Things would be different now. Helena reminded herself of why she chose this over the relative safety with her son. Sonny was her husband. She had gone 16 years without him. Sure, she had stayed faithful, as had he. They had talked it out,and cleared what had happened in the years they were apart. She would have understood if he had another woman after being separated from her, and he would have understood her having another man too. And yet, they both chose celibacy. It was either the one they swore to be faitful to, or no partner at was as devoted to this marriage as herself. Then, she looked at her new family.

Most of the pirates were men. There wasn't many women that dared join the pirates. If they did, they were left with no other option. Either, they critizesed Technoid openly, or they were stealing from was said to be a hard life, and she believed it to be true. Sonny was worried how this would effect her pregnancy. To not have health care readily availabe with her history, was a risk. But Helena calmed him, reminding him, he himself was educated with these things, he knew what kind of treatment she needed, and how to provide it. She was not going to worry over this. Sonny gave in, but he was reluctant in doing had the medical reports and her journals from when she had D'Jok. Her blood loss had been a concern for him. He decided to have some of his crew checked for compability with her, should a transfusion become necessary. He also ordered the needed supplies for a baby to be brought on board. This would be a first. The pirates never had a baby on board, and this was definately going to pose some new challenges. But none too great to be handled by his The Black Manta, medical supplies was limited to the bare essentials, to keep the ship light and make her travel as fast as they needed, to get away from Technoid. Not just Technoid as it turned out. Sonny had spoken of bounty hunters that sometimes acted on the temptation his bounty made. But the pirates was trained to spot them, and Sonny, when he moved around alone outside the ship, wich was rare, always had someone watching his back. On top of that, there was his transmitter. Helena learned that the model Sonny had on his wrist, was modified and with special features. The system it operated on was so sophisticated, it would allow the pirates to track him, no matter where he would be. He could also use it to hack into any communication device of his choosing, to either warn some of his men, or deliver a message if he needed to. Sonny suggested she too have one of those transmitters, so he could always find her, should something happen.

Most the time, Helena stayed aboard The Black Manta. The pregnancy took its toll on her, and she tired easily. Well, her belly was not all that big now, but the baby needed energy. Her belly also started to show more. But as a wife of a pirate, she felt kind of useless too. Sonny hardly let her do anything at all on board. There was always a pirate ready to do her chores if she felt tired. If this was how the rich and famous lived, she could understand why many of them had grown fat.

Then, she thought of Duke Maddox. Once, she had liked him. Now, not so much. Despite Dame Simbai haven giving him notice about matters, Duke Maddox also accused Sonny of kidnapping her. That was frustrating for her to know. Sonny had done no such thing. She was with him, out of her own free will. Maybe he had to say it like that in the eyes of the public, what did she know? But Sonny didn't seem worried about that.

His focus was on whom had framed them. And Helena knew whom he suspected. Now, he was hunting down leads to prove this, and clear his name. But odds seemed stacked against him at this point. That was, until Artie came to him,with a file he had copied off of Technoids servers.

"Sonny, you might want to take a look at this. I find this to be a bit odd" he said.

Sonny nodded as he took the small recorder Artie handed him. It was the news footage from Duke Maddox explaining the incident with the Shadows loosing their flux, and Duke Maddox hammered him and his men, for being so taken with a win that he would resort to this to make it happen for his team. The truth was, when it came right down to it, a win meant little to nothing to the pirates, the loss of the Shadows flux was just ridiculous to blame them for. What caught his eye though, was the alleged witnesess Technoid had. The Obia Moon ambassador and his wife had been on a peace mission near Obscurantis when it was attacked.

But here, the Ambassador claimed it was definately him. Or was that his true words? Sonny frowned at the suspicious miniscule pauses in the recording. Helena stood beside him and watched. They had spoken to the ambassadors before, briefly, but he certainly didnt speak like this. And that made them both wonder if he was being forced. Helena frowned as she heard it. Something did not sound right.

"That sounds..odd honey. Why those glitches in the way he speaks? He is an ambassador,whom speaks all languages in the galaxy fluently. This makes no sense" she wondered.

Sonny looked at her.

"I was just thinking the same thing honey. This isnt what they really said. The recording has been altered, to fit Technoids needs. Well, no surprise there, this is getting really old. It would be refreshing if they could come up with something new for once" he said.

Then, Corso came to see them.

"Sonny, I got a message from Mei, to meet her. She says its urgent. With all the trouble I got, making that girl see reason in why we contacted her in the first place, I think I should meet her, and hear what she has to say" he said.

Sonny nodded.

"Do that Corso. I got a doctors appointment secured for Helena, under the advide that it is extremely discrete. We will meet you at The Rivet Club on Genesis North, and head back to the ship from there. We come and go in groups. Stevens and the pirates team is on patrol duty at the sphere. I am not at all sure how safe it is for Rocket, or anyone else to play in that thing, not when Bleylock is nearby. If need be, Stevens will play him, in an attempt to get him out" he said.

Corso nodded. He knew better than to argue with Sonny when he was like this.

He looked at Helena. She looked a bit nauseous.

"Sonny, do you mind if I offer Helena one of my herbal remedies for this nausea? I feel so sorry for her, seeing her like this. I would prefer being air sick to pregnant if it was me. It wont hurt her, but if might help stablize her stomach some" Corso said.

Sonny smiled compassionately to his wife.

"Its bad isnt it honey?" he asked, seeing her slightly greenish face.

Helena could only nodd, before her breakfast came back up. Helena looked sad, and a bit embarrased at that.

Sonny looked at Corso.

"Mild anti vommit treatment Corso, and I mean mild. Nothing that isnt healthy for my future daughter" he said.

Corso nodded, and let his hand roam his pocket. Sonny had a feeling his right hand man had planned to ask just waited for the right moment.

Corso pulled out a small vial with some dark grey looking pills.

"Only one of these per day, and a mild soup to go with it. She should feel a little better in a few hours. The more she stays on board, the safer she is. Plus, I know you wont be far away from her. Finally, we found a way to make you stay out of danger. That is a welcome change" he commented.

Sonny took the vial, and then looked at his right hand man. This was a conversation that came up regularly, but he understood his friends concern, now more than ever, he had to put what he wanted to do aside, for the sake of his wife and their new baby. And instead of arguing with Corso, Sonny decided to put him to work.

"Didnt you have a meeting with Mei to get to?" he asked, making it clear that Corso was pushing his boundries now.

Corso just chuckled and saluted, before he headed off.

Duke Maddox was having a rough time. This incident at Obscurantis had to be the pirates doing. His droids had recovered pieces of wreckage, that belonged to a pirate ship. Maybe Sonny himself had some rouge men in his crew, men that acted on their own, without his knowing. Why else would he and Corso leave in such a hurry?If they were innocent, they had nothing to fear. All his men would do, was to question them about what they knew about matters. Maybe it was old habits, but Sonny was the one that made the call to leave. It made him look guilty. Him and Corso both. He recalled the whispering conversation between them. It happened just as The Shadows lost their flux. Sonny didnt take long to decide to not trust Technoid and him. He was either investigating this on his own, or had other reasons to leave. And he himself, sent droids after him, asking to have him followed at first, before he was contacted buy a staffer, whom had received a recording of the incident. Instead of Sonny defending himself, they had the recording of the Obia ambassador, claiming he saw Blackbones and his men shoot a device at Obscurantis. It never even crossed Duke Maddox mind to double check wheter this was true. For now, he had detained the Ambassador and his wife to have the chance to question them further about this. Then there was the fact that Sonny and Corso had made a late appearance this evening. Off course, there could be a number of reasons for that, but it could mean, Sonny had orchestrated the attack, before he got there. But if so, why had he even come to the match? he had been in a real hurry to leave when the shadows lost their flux during the match too. That was the one thing that bothered Duke Maddox most. This wasn't like Sonny. If he knew this would happen, he would not have come. But, at the moment, he had to follow the trail of evidence. And that trail suggested Sonny was guilty. Duke Maddox pulled up an encrypted file on his computer. He used an access code to check it. This file was one the pirates had not seen the content of. But it contained a map of a specially made prison, designed to hold Sonny, once they got him captured. He wasn't going to hurt him, Sonny was too valuable as a scientist. Technoid needed him, if neccesary, re trained to work for them. It would not happen all by itself. Sonny kept his distance, being very careful around them. Duke Maddox sighed. He was going to make Sonny an offer once they had separated him from his men. He and his wife, working as a team of two, for Technoid. If Sonny was as smart as he gave him credit for, this would be smooth sailing. Sonny would see reason to the offer, and the benefits for himself and his family. If not, he would have to force the deal on him.

Corso did his best to conceal his dismay with Meis little stunt. She had no information to offer on her precious boyfriend, his boasses son. Instead, she came with her team mate, Tia, and told him, Tia could help Sonnys case with the accusations he was subjected to. Corso was confused as to how a kid could help them, but Mei informed him, Tia was the daughter of the Obia ambassadors. As if that made matters easier. For Corso, it had the oposite effect.

"Missy, of all the people in the galaxy, you are the absolute last one I would bring to Sonny. Your father accused him falsely, on Holo Tv. Let me tell you right now. No one accuses Sonny of any such things unless for good reasons. For all I know, you are asking for a meeting, to lead Technoid to him" Corso said.

Tia looked at him. There was a stubborn glimpse in her eyes. This girl was used to getting things her way, and no was not an answer she would accept, not even from him.

"You must take me to Sonny, because I am the one that can help him the most" she said.

Corso looked less than impressed.

"Not so fast Missy. Before we go anywhere, you are going to tell me how it is you think you can help Sonny Blackbones" Corso said, trying to get on top of the situation where he was battling a little girl in a very intense battle of wills. A battle he was loosing, and fast. Sonny was going to have fun when he heard of how Corso was outplayed by a girl.

"I will only tell Sonny himself" Tia said, standing her ground.

Corso knew he was defeated. And he had been here for too long already. He stayed any longer, he risked being spotted, and he himself could be the one that led the enemy to Sonny. He couldn't allow that to happen. Sonny had to stay safe, with his bounty raised to four million, they were even more vigilant than normal to make sure he wasnt seen. Four million could tempt bounty hunters to make a new attempt, and Sonny was needed, more than ever, by his wife. His job was to make sure Sonny stayed low, and in hiding until this could be dealt with. And that meant, he had no choice. he had to bring her.

"I see" Corso said, somewhat thoughtful before he made a judgement call.

He turned to Mei.

"I will take her to him, but if there is any trouble, I will be coming back for you" he said, making it clear to Mei that he did not like being played, and what she had done now, she had better not repeat.

Then, he turned to Tia.

"We have to go" he said.

Mei watched Tia go with Corso into a cab, with Bennett and Artie, and drive off.

D'Jok were trying to come to grips with the new information about Rockets whereabouts and what he was doing. Aarch was none too happy about his nephew doing this, and had pleaded with D'Jok as the captain, to find a way to get him out. Ever since Mark had revealed where he was, D'Jok really struggled to keep it together. Tia had gone missing too, and no one knew her whereabouts, neither did he know where his mom and father was at. All he knew, was that Sonny promised him to get them to meet, as soon as this could be done safely. For now, he focused on what was best for his team.

Helena sat down carefully on a crate in Sonnys improvised office at the Rivet Club. She was tired from all the crawling in the ventilation ducts that they had to do to make this appointment. They had to be sneaky about her appointment now. Technoid was keeping her doctor under watch, but Sonny was quite skilful when it came to air vents, and used that way to get them in, unseen. The doctor wasn't even surprised about this. Helena suspected he had dealings with the pirates in the past, and knew them all well. When they entered, he had smirked.

"Technoid has nothing on you Mr Blackbones, and neither does security systems. You seem to have a way to get around all of them. And your wife, is she a pirate in Training perhaps?" he said as Helena made a rather clumsy move for her, to get out.

Sonny gave her his arm.

"A pirate wife in training she is indeed. Though, climbing air vents is not her prefered way of doing things. For once, she let me be the man and lead her here safely. I am sure to have to pay for this later. Good thing I kept her out of the galley" he joked.

Helena decided to join the joke.

"Well, unless you want me to do a worse job than Tin Can, I would prefer not to have to be in the galley while I am this nauseous. I start to wonder if this kind of excercise is your normal routine honey, no wonder you stay so fit then" she said.

Sonny chuckled.

"Well,Corso and I also do a fair amount of weightlifting, and hand to hand combat. Those things get sweaty too. And with that said, I would not be surprised if Corso gets extra points next time, because I will have an admiring bystander that causes me to get distracted, enough for him to whop my hide. He would want bragging rights for as long as he can" he said.

Helena chuckled.

"That can be arranged honey. Rather that than food poisoning right?" she smiled.

The doctor conducted the needed tests, and sent his report and medical file to Sonnys given mail address. They could go over this in the comfort of their cabin. Once they were done, The Blackbones pair left the same way they came in. And Technoid was none the wiser.

Now, Sonny handed her a small bowl of soup, one made by a human pirate, not Tin can. Helena needed her strength and He had other things to tend she ate, resting on the small sofa the pirates had put there, He viewed the file of the Obia ambassador again. If it was one thing Sonny knew how to do, it was read body language and compare it to what was spoken. And in doing so, he found more anomalies. This was not what had happened when the Obia moon ambassadors was captured, nor was it their words. He became ever more convinced now that he viewed it a second time.

Before he could delwe deeper into it, Tin can came to deliver a message from Corso.

Corso had already informed him, someone might be able to help him, the daughter of the Obia ambassadors. She was as stubborn as Mei, according to Corsos grumpy message, wich made Sonny struggle not to laugh. There wasn't many that could pin Corso to the wall, she deserved a personal meeting with him for that reason alone. He kind of wished he had been a fly on the wall to see that show down. Tia would only speak directly to him, it didn't matter what Corso said. Sonny made the call to allow for this unusual visit. Normally, people didn't seek him out, no matter who they were. The pirates were not people you wanted to be associated with, unless you planned to have Technoid and Duke Maddox pay particular interest to you and your business, or even use you to try to capture Sonny.

Tia, being an ambassadors daughter, seeking him, saying she could help with his current problem.. normally, he would dismiss it. Tia was a kid, a team mate of his sons. There was no way she could really help a pirate. Or, since this was her parents being held by Technoid, maybe this was the one case where going the oposite direction would help?

Sonny looked over his shoulder.

"Tell Corso to bring her here, but discretely. We are dealing with an ambassadors daughter this time. I am curious as to how a child thinks she can help me, but I am not going to reject her without hearing her out. Anyone that can put Corso against the wall is unusual in his or her own right. I accept the meeting" he said.

Tin can hurried off to deliver the message.

Helena looked at her husband.

"I hope you thought this through honey. Tia is a strong willed young lady. True, an ambassadors daughter, but she has a strong mind that one. All I have seen of her, is that she can be somewhat..dominating when it comes to boys" she said.

Sonny looked at her.

"I take it, with Rocket leaving the way he did, not too friendly towards our son either?" he asked.

Helena chuckled.

"Lets put it this way. Mei can be a diva, but Tia is street smart. And very used to getting things her way. I think..if she put Corso to the wall, she will try that trick with you as well. You better be prepared to stand your ground. I would not be surprised if she needs help to free her parents" Helena said.

Sonny rubbed his chin hearing that. If so, that meant breaking in to a high security prison. Doing so was not an easy task. He would need to make a plan for that, one that stuck and was safe. Because, from the look of things, he was going to have to bring his wife into a very dangerous place, and he didn't like that one bit.

He was cut from his trail of thoughts, as Tin can returned.

"Sonny, here is Corso with the girl" he reported.

Sonny rose from his seat, as Corso entered, with what looked like a far less confidant girl than the Tia that was just described to him. Infact, from what he saw, she looked kind of scared. He needed to speak to Corso later, find out what had led her to be like this.

Sonny held out his hand to her, putting his other hand on top as she took it, making it clear to her, he was not a danger to her, infact, quite the oposite, especially, if she was able to help him with his problem.

"Its a pleasure to meet you Tia" he said in a calm voice.

Tia looked anxious.

"That may not last, not after you know who my parents are" she said.

Sonny nodded.

"I already know Tia, a pirate like me have to stay on top of what is going on, if not, it will spell disaster down the line. About your parents, I saw their little show" he said, and pressed play on his laptop so she could see the file he had.

This seemed to upset Tia even more.

"They are holding them like prisoners. My parents has nothing against you Sonny. You must help me find them, and help them escape Technoid" she pleaded.

So, this was the reason she wanted to meet him. Well, this was not a small ask. Not to mention the high level of danger this was getting her into. He could not risk taking this child with them on such a dangerous mission.

Sonny gave it a moments thought.

Then, he turned towards Tia.

"I will help you on one condition. If freed, your parents must tell the galaxy the truth, that I had nothing to do with the attack on Obscurantis" he demanded.

Tia now showed the side to her personality that both Corso and Helena had told him about. Determined and strong willed.

"I am sure they will,I promise they will. When do we leave?" she asked.

Wait! The kid thought she was coming along. Helena had to hide her smile where she sat and observed the scene. This would be interesting to see how Sonny would handle. And it seemed he had an answer ready for her.

"You cant come Tia. Its far too dangerous. I would prefer Helena didn't either, but her situation is different from yours. If we get caught doing this, its not only me that goes down, but your reputation will also be tarnished, simply for being with us. Corso will contact you when we have found your parents.." he managed before Tia showed her true colours.

"Then my parents wont help you" she said.

Helena had to turn away, she could not remember ever having seen Sonny this shocked before. The kid had nerves, no doubt about that.

"WHAT?" Sonny said, sounding a bit dismayed.

Tia looked defiantly at him.

"Either I come with, or there is no deal" Tia said.

No way. Sonny too had been put against the wall, by a child. This would have been most amusing, if not for the very danger it represented. Sonny decided to make one last attempt to change this stubborn childs mind.

"What about the tournament? Your team still needs you"Sonny pointed out, hoping this would make her see reason. No such luck.

Tia was as defiant as they came.

"Family comes first, tournament second" she stated.

Helena had to hide her smile. No doubt Tia had put both Sonny and Corso in the corner this time. And that in itself was worth admiring.

Sonny looked at Corso in the corner of his eye. His right hand man said nothing, not that he needed to. His gesture with the hand told him everything. Tia had outplayed them both and now, they had no choice but to bring her along, that, or their best bet at clearing themselves of the charges was going down the drain. Sonny knew he had lost the battle, but he was not going to tell Tia that.

"We leave tonight. Corso, get Tia the things she will need for this, and the instructions to go. I will be with you shortly, just wrapping things up here first" he said.

Corso nodded.

"Will do Sonny, see you onboard" he greeted before he led Tia out.

Artie and Helena were the only ones left with Sonny.

And Artie found this to be too exciting for Sonnys taste.

He pretended to shoot his lasers with his hands.

"It feels good to be against Technoid again" he cheered.

Sonny was not so cheerful.

"Technoid is the second strongest adversary we have next to the flux. They are a formidable enemy Artie, don't you forget that" he said as he wrapped up his session on the laptop.

Helena gently put her hand on his arm. She could sense he was not all confident this was a good plan.

"Sonny, let me handle Tia. Sometimes, it is easier for a woman to talk to a stubborn child, and Tia is still a child" she said.

Sonny smiled at her.

"Thanks honey. But I made this deal with her. That means, she has to come with us, or the deal is void. I cant take the chance on that. I will have to work late, to track the prison barge the ambassadors are held at. It is a maximum security prison, and if I am right, very hard to escape. I wish I could leave you out of this, but with Bleylock on the loose, I cant. Promise me, do as I tell you on this trip honey. It might get dangerous" he said as he pulled her into an embrace.

Helena wrapped her arms around her husband, holding him close. This would be her first mission as a pirates wife, and it felt like Tia had made sure she would go straight into the fire..