The next morning found Lance all suited up for his mission. His new armour glinted dully in the dim lights, its shine visible even in the low light level. He strapped a gun to his back- it was small, collapsible, and easily hidden under his backpack, which was laden with all the supplies he would need for his first resistance mission.

All in all, it made for a rather impressive image, and Lance was definitely giving off the "don't mess with me or I'll gut you" impression.

Well at least he would have been, if he wasn't hunched in the med bay trying not to cry as Kelaan strapped two of the fingers on his left hand together, one of them broken from where he had smacked the kitchen table with it.

"Stop whining, Paladin Lance, you have had far worse injuries I'm sure." Kelaan said, staring pointedly at his still wrapped ankle, before jabbing a needle of what Lance thought was probably pain killer of some kind into his arm. It was quite obvious that Kelaan did not approve of his assignment.

"I need my fingers for finger guns!" Lance sniffled, whimpering as Kelaan wrapped another layer of tape around them. Not to mention that he definitely needed his fingers to fire a real gun.

Lance was thankful that he'd smacked the table with his left hand. Shooting like this would have been extremely painful. Also inaccurate.

Kelaan rolled her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips as she whacked him upside the head. Lance shrieked, attempting to stop his fall without further injuring his ankle. It didn't work, and Lance scowled up at Kelaan, who was doing her best to not laugh at him.

Lance grinned, grabbing her hand and allowing her to haul him to his feet.

"Careful now, or I'll become a full time member of the leggy squad!" Lance joked, steadying himself with the wall.

"Leggy squad? Do you perhaps mean Rolo, Matthew and Rosaline?" Kelaan asked, amusement radiating from her eyes, and her horn, which was glowing a dull shade of yellow.

"Er well, I- um" Lance stammered, trying to cover up his mistake.

"It is a fitting title." Kelaan mused, smiling gently as she stepped aside, arranging a few papers. Lance's dismissal was clear, and he grinned, heading for the exit.

"Bye Kelaan, see you later!" Lance chuckled, stepping out the door.

"I should hope not!" She called back, causing Lance to grin once more.

As the door closed, Kelaan's smile dropped into a frown. She stared down at the papers in front of her, various notes written out in red pen.

Kelaan coughed, wiping a little fleck of purple substance from her mouth as she did so.

Again, she looked down at the papers, these ones blank. She looked at the purple stain on her sleeve with disdain, smiling sadly down at it.

"Perhaps it is time for an apprentice."

Lance crawled forward on his stomach, keeping to the pink undergrowth as he moved to his position.

In the distance he could see Roy, who was in a similar position. She nodded at him before moving her attention below, where Olly stood weaponless, in plain sight of their target.

Lance switched on his communicator, keeping silent as he listened to what was going on below.

Olly was already disguised, having shifted her appearance a little to match the planet's inhabitants. Lance could see her face as she scrunched it up, as if she was concentrating.

All of a sudden, Olly burst into tears, falling to the floor. Lance saw a pained expression cross Roy's face, before it settled back into an expression of complete calm and she focussed back down the scope of her rifle. They needed to focus.

Olly wailed louder, catching the attention of one of the nearby aliens.

Conveniently; the first target.

"What in the universe...?"

Their target stepped closer to Olly, and Lance watched Roy take aim.

He too lifted his gun into position. It was different to his bayard, built more for long distance targets. He'd never used a sniper rifle before, but there was no time to ponder it now.

They had a mission.

Lance watched as Olly spouted some story about being lost and how she couldn't find her father. The target watched on in barely concealed disgust.

Lance frowned at him. The man obviously hated children. Lance saw him glance back to the others on the street, unwittingly leading Lance straight to the second target, the one he was to get while Roy handled the first.

The second target was a man in something that Lance guessed was the alien equivalent of a suit. He wore something shiny around both wrists, some sort of jewel, and had a sneer on his face.

He was leader of an underground slave trading business. And now that his lackey had gotten his attention, he obviously had his eyes on Olly.

Roy had seen him too, and Lance nodded as she motioned first at herself and then at Olly. Continue as planned.

Lance's finger was on the trigger, a hair's breadth from shooting. He blinked slowly. Both eyes open.

He held steady, letting the target move into his sights.

Olly took a step back, acting the part of a scared child as the lackey made to grab her arm. There was a gun shot from Roy's position, and then a second, from his own weapon.

Both targets were dead, within tics of each other. Exactly as what they had planned.

Lance jumped to his feet, ready to complete the second part of the mission.

They may have taken out the main targets, but the boss still had plenty of men hidden throughout the crowd. It was a full crime ring, and even without a leader they were dangerous.

And Olly was right in the thick of it, weaponless.

Defenceless.

It was his job to get her out.

Lance sprinted into the crowd, his gun left behind. This way he could blend in, and Roy would grab his weapon as she headed back for the shuttle.

Besides, he still had a knife tucked crafeully behind his belt, if the situation called for it.

"Aw heck!" Olly shrieked, running back towards Lance.

Roy swore. "If Olly's saying heck, it's bad." she said "Lance, get her out of there now!"

Lance didn't answer, instead ducking under a frazzled alien to reach the centre of the crowd, where Olly had disappeared.

He looked around desperately, a shriek of distress catching his attention as something small and yellow was dragged behind a building.

He ran after it.
As he skidded around he corner, Olly caught sight of him, smiling slightly as he vaulted over another alien to catch up.

Worry and fear was still prominent in her expression, but there was also small furls of something more twisting around her eyes, something that gave Lance the distinct impression that it wasn't her own.

Fearing for her safety, Lance urged himself faster, finally managing to catch up. He took a running start, adrenaline fueling him as he barrelled into the man holding Olly, forcing him to the ground.

Hands found their way to his throat and Lance panicked, pulling out the knife and stabbing the man in the chest. The hands released him, and Lance tried not to think about what he'd just done as he grabbed Olly and began the sprint back to the ship.

This was not doing his ankle any favours. No running huh?
Lance decided that he probably shouldn't tell Kelaan about this.

"I've got Olly!" Lance panted as he pulled said girl along by the wrist, Olly doing her best to run in the strappy shoes she was wearing. They were adorable, but not exactly the most practical.

"Next time I'm wearing boots." She gasped, tripping over her own feet.

"Shuttle's as the drop zone!" Roy's voice was crackling with interference, and Lance assumed it was the sound of the shuttle's engine.

Beside him, Olly's tears were beginning to dry up. Her face returning to that of its normally cheery nature. She smiled up at him, tongue between her teeth in a cheeky grin.

"That went way better than last time!" Olly said, returning to her normal skin tone. She pulled the pigtails out of her hair, letting the waves cascade down her back, flying behind her as they ran for the shuttle. They were within visual range now, Roy leaning on the open door with her rifle resting across her shoulder.

"Don't jinx us," Roy groaned, stepping inside and flopping onto the seat. Lance and Olly ducked in after her, taking their own seats and levelling their breathing, the adrenaline waning.

"What? It did!" She turned bright eyes to her partner, who sighed in resignation.

Lance shook his head. It was again, none of his damn business. To him, the two would always be an enigma, indescribable to anyone but each other.

The sign of a really good team.