Sascha's arm stung as if it were on fire.  She could see that Akfek
was doing some damage to the Paladin with the Earth Slide attack, but that
wasn't enough for her.  He had hurt her!  Her fury rose.  He would pay.
She made a motion with her hand, and millions of diamond-like gems hurled
towards the prostrate knight.  Curiously, they didn't seem to do much
damage.  This, however, only served to enrage her further.  This time, the
spell worked much better, and Cecil screamed as the sharp missiles tore
into the exposed skin of his face and hands. Sascha shrieked with delight
at his pain.  Meanwhile, Akfek had discontinued his own attack.  He had
noticed that the Dragoon was getting up, apparently still able to fight.
Before he could even cast a spell, the blue-clad man jumped into the sky.

     "Damn!"  This was not going as planned. The combat had gone on too
long already. They had wanted to keep this operation a secret...

     At this moment, Kain came screaming out of the sky.  Fortunately,
Akfek disappeared into nothingness just in time, and the jump attack hit
only air.  He hit the ground with a loud thud, and Sascha turned at the
sound. Behind her, Cecil was getting to his feet, his face streaming with
blood.  As she began the motions for a spell that would thoroughly
incapacitate the newly fallen Dragoon, Cecil lifted his sword for a killing
blow.  But he did not have time to strike, as he was hit with yet another
rain of stones.

     'Sascha!'  She heard Akfek's mental projection.  'We are attracting
too much attention!  We must leave, now!  Use Dryad...'

     She was only too willing to comply. Her arm was throbbing, and all
this casting had left her feeling somewhat drained.  She chanted a spell
that put Kain immediately to sleep.  Akfek did likewise for Cecil, although
it seemed to take a little longer.  When it was done, Sascha looked over
the horizon.  She could see people coming in the distance; they would have
to make haste lest they be discovered.  She looked down at the slumbering
Paladin.

     "We will finish this another time," she whispered, then
gave him a kick for good measure before dashing off behind Akfek
for the ship.

*    *    *    *

     Later, Sascha sat in the infirmary at Vector while a field medic
bandaged her arm.  The cut was not deep; it would heal soon, and would
cause her no further pain.  As the doctor worked, she listened to Akfek
speak.

     "The confrontation at Nikeah was one I would rather have avoided," he
was saying, pacing back and forth.  "The people there will now be on their
guard, and those two impertinent knights know of our existence..."

     "But they don't know our identities," put in Sascha, hopping off the
table and rolling her sleeve back down, "and even if they had the slightest
clue where to look for us, they wouldn't be able to penetrate Shade's
cloak."

     "That is true, of course," said Akfek.  "And once those warriors are
gone, looking for us... Nikeah will be defenseless.  All the suspicion in
the world can't save them from us!  Ha ha ha haaaaaa!"

     At this moment, Rokeg Kromm came rushing in, out of breath and visibly
excited about something.

     "Come quickly!" he gasped. "The laboratory... Cid... has something to
show you..."

     Sascha and Akfek looked at each other, then hurried to the laboratory.
When they reached it, they found Cid standing in front of a large object,
which had been covered with tarps.  He was checking things off on a
clipboard, and mumbling to himself.

     "Fan jets... check.  Air brakes... check. - Ah, good!  You're here!"
He clapped his hands in excitement when he noticed his employers' arrival.
"This," he went on, motioning to the covered object, "is possibly the
greatest thing I have ever created!  It combines technology and magic in an
entirely new way!  It will surely smite the Figaran oppressors!"

     "What is it?" asked Sascha.  Akfek eyed the thing skeptically.  Cid
stepped forward, and with a dramatic flourish, unveiled his creation.

     In the large laboratory sat... an airship, unlike any ever built
before.  It was somewhat smaller than Setzer's prize, but looked a hundred
times more powerful.  It was sleek and aerodynamic, and its hull was plated
with a black substance that seemed to suck up all light.  The new ship was
menacing indeed.  It even sported structures that looked somewhat like gun
turrets...  Sascha and Akfek both looked at it in awe. This would be a
welcome, no, _fabulous_, addition to their army.  Across the bow, they
could read the name of their new prize... Defiant.