Cap'n Zaf rolled over and snored. Soft beeps echoed off the edges of the cockpit.

"Bleeeeeeeep!!!!" A loud sound screamed through the cockpit. Zaf spasmed, sending a cup of coffee flying. "Wha? What happpened?!" Frinesi, Zaf's trust robot sidekick and co-pilot, came out of sleep mode and ended the noise. "Captain, Nav system indicates we have reached the Ivaragega system." Lines of light sped past the canopy.

Zaf blinked and squinted. "Take us out of hyperactive." The lines of light slowed down and disappeared, pulling back into a sparse asteroid field. Zaf placed his hands on the controls. "Let's see what's going on here, Nes." Frinesi beeped and activated the point-defense cannons, in case an unfriendly missile, or asteroid came their way.

They neared Ivarageva. The massive hulks of over 40 Federation Advance cruisers clustered around the small planet. Small ships swarmed to and fro between the planet and the cruisers, obviously landing craft. Zaf looked on the radar and raised his eyebrows at the IFF frequencies of NTA cruisers, two of them. "Let's steer clear, Nes. Activate the stealth jammers." A beep, and a greenish field blinked on around the Lurid Blue. The Fed cruisers now couldn't detect the relatively small ship without sophisticated PCS-made equipment. The Stealth Jammer was used only by the Space Rangers, though the Blue could still be picked up by visuals. The ranger figured nobody used visuals anyway. Zaf steered toward the planet's dark side.

Entering the atmosphere, the clouds gave way to a huge city. Flying over it, Zaf noticed no aircars at all. It was deserted. "Sensors are picking up no human activity within fifty kilometers," said Frinesi. "Probably evacuated, or captured." decided Zaf. "Sensors also detect heavy concentrations of Federation Advance ground units in this area." He landed the ship a few miles out of the city. Frinesi activated the defense cannons, to keep anyone curious away, at least on foot. The Lurid Blue was classified as a "Light Destroyer" by the Star Rangers, but Zaf thought better of it. Besides, he'd made it with his own two hands.

Zaf climbed down the ladder to the ground, his Freem rifle strapped to his back and a silenced Frap blaster on his belt strap. Frinesi carried only a small blaster. Zaf watched as Frinesi simply hovered down, even though the droid was made to walk. They headed toward the outskirts of the city.

Soon they found themselves in the dense downtown area of the city. The ranger found that although nobody was in the city, the utilities still worked. The city must've been taken relatively peacefully, as there was no destruction or any rubble. They wandered into the tallest tower and found a lift. Zaf called it, and when it arrived he and Frinesi stepped into it. Its doors swooshed shut behind them, there was a jolt, and the lift shot into the air.

"Captain, why are we even here?" Frinesi asked after about five seconds. Zaf wasn't really used to his droid asking questions. Usually Zaf asked her(yes, Zaf made Frinesi a female, if that made any difference at all) the questions. "Well, we're here to get first-hand evidence whether the Terrans need PCS assistance at all. The rebellion has jammed all broadcasts and destroyed any news ship that headed here, so basically PCS has no way of knowing anything." Zaf breathed. "NTA is not registered as an ally of PCS, Captain." Zaf looked at the ceiling and sighed. "Yeah, I don't know why we're here either. But the Star Rangers keep the peace, and we're here to do just that."

"Rebellions are completely legitimate," said the droid. "I know," said Zaf. "In fact, I barely care about any of the business of NTA or the so-called rebellion. PCS is busy enough with Evil as it is. I don't really think the rebellion is doing anything wrong. But hey, we're on leave. We'll alert HQ if anything's fishy though."

"Confirmed." said the droid. Zaf shifted his weight slightly as the elevator sped up the side of the building. Far too many conversations(more appropriately, monologues) had ended with that statement. There was a ping, and the lift slowed down quickly. Instinctively, he checked his blaster in its holster, and switched it to stun as he drew it. The lift stopped, and the doors swooshed open. They stepped out into a huge atrium, with the roof raised high over their heads. Light streamed in through the glass and Zaf was blinded for a moment. 

A moment, because it immediately became dark as he was clubbed across the head. He fell to the ground.