Corso looked at the images of father and son Tidman. He heard of this hacker before but he never knew more than a name. And his son was now part of their crew.
"We finally know what Artie's story is. The kid covered his tracks well. He's probably even better then his father." Corso said as he scrolled through the files at Sonny's laptop. Sonny just nodded. Their work was only just beginning. He had several things to deal with at once.
First, he had to make sure Corso was safe. He needed his skills with cracking military codes. Duke Maddox gave him the Technoid file on the military compound they had on Ascaron. It confirmed Corso's suspicions. It wasn't Maddox's doing, and Sonny suspected Bleylock was involved as well as professor Monteague. He'd need Clamp's help to find out what took place.
It was clear Corso was being scapegoated and he intended to prove his innocence. The Chissian military was still a threat to Corso's safety so for now, Corso wouldn't stay alone at his own place. The Chissian military was sure to come looking for him there. Corso would stay in hiding at his and Callie's place. Next was dealing with Maurice Miller. The Paladins and Technoid would cooperate to bring him to justice. Should be easy enough.
Jar'Eel Bleylock was the real threat. Everything came back to that single point. Sonny was forced to face the truth. Technoid wasn't his enemy. He owed Duke Maddox an apology. He typed a message to Duke Maddox and sent it, asking for an urgent meeting in the morning. He would keep Corso busy on the computers. With that in mind, Sonny started to think of how to deal with Keiran. He and Corso would have to send in his clone to get close to Miller.

Sonny put Stevens and Orin on patrol duty. He didn't feel confident that the Chissian Military was dealt with properly. Until he knew for sure, Corso would have to be careful. He looked at what the file he had on Hawk Tidman. He acquired a criminal record after his son was kidnapped. Sonny could understand a grieving father resorting to any possible way to find his lost son. What was more interesting was the name of the nanny. He had met this lady, a strict middle aged woman, during his visit to Abraxor with Bleylock. Sonny tried to recall the memories of her. She tried to blend in but he always felt her as emotionally cold. Maybe this would be a good assignment for Callie to dig into?
"Callie, I need to ask a favor." Sonny said. Callie looked at him with a smile.
"A favor? Only if I get something in return." She teased. Sonny pulled up her file.
"This woman called Anadrea Simmordale, is there any chance I can persuade you to do some digging on her? She was once Artie's nanny. It's possible we can piece together what happened and why she kidnapped him from his parents." He suggested.
"If you arrange a meeting for me with Corso." She said. Sonny smiled.
"Deal. I'll head over to Artie's kitchen to pick up some food while we work." He said and got up. As he was about to leave, Corso looked at him. "Good luck." He said,as he made his way out.
As soon as Sonny left, Callie looked at Corso.
"So… what did you want to talk about? Don't be scared. I just want to help Sonny out with things." She started. Corso nodded.
"Well… what do you want to know? I can tell you quite a lot." He said. Callie nodded.
"Sonny said something about a guess about something too. What was that all about?" She wondered. Corso sighed. This was going to be the most difficult part.
"Let's start at the beginning, shall we?" Corso sighed as he said this. Callie looked at him.
"Can I record this for future use?" She asked. Corso nodded.
"I'm warning you; it's a harrowing story." He said, Callie nodded and activated the camcorder.
"Now Corso, tell me about Sonny's relationship with Bleylock."


Artie looked at the information on the encrypted laptop. He was using the Pirates' hacking codes to find the information he needed. Opal and Sapphire lived very withdrawn lives after Rainbow left. Solaris… Artie still couldn't believe his favourite, Rainbow was actually the Paladin leader; Solaris Stellar Paladin. He could feel Solaris' pain over the loss of Zoltar. Finding Zarind alive had sparked the hope Zoltar could be too. Sonny was more cautious. The Bleylocks were vindictive and Rainbow's repeated nos to General Bleylock could have led to Zoltar's death. Sonny didn't want to bring any hopes down but told them all to have realistic expectations. Sonny knew a lot more about Bleylock than he was letting on. Only Corso had the full picture. Artie sighed. Where were Opal and Sapphire? The Paladin system revealed little to nothing. On a pure hunch, Artie decided to check the Abraxor systems. It took a little tweaking to get in but he managed. A little too well. Artie hid his past from the Pirates. He knew little to nothing about his parents besides that they were from Abraxor, where he was raised. It was common to be raised by strangers. That way, no weakness was fostered in a child. They were hard years for Artie, being abandoned by his parents to be raised this way. To become more machine than human being. Turned out, he wasn't able to become a machine. He had lived that hell for six years before he escaped at age ten. They managed to get off Abraxor to the Obia moon where Artie had formed a bond with a group of thieves. For eight years, stealing for a living, and developing his already impressive hacking skills, became his way of surviving. Then, he met Corso, who was looking for new recruits. Artie was only eighteen but he still joined. Artie still recalled the grumpy Pirate and his leader, Sonny Blackbones.


"Corso, welcome the young man to our crew. I saw his hacking skills. They can come in handy. Find a bunk for him." He remembered Sonny saying. Corso saluted and did what he was told. Sonny turned to him.
"What's your name Kid? I'm Sonny Blackbones. You can call me Sonny." He said with a smile, holding out his hand.
"Artie, Sir" He stammered. Sonny looked at him with a smile.
"What did I just say?" Sonny asked. Artie nodded.
"Thank you for giving me a chance, Sonny."

Artie snapped out of the memories as his laptop signalled that it found something. Artie sent it to his personal account to look through later. He heard the door and Artie made his way to the counter.
"Sonny! I expected Corso or Bennett." He smiled.
"Well, today it's me. Callie wanted to talk with Corso." Sonny smiled. Artie couldn't help himself from chuckling.
"Those two are going to have so much fun together." Artie laughed. Sonny chuckled.
"Corso has to start training to be a commander of The Black Manta. That means brushing up his social skills." Sonny pointed out. Artie nodded.

"I hope it goes well. He needs help with it." Artie defended him. Sonny nodded before he looked at his list.
"Do you have the meals ready to go? I might want to eavesdrop a bit. I'm curious how things go." Sonny said. Artie grinned and handed Sonny the meals.

"How did things go with your assignment for Solaris? Did you locate Opal and Sapphire?" Sonny asked. Artie nodded.
"I thought I would find them on Stellar Unix but that wasn't the case." Artie said. Sonny looked at him with confusion. This was unexpected.

"It's their home planet. Did Rainbow's departure hurt them that much?" Sonny asked. Artie nodded.
"Zoltar, was a close friend to them all. He travelled with them as a security guard. When Rainbow fell into depression because of the loss, it seems they may have gone to another planet to find answers. You won't like where I found them." Artie said. Sonny looked at his young partner.
"Where did you find them?" He asked. Artie looked at him seriously.
"Abraxor."


Corso looked at Callie after he was done talking. He wasn't sure what to expect. Callie silently turned off the camcorder. Then, she looked at him.

"That was awful." She whispered in disbelief. Corso nodded.
"Then, Bleylock kidnapped his son. He knew Sonny would sacrifice himself to save him. We damn near lost Sonny that time." He admitted. He had told Callie all about Bleylock's relationship with Sonny. It didn't seem to bother her.
"You must have been horrified." She managed. Corso nodded silently.
"I always fear for Sonny. He cheated Death so many times… one day he's going to stop being lucky and I don't think I can handle it." Corso admitted. Callie studied him.
"What was it Sonny reminded you to ask me about?" She said. Corso swallowed. He mentally prepared himself for the worst. Callie nodded and smiled.

"You two need some time together without the stress of one or the other dying." She said, looking at Corso seriously. Corso looked back.

"I don't want to mess up your relationship with Sonny. You're the best thing that happened to him in. He deserves you. I don't want to take that away." Corso tried. Callie smiled.
"It won't take that away. Or did you really think I'd be like this after that kiss if I wasn't okay with it?" Callie asked. Corso looked at her. It dawned on him what she meant. "You deserve at least some time with him like that. You deserve his love." She said. Corso breathed a sigh of relief.
"You'll be so good for Sonny."

Time was up. O'Keefe didn't make any contact. He was more loyal to the Pirate than he let on. He tried to log into the Technoid system that allowed him to look at Sonny's tracking bracelet. Shiloh Security had done their work and made new access codes to the system. He couldn't locate Sonny that way. There was also no record of O'Keefe being anywhere either. Either the weasel had bailed on him or he was held captive. It didn't matter. Miller prepared his army to launch the attack.
"Failure me comes at a price; your family." He said, as he gave the order to launch the Flux device at The shiloh Nebula.

Bennett could hardly hear himself think as the alarms went off in Shiloh Security. He was on the night shift, waiting for Jar'Eel or Miller to strike. That had happened now. The Shiloh Nebula was targeted. The images were heartbreaking. Fortunately, there were no human lives lost. They evacuated everyone just in time. Still, it held many memories. Bennett knew this attack had been expected. Maybe now, Sonny could initiate stage two with the terrified Keiran, who was still locked up in the holding cells. Bennett called Sonny's number.

Sonny and Corso studied the files on Ascaron again. Their suspicions were confirmed with the seismic readings in the area.
"Corso, can you pinpoint where your platoon was in the area, and where the lost explosives may have been located? I got a theory and if I'm right, you and your entire platoon are in the clear of what happened." He said. Corso nodded. He had a lump in his throat. If it could be proven, that it was not him and his unit's fault that would take a load off his shoulders. Corso used a data pen to circle the area. Sonny studied the area closely. He used an overlay of the natural terrain to check his findings. Corso wasn't even aware he held his breath until Sonny spoke up.
"Breathe Corso, I don't want you to pass out on me." He said with a slight chuckle. Corso let out a heavy breath.
"Please tell me you solved this." He whispered. He felt Sonny's hand on his shoulder.
"See for yourself." He suggested. Corso stared at the screen. A tear fell from his eye.
"It wasn't my fault. None of it was." He stammered. Sonny nodded./span/span/span/span/p
"You were too far away. The epicenter of the blast didn't originate from your position, it came from here." Sonny said and circled the Technoid compound.

"Can you prove this? I want the names of my unit cleared." Corso managed. Sonny smiled.
"I can show them exactly what happened. The blast originated from Technoid's compound, not your location. If this is what the Chissian Military is after you for, they owe you an apology, and restoring your honour." Sonny said. Corso was about to speak when Bennett's call reached them.
Sonny listened as Bennett showed the data and the images. Corso looked at him.
"It was evacuated, right?" He asked, slightly worried. Sonny nodded.
"It was. Maurice Miller just set our operation into action. My clone will be a handy body double. You and I will enter Keiran's cell and bring him to the interrogation room. As he's led back to his cell, we will let him escape and take my clone as his hostage. You'll gather the crew on board Black Manta, and take off. I'll be hiding in the cabin. For now, no one but you and I can know about the body double. I need the crew to act like it's really me that's taken hostage. Keiran knows where Miller is hiding. He'll lead us straight to him and then, we can deal with matters. There is also The Golden Armor, which Solaris needs help to retrieve." Sonny said. Corso nodded.

"You're not crazy about the idea of me being her partner." He said. Sonny sighed as he turned his back to Corso.
"I would have prefered you not to go in at all.I would like to keep you safe from harm if I can. I can't imagine moving forward, getting married to Callie, without you there." He confessed. Corso felt warm when he heard it.
"You won't have to worry. I'll be there when you marry Callie. By your side, as I always have been. Callie told us to go ahead and explore these feelings." He said. Sonny smiled.
"I'm blessed to be loved by three wonderful people." He said. Corso looked at him as his smile softened.
"I'm honored." He managed. Corso pulled Sonny into an embrace.
"Whatever you do, stay with Callie. She makes you happy…"

Artie triple checked his data on the two members of the Trio. They had gone to two opposite parts of Abraxor. Why go to that horrible, depressing place? Artie focused on honing in on their locations. It dawned on Artie what they were looking for. They didn't do this for themselves. They did it for Rainbow. They sought where Zoltar was either held captive, or where he was buried. Did they find him? Or were they still looking? How did living on Abraxor affect them? This was a bigger mission than he thought it would be. Artie hoped to be able to do this all by himself but he needed assistance but asking for help meant he had to reveal his knowledge of Abraxor. Artie hit a wall. Should he disobey Sonny and initiate a mission on his own, without backup? Artie dismissed the idea immediately. He'd piss off the rest of the Pirates and very likely put them at risk. He wanted to do something good, something that could help Rainbow. No, Solaris. She was Solaris now. Maybe he could ask Sonny to sit down with her. If anyone could relate to her, it was him. Maybe Corso but he always felt intimidated by him. Artie knew he needed a partner and headed to Abraxor to find the two girls. If he wanted permission, he needed to do some things first. He had to sit down with both Corso and Sonny and tell them why he knew so much about Abraxor. Artie closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he dialed Corso's number.

Corso and Sonny looked at Keiran, who was terrified at what he had just been shown. He had his head in his hands.
"It's my fault. They are all dead, because of me. I never should have taken that damn contract." He said.
"Too late to be sorry now." Corso growled.
"Calm down Corso, what's done is done. We need to take him out before more Pirates lose their lives." Sonny said thoughtfully. Corso looked at the prisoner. So far, Keiran was buying their act, thinking that Miller had killed his family. He couldn't help but feel bad about what they were doing.
"Where is his army of robots hidden? And don't tell me you don't know." Corso said. Keiran was close to tears.
"I don't know. All I know is that he wanted Sonny at Stellar Unix." He tried.
"Not going to happen." Corso said. Sonny nodded.
"What was the pay this time?" He asked.
"The safety of my family. You'd have done the same. A lot of people would be a lot safer if you played along." Keiran tried.
"You really think that argument will work on us? How about doing the right thing for a change? Help us get this monster put to justice, and we may consider reversing your shunning." Corso said, looking at Sonny, who nodded.

"I need some time to think." Keiran said. Sonny nodded to Corso.
"Take your time. We'll be back in a few hours to ask again." Sonny said. With that they exited the interrogation room. Two guards were set to keep him locked up in the interrogation room.
"What are you thinking?" Corso looked at Sonny. Sonny smiled.
"We will make the switch the next time you go in. The clone may lag behind a bit when you leave, giving him time to react. He's furious, thinking his family is dead. He'll take the clone as a bargaining chip, but he'll also be dangerous for Miller. A grief struck Pirate set on vengeance." Sonny said.
"You put a tracker on the clone?" Corso asked. Sonny nodded.
"It is all set, no worries." He said with a small smile.
The two Pirates were making their way towards the briefing room.
"Sonny! Corso! Could I have a word with you?" Came from behind them. Sonny nodded. Corso opened the door to a small room so Artie and Sonny could enter before he closed the door behind them.
"Did you find something new about Opal and Sapphire?" Sonny asked. Artie nodded.
"I know where they are. I want to extract them." He said. Corso studied him.
"From where?" Corso asked, Sonny nodded. He had a feeling where this was going. Artie sighed.
"This is part of a past I don't want to remember but if I can't stay silent. I have a past on Abraxor, raised in one of the facilities there, like thousands of other Abraxians. I escaped at age ten with the help of two friends. We got to The Obia moon, where a thieves guild took us in. I learned my hacking there. I never knew my parents, they abandoned me to the nanny. She was growing old, so she placed me in the facility, thinking it was best for me. I don't know what happened to her. Point is, I know the place and how to get around. I know where Opal and Sapphire are. They went to Abraxor to search for the truth about Zoltar. I don't know if they found him or not but they're stranded. To help Solaris, I'm asking permission to do a rescue mission. To go to Abraxor to help Opal and Sapphire escape."


A/N: Things are coming together. There's a plan that is slowly unfolding but answers are needed.
Abraxor seems to be the key.
An enormous thanks to Paranoidgirl, for helping me keep the story going and often giving me a new angle to a planned situation.