Christophe felt the world tilt as Mahad pushed the ship into gear. The small vessel struggled to full power, but it was still away in a flash. They were clear of the docking bay before the water carrier could even stir.

"Ha!" Mahad exclaimed, grinning madly as he looped the ship around before powering away from Aruba. "You can't touch us!"

Aran grasped the back of a chair with both hands. "Mahad! I'd really like to escape in one piece!"

Christophe did not care what Mahad cared to do with the little ship. His mind was entirely otherwise occupied. He swallowed as he looked down on his daughter. She still seemed a little startled by the sudden rescue, but of course that was understandable. She caught him looking at her and gave a small smile.

"I guess… you planned to rescue me all along?" Emily asked tentatively.

"Of course!" Christophe grinned. "I'd have given up anything to have you back, but this way I got a lot more cooperation. And, I didn't actually have to give the Sphere anything."

"Far more risky though…" Aran muttered. His eyes were fixed on the back of Mahad, as if he expected him to do something else he didn't like.

"Well, the risk was worth it. I'm sure you'd agree, Aran." He could not keep his emotions in check any longer. He was already grinning so widely his cheeks hurt. "Emily, I'm just glad you're safe…" He took her by the shoulders and drew her into a hug, squeezing her tightly.

"Yeah… me too, Chris." It took her a few seconds to return the embrace.

"Come on, Christophe," he heard Mahad say. "You're embarrassing her."

Christophe drew back, realising he couldn't really tell how long he'd been holding onto her. It didn't matter. There'd be plenty of time for that. The thought caused him to break into a grin again.

Emily smiled back. "So… are you going to introduce me to everyone?"

"Of course! Firstly, I'm sure you'd like meet your uncle." He gestured dramatically towards his brother. "Aran…"

"Cortes," his brother cut him off gruffly. Still, he smiled warmly at Emily and took her hand. "Glad you're safe, lass. The Sphere didn't hurt you in any way, did they?"

Emily shook her head. "No, of course not."

Aran harrumphed. "Good. That Guardian that had you looked like a bit of a worry. I nearly had him too, but I ran out of ammunition." He shook his head.

"You didn't need to kill him to get away though…"

"No, I guess not. Looks like you were lucky though. As far as I'm concerned, the only good Guardian is a dead one."

"And this is Mila and Mahad," Christophe continued.

Mila smiled, and Mahad craned his head around to wave. "Hello!" Mahad grinned. "Don't worry, we'll have you out of here in no time, especially with me at the wheel. I'm a pilot you know…"

"Modest too…" Mila smirked.

"Mum!" Mahad growled his voice low.

"He's right though," said Christophe. "He'll get us out of here."

"What's the plan then? Where are we going?" Emily asked.

"Fly as fast as we can, which shouldn't be any problem for Mahad," said Aran. "We should escape that water carrier easily in the archipelagos. The faster, the better. If we can get out of their sensor range before they can speed up, then we should be home free."

Emily nodded, chewing her lip.

"You didn't happen to see if they were carrying any S22s?" Aran asked.

"I'm not sure…"

His daughter still seemed a little nervous, eyes darting around as if trying to take in everything. Well, of course. She had been held captive by the Sphere. Though she was safe now, perhaps she didn't quite feel so yet. Christophe rested a hand possessively on her shoulder. "Alright, you don't need to grill her. If there're S22s, we'll know soon enough. You don't need to worry about a thing, Emily. We're safe; we can finally spend some time together!"

Emily smiled up at him. "I guess… but I think I might still be a little shaken up from being held captive. Maybe I should just sit down for awhile and catch myself."

"Oh…" Christophe nodded. "Of course. I understand…"

"Thanks." Emily sat herself down in the seat next to Mahad.

Christophe watched her. Perhaps his disappointment showed, because he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Don't look so dejected," Mila whispered to him. "That's normal. She might feel a bit more comfortable talking to Mahad – he's more her age. Let her get settled."

Christophe smiled sheepishly as he took the seat next to her. "Thanks. I guess this is all new to me…"

"Well, feel free to ask for advice anytime. From me, or even from your brother." Mila lowered her voice. "I've noticed he's not too bad at the parenting thing – he's certainly been good for Mahad. Don't let him know I said that though…"

Christophe followed Mila's gaze to the front of the cockpit. Aran seemed to have taken issue with Mahad not paying full attention to his flight path through the archipelagos. The boy seemed distracted, talking animatedly as he was with, or rather at Emily, a cheesy grin plastered across his face. Aran leaned heavily on the back of Mahad's chair and growled something too low for Christophe to hear.

"If you say so…" Christophe couldn't help but smile. He leaned back in his chair. He was finally feeling safe enough to relax, and could feel the tension of the last few weeks start to seep away. "I didn't even know she existed," he confessed, low enough that only Mila could hear. "Not until she went and proved it. Then I thought I was going to lose her," he swallowed. "I never even considered having children; I thought it would be a drag. But when I realised she was in trouble all I could think about was saving her…"

"Well, she's safe now."

"Yeah…" Christophe cleared his throat self consciously. "Sorry."

Mila smiled at him again; a knowing smile, and said nothing more.


Emily grinned and forced a giggle at yet another of the young pilot's comments. She hadn't quite registered what he'd just said, much like the rest of the one sided conversation, but her response seemed to please Mahad and he continued to prattle on.

Emily was happy to let him. At least she had yet another excuse to look uncomfortable. Inside she was almost frantic. This was not supposed to have happened! It had been a simple plan; let Blake make the exchange, collect the pirate and the run away Seijin, and then turn on Christophe before he could get away. Instead she was hurtling away in a pirate ship, heading rapidly away from Sphere territory. She had no hope of immediate rescue. She could call for other Sphere patrols in the area, but not without giving herself away.

As far as I'm concerned, the only good Guardian is a dead one.

Her uncle's words ran through her mind again. What would happen if they found out she was a Guardian? Cortes had nearly killed Blake! The man had been a teacher for the past few years, as far as Emily knew. What possible personal grudge could Cortes hold against him? She bristled as the pirate captain stalked past behind her chair. She was related to this man! The thought made her sick. Would blood relation save her if he found out? Would Chris?

She drew in a breath. No, she wouldn't suffer having her father save her for real. She was a Guardian, or soon to be one at least. She had a mission to complete. All she'd encountered was a set back. Bonus credit, she thought nervously.

"Hello…" Mahad's voice brought her thoughts snapping back to reality.

"Sorry… what did you say?" she blinked.

Mahad smiled at her; apparently though he noticed her mood he was absolutely clueless as to its true cause. She got the impression he was a little daft, and Emily found herself wondering how deep he really was in with the pirates. He was young, perhaps misguided… no, she shoved down the thought. She couldn't afford to be distracted.

"You alright?" Mahad continued, still smiling at her.

"Of course."

"Don't worry. We're nearly out of the archipelagos. Then, they'll have no hope of catching us."

"They won't catch us if you'd concentrate on flying," Cortes snapped from behind him. "We're more vulnerable out there. We'll just be further away from that water carrier, so they'll be unable to track us…"

Mahad waved a hand dismissively over his shoulder. "Relax, Cortes. We're nearly out now. I can do more than one thing at once…"

Emily mostly ignored the exchange; she was thinking furiously. Yes, the tiny vessel could be tracked. But they would be out of the water carrier's range by now. If only the Sphere had let her use a better vessel than an outdated water carrier! Of course they didn't want to waste resources on students' projects, but they should recognise when a good investment came along! Well, it couldn't be helped now. She looked at the console in front of her. The pirate's ship was in worse shape than the water carrier. It wasn't hard to imagine it could easily run into issues.

Emily glanced at her hands. Sunlight was streaming through the forward windshield. Perfect for her purpose. She turned back to Mahad. "So, you're a pilot…"

Mahad grinned. "Yeah…"

"So how well can you fly? Can you do any tricks?"

Emily had him worked out perfectly; he needed no further encouragement. With an even bigger grin Mahad grasped the controls and sent the ship into another loop.

"Mahad!" Cortes shouted.

The distraction and ensuing confusion was all she needed. Emily put a hand under the console and sent a surge of Seijin energy through the ship's electrical systems.

The ship let out a whine and some of the overhead lights popped. Then everything fell silent, and the undamaged lightning and console screens winked out.

"Mahad!" Cortes roared again. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Mahad wiggled the controls, and then threw his hands in the air. "That shouldn't have crashed… everything…"

The door to the engine room slammed loudly. Chris had left.

"Look," said Mila, "Christophe's gone to check it out. He'll probably be able to fix it."

"I'll go help him," said Mahad. He jumped to his feet and headed through the door to the engine room, determinedly avoiding Cortes' glare.

"Damn…" Cortes muttered. He seemed to notice Emily. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this…"

The only convincing response Emily could work up was to nod dumbly.


Twenty minutes later Mahad and Christophe emerged from the engine room. They were both dirty and dripping with sweat.

"It's like it got hit by a power surge or something," Christophe growled. "Nothing works!"

"And you can't fix it?" Cortes demanded. "I don't care if you have to do it the wrong way…"

"Don't you think I've tried that!" his brother snapped back.

Mila caught Cortes' eye, staring hard at him. "They don't have to take all of us. They only wanted two."

Cortes met her gaze evenly. He paused briefly before answering her. "You're sure about this?" She didn't need to spell it out to him. What Mila was suggesting would make a shaky plan; it was entirely based on the Guardian's mood. But it was better than anything he had. Which was nothing.

"Wait… what?" said Mahad.

Cortes drew in a breath. "We'll make the exchange like the Sphere wanted. They wanted a Seijin and pirate captain. With any luck they'll let the rest of you go; you're not a threat."

Mahad had caught on. "You're not serious?"

"I am."

"Don't I get a say in this!" Mahad continued to protest.

"No…"

"I wasn't talking to you! Mum…"

"It's okay, Mahad," Mila tried to reassure him. "I know well enough what I'm in for…"

"But we just got you out…" His voice was less angry now, and he turned his head away.

Christophe seemed a little calmer now. "You're sure about this, Aran? It should be me doing this."

"They don't want you," Cortes growled. "And you've got a daughter…"

"So does she!" Mahad snapped.

"It's alright, Mahad," Mila said again.

"Fine," Mahad sat himself down on one of the chairs, still avoiding looking right at his mother. "But only if I can't think of a better plan before then."

Emily had sat quietly through the whole exchange, and now Christophe came and stood next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, at least they'll let us go."

"Of course…"

Christophe let out a sigh. "Thanks, Aran…"

"Don't thank me just yet."

They sat there for the next half hour in silence. Every few minutes either Christophe or Mahad would get up, some mechanical solution occurring to them, and disappear back into the engine room. Each time they came back looking even more dejected.

Cortes could feel the tension in the air, but he stayed rooted to his chair. Only once did any further inspiration occur to him. It was not an alternate plan, but it would significantly lesson any impact his capture might have on Puerto Angel or the rebellion.

He pulled out his gun and popped open the casing, exposing the circuitry. He wasn't exactly mechanically minded, but he knew a few tricks. He could feel Mahad watching him as he rearranged the wires, and tried hard to ignore him.

"Hey, if you cross those it could explode…" Mahad pointed out nervously.

Cortes snapped the casing shut, wishing the boy knew when to keep his mouth shut. "Not until I tell it to."

Christophe was staring at him now, and Cortes didn't dare look him in the eye. He slipped the altered device into his jacket, hoping it wouldn't be found before he could get away from Mila.

The entire ship shook suddenly. Without any sensors running they'd had no warning of the water carrier's approach. A grey shape moved past the windshield, cutting out the sunlight as the larger ship took them into its docking bay. Moments later the rear hatch opened. The Guardian stomped in along with two Brigs, their weapons at the ready.

"Alright…" Blake growled. His hands glowed blue, though palely due to the lingering effects of the Xcelarium. "Don't make any smart moves."

Cortes stood slowly, raising his empty hands. "We'd like to make a deal."

Blake ignored him. "Emily, are you alright?"

Christophe grasped his daughter's shoulder, pulling her back protectively when he heard Blake speak her name.

Emily shrugged the touch off roughly. "I'm fine. You took your time."

Cortes felt his heart pound. Damn! It only took brief seconds for everything to fall into place in his mind. He slowly lowered his hands.

"Emily…" Christophe's voice shook.

Cortes quickly grasped his brother's shoulder, stopping him moving after his daughter.

"Hey…" said Mahad, "You're working with the Sphere!"

"I work for the Sphere," Emily clarified. She now stood beside Blake. "I'm a Guardian. And you're all under arrest."

"Wait…" said Christophe. "All this time… no, Emily… you're not serious! Whatever they've got on you… if it's your mother…"

"Ha!" Emily cut her father off with a short, derisive laugh. "Like you care about Mum! I'd be surprised if you even remembered her name!"

"Don't talk to me like that… I'm… I'm your father!" Christophe snapped. He'd tried to sound angry, but his voice cracked and faltered.

Cortes squeezed his brother's shoulder tighter, telling himself he just didn't want him to go and do something stupid. "You can have me and Mila," he said. "The others are no use to you."

"You're all under arrest," Emily said firmly. She didn't even look to Blake for confirmation. "I have to talk to my father anyway. Oh," she addressed Blake, "and you'd better take the gun off the pirate. He's rigged it to explode."

She said 'the pirate' with such apparent disgust that for the briefest of moments Cortes was lost for words. Then the rest of what Emily had said sunk in. "Which I could set off now…" he reached into his jacket.

"… but you wont," said Emily.

Blake smiled at the assurance and held out a hand, palm up.

Cortes paused only briefly, then carefully pulled out the weapon and handed it over. He swallowed hard. Now he really was in trouble.


They were led onto the Sphere vessel. Blake had taken Mahad and Cortes, along with half the Brigs. Emily led Christophe and Mila, backed up by the rest of the Brigs.

Christophe felt sick. If any opportunities to escape presented themselves, his usually sharp mind completely failed to pick them up. Mila kept glancing at him sympathetically, but he didn't notice this either. It was only when Emily opened a door to a darkened cell and ushered Mila inside that Christophe paid her any attention. He looked up as the door was closed, suddenly fearing being left alone with his daughter.

A few doors further down Emily opened a door to another cell. Christophe trudged inside. He was still so unsure what to make of everything that had happened that he simply followed her orders with a barely a thought.

"Leave us," Emily said to the Brigs that followed them. She closed the door after they left, and turned to face Christophe. Father and daughter were alone.

Christophe finally found his voice. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm a Guardian. This is my job."

Christophe swallowed hard. "Don't give me that!" He felt a flash of anger. He clung to it. It was better than the despair. "You made me try to steal information from my brother! I would have sold out an entire bloc for you! I watched as one was burnt to the ground!" Memories of the burning bloc sprung up unbidden in his mind, and it was all he could do to force them down. "I did that for you!"

Emily folded her arms and glared at him. "Yeah? Well you put in a lot of effort then, didn't you? You worried about me for… what was it? A little over a week, maybe two? Where were you before that, huh?"

"Emily…" Christophe shook his head. "I didn't even know you existed."

"You're my father," she snapped. "You're supposed to know. But no, instead you go gallivanting off. If you loved my mother you would have stayed. You didn't need to know whether I existed or not."

"Is that what this is about?"

"No," Emily said curtly. "This is just my final year project."

"What…" Christophe could feel himself starting to shake. He was losing his grip on his anger. "What does that mean!" he snapped.

"You were just a means to an end. Meeting you was pure coincidence that worked to my advantage. Who better to get to give up information than you? I bet you felt so guilty."

"I didn't feel guilty!" Christophe exclaimed. "I thought you were going to get hurt!"

"Whatever," Emily huffed. "I've got what I wanted. Maybe I'll release you; I haven't decided yet."

"And what about the others?"

"They're valuable. Don't you get it? They're what I wanted." She shrugged. "Well, all I really wanted was some information, but this is what you gave me…"

"Emily… he's my brother…"

"I don't care!" she snapped, turning on her heel. "Like you care about family…"

"Emily…" His throat felt raw. He had to try one last time. "I didn't forget your mother. I loved her…"

Emily paused, her hand on the door.

Christophe felt a slight ray of hope. The memories were buried deep, but they were there. And they had been strong once. He pulled them up, straining to remember every important detail. "Her name was Alicia. We used to fix ships together and then rip off the owners. I loved it when she laughed, when she smiled. She had the most crystal clear blue eyes I'd ever seen. Emily, I didn't just up and leave her; I loved her. But after five or six months, I guess we just drifted apart. Maybe if we'd both known she was pregnant it would have been different…"

Emily was looking straight at him over her shoulder now. Christophe caught a glint of gold around her neck. It was the same necklace she'd shown him when trying to convince him they really were related.

"I gave that to your mother…" Christophe pointed.

Emily blinked, momentarily confused, but then followed his gaze. She took the necklace in her hand, pulling out the pendant. It was a shiny crystal stone, a blue so pale it was almost white. She turned it over in her hand, studying it.

"I told her it was the only one I could find that reminded me of her eyes…" He was gushing. He didn't care.

Emily stared at the pendant for a moment more. Then her hand tensed. Shaking, it closed about the necklace. Her face contorted into a scowl, and with a vicious yank she snapped the fine chain from around her neck.

Christophe drew in a short breath.

"You had to remind me, didn't you?" Emily didn't look at him. She tossed the necklace to the floor, flung open the door and stormed out.

Christophe tried to call her name, but his voice caught in his throat. He looked down at the necklace on the floor, his vision blurring. He stepped over to it, knelt, and carefully picked it up. He held the fine, broken chain draped across his big hands. Emily wanted this trinket as much as she wanted him.

Christophe sunk to the floor right there, enfolding the necklace in both hands. His head dropped to his chest, and his shoulders started to shake.