The following morning, when all parties came back to court, the first thing that was evident was that Sonny seemed to have found some clarity to how he wanted to present a matter that seemed to have given him a hard time.

Duke Maddox noticed the determination in his eyes as they took their seats. This would be the day. Sonny was ready to reveal all he knew about this sad affair within Technoid. This would be the fall of a giant, but also, create the opening needed for him to finally become the leader in his own company again. It felt embarrassing to admit it, but he had lost control a long time ago, and he had failed to see the ones that tried to alert him to it. As a result, some of these brave women and men were gone for good. Sonny had made it clear, the fresh samples many of the scientists got came from them, and their recently slain bodies. It was horrible to imagine how that had to have felt to Sonny, when he realised the horrible truth. What made him curious, was how Sonny had avoided Bleylock figuring out that he knew. If Bleylock had known, Sonny would have been in great danger. Duke Maddox looked up as Sonny rose from his seat and headed towards the witness box, accompanied by Corso, whom shielded him from the side where the Abraxians had taken a seat. And there was good reasons why they should not trust them at all. The open contract being one, and possibly the biggest reason. By now, Duke Maddox felt sure the pirates had done their checks, and found a motive behind the Abraxians presence, and whatever they had found, had made them guard Sonny even more than usual. Sonny had recovered remarkably since he was brought in with a severe injury, but Duke Maddox knew, with the tissue damage to his lung, Sonny was most likely still working to get better. That would explain why the pirates were so protective of him, that he was unable to make a run for it, and depended on his mens help to get safely out of things. As order was set, Sonny sat down, Corso remaining silently in place, while Judge Allegri made ready for Sonny to tell the truth of what had happened all those years ago.

Sonny let his gaze move around the room. The board members of Technoid looked very uneasy. Knowing they were about to be exposed as the liars, and their many manipulations was about to be out in the open. Duke Maddox on the other hand, had a look that seemed interested and determined at the same time. This was matters that had been hidden from him for years. In part due to his own failure to acknowledge the signs,and part due to Bleylock giving him a run around. Sonny cleared his throat, and then, he began back tracking what had happened years ago, how his own role had started out as a minor thing, and grown when friends started to vanish. Sonny explained how at first he had bought the lie Bleylock told, like everyone else. He was also busy juggling his own projects, and doing the lectures Bleylock had put him up for, both as a student in some cases, and as a teacher in other. Sonny had a smile when he recalled some of these times, how good it felt to influence the lives of the next generation of scientists early on, not being all that much older then them. It was when a young man, a friend to him, and also his student, had vanished before his training was completed, Sonny had gotten the feeling something was not right. A few nights, he had stayed on late in the lab, after hours, to complete a few things, when he became aware of traffic in areas that should be closed. Sonny had then, out of habit, and his own careful nature, put measures in place that would keep anyone from making use of his designated workspace. He had also used hidden cameras, to get an idea of what was going on. What he found, had shocked him.

Judge Allegri could see how Sonny had halted his testimony, as if he tried to find the right way of putting it, and at the same time, cause a minimum of damage to his employer.

"I remind you, Mr Blackbones, you are still under oath to tell the truth. Do not try to overthink or come up with a false story to protect someone now. I know how to smell a lie, and you will be held accountable if you try. Consider this a friendly warning" she said, somewhat sternly.

Sonny only nodded.

"I appreciate the warning Your Honour, but it is not my intention to tell falsehoods. There has been enough lies and deceits as there is. The reason I am here, is to document and tell the tale of those lost scientists, as it is documented. I enlisted the help of Callie Mystic to do a second mandated report, after having seen the welfare check, as soon as I was able to stay awake long enough. To add to it, Corso did hack Technoids systems, especially for the room where I was held captive, as some of us would see it, and under treatment, as would be Technoids stance on the matter. Corso kept an eye on the medication I was given. As has been established by this court, Corso has medical training that would allow him to accurately cast verdict on what he saw. Corso has already given statement as to the fact that I was over medicated. That was the factor that led to The pirates swift actions to free me. In situations like these, a pirate can be startled when passing out in one location and waking up in another. We are still humans. Corso was aware of this, and also of my medical issues at the time. He took precautions, and had a doctor from outside the pirates do the check up on me. What was discovered, led to an emergency procedure being carried out in the dead of night. When I woke up,I was informed on matters, and shown what they had found. It was pieces of an unknown alloy, around a bloodvessel leading to my heart. Further examinations led to the conclusion that this was an attempt to place a tracker on me. This had the pirates concerned enough to start digging deeper. And a long story made short, This was linked back to the past I am now going to address in much deeper detail than I ever have hesitation is because I don't seek to cause any hurt that is not called for. Duke Maddox is as much a victim in this as the pirates are, perhaps even more, since he has been led in circles. My aim is to point out the men in Technoids power base, that does have much to answer it was clear from the start,I was a threat to them, because of what I know, and what I might know. None of them knows this for sure, so now, if you can first play up the mandated report Callie Mystic helped me put together, we can address the past, in all its horrible details, I would advice any viewers with weak nerves or a lost loved one, to consider if this is something you can bare to watch" Sonny said as the clerk added the video file to the computer that would allow the galaxy to see the truth.

The report had taken the galaxy into a state of shock. The very fact that a famous reporter like Callie Mystic had agreed to help a wanted man like Sonny Blackbones with this, spoke volumes for the fact that this was true. Even Sonny himself seemed to have a hard time accepting what his own eyes had seen, taking in the magnitude of the betrayal of trust from Bleylock,and his fellow co conspiritors. Young women and men had placed their fates in their hands, thinking they would use their exceptional gifts to make the galaxy a better place, to make a difference, and then, they were stabbed in the back, sedated, placed in shipment crates and sent of to whom knew where, never to be seen or heard of again. Judge Allegri had to ask, despite her shock.

"Mr Blackbones,I am aware that all you have said can be backed up by evidence. I can not imagine what kind of horrors this must have been for you to go through and sort.I understand you did this all by yourself. This leaves me with a few questions for you. The first one being,when did you understand that you yourself might be a target for this group? And what kind of traumas has it cost you personally to go through this and keeping it all to yourself? And third and final question for now, there might be more, are there any evidence whatsoever to suggest these scientists are alive, so they can be tracked down and reunited with their families?" she asked.

Sonny sighed.

"The first question,I did not understand that I was a target, until a long time after the project named Meta Flux. This project now comes across as a test, to see if my skills up up to the level that The abraxian military wanted. It would seem I passed, in flying colours. But what also happened, was I realised what the metaflux was really meant to do. It was, as ordered by Duke Maddox, meant to be an upgrade of his football droids, give them a flux, to compete with the best teams in the galaxy. The idea in itself, is a good one, as it evens out the differences. But,the other side of the coin is, The metaflux proved to be undetectable. And that made it the weapon Bleylock had waited for me to construct. When I realised the horror of what I had done,I had to try to stop a possible war from happening. It seems, Bleylock has spent the time where I planned to destroy my creation, to prepare for my shipping to The abraxian military. For me personally, it is not a nice thought to think back on, as Bleylock knew my weaknesses from having cohabitated for a few years. If he wanted to, he could have shipped me off a lot sooner, but for some reason, he was hesitant" Sonny explained.

That was when the first objection came, from The Abraxians. General Alistair G Bleylock stood up, and he was snarling.

"You were not going to tell any lies you said Blackbones? Well,then you better confess to the whole galaxy whom my son really was to you" he snarled, not able to reign in his anger.

Sonny nodded, having noticed quite a few curious looks from his own men and Duke Maddox.

"I understand what you are getting at General. And at the time, our romantic relationship, if you want to call it that, had fallen apart. I had also met my wife and gotten married, with a child on the way. I separated between the private person, whom was a soon to be father and loving husband to his wife,and the scientist that was cooped up in the lab for months at the time, working on a secret project, forbidden by the flux society, creating a super weapon. One his own homeworld may or may not have sent him to find or create. What happened, was I tried to hide the metaflux, by taking it, and run with it. I had some carefully laid plans, plans that fell through when General Bleylocks son gave chase. I paid a steep price for it,by being separated from my pregnant wife and son to be. What happened with the metaflux is well known, and my homeplanet, Akillian was made to pay the price for it. The galciation of Akillian is entirely on my shoulders, from a time I worked for Technoid. I accept full responsibility for this tragedy" Sonny stated firmly, to a shocked courtroom and an even more shocked galaxy.

Judge Allegri noted it down, but her hand was shaking. She was from Akillian herself, and here, Sonny Blackbones had admitted to causing the great catastrophe. And he seemed willing to take his punishment for it.

But Sonny wasn't done.

"Why your son hesitated to ship me off, we will never know, He died before anyone got a chance to question him about it" he said.

"That too by your hand! You are nothing but a murderer Blackbones. If my son had never met you, he would still be alive today" Thundered General Bleylock.

Sonny shook his head.

"I was not responsible for his death. That person is also dead now,and can not be held accountable. Both your son, and his true murderer are responsible for attempting to murder me though. Your son almost became the galactik ruler of this galaxy, if he had succeeded, all the fluxes as we know them today, would have been destroyed. Your son tried to obtain this, by first kidnapping my son, whom I found aftter thinking him dead for 16 years. I will not disclose his identity here, that is not important. But your son blackmailed him,by threatening to kill me. It almost worked, if not for Corsos intervention and Duke Maddox, he would have been successful. Five years later,I came face to face with his murderer, whos intermediary tried to poison me. Thanks to the help of unlikely relations,I got through that one as then, my focus has been to find the truth behind why all this happened, see if anything can be corrected" Sonny said.

Judge Allegri had one more question to add.

"Your relation to General Bleylocks son, it seems you hesitate to get into the nature of it, Mr Blackbones, was it a romantic thing, or just two men sharing a home?" she asked.

Sonny sighed.

"We shared a home, meals,furniture and also, bedroom.I don't want to go into details, its still raw for me,and something I work to put behind me. Romance was not his sons forte. I would say domination and control are more describing words to the nature of things" Sonny explained.

"To move on to your second question Your honour,my traumas from it all, is being dealt with. Corso has been of invaluable help in all this,I would not be able to speak of the matter to the level I do, if not for him. Corso will, if need be, push me to talk it out, knowing that I would prefer to bury things. He wont let me if he thinks it causes harm. I may not always agree with his ways, but no one knows me better, and Corso often knows exactly what I need to get things be lost without him" Sonny confessed, looking at Corso.

Callie aimed her camera so she could see Corsos small smile, as he raised two fingers to his hat, to salute Sonny. Corso could be tough as nails, she had experienced that for herself, but when it came to Sonny, he was also overprotective to a level she had never before experienced. With Sonny making this admission, she could understand why Corso would be like this. He most likely knew what Sonny had experienced, and tried to protect him from being re traumatized. A true friend in every meaning of the word.

Then, Sonny made ready to tackle the third question.

"As for your third question, I have heard things, rumours mostly, but some of the information came from sources close to the pirates. Some of the scientists are alive, but may have been subjected to memory erasure, not remembering whom they once were or their families.

My hope is to pursure this information, chase down leads. If anyone of them turns out to be true,we might find them alive, and be able to reverse some of the tragedies that these men within technoid are responsible for. As of now, we got conclusive evidence against half of the board members. You may want to to have your team ready to imprison the ones on this list Your Excellency. I hope you will find decent replacements for their positions" Sonny said, and started to read the names from a list he had brought.

It was finally over. Duke Maddox sat in his office in his building after the courtcase was concluded. All in all, Sonny had been very nice to him, he could have gone a lot harder. Technoids reputation was tarnished, shredded into pieces. Sonny had warned him, this had to happen, to rebuild the company to become what he had always wanted it to be. Sonny had also been given his sentence. 8 years worth of prison time, converted into working for Technoid, finishing projects he had to leave behind. In a sense, he could say he had Sonny for eight years now. Sonny had agreed to giving Duke Maddox a contact code he could reach him on, but under no circumstances, could he be tracked by Technoid. Well, it figured, given their past. Duke Maddox mused over what it meant to have this forced contact with Sonny for this long. On his desk, he had made ready the items that was meant for Sonny to pick up the following day. A key card to identify him and his accompanying bodyguard, it figured Sonny would take things this far. Sonny also had been told by the judge, he needed to appear before Technoids doctor, over the wound he had been caused. Doctor Crawen had also been called in to explain the tracker that had been attempted placed in Sonnys body, and the technology he had used. His story would become a separate investigation, as Bleylock had been part of it, and the technology had failed in other planets, making Doctor Crawen a wanted man. The pirates had a separate issue with him, but they did not hold grudges. They had left him in Technoids care, now that the troublesome boardmembers had been dealt with and imprisoned. Duke Maddox had made a list of what he needed to do now. Since the trial had been shown throughout the galaxy, Technoid had a bit of a rough patch ahead of them. The pirates had gained positive attention through Sonnys testimony, and they were now working on the next step for them. Sonny was now removed from the most wanted list, he had received his sentence with grace. A true leader. It opened up some time for Sonny to spend with his son too. It had been a while since they could and from what Duke Maddox had heard, this had been welcome and appreciated news on his sons side.

As he was due to start the work, a shadow fell over his desk.

Duke Maddox looked up.

"I didn't expect you to show up until tomorrow morning Sonny. You must be quite eager to get started since you are here now" Duke Maddox concluded.

Sonny smiled.

"I finished up on a few things a bit earlier than planned, and since we were in the neighbourhood, I figured it would be wise to drop by and pick up the needed items for the job you requested me to do" he said.

Duke Maddox nodded.

"Here is the key card and other items you will need to obtain access. Things has been upgraded some since your days. This last thing is just to keep an eye on you. The board members are dealt with, you know that, but they may have others working with them. I am still working to refund the Abraxians for their contract on you. They are being difficult, wich makes me take extra measures concerning your safety. We don't yet know if they plan to act on any abduction plans or not" he said.

Sonny nodded as he picked up the gadget. The pirates had used a simmilar technology in their safety beacons. And they knew how to disable it if need be.

"So, how is business after my testimony Your Excellency?I imagine that it isnt the best you have had for now?" Sonny asked.

Duke Maddox sighed.

"Thats the price for the clean up isnt it? We will recover, I suspect after you have finished some of your projects for us. And now I got your services available to me for eight years. I think I should be able to make a profit again by then" he concluded.

Sonny just nodded.

"It will be interesting Your Excellency. In this timeframe, we might even be able to bring forth more answers about Bleylocks wheeling and dealing. You do understand off course, that the pirates and I fully intend to locate and save the missing scientists if at all possible?" he asked.

Duke Maddox nodded.

"I know you will Sonny. And now, you will be able to move around freely too. Spend time with your son at will. It may be a new start for you too. Must feel good to have gotten all those burdens off your chest" he stated.

Sonny smiled.

"There is still burdens to deal with, but a different kind. Time alone will tell if I succeed or fail" he said.

Duke Maddox nodded. Then, he handed Sonny a scroll.

"The terms for these arrangements for the coming eight years Sonny. You wont be on the most wanted list, and you will be allowed to have a bodyguard with you at all times. What Technoid gains according to this, is you finishing up old projects, and to consult you on new areas where your aquired expertise could come in handy. No physical imprisonment, you are free to come and go as a regular employee. But you must give notice if things lead to you being unreachable for any duration of time" he said.

Sonny nodded as he took the scroll.

"All is in order Your Excellency. It will be eight interesting years. I do recognize an olive branch when I see it. All is within agreeable terms" he said.

Duke Maddox looked at the surveillance screen as the two pirates left his office building. Eight interesting years indeed. The signed agreement gave him some control over the situation, this was his chance to make up for some of the past. He could not give Sonny back what he had lost, but he could help him develop his skills and something Sonny would value even more, freedom to spend time with his son. The kid meant the galaxy to Sonny, and he would make the best of being able to meet his son, and spend time with him without being hunted down all the time. Duke Maddox new assistant joined him.

"I really hope the pirates will honour the agreement Your Excellency" he said.

Duke Maddox nodded.

"Sonny will honour the agreement, I got some big plans to turn things around here, and Sonnys expertise will be very helpful in doing so. I will keep an eye on him, see how far he managed to go on his own. He truly was the best we ever had, and loosing him was a tragedy. We have been given a rare chance to bridge the gap Bleylock created. Being brought back with other scientists will be good for Sonny, I suspect even stimulating. He will be a valued member of our science staff, and if there are more rotten apples, he will find them and let me know. Thats whom he truly is. We will provide him with a safe enviroment to work in, freedom to be a father to his son, and should he choose to, also find a new companion in a female. Sonny will always put himself at risk for others, it is time we give him something back for the hard work he has done, and recognize him as the resource that he is. Now, go prepare his workstation with the things I want him to look at. I am curious as to how long it will take him to complete it" Duke Maddox said.

His assistant nodded and went to carry out his orders.

As Sonny and Corso left the Technoid building, Corso looked at him.

"Well Sonny, now that you have crossed this thing of your list, and have your freedom back, how do you intend to use it for the next eight years?" Corso wondered.

Sonny chuckled.

"The work for Technoid, serving my time so to say, will be a major factor off course, but I find it also frees up time for a hardened pirate to explore what the galaxy has to offer, without having to hide all the time. And I got a few ideas I would like to explore further" he mused.

Corso grinned.

"Want to give me an idea of what kind of trouble you are going to get yourself into? I know you, and eight years is a long time to do so." he pointed out.

Sonny laughed.

"I got a lot of people I want to catch up with,see how things evolved for them. And there is a certain lady that I owe a big thanks to as well" he said.

That made Corso grin.

"A dinner and a movie isnt gonna cut it with her Sonny, you have to do a lot better. She really sat with you and listened to that horrible past. Not many women I know would do that for a friend, lot less a pirate, no matter how goodlooking he was" Corso stated.

Sonny chuckled as he put his arm around Corsos neck.

"Then it seems, I need to work on the details for how to make it up to her. My, by your description, good looks and my charm plays into that. Find out what she really likes doing, go all out, ask her boss if need be. I plan to make this special" Sonny said.

Corso chuckled as he went to do as Sonny had asked him to. Things was not all bad, infact, he had a strong feeling, he had achieved a goal, helping Sonny start over. The pirates work would need more than those eight years to be completed, but with these doors opened, it gave Sonny a chance to acclimatize to a normal life. What all pirates wanted for their beloved leader. Corso smiled, as he could see a new day dawn on their entire organization. And with this move, a new start for Sonny, whom meant everything and then some, for him.

The end