"Bialar, we need to figure out what is wrong with Starburst."

"I believe Talyn has not yet had enough time to heal completely. I know of no leviathan that has had a starburst arm replaced. I don't know how much more time he will require to finish healing."

"Crais, why are the Peacekeepers after you? I thought everyone assumed the two of you had perished," inquired Stark.

"Officially Peacekeeper High Command does believe he's dead. This beacon was sent out by Commandant Grayza. I have met her before. She doesn't like to take chances. On the off-chance that Bialar survived, she would want people looking for him," Madina replied.

Crais looked surprised, "You have met Grayza before, Madina?"

Madina stared out he window. "Twice. She served under me when I was on Artax. Then earlier this cycle she came aboard Xerrin for a brief inspection tour. I think it was actually an evaluation of my fitness for command. She doesn't play by the same rules as everyone else. I would prefer to not have to deal with her again."

"Doesn't play by the rules, what do you mean?" asked Zhaan.

"She began her rise through the ranks like any other Peacekeeper, but as a captain she was mediocre at best. Probably worse than I have been accounted, I at least proved myself in battle. She showed no particular tactical brilliance. Unlike me she had great ambition and would not be content as a captain. She knew she didn't possess the skills to advance without help. In order to advance she did something highly unethical. She had a heppel gland implanted."

"By the goddess, she didn't?" Zhaan asked with great disbelief.

"She did. And she has used it to fuel her rise to power in the council. That is another reason I have no desire to return to the Peacekeepers. We have forsaken our mission over the cycles, becoming a disgrace and soon a laughingstock in the galaxy. Grayza's position of power only proves it."

*****************************************************

14 cycles ago - onboard cruiser Artax



Madina had been sent by the captain to meet and escort the new Operations Officer to command, Mele-on Grayza. The old one had been killed in their last engagement with the Scarrans. He had been an excellent officer and his tactical prowess would be missed. Madina had done some investigating about Grayza. She wasn't one of the best officers in the fleet, but Madina had learned that some people could be molded and turned into something better. It seemed like it took forever for the transport to land. Madina had better things to do with her time, but the Captain liked to have her greet new officers when they reported on board. Finally the transport landed and Grayza debarked.

"Lt. Mele-on Grayza reporting for duty, sir," Grayza said smartly as she saluted.

Madina looked over Grayza's uniform. At least it was neat. "I am Lt. Garrix, second in command. Captain Sun asked me to escort you up to command." Madina had no desire to make conversation.

" Artax is a new ship isn't it?" Grayza asked.

"Three cycles."

"I have heard good things about this ship. I look forward to serving here." Grayza waited a few microts for a reply. She didn't get one. "Have I done something to offend you, Lieutenant?"

"No," Madina replied tersely.

"Then may I ask why you are treating me so abruptly?"

"It is my policy to let new officers get their first impression of the ship from the Captain." This was part of the truth. The other part was that Madina had heard she was quite the brown-noser, she could not stand that kind of behavior. They finished the walk in silence. "Captain? Lt. Grayza is here."

Captain Sun turned to face them, "Thank you, Lt. Garrix. You may proceed about your duties."

Grayza approached the Captain and saluted smartly, "Lt. Mele-on Grayza reporting for duty, sir."

"Lieutenantt, I am Captain Talax Sun. Welcome aboard Artax."

Madina thought to herself that Grayza put on a good show. She only hoped that Grayza would become a valuable member of the crew. A ship this small couldn't handle dead weight. Madina left to work on the duty roster. She would pair herself up with Grayza until she had finished her initial assessment.

After two weekens Madina had come to the conclusion that Grayza was tactically hopeless. Grayza could handle the standard canned scenarios with the appropriate textbook responses, but she had a hard time dealing with the unexpected. Madina decided it was time to talk to Captain Sun about it. "Captain, I have the daily status report." She handed him the report and stood at parade rest in front of his desk.

After having served together for three cycles Sun picked up on this subtle signal, "Have a seat. How is Grayza doing?"

Madina sat down and took a deep breath. "I have been working with her since she reported on board. She does her job adequately, but tactically she has shown little promise."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "That's a pretty severe statement. I assume it's justified?"

Madina produced another report and handed it to Captain Sun. "This is how she has performed in combat simulations since she reported onboard. I have looked into her performance on her last ship. It was similar. I did not hold it against her since we had been able to shape other officers who had shown a previous lack of proficiency, but as you can see there has been no measurable improvement."

Sun perused the reports. "She's not very adaptable, is she?" Madina shook her head. "What do you suggest?" The Captain liked to pose these questions to Madina to help prepare her for her own command.

Madina knew the Captain was looking for the thought process that led to the answer. "We cannot allow her to stand watch in command. We are close enough to the front that we have been the victims of surprise attacks in the past. It she were on watch it could prove disastrous. For now I will pair her up with some of the other lieutenants to see if they have better luck teaching her. I somehow doubt it, but we could get lucky. At the end of a monen if she has shown no progress we will have to come up with a more permanent solution. It will be overly taxing on the others if she cannot stand watch alone. For now I recommend we qualify Senior Officer Trall to fill in the watch bill. He has shown a great deal of potential."

He leaned back in his chair, "So far so good. What do you suggest for the permanent solution?"

Madina thought about this for a few microts, "We could request a transfer, but I doubt that would be approved by High Command. They will tell us that she is our problem, deal with it. She can handle her job from an administrative standpoint so she is not totally useless. We can assign her to train the senior cadets. She can cause little harm there. The cadets will see through her facade of false knowledge, but are polite enough not to embarrass her. At least they can learn how not to behave."

"Excellent, Madina. You will make a fine captain someday. Deal with Grayza as you see fit."

"Thank you, Captain. I have had excellent mentors in you and Captain Tainor. I will keep you informed of her progress." Madina got up and returned to her duties. She knew this would be a difficult challenge.

At the end of the monen Madina called Grayza to her office. "Mele-on I have been going over your performance. Tactically you have not performed up to expectations. I believe that you can best serve this ship by instructing the senior cadets."

Grayza's face drained of color, "I'm being punished?"



"Not punished. Not everyone is a tactical genius. You can still contribute productively to the ship."

"But, I won't command a ship without that qualification."

"If that is a concern of yours, you can continue to train with the watch officers in addition to your regular duties. If you attain the necessary proficiency you will be reassigned to command."

Grayza had regained her composure. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I will work hard to attain my qualification."

From the ambitious look in Grayza's eyes, Madina had no doubt that she would work hard. It was possible Grayza would attain her watch officer qualification, but Madina doubted Grayza would ever rise very far in the Peacekeepers. Combat effectiveness and tactical awareness made up much of what was used to judge a Peacekeeper. Grayza possessed little of either.

******************************************************

Present

"Crais you said you had news for us?" prodded Zhaan.

"Yes. Talyn has located the signal of another leviathan that he believes may be Moya. I was waiting until we moved away from the planet before allowing him to attempt to contact her. It seems I was correct in my precautions. I will have Talyn wait a solar day before attempting contact."

"Do you have any indication that Talyn may have been spotted?" asked Madina.

"No, but it is still possible that someone has been alerted to our presence. Our best course of action will be to avoid populated areas as much as possible. We have enough supplies to last approximately a weeken. By then, hopefully we will have located Moya."

"It still does not solve the problem that you and Talyn are wanted. He is a very distinctive ship and the reward is substantial. Not only that, but we are seeking out others who are also wanted. Due to the size of the reward it would not matter whether or not the Peacekeepers come into the Uncharted Territories looking for any of you, every bounty hunter here would be after you."

"Madina, you don't have to remain with us if you don't want to. You can seek out a safer existence." Crais hoped she did not take him up on the offer.



"And do what? I don't have a ship or enough currency to purchase one. While I would make a good bounty hunter, but that's not the type of existence I want. I did more than enough of that as a Peacekeeper. I suppose I could hire myself out to some planets defense force, but it would only be a matter of time before word got back to the Peacekeepers. I have no doubt I would be turned over if they asked. I don't know that I would be happy living on one of the colony worlds. For most of these worlds I don't have a lot in the way of skills to offer them. On the other hand, I can offer a lot to all of you. My codes are still valid and I should be able to provide some intelligence, I am another warrior and that will be useful given the circumstances. Finally I can move around on planets without drawing attention. Something none of you can do. I may be risking death by staying here, but it is the best option I have. Besides, I would love to see Grayza brought down."

Crais seemed relieved that Madina had decided to stay. He just wondered how the others would respond to yet another Peacekeeper joining them. "Your assistance will be most appreciated. I suggest that we continue the watch rotation in command. I will take the first watch." Zhaan and Stark left command. Madina remained behind and leaned against one of the consoles. "How was the rest of your trip down to the planet?"

"Went well. I was able to pick up some new clothes so I won't be that obvious planet side. I picked up a few other things as well."

He moved closer to her, "What sort of other things?"

She smiled slyly, "You'll find out later."

Crais had to hear the answer to the next question. "Did you have any other reasons for wanting to stay onboard?"

"You know that I did. You are the last familiarity left in my life. It is not safe for me to wear my uniform anymore. Losing the Peacekeepers has been hard enough. I need to hang onto something familiar. Besides I enjoy your company."

"That's good to know. I was beginning to worry when you mentioned you needed to 'hang onto something familiar.'"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so impersonal. I'm still trying to adjust to my new status in life."

"It's quite all right. I know how difficult it can be to lose everything you thought was important in life. I went through a similar period. Unfortunately I was alone. Except for Talyn, but he was very young and scared." Madina stayed in command for an hour. They told various stories from their time in the Peacekeepers.



Madina had many tales to tell about Grayza. Her personal favorite was when they were on a Prowler proficiency flight. "Captain Sun like all his officers to know how to operate a prowler. Most of us had never spent much time in fighters. Captain Sun thought it made for a well-rounded officer. I enjoyed these flights and became quite good for a part timer. The regular pilots enjoyed watching us flounder around out there. I'm sure the techs hated proficiency flights. We were pretty rough on landings. Grayza had performed marginally in the simulators and Captain Sun decided she was ready for the real thing. I had the fortune, not sure if it was good or bad, to be out there with her. She did all right the first couple of microts when she was practicing maneuvering. The trouble came about when we started dog fighting. The Captain liked us to stay fairly close to the ship in case we needed to recover quickly. The dog fight started well enough, but I guess she lost situational awareness. I turn around to re-engage when I notice her about to fly right into Artax. I still don't know how. The proximity alarms should have gone off. Obviously she didn't slam into the ship, but she did clip a wingtip off. We laughed about that for days in the officer's lounge. It was about a weeken before she could show her face down there. The pilots never let her forget it. None of us had ever heard of something like that happening. I still haven't and that was almost fourteen cycles ago."

Crais laughed at this tale. "From what you say I can't see that she would be that dangerous."

"In part it is her incompetence that makes her dangerous. She probably thought that bringing Scorpius back to High Command would be an easy mission. She didn't foresee the complications that you and Crichton threw her way. If she fails she will be severely punished. She is desperate to succeed. I think you know how dangerous that can make someone. I should get some rest before I come relieve you." She kissed Crais before leaving command. He watched her leave and thought it was very fortunate he had decided to rescue her. She added something to his life that had not even realized had been missing.

The next solar day was uneventful. There was no sign of pursuit and they had moved off the shipping routes and away from populated systems. Everyone assembled in command for Talyn's attempt to contact Moya. The tension in command could have been cut with a knife. Madina watched the proceedings with curiosity. Crais instructed, "Talyn, scan the area for any other ships. Is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded. "Talyn contact Moya." They all stared at Crais in anticipation. He would be the first to know if Talyn was successful. Slowly a smile crept onto Crais' face, "Talyn has found her." Zhaan and Stark cheered, jumped, and hugged each other. "Quiet. Let me try to talk to pilot. Pilot, this is Crais can you hear me?"

Captain, it is a surprise to hear your voice. Moya and I are pleased that you and Talyn are well. We look forward to seeing you again.

"It will be good to see you and Moya again. Are the others there?"

Only Joolushko, Captain. It is too difficult to explain on a comms circuit. When will you be arriving?

"We should be there in five arns." They had agreed ahead of time that they would wait until they arrived at Moya to reveal Zhaan and Stark's presence. They all wondered what had happened to the others.