Jada hit the ground and rolled, trying to prevent herself from being injured from the fall. Midroll, she turned her cloaking shield on and then rolled into a standing crouch before scanning the area. She knew no one could see her, but that didn't make being invisible comfortable. She felt like everyone could still see her. It made her nervous.

She scanned the area. Council Leader Vorik's shuttle had disappeared, cloaked from view. She knew they couldn't see her either. She had turned on her own cloaking shield. She needed to get close to Commander Grev's shuttle without being seen or detected. She never thought about detection. She worried that they had some sensors that told them she was there. It was already too late if there were. She had no choice but to press on.

Jada made her way to Commander Grev's shuttle. When she got close, she hid behind a cluster of rocks. Commander Grev was standing in front of his shuttle, peering through binoculars, or at least they were the alien equivalent. He was watching the swarm of fighters shooting at the dome's blast shield. The sound of the blasts could be heard from her location as each one hit the blast shield.

Scanning the shuttle and its protective circle of small fighters, she counted the fighters, trying to determine what to do if they saw her. There were a total of six fighters surrounding Grev's shuttle, all facing away in a different direction, as they surrounded his shuttle in a protective stance. She wondered if any of them were no longer under the influence of the serum. She had to assume all of them were under the influence. It was safer that way.

Jada sniffed the air. She couldn't smell the men in the fighters. The cockpits were closed, and the pilots were still all inside. She couldn't smell through the alien's glass that protected them in space, but still allowed them to see the space around them.

Jada slowly made her way to Commander Grev, scanning the area for sensors. She didn't detect any. She figured he was probably overconfident. Then she remembered his hologram. She hoped what she was seeing wasn't one. She needed that to be really him in the flesh and not a hologram of him. He was a coward, so it still might be a hologram. She hoped not.

Commander Grev was standing alone, relying on the surrounding fighters to protect him. Jada, getting close enough to touch him, lightly brushed her fingers over the fabric of his uniform, checking to see if it was a hologram or not. It was solid. It wasn't a hologram. It was really Commander Grev. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. This could all be over in one shot.

Commander Grev spun around, frantically looking around him. He had felt her touching his uniform. Jada slowly stepped back as quietly as she could, watching Commander Grev closely. She couldn't use her weapons while she was cloaked. She needed to step far enough back to extend her blade. That was the weapon that she was the best at. Aleigha and Niki had taught her how to use it. It was most likely because Carrie had asked them to teach her. Whatever the reason, she was glad they did.

Jada couldn't extend her blade until she was no longer cloaked. She wasn't far enough back, either. She needed more room for the length of her bladed staff. It was long enough to need a bit of room to open and use.

Commander Grev continued to look around him for whatever had touched him. She could tell he couldn't see her. She felt relief but also anticipation. She was about to fight the evil Commander of the Kreq people.

After stepping a few more steps slowly, she was finally far enough away, so she flipped her personal cloaking shield off, materializing near Commander Grev, yet far enough to extend her bladed staff.

Commander Grev, seeing her, immediately pulled out his blaster and shot. She quickly stepped to the side, the blast barely missing her.

Snapping her bladed staff open, she faced Commander Grev. The ominous sound echoed through the area. Commander Grev growled in anger. "Pilot!" he yelled out in anger. It was the only one who could defend him. All of the fighters surrounding him were facing outward, watching for danger.

A man in a pilot's uniform stepped out of the shuttle. His stance was stiff, his face slack.

"Kill her!" Commander Grev ordered the pilot.

The man moved toward her, pulling up his blaster. Jada prepared to move out of the way of the blaster fire. His movements were stiff. She sniffed the air as she moved. She didn't smell the serum.

Just as she realized he wasn't under the influence, he shot his blaster. The blast didn't go toward her; at the last second, he shot toward Commander Grev, hitting him in the chest. As one, Jada and the pilot rushed toward Grev. Jada swung her staff, severing his head from his body.

She looked at the pilot who shot his leader and shrugged. "I'm not taking chances that that psychopath survives," she told him. She knew he probably didn't know what a psychopath was. That was a human mental health term, not a Kreq one.

The pilot stared at her, not saying anything.

She looked at him closely. "Are you going to try to shoot me, too?" she asked, preparing herself just in case.

"Not if you don't try to kill me," he responded. "I flew this shuttle for the family's execution. I saw you kill one of the guards. You challenged Commander Grev, but he wasn't here at the time. I have never seen a female as strong as you."

"That's because the males of your people subdue them. Females are strong; you just have to let them be strong. He didn't like strong females," she said, pointing to the decapitated Grev. "So he made it so they don't even know how strong they are."

The man nodded, understanding.

"How many of those pilots surrounding us are under the influence of the controlling serum?" Jada asked the pilot.

"I don't know. Those of us who are no longer controlled didn't let anyone else know, afraid that they would tell Commander Grev. He would have killed us all, as well as our families."

Jada looked at the body beneath her feet. "I don't think it matters if they know anymore unless his nephew is one of the ones controlling you also."

As soon as she said it, a realization hit her. Commander Grev might not be the only one controlling the Kreq. The reason Dreg wasn't affected by the serum was that he was controlling them also. Jada looked at the pilot. "How many nephews or family members does Commander Grev have?"

The pilot thought about it. "He has one nephew and his son."

"Do you know who they are?" she asked him.

"Yes, why?" he asked, confused. He didn't understand why it mattered. She hadn't told him what she had been thinking.

"Just tell me who they are!" she shot back. She needed to find out so she could warn those inside the dome.

The pilot frowned. "Dreg is his nephew, and Tran is his son."

"Shit!" she looked at the pilot. "Tran, who was detained?" she asked.

"Yes," the pilot stated, still confused.

"Any chance you will fly me to the dome? This battle won't end until the other two are dead, too," she told him.

The pilot turned around and headed for the shuttle. Jada followed him inside. He closed the door and sat in the cockpit. After starting his fight sequence, the shuttle rose into the air, and he flew closer toward the dome. The six fighters followed, still surrounding the shuttle protectively. When they reached the dome, he landed near the East Gate.

"I don't know if any of the pilots around this shuttle will try to kill you or not. I don't know who is for Commander Grev and who isn't," he warned her.

"Just open the door. They won't see me," she told him, then flipped the cloaking shield on, disappearing from his view. He gasped in shock, scanning the shuttle's small cabin, not seeing her.

She ran out of the shuttle and headed for the East Gate. Seeran was there, looking up at the swarm of fighters.

"Seeran!" she called as loudly as she could, trying to get his attention.

Seeran looked down, scanning the ground, not seeing her.

She knew he wouldn't. She continued yelling. "Dreg and Tran are family to Grev. Tran is his son. Dreg is his nephew. They are why the Kreq men are still under the serum. Grev is dead, making one of them the next leader. The Kreq are still under the influence!" she called up at him.

"Where are you!" Seeran called down, still scanning the area, trying to find her.

"I'm cloaked. Don't open the dome. Don't risk those fighters firing their cannons when it's open. You need to do something about Tran and Dreg!" she called back.

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