Tesan Solis clambered out of her Prowler and slid down the ladder. Her good mood lasted all of a microt, when she saw Lieutenant Braca approaching her. She was not able to read the expression on the man's face and frowned, though she carefully blanked this as she removed her helmet.

"Officer Solis," he greeted her. "Your mission was a success?"

"Yes sir," Tesan replied, unable to hide the quiet pride she felt from colouring her voice. Braca lifted an eyebrow. She stared back unrepentantly; she was good and did not see why she should be embarrassed by her self-confidence.

"Good," he said. "Scorpius wants to see you. He has… something of a challenge for you."

Tesan frowned slightly. "Sir?"

"Don't question orders, Solis," he said, though his tone remained pleasant. "And anyway, I do not want to spoil the surprise."

Thoroughly intrigued, Tesan tucked her helmet under her arm and followed the lieutenant out of the hanger bay. They walked the stark corridors of the Command Carrier to the quarters that Scorpius had claimed some months before. The door slid open and they were admitted.

Tesan found her pace slowed when she saw Scorpius. The half-breed was a stomach-churning mix of Sebacean and Scarren, his tall, thin body covered in armour that made him look very reptilian in appearance. He stood up as she approached his desk, and gave her a smile that froze her blood.

"Ah, Officer Solis," he said. His voice was cultured and silky smooth. Yet for some reason it did nothing to settle her feeling of unease. If anything, it made her even more wary.

"Sir," she replied.

"I believe you are a very accomplished pilot. Is this true?"

"Yes sir. My last rating was 988." Tesan could add that she outranked every other pilot on the Carrier, but chose not to as she knew that Scorpius had to be aware of that fact.

"Very good indeed." The half-breed paced across the room with a contemplative expression and came to stand very close to her side. Tesan felt her skin crawl but kept her gaze stoically ahead. "And you can fly… anything?"

"I believe so sir," she said, and saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye.

"How much do you know about the hybrid project?"

Tesan blinked. "The hybrid? Sir, you mean Crais' project?"

"The very same."

"Not very much sir," she told him honestly. "I was transferred to this Carrier shortly before Crais…" She paused and reconsidered her words. "Shortly before you arrived."

Scorpius smiled tightly. "Even better," he said musingly. He did not elaborate on why that should be and Tesan chose not to ask. "Whilst I continue to pursue the wormhole technology, High Command has expressed an interest in having the hybrid returned to them. This is what I want you to do for me."

Tesan considered the proposal. "You want me to head a Retrieval Squad?" To her surprise Scorpius shook his head.

"Not… exactly. Even with your considerable abilities the fastest vessel in the fleet cannot compete with that of the hybrid." He prowled around her, hands behind his back, and then turned back. "I anticipated this order at the moment former captain Crais went renegade. Thus I have had those involved in the design of the hybrid questioned and recreated the specifications."

It took Tesan a microt to realise what he was implying and then felt a sudden jolt. "You have created a second hybrid?" she asked, somewhat breathlessly.

"Indeed."

"And you want me to pilot it?"

One heavy, gloved hand took her shoulder in a tight grip that made her flinch slightly. "The orders I am about to give you go no further than this room," he said in a low, confiding tone. "Tomorrow you will trial the hybrid. Whilst you are doing that, Lieutenant Braca will find an anomaly on your service record. I will order your immediate return to the Carrier. You shall not obey this order."

Tesan blinked and stared up at him, a cold fear knotting her stomach. "Sir?" she questioned shakily.

"You shall go renegade," Scorpius told her. He released her should and walked over to his desk, picked something up and then came back over to where she stood and held out his hand. A copper-coloured comm badge sat on his palm. "This is automatically scrambled. Use it to contact me on occasion. Your mission is to find Crais and convince him you have fled the Peacekeepers. You are to get yourself into his confidence and discover what plans he has. Then you are to either persuade him to return, or disable the hybrid for collection."

She could barely think, but somehow managed to form one question. "What of my record sir?"

"Upon your successful return, the anomaly shall be found to be an error and removed. You shall be returned to full duty with all honour."

She stared at him and swallowed hard, not needing to ask what would happen if her return was not successful. "Do I have a choice sir?"

"Yes," Scorpius said. This answer surprised and she looked up at him again. "This mission will be long, it will be dangerous. If Crais discovers your duplicity, he will kill you. Therefore I am requesting that you do this, not ordering."

Tesan chewed at her bottom lip. The mission would take some time, and she risked her career. But she had the opportunity to fly something that only one other person had, and she found that prospect far too enticing.

"I'll do it," she said firmly. And then added a belated, "Sir."

Scorpius smiled slightly. "I had little doubt you would refuse the challenge." He took her arm then and led her across the room to his desk. This was covered in reports and he picked one up and handed it to her. "This is the last sighting we received of the hybrid," he told her. "Approximately two weekens ago. Of course, it is unlikely that Crais remained in that section for any period of time. He is a quite brilliant strategist and it might take you some time to trace his movements enough to locate him."

"I see." Tesan lifted the acetate to the light and scanned the details quickly. "By the time I reach these co-ordinates, there'll be nothing of the hybrid's signature left," she mused. "I shall have to rely on sightings. Hearsay. You are right – that will take some time. I gather you do not wish me to simply transmit a message out to Crais."

"No. Do nothing that would reveal your presence to us and so raise his suspicions. You must act as if you are truly renegade."

Tesan nodded slowly, just beginning to realise the extremity of this mission she had accepted. "No other Carriers know of this mission," she surmised. "The only people that will know that I have not gone renegade are yourself and Lieutenant Braca."

"That is the case," Scorpius agreed. Tesan took a breath.

"I may have to defend myself then. And also to contact species that are not classified and for time that might exceed the given parameters." She turned to face Scorpius and met his sunken eyes stonily. "I will require a full pardon for any and all measures I deem it necessary to complete my mission. To be given upon my successful return."

Braca made a small shocked sound. Tesan knew she was right at the edge of subordination, but given the fact that in a few arns she would be officially renegade, she did not think it really mattered. Scorpius, however, seemed amused at her minor defiance.

"I have made an excellent choice," he said in a pleased tone. "I have great faith in your ability to achieve a successful return. Such a pardon is granted." He looked at Braca. "Make a note, Lieutenant. I think once Officer Solis secures what we wish her to, that a definite improvement to her career shall be in order."

"I agree sir," Braca said and gave Tesan a curious look of interest. She smiled slightly at him, aware of what that curiosity entailed and wanting to encourage it, not particularly because she wanted to recreate with him, but maintaining a closeness to the power base would see her get further in the ranks still.

"See, even Braca approves." Scorpius smirked and then patted her shoulder. "Return to your current duties. I shall call you when everything is prepared."

"Yes sir," Tesan said quietly and turned away. She could feel their eyes on her as she left the room, but refused to show the nervousness she experienced at the task ahead of her.

Outside she paused and leant against the corridor wall. She was physically shaking, though whether that was facing Scorpius or the mission he'd given her, wasn't clear. She rather suspected it was a combination of the two. Voices sounded further down the passageway and she rapidly pulled herself upright and managed to school her expression to one of calmness before the soldiers rounded the corner. She nodded pleasantly at them and then walked steadily to her own quarters. Once there, she collapsed onto the bed and lay staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

After several microts, she sat slowly and rooted under her bunk for her pack bag. Scorpius had not said anything about whether or not she ought to take anything with her, but she decided that since she would not see her quarters again for monens, then she was not going without taking the few personal possessions she owned.

She tried not to think of leaving everything she knew, but it was impossible not to. The idea terrified her as much as the prospect of flying the hybrid thrilled her. How long it would take her to find Crais she had no idea. She frowned slightly as she thought about him and his defection. Why had he done that? She didn't really know anything beyond Scorpius' cool announcement regarding the situation when he'd taken command. Which had been that Crais had killed his second-in-command, contravened several direct orders and then fled with the hybrid it had taken four cycles to achieve.

It would be helpful to learn more, but Tesan knew that any such questions the night before she disappeared would look very suspicious afterward. She sat heavily and sighed. She thought back to the moment she'd arrived on the Carrier some seven monens before, when Crais had still been captain. She only just recollected him, having seen him just that once when he reviewed the new arrivals. There was nothing from that memory that helped really, just a vague recollection of a man that had seemed highly distracted and wore a very haunted look in his eyes.

Tesan jolted back to herself as a sudden coldness prickled over her skin. She shivered without knowing why, only that she had a bad feeling about this mission.

A very bad feeling.