"Blake's stupid games will get us all killed!" Deva's tense face was lined with worry. He felt like he'd aged a dozen years since he'd promised to fight alongside Blake. If only he hadn't made that promise. Each word felt like the bars of a prison keeping him here.

"What's he done now?" Klyn didn't look up as he entered. Several bounty hunters were requesting clearance to the base. She checked their IDs and tapped the approval.

"We set up those security protocols so he wouldn't have to get involved. All he had to do was stand up and say a few speeches, draw in the recruits and we'd do the rest. But he's ignored everything. He's out there now playing bounty hunter!"

"Well, he is the leader."

Deva snorted. "Do you like being led by someone who couldn't think his way out of a paper bag? The last man he let in here nearly blew up the place because he let him loose, thinking Blake would turn him into the Federation. And he ran off when Blake finally tried to recruit him. I don't blame him, Blake's insane." He stared at an incoming communiqué. "I tell you Klyn, Blake will get us all killed and he doesn't care. All he's concerned about is having us cater to his whims."

"You're exaggerating." Klyn shook her head. She'd heard ears full of Deva's griping against Blake lately. It was only a matter of time before Deva decided it was time to go somewhere else.

Deva leaned closer, his eyes flashing with anger. "Do you know what he told me when I said his stupid games would get us all killed? He said to 'indulge' him. We're not talking about flavours of ice cream here!" His face was red. "We're talking about people getting killed! The man's completely insane!"

"What are you going to do?" Klyn was only here because of Deva. She would follow him anywhere, if only he would notice.

"He can't even raise a proper army. He keeps talking about the 'beginnings' of an army. Yes, you, me, Chaver and two janitors, and a Federation base full of bounty hunters who would slit our throats or turn us in, depending on what they had for breakfast. We don't even have weapons! Only Blake does. Each time he arranges a shipment, the people try to kill him. What the hell is he doing? I'm beginning to think we made a serious mistake having him here."

Deva began pacing the floor, his steps agitated. "I'd heard rumours…crazy ones, I thought. I didn't believe them. Not Blake. He's not crazy. But now, I'm not so sure. The man's unstable. He killed that last bounty hunter in grid 9 just because the man looked at him funny. And it's not the first time."

"Are you going to keep following him?" Klyn looked at him worriedly.

"I made a promise to fight the Federation."

"You don't have to do it with Blake."

Deva's eyes widened. "I wonder if we can join Avon and his crew. We can leave here."

"The two of us?"

He looked at her, as if seeing her clearly for the first time. "Yes."