Bridger was startled out of his sleep by an incessant banging on his door. He jumped out of bed and ran to the door, yanking it open; having a feeling it was regarding Lucas and Katya. He was understandably stunned to open the door to see Ellie standing there. She pushed past him and into the room.

"Ellie, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?"

"Captain, I know where they are!"

Bridger stared at her. "You know where they are…"

"Lucas and Katya!"

"Where Ellie? Tell me!"

"They're being held at old Fort Point, they're still in the city, but you have to hurry!"

"Are they alright?"

"For the most part, yes, but they won't be for much longer unless you hurry!"

He sprinted to the com and called up to the Bridge. "Commander Ford!"

"Yes sir?" the Commander replied.

"We've got a hit on Lucas and Katya. Get a shuttle ready for launch, now! I'm calling the Admiral. Get Barnham, Krieg, O'Neill, Ortiz, Hitchcock and Dr. Westphalen to launch bay immediately, and have them prepared for offensive maneuvers."

"Right away Captain."

The Captain then quickly contacted UEO headquarters. "I need Admiral Noyce right away!"

"Noyce here."

"Bill! We know where they are…"

-

Jason, Ben, Tim and Miguel sped down the ladder to the waiting launch. They hadn't been told yet, but they knew that this had to do with their friends and their adrenaline was on overdrive.

"Do you think they've found them?" Jason asked.

"God, I hope so," Tim replied.

None of them spoke aloud the thought that was foremost in all of their minds: Were they alive?

-

The Captain raced down the corridor toward the launch bay. The police and the Russian Federation were already preparing, and would be waiting for them at the dock. He'd made it very clear that he didn't want a move made until he and his crew were there. He wanted to see with his own eyes that they were there, that they were safe, and he wasn't about to sit here and wait for someone to send word back. They were just offshore; they'd be there in 15 minutes.

He climbed down the ladder and onto the launch, looking around at the group assembled there. He'd brought them for a reason. He could trust them all, and even though they all had a personal stake in this, he knew that none of them would act rashly. It was normally against good judgment to have people who were so closely involved on a team like this, but he was making an exception here. They all looked to him, eager for some news as to why they were here.

As the launch pulled away and headed for shore, he quickly explained. "We've got an idea of where Lucas and Katya might be. We're going there now. All indications are that they are still alive, and I hope they'll still be that way once we get there."

They all looked at each other with cautious smiles. They all knew not to get their hopes up, just in case the information was old and by the time they got there things had changed dramatically. It had happened before.

"What I am about to tell you," he continued, "is classified information. You aren't even supposed to know about it, but I think it's important that you do. It's about Katya. It seems there was more to her than even she, herself, knew." He quickly summarized his conversation with Noyce about Katya's true identity, and when he was finished, he was greeted by blank stares.

"So…you're saying that Kat, our Kat, is Russian royalty?" Ben asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," Bridger replied. "Or more so, she would be if there were still a royal family in Russia."

"But there hasn't been for 100 years," Tim said. "All this time, they thought that the entire family was gone. I remember when it came out that one had escaped, but they figured, at the time, that she had eventually died, still somewhere inside Russia."

"We're not sure what connection there is, if any, between this and Katya's kidnapping, but it is something to consider," the Captain said. "If we get her back, I expect that she won't be treated differently in light of this information. Understood?"

"Yes sir," they all replied in unison.

"Not like we would anyway," Jason said.

"I know Jason, but I want to make sure it was said."

"Understood Captain."

The shuttle docked and they quickly joined the waiting forces, leaving immediately.