That rapidly changed in the next brief moment. Jessica was rudely awakened as she was sent tumbling out of her bunk and sprawling onto the cabin floor. Confused and still half-asleep, Jessica sat up and looked about. Only a little light was filtering into the cabin from the porthole. Shouts and cries could be heard off in the distance. Was it her imagination or was the boat actually listing to one side?
"What the heck's going on?", she muttered to the empty room. "It's not even daytime yet!" Rising to her feet, Jess could see that she was the sole occupant of the small cabin. Her enhanced vision allowing her to see clearly in the pre-dawn light. She had hoped that Erica would turn up during the night, but Tigress remained among the missing.
With a loud, almost painful groan, the Jade Princess listed to the other side, throwing Jessica off balance once more. She grabbed onto her bunk for support, this time remaining on her feet. The cries coming from the main deck grew in intensity.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. Very bad."
Cautiously, the young woman made her way across the cabin to the door. Flinging it open, Jessica stepped out into a heavily active corridor. Crewmen ran past her door in both directions. Those heading towards the upper deck were armed with automatic weapons. The other crewmen seemed to be heading to the armory to retrieve their own weapons.
The door opposite of Jessica's opened and the husband and wife duo of Panda and Raccoon peered out. Much like Jessica, both were still dressed in their sleeping clothes. Unlike Jessica, the married mutants could always be easily identified as Panda had panda bear-like ears and Raccoon had a namesake ringed tail that swished about in agitation.
"What goes on here?", Panda wondered aloud in a noticeable English accent. "What's this all about?"
"The ship must be under attack," Raccoon deduced.
"What should we do?", Jessica asked.
Before anyone could reply, the door to Daigon's cabin was flung open and the armored woman strode purposely down the corridor. The self-styled demoness wore the most creepy looking armor that Jessica had ever seen. It was intimidating just to look at and was not form-fitting. No one had yet to see the woman inside the armor as of yet. Maybe that was a good thing.
Unlike the other supers involved in this mission, Daigon was the only true mercenary in the bunch. As she walked along, Daigon activated her jet-boots and jet-pack combination and rose into the air. She hurtled down the corridor, bowling over anyone who got in her way. Jessica, Panda, and Raccoon all ducked back into their rooms to avoid a collision.
"We'll repel the invaders!", Raccoon cried out happily. "Just like in those old pirate movies! I always wanted to be a swashbuckler! All I need is a sword!"
Gleefully, Raccoon bounded towards the upper deck, his tail visibly showing his excitement. Neither Panda or Jessica had yet to budge. "So what do you think?", Jess asked of Panda. Both women jumped as the sound of automatic gunfire reached their ears.
"Seems pretty simple to me, luv," Panda offered. "Drive off whatever is attacking the ship before we're sunk."
"I guess that makes sense."
At that moment, the door to Howler's cabin opened and the archaeologist/supervillainess came forth. She was dressed in her dark blue costume and white cloak. A pulsating orange amulet rested around her neck. "Whoever is trying to stop this mission will regret trifling with me!", Howler declared angrily as she made her away towards the stairs to the upper deck. The woman strode arrogantly with purpose, her cloak flowing freely behind her. Panda and Tempest exchanged shrugs and then followed Howler.
None of the three women were prepared for the sight that greeted them. All three stopped dead in their tracks. A large sea creature had grabbed the port side of the Jade Princess and had enveloped it in its gigantic tentacles. The beast was jet black in color with ominous yellow eyes. Superficially, it resembled a squid in the pre-dawn light. There were ten tentacles in all. Those not holding fast to the Jade Princess were flailing about the deck. Crewmen were brushed aside like a child's toy, while others were struck by the sharp brown colored stingers at the end of each tentacle. Those who had been struck screamed in agony before collapsing to the deck in the painful throws of death.
"Blimey!", Panda managed to get out, her mouth fallen slack in a combination of shock and terror. She never imagined seeing anything like this in her life.
"Not these creeps again!", Tempest lamented. The creature resembled the same one that her, Archangel, and Nemesis had encountered a few weeks back while on a training flight. The only thing that appeared to hurt the creature was the blast of fire Nemesis had belted it with. (Editor's Note: Back in Young Champions #4-5)
"You know what these things are?", Panda inquired of Jessica.
"Sushi with an attitude, from the looks of it," Tempest explained. "I ran into one of these things a few weeks back. Those spikes on the squid thing are poisonous! They were driven off by fire before!"
"These are not pirates!", Raccoon cried out when he spotted the women up on deck. In addition to the squid-like creature, there were other invaders as well. Also fighting amongst the crew were a trio of humanoid sea-men. Their strength was incredible, as Raccoon was finding out. Only his superior reflexes had saved him from serious harm so far.
Tempest followed the sound of Raccoon's voice and in the process spotted one of the sea-men. Their skin was a shiny, pale green in color and was decorated with seashells. Webbing could be seen between their fingers and toes. The most striking feature of each was the creatures' faces. They had overly large yellow eyes and no visible nose or hair.
As Tempest watched, Daigon dueled one of the invaders, the crewmen having backed off giving the supers plenty of room to operate. The armored woman side-stepped a clumsy sea-man attack. While the powerful punch didn't hit its intended target, it ripped into the Jade Princess itself, taking a large chunk out of a wall. Daigon's martial art training kicked in and she landed several damaging chops that drove the invader back. Surging forward, Daigon slammed hard into the sea-man, sending him flying back into the water.
"Aliens!", Howler nearly screamed. Much to the surprise of Panda and Tempest, a frantic paranoia overcame their boss. "I won't let you take it back! It's mine now! All mine! I'll never give it up!!"
"What a queer bird," Panda commented offhandedly.
Howler rose into the air and screamed with all her considerable might. The sonic-blast was centered on the sea-beast clutching the side of the Jade Princess. The attack affected the sea-beast, making it hesitate in its assault. It still continued to hold the Jade Princess firmly in its grasp however.
Nearby, Raccoon continued to nimbly dodge his attacker. Panda rushed to the aid of her husband. "Naff off, you bounder!", she yelled. As Panda did so, her ears began to twitch. A mind bolt came streaking out of her forehead, striking the fish-man in his head. The sea-man stumbled back a few steps, momentarily dazed by the mental onslaught.
"This one I'm throwing back," Raccoon quipped as he sent the invader flying back into the ocean with a spinning kick. "I owe you one there, hon." The mutants' relief was short lived as they spied the nearby sea-beast. Neither was sure what they could do against such a monstrosity.
"Yikes!!", Tempest screamed as one of the sea-men came at her. It tried to swat her with one of its webbed hands, but the Jessica leaped back, away from the assault. "You wouldn't hit a girl, would you, fish bait?"
If the sea-man understood Tempest's query, it did not show. Instead it lunged at her again with Tempest taking to the sky for safety. As Tempest hung in the air, she pointed her hands at the invader and triggered her ranged attack. She never knew just which effect was going to come into existence, or if any would appear at all. As an air/water elementalist, Tempest could project attacks of forced air blasts or streams of water. Some of the time, anyway.
"Actually, I think you would hit a girl! I never did like fish all that much!" A blast of compressed air came from the young woman's hands, driving the fish-man back a few steps. It didn't appear to actually hurt it all that much. "Maybe I should have paid more attention to those combat lessons Gladiator used to throw at me."
As Tempest watched, Howler screamed at the sea-beast once more. The god-awful noise caused Jessica to cover her ears in a vain attempt to protect them. Once more the beast was hurt, but it had yet to release the Jade Princess. Daigon fought against one of the tentacles, while Raccoon danced around the remaining sea-man. Aided by his love, they drove the invader back into the sea.
"A whole lot of good I did here," Tempest silently lamented. "Maybe I'm not as good at all of this as I thought I was..."
Tempest's thoughts of self-doubt were rudely interrupted as one of the sea-beasts flailing tentacles slammed into the young woman. Momentarily stunned, Tempest was sent hurtling into the ocean and rapidly vanished beneath the waves.
Tempest was dozens of feet underwater by the time she regained control of her senses. A super-strong arm was latched around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides, and continued to pull her deeper into the depths. The VIPER experiment that had given her superpowers, had also amplified Jessica's strength. However, her own strength was nothing compared to the iron grip she was currently locked in.
"Let go of me!", Tempest yelled in panic as she struggled and kicked to get free of the fish-man's grip. He probably didn't realize that Tempest could easily survive underwater or that she could see just fine, in spite of the pre-dawn darkness and the ocean depths. Maybe he thought she would quickly drown here underwater. "Hands off, fish bait! I'm not that kind of girl!"
Looking up, Tempest could see the Jade Princess growing smaller and smaller overhead. Unexpectedly, the sea-beast released the ship and swam for the safety of the depths. The other invaders followed the squid-like creature down. A sonic-scream, courtesy of Howler no doubt, chased the sea creatures into the depths. Jessica could feel its fading effects wash over her and her captor.
Tempest's struggles suddenly came to an end as something else caught her eye. She wasn't down here alone with the invaders and their squid-beast! Nearby was a submarine and even more of the invaders! Another sea-beast was down here, latched onto the sub while another half-dozen fish-men banged on the hull of the vessel.
"What the hell is this all about?", Tempest wondered aloud as she took the scene in.
The first sea-beast swam past Jessica and the fish-man holding her captive. She could see reddish burn marks on the creature and it seemed to be in great pain. The beast ignored the submarine and continued to dive towards deeper depths.
"Oh, how stupid can I be!", Tempest cursed in realization. In all the excitement, she had forgotten about one of her abilities that could be used to free herself from the sea-man's grasp. Jessica concentrated, transforming herself into water itself. Now she easily flowed free from the iron grip, leaving behind a very puzzled fish-man. Her former captor pursued the nearly invisible, but vaguely-humanoid patch of water. In spite of his best efforts, he was unable to grab a hold of Jessica. Confused and frustrated, the invader swam away.
"I may not be able to hurt these things, but at least they can't hurt me either." Willing herself forward, Tempest moved closer to the sub. As she passed its bow, she spotted the name "Jade Prince" embellished upon it.
"Jade Prince," Jessica mentally repeated. "Obviously, this sub is in league with the men on the ship." The names were too similar for there to be any other possibility. "Maybe the reason that I couldn't find Erica is because she was no longer on the ship! Maybe even inside that submarine!" That, coupled with the strange sleepless night everyone seemed to have last night just amplified Tempest's concerns.
"Okay, so what do I do now?" Tempest hung still in the water, pondering her next move. The giant sea-beast continued to squeeze the Jade Prince while the fish-men pounded on the hull. The sub was made of sterner stuff than the Jade Princess floating overhead and their blows had less of an effect.
If her hunch was right, then the Tigress was going to be on the sub. Obviously, they must be holding her prisoner. The only reason that Tigress was even here was because she thought that Tempest was in trouble. The feline Young Champion had no way of knowing that Tempest had been hired to assist Howler in her quest to find some lost relic or tribe or some other nonsense.
"I didn't tell her to follow me. And I didn't tell her to stow away on the Jade Princess. She's not my responsibility..." But Jessica wasn't coming off as all that convincing to herself. "Erica was the closest thing I had to a friend on Sanctuary. I guess I do owe her for trying to help me out. The least I can do is return the favor. Now I just need to figure out how to get into this stupid thing..."
As Tempest watched and pondered, an opportunity presented itself. The Jade Prince glowed for a moment and Tempest could feel an electric shock, even at this distance from the sub. The effect on the invaders was instantaneous. The great black sea-beast released the sub and dove for deeper water. Several of the sea-men were stunned from the unexpected assault and floated away from the Jade Prince.
Steel tentacles shot out from underneath the sub and latched on to one of the floating invaders. Each tentacle ended in a two fingered grasping claw. The sea-man safely secured, the tentacles withdrew, taking their captive with them.
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Tempest mused as she surged forward in pursuit. The young woman readily caught up with the retreating tentacles and their captive. Swimming underneath the sub, Tempest noted that the bottom of the sub was mostly flat and that there was a fairly large opening in it. "Maybe a diving pool or something."
The tentacles drew the fish-man into the opening and the pool area above. The tentacles lifted the invader out of the water and into the air where he hung limply, water freely dripping off his form. At least half a dozen uniformed men were in the room observing their catch.
Cautiously, Tempest followed, hugging the sides of the chamber to avoid detection. Underneath her, metal plates began to slide into place, sealing the diving pool from the outside ocean. "No turning back now," Tempest mused as she continued to linger underneath the water. Fortunately, the men were too enthralled by their captive to notice her down in the diving pool.
"A most fascinating specimen," one of the men remarked in appreciation.
"The master will be most pleased," another one offered. "A truly unique and unexpected specimen."
"Is it a humanoid offshoot or another species entirely?", a third man wondered aloud.
"It could even be alien in origin," the first man countered. "Prepare him for examination. This new specimen is now our top priority!"
The other men agreed while the tentacles set down the still unconscious fish-man on a gurney. Several of the men secured their captive with straps and then wheeled him away. The remaining men following, chatting excitedly amongst themselves.
Tempest waited a few minutes before peaking her head out of the water. The diving chamber was now empty. "Specimens, huh? Why do I have this very bad feeling in my gut about this?" Willing herself back to human form, Tempest pulled herself up out of the pool. She dried herself off with a nearby blanket as best she could. Suddenly, she stood up in alarm.
"Specimens!", she thought to herself in great concern. "I wonder if that included Erica as well! Not to mention the rest of us." The thought was uneasy, but seemed to fit the established facts. Tempest, Howler, Panda, and Raccoon all complained about a very poor sleeping night at the same time. Jess had even woke up with an awful taste in her mouth. Could she and the others have been drugged and taken down to the Jade Prince for examination? If so, then why? For what purpose? And who was this mysterious master the men had spoken of?
Answers to those questions laid elsewhere on this submarine. Cautiously, Tempest made her way to the chamber hatch. "Someone is going to pay for this!", Jessica promised herself. "Now to see if I can find Erica."
"Are you ready, Jason?", Gladiator inquired of his student. It was early Sunday morning on Sanctuary Island. Most of the guests had yet to rise, so this exercise would attract the least amount of attention. Maintaining the secrecy of what they were about to do was paramount.
"Yes, sir," Jason responded. He wore his Terra Fire costume and was ready to put his powers to work. Since Armadillo had uncovered a hidden laboratory of Dr. Destroyer, seven others had been located. Each would need to be investigated and any threats contained within neutralized. A headset and microphone combination rested on Terra Fire's head.
Joining the two were Charcoal, Sapphire, Peacekeeper, and Nemesis. Charcoal was the Head of Security on Sanctuary, while Sapphire and Peacekeeper were her assistants. The young woman had short flaming red hair, still heavily moussed to form a multitude of spikes. However, she had changed into her more traditional style of dress. Biker togs with a heavy metal T-shirt. The bags under the woman's eyes were noticeable.
In spite of her punk-like appearance, Charcoal didn't stand out as much as her companions did. Sapphire was a seven foot tall woman with light blue skin and dark blue hair. She wore a black spandex shorts and top combination. Sapphire was superhumanly strong and tough. She also looked a little worn and sported several bruises.
Peacekeeper was likewise seven feet tall, but unlike any of his companions, he was an intelligent machine. In appearance Peacekeeper was identical to that of the murderous Mechanon. Of course, Peacekeeper was originally created to be a new body for Mechanon should his current one be destroyed by those pesky superheroes. Somewhere along the line, Peacekeeper was discovered and reprogrammed to be the opposite of his creator. While Mechanon sought the painful destruction of all living things, Peacekeeper cherished life and sought to protect the innocent.
Nemesis was the smallest and least dangerous appearing of the group in her pink and blue costume. But as is often the case in the world of those who possess superpowers, appearances can be deceiving. The young woman possessed the nebulous 'Nemesis Power' that allowed her to strike her enemies with whatever weakness they possessed. Given that she had the mentality of an eight year old, that made Nemesis potentially the most dangerous of the bunch.
Jason could see the wisdom of having Charcoal, Sapphire, and Peacekeeper on hand just in case they uncovered something nasty inside the lab like Armadillo had found. But he had to wonder why Nemesis was here.
That was the same point that Gladiator was wondering himself. It was an summons from Nightingale last night that landed Nemesis on this particular mission: "Jen's feeling very out of place around here," the Psionic Avenger told the mentor of the Young Champions. "She doesn't get to practice with the rest of the team or help them out in assignments. She's becoming angry and frustrated."
"There is a potential danger in anything involving Jennifer due to the mercurial nature of her powers. She could very easily hurt someone. Not that I think she'd do that on purpose, but there is a danger," Gladiator responded.
"When dealing with superpowers, there is always a danger no matter who is involved. Yes, Jen is young and inexperienced, but her morals are quite similar to mine. No small surprise since she added some of my personality and experiences into her own. You're going to have to trust her and give her something to do. Otherwise, things really could get unpleasant."
That made Gladiator seriously pause. There were some parallels between the situation with Nemesis and with Turbo. Both had the mentality of children while having the bodies of teenagers. Adding superpowers into the mix just made a bad situation worse. Turbo had been getting into more and more trouble as of late.
Just last night he had been throwing water balloons at the guests. A juvenile prank, to be sure, but one that took on greater importance when superpowers were involved. Turbo might have accidentally hurt someone or a guest might have taken umbrage at the incident and attacked him in return. The possibilities were not pleasant all the way around.
Much like Nemesis, Turbo had only superficial involvement in the Young Champions missions and training. Gladiator was unsure just what to do with either one of them. Perhaps Nightingale was right and that he should have given them both a little more benefit of the doubt.
And so, Nemesis was asked to help out with this particular assignment. "Wowsers!", was her answer as she laughed giddily and she flew about the room. "I'd love to help!" That just gave Gladiator all the more reason to pause.
"Go to it," Gladiator commanded as he snapped back to the present. There was no reason to put the mission off any longer. "Report as soon as you're inside the lab."
"Good luck, comrade," Sapphire offered. "May you battle with skill and honor."
Terra Fire nodded as his body slipped into the earth. Using his ability to move through the ground itself, Jason moved downwards towards the waiting lab. Peacekeeper used his internal sensors to monitor his progress. Passing through the earth was becoming easier and easier each time he attempted it. It also had a very calming affect on the young man. He felt as if he belonged down here.
Finally, he reached the hidden lab. Using his powers of earth manipulation, Jason willed the ground to push against the wall, blowing a small portion of it out and into the dark chamber. The inky black wasn't a great hindrance to Jason thanks to his earthen sense. He could detect anything in contact with the earth around him. But he was currently detecting nothing that appeared dangerous in the lab.
Emerging from the hole he had made, Jason switched on the flashlight he had brought with him. "I'm inside," he spoke into the microphone.
"Proceed with caution," Gladiator advised.
"No kidding," Jason fired back. The teen moved his flashlight about, illuminating and inspecting the chamber filling in details that his earthen sense was unable to pick out. The lab superficially resembled the one he had been inside before. There were workbenches, but not much in the way of equipment. "Looks clear so far."
Moving deeper into the lab, Jason's attention was attracted by a small piece of equipment with a blinking light. "I've spotted something."
"Does it appear dangerous?"
"Don't know. Some kind of gizmo," Jason reported. "I'm going to take a closer look."
Tentatively, Jason moved closer to the device taking it one step at a time. The device was rectangular in shape. Other than the blinking light it didn't seem to have any other features. There was no clue whatsoever as to the nature or function of the device.
"Regular, repeating pattern," Jason mentally noted. "Don't know if that's good or bad."
Jason took another step and the light started to flash faster. "Oh heck!", Jason cursed as he turned and started to run back towards the opening. He hadn't gone more than two steps when the chamber exploded in a fireball!
Elsewhere, Archangel flew high over Sanctuary without a care in the world. The sky was the one place where he actually felt like he belonged-- that he fit in. Life for Jean Paul Gaston had never been an easy one. He had been abandoned by his parents shortly after birth. The sight of their son with tiny white wings coming out of his back was simply more than they could take.
Young Jean Paul bounced around from orphanage to orphanage never really belonging anywhere. He routinely became the subject of taunting and ridicule from the other children. Their cruelty would haunt the young man all his life. Knowing that he had an unusual appearance, Jean Paul became arrogant and abrasive in his attempt to overcompensate. That just seemed to put others off all the more.
At one point he thought his life was going to change. Jean Paul was adopted by one Dr. Yvette St. Germaine, a noted expert in the field of superhuman studies. But instead of raising the child as her own, Dr. St. Germaine seemed more interested in studying the young Archangel. Between that and her authoritarian ways, Archangel became disillusioned once more and ran away once he was old enough.
Jean Paul wandered the world for a time. It was during this era that he first met and was befriended by Gladiator. When Gladiator would later ask him to join up with the Young Champions, Archangel readily agreed.
For one of the few times in his life, Jean Paul didn't feel out of place once he arrived on Sanctuary. Here everyone had powers of some sort and some had physical shortcomings. Archangel didn't readily stand out from the crowd as he once did. No longer was he an outsider looking in. At least for a while.
It was only natural for the young man to take a great interest in the opposite sex. Woman were still a mystery to Jean Paul as he hadn't mingled with girls all that much as a teen. That coupled with his naturally abrasive nature just alienated any prospective girlfriend. He had been rebuffed by Tigress, by Tempest, and a multitude of others. Just last night he had been putting the moves on Solitaire when he was driven away by her teammate Tritium.
But up here, high in the sky, those feelings of loneliness and isolation vanished. Maybe it was his bird-like aspects that made him feel as if the sky was his home. If only he had someone to share it with...
As that thought crossed Archangel's mind, he caught something out of the corner of his eyes off in the distance. Something mostly black moving in the sky. In addition to bird-like wings, Jean Paul had the superior vision of certain birds. By concentration, Archangel was able to focus in on what he had seen.
"It's a girl!", Archangel cried out in disbelief. While flying females were nothing new on Sanctuary, this particular girl had something that all those other supers did not. She had large, black wings growing out of her back! "A girl with wings like mine!"
The distant girl must have somehow heard Archangel's joyous cry, as she turned to look in his direction. She was a beautiful Japanese girl with shoulder length black hair. She wore what appeared to be a shoulderless, and mostly backless, black one-piece costume that was also legless. The winged woman wore short high heeled boots and matching gloves all in black. Large goggles finished off what little clothing she wore.
As Archangel watched, the girl smiled at him and winked. Then she turned and started to fly away from Sanctuary towards one of the outlying islands. Astonished, Archangel just hung in the sky for a moment. Finally, he broke out of his stupor and gave chase after the winged beauty, a wide smile on his face.
"What was that?", Charcoal wondered aloud. There was a very muffled rumbling and the ground shook for an instant.
"I detected an explosion," Peacekeeper reported. "The effect was centered inside the hidden lab. It has been completely destroyed."
"What about Jason?", Jennifer asked in a frightened voice. "Has he been hurt?"
"Unknown."
"Come in, Jason," Gladiator stated into his headset. Gladiator repeated his request, but there was still no response. "Spread out and keep your eyes open. Hopefully only his headset has been damaged. Terra Fire will surface as soon as he is able. Be on your guard just in case something else comes up as well."
"No need," Sapphire inserted, as she pointed off into the distance. "The lad has returned." Turning, the others could see Terra Fire emerging from the ground. He was dirty and some of his costume had burns on it.
Nemesis immediately took to the air and flew towards Jason. She hugged him as soon as she reached him. "I'm glad you're okay!", the young woman stated happily.
Jason sighed and pulled his full-face mask off. "Yeah, me too."
"What happened?", Gladiator inquired.
"I'm guessing it was a booby trap," Terra Fire reported. "As soon as I got too close to that blinking box, the thing exploded in a fireball. Fortunately, fire doesn't bother me all that much so I'm not injured. Wasted the headset, however."
"At least you're okay," Charcoal offered. "And another potential danger has been dealt with. Two down and six to go."
"Rest up for a while, lad," Gladiator stated. "We'll move on to the next hidden lab shortly and discover what secret it holds."
Tempest poked her head through the hatch and gratefully found the corridor beyond to be empty. The young woman had been exploring the submarine for several minutes now. Unfortunately, she had been wandering around blindly in her hopes to find the Tigress. "Don't these people believe in putting up maps or something?", Tempest complained to herself. "It's going to take forever at this rate!"
Stepping out into the corridor, Tempest turned to shut the hatch behind her. So far she had been able to avoid encountering any members of the crew. But given the claustrophobic nature of the submarine, it was only a matter of time before her luck ran out. Sneaking around like this was more the Tigress' area of expertise than Jessica's.
Turning to her left, Tempest started to creep down the passageway. Movement and noise both ahead of her and behind brought her to a sudden stop. Several armed and uniformed men appeared at the end of the hallway. Each pointed their weapons at an uneasy Tempest. A quick glance behind her revealed more armed men.
"Hi, guys," Tempest responded, trying to look at ease. "Something I can do for you?"
From up ahead, one of the men stepped forward. He was an older man, with balding white hair, but with a full beard and mustache. "Welcome to the Jade Prince," he intoned with a smile. "The flagship of our emperor, Malachite the First. Surrender peacefully and you will not be harmed."
