Disclaimer...I own none of the characters, etc. except the plot.

The trio of saiyan capsules pursued the octopus-like Capsule Corp ship with relentless precision. Slow torture amounting to panic and then mistakes was Taree's chosen mode of tactics in this round. She knew she had the better ship, the better strategy, and better-trained warriors. The only thing she didn't have that the other ship did was one super saiyan.

Back aboard the Capsule Corp ship, Pan was furiously working the controls, as she tried to figure out some way, any way to escape the pursuit of the hostile saiyan ships. As much as she hated to admit it, Trunks was much more capable of getting them out of this mess. Unfortunately for her, Trunks was out of commission for the time being. It was up to her. This was the moment she'd been waiting all her life for--a chance to be the sole hero, err, herione. But for some reason, it didn't feel as good as she wished it would.

"Pan, they're gaining on us really fast!" Bra yelled as she watched the three blips close in on the radar.

"Pan, isn't there some kind of warp or something on this thing?" Marron asked.

"If you trained instead of shopped Bra, you could assist me in either flying or fighting. A simple round of ki blasts may delay them longer. "

"Pan, I can fly." Marron added.

"Oh, now you speak up. Fly it then!" Pan ordered as she slid out of the pilot's seat and shoved Marron into it. "I'm going to put a space suit on, get one of those rocket sleds and create a diversion."

"Pan, not alone!"

"Bra, do you wanna join then, hmm?"

"Uh, well, uh..."

"Didn't think so. So, don't tell me what I can and can't do. Somebody needs to fight them and obviously it's going to have to be me." Pan huffed as she left the cockpit. Shortly later, they saw her fly out from their ship on a rocket sled.

Pan was noticed immediately by the lead saiyan pod.

"So, the little kitty wants to play eh?" Taree purred to herself. Switching on the comm, she talked to the other two ships. "I want you two to stay on the main ship. I'm going after the little wench on that sled. "

"Yes ma'am!"

Taree broke off from her lead position while the other two maintained a side-by-side straight course.

Pan saw the lead ship peel away, but the other two did not. "Shit, I get the main bitch and they still have to deal with the other two. The odds still suck way too much. Man Trunks, you picked a fine time to take a nap." Pan muttered to herself as she tried to find the proper angle of attack.

Meanwhile in the ship.

"Pan's plan didn't work. Two are still on our tail." Marron mentioned.

"Yeah, but she took the leader away. We may be able to utilize that to our advantage."

"Now you get smart?"

"My mom's a genius y'know. I'm smarter than I let on."

"Obviously."

Suddenly from the back of the ship, a loud groan was heard.

"Trunks?" Marron and Bra asked each other simultaneously.

"Bra check him." Marron said without even leaving her lock on the main viewscreen.

"Right." Bra answered as she left the cockpit area to check up on her brother.

It had only been seconds between the groan and Bra's arrival, but Trunks was already trying to find his footing.

"Trunks don't!"

Trunks stopped his struggle for a moment to look at his sister.

"I'm naked."

"Yeah, so."

Trunks tried to chuckle, but ended up coughing and hacking instead.

"I told you to stop. You're not well enough to move."

"That's what you think."

"Stop being so damn stubborn. Mom wants you home ALIVE. She'll kick my ass if you die on me."

Trunks said nothing. He continued his attempt at finding his feet. His body was extremely weak, his equilibrium off, and his brain throbbed in agony. With a wobble, he fell back on his ass and growled in stubborn defeat.

"Told you so."

"Shut up."

"Stupid."

"You should speak. Now leave me alone."

"Fine. You're such an idiot Trunks." Bra spat as she stood and stormed back into the cockpit.

"Is he okay?" Marron asked.

"He's able to smart mouth me. He must be getting better. "

"Perhaps he can help us soon, if we're still alive that is?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't hope for much out of him. Is Pan still alive out there?"

"I think so. She flew to our side then behind us so I don't know. I'm a bit preoccupied with the other two bitches right now."

"They haven't fired on us yet."

"I know. That's a good thing."

"Not really. They're waiting for something. Perhaps an order."

"As I said, it's a good thing. Pan's diversion may be working afterall. She's keeping their leader busy enough to distract her from barking orders to her lackeys."

In space...

"Damn bitch, what's she waiting for? She could've shot me several times by now...unless...maybe those capsules aren't armed afterall." Pan muttered to herself as she tried once again to get the saiyan capsule to fire upon her. "Oh c'mon, it's a perfect shot...take it...that is if you can..." Pan taunted eventhough the pilot of the capsule couldn't hear it.

Taree hissed as she saw Pan throw herself into perfect firing range and angle. "She's trying to figure out if I have weapons or not. Smart girl trying to think through the situation...but not smart enough. I'll keep her wondering. It's a much better torture."

"CC Ship do you read? This is Pan."

"CC Ship here. Pan, you're still alive?"

"Duh Bra. Now I'm not here to chat. Have they fired on you yet?"

"You expect us to be hit? We're not that bad y'know."

"I'm just trying to find out of those things have weapons at all."

"No. No firings yet."

"That's funny."

"We figure they're waiting on orders from their leader."

"Their leader hasn't fired on my yet either though."

"Oh hey...Trunks is awake again."

"Really?!"

"Not enough to do much though. Merely just groaning and moaning."

"So don't bother me with such useless information then!"

"Geesh, fine then. Bra out."

"Pan out."

Elsewhere, a lone ship skirted undetected along the fringes of the sector as it observed the skirmish being carried out between the trio of saiyan capsules and the weird octupus like ship. Solid black with no shine to it allowed it to perfectly camouflauge with the deep blackness of space. Its engines were neatly tucked in deep along its bottom rearside and were at the moment, cut off. The ship were merely drifting. No sensors could detect it. But it seemed to have business in the sector however.

Trunks groaned once again. "Ki's bad." he moaned. Even in his weakened, ill state, he could sense the danger that they were all in. Worse yet, he could feel one of the 'friendly' kis outside of the ship. That was not a good thing. He needed to help in some way...if only his body would let him.

Just as Pan made a cutback towards the ship, Taree opened fire. It sliced through the sled's little engine rendering it dead in space. Pan was now drifting with little to no chance to return to the ship. Worse yet, she had less than twenty minutes of air left.

"Shit, okay, so at least one has weapons. Now I know. But crap...how do I get out of this one?!" she whined ot herself as she tried desperately to restart the crippled little sled.

The incident didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

"Pan's down and stranded! We've gotta save her!" Bra exclaimed.

"They have weapons and they are keeping between us and her. We can't save her!"

"We've got to do something!"

The wandering black ship also noticed the little trouble brewing in the battle. Its engines whined to a start as the ship meandered along the flank of the battle still undetected. It was stalking the battle players with keen interest as it were a hunter seeking out the proper prey.

Little was known to Taree or the trio of young ladies in the Capsule Corp ship that their little spat had just become a bit more complicated with the introduction of a new player.

"OPEN FIRE, I REPEAT, OPEN FIRE!" Taree commanded to the other two ships.

Without hesitation, the two saiyan capsules began to shower laser blasts into the helpless Capsule Corp ship. Pan screamed helplessly as she watched her friends take heavy fire.

Taree whizzed by her and joined in the shower of fire, nearly dooming her friends.

"Bra, HELP ME UP NOW!" Trunks yelled as he once again tried to defy the odds his body was throwing at him. They would be dead in less than five minutes if somebody didn't do something and fast.

With no other option, Bra followed her brother's request. Marron knew exactly where he wanted to be. She hit autopilot and helped Trunks into the pilot's chair. With a scream of gnawing pain, Trunks settled in and tried to focus on the task at hand. He switched off the autopilot and slammed the ship's throttle into full gear. He then maximized both thrusters, slamming the two unsuspecting ladies to the ground. They had no time to get strapped into their seats properly.

Pan noticed the sudden launch of her friends. "Uh, whattabout me?" she whispered to herself as the reality of potential death settled in. She would either die by fire from one of the saiyan capsules or from lack of oxygen. Looking at her air meter, she had roughly seven minutes of air left.

Trunks tried twice to arc the ship back around to save the helpless quarter saiyan, but both times the saiyan capsules countered with a rain of blasts and cut off his trajectory with their own ships.

Meanwhile, the black ship loomed ever closer to the stranded rocketsled. Pan never noticed it until it was right upon her.

"NOOOOO!" she screamed as she looked at the ship's laser blasters were beginning to ignite.

Trunks felt the spike of fear in Pan's ki and shot the ship into a sharp turn. His fuzzy eyesight could barely makeout a strange shadow looming right above his panicked friend.

"Shit, what the fuck is that?" Trunks muttered as he tried once again to close in on the stranded rocket sled. But to no avail. The saiyan capsules once again, intercepted his ship with a rain of heavy fire. He had to turn the ship away once again.

The black ship suddenly launched a flurry of laser blasts. Pan ducked in fear that they were intended for her. Once she realized they had shot above her, she looked. Just as the saiyan capsules blocked the Capsule Corp ship from rescuing her, the laser blasts met their mark. Two of the saiyan capsules exploded immediately while Taree's lurched sideways, now crippled.

"Wha?" Pan muttered then screamed once again as a tractor beam locked onto her and the sled and sent them upwards towards the strange black ship.

Trunks saw the enemy blips disappear from view within several explosive bursts. He turned the ship back towards Pan and the strange ship looming above her. Throttling down he slowed his ship to a near stop.

"What are you doing Trunks?! That ship's got Pan!" Bra yelled.

"That ship just ended the battle...allowing US to win."

"So, it's GOT PAN!"

"Pan was nearly out of air. It SAVED Pan."

"And...?!"

"And I recognize it. It's my design."

"WHAT!?" both Marron and Bra exclaimed together.

to be continued...

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