One moment things were quiet and peaceful, the next there was a vicious jolt and alarm systems started blaring.  He didn’t even need to ask Seraph who it was.<i>Fucking bounty hunter…</i>He took control of the situation the way a seasoned captain might have, even if it had only ever been him and Seraph.  Between the two of them, they were able to at least hold Urudal off and wound his ship, so he wasn’t in any better condition than they were.  It would’ve been more convenient if they’d managed to destroy the thing completely, thus ridding their future selves of the threat for good.  It would probably come to that, anyway… one of them dying.  Neither had a reputation for backing down or giving up.<br/><br/>“Okay.  Give me a summary.  Where do we stand?” he sighed.  “What can we get fixed before he gets his shit together?”  There was a long silence.  “Seraph?”<br/><br/>«Still calculating.»<br/><br/>Another pause.<br/><br/>«Nothing.  He is still able to pursue, and we’re currently adrift.  We seem to have knocked down his weapons system entirely, however.»<br/><br/>“Okay, so he can’t hurt us.  Let’s try rerouting extra power to weapons and hammer at him until his shields fail, yeah?  Blow this little fishy out of the water for good.”<br/><br/>Seraph did as instructed, but before they could fire there was a terrifying crash, the hull giving way under the impact of Urudal’s ship.<br/><br/>“What the fuck is he doing, now?!” the mercenary complained, reading over the new assessment of damage.  They were losing air.  Great.  He was then faced with the image of what had happened, his beautiful ship impaled by the Shadow Lily.  Fuming, he smacked the screen away and screamed out a curse.<br/><br/>After a few moments, Ilion got up and walked over to where a small port window showed him the side where the other ship was.  From there, he could just barely see where the bounty hunter likely sat within.  Would he try to board them like this?  Climb out into space and break his way in?  But it wouldn’t be even that simple, as evident by the new alarm blaring.<br/><br/>«That last impact has changed our course.  We were already flying close to the planet’s gravitational pull.  I’m afraid that if he doesn’t use what’s left of his engine power to pull both ships back, both will crash.»<br/><br/>Ilion clenched his jaw and glared out at the other ship.  Then he turned around and sat down in his seat, pulling out the harness and strapping himself down into place.<br/><br/>«You don’t think he will?»<br/><br/>“I wouldn’t.”<br/><br/>«But… there’s no guarantee that either of you will survive.»<br/><br/>“Sorry, old friend.  Sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”<br/><br/>And then the reentry countdown began.  First acceleration, then the familiar sensation of the true weight of his ship battling wind and air as the atmosphere thickened.  Ilion closed his eyes and held on, honestly thinking that the end of his life was fast approaching in the form of lush green trees on the ground below.  And it might’ve, had there been more structural damage, or any at all done to the inertia dampers.  The crash was still horrendous, and by the time he was able to get his bearings and unbuckle from his seat, he realized that it wasn’t even attached to the floor anymore.  Intermittent sparks fluttered from busted consoles, the lights were all off, and the small space he occupied was filling with an ominous smoke.<br/><br/>“Seraph?” he called out in a groan, picking himself up and looking around in the darkness.  He probably should’ve had broken bones, but his Streduk DNA meant they were denser than most other species his size.  He might’ve not been as strong as a full-blood, but he was damned tough and could take a beating.  His lip was busted, and there was a cut along his left cheekbone, but beyond that it was just bruises.  “Seraph?” he asked again.<br/><br/>«You didn’t die?  That was unexpected.»<br/><br/>“Yeah, thanks.  You too,” he grumbled.  “Anything working?”<br/><br/>«At the moment?  Just me and a few sensors, I’m afraid.  I’m working on getting up the emergency systems to handle the fire that broke out.  You should get out as soon as possible.»<br/><br/>“The Sidriel isn’t going to blow up.  But you’re right, I’m going to need some fresh air.  Keep in touch.  I’m going to go out there and kick that piece of shit that barreled into us.”<br/><br/>«And Urudal?»<br/><br/>“You think he faired any better?  Please.  Sidriel is way better than his punk ass glider,” he teased, more for his own benefit than Seraph’s.<br/><br/>He felt his way through the wreckage, Ilion having to manhandle a hatch on the side and push up through it.  It was bright out, warmer than he’d expected, but that was fine.  The air felt refreshing.  Best of all, it wasn’t laden with smoke.