Artie and the others made sure their gear was ready to descend into the mines. By now, Artie just wanted to leave as fast as possible. Stevens managed to find maps of the Abraxor cave systems with Hawk's help. Artie now had to contact Corso. He sighed. He wasn't sure how much Corso knew, but he would have to tell what they had. He took a deep breath as he called.

Corso was sleeping lightly, arm protectively wrapped around Sonny. Tomorrow morning marked several days he would be without Sonny, or any of his friends. The area that he was going to with Solaris looked swampy, but he wasn't sure. He had to see it with his own eyes before he was sure what it really looked like. Corso felt Sonny move slightly. He let his hand carefully slide down his back. His departure with Solaris had Sonny worried, but he accepted there was no other way.
He heard his transmitter go off.
"Who would be calling at this hour?" Corso muttered, carefully letting go of his lover, who now woke up and got out of sight as he answered it.
"Artie, did something go wrong?" Corso asked, slightly worried.
"There's a change of plan." Artie said. Corso nodded.
"Did you find Zoltar?" He asked. Artie sent him the video. It wasn't hard to see that Zoltar's time was running out, and fast. A small nod was all Artie needed from Corso. If they didnt act, it would end badly.
"Get them all out of there and set course for Stellar Unix. Coran will know where to go." Corso said. Artie still looked worried.
"Any word on Sonny? We're worried. I hope he is giving Keiran hell" Artie said. Behind him, Orin, Davidson and Stevens nodded in unison. Corso nodded, he could not reveal the truth as of now.
"Sonny and I put measures in place to help if something like this was to happen. Remember, Sonny is recognized as a Flux Master. He has tricks up his sleeve even I don't know about. And if I dont know, neither does Keiran or Miller, wich is where they were also got someone inside the castle, he'll keep an eye on Sonny if need be. We will have eyes on him. You focus on your mission. When you're back, report to Bennett. I will be away for a few days." Corso said. Artie looked at him.
"Solaris managed to do the jump when you reached Stellar Unix then?" He asked. Corso nodded.
"Yes, we know where to look for the armour now. The sooner we get the Armor, the sooner all of this will be over." Corso said. Artie nodded.
"Okay Corso, I'll report to Bennett as soon as we're out of here. Good luck and be careful. If anything happens to you, I am nore worried how Sonny will react when he is freed, than of you" Artie said and ended the transmission. Corso looked at Sonny whom smiled. He still needed a plan for how to get things done. The issues on Stellar Unix, Miller and then Jar'Eel Bleylock had to be addressed.
"Sonny?" Corso's voice was soft. Sonny looked at him for a moment before he got out of bed, and over to his nightstand. He opened a drawer and took something out, before he returned. Corso could see it was a transmitter
"This is the same make and model as my communicator." Sonny said as he strapped it to Corso's wrist and activated it. Corso looked at it. Then, he looked at his lover.
"Want to sleep for a few more hours? You look like you need it" He asked. He knew Sonny didn't look forwards to this. Sonny shook his head.
"No, I just want to hold you close, and if you are up for it, a massage." He said. That made Corso smile.
"I'll make sure to include a happy ending."

The mines were dark. They sneaked past some miners, doing their rotten work. Artie wished they could do something for them, but they had to concentrate on Zoltar. He was barely hanging on. His father offered to go first. Stevens and Davidson used their combined skills to make a stretcher that could carry Zoltar. Hawk moved carefully forward inside the mine shafts.
They reached a part of the mine that had no security, after a two-hour walk.
"We're getting close. I managed to hack some old maps. There's a way out, closer to the ship. If we neutralize the camera surveillance system, it's easier to escape." Hawk whispered. Opal grinned.

"With two master hackers, that should be a piece of cake." She said. Hawk looked at his son with a smile on his face.
"You really are my son. The Pirates are lucky to have you." He said proudly. Stevens chuckled.
"Sometimes it's more of a pain, and Corso can tell you all about that. If Sonny didnt get between them, one of them would have choked the other" He said. They moved towards a wide tunnel without guards.
"This is the place; The Mountain Prison. One of the worst prisons in the Galaxy." Hawk said. As they approached, Hawk found a console and opened it. A small hand held computer was all he needed to hack the system.
"Artie, open that cell door. I want to see you in action" Hawk said. Artie nodded. There were several cells. Artie considered opening them all but he remembered the mess it made when they freed the Obia moon ambassadors years before. They needed to be unseen. He'd talk to Sonny about the other prisoners later. After a little while of searching, they found Zoltar's cell. Artie looked at the emaciated Paladin with hollow cheeks and dark rings under his eyes.
"Who… are you?" He managed to whisper as they entered his cell. Sapphire, Opal and Hawk stepped forward.
"Save your strength Zoltar, we're here to free you." Opal whispered as she took his hand. Sapphire had to wipe tears from her eyes.
"Zoltar, you have to pull through. We… Artie and the Pirates found Rainbow. She's safe." She whispered. Zoltar had a pained expression in his face.
"We should have eloped. Then none of all this would have happened." He whispered.
"Her family brought her to the Paladins to hide. That's all we know." Opal whispered. Artie smiled.
"She's a tough one, but she misses you all deeply." Artie started. "Zarind said so." The three paladins looked at him.
"Zarind? He's dead. General Bleylock killed him." Hawk snarled. Stevens stepped in.
"Zarind was at the brink of death but the Pirates helped him. He is alive" He said. Sapphire, Opal and Hawk looked at him.
"Please tell us more." Opal said with shaky voice. Stevens started explaining as Davidson gave Zoltar some nutrients and Artie disabled the camera. Soon, they were on their way out. The Paladins were silent. They had been lied to, manipulated and left one of their own in dire straits for years. Hawk also learned about Sonny's past as professor I'Son. He needed to speak to Sonny Blackbones himself. He had a confession, and an apology to make.

The morning broke all too soon. Corso took his time to prepare himself. Sonny had snuck out to have a shower before he left, to avoid rosing suspicion. Once he was done showering, Sonny quickly dried off and put on fresh clothes. Sonny looked at Corso as he put on a different attire than his usual uniform. This was Corso in his Military get up, boots and a heavy backpack.
"Ready?" Sonny asked. Corso nodded as he tightened the laces on his boots before standing up.
"It's time Sonny, want to see us off?" He tried. Sonny shook his head. Corso understood how hard this was on him, and didnt push the issue.
"I'm still trying to solve the puzzle with Rocket and the other Galactik Stars' Flux.I will use the time you are gone, to try to come up with a plan" Sonny said.
"Be careful, I'm not sure I am able to function right without you.I had enough problems when you, Bennett and Artie was imprisoned by Technoid" He said. Corso embraced him tightly for a few seconds before he let go of him, more hesitantly than normal, and picked up his backpack.
"I'll see you in a few days Sonny. Stay safe." He said as he left the Black Manta to meet up with Solaris.

So far, so good. Keiran was on the inside of the castle with his hostage. They reached the laboratory. Sonny took a quick look around. The whole place felt like it was rigged with traps. Keiran was not paying attention to them though. He led him closer to his mark. Sonny noticed and registered that he was getting ready for an attack. He couldn't do anything to stop this. As Keiran tried to push Sonny aside to attack the other man, a glass pod dropped around him and locked on both ends.
"I told you when to make contact. You didn't." Miller said. Keiran put his hands on the glass.
"You're dead, Miller. You'll pay for what you did!" He roared. Miller sent him a look.
"They're Pirates. Hardly innocent bystanders.I did the galaxy a favour" He said.
"We've been pardoned, remember?What you did was murder in cold blood, there will be a prize to pay for thatlater, be sure of that" Sonny said, leaning against the wall for safety. Miller turned towards him.
"Mister Blackbones. You're quite the gift. A Flux Master is just what I need for a new Flux mix. I would avice you to cooperate, it wont hurt then.. not much anyway" He said.
"I'm not going to help you, just like last time, we are on oposite ends of the rope, and I am really not feeling that generous towards a killer" Sonny said. Carefully getting closer to the pod Keiran was in.
"Very well then, you leave me with no choice." Miller said, as he pressed a button on the side panel of the door. A gas filled the room as Miller put on a gas mask. Sonny wasn't so lucky. With his hands ziptied on his back, he had no way to shield himself against the gas that seeped in through his nose. He had no time to react. Seconds later, the Sonny clone sank to the floor, sleeping. Miller approached him, and checked his pulse.
"You'll never get away with this. Corso will murder you. If you harm Sonny, you are asking for your own death" Keiran snarled. Miller held a collar in his hand. He strapped it around Sonny's neck and activated it.
"This will assure his cooperation. Extracting some Flux will also help. To test how strong he really is" He said.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. You are on your own now" Keiran hissed. Miller smirked as he cut the zip ties around Sonny's wrists.
"He'll do exactly as told. Our partnership will be very lucrative. And beneficial to me as the next galatic ruler"

Corso looked at the area in front of them. It had been forever since he last wore his military get up. Solaris was also in a camouflage get up. She also wasn't wearing her visor. Corso found her indigo blue eyes fascinating. He couldn't tell her what Artie told about Zoltar. He was still in danger. He turned to his partner.
"Ready?" He asked. Solaris sighed, then she nodded and pulled up the map that showed their goal.
"Lets get this done. People are counting on is a factor here" She said.

Corso nodded, and they started to walk. The area reminded him of his own military training as a recruit. Mud, swamps, he did it all, learned how to survive in these conditions. It was bad, but he learned to suppress his discomfort, to become the soldier, the machine to get the job done. The loss of Noomi and Kimberly made that easier.
Corso looked at Solaris. She moved carefully, but a bit too slow. A drone could spot them. The wooded area later on would give some shelter. Corso kept an eye on the ground. He didn't want to get swamp water all over him. He saw faint signs of a forgotten path. That might be a clue they could trace. Corso smirked.
"Let's get to the woods, that gets us out of sight of any drones. We'll set up camp after a few hours. We shouldn't push through at night." He said. Solaris smiled softly.
"You're far more than an ordinary soldier Corso, those skills of yours are clearly special forces." She said.
"Some of it. The rest is personal experience from Chissia and Ascaron." Corso confessed. Solaris looked at him.
"Ascaron… Those are some scars that haven't healed yet. You know more about it than the news outlets could report, don't you?" She said. Corso nodded. A lot of Paladins knew telepathy. No sense lying.
"You'd be right. I only recently told Sonny. He is working on finding a way to prove mine and my mens innocense." He said. Solaris nodded.
"If we find Zoltar, I pray we can clear his name too. His and Hawk's." She said. Corso looked at her.
"Tell me more."

The part of the tunnel they were in, had been unexplored for a long time judging by the dust. They managed to avoid the guards by taking this little known , Artie and the other Pirates were on high alert. Zoltar was very weak, and everyone was worried about him.
"He's a lot weaker than Zarind. We need to hurry up." Davidson said. Artie nodded. He looked at the Paladin worriedly. As Hawk opened the door, the Pirates managed to hide inside a forest outside the city gates. Artie called Kate and had her get the ship ready to leave. Then they focused on Zarind. Davidson checked his health. "Time's running out." He said in ancient Shiloh. Sapphire and Opal were upset, Artie could see tears form in their eyes. First, they almost lost Rainbow. They were so close to bring them back together. This time, they weren't going to be able to pull a back up plan out of their sleeves. Artie wasn't even sure they were strong enough to deal with this once more. Zoltar made a sound. Artie sat down and checked his pulse. He looked terrified.
"Start resuscitation. We're losing him."

Solaris sat with her back against a tree, meditating. Her energy crystals would still deplete their energy, and would need to be charged by the time they reached the location of the Golden Armor. Corso couldn't follow her in. He wore an oxygen mask, as his body was getting used to Stellar Unix. At least she wasn't doing this alone. The sounds of nature around her brought on a sense of inner peace.
She decided to do something she hadn't tried before. Perhaps her gifts were strong enough now? Solaris decided to give it a go.
It felt so peaceful to go into this realm, to watch everyone. It was confusing that there were two Sonnys. She needed to ask Aaraya about it later. Maybe she could ask Corso. Artie was nowhere to be seen, that meant he wasn't on Stellar Unix. They had other missions. Then, Solaris sought deeper. She started to feel emotions; fear, desperation. Fading into the dark. Solaris was unaware how her breathing changed until Corso placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Solaris? Snap out of it." He commanded. She opened her eyes, looking at him fearfully. Corso looked at her, worry in his normal eye.
"It's Zoltar. He's dying."

A/N: It's getting exciting now.
Will Artie and the others rescue Zoltar's life?
How will Miller respond when he realizes that Sonny is not really Sonny?
And for Corso, will he have to spill the beans to Solaris now that she seems to catch on to his secret.
All this and more to come in the next chapters.
And Thank you ParanoidGirl for the excellent work of beta-ing each chapter, and all the helpful suggestions to improve the story.