illuminaughti

Banneth scooped up the knife and spat on it. Ze hung the hypogun on hir hip and hurried to press the wet blade against a sensor. Information began to unravel behind hir dark eyes. "Yes..." ze cooed, as if answering hir own silent question. There was enough unique DNA to use florescence but it would take a few minutes to compile and to tease out the correct frequencies from hir ruined equipment. "I take it back." ze suddenly announced. "You will all slow me down. Go back to your ships. If I am successful I will find my way to you. If not, enjoy the rest of your lives." With that ze returned to hir data and gave the party no further thought.

Banneth looked at the knife on the ground. "Thank you." Ze smiled. "Now if I can have your word that you will help me we can get back to work."

Banneth ignored the threat of radiation from the armoured man (radiation was the least of hir concern) and turned to the tentacled woman. "how sensible!" Ze pointed at the shattered crates. "hurry." ze added, fear leaking across her face again.

Banneth's rage began to subside but hir posture of attack did not faulter even against the weapons raised against hit. "Yes..." ze mused "you are right...none of have been out of my sight since I joined your little group... But who knows where you were while I was on route!" ze accused. Hir tone shifted again from panicked to casual and cold. "As I mentioned I am Banneth... I've caused and cured more epidemics and plagues than I care to remember... And trust me that I've had decades to perfect the worst of those... They are loaded and ready to disperse if I lose consciousness so put your weapons away, new 'freinds'" Hir voice dripped with venom. "I don't want to hurt any of you... I only want to find my baby...." ze grew sad momentarily, before brushing it out of her mind. "your boot... Give me your damned boot so I can get that creatures DNA off it. NOW. Every second we wait the trail grows colder. Infrared is already useless."

Banneth did not respond, and instead began a panicked search through the ransacked crates. Ze saw no signs of Xion's reinforced crate. Why someone would take such an inconspicuous looking item was beyond hir comprehension. Hir mind was gripped by a homicidal maternal fog when ze raised her weapon to the party that had followed hir this far. The point trembled along with the arm but it was no less sharp. Her attention hovered over each of them, hir mind realling with accusations. To the tentacled woman from Archer's ship. She was the only one not present during the fight. She could have taken Xion. No... Banneth switched hir attention to the small creature that had hid in the bushes. "You..." ze started to say...but it was much too small to manage Xion, who ze hirself had trouble lifting. "We will find Xion or no one leaves this planet alive. I will see to that myself."

Banneth with hir weapon still raised in one hand, took up something far stranger in the other. "Your boot. Give it to me." ze demanded of Archer. "Now!" ze added when he did not move fast enough "or I will remove it, foot and all."