Paige could almost smell the grease in his hair as she leaned over the table towards the prisoner.

"If you don't cooperate your life is going to become very difficult." Her voice was steady, disguising the anger and disgust she was feeling.

He sneered as he leant in to meet her.

"Bring it on, I'm liking the attention." He looked down to her chest as he spoke.

The Captain sat back down while keeping eye contact.

"You're here because your ship mates have pointed you out as the guy to speak to, in other words, they've ratted you out." Her face remained stoic.

He was still looking her up and down, smiling smugly and it took all the will power she had not to knock him off the chair.

"If I talk what do I get in return?"

"I'll make sure your cell mate likes to snuggle." It was Paige's turn look smug.

"Fuck you." He folded his arms across his chest and Paige clenched her fists unconsciously.

"We know you've been dealing with the Shibions, so you won't even get a trial. You'll be sent straight to Kolasis where you can explain to Daniel how you lost 3 ships and most of his men to us."

The man's face grew a little pale at that scenario, "I've had no dealings with the Shibions, that was all Daniel, besides when was it a crime to have transactions with them?"

"It's not but when the ship you're running is harbouring illegal equipment, unsanctioned and unregistered with the Corps you're going to have big problems."

"It's not my ship". His eyes were darting around the room nervously and Paige felt like a cat watching her mouse slowly die.

"Tell me why you risked everything and attacked us." She was staring him down, not giving him a chance to regain his confidence.

He licked his lips and shifted in his chair.

"If I talk, I want to be sent anywhere but Kolasis."

The Captain smiled. "Of course, I'll see you're sent to the working camp, somewhere Daniel Jones has no chance of going."

She of course, was lying though her teeth and the thought of sending him to Kolasis was the only reason she had not strangled him already.

The man sighed and hung his head for a moment. He was a regular looking guy, medium build with some muscle, his straggly hair and stubble revealing the time he had spent on ship was longer then planned.

He looked up and began speaking.

"My name is Rize and I've been a Navigator for Daniel for almost ten years. In all those years the only one constant I knew was the hate Daniel had for the Corps, in particular The Mako and her Captain."

Paige's face was emotionless as he spoke, so far he hadn't revealed anything new.

"Every time Daniel had a plan, the one he swore was going to get him on top, it was always stopped by the Corps, the crew always from The Mako. To be honest, he was kind of obsessed with taking you down, almost everything we did led back to The Mako. When we took the recruit ship he was clear nothing was to happen to Fields. I couldn't believe we pulled that off, it was a real morale booster." He smiled faintly as he remembered.

The mention of Emily's name had Paige on alert as she sat on the edge of her chair, ready to wipe the smile off his face. She remained silent, not wanting to let her interest show.

"After that Daniel calmed down a bit, he was happy he had your girl and she was coming around to our way of thinking. It wasn't hard to see she hated the Corps just as much as we did after a few years of abandoning her."

Paige's heart was beating so fast she was sure he would hear it, her girl? She let him continue.

"About a year ago he started dealing with a rogue group of Shibions who were developing weapons and tech outside of sanction. He had Fields with him the entire time, she knew just as much as he did, that's why we came back for her. We figured she could take Daniel's place, we had all this stuff and had no idea how to use it. When we heard The Mako was heading to Curo we knew we had to move now or miss the opportunity." He shrugged as she finished, like he had just been talking about what he had for lunch.

Paige stood up and walked to his side, looking down at him.

"You risked all your men and the only ships you had left just for this Fields girl?"

He nodded "She's the closes thing to having Daniel back."

"Why did Daniel take her in the first place, there were plenty of other officers on that ship."

He gave her a confused looked "I just said how much he hated you, I guess he thought turning your girlfriend against the Corps would hurt you, make you quit or something."

"He thought Emily was my girlfriend?"

"Yeah, some shit he dug up using the Shibions communication hacker, old messages you had sent between each other when you were younger." He laughed "I told him he was crazy, she was probably just some ass you were chasing but he thought different. When the Shibions handed over the weapons he asked for, his plan was to have her captain the ships that took The Mako down."

Paige was trying to process what she had just heard, Emily had been targeted because of the messages they had shared, it didn't make sense, there had been nothing revealing in them.

The man looked to the door and back.

"Where is Fields anyway, I didn't see her in the cells, I want to see her before I'm taken anywhere."

Paige's eyes flashed with anger at the thought of him going anywhere near Emily. She gripped his shoulder.

"Do yourself a favour and forget any plans you had of ever seeing her, if I have to hear you say even her last name again, I'm going to knock you to the floor."

He look surprised for a second before grinning,

"So Daniel was right all along and now Emily's still got you pining away, hows it feel to have your girlfriend fighting for the other team...so to speak."

Paige's grip in his shoulder became like a vice, her knuckles grew white as he grimaced in pain.

"Emily is the reason your ship is sitting in my dock, the reason your men are sitting in my cells. I know all about the Pulse, which now thanks to you, belongs to the Corps."

He made a face like he had just tasted something awful.

"Fields you fucking traitor", he looked the Captain up and down once more, "Did she open her legs as wide as her mouth?"

Paige hit him hard, blood splashing on the floor as his lip busted open. She leaned in close,

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that, I didn't quite hear you." The Captain was barely containing her anger as she baited him for another reason to hit him.

He spat a wad of blood and spit on the floor,

"Emily is a..." He was cut off by Paige's fist connecting with his face again, this time she had aimed more deliberately and felt his nose break on the impact. When she wasn't satisfied she hit him another three times until his head hung limply to the side, unconscious.

She took a few steps back and motioned for the officers watching through the mirrored wall to remove the prisoner.

She flexed her fist and gritted her teeth as the pain blossomed through her hand, the redness across her knuckles already turning to bruises.

"Bring the next one in." Paige said as the officers carried out the unconscious man.

Emily looked to the Mess Hall door for the tenth time in a few minutes.

Hannah rolled her eyes "Emily, people are going to get freaked out if you keep eye balling them as they enter."

Emily picked at her food as she apologised.

Aria placed a hand over Emily's to get her attention "Hey."

Emily looked up with worry in her eyes.

"If your waiting for Captain McCullers I think you're going to be disappointed, she's got a lot of crap hitting the wall at the moment, I doubt we'll see her again until we dock."

"Your saw her today?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, we had a debrief this morning..." Emily looked back to her food at Aria's answer.

"But I wouldn't take it personally if she hasn't seen you, like I said, I doubt she's even left the holding cells since yesterday."

Emily nodded and then pushed her plate away, it was clear her mind was elsewhere.

Another few minutes of awkward silence followed before Emily decided to leave the group and go for a walk.

After what had happened with Paige and not being able to see or talk to her and the upcoming reunion with her parents, Emily's mind was racing.

She played with the charm around her neck as she walked, not noticing where she was headed until bumping into someone.

"Oh sorry" Emily said as she looked up at Toby.

He was looking much better than the last time they had met, the colour was back in his face and not so sleep deprived. It didn't stop Emily from freezing like a deer in the headlights, waiting for the boy to once again express his anger towards her.

Surprisingly he gave her one of his small crooked smiles.

"Emily, I was hoping I would see you before we got to Curo." He looked down at this hands before running them through his hair.

"I'm really sorry about the last time you saw me, about what I said, I didn't mean it."

Emily relaxed a little and smiled sadly.

"It's ok, I understand."

He shook his head.

"No, I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you, I was just frustrated and you were the closest thing to the people who hurt Spencer...I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Emily continued to play with the pendant, she was a little nervous as emotional situations were something she wasn't completely used to yet.

Toby placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look I gotta go clean up the mess those idiots made of our ship but I'm here if you want to talk, I don't want things to be bad between us."

Emily smiled and nodded.

Toby walked away but before he was out of ear shot he called over his shoulder "Spencer is awake right now."

The pain she felt in her hand was now like a wave soothing her anger as she pressed the man's sweaty forehead against the table.

"Please don't piss me off." Paige said between clenched teeth.

The mad raised his hands up off the table as much as he could in an act of surrender.

"I swear man, I don't know nothing, they hired me a few months ago to ride with them and I only did it for the pay."

Paige twisted her fist into a pressure point on his neck and he yelped out in pain.

"I swear! It's the first work I found in a long time, shit is real on Lutis and I've got a kid to feed!"

The Captain released her grip and fell back into her chair.

"Take him out." She ordered the officer standing in the corner.

"Please ma'am, let me get back to my family." The scrawny man pleaded one more time before he was shoved out of the room.

Paige stood up and walked to the mirrored wall, she knew the room on the other side was empty as she stared at herself.

He fist was a bloody mess as it hit the cold surface, leaving a red smudge across her reflection.

"What's wrong with you? Why would you care about any of these people, they're worthless. You're supposed to be a Captain...you're worthless."

The girl staring back at her was cold, blank and detached, reflecting what she was attempting to embody.

Emily opened the door as quietly as possible, Spencer was laying on the bed facing away from the entrance and she was unable to see if the other girl was awake or not.

Holding the door until it clicked shut Emily stood still, unsure whether to approach the bed or not.

"Did you remember my coffee this time?" Spencer said without turning over.

Emily contemplated leaving in the few seconds she had before the other girl realised she wasn't who she was expecting. Taking a breath, Emily willed her feet to take a few steps towards the bed.

"Hi...Spencer" Her voice was quiet.

Spencer instantly set up facing Emily, her eyes wide.

"Emily!" Spencer said as she looked the other girl up and down, almost as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. After a few moments her expression grew soft and tears fell freely down her cheeks.

"Em" She tilted her head to the side and smiled "Hi."

Emily felt tears in her own eyes as she watched Spencer become emotional at seeing her.

"Hey...how are you feeling?" Emily wasn't sure on what to say and Spencer shook her head.

"I'm fine but can you please come over here and give me a hug?"

Emily moved to the side of the bed opposite to Spencer's injured arm and gently hugged her. At first she felt awkward but it only took a few seconds before she was holding on as tightly as the other girl.

"We looked for so long, I tried to find you...I'm sorry." Spencer whispered as she hugged the other girl with her unhurt arm.

Emily didn't bother to wipe away the tears now streaming down her face.

"Spencer, I know what you did, what you tried to do for me, you don't have to apologise for anything."

Spencer pulled back and pushed a stand of hair behind Emily's ear.

"Can you stay for a while?"

Emily answered by moving a chair close to the bed and sitting down.

Caleb typed codes into the holographic keyboard in front of him.

"These are definitely illegal input codes Captain but I don't know why El wouldn't have picked them up in our system."

Paige rubbed the back of her neck as she stood beside him.

"I need you to find out what, when and how they accessed anything. This is supposed to be one of the most advanced military ships in this sector and a bunch of fucking Shibion thugs hacked our system."

The Shibions had been regarded as a hostile race at one point in time but had redeemed themselves over the hundred years of their dealings with humans. The Corps had utilised their high intelligence in the development and modification of military technology. The Shibion leaders had agreed not to work for anyone else in return for protection. Shibions never really understood violence.

Caleb could feel the tension radiating from the Captain as he eyed her bruised knuckles.

"Thugs maybe but still Shibions, I don't think we'll ever truly be as advanced as they are. I was reading the other day about this new..."

"Find out what I need to know and send it over asap, no one else is to see it." Paige cut the officer off before she lost the last bit of patience she had left.

Caleb saluted as she left the room "Yes ma'am."

Paige leaned on the tiled wall of her shower and let the hot water turn her skin red. She had given up on trying to shut out the thoughts running through her mind and hoped a long shower would help her relax. She squeezed her eyes shut as willed herself to take control of her emotions, her fists clamped together as she let out a groan of frustration.

As the quiet room felt like it couldn't get any smaller she shut the water off and got dressed for bed.

El informed her there were six unheard messages and a number of requests from Crew Management waiting for her approval.

"Shit". She swore out loud as she looked over the requests and realised they needed to be approved before reaching Curo, which was in 18 hours.

She sat at the desk wondering why she even bothered to entertain the idea she would get some sleep tonight.

As she signed off on the requests images of Curo flashed into her mind. She had mixed feelings about the citadel she had grown up on. Amongst all the other military brats and their families she had always felt out of place, The Mako was what she considered home now.

A small beep from the door pulled her from her thoughts. Frowning she got up to see who it would be at this time.

A mixture of emotions ran through her as Emily's face filled the small screen on the door. The guilt, regret and sadness made her shoulders feel even heavier as the happiness and excitement had her stomach flipping.

She steeled herself as the door slid open.

"Emily, what can I do for you?" Paige kept her voice level, she was an expert at it now.

Emily began to say something but stopped, a look of hurt and confusion flashing over her face.

She wrapped her arms around herself and looked up.

"Paige, can I come in?"

Paige crossed her own arms over her chest to stop herself from reaching out to the other girl. She stood aside and let Emily into the room.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Emily sighed and sat on the edge of Paige's bed.

"I haven't seen you in almost two days..."

"I've been a little busy Emily, dealing with everything after the attack, I can't just drop everything because you want to see me." Paige was still standing near the door.

"I just wanted to know that you're okay, I thought you might like to talk." Emily was looking at her with a look of such care and acceptance Paige could barely stand the space between them.

She walked to her desk and pretended to look over the screen.

"I'm fine and I don't need to talk about anything." Both girls wondered who she was trying to convince.

More silence.

"Emily, I told you I can't do this." Paige felt her resolve fading and it annoyed her, she needed to stay impassive to deal with the men in the Holding Cells

"We'll be in Curo by this time time tomorrow." Emily played with her necklace. "I'll be seeing my parents."

Paige could hear the conflict in the other girls voice and didn't stop herself this time from closing the distance between them. Sitting next to her on the bed and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Talk to me Em." She said as she placed a kiss into her hair.

Emily leaned into her and Paige forgot about the rest of the universe for a while.

A sharp pain woke Paige abruptly as she winced in pain. She had fallen asleep sitting up against the wall with Emily curled up in her lap. She tried not to wake the other girl as she manoeuvred into a better position, realising it was impossible when she felt their hands still linked together.

She brushed the hair back from Emily's face and shook her head at the situation, she had sworn to herself to become any closer to Emily, she should have known how difficult that would be.

Emily turned over looking up at the Captain.

"Good morning." She said with a sleepy smile.

Paige leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the other girls lips. "Hey."

Emily put a hand on the back of Paige's neck pulling her down for a longer kiss, her fingers getting lost in her hair.

Paige complied without hesitation, resting her hand on the brunettes stomach.

Paige began to loose herself in the kiss, she felt like she couldn't get enough of the feel of Emily's lips moving against her own.

Emily pulled away slightly smiling at the expression on Paige's face, her eyes closed and small sigh escaping her mouth.

"You're beautiful." Paige said without opening her eyes, making Emily laugh.

"Officer McCullers you are required in the Communications Room immediately."

Paige made a sound of frustration as she buried her head in Emily's shoulder.

"Noooo, go away El!". She said as Emily continued to laugh.

Paige's playful mood switched quickly to serious as she sat up.

"El, repeat that."

"Officer McCullers is required in the Communications Room immediately as directed by Lt. General McCullers and Major Connelly."

Paige frowned "Officer McCullers?". She got up off the bed and pulled her Captain's uniform out of the locker in the corner of the room.

"Em, I'm sorry but I have to go." She was pulling her hair back into a tight pony tail.

Emily nodded, realising the importance of the message.
"Come and find me when your done please?"

Paige gave her a quick kiss as she left "I pity anyone who tries to stop me."

"Captain Robinson will take over duties on The Mako while this matter is dealt with." General Connelly spoke to Paige via the large screen in the Communications Room.

"You will remain on Curo until further notice, you are dismissed."

Paige saluted and waited for the screen to go black before punching the nearest wall.

She leaned her head against the wall as a strangled sob escaped between her deep breaths.

A voice came from a smaller screen behind her.

"Captain, are you okay?" It was Caleb, he had been calling to speak to her about the Shibion codes but was taken back at seeing Paige in such a raw state.

"I'm not your Captain any more." She said as she pulled off the Captain's jacket she had been wearing and dropping it to the floor as she walked out.