Laughlin' sat in the dropship, surrounded by multiple IMC guards, weapons trained at her. They had expected her to be loudmouthed and angry, as most militia pilots were, but she was dead quiet. Beneath her helmet, Laughlin's eyes were closed, her eyebrows knotted in anger. How could Whip betray them like that? They had fought together for so many battles, just to be turned on? Loyalty obviously meant nothing to the former Hunter member. While she had been smart enough to surrender, Jack had had his arm broken in a fist fight with Whip.

"Hey, pilot! How's it feel to be betrayed?" asked one of the IMC soldiers cackling.

"Not the first time."

"That should say something then, eh? You bastard pirates are nothing but scum in the way of what is rightfully the core region's."

"Do you always give exposition to prisoners? Or are you just assuming that I don't know the reason why I'm fighting?"

The IMC grunt shut up. The dropship quickly landed, and the two pilots were ushered out. Another dropship had landed not too far inside the Andromeda's hangar. Only one pilot came out of this one, on a stretched. It was Jules. Hopefully Ranger had escaped.

Behind Jules was Whip and Blisk, talking to one another as if they were old friends. They undid their masks, and looked straight at Laughlin' and Jack.

"Where's Ranger?" asked Laughlin', and Whip laughed loudly.

"I killed him. I shot him through his fucking sim-head. I couldn't stand the bastard," Said Whip, before looking at her gun. "And I plan on making sure you share the same fate."

"Fuck you, the Militia will have you torn in half. They still have your titan!"

"I have the memory core, bitch. The IMC pays better, always have, always will. I don't care about this fight, only the money it pays," Said Whip, smiling. "Have fun inside the Andromeda, Laughlin'. I'm off to make sure the 6-4 bite the bullet."

Whip put her helmet back on, and walked back onto the drop ship, and Laughlin' grit her teeth. She was the only one of the hunters left.

"Send Jules and Cooper off to the med bay. I want to have a word with this one," Said Blisk, and the IMC hauled the two pilots towards the innards of the Andromeda. Blisk approached Laughlin' silently, before undoing her cuffs.

"Name's Kuben Blisk," Blisk said, holding out a hand. "Good to see you back, Pilot."

"Wait, wha-"

Blisk took her hand, and shook it violently. "Follow my lead, eh? I've got a proposition."

Laughlin' nodded, and pulled off her helmet. "Good to see you, sir."

"Walk with me, yeah? We'll negotiate your contract."

Laughlin' nodded, and the two set off towards the bridge of the ship. Laughlin' was nervous. She knew what type of man Blisk was, but he hadn't dug his knife into Laughlin's chest yet, so maybe something would come of this.

"I heard that you're close with Whip, yes? Part of the same merc group?" asked Blisk, walking briskly.

"Was."

"Right, well, I have an idea that could get you out of this pickle that you seem to be in," Said Blisk, smiling. "I'll give you a quarter of the dosh I'm getting for those two idiots in the med-bay, if you come under my wing, and kill that bitch of a pilot."

Laughlin' stopped. One minute she was fighting alongside Whip and against Blisk, and now he was asking for things to be changed. She expected the price on Jules and Cooper's head to be quite high, and a quarter of that would set her up for life. "Why are you offering me this."

"You're not my enemy…uh.."

"Laughlin'."

"Laughlin'. You're not my enemy. You and I are of the same breed: Mercenaries. This isn't our war, and while you may have a bit of a grudge against the IMC, you still fight in it because it makes you money, yeh? Now that your little group of soldiers has been torn apart, I'm giving you the option to make sure you don't end up in a brig for the rest of your life."

"What's the price on Cooper and Jules' heads?"

"40,000 for Julius Carper, 100,000 for Jack Cooper. Dead or Alive."

"I don't want a quarter. I want them alive."

Blisk raised an eyebrow. "Why, so they can get out on the battlefield and fight again? I don't think so."

"I didn't say out in the field. I just don't want them to be executed."

"I suppose the militia is good at jailbreaks. Fine, they'll stay alive, for now. As soon as you get rid of Whip, I'll get my money, and everything will be lekker, yeh?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Good, now here's your cover story. You were a deep cover Apex Predator asset working alongside Whip as IMC splinter agents. However, because Whip killed Ranger, who you grew close to, you kill her, as she is also working for the militia full time now. Sounds good?"

"Whatever."

"That's what I like to hear. Your weapons and gear are still on the dropship, I suppose. I'll give the go ahead to the grunts to let you get out of here, as you're now my 'asset', eh?"

"Whatever."

"Go get 'em then. Also, connect to my radio comm, eh? It's 22-087."

Laughlin' quickly input the numbers into her helmet radio, and it connected almost immediately. "Good feed?"

"Good feed." Laughlin' walked towards the dropship, Blisk in tow.

"Alright, which one of you idiots forgot she was one of my soldiers, eh?" asked Blisk, and the grunts shrugged.

"That other pilot was the one who detained her, sir."

"Shut the fuck up!" shouted Blisk, before shaking his head. "Follow that other dropship that just left, and make sure that you NEVER try and detain my pilot again!"

"Yes sir!" shouted the grunts, before piling onto the ship. Laughlin' followed, grabbing her G2 off the wall, and a P2016 from one of the grunts. She then watched as they lifted off, flying into the planets atmosphere. Her helmet suctioned tight, and they sped off after the other dropship.

It seemed almost instant before the ship touched down, and Laughlin' hopped off, racking the bolt on her rifle. She looked at the ground, and sighed, before activating her tactical ability, causing the boosters on her legs and shoulders to activate. She looked around, before hearing gunfire. She quickly boosted into the air, and dashed through, her reinforced jump kit allowing her to boost around in mid air. She quickly crested a small hill, where she saw where the gunfight was happening. She thought it would be the 6-4 and Whip, but it wasn't.

Instead, there was a phase-shift simulacrum fighting an entire squad of grunts, and Whip at the same time.

"Holy shit, talk about an ace on the ground. It's either that, or he's self aware and doesn't give a shit if he dies," Said Laughlin' to herself.

He might have been both, with the way he moved. He would wall run, phase shift, drop grenades as he reentered reality, then phase shifted again. Within moments, most of the grunts were dead. He came out of the phase shift, and clotheslined a grunt, and knocked him over, then pile drived him. Whip fired at him with her wingman, but couldn't hit her mark. It wasn't often Whip had problems with other pilots, but she supposed this was one of those times. Suddenly, Whip looked up, and grappled to an adjacent ledge from where Laughlin' was.

Laughlin' quickly boosted towards Whip, and delivered a full fledged kick to Whip's spine. If it wasn't for her reinforced spine, Whip would have cracked in half. She went flying through the air, before grapple hooking to the sim, and delivering a kick to his mid section. He went flying, and hit the ground with a thud. Laughlin' assumed that he had shut down, until she saw his LED still on. Whip hit the ground, and reloaded her wingman elite, and fired at Laughlin' who was boosting through the air, firing her G2 wildly at her former comrade. They both ran out of ammo, and Laughlin' landed about 20 feet away from Whip. They stared at one another, circling one another. The sim-pilot got to his feet, and nodded at Laughlin', who returned the nod.

"Not sure how you escaped the IMC, but at least now I get the chance to kill you myself," Said Whip, cracking her neck. "Do you even know what it was like, living in your shadow?"

"Oh for fucks sakes, the only reason Ranger liked me more is because I wasn't an insufferable rich brat."

"Fuck you! I've always been the better pilot, always will be! And I'll prove it right now!" shouted Whip, before drawing her backup pistol, and leveling it at Laughlin's head. She put pressure on the trigger, and the gun reported.

Then it all went white.

Julius sat up, his leg fully repaired. Cooper's arm had been rebroken and sealed, making it fully healed. They were chained to their beds, silent, as the IMC doctors filled out some papers.

"Well, this sucks."

"Cooper, please, shut up."

"Sorry."

Julius sighed lightly, before Blisk walked in, swinging a knife inbetween his fingers. "Hello boys, how are things?"

"Fuck off."

"Hey mate, it was just a friendly question."

"If I ever get out of these cuffs, I'm going to snap your neck," Cooper said, and Blisk sighed.

"Pity, you'd make such a great soldier under my wing. Laughlin' has already done so, though it was to save your hides."

"What?!" shouted Julius, lunging forward. Blisk looked back at the doctors, who quickly left the room. Blisk simply smiled at Julius.

"I made her an offer. She's off killing Whip, and in return, you boys are allowed to live. I still get my dosh, eh?"

"I'd rather be executed than imprisoned," said Cooper, and Blisk smiled.

"Who said anything about prison? As soon as I get my money, Marder is probably going to wipe your mind, put your consciousness into a sim-body, and you'll fight for him. That is, unless you want to hear my offer."

"Last time I took your offer, I ended up killing civilians," Said Jules, and Blisk nodded, pursing his lips.

"Aye, that's the truth. And I took two bullets to the chest, and lost all my best pilots. Which is why I'm reluctant to give you my offer," Said Blisk, before shaking his head. "But lets put the past behind us. The only reason both of you are in one piece is because I put a little cash in the boys in the white coats pockets'."

"Why?"

"You're no good to anyone dead, or imprisoned for that matter. Excellent pilots such as yourself should not be wasted for fighting for what you believe in. Sure, I can't simply release you into the wild, but I can make a deal with Marder that would put you under my employment."

"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Jules said, and Blisk shrugged, walking towards the exit.

"Enjoy your time as a sim-pilot then," Said Blisk, and Cooper gritted his teeth.

"Wait! Wait… let us think on it. I need to have a talk with Julius, before we give you a final answer," Cooper said, and Blisk smiled.

"I'll be back in an hour, then," Said Blisk, walking out. "Have a good talk, boys. I hope you see things my way, yeh?"

Julius turned back to Cooper, glaring at him. "You can't be serious."

"No, I'm not. But we need to stall. I activated my S.O.S. beacon when I was fighting Whip, so every other pilot on the ground knows our position. We just need to wait until they get here."

"Coop, you do realize that no one is coming, right? It would be a suicide mission to take on the Andromeda, pilot or not. Even if we had an army, this place's defenses would tear them to shreds. Only way we would get out is if we had someone on the…" Julius faltered for a moment.

"On the what?"

"On the inside…." Julius thought for a moment, and then nodded. "If we play our cards right, talk to Laughlin'… we could get out of here."

"That's implying Laughlin' will even come back," Said Cooper. "She might be dead."

"Doubt it. She'll come back for us. I know she will," Said Julius, before cracking his neck. "Besides, I'm sure with the help of the 6-4, Whip is done for."

"I sure hope so, because otherwise, we're fucked."

"Thanks," said Laughlin', and the sim-pilot nodded. "How did you do that?"

"I shifted us both. You might feel a bit queasy for a bit, but you should be good," said the sim-pilot, wincing at the sound of bullets flying over his head. "I'm John, by the way. John Breaker."

"Laughlin'. Nice to meet you," Said Laughlin', and John reached for his sim-pad.

"Going to call in my titan," Said John, and Laughlin' shook her head.

"You do that, and we're fucked. I'm under-cover right now in the IMC, and if they detect me near a militia titanfall, they'll blow my brains out as soon as I get back to the Andromeda."

"Fair. So what do we do with this bitch?" asked John, and Laughlin' stopped for a moment, thinking.

"Can you phase shift in close? Distract her while she's engaging me?" asked Laughlin', and John nodded.

"Can do. Anything else?"

"Let me kill her."

"Gotcha. We'll send this bitch back to wherever the fuck she came from," Said John, before phase shifting away. Laughlin' jumped out of the cover, boosting quickly from cover to cover. Every time Whip almost got a shot off at her, John would fly out of god knows where, and deliver a menacing punch. Even when Whip would compensate for his attacks, he always had the drop on her. Meanwhile, Laughlin' kept on boosting towards Whip, getting in very close. Whip grappled away, but John flew out of his phase, grabbing the rope, and swinging Whip straight into the sky, and back down onto the ground. A crack was heard, and Whip groaned, getting up. Her jump-kit had been broken, as well as her grapple gear. She looked around, just in time to see Laughlin' sprint towards her, knife in hand.

Whip countered, pushing the stabbing hand of Laughlin' upwards, and delivering a punch to Laughlin's ribcage. Laughlin' recoiled, and jumped away, as John came around with the rest of Whip's grapple-rope, and wrapped it around Whip's neck. Whip spun herself out of the grab, and swiped John's legs out from under him. Before she could curb stomp the sim pilot, he phase shifted, and Laughlin' flew back at Whip, driving the blade into Whip's spine. Whip buckled, and hit the ground, screeching in pain, her legs completely devoid of any control.

"Well, well, Whip. Whose the better pilot now?" Asked Laughlin', rolling Whip over.

"That's not fair! There were two of you!" shouted Whip, and Laughlin' chuckled, tossing the knife in her hand.

"All is fair in love and war, my dear. Now the question is, how will I kill you?"

"You won't kill me… you don't like killing!" shouted Whip, hyperventilating. "Remember all the times you and I had! When we were the Hunters! Remember our rally call! 'We are the Hunters!' Don't you remember! Please remember!"

Laughlin' could hear Whip's hyperventilating turn into sobs. "I just don't want to die… please don't kill me…please… I just… I just want to see my parents again."

Laughlin' just stared down at Whip, her eyes sorrow less. Whip continued to cry, sobbing violently. John stood beside Laughlin', looking at her.

"Mama….Mama please wake me up…I don't wanna die…please…mama…" Whip's sobbing continued, and Laughlin' sighed.

"Yeah, I remember the times we were The Hunters," Said Laughlin', sparking a glimmer of hope in Whip.

"Really?"

"Yeah…" Said Laughlin', turning around. She quietly activated her advanced jump kit, the engines spurring up. "But times have changed."

"N-No… We can go back to being the hunters!" Shouted Whip. "Us! Together!"

"No, we can't," Said Laughlin', her knee braces connecting the ground below her. "I'm the hunter, now."

Laughlin's advanced boosters fired, sending a massive shockwave of pure heat at Whip's body. Whip screamed in agony, as her suit melted into her body, flames buffeting all around her. Laughlin' amped up the power on her jump-kit, drowning out the screams, as the jets were so powerful they literally tore off Whip's head, melting it as it hit the ground. The jets subsided, and Laughlin' released her knee braces, sighing. She then turned to John, cracking her neck.

"Now that we got that out of the way… you wanna break some pilots out of jail?" asked Laughlin', and John laughed.

"I… I have other mission goals, Laughlin'… I'd love to, but…"

"C'mon, it'll be fun! Lots of explosions, high chance of dying! Hey, we might even run into General Marder himself! Or even Kuben Blisk!"

John sighed, and looked around. "Briggs, this is Breaker, over?"

"Go ahead Breaker."

"I've got a Militia pilot by the name of Laughlin' here who says she can get two detained pilots out of the Andromeda," Said John.

"Laughlin', do you copy?"

Laughlin' quickly changed the channel from Blisk to Briggs. "I copy."

"If you can get Cooper and Jules out of the Andromeda, do so. But if there isn't a high chance, leave it. Link with the 6-4, and continue with the mission of scouting. We've got good intel that there may be a possible fold weapon on the planet, of an even more powerful variant than the one on Typhon. We need to make sure that the IMC don't get their hands on it, how copy?"

"Hard copy Briggs. I can get them out," Said Laughlin', smiling.

"Bring our boys home, Valentina. Out."

Laughlin' turned towards John, and smiled. "How do you feel like being my prisoner."

John groaned. "Oh, for fuck's sakes…"