((Control Center; Fury Planet))

::James's now bare right arm lifted to the door, the armored skin of
his forearm splitting and sliding toward his wrist to reform into a
sort of small bracer. From two side-by-side compartments, a pair of
mirrored devices rose up, extended barrels, and connected together. A
loud whirr accompanied the process, as if heralding the deployment of
his twin-barrel pulse phaser.::

::They'd gotten a message that Robert was in one piece, but James
wouldn't trust it until he saw his old man at the door. With their
hallway clearing measures, using the local ventilation against them,
successful, the Furies hadn't gathered up for another attack. Admiral
McGray's ships were likely proving a good distraction by blowing apart
heating coils in the less densely populated sectors.::

::They'd even found information on Fury brainwashing techniques and
beamed it to the Yorktown via the Rogue. Robert said Janeway could be
trusted, so they were to deliver it to her if the worst happened.::

::Alice unsealed the door, Robert stepping through. His left leg was
dragging. He'd taken some major hits. James stepped outside the
door, seeing a Favored that was trying to get lucky. He fired, the
twin purple pulses taking the Favored down. Robert made it inside,
and Alice shut the door behind him.::

::One the door was resealed, Alice walked over to Robert and wrapped
her arms around him.::

Alice: I'm glad you're okay, Dad.

::Robert grabbed a nearby bulkhead with one hand, his other arm
wrapping around Alice.::

Robert: You too, Alice.

::He could feel the hole in her uniform's shoulder, and detect the
damage beneath it. He looked to Rho, unsteady but working at a
console. The damage to her was plain as day.::

Robert: Are you all all right? What happened?

::Rho paused long enough to look at him. There was a piece of her leg
missing, and a part of her artificial skull was visible, and cracked.
The armor around her leg wound shined, the C-90 stressed so far it
had melted, though the skin around it was back to normal. Concern
came quickly to his face, but a smile from his granddaughter dissuaded
it.::

Rho: Took a bit of a hit. Sorry, Grampa.

James: We're ready to go, here, Dad. Even got the data on Fury
brainwashing ops in Federation space. Beamed it out to the Yorktown.

Robert: All right. Let's do this.

::Robert tapped his comm badge.::

Robert: =/\= Rogue, this is Robert. Land. Now, now, now. =/\=

Tharen: =/\= Understood. =/\=

::Alice had taken a console near Rho. Robert joined them.::

Robert: Give them fifteen seconds, then initiate the jump.

Alice: Got it.

::She held off the count until five, then down to one, then hit the
button. As planned, they activated the planet's faster than light
drive for a short hop deeper into the system. Not straight into the
sun, but far too close. Even as deep as they were, Robert thought he
could feel the place get even hotter.::

Alice: Done. Controls locked under the strongest encryption I can
work up. We're spiraling in… Wait…

::Suddenly, an alarm started to blare throughout the control center.::

Robert: What is it?

Alice: Something's not right… We're going in too fast. We're going
to start burning up in about five minutes.

::Robert reacted by hitting his comm badge.::

Robert: =/\= Rogue, we're ready for extraction. =/\=

Kennedy: =/\= We're en route. ETA three minutes. =/\=

Robert: =/\= It'll be close, but we'll make it. Out. =/\=

::He tapped the badge again.::

James: Let's get this buttoned up and assemble for evac.

::Rho looked back from her console.::

Rho: I already got in touch with the fleet. The Furies are pulling
back, trying to evacuate. Admiral McGray's people and the Yorktown
are safe, waiting for us to join them.

Robert: As it should be.

::The next few minutes were spent making sure there was no way for the
Furies to stop what they'd set into motion, also silencing the alarm
so they could think. Just as they finished, Robert's comm badge
chirped. He tapped it.::

Robert: =/\= Robert. Go. =/\=

Tharen: =/\= Rogue here. In range for transport. =/\=

Robert: =/\= Acknowledged. =/\=

::With that, the four of them gathered together. James moved to
steady Robert while Alice held up Rho.::

Robert: =/\= Energize. =/\=

::Only silence responded...::

::The four Falcons looked between each other. Robert, the comm line
still open, spoke again.::

Robert: =/\= Rogue, what happened? We're still down here. =/\=

Kennedy: =/\= We're not sure, Robert! There's a new source of
interference in the room. We're trying to locate it now. =/\=

::Robert's HUD clicked down its timer. Two minutes remained. His
expression grew grim as he looked at his family. James nodded, Alice
looked downward. Rho just looked scared. Robert nodded to them.
When he spoke again, his voice was much more quiet.::

Robert: =/\= Don't bother. Just get out of here. There's no time. =/\=

Kennedy, Tharen: =/\= What?! =/\=

Robert: =/\= You've got less than two minutes, and this rock's gonna
burn. You need to get out of here now. ::He paused, trying to sum up
so many things into just a few words.:: Thanks for standing beside me
all this time. You've been better friends than I deserved, and the
best I could have ever hoped for. =/\=

Alice: =/\= Same here. =/\=

::James just gave a semi-thoughtful sounding 'hmm.' Rho's voice came
even more quietly than Robert's.::

Rho: =/\= Jiana, I just sent a data packet to the Rogue. Give it to
Lt. Commander Geeva on 118. =/\=

Kennedy: =/\= I will… I pro…. =/\=

::And with that, the comm went to static, then silent. The timer
clicked down to the last minute, the alarms resumed. The Falcons
simply looked between each other. Their mission had succeeded. The
Alpha Quadrant would remain safe from the Furies. But still... It
went without saying, but none of them felt it should have ended this
way. Robert extended an arm, Alice and Rho joining him. James even
joined in the embrace. The timer continued to click down. Fifteen
seconds... Ten... Five...::

::And that was when the world dissolved into blue-white light.::

(( Unknown Location ))

::As the light faded, the four stepped apart. Robert looked around,
trying to determine their location. It looked vaguely familiar...
Like a Starfleet transporter room... But it wasn't the Yorktown.
Maybe one of McGray's ships had managed a lock? Suddenly he heard
it... applause?::

::Robert looked toward the control console. There were a number of
people standing there in what looked like Starfleet uniforms. His
kids didn't seem to be taking chances. Out of the corner of his eye
he could see Alice pull her damaged daughter behind her, her skin
shifting back to gray. Behind him, he could hear the tell-tale whirr
of James deploying his pulse phaser. Robert remained where he was
standing, his systems still too damaged to fight. He sent messages to
his kids, telling them to stand down. But through it all, the
question remained...::

Robert: oO Where the frak are we? Oo

To Be Continued.....

The Falcon Clan
- And -
Crew of the Yorktown