The Technoid building loomed in front of them. Corso and his team chose the same entrance they used when they had freed Clamp. It had cameras, but he knew how to disable those. This rescue operation would take more than just that. He had to use more brutal skills, the ones he picked up in the army.
His communicator beeped. It was Sonny.
"Team two will follow in two hours. There's a change of plans." Sonny stated. Corso wasn't happy to hear that. Sonny just had to put himself in danger.
"I told you I'd handle this." Corso hissed back.
"Too late, we're already here. Things will go well trust me." Sonny said mildly. Corso wasn't buying it.
"Ever taught about how it can't go well? Screw it. I'll get them out before you get here." Corso said. "You can help with the aftermath." He heard a soft laugh on the other end.
"You be careful too." Sonny reminded him. Corso chuckled softly.
"I'll be fine. You know how strong I am." He reminded him.
"Just be careful. We'll hold off until you let us know you're all safe. If I don't hear back within two hours, we're moving in." Sonny said. Corso sighed.
"You're the boss." He said.
"Love you too." Was the reply. Corso ended the transmission.

Team two was getting ready to follow. Sonny kept a close eye on the timer. He pulled out a small laptop from inside his jacket. The map of the air vents of the building would come in handy. He felt Aaraya's hand on his shoulder as his hands started to glow with the Seed, taking form. In a matter of seconds, the glow retracted and Sonny felt himself balanced and prepared. He checked his gear. All ready. They headed to the entrance Sonny had marked and getting inside the duct. Aaraya looked around. The Pirates found a weakness in Technoid's fort. It was easy to get relevant information and leave no trace. As soon as they were all in, Sonny signalled for them to move. He handed Artie the map and told him to go first. Bennett followed, Aaraya and Sonny went last. They hurried along. Time was of the essence.

Corso and his team arrived at the entrance of the reservoirs. Corso nodded to Stevens to make sure they weren't detected as they entered. As soon as they were in, Corso looked at the containers. They didn't have much time...

Jar'Eel found the building to be too silent. He never liked the quiet. Sonny Blackbones was up to something. He knew the Pirates would go for a sneak attack, but from what direction? He sent out his robots to patrol the reservoir. He could feel there was an attack on the way. He had to be ready. An alarm sounded. Someone was in the reservoirs. And they moved about carefully.
Time to spring the trap.

Inside the reservoir, D'Jok tried to find a weak spot in the tank. He couldn't find any. Mei did her best to comfort Iris. Callie managed to get a signal out from her transmitter so people were probably on their way. She just hoped Sonny was smart enough to stay away. How could they get out? D'Jok smirked. Callie followed his gaze behind the corner of a filled reservoir where he saw Corso and Stevens. Corso signalled for them to be silent as he had his team scatter in all directions. As soon as he reached the tank, D'Jok saw him charge his cybernetic eye. Corso took aim and shot. It wasn't just producing a blast. There was something mixed in it; Flux. Corso couldn't control it completely as he shook from the shock. He waved at them.
"Let's get out of here so Sonny doesn't have to get in." Corso said. Callie looked at him.
"Sonny? Tell him to leave. Jar'Eel wants him dead." She said, looking desperately at him.
"He won't die, I'll make sure of that." Corso said. Stevens started leading them to safety. As they turned a corner, he saw two feet come out the ventilation duct. Team two. Corso crossed his arms as Sonny made his way out the duct.
"You're impossible. But since you're here, let's take him down together." He sighed. Sonny smirked before he signalled to spread out and look for Jar'Eel.

"Is our family safe?" Sonny asked. Corso nodded.
"Stevens will lead them to a portal to Stellar Unix and go with them." He said. Sonny nodded.
"Let's finish this." He said. Corso nodded. He just wanted all of this to get over with and lead a peaceful life for once. They approached an area with a single heat signature.
"That's not a hologram?" Corso asked. Sonny shook his head. They headed to an unfamiliar door and the two of them opened it.
"You sure took your time." Jar'Eel smirked.
"I won't let you get away with hurting people." Sonny shot back. Jar'Eel stared at him with his glowing yellow eyes.
"Except people you personally don't like, of course." He spat.
"I didn't kill him. It was an accident." Sonny said. Corso prepared to lunge but Jar'Eel was armed. Sonny tried to step in but Corso was quicker. He jumped towards Jar'Eel, trying to pin him down and Jar'Eel fired his weapon. The laser blast struck his right shoulder and slammed him into the wall. His arm felt like it was on fire. Sonny kneeled beside him. He was bleeding out quickly. Jar'Eel ran but Sonny didn't care. The others could deal with him. Sonny smiled gently as he saw Corso wince. He took a few deep breaths and placed his right hand over the wound, letting his Flux flow.

Jar'Eel was getting away, feeling very satisfied with shooting Corso. He rounded a corner and was stopped by an unknown energy. From three corners. Solaris, Coran and…. Zoltar! He was still alive. And angry.
"Hold him in place. He needs to learn the truth and make a choice." Aaraya said as she stepped forwards.
"As if you know best, Mother." Jar'Eel spat. Aaraya shook her head.
"You're confused. I'll bring you back to Stellar Unix and explain everything. For now, sleep." She commanded, making a gesture with her hand. With that, her son fell into a deep sleep.

Where was he? Corso tried to sit up, but his shoulder felt like it was on fire.
"Finally waking up?" He heard a voice say. Callie. He tried to sit up again, but felt a set of strong arms holding him down.
"Easy there." Sonny said mildly. Corso rubbed his head with his good hand.
"I hope we at least got the bastard." He said. Sonny smirked.
"We did. We're almost ready to go back to Genesis. There's just one thing." He teased. This made Corso suspicious.
"How long was I out?" He asked. Callie laughed.
"Seventy Two Hours. Hopefully that gave you enough time to think about the marriage?" She said. Corso smiled.
"I'm in. Do both of you still want this?" He asked. Sonny chuckled.
"Of course we do." He said. Callie leaned forward.
"Before we make this official, I want a kiss from both of my husbands to be." She said. Corso looked at Sonny.
"Go ahead." Sonny chuckled as Callie leaned in to kiss Corso. He liked it. The three of them belonged together.
"I want one from Sonny as well." He said. Sonny chuckled as he kissed Callie passionately. Then, he turned to Corso. Sonny cupped his face gently and pulled him close, then, he kissed Corso deeply and passionately. Corso placed his left arm around Sonny's neck, caressing his hair. Callie chuckled as she looked at them.
"Today's probably perfect to prepare for the special night." She reminded them. Sonny smiled as he let go, slightly short on breath.
"Let's get cleaned up." He said. Corso looked at him.
"What's the occasion?" He asked. Callie smiled.
"Arcadia news has been informed of my release. They asked me to do two things before tomorrow's news at night. Tomorrow, I'll have a sit down with the two of you, talking about all this. I'll give you the questions one hour prior." Callie said, trying to look stern. Corso grimaced.
"Do we have to? I don't like to do public appearances." He said. Sonny nodded.
"We need to work on that." He suggested. Corso grinned.
"What are we celebrating tonight?" He asked. Callie smirked.
"A royal wedding. Zoltar and Solaris have the blessing of the King and Queen. We'll celebrate their marriage tonight with a special broadcast for Arcadia news." She said. Corso laughed.
"As long as they don't come anywhere near our house, I can manage." He said.
"I can't make promises about my colleagues." Callie laughed. Corso sighed.
"Then I can't make any promises about their well-being." He said. Sonny chuckled.
"Let's just all share a shower to relax." He smiled. Corso sighed happily as they both helped him to the bathroom. He was the luckiest man in the Galaxy right now.

Solaris was beautiful in her wedding dress. Mei smiled as she looked at her. Simple, but elegant. She looked at D'Jok, who held her hand, and looked at her with a smile. There was a lot of reasons to smile lately. She also heard about Sonny, Corso and Callie. She was so happy for them. The music sounded as the King himself would lead Solaris to the altar. Zoltar looked kind of nervous as he was flanked by Zarind and Hawk who was his Best Man. Aaraya was the maid of honor for Solaris. It became a beautiful ceremony. The celebration did not last too long, as they all needed their sleep.

After the celebration, the Pirates returned to The Black Manta and a new celebration took place. Everyone was gathered in the Command Center, where Sonny, Corso and Callie announced their marriage. Corso felt nervous about how the crew would respond. But there was no one judging him. There was only celebration.
"I'm so happy for you. You finally got him." A slightly tipsy Artie told him.
"Yeah. Finally." Corso smiled. He looked at his ring. An S and a C on each side. On his side for the rest of his life.

The following morning, the Pirates parted with the Paladins, assuring they would send out an invitation for the wedding to come. Corso was looking out of a window when he felt a tiny hand touch his leg. He looked down into two equally tiny eyes.
"Did you run away from your parents?" He asked as he lifted the little girl into his arms. She was so trusting, looking at him with a such innocence in her eyes, as she made happy sounds. It took him back. Another set of eyes came to his mind. His own daughter, her blue eyes, first, so lively, and happy, and then, almost without life, in a hospital bed, with all the tubes attached to her tiny body. Corso felt his normal eye fill with tears. He never allowed himself to grieve the loss of his only child, he just kept going. He sat down, making sure she wouldn't fall. This was where Callie and Sonny found them. Callie took the little child back to Mei and D'Jok. Sonny carefully sat down next to Corso.
"If you want, we can go to their graves and have them relocated. I know you want them both to rest peacefully." He said. Corso nodded.
"She reminded me so much of times I wish I had more of. I'm not even sure how to rebuild from that. But I know I want to try." He said. Sonny nodded.
"You're wondering where Callie and I stand about having children?" He asked. Corso nodded.
"Iris reminds me of Kimberly at that age. A part of me is still scared. Maybe I always will be. I want to try again but I need you and Callie to be on board with it." He said. Sonny smiled.
"Callie and I had that talk. I also want to try again. Let's talk to Callie about it after the wedding." He said. Corso nodded as he looked out into space.
"For now, let's find Kimberly and Noomi. I might know a place for them to rest." He said. Sonny nodded.
"Where?" He asked. Corso smiled.
"Next to Helena, on Akillian."

We are close to the end of this story. Just a few more chapters to go.
There's still some loose threads.
In the next chronicle, I will deal with how the mole in the Flux Society and other players fit into their roles and how this contributed to the Flux wars.
All this and more will be explored in other stories.
As always, thank you Paranoidgirl, for your Beta Reading.
Please leave a review.