The Transition to Sub-Space was uneventful. It looked like a barren planet. The experimental fighter and a squad of Borodon suits left the Nautilus, followed by a bird-like form. Sapphire reported,"Pirate one to Pirate King--I'm not picking up anything on ground scan or IFF or any side-band radars. No artificial structures of any kind." Captain Dokka Tkarro responded with a smile in his voice,"This is Pirate King. This version of Balaam is two and a half billion years slower than our's! Nothing native except some dust. Return to your wing men. We're using other means to locate the enemy." "Pirate one to Pirate King--roger that! I'm dropping back to our formation. If someone had told me that one of my wing men was a big bird with a FORCE SWORD, I'm have called him crazy!" Jin Tkarro said,"Pirate Two to Pirate One--Roger that! I told her to be your shadow on your three o'clock position and to keep any of the Great Enemy off you physically while you shoot them." Sapphire looked out her three o'clock at the big bird who was cruising at Mach point nine. it waved it's force sword and nodded at Sapphire. Sapphire said,"Pirate one to wing--That is Toxic Panchetta shape-changed into a big bird?" Neon said,"Long Shot to Pirate One--Affirmative on that. I saw it with my own eyes! She has the genes of the Druaga and the Abel." Sapphire said,"Acknowledged. What's our time looking like? Anyone?" On the Space-battleship,Nautilus, Commander Rose said,"This is Pirate Queen--According to our best sources...the Great Enemy should be here any moment. I suspect the difference in the passage of time between the lower quantum universe they are transiting from and here is causing the uncertainty." Sapphire said,"Acknowledged, Pirate Queen. I am still picking up the strange radar echo of Shalmiraine. There is NO physical structure HERE, and we have flown through it, but I'm getting an echo of ...something. Should we move back into that shadow? There was talk of the enemy coming out in there." "Pirate Queen to Wing--DO NOT enter the shadow of Shalmiraine until AFTER we say it's clear! We do NOT know if it has defenses against Great Enemy incursion. Better safe than dead." There was various acknowledgements from the Wing. Suddenly the firebird broke MACH and swooped toward the surface. Sapphire hit her afterburners and pursued. "Pirate One--Am giving pursuit to Fire-Bird! She's peeled off and heading surface-ward! I'm not picking up any... WAIT! Picking up a radar distortion and muon emissions from the surface! Wing! Prepare for surface assault! I'm going in for a strafing run." She flipped up the safeties and dove after the Fire-Bird. Toxic was ablaze as if she was re-entering an atmosphere. Sapphire took a vector to her right and spotted some black dots on the ground. She detected the discharge of their Spor-line Field weaponry. "CONFIRMED ENEMY! INCOMING! Shields up!" She held her fire, which would disintegrate to dust passing through their field and waited to see if she would survive the hit. She looked at Toxic. She folded her wings and became a bullet-like form as the Spor-Line Field hit them. Sapphire exhaled, just then realizing that she had held her breath. She was a machine life and didn't even NEED to breathe. She took a breath and shouted, "EAT THE WRATH OF THE GLASS GODDESS!" She fired the 25mm Gatling cannons and fired the 128 MM magnetic accelerator cannon at them. She detected several hits on them. Several combatants were dismembered by the fire. She pulled twenty gees coming around for a second pass. her eye almost bugged out when she saw that Toxic had kept up with her. "You're a hell of a bird!" Jin barked out,"Pirate Twoo--SLF fire evaded! Armor holding. We aren't effected by their mental attacks! Mop up survivors?" Sapphire said,"Let me and Toxic take point. Let me convert the Goddess to ground mode! Here we go!" --to be continued!--