Hi again. This is a bit of a short chapter but i've already started Chapter 4 so that should be out reletivly soon. Thanks so much to TotallyAwesome2727 for your lovely reviews! you are.. well..Totally Awesome.

Taz hadn't sat still for so long in her life. She had taken apart her zapper and reassembled it seven times by the time Junior came back. He looked nervous.

"What happened?" said Taz.

Junior went over to a metal locker next to Taz's bed, opened it and pulled out various battle gear.

"Is Up ok?" asked Taz.

"Yeah" said Junior. He faced her and pulled a bulletproof vest over his head, "Him and the others are on their way back and my platoon are taking over."

"What? You... You're going to the front line?"

He nodded.

"But you are our Captain, you shouldn't have to go"

"I know" he said, "But it's only fair I get to be there too"

Taz got up from the bed and walked as far towards him as the tubes in her arm allowed her to. He got the message and walked up to her. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't hug him, that was like a death sentence. She wanted to tell him he was what all starship captains should be like but she wasn't very good with emotion so she held out her hand for him to shake. He took her hand but didn't shake it. He pulled her closer, kissed her cheek, gave a sly wink and left.

"Hey!" shouted Taz after him, "You come back here idiota!"

Taz stomped back to her bed in anger.

How dare he kiss me, I don't care if he is going off to a battle he has no right to-

Taz was cut off in her thoughts by a medic entering the tent.

"Captain asked me to unhook you, you should be fine now"

"Good" said Taz, her anger ebbing away at the thought of getting out of this damn tent.

As soon as she was released Taz ran outside to see that she was right by the drop pods. Trucks were pulling up with wounded soldiers on the back. She saw Up in the back of a truck that was coming up the dirt road towards them. He had a bloody cloth clutched at his head but looked otherwise uninjured.

The truck pulled up and Taz ran towards it.

"Up!" she shouted. He looked up at her.

"Taz?...Taz! I thought you were dead, we lost you so fast." he climbed off of the truck and staggered. Taz pulled his arm over her shoulder.

"Wow you've lost a lot of blood" said Taz, looking at Up's pale face.

"I guess I better get sewn up then" he said casually.

Taz laughed and the medical staff converged on him with a needle and thread.

Later that night Taz opened the door to her room back on the starship. Specs had been called in to help with a "temporary force field project" so only Mort was greeted by the sight of Taz covered in mud, sweaty and sporting a scar on her arm where the tubes had been.

"So um..." said Mort, looking her up and down "Have a good evening?"

PEW!

A few days after the battle Taz was in the zapper training room with Up. They were firing at targets at the end of a long room and the "pew pew" was echoing off the walls.

"So I've been meaning to tell you about a generous invitation we've been offered by Doctor Spaceclaw" said Up sarcastically, Blasting a model robot to pieces with a "Pew!"

"Ooooo really" said Taz in a fake excited voice, hitting the model next to it, making a loud shattering sound.

"A Ball to celebrate the success of the recent battle, Mandatory for all Commanders and Duputy commanders."

Taz gaped at him. They didn't even have a choice.

"Yeah I know." he said grimly, "It's being held back at the galactic league headquarters"

"Any good news?" Taz asked.

"Well, we can bring a guest each" he said. Not really good news then. Who would she take? Specs or Mort. Taz had hated parties since she was 15. For a very good reason.

When Taz got back to her room she was greeted with the news that some deputy commander from another platoon called Krayonder had asked Specs to the ball so Taz asked Mort to be her guest. The two girls seemed quite excited about the event which almost made up for Taz's opposite feelings.