The Paladins made their way into the dark hallways leading to the prison. Coran stopped for a second, as he received a message from the Pirates. He smiled as he looked at Solaris.

"It's Corso. Sonny's safe and both Keiran and Miller are apprehended." He said. Solaris smiled.
"I wonder how they reacted to the clone." She laughed. Zoonia frowned.
"I just hope this didn't break their bond of trust." She said. Solaris was silent. She spent time with Corso. He didn't talk much. He didn't have to. His actions spoke for him. When it came to Sonny, Solaris could sense a fierce determination. Anyone that hurt Sonny would answer to Corso. When this was done, she needed to figure out what more Artie hid from her. She turned to Coran. Coran smiled as he placed an arm on Solaris' shoulder.
"The golden Armor suits you. We may just start calling you the Golden Paladin." He smiled. Solaris smiled back shyly.
"We're one step closer to Galactik peace. Sonny and the Pirates hold a key piece of it, even if they don't know yet." She said. Coran nodded.
"Now, lets free our King and Queen and start rebuilding."


Sonny removed the collar around the clone's neck, before he put him back in its crate and locked it into his personal storage vault. Corso looked at him as he exited. Then he looked at the collar, which was still active. Corso had seen something in the lab that had left him feeling a bit uneasy. Sonny hadn't even touched Miller, just held his hands in a defensive stance, and the Flux formed a protective barrier around his body, and at the same time, made Miller fall unconscious.
"Sonny, can I talk to you about something?" Corso asked carefully. Sonny nodded.
"Let's go to the Captain's cabin. I want you to get this off your chest before we have our meeting with Duke Maddox and the Paladins." Sonny said. Corso nodded. As they reached the cabin, Sonny made sure to lock the door. Corso sighed.
"In the lab, the Seed protected you, but Miller falling asleep like that. You didn't physically touch him, it was your Flux. I'm afraid you might lose control. That's dangerous. Not to mention people will want to abuse it. Are you in control? Or do you need help?" Corso asked. Sonny nodded. He was proud of Corso. He'd be a great Commander. Sonny told him to sit down and started explaining.


Duke Maddox went through the list of high security prisons. Miller couldn't just be put anywhere. He was dangerous. He received a message that the King and Queen were freed and were organizing a Diner in gratitude. He was also invited.


Keiran stared hatefully at them as Corso sat him down. He was in chains to make sure he couldn't do anything. As soon as Corso had checked the bindings, he took a laptop and sat down across the table, staring at him. Sonny took place to his right, and Duke Maddox to the left. Keiran snarled at Sonny.
"I already told you what I know so buzz off." He said. Sonny shook his head and sat down next to Corso.
"You didn't. You knew Miller was a flunky. Do you know who his boss is?" Sonny asked. Keiran looked at him.
"You haven't figured it out yet? Also, what's Maddox doing here?" He asked.
"You were paid with stolen money. I never agreed to this contract." The Duke informed coldly. Keiran wasn't impressed.
"When I got the contract, Sonny was still a wanted man." He spat. Sonny wasn't surprised Keiran tried to shift the blame. Duke Maddox leaned over the table, facing Keiran.
"It was the only way to get him to talk to me." He stated. Sonny leaned forwards, Corso holding his arm just in case.
"I'll only say this once. The whole scenario on the Shiloh Nebula was fake. We needed you to get mad, to get close to Miller. It's about time you knew what really happened. Corso, play the file." Sonny said. Corso nodded. Keiran was astounded when he saw the video. Sonny had evacuated them all. Even his family was alive. Sonny allowed him a quick call, to confirm they were alright. Keiran looked down. He'd been tricked.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. Sonny looked at him.
"I needed you to lead us to Miller, using a clone was the safest choice." Sonny told him. Corso let his hand rest on Sonny's shoulder.
"I hope you're ready to apologize." He stated. Keiran nodded.
"What do you need to know?"


The Paladins had control of the castle again. Solaris ordered Coran to deal with matters at Castle Paladia while she, Zoonia and Aaraya dealt with the King and Queen. King Aldoor smiled a tired and worn smile as he sat on a chair, looking at Solaris. She knelt before him, lowering her head.
"Stand up, Golden Paladin. You've done well. You've saved your planet from disaster and you will be celebrated like the heroine you are." The king pronounced. Solaris rose.
"This wouldn't have been possible without the help of the Pirates and their allies. Hawk Tidman has now finally taken the pledge and joined the Paladins, as one of us. We will never have Marybeth back, rest her soul, but we finally found Arthur. Or Artie, as he is now known." She said. Queen Marcia had to wipe a tear from her eye.
"Hawk is finally a part of us again." She said. King Aldoor was also deeply moved to hear this. Solaris smiled.
"Arthur… Artie, helped a lot, too. He found Opal and Sapphire. The Trio will reawaken. To bring back the hope and the peace our beloved Stellar Unix has been robbed of." She said. King Aldoor stood up from his seat.
"I've always been proud of you, don't forget that." He said, tears blinking in his dark brown eyes. Solaris felt her own eyes water.
"Thank you, Grandpa."


The Concert was being planned. Solaris wanted to thank Artie for all the help. Without his efforts, this never would have happened. But she also wanted to help someone else. If it wasn't for Corso, she probably wouldn't have done it. She wanted to help him. She entered their temporary Headquarters, looking for Hawk. She found him, looking through some reports on Anadrea Simmordale. His face was a mask of anger. She could understand. This woman caused a lot of pain.
"Hawk, could I have a word? I need your help with a few things." She said with a smile. Hawk smiled back at her.
"Of course. What do you need hacked?" He said. Solaris smiled as she told him about Corso's case. Hawk grinned. Hacking into military files was one of his specialties. He was about to start, when Zarind knocked on the door.
"I'm glad you're both here. I talked with the Pirates' council of Elders. They found the piece of Ascaron's core that holds the source of their Flux." He said. Solaris gasped.
"That will them a chance to prevent anyone from taking the seed of Shiloh away. Good job." She smiled. Zarind grinned.
"Anything to help a friend out." He said. Hawk nodded, he already found the connection to Bleylock within the Chissian military. Lieutenant Marshall was a dubious character and played a role in Corso being scapegoated. Corso's name had to be cleared. Hawk started to transfer all the relevant material to a safe server. He'd look into it. He looked closer at the coordinates of the Planet Core. It was in the more quiet part of the Shiloh Archipelago. Hawk decided to use the satellites to get some pictures. As he zoomed in on a darker area of the rock, he was stunned. A grave site. All of them were from Ascaron. Hawk wrote down the names he found. Then, a gravestone with a teddy bear carved in stone caught his eye. He zoomed. The text and name was shocking.
"Get Corso, I think we found his family."


It was Miller's turn to be interrogated. Duke Maddox was angry, but prepared. He could see that Sonny prepared himself as well. He was face to face with the one that claimed leadership of this entire operation again but Sonny couldn't shake the feeling that he was just a decoy. And he prepared to nail him to the wall. Corso had a bad feeling about this. Miller hurt Sonny and so many other people. He prepared some of his tools that he was trained to use during interrogation in the Chissian army. If Miller didn't talk, they'd make him. Bennett and Stevens walked the very hostile prisoner into the interrogation room and sat him down. Sonny was about to take a step towards the prisoner, when Corso placed an arm in front of him. The look in Corso's eye told Sonny to let him take the lead. He took a small rope and went behind Miller. The look on his face devoid of any emotion. He was a soldier, obeying the orders from his commander. Sonny and Duke Maddox calmly pulled out chairs and sat down.
"Let's just cut to the chase. Where is your boss hiding?" Sonny asked. Miller had a dark smirk on his face.
"You haven't found him yet? You're slow for a genius." He said. Duke Maddox slammed his fists on the table.
"Just tell us! And don't say it's Bleylock. That man is dead and buried!" He roared.
"Let's just get to the point and tell us what you know." Sonny stated. Corso had to admire his calm. No emotions, just demanding answers. Still didn't make things easy. Miller laughed.
"Now that the Pirates are finished, you should take up acting." He said.
"I repeat. Who is your boss? I know Bleylock had a son. This man is also on Technoid's board of directors. Do you want to tell Duke Maddox who it is? Do the right thing, for once?" Sonny said. Miller's eyebrow twitched. They found a crack in his armor. He recovered quickly.
"I'm not going to tell you anything. You figure it out." He taunted. Corso was starting to seethe.
"Watch your mouth." Corso said, putting the rope around Miller's neck. Miller was unaffected.
"Bleylock had a son?" He asked. Corso nodded.
"He did. Bastard thinks Sonny killed his father." He growled. Miller turned his attention to him.
"You're one to talk. You probably killed the most out of anyone in this room." He smirked. Corso tightened the rope.
"Shut your mouth." He managed through gritting teeth. Miller just laughed.
"I was once a military man myself, Takashi. These tactics won't work on me." He said. Corso turned to Sonny. A thought hit Sonny and Corso at the same time. Sonny rose from his chair, and took a syringe out of a box he was keeping for this occasion. Miller laughed when Sonny approached him with the syringe. Corso tightened the rope around his neck as Sonny injected him.
"Remove the rope. We'll see a very different Miller now." He said. Corso nodded.
"Alright, Agent Miller of Abraxor. Where's your army hiding? And who do you really work for?"


They finally got Miller.
But who is Miller really?
Who's he working for? And how long has this been going on?
Will Sonny and the Pirates be in time to save the Galaxy from Disaster?
All of this and more, will soon follow.
Thank you Paranoidgirl for Beta-ing my work.
This was a story I wanted to do because the amount of trauma, and hurt The Pirates suffered yet still kept going.
When this story is concluded, there's already a second one in the work.
There's far more to this then you can imagine.
Will there be a new war? Or will the Pirates stop it and maintain peace?
Who knows. I'll finish this one, first. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!