Song: "Spinning," by Zero 7, from the album When It Falls. You might have noticed that many of the songs for this fic come from that album...it's one of my very favorites, (and I don't say that lightly), so I recommend giving it a listen. :)

Chapter Twenty: Chains

Was it loneliness that brought you here,

Broken and weak?

Was it tiredness that made you sleep?

Have you lost your will to speak?

They were off once more, but to Zara it felt like she'd gone back in time.

After the others had showered and changed, she'd supervised Corliss so that the other girl could clean up as well; considering that the Zeltron was wearing two sets of cuffs, it had been awkward, but in the end they'd managed. Presently, Levy and Tully were at the helm and nav, respectively, while Jo and Drake sat with her and Corliss in the lounge. Johari had brought out bottles of water and for several minutes everyone sat in tense silence while they idly sipped at their drinks.

Zara and Drake sat beside one another against the farthest wall from the passage that led to the gunwell, while the Echani woman had pulled a bench loose from the wall and slid it across from them, back to the airlock; her legs were crossed and her arms rested against her folded knees as if she were relaxed, though Zara figured that she was ready to spring into action should the need arise. Corliss had been guided to one of the seats in the dining area so that her back was placed almost in the corner of the small room, effectively cutting her off from either the exit to the gunwell or the door that led to the cargo bay. Drake had put her there, and it had not been happenstance.

Now that she was clean and wearing a set of spare clothes, the Zeltron seemed more like the girl that Zara had known so long ago, though there was still a swirl of darkness around her. However, even beyond this, she was different in a way that was difficult for Zara to place as she studied her friend. It was like Corliss was muted, or closed-off. The anger and fear that Zara had sensed from her back on Glee Anselm had faded to calm collection, which was odd, to say the very least.

The Corliss Auset that Zara had known growing up had struggled to keep her emotions in check, even if they were to the detriment of her Jedi training, and Zara couldn't help but wonder at the fact that Corliss was holding back, somehow. Unless, the Padawan mused, training with the Inquisitors had managed to give her the sense of control that she'd been unable to find with the Jedi.

After several minutes of silence, Corliss glanced over at the blue-skinned young woman. "What are you doing running all over the galaxy that you need my help with?"

Beside her, Zara felt Drake stiffen, but she answered anyway. "We're searching for a Jedi artifact that was hidden by a Seer a few years ago." It was not the entire truth, but it was true enough. "Right now we're going to Eol Sha."

Corliss' brow furrowed and she shot a glance at Johari, who had taken to studying the fireworm scale though her eyes were unfocused as if her mind was parsecs away. Sensing she was under scrutiny, Jo blinked and straightened, setting the scale in her lap and giving the Zeltron an appraising look before she unfolded her legs and rose, crossing the lounge in a few steps and holding the scale up to Corliss. "What can you tell me about this?"

The pink-skinned young woman took the scale gingerly, the movement awkward because of the double layers of cuffs on her wrists, but she didn't comment on the matter; rather, her eyes closed and she ran her fingertips over the faint creases upon its surface, her face shifting into a look of pure concentration.

As she did so, Drake glanced at Zara. "Can she do her psychometry thing with the Force-suppressing cuffs?"

His tone suggested that he was not about to remove them; however, his words seemed to prompt Corliss to open her eyes and regard him with an amused expression. "A little. It'd be stronger if the cuffs were gone, but that's not likely to happen, is it?"

There was a trace of derision in her otherwise light tone, and Drake scowled and shoved his hand in his pocket as he replied. "Can you tell anything or not?"

Nodding, Corliss held up the scale in the dim light of the cabin, turning it this way and that and watching the translucent patterns swirl over the surface as she spoke. "He was a powerful Seer, wasn't he? I could tell that he was a Miralukan...about twenty eight standard years. Given that they can't 'see' as most beings do, the visions that I picked up were a little strange, but there is definitely something here."

Her eyes closed again as she tapped the scale with her index finger, as if considering how to phrase her words. It was a gesture that reminded Zara of their time at the Jedi Temple, as she'd seen her friend do such a thing on more than one occasion. "There is a nest...young creatures, still in their eggs – fireworms, perhaps – and because of this, they are vulnerable. The air is filled with heat, so much so that it's almost choking. Nearby, to the left, I can feel the heat of lava or liquid magma, and I can smell the earth burning all around...the air is thick and smoking."

As she spoke, she actually started to cough, though she continued after a moment. "But something's happening – an earthquake perhaps? – and the ground starts to shake, which makes...oh, the nest is compromised. I can hear that an egg has rolled free and..."

Suddenly, Corliss' eyes snapped open and fixed upon Johari, who was gaping at the young Zeltron even as she stood above her. "You," she whispered. "You saved the egg, didn't you? It was headed right for the lava...but you saved it. That was very..." She paused, then frowned. "Brave, I suppose. Or stupid."

At the mention of an egg, Johari had taken a step backward as if in disbelief. Drake looked between Corliss and the Echani woman. "Well? Is that true?"

"It is..." Jo put a hand to her forehead and winced, as if she were in pain. "The heat was so intense, I could hardly breathe. We were forced to make an emergency landing in a violent section of the planet, and had to fight one of the creatures almost immediately. Later on...we came across the empty nest and Atreus..." She trailed off and looked down. "Of course. I remember, now."

Both hands raised because of the cuffs, Corliss was holding up the scale as she examined it further, an earnest expression on her face. "The scales protect the babies while they're in the eggs, right? I think I remember learning something to that effect when I was younger." Unexpectedly, she smiled when Jo took the scale from her and nodded before returning to her seat.

When Corliss smiled – a true smile, not the feral sneer of one who dwelt in the Dark – Zara was struck by how much she resembled the Padawan from Coruscant, the fractious, temperamental but good-hearted girl that had been a dear friend. As if sensing her thoughts, Corliss glanced over at Zara and Drake, moving her eyes between them before she settled her gaze on the Padawan. However, before she could speak, Drake sat upright.

"Thanks for the help," he said in a curt voice, before he looked at Zara. "Where do you want to put her for the night?"

Of course Zara hadn't thought that far ahead, and she tried not to grimace as she glanced around the lounge in thought. "I can give up my room," she said after a moment, looking up at Drake and wincing internally at the look of disappointment that came over his face even as his hand reached to cover his pocket once more.

"No way. She's not a guest, Zar, she's a prisoner," he replied, shaking his head and glaring at the Zeltron, who was watching the exchange with unconcealed interest. He sighed and looked at Jo. "This would be a lot easier if you had a brig."

"Drake, we don't have any other options," Zara said. "If it's okay with Jo, I'll just bunk with her, and Corliss can be in my room. We can all take turns guarding outside the door, if it'll make you feel better."

Something she said caused him to scowl again, but he only nodded and looked away, getting to his feet and stepping towards the door. When he spoke again his voice was curt and overly professional, as if it were the Wars all over again, as if they had just met and he wasn't sure how to act around her; it was something she'd seen happen with the clones, especially the older ones, though she knew that Drake and his brothers were subject to similar mannerisms. Sometimes, in situations of high stress or copious uncertainty, the clones would revert back to their military training, almost like it was a default setting. "Fine. I'll go tell Lev and Tully the good news."

And just like that, it was as if they were strangers. And again, it was her fault.

Zara's face felt very warm and she realized that her hands were shaking, so she took a sip from her water to attempt and disguise how much his tone had upset her even as she got to her feet. After Zara called first watch, Jo said something about going to do some of her Echani exercises, and the silver-eyed woman slipped out of the room. As soon as she did, Zara realized that she didn't want to be alone, and several minutes later she was watching Corliss standing in the center of her cabin, glancing around with curiosity. Naturally, the Zeltron's eyes fell on the rumpled sheets of the bunk, which caused Zara's cheeks to heat up once more even though Corliss didn't say anything.

After a moment, Corliss leaned against the bulkhead and slid to the floor and closed her eyes, as if she were going to sleep. For a moment she looked...peaceful. Quiet. It was an expression that was so unlike her old friend, Zara made a noise of disbelief. One indigo eye opened and regarded her. "What?"

"You're so...calm," Zara said, shaking her head. "I can feel it radiating off of you, and it's just...strange. Especially since you were..." she fumbled over the word, here. "So angry on Humbarine, and again on Glee Anselm."

"It's still there, Zara," Corliss replied, opening both eyes and watching her. "It's still within me. The anger, I mean." She frowned and looked down at her bound wrists. "I know you want to, but you shouldn't trust me. You should listen to your lover."

At the word 'lover,' Zara felt her face darken again, so she gave a sigh and slid to her seat as well, leaning against the bulkhead in a way that mirrored the Zeltron seated across the room. Corliss blinked at her and frowned, tilting her head as she studied the Padawan. "He is your lover, isn't he?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Again, Corliss' smile transformed her face, though it faded quickly. "I have a sense about these things," she said. "All Zeltrons do, when it comes to matters of sexuality. The way that you acted around each other was a fair indication, for one thing. And the sheets..." She indicated the bunk and raised a brow. "I may be a psychometric Zeltron, but some things are clear enough on their own."

Zara's face darkened further still, and despite her own attempt at nonchalance, Corliss could sense the other young woman's mixture of arousal, embarrassment and bewilderment. The swirl of emotions that she could make out indicated that it was the Nautolan's first love, and Corliss leaned forward, careful to keep her expression neutral and open so that the conversation could continue and they could talk as friends.

As she did so, she realized that it had been years since she'd felt a similar way, and from what she remembered the "first love" experience was dizzying, almost addictive; for a moment she actually envied Zara. However, she made no indication of such and only gave the blue-skinned young woman a curious look. "It wasn't your first time, was it?"

The tips of the Nautolan's lekku were so dark, they could have been likened to Corliss' own blue-black hair, and Zara did not answer for a few moments; finally she gave a slow nod, which was followed by a shy smile. "It was."

"He was...nice to you?" She didn't know where the question had come from, but there it was.

"Drake is always...nice," Zara replied at once, sitting up straighter. "I mean, it was a little strange, I guess, but we..." She blushed again and dropped her eyes to her boots. "We figured it out."

Relief edged from her, and Corliss recognized the feeling after a moment as that of someone who was happy to just talk. Perhaps this might not be so difficult, then. She nodded and laced her fingers together, which was about all she could do given the cuffs. "That's good. My first time wasn't," she added almost as an afterthought. Zara lifted her eyes and frowned at her, so Corliss explained. "You remember Elegan, the Human Padawan from the Temple?"

"The one that started all those rumors about you?"

Corliss frowned at the memory, for it reminded her that things rarely worked out for her as she wanted. "Him, right. You remember how upset I got, after he told everyone about...us?"

Zara nodded. "But you said it was because you asked him not to."

"Sort of." It was Corliss' turn to toy with the edge of the boots they'd given her, which were a little too small, but weren't terribly uncomfortable. "I got upset because...it wasn't nice at all. It wasn't special or anything like I'd imagined it would be, and when it was over...I felt wrong. Like I'd made a mistake, you know? So I asked him not to tell anyone because I just wanted to pretend it never happened."

This made Zara's eyes widen, and Corliss took a breath and clasped her hands together. It was not a pleasant story for her to tell, but it was necessary to do so, especially if she wanted to show Zara that she was vulnerable, too. Finding a common ground was an important step if she ever wanted her former friend to trust her again, of course, but there was something else, some other reason that she wanted to sit and speak with Zara.

A part of her wondered if Antinnis would approve of her approach, but somehow he felt very small and far away right now, and she felt something else stirring within her as she looked at her former friend and thought of their shared past.

But despite all this, she had a mission, and she knew that if she were to return to Tremayne empty-handed, the punishment would likely be more than she would be able to endure. In her memory, he had not mistreated her, nor had he allowed others to do so, but Corliss had seen enough of how Prakith operated to know how quickly such a thing could change. As much as she didn't want to think that Antinnis would ever hurt her, she also knew full well that failure was not tolerated within the ranks of the Inquisitorius.

To strengthen her resolve, she called up some of the words that Tremayne had often said to her mind. Even though they give you power, don't get distracted by your own emotions. Rule over your passion, Corliss. Don't let it rule you.

As if lamenting her own youthful foolishness, Corliss sighed and shook her head. "Of course, Elegan couldn't keep it to himself as I told him to, and all of the others looked at me differently, after they knew about us. Except you."

"I remember that," Zara replied, leaning forward. She opened her mouth as if to say more, then snapped it shut. Curious, Corliss raised a brow at her, causing the Nautolan to sigh. "You said that you loved him, then one day you just...didn't talk about him any more. And we started sneaking our meals out of the refectory to the Room of a Thousand Fountains, after that." A strange look came over her face as she made the connection. "I never knew what happened. I just thought you'd gotten tired of him or something."

Corliss knew that she shouldn't have replied. At the very least, she should have nodded and tried to appear to blink back tears at the bitter memory, but for some reason she spoke, and when she did her voice was soft against the hum of the ship's engines. "I know. It was what I wanted you to think."

"Lissy..." The sound of her childhood nickname was strange, but not grating. "Why?"

One question with a thousand meanings.

However, very likely Zara was speaking of the Inquisitorius, so Corliss tried to keep her calm, tried to keep her mission in her mind even as she hugged her knees to her chest and felt the cuffs start to cut into her wrists. "You don't know what it was like," she said at last, staring at the pale marks that were starting to appear beneath the cuffs as the skin was strained. "After the war ended, I mean. We – Alatea and I – were on the run for nearly two years. We were hunted like animals, Zar. We lived in constant terror of discovery or capture."

It hurt to say Alatea's name, almost as much as it hurt to think it, so she tried to move on. "Antinnis found us just after the stormtroopers did. He was looking for Jedi to convert,you see, but was too late to stop them from..." She shook her head and tried to force back the burning behind her eyes that was threatening to overwhelm her. "Alatea told me to run while she held the stormtroopers off, and I did. I shouldn't have, though. I should have stayed by her side until the end."

"And this Antinnis...took you, after?" Zara's voice was tentative, but Corliss had lost the ability to speak as her emotions took over, so she only nodded before dropping her head down and giving into the onslaught.

Neither of them spoke for some time until finally Corliss was able to collect herself and take a breath without hiccuping. When she looked up, Zara was still seated across from her, watching. As their eyes met, the Zeltron felt a gentle brush through the Force, against her mind. It was akin to someone trying to whisper in her ear across a broad room, but the meaning was clear: Zara was there, if she needed her. It was so unexpected, that Corliss had to drop her eyes again to avoid the Nautolan's dark gaze.

When she was able to speak again, she gave Zara a rueful look. "Now that I say the words out loud, it all sounds like something out of one of those awful holo-novels we used to read, doesn't it?"

"I don't think either one of us is a princess in hiding, Lissy."

Corliss smiled. "You never know, Zar. Anything's possible, isn't it?" At this, Zara gave a rather girlish laugh; for one moment the bulkheads that surrounded them on all sides turned to light-stained grass, the humming engines became the soft trickle of water, and they were someplace long ago and light years away.

After leaving the younger women, Johari had taken some time to perform some basic karanas in the cargo bay to center herself, because more of her memories of Atreus had begun slipping in from the cracks within her mind as they solidified. As the foundation of movement, kohia was the place where she started, and for a few moments Jo's body was still, hardly even lifting with her breath as she stood.

Gradually, she began to extend her hands and feet, and the pace of the memories increased. Although it felt like many of the scattered pieces of her past were falling back into place, she had no context for the images that her brain was producing: sometimes Atreus was laughing, while other times his mouth was drawn in a pensive line; there was the sensation of his hand on her hip, his fingertips lightly pulling her to him, then the feeling of his mouth on hers; even as Corliss had spoken of Eol Sha, Jo had heard someone whispering in his voice, Johari. The sound echoed within her to this moment.

Gritting her teeth against the unbidden onslaught, she extended her body into the movement of the Rising Sun, the posture that Miriam had favored the most: one leg thrust forward, the other angled back as the weight was evenly distributed; both arms extended above the head with palms touching. Gradually, she shifted her legs together and drew her arms down until her elbows were wrapped around her bent knees and her torso was folded over. Rising to balance on the balls of her feet, Jo completed the movement to that of Darkmoon, and tried to be at peace.

It was almost as if Atreus was sending her messages from beyond the veil, from that place between life and death. But that would mean...

No. She would not, could not believe it. Blinking hard, Johari straightened slowly, extended her torso and unbent her knees until she was in the starting position of kohia once more. Atreus was alive, somehow, somewhere. She knew it. The moment that this mission was done, she knew that she had to find him.

There was no way that she could lose him, too.

"Mira," she whispered through closed eyes. "Forgive me."

With the thought of her sister, Johari returned to kohia, and started the moving meditation once more.

Later, when she made her way to the cockpit, she found Drake and Levy in their familiar places at the helm and nav, while Tully was standing behind them, elbows resting on either chair and head ducked. There was a mixture of hushed conversation and fluttering hand signals passing between the three clones, and for a moment she felt pleased at the sight of her brother-in-law so engrossed with the younger set. Very often on their travels through the galaxy, both with Atreus and Miriam, and without them, Jo had gotten the sense that Tully missed being around other Fett clones. Despite his abrasive nature, she could hear the undercurrent of fondness in his voice when he spoke to either of the young men, which helped set her at ease.

Of course, Tully had heard her enter the cockpit immediately, but it was Levy who inclined his head in the Echani woman's direction, his chin tilting up in a gesture both of greeting and summoning. At her approach, Tully shifted over behind Drake's chair, allowing her to stand beside the nav. "How much longer until we reach Eol Sha?"

Drake indicated the blue spiraling stars ahead of them as the Dance slid through hyperspace. "A few hours. We weren't that far away, luckily, and I know a shortcut."

At this, Levy gave him a curious glance and lifted his hands to form his question. Shortcut?

Since Tully couldn't discern Levy's hand movements, Drake repeated the word, furrowing his brow as he did so. "It was something Ares told me about, once. There's a nebula that almost surrounds the entire planet – very few travelers make their way through it because of its instability – and most people take the long way around to reach the surface. But with a little finesse..."

"What kind of instability are we talking about, here?" Tully asked with a frown.

"The area used to house a mining colony to extract the thorarin gas that's found in large quantities there," Drake replied. "But it was abandoned during the Wars. From what Ares said, the gas makes the area pretty finicky; there are a lot of gravitational anomalies that make the nebula difficult to steer a ship through. However, with a good enough pilot at the helm..."

Tully did not appear to be convinced. "You saying you're an ace now, kid?"

"I'm saying I'm better than the average pilot," Drake replied with a frown. "It's not arrogance...it's a fact. You know that our reflexes are better, Tully. Besides all the time I spent training with Ares and Trax, I did tons of flight simulations on Kamino. They were going to assign me to lead a starfighter squad before-" He paused and shook his head, the motion reminding Jo of one who was trying to shuffle some memory to the back of their mind.

There was quiet for a few minutes before Drake glanced at Jo's reflection in the viewscreen. "How's...how is everything back there?"

She thought of Zara's expression as he'd hurried out of the room earlier, and of the strange, almost-cowed appearance of the Zeltron girl. "They were both in Zara's room, last time I checked. With Corliss' help, I was able to remember the location where Atreus and I hid the next clue."

Drake only nodded as she gave him the coordinates, but she could read the tension even in the small gesture. After several more minutes passed, she cleared her throat. "Why don't you both rest? I can handle things until we reach the...what was the name of the nebula?"

"Cauldron Nebula," Drake said. "And it's okay. I'm fine."

Tully snorted. "That's a lie. I can hear it in your voice, vod. Stop being a stubborn di'kut and get some shut-eye." Drake opened his mouth to protest but Tully cut him off with another bout of sarcasm. "If it would make it easier, I can order you. We ARCs outrank you lowly CC units, you know. Don't worry...we'll wake you up in plenty of time to do your 'better than average' piloting."

There was a moment where Jo thought that the younger clone would argue, but at last he sighed and shrugged, sliding out of his seat. Levy moved to take his place, but Drake shot him a look first. "You need rest, too?"

Levy replied, but the movement of his hands was too fast for even Jo to discern, and the words were rendered unfamiliar. However, Drake seemed to understand, clasping his brother's shoulder once before slipping out of the cockpit. Johari took a seat at the nav and ran her eyes over the console before looking at Levy, whose gaze was rigid on the stars outside.

"Are you okay?"

He started at her words, then nodded quickly, flashing her a brief smile and leaning back into the chair with what seemed like forced nonchalance. A few minutes later, Tully slipped off as well, muttering something about cleaning his weapons – which Jo figured may or may not have been a euphemism – and she and Levy were alone.

For some time it was quiet, save for the humming engines and the occasional beep from the console, and Jo found that she was tired. Perhaps she should have taken her own advice about getting some rest, but the padded chair of the Spiral Dance was familiar, and she felt rather relaxed after her karanas, so she closed her eyes – just for a moment.

She had no idea how long she was asleep, but when she awoke again, nothing had changed except for Levy, who was watching her with an expression she'd not seen on a man as he looked at her in longer than she could recall. The moment he realized she was awake he flushed and turned back to the console, pretending to adjust something.

As a Miralukan, Atreus didn't have 'eyes' as most Humans knew of them, so when he had looked at Jo, it was a bit different. However, she recognized the longing in the clone's gaze, and knew that it had to be addressed. With this thought, Jo sat up and blinked a few times, then cleared her throat. "Levy..."

If it was possible, his face reddened further still, and his hands tightened over the steering column, but despite the tone of her voice he met her eyes bravely. Jo took a breath and continued. "I find that I like you very much, but I'm not...whole right now. There are parts of my life that I'm still trying to work out, and until I do..." She paused, Atreus' jovial face coming to her mind once more. So many of the memories had returned, but it still felt like a few crucial ones were missing. Had he ever looked at her that way? Had he loved her as she loved him? "I'm afraid I'm not...looking for anyone. Does that make sense?"

For some moments he made no reply, then he nodded once. She watched as his grip on the column did not relax, and he did not make a move to reply to her, only continued staring at the stars beyond. "I'm sorry," she added in a soft voice. "I know that may not mean much, but I am. You seem...quite nice."

A smile, wry and only a little pained, crossed his face as he shrugged, then glanced at her with a raised brow and nodded to his hands. Her head tilted in consideration of his movements. "You would reply, but your hands are otherwise engaged?"

The smile became genuine, and was accompanied by another nod. Jo watched as his fingers relaxed and she leaned back into the chair once more with a sigh; moments later he did the same, and they continued to journey in silence.

As he did with many tricky situations in his life, Levy thought about what Weave's reaction would be, and tried to approximate it as best he could. Event though his face was still hot from when Jo had woken up and caught him staring at her like a di'kut, he tried to act as though it had not bothered him so much. The young Echani woman seemed...afraid. There was an uncertainty to her voice and mannerisms, and he realized that he'd been silly to even think that she would look at him in a similar way, especially right now.

Crushing on someone who was missing bits of her memory – particularly memories about her last lover, who happened to be MIA – was not a wise move. Of course he knew this, so Levy resolved to just keep his mind on the mission at hand and forget about the way that her silver eyes had looked back at him, and how they seemed tinted blue by hyperspace, or how her skin was smooth and pale, and glowed with starlight. It was fine, it was more than fine; she didn't want him, so he kept his eyes ahead and urged his mind to think of other things.

It worked for a little while.

The Echani had fallen asleep again, head lolling to her shoulder and lips slightly parted. Save for a strange beeping from the nav before her, everything was quiet.

A beeping from the nav?

Levy peered over at her console and cursed inwardly at the sensor readout. Since he couldn't get on the ship's comm like Tully, he slammed his hand down on the general alarm and hurried to adjust their course. Instantly, the cabin filled with shrieking klaxon and hazy, red light; Jo bolted upright while Drake and Tully came hurrying in moments later, his brother scrubbing at his face in his fashion when he was awakened in a hurry.

"Lev..."

But Levy had no time to respond as his hands danced over the helm and the ship staggered out of hyperspace not a moment too soon.

It was not called the Cauldron Nebula for nothing. Seven blue stars, giants in their own right, shimmered in the distance, surrounded by clouds of fuschia, orange and saffron gases that appeared to boil up from a great black void below like plumes of steam billowing out of a container. He could barely make out their destination, a small speck to his left, but that wasn't Levy's main concern as the Spiral Dance was buffeted and rocked by the swirl of unstable gravitational eddies in the area. The entire ship shuddered, as if the outside environment was attempting to rip it apart, and it was all he could do to keep his seat. The realization occurred to him that if he lifted his hands, the ship would most certainly spin out of control, and he grimaced as his palms started to sweat.

"Everyone strap in," Drake shouted, then slammed his hand against the ship's comm. "Zar...buckle up, okay?" Before she could reply he lifted his hand and looked at Levy. "It's too risky to try and switch out right now, so you're going to have to take us out of here. You can do this, vod. I know you can. Hey, Jo?"

The slender, silver-eyed woman had managed to get out of the nav seat and make her way to the bulkhead beside Tully, who was in the process of strapping himself down to a chair; the ship shuddered again and she fell against the elder clone, who caught her neatly and set her on the chair beside him.

But all of this happened in the periphery of Levy's attention, as most of his focus was on the ship and the nebula. Everything was jolted so much it was hard to see straight, and his jaw was starting to hurt from the rattling motion of his teeth. The Spiral Dance groaned, as if it was fighting the onslaught of opposing gravitational fields, and Levy realized how much he hated the sound of metal that was trying to tear itself apart. Drake slid in the nav and glanced at the console. "I'm entering the coordinates that we'll need for Eol Sha," he shouted through the din. "This might just be a rough patch of space within the nebula...if we can break free, we should be okay."

There was a faintly sarcastic edge to Drake's voice on the word 'should,' and Levy remembered how much he hated that kriffing Levy nodded and angled the ship as best he could in the direction that Drake had indicated, hoping that the ship would keep itself together before they reached their destination. For several minutes it seemed as if the Dance truly would break apart; as it was, he noticed one of the engines start to overheat with the exertion of keeping the ship stable, and knew that landing – when and if they could, anyway – would be interesting.

"There!" Jo's voice rang out above the scream of the ship. "Eol Sha..."

It was true. They were close, so close. Beside him, Drake kept murmuring encouraging words and he thought that he heard Tully offer a few of his own. Johari said nothing else, but he felt her eyes on his back. Levy's hands were slick with sweat and he felt it beading down the sides of his nose with the effort he was making to keep the ship on course.

Just a little more...

The overheated engine was straining to its fullest now. It would only be a matter of seconds before it shut down. Out of the corner of his eye, Levy watched Drake's hands flying over the nav until he gave a shout of triumph. "Got a landing site. We should reach it in seconds."

Levy hoped it'd be enough. Eol Sha was right beside the nebula's edge; he could see the trailing gas clouds as they reached the planet's atmosphere until finally, finally they broke through and he felt the shuddering halt, heard the groaning cease.

Only to be replaced by a screaming alarm that indicated the left engine was overheated and the safety protocols were about to shut it down automatically. Levy gritted his teeth as they approached the landing site, trying not to think about how landing with one engine was going to be more fun than a crate of Kowakian monkey-lizards. Below him, he could see little besides gray, smoldering rock interspersed with ribbons the color of flame.

"That plateau..." Drake whispered, pointing. "Try to land there. It's even near the site of Jo's coordinates."

Nodding, Levy angled the Dance for the relatively smooth area of landmass before them, just as the engine went offline and the entire ship lurched to one side, barely skimming the jagged out-thrust of a mountain peak as they swooped down. Every iota of Levy's focus tunneled on the landing site, and he allowed all other things to fall away as he urged the ship forward, finally releasing a breath when it settled onto solid ground at last.

It was not until they were still and stable that Levy was able to unclench his hands from the steering column , then the others were gathered around, laughing and hugging him – even Tully slapped his back with something like affection. At some point Zara had made her way to the cockpit; she kissed his cheek and grinned at him, a look that he was able to somehow return.

After this there were a few moments of adrenaline-fueled conversation before they decided to disembark; a look at the engine showed Levy that the ship would need the better part of an hour to for the engines to cool down enough to come back online.

"Guess we have nothing better to do than take a bit of recon," Tully said, though his tone was unusually light.

As they gathered at the Spiral Dance's hatch, Levy noticed that Zara slipped off towards her cabin, returning moments later with a fully-armored Corliss at her heels, though the twin sets of cuffs were still in place on her wrists. Immediately, Drake scowled, though Levy noticed that he tried to hide the expression. "What's she doing here?"

"Making myself useful." Corliss' voice was calm and she met Drake's eyes as she spoke.

Zara cleared her throat. "That's the whole reason we brought her along, isn't it?"

Recalling the way that Zara had looked at her old friend, with eyes full of hope, Levy thought that perhaps it wasn't the whole reason, but kept his observation to himself.

"Anyway, she's still bound," Zara added as Tully activated the hatch and it began to open; she and Drake exchanged one long look as the hydraulics hissed and the cabin filled with dim, glowing light. Levy felt his stomach do an interesting flip, and he patted his pocket where the holo-cam was, thinking that maybe he could get a few pictures, if this place was calmer than the last few planets.

Johari stepped off first, followed by Tully; Zara and Corliss went next, then Drake and Levy last. Initially, all that Levy was aware of was heat, thick and acrid in his lungs, then the overpowering scent of sulfur and steam. He started sweating immediately, and glanced around at the landscape, or what there was of it.

Mountains filled the horizon: tall, jagged things in varying shades of gray and black basalt below a watery, yellow sky. He couldn't see a sun, but there was a shock of orange and red above the mountains that he figured was the Cauldron Nebula. The plateau they had landed upon was sprinkled with pools of crusting, yellow-green liquid that seemed to simmer and hiss, the fumes that emanated from them at least let Levy know where the stench was coming from. Beyond their position, well below them, he could make out what appeared to be rivers of magma coiling between outcroppings of rock. The foul steam was everywhere, obscuring much of his field of vision and slithering into his lungs.

The others were several paces away, talking. Levy reached for the holo-cam and stepped towards the edge of the precipice, wondering if the lava would show up in the dim light. Several small stones clattered to the ground below as he raised the cam and squinted through the viewfinder, trying to get a clear shot of the smoldering landscape.

Suddenly, his entire field of vision was distorted by something very large and dark, something that let out a throaty sort of scream. Levy lowered the cam and looked up and up and up, his mouth falling open as the massive fireworm uncoiled itself from the precipice beneath his feet and turned its gaze upon him.

Another cliffhanger! I hope I'm not abusing the privilege...

So, there are 25 chapters total in this fic...five more to go. :)

Please let me know what you think, and thank you for reading!