[Once again, the music video above was made by Kin Rin (and it's a really pretty one, I think. The clips are from Mirror's Edge so you know it has to be stunning).]

Our ship was slowly inching its way into one of the ports when the pilot started muttering to himself, flipping a few switches with no response. "The station's oddly quiet," he informed us just in case we were curious. Then he added the frightening words: "Too quiet."

"Huh." I was considering probing for more information but jumped when I heard a loud thump to my left. The sound came from Maddox, who was loading a machine gun of some kind. The other two were doing the same, which made me feel left out since I'd only brought a tiny pistol just in case I needed to use it.

"If something's happened to Mr. Hacket then we need to make sure he's alive. Otherwise we'll never get paid," Jala informed us as she took a few cautious steps toward the ship's exit. "I'll head out first."

I watched as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, impatient for the vehicle to land. They really saw Derek as nothing more than a money machine, didn't they?

"When you get inside, Hacket's AI will direct you," the pilot continued. "Just make sure to—"

The ship suddenly hit the ground midsentence and started screeching across the ground, the sound of metal scraping metal killing my ears. I barely had time to spot Jala jump off before the front of the ship collided with the end of the room and we were sent flying. I barely managed to avoid hitting my head on the hard floor, letting my arm take the blow instead which didn't feel much better.

As I sat on the floor, trying to pull my bruised body up, I heard an explosion behind me and turned to see the ship go up in flames. If the blow hadn't killed the pilot then the explosion definitely did.

"That hurt," I stated obviously as I got to my feet, still feeling a bit wobbly, and looked to see how the other three were doing. Not surprisingly, they were already armed and headed toward the nearest door.

"Welcome, hired mercenaries." Di's voice echoed inside my ear and I immediately sagged in relief. It was nice to hear a familiar voice. "Your employer is in trouble and needs your help. Please proceed to the door on your right."

I hurried to catch up with the others and drew my pistol. I'd been unsure about using a gun before but now I was too nervous not to. I took my position behind Maddox and followed the girls into the long, metal hallway looming before us.

"I have taken the liberty of locking all the doors except the ones you need to enter," Di told each of us over the speakers and in our ear pieces just in case the speakers were broken. "Please make haste. If you allow Derek Hacket to die he will withdraw your pay checks."

I laughed as we ran through the opened doors. Even Di was talking about cash.

As we traveled through the maze of completely empty hallways, which struck me as a little odd, I touched my earpiece and spoke quietly so none but Maddox could hear since he was right next to me but couldn't care less.

"Hi, Di. How are you?"

"I am doing fine," the computer informed me, not sounding excited about our reunion at all. "This is your first time on the moon station since Derek Hacket's promotion."

"Yup. How is he?"

"Surrounded."

"By what?"

"I do not know. For some reason I've lost control of all systems and security cameras within range of him."

If Di didn't even know what was going on then there was cause for alarm. "Di, why is the rest of the station completely empty?"

The computer paused, as though calculating how my reaction would affect the mission. Little did she know I already knew the answer. "You need to focus on locating Derek Hacket first."

Aw. She didn't trust me. "Okay, fine."

"I will end the conversation now."

The closer we got to our destination, the louder the sounds around us became. As we headed through the space station, a loud clicking and croaking mixed with mechanical booms kept echoing through the halls and it was sending chills down my spine. Even though I knew what was coming I still felt shivers climb up and down my pumping legs.

Maddox seemed to be listening to the sound too, though he was more focused on deciphering it than fearing it. I felt super relieved to have him next to me rather than those trigger happy girls.

It took a while but we eventually reached the origin of the sound.

As the four of us entered a large, empty room which only served as the entrance to yet another room, we found the answer to all our questions. The huge, steel door between us and that room was currently surrounded by five mysterious beings.

These creatures were surrounded by a bright blue mist and had glowing, white skin. Their bodies resembled those of women and had long, sapphire hair that served to cover their bodies, floating around them like rivulets of water. Their eyes were far larger than those of a human and the pupils were completely white, giving their faces an aura of death.

All four of us froze in the doorway when we saw them, raising our weapons but hesitant to fire. As we stared at them, watching them run their fingers over the doorway and lean over the body of a collapsed man, I started to worry that my heart might be loud enough for them to hear it.

The man lying on the ground in the fetal position was whimpering and had his eyes covered so he couldn't see the creatures standing above him.

"Should we wait?" Jala asked, glancing my way, her pistol already aimed at the nearest head. "That man's probably done for."

I shook my head. "If we hesitate they'll swallow his head whole and rip it from his shoulders," I whispered with a shudder, remembering how much that scene had traumatized me when I first saw it.

"Okay." Jala shrugged and fired, her bullet taking out a chunk of the first creature's head and sending it onto the floor. The creature made some sort snort sound before getting back up and turning toward us. It opened its mouth wide and the mechanical clicking got louder before being drowned out by our gunfire.

Both Jala and Maddox easily ran out of bullets and, almost in unison, dropped their empty guns and pulled out long swords. Jala's looked more ancient and had a dragon carved into the hilt while Maddox's was plain and thick. Without a moment of hesitation they ran into the midst of the monsters and started cutting their bodies in two, slicing off their glowing limbs.

I chose to stay in the doorway and continue shooting, which was a good thing and a bad thing. It kept me safe but my aim with a gun wasn't the best. I'd been practicing over the last couple years but only managed to hit my target fifty percent of the time. I had hoped it was an unnoticeable flaw but based on the looks Zora kept sending me, my amateur shooting was quite obvious.

Once all but one of the creatures were on the ground, shot to bits, Maddox called dibs on the final one and sliced his sword through its middle, cutting it in half before kicking its remains across the room. The masked man then cleaned his sword with his arm and returned it to his back before stepping away from the hostage we'd rescued.

The weeping man continued to cover his head and might have stayed there forever if Zora hadn't nudged him with her foot.

"Hey! Get up or we leave you behind," Jala told him before examining the door the monsters had been trying to get through. As soon as she pressed her hand against its cold surface, the AI opened it for her.

As I joined the others, Maddox leaned toward the floor and examined one of the dead bodies. "What are these?" he asked, looking to us for answers.

"They are an alien lifeform native to the depths of the moon," Di informed us from the speakers above our heads. "They snuck aboard one of the drills and have spent the last five days eating 80% of the crew."

"What's a drill?" I asked, wanting more context.

"Mr. John Philips has been trying to drill into the moon's core for six months in the hopes of finding something valuable. Two months ago he discovered a—"

"Don't tell them anything!" the coward on the floor suddenly yelled, leaping to his feet and pointing at the ceiling as though that would somehow stop Di. "That is top secret information."

As soon as I realized who the guy was, I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. This man we'd just saved was John Philips, Derek's jerk of a boss. If I'd known it was him I might have considered letting him get eaten...Just kidding.

"Where's Derek Hacket?" Jala asked him expressionlessly, not caring who he was as he wasn't her source of income.

The middle aged man tried to brush off his rumpled, black suit and put his broken glasses back on the tip of his nose. I couldn't believe he hadn't invested in some better specs in ten years' time. "Last I saw him he was running off to the main control center. He's probably dead by now. That's where all the aliens are." He glanced at me, had a moment of realization about who I was, then frowned. "They're way smarter than they look. They might even try to land on Manica if you don't stop them."

"Then it's a good thing he hired us to come and help," Zora commented coldly as she stalked past him and stepped through the door. "And that we ignored your calls telling us not to accept the mission."

"Yes, well..." He scratched his head nervously, looking to me for help and receiving none. "I didn't want to place such important information in the hands of blood thirsty mercenaries."

"We definitely should have let him die," Jala whispered my way before continuing through the room toward our new destination.

I couldn't help but nod as we turned our walk into a run. If Derek was in trouble we had to hurry. There was a lot more than money at stake now.

A/N Thanks for reading. It makes my day. Also, let me know what you think of the new characters. Any favorites? (Or ones you don't like?)