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((I agree, we'll have to ignore at least Killa's last post.))

Mon-Ama nodded.

"I don't mean to sound like a coward," she said in Grutian with a thick Geam accent, "but I'm a battleship doctor, not a warrior. I'll stay here and when this lump wakes " - she nudged the fully patached bounty-hunter - " I'll restrain him ... and interrigate him. That was my secondary job in the Royal Navy."

She looked at the rest, Chris, Kara and Cheoro, with a heated look, as if she were daring them to challenge her.


Rio was brought back to conciousness by a kick in his ribs. He laid there for a second, trying to remember how he ended up in this situation. Then he was kicked again, this time across the head. The force of it flipped him over on the ground.

He was ready for the third kick and grabbed his attacker's naked ankle - but when he wrenched away a pain shot up Rio's arm and he felt as if his shoulder had torn all its seams. The pain was so intense that he had no defense for the retailiation.

Before he could be hit a fourth time, Rio rolled backwards and on his left shoulder to his feet and placed himself in a Shien Grutain ready stance - and recieved a blow to the face before he could fully stand.

He staggered back and quickly make a blind defense to another punch - and was rewarded with a foot in his stomach. He hit the deck again, swearing.

Then his attacker spoke.

"I have to hand it to you. I'm surprised your brother was stupid enough to jump on the Septra with this moron at the control yokes."

Brother? Rio thought dimly. After another few seconds of bleeding on the concret floor Rio's brain moved into action and he reasoned that he could not possible be talking to him. He must be talking to Chris's brother.

"Yes, my brother can be very trusting. I fooled him most of our lives after all."

What language were they speaking? Everything seemed to translate automaticly in Rio's mind. He was still disorintated.

"Of course this b*****d is even more gullible, aren't you?"

The man, who Rio could barely make out in the blue tinged lighting, grabbed a fistful of Rio's black hair and yank him to his feet with his neck fully exposed.

"Now, because you were stupid enough to follow your pal's orders, were going to use you to get to the rest of your friends."

"They've ... left planet," said Rio dimly, still unsure of what language they were all speaking. Three voices laughed.

"No, not my dear brother and those other two gits," said the second voice mockingly. "We are talking about your friends from before. The ones you split up with a year before and are planning to meet again in two more years. Kerry Morrie. Hiro Black. Cinel, the seventh. And, oh yes, the infamous Priestist Temptest ... the sixteenth."

"We hear he's quite a fighter," said the first man, finally letting go of Rio's hair. "Makes it even more of a b***h that we need to capture him."

Rio couldn't help but snort, which he managed to turn into a bloody sneeze. Thin blood splattered on the ground. He knew very well that capturing Priestist was the definition of impossible.

However he was interested in a few other things.

"H-How long have I been out?"

"About fifteen minutes give or take," replied Chris's brother. "We're not far from where I paralised you, but my brother will never find us down here."

That's something, Rio thought. I'm underground.

Rio nodded, his head bobbing farther than his intent. There was a whoosh of air and a smashing noise. Rio fell back, his nose broken and bleeding freely.

He dodged out of the way of the kick and stood as quickly as he could - but the parallis had its side effects. His attacker's foot made contact with his right shoulder. Pain like a bomb exploded in his head. When it subsided he found himself on the ground again.

"Ano," said a much more mature voice. "Do not get carried away."

Ano, who Rio supposed was his opponet, only replied, "This is fun."

Rio struggled to his feet, using the closest wall to help him. "Yea," he muttered, but his voice echoed around the cellar-like room. "Who wouldn't like the feel of an easy victory. In case you haven't noticed, I have paralis sickness. I can barely stand - it is because you woke me before it could run through my body."

"Is that your excuse?" snarled Ano.

"No, it just shows how pathetic you are - "

With a roar Ano charged at him and slammed against the wall - then stood back to let him fall. Rio hit the ground and his face splashed in a puddle of his own, thin blood. The paralis from Chris's brother's sword had an effect on one's blood like alchohal except when the sickness set in it was difficult to return the blood in the body to its proper state. Rio figure they knew this would be the best way to keep him weak. To keep him awake.

Ano's foot slammed down upon him repeatedly.

(( Ok, So im having a bad day!))

As Chris once again stepped out of the docking stations door, He thought to himself, ' If i were my brother, Where would i hide a victim? Of course, I would hide them in a shop named after our leader!' Chris turned to Cheoro and Kara and said in a calm voice, " Ok guys, We need to stick together to find out where Rio was taken. If you see any shops that look even the least bit hostile then inform me."

((Here is the current ... puzzle if you will. You need to find out what the shop's name is. It is something that the characters would reconise and look in to - possibly. Find the familar name that would lead the "bad guys". It would be the name of a bookstore.))

Rio stood shakily and Ano, realising he was moving, tried to punch him again but this time Rio managed to dodge it and plant his own fist in his stomach. Ano laughed and jabbed his chin so that Rio was lifted off the ground. Rio stayed put. The paralis sickness was getting worse and it would best to rest. After all his punch must have been much weaker than usual for this Ano to laugh at it.

A man smoking his pipe outside of an unusally quiet bookshop called Hithro Black, which could be understood in Grutain as "Fire Black", when he noticed a woman and two men walking amongst the crowds. The only reason he would have noted them is that he was told to keep an eye out for a group matching that discription.

"Ano," he hissed into a hidden communication device. "They're passing by now."

"There is no reason for them to stop in the shop," replied Ano confidently.

"I'm not sure ... can you be positive that they don't know his name?"

"How could they? Besides, the celler is damn near ivisable to any one who doesn't know it's there."

"Yes," he muttered, not altogether reassured.