Based on the multiplayer online game Spiral Knights.

With but a single press of a button, it began. The elevator released and whirred as it descended into the Clockworks, naught but a single knight in tow. The scenery quickly shifted on the descent, from the dark, confining metal walls of the lobby which initially housed the elevator, to a peaceful, floating island, lush with grass and trees with strange, floating leaves orbiting them rather than growing from their branches. An odd, yet welcoming sight.

The elevator reached the end of its energy-fueled journey as it softly landed upon a safe peninsula of the island, allowing its rider to take a first step out onto the grass. For many knights, it would be a cautious, careful step. For this knight, it was one of excitement and eagerness. Why was this one so different?

They looked to be wearing the same sallet and cuirass that many knights wore as they exited their pods, greyish gear which drew attention to their dark blue eyes... but there was something else. Oh yes, their helmet had an accessory that no mere fresh-out-of-the-pod knight could have. They moved with such confidence and haste; could it have been because of this addition?

Standard-issue proto sword and shield in tow, the blue-eyed knight traversed across the thin terrain leading off of the safe peninsula that housed the elevator’s arrival, coming upon one of the trees which had slow, swirling leaves all about it. There were many trees like it, but this one had an oddity. A strange creature they weren’t briefed on was perched upside-down on one of the branches, bearing a blue body color and a pair of lighter blue wings, which it wrapped around itself as if to keep warm. Its bright eyes gazed right at the knight from its hanging position, though it wasn’t a look of malice. It looked curious, more than anything.

“You look different from the last one to come through here...” the winged creature spoke up as she inspected the knight, letting a smile cross her face. Her voice was playful and full of interest. “Why, your helmet looks like it has pointy ears! How cute!”

“Yeah! Some real smart veteran knight gave ‘em to me to take on my first real mission! He said they’re very valuable, so I bet they make me really strong, too! All the expensive gear works like that, y’know.” the knight responded, speaking rather quickly. Though the armor’s appearance left it a little ambiguous, the excited, yet feminine voice gave away that this knight was indeed a girl.

As eager as the knight was, her excitement wasn’t quite infectious enough to elevate the creature she was talking to above its level of calm. In fact, it seemed pretty unfazed, simply staring at her for a moment from its hanging perch before responding, “They’re cute, but I don’t think they’ll help you fight. Another of your kind went through here with the same equipment you have, except for those, and the native beasts made quick work of them... you really should be careful!”

The hasty knight merely sighed and rolled her eyes. “Ah, I get it. HQ put you here to warn everybody who comes through, right?” she guessed. Though the winged creature looked confused at what she was saying, she was quite confident in her views, “That must be it. Well, don’t worry about me. This knight stuff’s been pretty easy starting out, and I bet it’ll be easier now that I’m wearing these!”

The little winged creature merely watched as the headstrong knight sauntered by, not heeding her warning. “Well... at least it’s not fatal, I guess...” she muttered to herself. Her eyes then closed as she allowed herself to drift into a peaceful nap, perhaps until someone else came along, or until she felt restless enough to fly off.

Trodding along the grassy island, the blue-eyed knight had not faltered in her excitement one bit. She’d make some decent crowns here, and more after that, right? Besides, in such a peaceful-looking environment, how could the native creatures be any sort of a threat? Were there any hostile creatures, even? Maybe that winged one was just trying to keep her on her toes. Yeah, that must have been it...

… or perhaps not. Just a few more steps after that thought, several creatures violently burst out of the soil and into the air, spinning as they went. Each one landed gracefully, four having emerged in such a pattern so as to surround the unaware knight. It was definitely startling at first, but as the creatures landed and the knight managed to get a good look at them, she found them rather calming. Relatively moderate-sized, canine-like creatures with long muzzles, pointy ears, and abundant fluff, especially in their tails. Their backs, and the tops of their tails and heads were a solid orange color, supported by a cream color that covered the rest of them, aside from their brownish ears, feet, and noses.

“Oh, you’re a bunch of Wolvers! I’ve heard about you! Gosh, aren’t you cute?” she complimented, sounding just a tad more girlish than she did when speaking with the previous creature. However, she quickly attempted putting such notions aside and held her blade out toward one of the canines, “It’s too bad I’m gonna have to beat you!”

The Wolver at the point of the knight’s blade stared at her momentarily, then barked into the air harmlessly. This display made her grip waver, and thus so did her outstretched sword, as she began having second thoughts. “Oh... do I really need to do that..?” she worried aloud. She was so worried, in fact, that she didn’t notice one of the other Wolvers approach at her side... then another... then another. Three Wolvers prowled at her from her blind spots, all while the one she was focused on cocked his head to the side with adorable curiosity, keeping her attention.

Eventually, the conflicted knight lowered her blade. “Man... I can’t do this! You’re too cute to stab!” she admitted with frustration. It was at that moment that she turned her head and saw one of the Wolver sniffing at her shield-bearing hand. Immediately after, another Wolver was doing the same to her sword-bearing hand. How strange! She looked upon them with minor confusion, then chuckled nervously, “Eheh... I guess that’s fine..? I should really go further in and see if I can find something else to-- ngh!”

Right as she was warming up to the deceptively cute creatures, the one behind her took full advantage of her relaxed guard. With a leap, his weight was bearing down on her back all of a sudden, causing her relatively short form to slouch forward and stagger. She realized her error at this point in trusting them, dropping her sword outright as she attempted to reach back and shove the surprisingly weighted animal off of herself. Immediately, the Wolver that was keeping her attention all that time grasped the hilt of her discarded sword in his mouth, running off into the distance with it.

“N-no! I’ve... I’ve just gotta get my gun...” she realized. She wasn’t able to obtain any sort of leverage to push the Wolver off of her, and her knees were close to giving out under his insistent weight. Instead, she reached for her belt. The Proto gun issued to her underwhelmed her greatly in her previous experience, but this was an emergency.

Unfortunately, the overbearing weight soon sent her to her knees, though she could still attempt to grasp her sidearm. That was, until the Wolver to her right nipped her on the upper arm, where there was not much to shield it. It was certainly painful, and made her cry out briefly, but it was also strange. It was definitely not a hostile bite; more like a minor corrective one, like a slap on the wrist by a teacher. The Wolver bearing down on her back certainly could have gone for any weak point it wanted to, as well. Were they not trying to viciously slay her?

One thing was for sure: they didn’t want her to retaliate. The delay caused by being bitten was all the time the poor knight had before she couldn’t take anymore, causing her to collapse forward while at least managing to catch herself on her palms. The Wolver atop her had her pinned this way, as long as she didn’t let her arms give out too.

“Why are you doing this?” the knight asked. It was a long shot that they could understand a word she said, but one at least responded with the same sort of bark that initially lured her into a false sense of security. Needless to say, she wasn’t quite falling for the charm again... though, the fact that they weren’t mauling her at that moment was appreciated.

It took one single bout of motion for everything to fall into place. One act from the Wolver atop her that clued her in to their intentions. Her body, on all fours, was bumped from behind to rock forward... then again, then again. The beast atop the blue-eyed knight was attempting to couple with her.

The poor knight’s first feeling was humiliation, understandably. To be defeated and sent back to Haven, wasting all of that precious energy on a failed effort was one thing, but this? She couldn’t fight, and they didn’t want to fight her. They wanted something else. Something that was prodding into the smooth, body-tight suit that supported her armor plates.

She’d never heard stories of anything like this, or warnings. Not even that winged creature mentioned that the Wolvers would attempt to... take her. Yet, here she was, having one of them plunge the pointed tip of his rigid maleness against her concealed folds in constant, unyielding thrusts that desperately searched for an entrance to sink into. Why her?

A Wolver on either side, and one on top. The ones at her sides were watching her, as if to ensure that she wouldn’t get away. It wasn’t as though she really could, when the one atop her had his front legs locked around her midsection, keeping her against him as his hips went to work.

It was undeniable that it felt good. At least, physically. It wasn’t something the knight wanted to give in to, but what options did she have? She was more or less defenseless, as long as they kept her from grasping her gun. Even then, it was a weak little pea-shooter of a weapon. At best, it would probably just make them angry.

One of her palms lifted from the grass. The nearest Wolver approached, watching closely with its naturally squinted eyes. The knight’s fingers disappeared under the chestplate of her armor, rummaging around and fiddling with something. All the while, the Wolver was fixated on this, as if to ensure it wasn’t a hostile action. It turned out not to be, as the knights fingers emerged. One of them had a new glow emanating from the fingertip. The dull light calmed the beast slightly, making it back off.

At the lowest of her lower stomach, the knight touched the glowing finger to herself, then drew it downward. As though there were a zipper there, the suit parted, exposing her lower body. Like her face under her helmet, it was concealed and dusky, unable to be seen in detail. The opening extended all the way down between her legs, where that warm flesh had been prodding her. Even that was dusky enough that one wouldn’t be able to see it if they tried.

However, the Wolver immediately proved that she was quite anatomically correct, despite any visual ambiguity. Just as her fingertip was dulling, losing its ability to alter her clothing for now, the canine-like creature’s persistent thrusts managed to find a mark, and sink right in. Oh, he didn’t stop to wait at all once he felt that inner warmth. His reaction was immediate, and his hips slammed in against her backside with wild abandon.

The sudden vigor caught the poor knight off-guard, eliciting a surprised wail. It wasn’t as though she didn’t expect him to actually take what she intended to be an offering of surrender, but she had neglected to consider the actual size of what the creature was packing. It certainly wasn’t small, to say the least! The Wolver’s surprisingly powerful hips went hard at work battering against hers, plunging his entire length in right down to the plump, knotted base. That was what got to her the most. It was just the right size to barely slip in and out of her.

Perhaps more shameful to admit was the fact that the Wolver’s knotted base sent an initial shiver of physical delight through her. Due to her lack of knowledge regarding the species, it came as a complete surprise. It felt like it was pushing her limits, for certain... but it was hitting all the right places, and managing not to tug uncomfortably. In fact, the entire point of entry was slick, and had been that way since she exposed herself. Perhaps all that prodding and teasing influenced her decision more than she thought.

The knight’s surrender continued on, with unrelenting pounding from behind. Her glowing eyes squinted shut, mostly to avoid seeing the other two Wolvers watching. The idea of anyone seeing her letting such a thing happen was rather degrading, even if it was one of them. Past that thought, though... she couldn’t really deny it to herself. She was starting to like it.

The labored panting coming from above the knight was all she needed to know that the Wolver was way past starting to like it. In fact, he was liking it so much that his poor victim noticed an omen of sorts. That thick base of his was rubbing harder against her insides as it moved, taking up more space. It was getting bigger, and eventually the Wolver’s quick, eager thrusts weren’t enough to work it into her anymore.

That didn’t stop him, though. The Wolver’s hips dug in, eliciting a groan from the helpless knight as his knot wedged forward and slammed into her with a hearty shove. The tension caused by it was enough to make her grasp handfuls of the grass below. She could feel a dull warmth around his forced entry, giving her a sure sign that she’d find herself sore later. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t finished just yet. It took some insistent thrusts, attempting to plug himself in further, before the Wolver would finally reach his peak of satisfaction. There was but a subtle huff of heavy breath on the back of the knight’s neck, but a much less subtle flood of warmth inside her, with each pulse accompanied by a noticeable, though not overt throb of the knot that was so snugly fit against her insides.

Just like that, all of that fevered movement ceased. The Wolver was spent, and he lazily slumped over the knight’s back, more or less forcing her to continue holding his weight. However, by now she was really having trouble, even with the combined effort of her hands and knees. As such, she let herself slump forward, at least trying to land gently in the grass as her upper body collapsed onto it. She was just about to let her eyes reopen, but a sudden pressure forced them to clench shut.

The Wolver had made a single tug, attempting to dislodge his knot from her. It budged to a minor degree, but not enough, leaving her folds widened around it. The sensation was still more of that dull, ominous ache. Unfortunately for the blue-eyed knight, the beast didn’t know much of her discomfort, and tugged again. Slightly further out he slid, bringing a soft whine of concern out from the female beneath him. One more try after that, and his knot slid free, immediately followed the rest of his length, both covered with and followed by traces of the thick, warm fluid he’d injected into her.

It should have been most important to the knight that she was free. She was relieved of that pressure, and as the Wolver hopped off of her, she could even move again. She could probably have even activated her escape unit and high-tailed it back to the relative safety of Haven. She couldn’t ignore that nagging feeling, though. It left her unsatisfied when she was just starting to enjoy it.

Her head turned, and eyes opened. The Wolver that had just coupled with her, clearly satisfied, was wandering away without a further care. However, the remaining two were staring at her intently. A clear message: there was more to be had, if she wanted it.

Did she want it? It would have been hard to say, but she wasn’t exactly thinking sensibly after what had just happened. It was a slippery slope: why stop there, if she might like going further? Having made up her mind, the exposed knight rolled herself over onto her back with a sigh, finding the position relieving and comfortable after the previous one. Immediately, the soft patter of paws through grass was heard approaching. Moments later, the remaining two Wolver were upon her, sniffing over her body.

It was a little invasive, to have their snouts probing around her arms, thighs, eventually that exposed area between her legs. Far be it for her to worry about that by this point, though. Their touches were ticklish to her, which relieved a bit of the tension, but left her curious. Would they do the same thing the other did? Were they just there to help him get his rocks off?

The knight’s thoughtful questions were answered rather abruptly, in the form of a fuzzy underbelly obscuring her vision entirely. One of the Wolver had straddled over her helmet! That all-too-familiar force of hips bumping against her was felt by the blue-eyed knight once more, except this time it was nudging her armor-clad chin area. This one wanted something a little different, it seemed.

Why not? Once again, the knight let her fingers delve under the chestplate of her armor, activating that touch of removal normally reserved for much more respectable practices than exposing oneself for horny Wolver. She brought the glowing finger up to her chin, between the legs of the beast over her face, and touched it to her chin. The glow spread over the entire lower covering her sallet provided, dissipating the plating entirely. The knight’s lower face was exposed, though just as the rest of her, it was dusky and difficult to see.

Much like the previous exposure she underwent, the Wolver quickly proved there was something there, even if it wasn’t clear to sight. His thick, pinkish maleness sunk right into the surrendering knight’s open mouth, filling it with a strong taste that initially made her wince as his flesh slid along her tongue. Much like the Wolver before him, he wasted no time in thrusting his creamy-furred underside against her face, though with much less leverage to work on, he couldn’t manage the same level of force. Given where it was happening this time around, it was probably better for the knight’s well-being that he couldn’t.

This wouldn’t quite give the knight what she wanted, though. That desire in the back of her head to be pushed just a bit farther with that direct, forceful pressure of being outright screwed. Fortunately for her, she could feel the fuzzy body of that other Wolver situating itself over her exposed lower regions, planting his forepaws at her sides while his hinds stood between her grounded legs. All of her taboo desires were calling for it to happen, and thus, she lifted her slim legs, mindful of her hard, armored boots, and loosely wrapped them around the Wolver that was attempting to position himself, inviting him to do exactly what he wanted.

It took a few missed tries, but once the Wolver nudged against her wet slit, he immediately slammed inward with that familiar feral relentlessness, eliciting a muffled moan from her. With a mouthful of the other Wolver’s thick length, that was all she could really do. Its heady tastes made her head swim, and before she knew it, she was hugging her arms around the creature’s busy hips, urging them on.

The taboo nature of the act, the wild, unerring speed and power with which the canine beasts took her... it was more than enough to satisfy what the first Wolver left her wanting. Her legs clutched tightly around the male who was slamming his growing knot right up against her clit, and just as it plugged into her once more, she felt that wonderful wave of tense bliss wash over her. That which she was left wanting hit her all at once, treating the lower thrusting Wolver to warm, smooth tension around his length as the female knight writhed in orgasmic delight.

While that may have signified the point at which the blue-eyed knight’s interests were fulfilled, things were far from over. She had invited two eager Wolvers to have their way, and they were more than interested in continuing, each bearing their hips down into their respective orifices. She was there until they were done, like it or not. Mixed feelings stacked toward the former, though.

…

Meanwhile...

From above, the sight of the female knight being accosted by Wolvers was rather pitiful. The flittering bat had arrived just in time to see them disarm her and run off with her weapon! Though the little creature went unheeded in her warning, it wouldn’t be right of her to simply let these things happen. She wasn’t much of a fighter, so there wasn’t much she could do directly...

The knight was, though! Perhaps with her weapon, she would stand a chance? Not a very great one, but at least more than a wee little bat had. Quickly, the blue bat fluttered her way over the floating landscape, keeping a watchful eye on the Wolver that was making off with the sword in its mouth. With a turn of her head, she took one last peek to see the other Wolvers taking the knight to the ground. She had to hurry!

With proper alignment and outstretching of the bat’s wings, she bravely dove, increasing in speed toward the Wolver. She didn’t want to fight it, she just needed to get it to drop the sword, then find a way to get it back to the knight. A simple plan, though perhaps one she didn’t entirely think through over her desire to help out the blue-eyed knight.

As her dive-bombing attempt neared the sword-bearing Wolver, it stopped at a seemingly arbitrary spot in the grass. Moments later, another Wolver burst out of the ground in front of him, startling the poor bat enough to make her flap wildly in an attempt to slow herself down! Unfortunately, she was going too fast to stop, yet slowed herself down too much to make a real impact as she collided with the Wolver’s fuzzy back. At least the landing was soft.

From her momentary perch on the back of the thieving Wolver, she got a peek at the other one, and went wide-eyed. That was the resident Alpha Wolver! It was bigger and much scruffier than the others, with a patch of brown fur on its back instead of the usual orange. It had light, cream-colored scruffy tips on its ears, bearing the same colors on its feet and nose, rather than the usual brownish hues there.

While one would likely expect the little blue bat to be intimidated now that she had shown herself, it wasn’t the case in the slightest. Instead, she crawled up over the head of the Wolver holding the blue-eyed knight’s sword, and casually hopped down onto the grass between the two beasts, looking up at the Alpha with a smile on her face. “Hello again!” she greeted, “I’d really like that sword, if you don’t mind... it’s an emergency!”

The scruffy Wolver tilted its head at the bat’s words, as though it understood. However, its response was anything but respectful of an emergency. The Alpha let himself roll and lay back, which revealed a rather sudden fact about what he desired at that moment. His fully-erect maleness stood before the bat. The knot at the base was practically as thick as her body was!

Despite this fact, the bat didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. Her bright eyes set upon the offered length as though they’d seen it before, though not without some interest. Not without worry, either. “Oh... I really don’t know if there’s time for that! The knight you took that sword from is getting attacked, you know! She should at least be able to defend herself, right?” the bat attempted to argue. The continued sight of the offering before her made her feel like she wasn’t going to get anywhere with that sort of talk, though.

Perhaps the blue-eyed knight could hold out for long enough for the little bat to please all parties involved. Knights tended to be pretty resilient, in her brief experience watching them. What would the harm be if she took that thick, warm, pinkish shaft into the soft grip she could manage with her wings? How much would it really hurt if she leaned forward, lightly tugging the shaft to her so she could bathe the pointed tip with her tongue? After doing just those things, it seemed there was no harm at all, only a rather pleased Wolver.

Going down on the Alpha was more than a mouthful for the blue bat. She could barely open wide enough once it stopped tapering! Contrary to the knight’s reluctant actions, she reveled in the act from the beginning, eager to please the canine creature despite her small stature. Thus, when she heard that sword drop behind her and felt the fuzzy belly of the other present Wolver brush over her back. His larger body overshadowed hers, leaving her in relative shade as she bobbed and worked the scruffy canine leader’s tip with her tongue.

She certainly wouldn’t deny the other creature what he wanted, doing her best to lift and perk her hips back for him. Soon enough, she could feel that pointed warmth prodding in against her offered rear end. A well-placed prod nudged against the tinier target above the one she intended for him, making her heart leap with momentary concern. Fortunately, another nudge of her hips sent the Wolver’s pointed rod just a little lower, where it sank forth into the warm, velvety tunnel she’d intended.

Such a relatively large creature certainly pushed the little bat’s limits as it pumped into her with such snug-fitting thickness, coaxing her to whine around the Alpha’s leaking shaft. It was an addicting feeling though, once she first had a taste of it. Though the thrusting from behind never relented, there was no way the Wolver could possibly fit his entire length into her. Just the amount that was going in was huge for her! Not a peep of complaint would be heard though, hardly even a whine unless it was one of delight.

The eager bat, surrounded almost all over by the two fuzzy canine bodies, soon tasted the fruits of her labors, so to speak. A bout of thick spurts of cum over her tongue, without much warning aside from the ever-present panting above her. Thick drops oozed from the point of entry down the Alpha Wolver’s length, unable to be contained entirely within such a small mouth. That isn’t to say she didn’t try to swallow, though. She certainly did make an effort, even if one wouldn’t be able to tell by the mess made.

As she came up and off of the Alpha’s shaft to catch her breath, the bat realized just how far-gone she was. Her little body was being jarred repeatedly by the involved thrusts from behind, filled to the brim with each one in that way she had become so addicted to. All it took was a little push, a minor rub of her own between her legs, just short of the smooth flesh that was repeatedly plunging into her. The end of her wing merely had to touch and rub that button of hers for a moment before she buried her face into the spent Alpha’s fur, huffing and puffing enough to heat up the fur with her breath in those seconds of bliss.

Being unable to even come close to tying the mildly-exhausted bat, the Wolver could only continue to joyfully press her against his leader for longer than his libido would normally allow, but it all came to the same close eventually. True to his instincts, the canine still held himself as deeply as he could as he more or less overfilled the female under him, fueling her addiction by injecting her with such deep warmth. Despite not knotting her, his sheer size in comparison to her did quite an effective job of preventing overflow... at least, until he pulled out.

Feeling rather gooey on both ends, the little bat looked up at the Alpha Wolver. Their eyes were always so squinted, it was hard to tell how they felt just by looking them in their faces. It was safe to assume he was quite satisfied, though. He rolled back onto his feet, and the other beast stepped away, letting the bat regain her footing. She was slightly wobbly for a moment, but she managed to stand upright.

Before the bat could really say anything else, the two Wolvers burrowed back into the ground, and as far as she knew, they were gone. She was a mess, though at least burying her face against the Wolver’s fur cleaned that off, for the most part. A good bath was certainly in the plans for her. Fortunately, a turn of her head revealed that she didn’t do it all for nothing. The knight’s proto sword laid in the nearby grass, free for the taking. However... it was rather big. How could she move it?

It was silly to try, but even so, the little bat waddled over and attempted to lift the sword with her feet and flap away, testing its weight. To her surprise, it actually began budging. Very easily. “Wow... it feels really light and cheap...” she commented, immediately landing and nudging the hilt with her foot, to which it surprisingly rolled with ease. The realization made her wonder if going to the trouble of retrieving it was such a great idea after all. At least she had a good time doing it, though.

With the surprisingly light and cheap sword in tow, the small bat hastily fluttered back to where she last saw the knight. Though carrying the sword was relatively easy, it did still slow her down a little with its mild weight. Soon enough, in the distance, she spotted the knight. The Wolvers that were around her before were gone, and she was sitting up in the grass. She looked okay! Relieved, the happy bat descended toward the knight.

Quickly, the bat let the sword drop next to the blue-eyed knight, where it dully clanked against the ground. This gave her time to land and wrap her wings around herself, for the most part concealing any possible proof of what she had done to obtain it. When the knight turned her head, she seemed none the wiser about it, though something was amiss. How was she okay?

“Uh... thanks...” the knight half-heartedly spoke up. She reached out to grasp the sword’s hilt, having to turn further to do it. That’s when the bat caught a sight that would have made her giggle, though she stifled it so as not to be rude. Subtle hints of a familiar white-colored substance were present on the chin of her helmet. No one else would probably have thought much of it, or maybe even noticed, but this was a rather observant and savvy bat. She knew what was up.

Despite that source of amusement, she did have concerns. “That sword isn’t very well-made. I think you could get a better one and try again,” the bright-eyed bat suggested. It was in her nature to be helpful, after all.

The knight surprised her though, shaking her head. “I think I’m gonna go somewhere else. This place is... uh, too hard...” she excused herself with obvious shame in her voice. With a mild grunt, she pulled herself to her feet, stowing her sword and shield and reaching for a small, nondescript hatch on one of her gloves, “I’m just gonna go back to Haven for now.”

It was actually a relief to hear that, as far as the little bat was concerned. Maybe this knight would fare better than the last one, in the long run. However, remembering her own previous concerns, the little bat took a single step forward, “Wait! I, ah... I can’t really use the elevators or anything like that. Can you take me with you?”

The blue-eyed knight paused for a moment, then shrugged dismissively, “I guess so. No reason not to.” With that, she opened the hatch on her glove, revealing a blue switch. The small winged creature was reluctant to use her wings and reveal herself, opting to instead lean against one of the knight’s armored boots. As the knight flipped the switch, they both faded out of sight, returning to the relative safety of Haven. HQ would have to deal with an incomplete mission, this time around.