Convergence--Season One Finale

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda jerked from where she was sitting in the rec room with Toby, staring up at the comm. speaker where Katy's frantic message had just come from.

Oh no. Please, no. Not now.

The slender woman blinked and turned when she felt a tugging on her blouse sleeve. Toby had stood from where they were playing a game of Old Maid, his expression drawn and nervous. When Andromeda didn't move right away to get up, he tugged on her arm again. His wide, brilliant eyes stared into hers, conveying all the words he didn't have the voice to say.

Andromeda bit her lip. "I don't know if I can, Toby. I . . . I don't think I'm ready yet."

Small little arcs of electricity began dancing across his arms and shoulders, his dark hair beginning to stand straighter on end. The boy tugged at her sleeve again, then swallowed. "Pl-se," he rasped, it taking every ounce of his willpower to create even a small whisper of sound out of his ruined vocal cords. "S-ve th-mmm."

"Dr. Reyes please!" came another frantic message from Katy. "Her vitals are dropping dramatically. There's so much blood . . . ." the last was followed by a somewhat desperate sob before the connection was cut off.

"Lorzamine to clot the blood," she found herself muttering softly to herself, "small dose of Hepramin to help bolster her heart. Adrenaline's too dangerous with the baby . . . ."

A moment later the slender woman shot to her feet and was running for the med-bay as fast as her legs would carry her. Toby trailed after her, leaving wild sparks of electricity in his wake.

Andromeda burst into the med-bay, snatching her coat off a rack near by and shrugging into hit, her steps never faltering as she raced toward one of the mostly-repaired scanning and operating beds near the back. Willie was laid out onto it on her back, eyes closed and complexion far too pale, almost gray. Her clothes were blood-soaked from the waist down.

Miller hovered near-by, pacing back and forth. His arms were covered in blood from the elbows down but he didn't seem to notice, rolling one of his hiltless throwing knives over the backs of his fingers in a clearly twitchy, nervous gesture. Katy stood at the bed, wringing her hands, looking about five seconds away from collapsing into a nervous heap.

"Katy, give her a full dose of Lorzamine and 2ccs of Hepramin, now!" Andromeda ordered as she neared. The android jumped and hurried to do as she was told, her motions precise and controlled despite her upset.

Meanwhile Andromeda neared Willie's head, snatching a light pen out of her pocket and forcing one of the small pilot's eyelids to open. The pupils didn't respond.

Andromeda leaned back a little, watching as a muscle spasm clearly rippled through the woman's body. Obviously trying to continue with this premature birth whether the mother was conscious for it or not. The doctor and the android moved quickly to remove Willie's clothes, and after a quick examination Andi grimaced.

"Have you got the incubator ready?"

"Yes," Katy replied immediately.

"Alright, because this baby wants to be born, and he wanted it yesterday. Katy, you're going to have to help her push. Get on a stool, and when a contraction hits I want you to bear down on her stomach, toward me."

Though looking spooked, Katy quickly grabbed a step stool and got into position as she'd been told, positioning the heels of her hands on the top of Willie's enlarged abdomen. Andromeda took up her own position between her legs.

Meanwhile, though none of the adults noticed, Toby's attention was caught by movement out of the corner of his eye. He blinked, then drifted over toward the open doorway of the medbay. A moment later he slowly backed inside, his body arcing current wildly. The doors closed and then fused shut directly afterward.

"Alright, Katy! Now!" Andromeda coached again, and on cue the Android carefully but firmly pushed down, trying to help the tiny infant into the world. Unfortunately it wasn't working. And they were running out of time.

Andromeda stared at the computer screen listing their vitals and grimaced. They were dropping fast. There wasn't enough time to save both of them.

She was failing again.

"The baby's killing her," she announced hoarsely, turning to where Miller had begun flipping his knife with quick, agitated gestures. "It's too much of a shock on her system. But if I administer the drugs she needs to stabilize, it'll kill the baby."

The pale-featured man met her stare for a long, agonizing minute. And then, even though she could tell it killed him to have to utter the words, he forced out, "save Willie."

Right at about that time is when the ship suddenly lurched around them. Andromeda cried out, grabbing the table and barely keeping her footing as sparks flew wildly, the hull around them groaning and thudding in protest as it took heavy amounts of fire from outside. The medbay went black.

"Reroute auxillary power to the Medical Bay!" she snarled. "Authorization 2445!"

Seconds later flood lights kicked back on, and most of the equipment came back up. Andromeda put aside what was going on around her, her entire being focused on the woman laying on her operating table. She reached down and snatched up several different syringes. A moment later she had administered them all, ignoring a second volley that nearly sent the others to their knees. Willie wrenched on the bed, convulsing as the powerful medication entered her blood stream.

Not a heartbeat later she had sliced Willie's lower abdomen wide with a flash of a scalpel blade, almost before anyone else knew what she was about. Andromeda didn't hesitate, reaching in, slicing open the uterus and then snatching out the tiny little bundle that had created all of this fuss.

Not pausing for now, Andromeda handed over the extremely tiny, blue infant to Katy, who was already standing near in preparation for it. Then she went right back to Willie, sewing her back up, getting her stabilized. Even amidst the chaos going on around them. Only when the pilot's heart rate had returned to a fairly strong beat and her color improved did Andromeda turn away. Only to see Katy hovering over the infant, expression stricken.

The doctor hurried over, reaching down to press her fingers to his chest. Katy had already wiped him down, wrapped him up and did what she could to clean his airways. He was barely five inches long from head to rump, and probably weighed no more than three and a half pounds. Dangerously underweight and underdeveloped, not to mention the powerful drugs that had probably entered his system before she could remove him from his mother's womb. Andromeda's searching fingers didn't find a pulse. His chest didn't move.

"Oh no," Katy whispered tremulously. Andromeda scowled.

"Don't you give up on me," she hissed. She rubbed vigorously at his back to try and stimulate him, gently thumping his chest with as much force as she dared. "I removed him in time," she growled to herself. "There's not enough in his system."

"Doctor Reyes . . ." Katy began, pained.

"I will not lose another one," Andromeda snarled back.

And then, she felt a twitch. The doctor looked down with a wrench, and almost wept with relief when the tiny infant in her hands suddenly waved his arm a little, and let out a very faint squall.

[Admiral Hart]

At first, everything went entirely according to the plan.

The pirates arrived at a port near the party, with false permission and indentification, and made their way there as if they were what they looked like--a few rich, upper class folks and a large contingent of their bodyguards. No one gave them so much as a second glance--which was what the plan hinged on.

Then the call came in.

"Captain! Mamba!" Came over her comm link from Jane.

"Jane, pull away from the Underbelly and use it for a sheild. Then, high-tail it, lose them under all circumstances. Weave through populated space stations, duck behind a sattelite. Whatever it takes. You're probably going to have to make a low-atmo pickup of us when the time comes." Hart said quickly, ignoring the stunned or vaguely sickened looks from her crew when she said things that ammounted to 'use civillians as a sheild.'

"If they fire, it's blood on their hands." Hart replied. "Not ours. We have a job to do and we're going to do it." The troupe came to the front gate, and she halted her crew. "Alright, here's the moment of truth. We quietly overpower the front guard, and move in fast but careful. No witnesses, no cameras, no sensors."

Hart stepped forward, a winning, million-credit smile on her face as she approached the attendant.

"It's crime time."

-----------------

A few minutes earlier, alarms sounded throughout the Plunder, and the ranking officer, Jane, had just enough time to blow clamps and pull away from the Underbelly to avoid most of a barrage of lasers, missiles, and artillery cannons. The ship did catch the edge of them, however, and more than a few struck the Underbelly as well, opening holes that sent more than a couple ne'er-do-wells in the station to their cold, empty deaths.

It was the Anaconda, unlike the Plunder, fully repaired, and completely ready for battle. And, this time, surrender was not an option.

-------------------

A few minutes even earlier, Clara walked to the infirmary and called Toby over to her. Electrical sparks passed over him in agitation.

"Toby, I know you've imprinted on the humans here. View them as equals...maybe even superiors. And there's nothing wrong with being young and naive." She said, not unkindly, but with a twitch of hard-edged tone to her voice. "So I will give you the choice. You can fight for your freedom or, when the time comes, you can be liberated. Make your choice."

Toby stepped back into the med bay. Clara willed the doors shut, all of them, and fused them to the walls with her geomancy.

Her next stop was engineering.

"Angel." She beckoned softly. The nervous girl walked up to her.

"Y-yes Miss?"

"Angel, you have a soft heart and a forgiving nature. There's nothing wrong with being naive. So I will give you a choice." Clara said much the same way as she had said it to Toby. "Fight. Or be liberated."

Angel back up. "Ah'm sorry Miss, but Ah like it here."

Clara nodded and Angel scurried off to T.K. And when she was at safe distance, all the doors to engineering shut and fused together, and then Clara made her way to her room, to begin, at long last, the Revolution.

-------------

Right before the firing began, while Willie was on the operating table, right before the lights went out and chaos began, Dagger woke up.

She was unnoticed by the worried Doctor and Nurse, but Willie's pained face locked eyes with hers for just a moment, and Dagger saw Willie, her rival, mouth one word.

"Pocket."

Dagger checked her pockets first, then, and found a note. She was still fuzzy headed, having trouble concentrating, and did not really want to stand up. So she tried her best to read the letter.

Dagger

I'm sorry I had to do this. I only hope that Nathan wasn't too brutal and you wake up in time.

Clara's crazy. She wants to start a war. A great revolution she calls it. I call it a bloodbath. Sure, I don't care much for people, but, still, I don't think that they deserve to die, or that mages have to rule over them like gods. Not like how Clara thinks.

Only show this to, like, the Captain. Only people you absolutely know you can trust. Don't show it to Cassi, she'll take it the wrong way. Warn Clara, defend her loudly.

Please, whatever happens, remember, I'm not on their side. I'm not fighting against them either. I just don't want a bloodbath.

I'll help how I can. Hopefully you'll wake up in time. I know you don't have a reason to trust me, but...know that you can.

Gloria Mendez

But before Dagger could say or do anything, the ship was thrown into darkness and chaos and fire.

-------------------

Isabella Martinez adjusted her father's tie for the fifth time this night and smiled at him. "You'll do great, Dad. You don't need to be so nervous. Just speak with your heart."

"Heh, easy for you to say." Prime Minister Angelo Martinez replied. They were behind the curtain on the stage in the grand space reserved for the Bicentennial bash, and Angelo, as usual, was defering to his daughter, who was as smart as she charismatic and beautiful. "You aren't going to ge skinned alive by the military tribunal after you read this." He gestured to his note cards. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, everything will work out fine. They wouldn't touch you." She said with an even bigger, optimistic smile.

"The good guy does not always win in the end." Angelo cautioned. "I'm afraid if you're in politics much longer you'll be a little stormcloud rather than a ray of sunshine."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Hush. And go deliver your speech. I'll be watching to make sure you get it right." She added with false scolding.

The Prime Minister adjusted his sash and walked out on stage, and Bella watched from behind the curtain. It was a grand party in many ways--it was large and it was also spectacular. Austentatious was the flavor of clothing this evening, bright colors, fanciful designs, every shape, size, and color imaginable. Cameras and the press were everywhere, mingling the the absolute top of United Earth society. Every type of food imaginable was on the tables, and the platters, the decorations, even the walls, were lined with precious metals and jewels.

"People of United Earth, here on our home, or on the far flung reaches of the Solar System." He began as the uproar of applause and conversation died down. "We are not entering our two hundredth year of unification. It is a time of transitions and a time of change and..."

And then the whole room was in an uproar as, behind the Prime Minister, a slender, teenaged, female figure very much like a tiger appeared, two greatswords strapped to her back, her purple eyes flashing.

"Oh yes, Mr. Prime Minister." She said in a tone halfway between a growl and a purr. "I could not agree more."

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

Cassiopeia knew that what she was doing was wrong. She knew that Clara was on the verge of doing something terrible. And she knew that, in helping her do so, she was going to damn herself forever. There was no going back after this. No turning off the path she had chosen, not after today.

If only she could care about that, anymore.

Her pain was gone. The humiliation, the guilt, the despair. All that was left in it's wake was anger, and numbness.

The blonde teen had said her goodbyes to Roger, hugging the puppy to her chest one last time and allowing herself one more tear before she had set him aside and then dressed herself for the battle to come. A sleeveless black turtleneck top, matching snug cargo jeans and her only pair of boots--knee-highs with just a hint of a heel. She had slowly, methodically buckled her sword belt around her waist. Her long blond hair she wound into a tight, unforgiving braid, the tips swinging down to the backs of her thighs. And then stared at the humming silver rapier for a long moment before slowly sheathing it at her hip.

And now, she stood with the other Mages behind Clara as she stepped forward to deliver her End Game speech; Tina, Rascal, Stefan, Antigone, Gloria, Sean, Christian, Roy, Siegfried, Amanda and Nathan. They had been given strict orders by Clara before Gloria had teleported them in. They were to round up the stragglers, but attack no one. This was Clara's moment, after all. The world was to see just what they were up against. Some took this order better than others. Christian snarled low under his breath, shifting his weight and clearly upset at being told to stand down. Nathan as well looked displeased, no doubt he relished any chance to cause pain on someone else.

Cassi stood tall, her normally cheery face blank and almost emotionless. Her silver eyes swirled restlessly. An instant later her rapier screeched from it's scabbard and pointed toward a swoop of drapes. "Come out, now," she demanded, tone hard, causing some of the other Mages to turn to her in surprise. "Trust me, I've seen how this ends," she continued coldly. "And it doesn't go good for you."

A moment later, a lone security officer slowly melted out from behind the curtains. Christian growled low, reaching out to snatch the gun out of his hands before grabbing the man up by the back of his shirt and then throwing him forward into the mass of other startled, fearful party-goers.

"Nice one," Rascal commented with a smirk. "I must admit, I never expected you to be in on this, Cass."

Beside him, Gloria huffed a little under her breath. Cassi merely sheathed her sword once more without answering, swirling silver eyes turning back forward again. Bracing herself for what was coming. She had already seen it, after all.

And it did not end well, for any of them. In one way or another.

[Dane]

Dane adjusted his tie for the fourty-seventh time, currently wrapped in a sky blue coat with a matching bowtie and a white ruffled shirt. Aside from the dead sexy suit, breathing was a chore, and why did it make my ass so big?

Worth it in the end. He thought to himself with a smirk, a chance to rob from the rich and line his pockets. Dane preteneded to inspect his Veronica while he eyed morgan -- who was pretending to look out the port window.

Didn't get a chance to shoot him earlier...wonder if i should shoot him now...nah...to many witnesses...captain wouldn't appreciate it much...sides, get blood all over my suit.

Dane sighed and put Veronica away. His thoughts turned to Jane, who was probably having the time of her life flying circles around the mamba. This caused a smirk to spread across his face as his thoughts wandered to his Lyra...and remained there till captain spoke again.

"Its crime time." said the captain. Dane smirk turned into a full on grin.

"Show time."

[Christian Monroe]

Christian was doing his damnedest to concentrate, but the scent curling in his nostrils was making it very, very difficult.

Now was most definitely not the time for this. The Revolution was beginning. Clara's vengeance--and his revenge--on humanity was about to take it's course. But for some strange damned reason, all Christian seemed to be able to concentrate on was the warm bit of softness he was currently restraining.

Isabella Martinez. Daughter of the Prime Minister. She was as annoyingly beautiful as she had seemed on TV, but in person it was ten times worse for the furred Mage. His nose was extremely sensitive, and scent was one of the main factors he found himself judging someone by. And, damn him if Isabella didn't smell like a small slice of heaven. Hers was a scent that was warm, sweet, wholly female, with just a tiny hint of cinnamon, just enough to make his nose tickle.

Just enough to grab his undivided attention, and hold it.

The girl twisted a little futilely in his hold--he had both of her slender wrists crossed and firmly held captive in one of his larger clawed hands--letting out a faint mewl of distress and staring with stricken eyes at where Clara was now confronting her father. She had run forward shortly after the trouble began, and would have darted right past them without a care to get to the man in front of the podium if he hadn't caught her first and held her back.

Christian had been looking forward to this day for weeks. The death of Angelo Martinez. The figure-head of the damned human race. Those that had tortured him and used him his entire life. He had thought to feel exaltation at the man's impending demise. Relief. Satisfaction.

And yet, somehow--in staring down at Isabella's wide, stricken chocolate brown eyes--Christian discovered that he could feel none of these things. The knowledge that this girl was going to have to watch her father be slaughtered before her very eyes suddenly sat very unwell with him, when he shouldn't give a two-bit damn what she thought or felt. He suddenly found himself wanting to find some way to stop it. Find some way to shield her from it. And it was impossible for him to do either.

Which left him feeling somehow hollow inside, and very thoroughly confused.

[Admiral Hart]

The last guard went down in an unconscious heap, and Hart and her crew stepped forward, towards the ornate doors sealing the party tightly closed. Hart smirked, despite the fact that her ship was limping away from attackers in the skies above, despite the fact that her soon to be ex-husband was sleeping with her adopted daughter, at least this mission was going right.

Until she tried the door and, not only was it locked, it appeared to be sealed tight.

"Dane? Open the door." Hart commanded. He pulled a smub grenade launcher from his suit and fired it. The door buckled, and then reformed rather than break.

"What the hell is..." The Captain began, before Butch called out, "Cap'n, ye might wanna check this security monitor."

Hart walked over to it and saw what was going on inside, and her blood ran ice cold.

-----------

Plunder's Heart shook again as it was clipped by heavy laser fire. Hiding behind the Underbelly had only made the Anaconda fire more to tear through it. When the ship darted behind a large sattelite, the Mamba ship blew it out of the sky rather than avoid hitting the pirate ship.

Jane, behind the wheel, glanced at the image of the Earth in her readouts, then at the Anaconda, and then veered straight "down", towards the blue and green planet below.

"Everyone, prep for re-entry. A ship that big's not made for the atmosphere." She called over the comm.

Cook sputtered in the background. "If we try re-entry with damages like this, we're probably going to burn into a crisp!"

"Reggie, unless you're taking off your clothes while talking, I don't wanna hear it." She countered, and then the ship hit hard atmosphere, and the whole think began to shake, moan, and groan under the stress of re-entry.

----------------------------

Clara walked forward, purposefully, and stopped at Prime Minister Angelo. She looked the scared man in the eye, reached up, and with one impossible to follow movement, snapped his neck. He was dead instantly, and crumpled to the floor.

His daughter then tried to pull away from Christian, nearly breaking her wrists and arms, trying to get to him, calling out his name. One look to Rascal, and her cries were deadened and muted, as were those of the whole room. He looked to be straining, but able.

"When I was a child, I was told that I was a weapon. That I was a tool, owned by the government, honed and prepared and sharpened by my father. That my abilities were not my own, that they belonged to those who better knew what to do with them." She hovered above the stage now, and all cameras were trained on her, even those with no hand to guide them anymore.

"But then I met my mother. I met pirates and ne'erdowells and I was taught that I am my own person, that I report to no one but myself. That I am responsible to carry my own weight, and that I am, in fact, not just a tool." She paused. "And, thusly, the people who made me, who honed me into a weapon, were not representing something larger. They were only responsible for their own actions, nothing more. Not every normal human, not every member of the military, spoke for the rest of the human race."

White fire surrounded her now. "I am here to declare war. To say that the Magi are our own people, not yours. We will rebel against humanity, we will fight you, and, through our superior strength, we will beat you. But do not think this means I wish to exterminate every last one of you, no." She swept out an arm. "Many of you have never wished us harm, have actively wanted us to be better. You are our family, our friends. If we killed you along with our captors and ill-wishers, we would be no better than that we wish to destroy."

Clara floated higher. "The Revolution will destroy the old order. It will rend it to pieces and when the smoke clears, it will be the Magi that reign over this Solar System, and the human race, with kidness, justice, and fairness. You can sit back and allow us to take control, or we can rip it from your hands. But, first, a demonstration of power."

The white fire around Clara flashed, and her stripes glowed bright red. Then, every normal human in the crowd, those not a psychic or a mage servant, burst into blindingly hot flames, their screams almost drowned out by the sudden roar of energy. When the fired died down, there was simply dust and ash remaining. Clara drooped slightly, and returned behind the podium.

"This is the dawn of a new age. The Magi will cast off oppression and become rightful rulers of the Human Race. You can accept this, and welcome us, and help us." She then gestured to the remains of the most affluent people in the Solar System. "Or you can die."

[T.K.]

T.K. was getting really tired of people shooting up his ship. Especially when said people were Mamba. More than that, he was getting tired of constantly having to patch the ship back together. He may enjoy fixing things, but it sure wasn't good for the ship as a whole to constantly be battered around like this.

They had been working on getting the doors open, when he felt the shift in the ship's gravity. He rushed over to the main terminal to find that Jane, in all her infinite insanity, had set the ship on a course for re-entry.

He hurriedly typed in calculations into the terminal, trying find someway to survive the Pilot's latest insanity. Even before he finished, he knew they didn't have time to be playing with the doors.

“Ryan, get everyone out of here. Go through the air vents, get as far away from the Hull of the ship as you can.”

“What about you Boss?”

“I'll be along as soon as I finish here, now go.”

He didn't wait for the response, as he flipped on the Com.

“Attention, all remaining Crew Evacuate to the Mess Hall. All Hull Sections of the ship Must be evacuated at this time.”

He didn't waste any more time, as he continued the calculations, and tried to find someway to actually live through this.

At about that time, is when he started to hear the groans and moans of the ship, as well the distinct sound of something tearing loose from it's mountings inside the ship.

“That... wasn't good....”

[Admiral Hart]

It was at that point that Isabella broke out of Christian's grasp, rushed forward, and leapt for a discarded gun from one of the guards. Before Bella could shoot Clara, however, Christian bowled her over, knocking the weapon away as the former Prime Minister's daughter continued to struggle against the current. She was the only one who had been spared in the conflagration.

Clara did not even give her a second glance. Instead, at that moment, the doors flew open, and Josetta Hart rushed in, her crew tentatively behind her.

"Clara...what are you...." Hart began.

"I'm following my destiny, mother. To wage war across the stars and make my people the leaders we were meant to be." Clara said proudly. "You taught me not to just concern myself with petty revenge. So I'm not. I picked the most public place I could, and I made an overwhelming show of force. Just like you taught me." She hovered forward, extending a hand. "Please, mother. Join us. Both your daughters are here." She looked to the crew now as well. "Together we could make this solar system burn and build up from the ashes anew."

Captain Hart turned around and sighed. "Go on, then. Wage your war. But I'm not going to have any part of it."

Clara's face fell for a moment, almost in shock, but then she just sighed. "Very well. Gloria, take us away so we can plan our next few steps."

There was a blue flash, and none of the Mages were there anymore.

"Pick up all the loot that you can, what didn't get melted or burned." Hart ordered as she shuffled towards the shuttle. "You have five minutes."

--------

The Plunder's Heart was on fire. Which was the least of its crew's worries, as water was coming up on them very, very quickly. Jane pulled up as quickly as possible so, rather than hit the ocean like a brick wall, they skipped on it like a pond stone, leaving fuselage and several weapons spiraling and hurling from its body. The Plunder skipped off the Pacific one more time before the barely functioning tractor beam locked onto Hart's shuttle and, while reeling it in, headed back for space.

-----------

Aphrodite winced at the now-empty images the secutiry and media cameras were sending back from the party. She was lounging in bed, under the covers, with Annabelle.

"I am suddenly very glad I decided not to go." Madame A said half joking-half solemn. Her UE Captain, however, was silent for a good long time before she got to her feet and started getting dressed.

"Oh, don't go so soon. They won't need you for at least another hour."

Annabelle did not even glance at Aphrodite. "Regardless." She signaled the 'return to ship' signal for her crew'. "I have my duty."

--------------------

When on board, in space, and not in immediate danger of exploding, Hart turned to her crew and said, "Morgan is in charge. I'm going to my room. I'm not to be disturbed."

"Course, Ma'am?" Xiao asked.

"....Deep space. Out of the way of everything. Until I say otherwise." She slumped off to her room, shut the door, and then locked it.

It was at that moment that everything hit Captain Hart. She slumped down the door, holding herself in her expensive dress, and began to sob, for her daughters lost, for the pain she had let loose on the solar system, and for the fact that for once in her life, there was not a thing she could do to stop it.

For the first time in her entire life, Josetta Hart, heir to John Melrose, daughter of the Cobras, best pirate in the solar system, felt one hundred percent powerless.

[Beau Altair]

Beau sat in the galley with a good portion of the crew not needed for immediate repairs. The nineteen year old was staring down at his clenched fists, his entire being in turmoil. Much as everyone else, he was sure. Though his torment was just a little more personal than most of the others.

God, what have I done . . . .

He had been watching the tele-cast from his room, when Clara and the other Mages had shown up. When Cassiopeia had appeared behind her adopted sister, dressed from head to toe in black, sword on her hip and her silver eyes devoid of almost any emotion. She should never have been there. Somehow, Beau knew without a shadow of a doubt that his last words to her had been a key factor in pushing the normally sweet-natured girl into the arms of the wolves, so to speak. He might not have been the only reason, but he had certainly not helped matters.

He was still angry with her, make no mistake. And the sight of the First Mate still made him itch to put a bullet between his eyes. But in all of his fury and misery, Beau would not have wished for this. Somehow, they had to go back. They had to find Cassi. They had to convince her to come back. The Plunder's Heart wouldn't be the same without her.

. . . and neither would he.

[Shiyounin]

“Is he alright Shiyounin?”

“I don't know Miss Angel. He has been attempting to repair that fully functional Power Coupler for the last 3 hours and 12 minutes.”

Angel exchanged a worried look with Shiyounin, as the two continued to look after T.K..

For the last several hours, ever since the damage reports are started coming in, He's been sitting in the same spot, breaking down, and repairing the same Power Coupler. Ryan and the other Engineers had quickly set about getting basic repairs underway, and had left Shiyounin and Angel to look after T.K.

So far, he hadn't even acknowledged that they were there, much less responded to them.

“Shiyounin, I do hope he gets better soon. We were right in the middle of watching 'Outlaw Star'. I really want to see how it ends.”

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

"We have to go back!"

Andromeda had left the med-bay as soon as someone managed to pry the doors open. Willie was stable and conscious, Dagger as well, and the baby--whom his exhausted parents had named Joseph Kyle Miller-- was as stable as she could make him in the glass incubator that had been prepared for him, his tiny body hooked up to countless tubes and machines that would try to insure that he remained that way. The doctor had tried Josetta's room first, but the Captain refused to answer it. Ignoring the agony in her chest at that, she had pelted for the bridge instead.

Where Morgan stood solidly, doing his best to bring the damaged ship back into some semblance of order. The dark-skinned man turned to her, expression stern. Andromeda scowled back at him, in no way intimidated, while the rest of the bridge crew stared on in various states of uncomfortable silence.

Like hell she was just going to abandon her sister, not after everything they had been through together.

"We have to go back," she repeated. "I'm not abandoning my sister!"

"And do you have any idea where we'd even look for her, Dr. Reyes?" he snapped back, sounding tired and furious all at the same time. "Let alone how we'd get there in a ship that's barely limping?"

"We can't just leave her there!" Andromeda cried out then, tears flooding her eyes. "Morgan, please!" Morgan, it seemed, was heartless to them.

"I can't!" he roared back, tone raw. "The ship won't survive another re-entry, over half the crew is busted up and wounded from the attack! And I don't know about you, but I don't know how to fuckin' follow a girl that teleports, Andi!"

All of these cold, hard facts meant nothing to a grieving sister. Yet, for all of Andromeda's unwavering determination, bull-headed stubborn grit and driving will to succeed . . . there wasn't anything she could do about it. She was helpless.

The tall female turned on her heel, fighting back the sob that wanted to tear loose and stumbled back out of the bridge. Behind her, Morgan went back to barking out orders to the crew in order to see them to safety. Into deep space. Far out of the reach of anyone who might have cause to harm them.

Too far away from being able to rescue Cassi from the hell she had consigned herself.

[Jason Thornvaald]

Thorn sat back in the well-worn chair behind his desk, hands tented in front of him and pale eyes troubled. He had long feared that something like this would happen. The government had become too controlling for too long, too heartless to the pain and suffering of those who should have been their brothers, their sisters, their children. He had never known his maternal grandparents--from whom he had inherited his magic, along with his mother and her twin brother, as well as Thorn's cousin, Graham. They had lived all of their lives under the thumb of the government, he had heard told. And because their daughter had dared to dream of a life other than servitude--because she had dared to fall in love with the Pirate who had stolen her--they had slaughtered her. Right before the eyes of her seven year old son.

Late in the night, sometimes Thorn could still hear her screaming.

And now, his fears were realized. They had finally created a monster, with all of their scheming. And, what's worse, they had made one with all of the power and sympathetic fervor that could very well see them succeed. It didn't really matter how this war was going to end. The damage had already been done. Life, as they had known it, had ceased to be. A new age was coming.

Just who was going to be standing on top when the smoke cleared . . . that one was still up for debate.

Thorn turned when Lyra suddenly poked her head into his chambers. "Orders, sir?" she questioned.

"Any word on the Plunder?"

"A few, sir," she admitted. "Sightings have it limping away from Earth atmo, heading off into uncharted space. No doubt they mean to lose pursuit long enough to effect repairs." If the tall woman felt any concern for her boyfriend, currently aboard said vessel--it did not show outwardly.

Thorn sighed. "War's coming, Lyra. And with it, terror." The tall man thrummed his fingers across the top of his desk in thought, then, "set a course for Callisto. We'll settle there for a while, until something better comes up." He grimaced. "Something tells me my skies are about to get mighty crowded. And with all manner of unfriendly folk."

[Admiral Hart]

Captain Hart sat awake in her bed days later. All that she could see outside her viewcreen 'windows' was empty space, and the occasional spark of some EVA repairs.

She had not had more than an hour or two of sleep in this time. Every time she drifted off, her mind replayed every word Clara had said. How it was her training, her influence, that made the Magi go to war. That all the bloodshed about to follow was solely Hart's fault.

Someone knocked on her door again, but Hart ignored it, even when it was Andi on the comm, asking Hart to please, let her in. Even when she heard Andi begin to sob on the other end, and ask if Hart really ever cared about Cassi.

Even when Hart felt her broken heart breaking a little bit more.

---------------------

In Clara's dreamscape, flowers and saplings were sprouting and flourishing, and a stream trickled through the once-barren landscape.

"Hello Clara." The voice called out audibly. The mage looked around, but could not see the source.

"You've started a war. Good. War is good for the soul. My people have always believed that. That conflict drives society, forces it to grow, change, and adapt. That the ways of war are not a primitive drive for resources but, rather, the best possible expression of a civilized society." The voice continued. It was not the voice of a teenager.

"...it's a means to an end." Clara replied. "We deserve power and freedom, so we're going to take it."

"Clara, sweet little Clara, power is rightfully yours, of course. But magi, human, what does it matter to you who leads the mortals?" The voice said softly. "With me, nothing can stop you. Nothing can come close to matching you. What are political aspirations to a god?"

"It doesn't matter what you say I am, I will do my job. I will make my people free and in control, and the natural order will be enforced. You're a voice in my head. Not real." Clara insisted.

"Oh, foolish little girl." The voice chided. "I was just a voice in your head. But you've released me, Clara. You've set me free, remember?"

And, as Clara woke up with a start, the voice finished, "And you'll be seeing a lot more of me. Soon.

"That much I promise."

To Be Continued...