Helena was rocking little Shiloh back to sleep.
She found it difficult to be relaxed herself too.
Her body still hurt from Bleylocks many kicks, and the bruising wasn't looking good.
She was afraid someone was going to look at Sonny, thinking he was a wife beater, and have him arrested for that.
It would not matter how false that was.
If Technoid had anything like that on him, they were sure to come down hard on him, and whom knew what would happen to him then.
For now, it was difficult to really relax.
Her son and his team seemed to be headed straight for defeat in this cup.
Luur and the Xenons were not an easy oponent to beat.
And they were not making it easy for The snow Kids.
It seemed a real uphill battle, one they could loose.
How would D'Jok fare, if the team, the champions, lost the finals under his leadership?
She feared her son would have a lesson in humiliation served this time.
It could break his spirit.
She noticed that Shiloh had finally fallen asleep.
Carefully, she put her back into her incubator, it was better for her there.
Once that was done, Helena heard a knock on the door.
She made her way to open it.
It was Stevens.
"Helena, you need to get ready to leave. We got things prepared for Shiloh. Sonny had a bad feeling something is about to go very wrong, so he decided to have you two relocated to the rivet club first, then The Black Manta. Whenever Sonny has one of these feelings, we all listen. It has not failed us yet" he explained.
Helena nodded.
Stevens helped her pack her stuff and prepare Shiloh for an excit.
A special seat had been brought in, that allowed her to rest, in a confined bubble of glass, while in transport.
Stevens decided not to tell her what qualms Sonny had when he had seen it.
It brought about some eerie memories for him, from when Bleylock held him captive in the reservoirs.
To have his baby daughter inside something even remotely simmilar, had given him the creeps.
It was only thanks to Corso that Sonny had seen reason in this solution, how it was the best protected solution for a premature baby.
Helena still had some problems moving fast, wich had led to the pirates having a wheel chair ready for her.
Sonny was worried about long term effects from the beating, and wanted her to rest, and most of all, not get stressed.
And with their situation, where Helena risked becoming a fugitive over her choice to go with her husband, Sonny had decided to get things moving ahead of time.
As soon as little Shiloh was secure in her bubble, Stevens began the hacking work, to hack into the hospitals computer system, to discharge Helena.
There was every risk that some kind of tracking was put on Helenas name, making her an involuntary prisoner, for the sake of putting pressure on Sonny, but if so, Stevens knew enough to bypass any alarms, and go through the process in silence.
Once he had checked it was all clear, he nodded.
"Lets go. We got a car waiting downstairs. Time is short".
Sonny and Corso had reached the Black Manta, and stormed to the command center.
Sonny threw a quick look around.
She had enough personell here to give pursuit.
"Send out the message for all pirates not on board to use The rivet Club as a meeting point Corso. Men, we got a dangerous fugitive on the run in front of it. Bleylock has his ship armed with the flux devices. We don't know where he plans to aim them, but we all saw what happened on Obscurantis. That wont happen again. Prepare immideate take off. We are going after him!" he ordered.
The pirates already knew what to do, so they carried out their orders quickly.
Within minutes, The Black Manta was on the way.
Sonny and Corso manned the command center.
Corso worked to keep a steady course behind Bleylocks smaller ship.
The movements seemed erratic to him.
"Where is he going? Does he think he can outrun us?" Corso asked, slightly puzzled, as he pushed The Black Mantas engines up to max to catch up.
Sonny took in the scene.
Bleylock surely tried to shake them off, but his course remained pretty much the same.
He had a spesific target in mind, that much was eerily clear.
"Something is off. He has a plan, he always does, you can be sure of that. Stay on him!" Sonny ordered.
Everyone could hear how tense their captain sounded.
Sonny could see how Bleylock made a loop.
"Hurry! Double back, or we are loosing him!" he yelled.
Corso adjusted the course as quickly as he could.
They brought up Bleylocks ship on the monitors.
With their equipment, they could see if the lasers or other weapons was being warmed up.
"He is going to open fire on Genesis!" Sonny yelled in utter disbelief.
Bleylock had completely lost it.
This wasn't about exacting revenge on him any more, he was clearly going to kill everyone on Genesis.
"He cant destroy it with his lasers, they are too weak" Corso argued, turning halfway to look at Sonny.
Sonny shot him a side glance.
"Thats not the only weapon he has Corso. He has those flux devices on board. He can destroy Genesis, by firing the flux devices at it" Sonny said.
The shock was painted on Corsos face.
He was perhaps a hardened soldier from the flu wars, he had survived things most people would not even dream of.
But what Sonny suspected Bleylock had in mind, and the thought could easily be just what was in the making.
Sonny didn't have to give the order to open fire.
The pirates had to attempt to stop him, at every cost.
"Fire the lasers!" Corso ordered.
They could see how The Black Mantas powerful lasers aimed at the smaller ship.
But the shots was repelled.
"He is surrounded by shields" Sonny concluded, as he saw all the shots bounced off of the smaller ship.
This was not good.
But Sonny was known to find quick solutions to problems, and this time was no exception.
"Corso, move us in front of him!" Sonny ordered.
Corso looked at his friend with shock painted on his face.
He realised that Sonny had decided on a very desperate move to protect the population on Genesis.
"But, he will destroy The Black Manta.." Corso argued.
Sonny looked at him.
"If we are lucky, our shields will knock the flux devices off course. Its us, or the entire population of Genesis" he explained.
Corso nodded.
All pirates knew the risks of the life they lived.
If they were done for, at least it would save the lives of the ones on Genesis.
Corso pushed the engines, as they passed over the smaller ship, in a desperate effort to create a barrier between them and insane general.
The heat sensors on their console indicated that he was getting ready to fire.
Sonny braced himself.
If he failed, it meant the end for all the ones on Genesis.
His entire family, everyone there, would die in a ball of intense energy, just like many thousands on Obscurantis had, and that device was not even as strong as the one Bleylock had now.
But something did not go according to plan.
Sonny zoomed his devices to see if he could understand what was going on.
"His rocketports, they are sealed shut!" Corso said in utter disbelief.
Sonny woke from what felt like a trance at those words.
"His ship is a bomb. Get us out of here!" Sonny ordered.
Corso quickly did as he was told.
They became close up witnesses to Bleylocks ship exploding, before a blast wave set course straight for Genesis.
"Sonny, we are ok, but the blast wave..its headed straight for Genesis" Corso said.
Sonny looked in shock.
His entire family was in danger.
"Head back to Genesis Corso, we need to be prepared for casualties. The blast wont destroy Genesis, but it can still cause damage. Get hold of Artie and Bennett, see if we have Helena and Shiloh safe, and try to get to D'Jok" he ordered.
Corso nodded, but found there was a problem.
"Sonny, the blast wave crippled the communication system of The Black Manta. It needs be repaired. No signal will go out" Corso said.
Sonny watched the blast wave hit Genesis, as Corso spoke.
"Back to Genesis. We need to get our own people out of there. Bleylock is gone, I cant deliver on my agreement with Maddox, so that means we make our escape as soon as we can. I need to know my family is ok" he said.
Coros nodded, as they set course for the striken Metal star.
On the pitch, the Snow kids struggled to catch up with the mighhty Xenons.
D'Jok tried to initiate an attack, aiming to score against the Xenon, when the entire ground started to shake.
He had seen this scenario before, and had night mares about it, but dismissed it as just dreams.
But here it was unfolding.
Even Maia had told him, it was ok to speak to her about these things, as she would be able to interpret them for him.
She had even had a simmilar dream, visions as she called it, and had tried to warn him.
He had chosen to dismiss it once again.
As the screen came loose, and crashed down on the pitch, where it all started to crack, D'Jok started to make a run towards safety, having Aarch screaming in his ear.
At the rivet club, the ground shook violently.
Many pirates held on to whatever they could.
Stevens did his best to steady Helena, whom held on to the bubble with Shiloh inside.
Her body still ached, and this did absolutely no favours for her fragile body.
Sonny would surely order her to rest, as soon as he arrived.
But where was he, and where was Corso?
Helena looked desperately over at Bennett.
He was trying to contact The Black Manta, but in vain.
There was no signal.
Bennett calmed himself with the fact that it could be The Black Manta was flying in stealth mode.
If they were, there would be no way, not even for them to detect their signal.
Instead, the pirates watched in horror at the images that came from the center of the spinning metal star.
How the pitch cracked open, and how it seemed Luur had just saved D'Jok.
Helenas heart was racing a million miles an hour.
Her son had almost fallen to his death, and she had been helpless to stop it.
It made her feel guilty for her son,that she could not be in the stadium to support him.
That the risk was, once this was over, that she herself would be a fugitive, because she chose Sonny, her husband.
In other circumstances, maybe she would have chosen differently.
But fifteen years alone, with a son to raise, and him not there, the uncertainty, and the pain..she could not choose differently.
It would mean D'Jok had little to no control over his life, that he would have to get used to being watched over, being the son of the galaxys most wanted man.
But he would adapt.
D'Jok would come after them to Shiloh, Sonny had already made arrangements to have him transported to Shiloh City while they went ahead.
As soon as it all settled, She could see that the news was, the captains decided to settle it all, through a penalty shootout.
That at least made this a more even matched game.
These two teams wanted to see whom was best.
It was time to find out.
Duke Maddox had paid close attention to the match.
The energy that struck the stadium, was one that had too much similarity to what was reported to have happened on Obscurantis.
That meant that Bleylock had indeed targeted them all, just like Sonny had suspected.
If not for the fact that he was a pirate, Duke Maddox would have hired him to deal with these matters.
But he could not hire someone that he knew had every reason not to trust him.
He certainly had not given Sonny any reason to trust him either.
Sonny would always be careful.
The only leverage he had, was his wife and child.
His son was too much in the media that they could make any moves, and surely watched over by the pirates.
Sonny was no fool and would go to great length to protect his family.
Maybe Helena was a better bet to wall Sonny and force him to do Technoids bidding?
Duke Maddox decided to send a patrol to the hospital, to detain Helena Blackbones until he could get in contact with Sonny.
The Black Manta had reached the private gates at Genesis, with Corso immideately ordering repair works to commence on the communications unit of the ship.
Sonny was in a hurry to get to the rivet club, the place where he had ordered Helena and Shiloh to.
Corso could understand how he was worried sick for his family.
But once they got into view of a screen, it was as if Sonny relaxed.
And Corso could see why.
Rocket was accepting the cup, on behalf of his team.
That meant a second consecutive win for the snow kids.
Two time champions.
The two hurried to the rivet club.
On the outside, they found a distraught pair of pirates.
Bennett and Artie had snuck out, not wanting to disturb the celebration.
Their focus was the missing signal from the Black Manta.
"There is no signal from the Black Manta Artie. I am afraid, we have lost Sonny" Bennett muttered.
Artie looked equally distraught.
"I cant believe it Bennett. We are alone now. What are we to do without neither Corso or Sonny to lead us?We will fall apart, loose our family" he pouted.
"You pirates. Why are you hanging your head like that? Cant you see that the snow kids have won?" Sonny asked.
That caused both Bennett and Artie to jump to their feets.
"Sonny!" Artie yelled as he high fived him.
"We thought you were not coming back" Artie tried to explain.
Corso put a hand to Sonnys shoulder as he smiled to them.
"For a moment, we thought the same too, but Sonny pulled us through" Corso said with a smile.
"I had help to make it happen" Sonny explained.
"And Bleylock?" Artie asked carefully.
Sonny smiled.
"Fortunately,now Bleylock is just a name that we will soon forget. He is no longer a threat to this galaxy, or anyone else" Sonny smiled.
Then he turned his gaze to the screen.
"Now that is something. Two in a row" he smiled.
Corso looked around.
"Sonny, people might see you out here, and you are easy to identify without a hood.." Corso let his words hang, hoping Sonny would get his worry.
Sonny nodded.
He joined the pirates and walked inside.
Cheers broke out when the pirates saw their leader.
Sonny on the other hand, made his way over to Helena and Shiloh.
"Are you ok honey?" he asked, as he pulled her into a careful embrace, and kissed her.
"We are Sonny. Both Shiloh and me. Can you believe, she slept through all of this?" Helena asked, looking at the protective bubble that held her daughter.
Sonny smiled too, and tried to push the discomfort of seeing such a bubble again aside.
It was no longer a threat.
"She is like her older brother then. Likes to sleep in. Just you wait till she reaches the teens" he laughed.
"We got plenty of experiences before that my love. You missed out last time. Wait till she is teething. Guess who is gonna do the late night shifts then?" Helena threatened mildly.
Sonny grinned.
"That would be me, and I am looking forwards to being a full time dad. And a leader from the safety of the shadows" he said.
That produced a cheer from the pirates.
They had waited a long time for Sonny to announce this.
Finally, Sonny would be in a safe place, out of the line of fire, and near impossible to locate.
Helena looked at her husband.
"Sonny, did you call our son to congratulate yet?" she asked.
Sonny shook his head.
"I am going to use my clearance access to tap into his earpiece. That way, no one will know its me he speaks to, and he doesnt risk more Technoid attention. They are sure to understand that something happened, wich leaves us with little time. Corso, is communications on board fixed?" Sonny asked.
Corso gave a nodd.
"Guess you were a little preoccuppied with your wife and daughter, to notice I called to check. We can leave whenever you want" Corso reported.
"Good, then we are off right away. I don't trust Duke Maddox to stick to his words, so the sooner we are out of here, the better.
I got two stay behinds lined up to transport D'Jok to the nebula for a pick up, before we set course for Shiloh City. Its time we head for home Helena, as we have a daughter to raise, a house to build and a family life to start" Sonny said.
Helena could only smile.
"Where ever you are honey, that is where my home is".