lol, get used to it.

Copper hit the floor of the dim hangar from a height, managed to absorb most of the force of her fall with a shoulder, and rolled to her feet. Zanzibar and Claw were already up and alert, while Shinyso was climbing to his feet with a wall's aid and Ducky was still sprawled on the floor, slightly dazed. Of Wild Angel there was no sign, at least not until she picked herself off the floor from behind a crate. Their group was complete, and a lot smaller than usual.
Brilliant laser fire and the deadly blossoms of explosions lit the darkness of space, illuminating the shapes of starfighters spinning and weaving graceful, lethal patterns. Copper would have liked to join them in her warship, but she had another job to do. Time was running out; it would only be a matter of time before Beren grew suspicious, or before the Deathless Ones recognized the Assassin - and the fact that she was not piloting it. She and Kaz had two very distinctive flying styles.
The Venomstrike was eerily silent as they walked through the dimly-lit corridors, wary (and careful to walk sofrly, for the metal rang at a careless footstep) and cautious. Closed doors were ranged along the stark hallways, staring in hostile, silent blankness at the intruders. The absolute silence was unnerving and frightening. The entire ship gave an overall impression of lifelessness and sterility. Finding their way through the ship should not be any trouble - at each intersection, simple and obvious signs were posted for the dimwitted Kronans. Nothing moved in the corridors, and the filtered air was somehow dead (heightening the sense of lifelessness), making the ship seem like a long-dead and forgotten leviathan of the past. But lurking in the shadows was the sense of an ancient evil that did not sleep, waiting to strike. The lingering traces were confusing them - Copper shook her head as though trying to clear it; Wild Angel swayed as her diamond pulsed erratically with a sickly light; Ducky's eyes glazed slightly as she looked wildly around; Shinyso put a hand to his head as his telepathic senses picked up a thread of thought - thought like a whisper; if he listened long enough, hard enough, the words would come clear - but they didn't, and wouldn't; thought with a trace of madness running through it.
Claw, however, did not react negatively to the slightly insane evil that permeated the very air - his already bright eyes began to glow a cruel, bloody red, and he looked slightly sinister. Coppertop knew that only Shale's blocking magic kept her from being affected similarly - for one had to have some capability for evil to kill ...

The madness that affected the rest of them struck a chord similar to it in Claw, triggering and bringing to the surface personality traits that had long lain buried, from an era of insanity and blood that Claw might have caused.
He knew that he had been created - had slain his creators, broken free to stalk a dead world populated by a dying people which he had completely destroyed. He had lived for perhaps millions of years, leaving behind a path of bloodstained deeds, lethal encounters and terrified rumors.
There were entire centuries that he could not remember, when he had been gripped by a killing insanity when he had lived only to kill. After each bloodbath he had woken to reality, during which the murderous impulses lay dormant for a longer time.
They were stirring now, even as he strove to exert some sort of control over them. It partially worked - his eyes blazed scarlet and his dark metal claws extended with the urge to kill - and then the evil was gone. The mist receded from his vision and he saw Zanzibar Sia stalking towards Coppertop, who stood stiffly with wild, unseeing eyes. Making a quick pass with his fist, his hand glowed briefly before Copper broke free of whatever spell held her trapped. Her eyes became her own once more, determined and for once unshadowed, a brilliant green. Claw knew that they would not remain so for long.
Shinyso stood behind Claw, eyes filled with regretful knowing. Wild Angel and Ducky were recovering, none of them asked any questions and Zanzibar offered no explanation. But Claw knew, and Shinyso knew, and Zanzibar had to have known. For what they had just encountered was the trace of Beren Deathwreaker.

Selantrio listened frantically as Beren's orders came through - the Yelantra Sentry and the Nightdweller were to join the battle against the Sarav, to aid the Soldier of Fortune and the crippled Venomstrike. The presence of a Fader had been sensed; reinforcements were demanded.
With a feeling of despair, Selantrio gave the order for his fleet to join Beren's.

Razor's Slash and Edge of Infinity were cut off from the rest of the Sarav, swift enemy fihters swirling agiley around them. Lasers stabbed at them, and Scimitar wrenched and rolled Slash, sending it spinning towards the only ship separating him from Ferran. Twin green lasers, lethal and swift, lanced out and exploded through the shields, destroying it. Scimitar spiralled past, looping away and around the Infinity.
The fox and the wildcat were a seamless team, making impossible shots, rarely missing, protecting each other's backs and miraculously not hitting each other. Scimitar had always known that his second-in-command was a competent flyer, but this exceeded all expectations. Every shot they fired hit the target, but the swarming mass that cut them off from their allies did not thin.
Then Ferran made a mistake - her first and last. Turning the Infinity, she whipped it up around, behind Slash, snapping off a shot at a missile that was coming in, at him or her he couldn't tell. The missile exploded prematurely, but Ferran hadn't counted on the second projectile that hurtled towards her, impacting on the Infinity's underside, triggering explosions that rocked the Razor's Slash violently. The Infinity's tail end swung around, colliding with the Slash, sending Scimitar's craft spinning out of control and finishing the destruction of the Infinity and its' pilot. A final explosion filled Scimitar's rear viewport, washing over the scorched Slash. Scimitar staggered to his feet, clawing his way to the controls of his damaged, outnumbered ship. Fighting to bring the Razor's Slash under control, Scimitar saw the enemy fighter ahead of him too late.
As the wildly spinning craft hit the enemy, Scimitar was once more knocked off his feet and thrown to the floor. As a glorious red-gold fireball filled his viewport, he saw Copper's shadowy form in the explosion, haunted, knowing eyes looking through him, outstretched hand reaching to assist him. he reached to take it, but the flames took her before he could, then the light and fire leapt forward to consume him.
So Scimitar died, consumed by the flame that had fueled his life, secure in the knowledge that he was not alone.

Much sadness. I didn't really want to kill Scimitar off, but I needed to clear the way for Emerald Dragon to take over, and for something else that's very important to kill Beren. So I'll have to survive ...