. “Will it go through the docking bay doors? And most importantly, will it actually matter? It's not like there are any Alliance ships that just happen to be wandering by deep in Brekken territory.”

“We have to at least try," he growled. "Our options are pretty limited at this point. Somehow, I don’t think the ‘Correspondent Omega’ title is going to work this time. So unless you have a better idea, just sit back and shut up.”

"Arrowhead, Phoenix, come in. Are you there? Archangel over,” Aiden said again through the messaging system. He was getting desperate now, having been doing this for at least ten minutes.

Tori waited a moment and shook her head once again. “There is no reply, and scans are revealing nothing. Perhaps if we flew closer to the base…?”

“Sure, I can try, but I don't know how long this cloaking device is going to hold up. I believe this is Dr. Zen’s first prototype, and I don’t think he tested it as much as he should have before he attached it to this ship.” Aiden moved the ship forward with a violent jerk that would have sent them both flying into the wall if they weren't strapped in.

Tori looked over at him. He shrugged sheepishly at her unblinking stare. “I don’t...exactly have a lot of flying experience.” He grinned lopsidedly, his eyes apologetic. “Actually, I’ve only taken a couple of classes and maybe orbited Mars…once.”

“I see. That explains a great deal about our journey here. I will fly the ship then.” She switched the controls over to her console. “You watch the scanner and keep trying to contact them.”

They both worked quietly for a couple of tense moments. Suddenly, Aiden spoke excitedly as he rapidly pressed buttons and turned dials, “I got something! It’s faint and barely traceable, but if I make a couple of adjustments to our instruments…got them! I...I think. They’re behind some really thick docking bay doors on the south side of the base. I’m sending you the coordinates…now.”

"We are in position now, but the docking bay appears to be under lockdown and completely secured. The doors will not open,” Tori said quietly.

“Well...I guess this would be the perfect time to test the magnetic pulse Dr. Zen and I were tinkering with last week. It worked okay during simulations, so hopefully...” Aiden pressed a couple buttons, and their ship emitted a bright red light that shone on the doors. With some skillfully maneuvering, the two could see the doors slowly being pried open by the magnetic beam.

“I suppose I should tell you that the cloaking device has failed and that there are two Brekken fighters coming our way,” Tori said, as she glanced at the screen.

“Yeah, I figured it would. Either that or the fighters would have seen the bright red light. Let’s hope that Cara and Helios are really in there or else we’re all kind of screwed.”

"The doors are opening!” Cara yelled as she quickly geared their ship into flying position.

"And not a moment too soon. The guards are almost here.” Helios replied, wincing at her shout. Why humans feel the need to shout and scream when they're excited I'll never know...“Let’s get out of here.”

Cara nodded and let out an excited laugh as their ship shot out of the docking bay as soon as the doors opened wide enough.

A familiar voice crackled over the comm system. “Arrowhead, Phoenix, you okay? Archangel over.”

Feeling he'd aged ten years waiting for their reply, Aiden sighed audibly when Helios' voice was heard over the comm, saying, “Archangel, this is Arrowhead. Phoenix is with me as well as Blue Panther. Head back to base. Be alert. Arrowhead over.”

Aiden turned to Tori. As usual, he was still a little unnerved at the lack of expression on her metal face, but cleared his throat and said, “Well, you heard him – let’s get out of here.”

Tori nodded, and steered the ship towards home.

The two ships flew side-by-side before going into hyperspeed. They soared through space with the stars sailing past them in bright blurs, until the they finally vanished out of the Brekken system with a sudden flash.

The Brekken fighters that had been closing in on them stopped just shy of the Alliance-Brekken border. They turned around, and returned home.

The General stood in front of the large window in her private office, her arms crossed, her face stony, and her body stiff. She remained as she was, gazing into the infinity of space, even when the door chimed to alert the entrance of Colonel Heracles. He walked over and stood quietly by her side.

“Are the fighters back?” she said quietly, not looking at him.

“Yes, General. They followed your explicit orders and only followed them out to the border before returning.”

“Did they see if the two ships made it back to Alliance territory?”

“Yes, General. They did.”

Her signature cruel smile appeared on her face, and even Colonel Heracles felt a slight chill go down his spine at the sight. “Is everything we discussed three days ago ready?” she asked, finally turning slightly to look at him.

“Yes, General. Everything and everyone is in place.”

“Good…then all is going according to plan.”