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�How in the hell can we be under attack NOW?� Edge bitched as he pulled on his jacket and ran from his room.
�Don�t ask me,� Rob answered, hopping on one foot as he pulled on his right boot. �I don�t get it either.�
Tori met them in the hall as they hurried towards the docking bay. �Yeah, can you believe these guys. First they break border treaty, and then they do it in the middle of the night.�
Lita was heading for her ship when she saw Matt climbing into his. �Matt, what the hell are you doing?� she asked.
�I�m gonna go stop this,� he replied.
�Matt, you are grounded, remember? Get out of there now.�
�Lita, you can�t be serious!�
�I am VERY serious Matt. Get out of there.�
�I�m not going to!�
Lita breathed deeply, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself.
�Matt, out of the ship!� Jericho came to her aid from behind her. �NOW!�
Matt scowled and climbed out of the cockpit of the small fighter ship. Jericho turned to Lita. �I�m flying this one for you.�
�Chris��
�You are not in a mental state that equates to flying. Go to the bridge and direct traffic.�
Lita paused, then nodded. �Understood.� Then, quietly, �Gracious.�
Jericho shrugged. �De nada.� He ran for his own ship and climbed in. �See you when we get back.�
Lita saluted the others, then headed for the bridge.

�Full screen,� Lita ordered on the bridge. �I want clear visuals at all times.�
�Understood,� the computer replied.
�What�s going on?� Stephanie asked as she rushed onto the bridge.
�Under attack. We�ve gotta cut �em off now.� Lita answered, her eyes never leaving the screen. She adjusted the small microphone like device near her mouth. �Role call ladies and gents. X-treme Two?�
�Ready and rarin� to go!� Jeff answered.
�Tortured Soul?�
Edge whooped into her earpiece.
�Mr. Monday Night?�
�You�ve got the whole F�in show right here.�
�Good to know,� Lita responded. �Ninja Girl?�
�Dammit, I am changing my call name again!� Tori yelled.
Jackie laughed from behind Lita. �How many times will that be, Miss Green Goddess?�
�Shut up Jackie, I heard that.�
�Lionheart, you read me?�
�Of course I do, Red. We�re heading in.�
Lita watched carefully as the ships headed for the hot zone. �I want you to be careful in there. No high risk maneuvers until I clear it, read me?�
There was a groan that Lita assumed was Jeff. �I mean it, X-Treme Two. Nothing stupid.�
�I hear you, I hear you.� Jeff replied.
Lita studied what she could see on screen. �It looks like they�ve got an unprotected left side. Steer clear, it�s a trap. I�ve seen this formation before.�
Regal appeared beside her. �Why aren�t they approaching in standard formation?�
�Because out here your enemies don�t typically use standard formation.�
�This is very far away from standard procedure.�
�Well, Commissioner, out here we are fairly far removed from standard procedure out here. �Mr. Monday Night? I want you a strong offense out there. In and out as fast as possible, okay?�
�Got it Red.�
Lita turned to Jackie. �What are the conditions of the ship?�
�Edge�s ship took a beating last time. I tried to fix as much as I could, but it was pretty rough. It�ll fly, and he should be in good shape. Other than that, they�re in top shape.�
Regal looked at Jackie. �And do you smoke cigars while you work on the ships as well?�
�Yeah. And when I�m done I sit down with a six pack and a Playgirl, what�s your problem?�
�Cut it out!� Lita ordered. �Alright folks, I want a basic Twist of Fate. Lionheart, you flying X-Treme One�s position?�
�Yeah. What side should we go from?�
�Jackie, what kind of ships are we dealing with out there?�
�Hmmm, looks like old R-452�s. Completely shielded on the bottom and sides.�
�So we�ve gotta hit them high. Alright, Twist of Fate as quickly as possible to get them worn down. Then I want strong aerial offence. Mr. Monday Night nail them as hard as you can. Ninja Girl, put them through some tables.�
�Got it,� Tori registered as she flew into position.
�X-treme Two, when you�ve recovered from the Twist of Fate, I want you to hit them with a Swanton Bomb.�
�Read ya loud and clear Red.�
The crew began the attacks as she had instructed. Just as Jeff was about to fire off his missiles, Lita caught site of a problem.
�X-Treme Two, pull out! They�re waiting for it!�
She watched as Jeff tried to pull out, but failed. The missiles went off anyway and Lita watched the other ship move.
�X-Treme Two, you�re out of big guns. Hang back.�
Jeff obeyed.
�We�re going to have to try something different. Mr. Monday Night, think you can handle a simple MoonSault?�
�No problem Red.�
�Just don�t think you�re stealing my signature off of me. I�m loaning it to ya.�
�Understood.�
Rob flipped backwards, aiming for the lower ship. He nailed a direct hit, and the crew on the bridge watched the explosion.
�We�re down one people. Let�s keep it up. X-Treme Two, what the hell are you doing?�
�I wanna try the Swanton again.�
�Your out of big ammo.�
�I wanna try it with the smaller stuff.�
�It won�t work X-Treme Two. Physical impossibility.�
�Not if I fire two rounds instead of one.�
Lita paused for a split second to calculate. �You may be right. But even so, I don�t like the risk factor involved.�
�Shit!� Tori broke in. �I�m hit. We�ve gotta finish these bastards now Red.�
�Tortured Soul, how long has it been since you tried a DownWard Spiral?�
�Not sure. Over a year, I think.�
�You remember how?�
�It�s like riding a bike.�
�Nail the sons of bitches.�
Edge spiraled down onto the enemy, guns bursting. He waited until the last possible second before pulling out.
�How many did I get?�
�Only three. We�ve gotta take one more down to be in the safe zone.�
�Red?�
�What is it X-Treme Two?�
�Tell Matt I love him if I don�t come back!�
�DON�T YOU DARE!�
Lita watched Jeff set up for another Swanton.
�Somebody stop him! NOW!�
She watched Chris beat Jeff into position and set himself up for something.
�Lionheart, what the HELL are you doing? There�s not enough free airspace for a MoonSault.�
�I know.�
She watched in horror as Chris began the move anyway, zooming straight for the enemy ship.
�Lionheart, what is going on out there?�
Chris�s ship got closer and closer.
�Pull out now.�
Closer�
�NOW!�
Closer�
�DAMMIT CHRIS.�
The ship fired off it�s two biggest guns. The other ship exploded in a fiery ball.
�Pull out Lionheart, you�re heading into the explosion.�
Chris�s ship didn�t pull out.
It headed straight into the heart of the explosion.
And it didn�t come back out.
The other ships were retreating, and Lita could hear her crew celebrating in her earpiece.
�Lionheart, come in.� she half whispered.
No answer.
�Lionheart, come in now,� a little louder.
Still no answer.
�LIONHEART?� she screamed.
Static.
�GOD DAMMIT CHRIS! ANWER ME! YOU HAVE TO BE THERE!�
Still more static.
�Red, what�s wrong?� Jeff broke in.
�Chris�� Lita choked. �I didn�t see him come out of the explosion.�
�He made it out Red.�
�Is he on your homing screen?�
�Nah, but his device was probably screwed up in the fight. He made it out.�
Lita pause. �Alright. Everyone get back here. I want your radios switched off and only turned back on in an emergency.�
The radios clicked off. Lita took of her ear piece quickly. �Computer, locate the ship belonging to Captain Christopher Jericho.�
�Damage Report. Ship destroyed.�
Lita heard Stephanie gasp.
�Check again,� Lita ordered.
�Damage Report. Ship destroyed. Casualties: Captain Christopher Jericho.�
�No,� Stephanie whispered. Lita couldn�t blame her, she herself was thinking the same thing.
�Margin of error?� Lita asked the computer.
�.01 % margin of error. Ship�s sensor is still responding. Cockpit was blown out of ship, no chance of survivors.�
Stephanie maintained her composure. Lita looked at her and knew exactly what was going through the other woman�s head.

Down in the docking bay, the crew was whooping it up, celebrating another victory. Then, they saw Lita, Jackie, Trish, Matt, Hurricane, and Stephanie.
�Why are you so depressed! Come on, we won!� Rob grinned at them. �Look, when Chris gets back we�ll��
The cringe on Lita�s face gave it away.
�Oh my god��Tori whispered.
Lita nodded. �He�s dead�� she explained as she finally gave in and began to cry.
Edge ran to her and hugged her. �It�s okay, it�s okay kid.�
�I didn�t know what he was going to do�� Lita cried. �I didn�t know he was going to try that.�
�You couldn�t have stopped him,� Edge whispered.
�Yes I could have,� Lita sobbed. �I should�ve flown, not him. Not him.�
Matt looked on as Edge hugged Lita, and jealousy flared up inside of him. He knew it was inappropriate, and he knew Edge was only trying to comfort her. But that didn�t help. He was jealous as all hell.
Stephanie began sobbing too at this point, in her own quiet way. Hurricane turned to her and hugged her gently to comfort her. She hugged back to his surprise. She was crying into his shoulder in soft sobs.
The others were milling about, trying to decide how to react. Jackie was trying to remain stoic, but her eyes were quivering almost imperceptively. Tori was frozen in shock and was hanging on to Jeff�s shoulder for support. Jeff was wiping at his eyes, and then pulled his hand back to reveal smudged black eyeliner on his hand. Rob snarled and began punching at the side of his ship as if that would vindicate him in someway.
There was a somber air in the docking bay when Commissioner Regal entered it. �Well, we�ve all had a very busy night, haven�t we? It is now two o�clock in the morning. Your inspection begins at eight. Lita Dumas, as first officer on this ship, it is now your duty to act as Captain due to Jericho�s untimely demise. I�ll see you all in a few hours.�
And with that, he left in his stuffy and brisk manner.