Another Worshipper made her way over to Jennifer, and she snapped the tourniquet around the man's upper arm. "Make a fist," she said, and tightened the band, "then pump it." While the man complied, she felt along the inside of his elbow to locate the vein. "You'll feel a sharp prick." A quick, deft insertion of the needle followed, and blood welled up into the tube. She offered a smile, and handed the vial to Sprint, who took it and decanted it to waiting test tubes. As the man hurried out of the hut with scarcely a backward glance, Jennifer stretched out her back."Thanks,"

"That's the last of them, Jennifer," Sprint said, annotating another entry in the tablet.

Glancing over at the cleverman, she muttered 'Thank God' and then continued to disregard him. While uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere, Sprint could ignore it as well as she, and continued with his labelling, stepping to the side when Jennifer pulled out the chair to flop into it, and lean on the table, chin resting on a hand. Huffing a breath, she fiddled with the neat racks of tubes, arranging and rearranging, rotated them so each label faced in exactly the same direction. Sprint took a moment to observe her. Tired, disheartened, the skin around her eyes was stretched tight, smudged dark as ink, and a suspicious brightness sat in those dark orbs, as if the brief disagreement with Guide and Bonewhite ripped at her self-confidence. Between them, the conversation seemed stilted, minimal, enough to keep the task efficient. Their assurance in each other, the growing, mutual, acceptance, sputtered and faltered before his eyes, and they worked so hard to attain even this modicum of understanding. He brooded on it and what the Hive Master asked of him. What should he do?

Not for a single moment did Sprint entertain guilt on Jennifer's part; he had seen her with the boy too many times for that, and the child had a definite fondness for her, and she for him. Guilt gnawed at him, a sinking feeling he might know a bit more about the child's disappearance than he had mentioned. Notably, the brief, wistful conversation Darling had with him about the visit to Meer'cha, when the lad announced he would like to go planet side. Up until the search began in earnest he had not given it more than a moment's thought... but now he reconsidered. Quite adamant, Darling declared he would go even if his mother refused his request to visit both planet and village. At the time, Sprint believed the comment throwaway or the blustering of a child with far too much time on his hands. In retrospect, he believed he should not have dismissed the remark, and paid rather more attention. Perhaps even have brought it to Guide's notice?

So, there in his hands lay an unpleasant decision, and he hovered at the edge of it, miserable. Finally, he turned to the woman, and said, "Jennifer, I need to speak with you."

A faint crease appeared on her brow, and she swung round on the chair to gaze up at him. "Me? What the hell have you got to say to me?" Anger was palpable in the short distance between them. "You had plenty to say to Bonewhite."

Nothing would change that truth. Perhaps he owed it to her to mention the Hive Master's suspicions? Shifting uncomfortably, the young cleverman found he could not meet her eyes, and he glanced away; he would broach the subject another day. Right now this had rather more urgency, and implied a trust he hoped was not misplaced. "It is about the child..." The sound of the chair scraping back brought his attention back to her, and he moistened his lips, a little nervous. "Darling told me he wanted to come here."

"Dear God..." she breathed, and stared at him in shock, a crease forming between her brows. "Why the hell are you telling me when you should have told Bonewhite?" She made as if to stand, but he stood in her way.

"Hear me out, Fair One, I beg you," Sprint said, and bared his teeth. "I dismissed the conversation because I had no reason to believe he would attempt such a thing and so... did not recall it."

Jennifer's frown coalesced into a scowl, and she snorted. "I don't think the Hive Master will accept that excuse particularly well, cleverman."

"I know." Agitated, Sprint placed his hands on the table, and studied their backs. "I will be relieved of this post, and sent back to work under Ember... Disgraced." A thought occurred to him, and he swallowed his pride, wondered how he dare ask such a favour. "Perhaps you could speak with Guide?"

From the corner of his eye, Sprint saw fury replace sympathy, but she remained tight lipped. They both did, and Sprint dwelt on both errors, wondering how he could put everything to rights? There were no real options, and he would have to come clean, go to Guide and admit he knew something. The thought made his guts roil, snakes slithering over and over, releasing their poison, his skin developing a thin sheen of sweat. If he was lucky, he might get away with dishonour, as long as Darling was safe and well... the alternative being an equally inglorious end under Alabaster's palm, or Guide's.

"Then we'll find him."

The soft statement astounded him, and he stared at Jennifer in amazement. "What? We?"

"Sure," she said, a determined, gritty look in her eyes, and Sprint wondered if he should just accept the consequences of his mistake as the lesser of two evils? "Why not?"

Sprint narrowed his eyes, and shifted his feet again. Finally, despite the warning klaxon, he asked, "What did you have in mind?" A tiny shrug of the shoulders gave him hope she wouldn't suggest anything more reckless. Wrong.

"Steal a dart, and we go to wherever you think Darling is?" Eyeing him, she added, "Can you fly a dart?" Grabbed by the wrist, he gave no resistance when she yanked him down to her level. "Be honest, where do you think he is?"

"This is a really terrible idea, Jennifer," he hissed, but did not attempt to free himself.

"What else you gonna do? Wait for Bonewhite to tear you a new one?" The expression went over Sprint's head, but he got the gist of the idea from the granite in the gaze directed at him, and the ferocity of tone. "Besides," she added, gruff, "I don't want to train another cleverman. I've just got used to you."

"The queen will kill us both if we fail," he protested, but it sounded weak even to his ears.

"Not me -" Jennifer said, more cheerful than he had seen her for hours - "I'm important to Guide and Atlantis." When he growled, she gave him a shake. "And we're not going to fail, so tell me where you think the kid could be."

The young cleverman wavered, caught neatly between a rock and a very hard place. This idiocy would either work, or it would not... if they could pull this off there might be honour in it? "Not here," he said, and met her eyes with a hard stare of his own, while a nugget of hope danced through snake coils and kicked at them hard. "The transport has arrived."

"Then we'd better pack," she said, and let go of him, getting to her feet to begin clearing away. "It wouldn't do if we weren't ready, would it?"

"Indeed," he agreed, and wondered exactly what he had set in motion.

~xxXXxx~

Disturbed by the news, Sprint hurried back to the laboratory and Jennifer, endeavouring to attract as little attention as possible. Alabaster had gone to Chi'Mar to search for Darling, accompanied by a few blades, a contingent of drones and their handler. The transport was already winging its way across the divide. Plus, in spite of every argument about her safety he could muster, Guide had not dissuaded her, and turbulence followed in her wake. Much to the Commander's open displeasure, he was left to oversee the hive, and the movements of their new allies. Sprint fled the bridge as soon as possible on the tsunami tailing Alabaster's decision, Guide's orders for him carved in stone.

~Be quick, cleverman,~ a voice mocked, a young blade who fancied himself a suitor to Alabaster, ~your queen awaits you.~

Today of all days, when he most needed invisibility, luck deserted him and he ran into Bluewater; Sprint knew the man all too well. Their rivalry began in the crèche, and continued long past it, this one having been rescued from their dying hive at the same time as Sprint. Knowing he should not waste time on such an obvious affront, Sprint still came to a halt, and faced his tormentor. ~She may be human, but you should never doubt the Fair One is a queen.~

The one called Bluewater eased his broad shoulders off the wall and sneered. Silver hair, clasped back in a long braid with intricate strands of metal woven through it, framed his handsome face and striking green eyes, which glowed with malicious glee. Leather armour gleamed as he stepped into the light. ~But still Kine, none the less.~

Any number of responses burned their way onto Sprint's tongue, but he held them back, because he was, after all, only a cleverman and, despite the other's despicable manners, Bluewater outranked him. At such times, Sprint detested his rank and its lack of authority. ~ Alabaster, and Guide hold her in the highest regard.~ Falling back on the truth and intelligence, he tipped his head in polite enquiry, and asked, ~ Are you not needed to assist our queen in her search, as I am required to look to my own obligations?~

The blade stiffened, fully aware Sprint insulted him, despite the tone, and flavour of his mind, which radiated nothing but a quiet interest, and the pressing need to undertake his duties. For a split second, Sprint felt certain Bluewater would offer a justification, to him no less, as to why he remained behind, given his ambitions towards Alabaster, but he growled instead. The cleverman also knew he would have to take care around the blade in the future, as that one would not forget a slight. Bowing, Sprint spread his hands, palm up, and waited.

~Be on your way,~ Bluewater snarled, ~and ensure you keep your... obligation in her place. There is important work to attend to.~ With that, he spun on his heel and marched in the opposite direction, away from the laboratory.

Sprint let out a breath, unaware he had been holding it, and resumed marching to his destination. On arrival, he careened through the doors and towards the surprised Jennifer at break neck speed. Alarm crossed her face, so he slowed down, and grabbed a breath. "We need to go soon," he said, and glanced back at the door. "Before they come back."

"Slow down." She waved him to a chair. "What's happened?"

Refusing the seat, Sprint hovered. "There are fewer aboard now the queen has gone to Chi'Mar, so it would behove us to go immediately."

"What about the dart?" she asked. "Won't they be monitoring the bay from the bridge?"

"Probably," he admitted. Thinking on the problem, he said, "I should be able to dismantle the sensors temporarily. At least long enough to allow us to make our way to Meer'Cha."

A slim brow lifted, and she grinned, an expression Sprint found unnerving. "I had no idea you were so talented."

Somehow, Sprint knew that was no compliment, and he leaned forward. "It is a basic skill. If we succeed I will need to place you in the dart's buffer - both to go and return"

"Okay, those things are cramped, " she said, and nodded agreement. "Then I'll pack a few items to take, and we'll be on our way."

"What are you going to bring?" Sprint asked, alarmed she would want to carry too much.

"A medical kit, just in case," she said, and began to throw a few things into a small bag. She glanced over at him. "You never know, it could come in useful."

"I can heal Darling if he's injured," Sprint said.

"Sure," Jennifer said, and tossed her hair back, before slipping the strap over her shoulder. "But he might not be alone, and I could get hurt too."

"I will not allow that."

"How are you going to stop it?"

Unable to provide an answer, Sprint changed the subject. "If you have everything, we should go."

"Okay, okay," she muttered and scanned the contents of her bag. "Do you think it's at all possible Darling would've gone to Chi'Mar after all?"

"I do not." The cleverman shook his head, and they sped off down the corridor, but only after he checked in both directions. Before they got to the dart bay, Sprint wanted to collect a weapon from his quarters. A blaster could come in useful if they found trouble, and while he was more than capable of caring for Jennifer, he did not want her injured or, worse, killed. Truly, there would be no way back from such a disaster. "I believe he wanted friends as you discussed with me, and has looked to find them among the Worshippers."

"But no kids are missing," she pointed out, and Sprint grunted. "Well, there weren't."

"Exactly," he said. "Things may have changed."

For the first time, she noticed they weren't heading for the bay, and she grabbed his arm. "Where are we going?"

"My quarters. We need a weapon."

Jennifer's brows shot up to her hairline. "You have a blaster. Wow." They rounded a corner onto a transporter, and Sprint toggled the membrane. As they reappeared on his accommodation level, she added, "You're full of surprises today."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sprint snorted, amused. "Let us hope there are no worse ones than my ability to fly a dart, use a blaster, and tinker with the sensors." They exchanged a glance. "I am not certain if you could process any more information."

"Oh my, he's making a joke," she said, words heavily laced with sarcasm. "Sprint, why don't you concentrate on getting us off the damn hive, and we'll work on your sense of humour."

"Quiet," he hissed and pushed her behind a pillar, slipping into darkness as three clevermen rounded the corner. Ducking his head, Sprint acknowledged the others, and beckoned her out as soon as they disappeared. "We must hurry."

"Amen to that," she muttered.

They made haste to the small room Sprint used, and he ushered her in, grateful to shut the hive out. Crossing to his rumpled nest, he threw open a small set of doors to the side of it, and rummaged about inside, pushing a few items of clothing out of the way. It had to be in there somewhere, he knew. Or had he put it in the bathing room? He came back up to his full height to see Jennifer standing at the porthole, one hand against the hull, her gaze fixed on the habitation lights from the opposite side of the ship. This far down, they were closer to the holds, as well as the Worshipper levels, and Sprint guessed she had never seen a crewman's quarters. Hers were located near Alabaster's and Guide's, the lighting and decoration beautiful, graceful, fit for a visiting dignitary, or queen. Here, things were a little more basic.

"That's quite a view," she said, and spun round to face him.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, and glanced at the winking blue and white lights. Truly, it was, quite lovely; he had never really noticed before.

"Have you got it?"

It came to him in a flash, and he climbed onto the bed, delved into the alcove just behind, and pulled out the blaster along with a knife he secreted into his boot. A quick check assured him the charge was full, and he slipped it into his pocket. "You can have it once we get to Meer'Cha."

"Let's go then."

Her eyes were luminous, and she looked as nervous as he felt. Once again, Sprint found himself wondering exactly what he was doing, and how they hoped to get away with such a ludicrous plan. But reasoning with Jennifer about the other option, namely talking to Guide, had resulted in her closing down on him. He recognised the implacable mind set all too well, and shuddered. His words to Bluewater were truer than that one could possibly know, and the Fair One would not shift her stance once her mind was made up, just like any queen. He knew her well enough to understand that if he did not go with her, she would go alone, and that would never do.

They walked in silence through the halls, and took the closest transport to the bay. Removing the panel to the doors allowed Sprint access to the sensors and he quickly subverted the routine. The trick was to make it look like a malfunction they could handle on the bridge, so no one would come to check it out. If Guide was in ship-trance, he might detect the subterfuge, but that was a chance they had to take. And it seemed luck had smiled on them this time, as the thunder of drone boots did not greet them.

The great doors slid open. Side by side they stared at the opening, and took a step through it, heading for the nearest dart.

~xxXXxx~

From the shadows, Bluewater watched the cleverman and the human depart into the bay, and growled.