A/N: Well, gentle readers, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I have outlined this story through its conclusion. Yea! I know how it's going to end now. Sometimes, when I'm writing, I let the story develop and show me the way to its conclusion and this one just reached that point. I'm giddy with excitement and a little sad because the end is in sight. The bad news is that I have been so busy the last month with work and family, I am no longer ahead of my postings with my completed chapters. That means I don't have any cushion left if I get behind on my writing. I'm still going to try to post a chapter each week, but don't panic if I miss a week here and there. This is my favorite WIP and I don't intend to abandon it. Just be patient with me if I get behind. I love all of you and appreciate all your lovely comments! Peace and joy to you in the coming year.

Chapter 31

On the Roci, it was four against one as Holden argued to rescue the crew of the Ando before its core was breached. The attack by the bots had rendered them incapable of expelling the core, not that the crippled ship could escape the blast that would follow. Nik understood that leaving the crew to their death went against everything he stood for, but the marines left on board considered them the enemy and were better armed. With enough of them on board the Roci, they would be able to overpower the five of them and take over the former warship. Nik heartedly agreed it was not worth the risk.

Holden slammed his fist down on a panel and cursed.

Naomi glided to his side and clucked sympathetically, "sometimes, Jim, there are no good options."

"I know. I know," he hung his head in defeat. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"If it's any consolation, I'm not thrilled about it either. Those are my people out there," Alex said quietly from his chair.

"No," Amos corrected him, "these are your people in here."

Silence descended as they considered their next move only to be broken by a ping from the panel by Alex.

"Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it quickly," he told them. "There's another MCRN ship on its way."

"How long do we have?" Holden asked.

"Not long...," Alex started to answer when there was a flash outside the ship as the Ando lost its battle with the bots.

"Fuck," Amos muttered under his breath.

"Jim, they're never going to believe that we didn't have anything to do with this," Naomi pointed out.

"Technically, we did," Holden answered her then held up a hand to stop her. "I know. Alex, get us out of here."

The trip to Medina station was short but rough on the crew. Holden had Alex push the ship hard and take minimum breaks to get them there before the MCRN could pursue them. Once within range of the gate, Alex slowed the Roci's burn enough for them not to violate the speed limit of the slow zone, giving Nik ample time to observe the gate as they approached.

She had heard about the gate, sure, and seen vids and images of it, but none of those prepared her for its immensity. She had pictured it in her mind as being about the same size as Tycho station. Why would it need to be any bigger? But as it loomed in front of the ship, it blotted out everything else in the sky. Other ships entering and leaving through it were just dots against its expanse. The very idea of going through it chilled her, but Holden and his crew had gone through it first without batting an eye. There was no way she was going to let them see how much the gate disturbed her.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?"

She jumped involuntarily at Naomi's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"How did you do it?" she asked quietly.

"Sometimes stupidity wins over common sense," the other woman smiled sadly. "There was nothing heroic about our going through first. Only need."

"I'm sure the history books will make it sound heroic."

"Maybe," Naomi responded.

Unable to hold back, Nik blurted, "I'm never going to make it to Ganymede, am I?"

Her eyes wide, Naomi turned towards her. "Sésata, don't give up hope!"

Tears burned hot in her eyes as she replied, "everything we do just seems to take us farther and farther away."

"Nik, you can't think like that." Naomi took her by that shoulders and turned her to look into her eyes. "We are going to get back with your family, never doubt that. Im da sheng."

Taking a deep breath, Nik told her what she wanted to hear even though she didn't believe it, "ya, you're right. I just need to have a little faith."

Naomi searched her eyes and she tried to project a certainty that she didn't feel, hoping the other woman would accept her answer. After a moment, Naomi smiled.

"Gud."

Passing through the ring was unlike anything she had experienced before. Reality seemed to slow and stretch. It was as if she was everywhere yet nowhere all at once. She tried to move her hand and felt it move but watched as it stayed where it lay on the bulkhead next to the view port. She doubled her efforts to move it and recoiled in alarm as the Roci emerged on the other side of the ring and her hand obeyed her command and flew towards her face.

Disoriented for a moment, she was startled by a chuckle nearby.

Scowling, she looked over at Amos.

"Almost gave myself a black eye once doing that. You should be careful."

Imagining him doing the same thing that she just did, she smiled back, "I'll keep that in mind, taki."

Outside, Medina station came into view. Nik had been on Tycho station while it was being constructed and had spent years of her life in its shadow only able to catch glimpses of it through the few view ports available to the lower classes or stills of it on the vids. Now, seeing it in its entirety for the first time, she was slightly disappointed. Massive in size compared to the multitude of ships surrounding it and almost glowing against the stark backdrop of the slow zone, it was still just another space station now, not the visionary generation ship that it had been born as.

"It will get more impressive when we're closer," Amos told her, as if sensing her thoughts.

Not turning away from the port but acutely aware of his intense gaze, she replied, "it's not that. Well, ya it is. But it's kinda sad that it is just sitting here like an ordinary space station. It was going to take humanity out of the sol system, now it is stuck here watching as other ships do what it was meant to do."

"I don't know about all that," his brow furrowed as he considered her answer. "It's still serving an important purpose."

Nik kept her eyes on the huge ship-turned station for a few more moments before chancing a look at her companion, only to find herself alone in the corridor again. Typical, she thought. Turning away from the port, she made her way to her room to be alone with her thoughts.

Once there, however, she pushed all the sad thoughts away and picked up the exercise bands. Maybe physical activity would help get her out of the funk she was in.

The group that gathered in the galley was subdued. Mars had released a statement describing their "attack" on the Ando with an unknown weapon and labeled them terrorists. The MCRN was threatening military retaliation against anyone that aided and abetted them. Medina station was refusing to allow them to dock until they could get it sorted out.

"Can we release our own statement? We have proof of the picobots," Alex suggested.

"No, we have blurry images that could be anything," Naomi corrected him. "And Nik did use them against the Ando."

"What was I supposed to do?" she protested. "Let them throw me out an airlock?"

"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it." Naomi snapped, then visibly calmed herself before continuing, "I'm just saying that we don't have a lot to refute what they are saying."

"Then let me tell my story."

"I'm not sure how that will help. It will be your story against that of the MCRN. At best, you will split public opinion, but I doubt you will get Mars to back down with a sad story. Especially one that paints them as the villains."

Nik sighed dejectedly, "you guys would have been better off to leave me on the Ando. With me dead, Mars wouldn't have anything to hold against you."

Holden's head lifted at that statement.

"You know, you're right."

"Jim!" Naomi stood and turned to him in alarm.

"No, listen," he waved her down. "There's no proof Nik made it off the Ando. But there is proof that she was on it and that we willingly handed her over to them."

Naomi was nodding, "and we have proof that we pleaded with them to allow us to help evacuate the ship."

"And that our ship was also attacked."

"Hold on," Alex put in. "Are you suggesting that we tell everyone that Nik died?"

"That's exactly what they are suggesting," Amos told him.

"What happens when they find out she's alive?"

"We can change her ID," Holden answered.

"That won't work," Amos shook his head. "They know what she looks like now and when she shows up on Ganymede, they'll just grab her there."

"Then she stays with us." Holden turned to Nik, "you're practically a crew member now. What do you say? Stay on and make it permanent."

"Yeah," Alex grinned, "join us. See the system. Explore new worlds. Meet exciting new life forms that can kill you. Trigger alien technology that could destroy all life in the system. What more could you ask for?"

Nik's chest tightened at the thought of being part of their crew and tears filled her eyes. A blink dislodged one of them and a droplet floated away from her face. She swiped her eyes with her sleeve before exchanging a tortured look with Naomi.

"She can't," the other woman told the men. "It would kill her to stay with us."

"Of course, she would miss her family," Alex said. "But this would protect them, too."

"No, Alex. It would actually kill her."

"What are you talking about?" Holden asked Naomi.

"I have SSAS," Nik answered him.

A shocked silence descended on the crew.

"Shit," Alex broke the silence.

"Can it be cured?" Holden asked.

"No. The symptoms can be treated up to a point, but once the cellular damage reaches a certain point, it's irreversible," Naomi told him.

"How long?"

"It varies from person to person, but she's still in the early stages, so she has a while."

"Define 'a while'."

"Maybe a few weeks continually on the float. I don't know."

Holden nodded, "so we're not talking hours or days, then."

"No," Nik agreed. "The meds are working for now."

"So, we have time to come up with a different plan, then."

"Uh, no, we don't, Hoss," Alex jumped in.

"What now?"

"MCRN warships are coming through the gate."

"Does the universe hate us or something? Can't we ever catch a break?" Holden groaned.

"Apparently not," Alex shook his head. "We have multiple incoming transmissions."

Holden looked at Nik, "it's up to you. Do I tell them you're dead or not?"

She didn't even have to think about it.

"Ya. We'll figure the rest out later. Let's just get them off you for now."

"Good choice," he nodded, standing up to leave the galley. "Go find a good place to hide in case they want to search us to verify."

She wanted to watch the exchange, but knew he was right. She would want to confirm for herself if the tables were turned. Unfortunately for the Martians, they were dealing with someone who had spent her life hiding. They didn't stand a chance.

Turning to say something to Amos, she discovered that he had already left the galley. Disappointed, she stepped out into the corridor and began her search.

It would have to be somewhere so small and overlooked that nobody would ever think to look for her there. Her search led her to the maintenance shop. The 3-D printer that she had repaired still stood in the corner. Most of the time, small hoppers along the side were used to hold the raw material needed for printing; however, this model had a hopper for a large quantity of raw material when printing large or multiple objects was required. Though a tight fit, she thought it would be large enough for her to squeeze into, providing she didn't have to hide for a protracted length of time.

As she was removing the back panel to double check, the door to the bay slid open and Amos walked in. Standing to face him, for once she had no problem reading him and she was glad the printer was between them. Striding across the space, he leaned across it to glower at her.

"Were you going to tell me?"

Staying calm, she looked him in the eyes, "there was nothing you could do."

He slammed his palms down on the printer, making her jump, "that's not the point and you know it!"

He pushed off the printer and walked a few steps away, keeping his back to her.

"Damnit, Kitten. You're slowly dying out here and keeping it a secret."

"Naomi knew. She was the one that got me on medication for the symptoms. I didn't tell the rest of you because I didn't want to be treated like I was sick. I didn't want to look in your eyes and see pity."

He turned around and stared at her, "you think I'd feel sorry for you?"

"I don't know, but I didn't want to take that chance. I didn't want to be treated different because of it and you know that's what would happen. If not by you, then by Jim and Alex."

His anger died a little and he nodded, "yeah, probably."

"I love being here on the Roci with you guys. If it wasn't for the SSAS, I would gladly stay. I want to stay. But I only have until we can get this mess fixed and make it to Ganymede. After that, I'll never go out on a ship again. Forgive me for wanting to enjoy what little time I have."

He snorted, "you have a strange definition of fun if you're enjoying all this."

"Well, apart from the threats of death and bots eating the ship out from under us," she smiled.

"What are you doing there?" he changed topics abruptly.

Nik looked down at the printer, "I am thinking about using the large hopper inside as a hiding place in case the marines want to search the ship."

"Let's see," he went to her side and squatted down to help her finish removing the panel.

They worked quietly together for a few minutes. Putting the panel aside, they peered into the space. The hopper took up most of the space with just a narrow gap between it and the rest of the components of the printer.

"That is going to be tight, even for you."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Give me a hand."

Using Amos for support, she crawled into the hopper feet first. When the gap proved to be too narrow for her torso, they unscrewed it's side supports to tilt it more, still, she barely managed to contort her body enough to squeeze through. Kneeling, she leaned forward and pressed her body against her thighs. It was tight and would be uncomfortable, but it would work. She might not be able to feel her legs for a while when she got back out, though.

"This will work," she announced. Reaching out to Amos, "help me out please."

"Are you sure?"

"I mean, it will suck. And someone will have to close it behind me and then open it back up afterwards. But, yeah, it will work."

Getting out was harder than getting in due to the sloped sides of the hopper, and she fell against Amos with a thud as her feet slipped. He caught her and held her against his chest. Sighing, she rested her cheek against his chest and breathed in his unique scent. Instead of releasing her, Amos' arms tightened around her, holding her close. They stayed like that in silence until the comm panel chimed and Holden's disembodied voice broke the spell.

"Nik, come to the bridge."

Standing, Amos set her back on her feet before letting her go and stepping back.

"Thanks," Nik said, looking up at him. "I needed that."

He just nodded with an unreadable expression, "better go see what the next disaster is."

"Aren't you coming?"

"Nah, I got some things I need to do."

Before she left the bay, she chanced another glance back at him, but he had squatted down behind the printer again and she couldn't see his face anymore. Smiling to herself, she left the maintenance bay and headed for the bridge.