Heyo! Early update time! There are only two more chapters after this one! Gosh we're getting close to the end! (of part 1, anyway)

RECAP:
- The trial happened, and Yao was found innocent
- Lukas now knows who the spy is

Also, a huge thank-you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I was stunned to find how many of you were affected by that chapter. So thank you to everyone! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

I must say that all of you who guessed who the spy was can be immensely proud of yourselves! You guessed well!

WARNINGS: Violence, some swearing, mentions of sexual assault

Please please please review! It gives me LIFE.

Resistance Headquarters,
Draak-Zafi Forra, Nyma
29th Maarch

Lukas woke alone.

He had sequestered himself away in bed for an entire day, night, and another day again. He shared the small room with three other newer recruits, and had made the excuse that he was feeling very unwell. They had been concerned, but he had gently brushed them off, lain down, and begun.

The resistance was vast, and, combined with the typical vastness of even one person's troubled mind, he had quickly felt lost. Once he had acclimated to the sheer volume of thoughts and memories around him, the cacophony had quietened to a static-like buzz.

And then he had started to search.

And, finally, after a day and a night and another day, he had found them. He had heard the treacherous thoughts inside their head, whirling and raging as they gleefully thought of Yao unjustly being found guilty. He had confirmed their own involvement when he saw their memories of planting a radio in Dana Milevski's quarters, stealing information from their database, and using the audio recorder hidden on their hip.

But, most of all, he had seen their skill at deception. He had seen how they had twisted the heads of everyone around them, not only to convince them that they were loyal to the resistance, but also to manipulate the resistances' very leadership; the strong and powerful figures who worked together to try and undermine the Union.

That manipulation…there was a lot of that.

He sat up slowly, relieved that he had been able to find his way back to himself. He glanced over at a mirror, sighing in relief when his own dark blue eyes stared back at him. Lukas rubbed at his temples as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and wriggled out. He had been relegated to the lower bunk, being a 'newbie' as he was. He stood, staggering slightly as the room spun.

In addition to finally finding the spy, he had heard and seen a few things that he wanted to forget.

He'd seen some of the horrible things which Yao had been recollecting during his trial, as well as the immense concern that one of the imprisoned pirates had for her sick friend. He had seen the worries and doubts that stormed inside one of the other bounty hunters' minds.

He had also seen that Tino was far more worried about the prisoners knowing that he was a Bondevik than he had let on yesterday. Lukas sighed, burying his face in his hands momentarily. He shouldn't have used his abilities in front of them, even if it was to save Matthew and help out their injured friend. Shaking himself a little, he removed his hands from his face. He could tell Yao and beg forgiveness later.

Lukas darted out of the tent, blinking a little. The sun was setting, and the sky was a vibrant mix of orange and purple. He'd been asleep a long time, clearly. He sucked in a deep breath as he continued forward. It was a wise move to raid the spy's tent first; if he didn't, there was a chance that they could get there first and destroy any remaining evidence.

This spy had already caused so much damage to the relationships between people in the resistance. He wouldn't let them get away with any of it.

He crossed the dirt commons, heels kicking up red dust as he moved. Lukas knew the vague location of the tent, though it was hard to be sure. He had seen it's inside, and was certain that he knew the room if he saw it. Discerning which tent it was; now that was the hard part. He peered around. They all had the same exterior appearance of drab beige tarpaulin and dark roping to tie them down to the ground. They varied slightly in size, but not hugely. Lukas closed his eyes, trying to orient himself like the spy had in his vision. He opened his eyes again, only to find that he had shifted left a little to face one of the tents in particular.

He cautiously moved forwards, opening his mind a little. Silence. There was no-one inside. He opened the exterior flap and peered inside, feeling his stomach jolt as he recognised the interior as that from his stolen memories.

He surveyed the room warily. The trial had only just concluded, and many people were nearby, waiting to hear the verdict. However, many more had resigned themselves to finding out through gossip eventually, and had chosen to return to their tasks, or their quarters. Though Lukas had found the tent empty, there was still a good chance that they would soon return. The lateness of the day didn't help, and he silently cursed that it had taken him so long to wake up.

He observed the room. The spy held a high enough position that they had their own quarters. He scowled at that. It was infuriating to think that they had enjoyed all of the luxuries that the resistance could offer while simultaneously working to undermine it.

Let the underminer become the undermined, Lukas thought to himself as he stood in the centre of the room and slowly turned in a circle. It matched what he had seen in his trance exactly, but the real trick was finding the evidence that he needed to warrant an arrest. If he remembered correctly, this rat hid their equipment in a slightly different place every day.

Drawing in a deep breath to calm himself down a little, he began to search.

Matthew sighed a little. Unlike people like Ayshe, he had never been privy to the more dark and private parts of Yao's past. He hadn't been sure what to expect, but a long imprisonment and relentless torture, well, it hadn't been his first guess.

He supposed that he should have expected something of the sort, given how Yao dressed, spoke and acted, but he had hoped that whatever had befallen their leader had been less severe. Even as he stood mulling over the events of the day, it seemed insane that he hadn't expected it more. He had known about Yao's cold exterior prior to his election, as well as how he had apparently changed immensely after his 'disappearance'. There had been so many clues, and he had failed to put them together.

Hearing about what Yao had gone through, and seeing the long-lasting impacts on his body had left Matthew feeling nauseated. He shook himself a little, looking to where Yao was smiling sadly and talking to Tino. He would be fine. He always was. Matthew was certain that at least some of these details would get out. Dalisay was something of a chatterbox, and though Aelia Gabras hadn't been present for the second half of the trial, he knew that she would be sharing some of the things she had learned anyway. Given her status as a matchmaker, he supposed that she would be gossiping about the relationship that Yao had with Arshad Teymouri.

Matthew hadn't been overtly surprised to hear that, though Tino, seated next to him, had been wide-eyed and blinking in surprise throughout the whole thing. Even when Matthew was younger, he had heard the rumours surrounding the leader of the resistance and the bitter Lieutenant that he was so close to. He had spent some time gossiping with Abel about it, and debating whether or not they were actually dating. Apparently, even Yao hadn't been sure of that.

He pushed himself off of the desk he'd been leaning against, and walked over to Yao. He had been mulling for a good hour or so now as others talked to the weary Yanish man. Yao looked up as Matthew approached, and smiled wanly.

"Are you okay after all of that?" Matthew asked, frowning in concern. Yao gently waved him off.

"I'll be fine, I promise. It wasn't easy to talk about, but it's over, at least for now." Yao hesitated a moment. "Tino said that Lukas is trying to find our real spy." Matthew nodded. Tino had come by the old container late yesterday with a syringe of medication, a letter addressed to Matthew and an explanation of what Lukas was trying to do. Matthew had been lingering around, waiting for his brother to wake up again when Tino had showed up. Alfred had been half-conscious at a few points, and muttering a few, barely comprehensible words to him.

He hadn't wanted to leave his brother – after all, he had promised that he would be there when he woke up again – but he hoped that Alfred would understand. He'd quickly given their sick friend, Arthur, the medicine, as well as a solution designed to keep him asleep for a while, ensured that they had sufficient food and water, and returned to camp. The letter had been his subpoena, and he remembered feeling his entire body go still with anxiety when he'd read it. Over the years, Matthew had learned to come out of his shell and be a real leader, but his anxiety was one thing which still refused to loosen it's hold. Try as he might to avoid it, he had immediately begun to overthink the whole thing.

Well, it's over now, and Yao has been found innocent, as he should have been, Matthew thought. He was pulled from his reverie when Yao spoke again.

"So, what's happened since I was put in holding? No-one actually bothered to explain anything." Matthew blinked, but then it hit him; Yao didn't even know that they had received an extra thirteen or so prisoners.

"Oh…uh, well, the friends of those four prisoners we took rescuing Elizabeta showed up." he winced. "Octavia took them prisoner." Yao sighed as Matthew hesitated. "One…one of them is my younger brother." Yao looked up in surprise.

"Oh…that's…good?" Yao seemed to be trying to read his expression. Matthew laughed, nodding.

"Yes, that's good." Yao relaxed a little, patting him on the shoulder.

"Well, it's good that you two have managed to reunite, then." He said. Matthew nodded, though he frowned a little, grinning sheepishly.

"Well…he did try to slit my throat. And I stabbed him through the leg." Matthew admitted. He looked over at Yao, and almost died of laughter when he saw the shocked, vaguely disturbed look on his face.

"I hope all Rywanese families aren't like you guys." Yao said, sounding legitimately concerned. Matthew tried to stifle his giggles.

"It's a long story." Yao raised an eyebrow at this, and folded his arms.

"Enlighten me."

Matthew sighed, but explained how Octavia had planned to kill them all, and how he and the others had rescued them and hidden them away in the forest. He broke eye contact as he explained that he had shot Nesset in order to save them. Yao sighed heavily.

"I'm not going to lie and say that you won't face repercussions for that." Yao said. "You killed him to save mostly innocent people, so you wouldn't be imprisoned, but you still murdered one of our own. That's suspension at least." Matthew cringed at the disappointed tone in Yao's voice. He had been suspended before – it essentially meant that he wasn't permitted to go on missions or hold a weapon, and instead had to perform manual, menial tasks from anywhere between two weeks to eight months. "Still," Yao continued, "thank you for saving them. You were doing what you thought was right, even though it meant killing someone. That takes resolve."

Matthew nodded, rubbing at his arm. He hesitated. Yao had already been through quite a lot today, and he really didn't want to add onto his troubles and concerns, but it felt wrong to keep it from him.

"Actually…there was something else…" he looked up again, continuing at Yao's prompting. "They tried to escape, early yesterday morning. That's why my brother and I ended up injuring each other. None of them escaped, and we got the situation back under control, but…" he trailed off, taking a deep breath, "we were only able to do so because Lukas got inside their heads, made them hear some loud noise. It got them to stop."

Yao had gone completely still now, and Matthew reluctantly continued. "One of them figured out who he was." Yao was barely moving, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to speak, made no noise, and closed it again. He rubbed his gloved hands together.

"That…that is very bad news." He could tell just from Yao's tone that he meant it. Matthew winced and looked down.

"I'm sorry, we should have stopped him-" Yao gestured for him to be quiet. Looking up, Matthew saw that Dalisay, who was standing nearby, was looking at them curiously. All it took was a sharp look from Yao to send her scurrying off. He turned back to Matthew, voice very low.

"Those prisoners are all bounty hunters and pirates. Most people of those professions live where?" when Matthew didn't respond, Yao spoke for him. "They live on Reycass, which is right in the middle of the Union. Those people would have spent endless hours seeing the wanted posters for the Free Court royalty on gigantic digital screens in the middle of the city. They know exactly how much they are worth. They know exactly how much Lukas is worth. I personally don't believe that they would just forget that." Yao sighed.

"I'm sorry, sir." Matthew murmured.

"Don't apologise. It does us no good now. I know that you saved those prisoners to set them free, but if they really know who Lukas is, and they know that he, in addition to the whole resistance, is here, they would go straight to the Union to turn in that information and collect the money." He shook his head a little. "We can't set them free."

Matthew's spirits were simultaneously sunk and buoyed. He had wanted to give their freedom back – after the injustice that they had suffered at the resistance's hands, they deserved it. But at the same time…

At the same time, Matthew wanted to get to know his brother again. He wanted to feel like he had a real family again. He loved his friends, but there was something unique and special having someone who was your family by blood. Not to mention, some of his brother's friends, such as the charming albino Gilbert, seemed like interesting and fun people; they were the sort of people that Matthew would have liked to be friends with as well.

He explained some of the other difficulties that they now had, such as Tino being known to them, and the Chalydrantis-stricken pirate. Yao took it in silently, nodding, though Matthew could see that he was a little distracted.

"I really am sorry. We never intended for them to find out about Lukas." Yao's sharp expression softened, and he put his hand on Matthew's shoulder. It was more comforting than it should have felt, especially considering that Yao was shorter than him.

"Don't worry. It wasn't your fault. It isn't even Lukas' fault. It's a tough little problem, but I know that we'll figure it out." Matthew nodded, starting to feel a little better. He glanced over Yao's shoulder, only to see Octavia, still pale and worn, looking at Yao as she packed away files and disks.

"I think Octavia wants to talk to you." He murmured quietly. Yao raised his eyebrows in surprise. Matthew smiled a little and stepped away. Yao turned a little to look at Octavia, but neither of them could even take a step forward before a loud, rapid knocking sounded on the door.

I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it

Lukas ducked past several tents, lowering his head as a pair of girls walked past, talking to one another. He craned his head upwards, trying to see the building. Most of the people who had been waiting to hear the verdict had dispersed by now, but many others were still wandering around nearby. It had been over an hour since the trial had ended, but the only sign from inside had been Jamael Laroussi walking outside, seeing the crowds, and waving them away yelling, "Get back to your stations! You aren't vultures."

Lukas drew in a deep breath, readjusting the heavy bag on his shoulder. He had stolen it from the tent and placed any pieces of evidence that he had managed to find inside. There were several radios in there, and it was starting to get heavy. He glanced around. He hadn't attracted any attention yet, but the building still had way too many people in front for him to enter undetected. He slipped past a few people, walking up near the doors. There was no real guard in front of the door, but there were a few armed rebels nearby who seemed to be trying to disperse the crowd. He cursed softly, readied himself, and strode forward.

You can't see me. I'm just another plain face in the crowd. I am unnoticeable and unworthy of concern.

He walked right past the vicious-looking rebels, and bolted up the stairs. Though his ruse had worked on the guards, he didn't have the energy to influence the entire crowd. Several people noticed that he had gotten up to the doors, and many started to shout. He hurriedly knocked on the door, as loudly as the thick timber would allow, before he was dragged backwards by a guard.

"You aren't permitted to go inside." Lukas shook them off.

"Fuck off. I need to talk to someone inside." He growled at them. The woman stepped back a little, looking a bit surprised that someone so non-threatening in appearance was so harsh. Her expression hardened, and she tried to pull him backwards again. He struggled, and, seeing no other option, slammed his elbow into her stomach. Winded, she let out a choked noise and staggered back a little. Upon seeing this, another guard bounded up the stairs as Lukas frantically knocked on the door again. He delivered him a swift kick to the groin when he tried to grab Lukas by his hair.

Staggering away and breathing deeply, Lukas flattened himself against the door. His vision was spinning – he was tired and hungry. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything, technically, in well over 48 hours. He rubbed at his temples, and knocked loudly on the door again. The first guard that he had knocked down had gotten back to her feet at this point, and seized his neck, knife in hand.

It was at this moment, to his immense relief, that the door swung open. A man in his late twenties, with golden skin and dark hair, was blinking at the scene in utter confusion.

"What in the system is going on here?" he asked, accent not immediately identifiable. The guard blanched.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sripuy!" she exclaimed, stepping away from Lukas and lowering her knife. Lukas looked at the man again. He recognised him now. Teerapat Sripuy – he was one of the judges. Teerapat looked at the crowd, raising an eyebrow. Lukas glanced behind him. They had gone almost completely silent, staring at the Lieutenant Colonel. He turned his gaze back to the guard.

"Kindly explain what is happening here." he said, tone cool. The guard swallowed, but straightened up.

"This boy is trying to get inside." She said. "He claims that he urgently has to speak to someone inside." Teerapat looked at him curiously.

"Name?" he asked curtly.

"Lukas Christensen." Lukas managed, rubbing at his throat where the guard's knife had pressed into his skin. The man turned and spoke to the room of people behind him. Lukas heard his name said, and after a moment in which he was able to hear only low voices responding, Teerapat turned back to him, nodded, and opened the door further to let him in. The female guard scowled, but stepped back to let him enter. As Lukas moved past the Lieutenant Colonel, he heard Teerapat shout to the crowd;

"What are you all doing here?" he asked.

"They want to hear the verdict, sir." The female guard murmured. Teerapat sighed, glaring at them.

"He's innocent. Get back to your posts." He responded, just before slamming the door shut. Lukas turned and surveyed the room as his system flooded with relief. Yao was standing near the front of the room, looking at him with surprise. Lukas felt Teerapat take his elbow and take him to the front, but he was too tired out to complain.

"Lukas." Yao said quietly. "What did you need?" he drew in a deep breath and unslung the bag from his shoulder, dumping it on a nearby table, and emptying it. he saw Octavia stand up straight as several single-use radios tumbled out, as well as copied documents, and one spare AXO-549 audio recorder. They all stared at him in silence as he sat down on a chair, breathing heavily.

"I know who the real spy is." he managed.

The room went completely still as Lukas took the time to catch his breath. Yao nodded calmly, though they could all see a sort of deranged, frantic energy resting underneath his normal expression. Kari peered at Lukas. He looked terrible; his skin was pale and peaky, there were dark bags under his eyes, not to mention, he looked as though he had somehow managed to lose weight in only two days. But his eyes were glittering with a sort of dark satisfaction.

Octavia stepped forward, looking at the equipment on the table.

"It matches what information we got from the canister." She murmured, half to herself. "But…how on Nyma did you know what tent to search?" Lukas went quiet, looking very much like a deer caught in headlights. Yao seemed to be thinking carefully. He turned to Lukas.

"Is it anyone in this room?" he asked quietly. Lukas shook his head.

"No." he said. Yao nodded.

"Well, I trust every person in this room to a fairly reasonable degree, so I guess it's about time I explained this." Lukas understood what Yao was doing long before Kari did. His eyes widened, and the colour vanished from his features.

"Yao…" he tried to interject. Yao brushed him off, and turned towards Octavia.

"Well, for starters," he paused, gesturing between the two of them "Lukas, this is Octavia Papadopoulos. Octavia, this is Lukas Bondevik." Octavia spun around so fast that Kari swore she heard her neck crack.

"Bondevik…?" she spun back to face Yao. "How…? How long has he…?"

"About six weeks by now." He explained simply. Octavia looked stunned as she turned to stare at Lukas as if she was trying to commit his face to memory. She wasn't the only one who looked shocked. Ali had just about fallen over, and Teerapat and Jamael looked absolutely flabbergasted. Matthew, Kari, Elizabeta, Tino, Yaretzi and Mohammed, of course, were unsurprised, as they had already known. Ayshe looked floored, and she spun towards Yao, tone accusatory.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" she asked, sounding a little hurt. She had obviously noticed how many of them had failed to react. Yao winced.

"I didn't want to risk it while I was still in a cell." He said. "If I hadn't been, I promise, you would have been the first person I would have told." Ayshe looked a little less wounded after hearing that, though she too seemed fascinated by Lukas. Kari, however, was not happy about the situation.

"Yao! I thought you told us that it was necessary for us to keep his presence here completely secret!" she said, tone vicious. Yao nodded.

"That I did. But considering that our spy is finally within our grasp, and a group of Reycausian criminals apparently know who he is, I think we can abandon that aim." Lukas winced at the mention of the prisoners. Octavia blinked, looking momentarily distracted by that piece of news. Yao approached him, and leaned down so that his face was level with Lukas'.

"Who?"

Ayshe was gripping her gun so hard that she feared she would snap it in two.

She tried, desperately, to recall what Yao had said.

"Be discreet. Stay calm and wait for the signal. We need a confession or there'll be a huge outcry." She exhaled deeply. Stay calm. After hearing Bondevik's explanation? She wasn't prepared to stay calm – she wanted blood.

Matthew, leaning on the wall beside her, frowned at her a little.

"Are you alright, Ayshe?"

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect." She responded, teeth gritted. Matthew winced at her tone.

"You're trying to withhold a murderous rage, aren't you?"

"Obviously!" she snapped. "When do I ever describe my mood as perfect?"

"Never. That's what tipped me off." Matthew deadpanned. He sighed. "Listen, I know that you're angry. I'm angry too, of course I am. He gave me a whole lecture about division within the resistance not even four weeks ago! I want to take down this traitorous scum just as much as you do."

Ayshe smiled grimly. "Impossible. Are you telling me that you also want to dismember him and make his corpse a practice dummy on the shooting range?"

"Sounds divine." Ayshe had to grin at the vicious determination in Matthew's eyes as he said it. He had some sort of neck injury which made him flinch every time he tried to look in any direction but straight ahead, but she knew that she could count on the captain to have her back if their little traitor turned out to be a runner. Her smiled slipped a little. "I know that you're just as committed to catching him as I am…it's just…this isn't just hatred, it's loathing. I could never forgive him for what he's done, especially to Yao."

Matthew nodded. "It was hell listening to him in that courtroom earlier." Ayshe nodded in agreement.

"I knew about everything he talked about, but it was hard to hear it from him." Matthew shifted, face showing how upset he was.

"Even that last part?" he asked, voice very quiet. Ayshe looked at him. His eyes were full of anguish. She nodded slowly.

"Yes, even that. I helped Kabeeta run medical tests when he was rescued." Matthew winced, shaking his head a little. Ayshe hesitated a moment before daring to ask. "Have…have you ever had an experience like that?" Matthew looked at her.

"I had an ex who tried."

"What did you give him for his troubles?"

"A broken sternum, fractured skull and, if my sources are to be believed, total infertility."

"Respect." Ayshe fist-bumped him. "Let's agree, if we ever run into 'Wuhan Ma' or your creepy ex, we won't give them the opportunity to repent." Matthew nodded, grinning viciously.

"Sounds marvellous. We really should hang out more."

"We really should."

"Guys!" Elizabeta hissed at them from a tent about ten metres away. "Concentrate! The operation's starting!" Ayshe nodded, ensuring that the safety on her gun was turned off as she turned toward the entrance of the tent. All of the exits had been covered, so that their rat had no chance to slip out of their grasp. She looked up as she heard footsteps. It was Yao, who had managed to calm down immensely and stop throwing curses since they'd heard Lukas' story.

He met her gaze as he approached the entrance, and smiled slightly. Ayshe felt her stomach twist a little. He gave a small, mock salute, like they had always done in the past, and moved inside. Yao had taken Tino in with him as backup, though the general hope was that no bullets would fly in the whole encounter. Ayshe shuffled to the left a little, sticking her head inside as a voice sounded out.

"So, how did the trial go?" It was Aelia Gabras' voice. Ayshe could see that everyone's eyes were on their work. None of them had even realised that it was Yao. Judging by her question, they also didn't yet know the verdict. Ayshe saw Yao raise an eyebrow, before deigning to respond.

"Very well, thank you Vice-General Gabras." Aelia spun around on her chair, blinking in shock.

"Oh! General Yao! So, I presume that this means you were found innocent?"

"As a child. I'm sorry to disappoint you so, Gabras." Aelia looked taken aback by his sharp and blatantly mocking tone. Yao was normally far more civil, but Ayshe knew that the trial, in addition to recent revelations, had worn him down completely. He was probably just wanting for this day to be over already, and Ayshe couldn't argue with him. She turned her attention back to the situation at hand. Aelia's words had drawn all eyes towards Yao, some looking shocked, others vilified, and some delighted.

"I apologise for not attending the second session. Did anything interesting happen?"

Yao shrugged, "Just the exposal of some of my deepest secrets. You really missed some high-grade afternoon entertainment." Aelia blinked, still looking a little put-off by his being there. She looked even more chagrined by his sharp words. Her gaze darted around uncertainly. Some of the other analysts in the tent looked uncomfortable, though Ayshe could distinctly see a few that looked like they were having the time of their life.

"Sir, if you don't mind my interruption, does this mean that you'll be returning as our commanding officer for battlefield analysis?" one rebel asked. Yao looked over, a little surprised.

"It does, yes." One of them whooped shamelessly. Aelia gave them a sharp look, but Yao smiled a little as the rebel sat back down again, grinning without remorse. Aelia huffed quietly, rearranging some papers on her desk.

"So, what brings you here, Yao? I would have expected you to be celebrating or relaxing. You do look rather sleep-deprived."

"I'm always sleep-deprived." Yao deadpanned, frowning a little at Aelia. "I'm here for a very specific reason." He said, turning towards someone who had been watching the interaction very closely. "Tino, if you would."

Tino had gone into the tent a few moments after Yao, and had been dressed in a full-length, olive drab coat which he adored. He looked calm and unassuming, which was why it must have been such a shock when he drew a machine gun from inside. Ayshe heard several people shouting in panic, and saw many of them backing up suddenly. Yao was grinning, and the manic glint in his eyes didn't seem to be very reassuring to the crowd of people inside.

"You see," he said, "my trial actually concluded about three hours ago. Since then, I have not been celebrating or relaxing. I've been looking into the latest number one suspect," he folded his hands behind his back, "which you just so happen to be." before the rat could so much as splutter in feigned confusion, Yao strode forward, seized him by his dark hair, and hauled him towards the exit. Everyone inside the tent seemed to be completely perplexed, and none of them even raised so much as a hand to offer assistance as the traitor was dragged along the floor by his hair. Yao stepped back outside, into the darkening night, and dumped him on the ground, mouth curling into a blood-chilling glower. Ayshe regarded him with the same disgust and hatred as they surrounded him, and directed the barrel of her gun so that it was pointed directly at his heart.

Zev Batbayaryn.

Ayshe wouldn't have even been able to vocalise how much she wanted to gut him like a fish in that moment. She could feel loathing coursing through her veins as it sent her heart and body thundering full of energy. Her knuckles were starting to turn white as she tried to overcome the urge to shoot him into tiny pieces and set each one on fire. Yao, however, looked completely emotionless. It might have lured someone else into a false sense of security, but Ayshe knew better. Yao's periods of disconcerting calm were often followed by bouts of extreme anger and destructive behaviour. Batbayaryn was about to get torn a new one. She grinned at the idea.

Her grin faded a little as people started to flood out of the tent, and Ayshe could hear Aelia yelling at Yao.

"What the hell? You can't arrest him without evidence!" Yao turned to look at Aelia, expression blank and detached. He looked almost dead, and it clearly freaked out Aelia, as her voice faded away and she stepped back a little.

"Lukas, the bag please." Yao asked, tone just as cold and clinical as his expression. Lukas handed over the large bag he had stashed the radios and recorders into. Without breaking eye contact with Gabras, Yao upended the bag and sent the equipment skittering across the packed red dirt of the ground. "There's our evidence. He isn't just our number-one suspect," Yao knelt down, looking directly into Batbayaryn's eyes, "he's almost certainly our little rat."

Aelia started to object again, and this time, Octavia spoke up.

"Shut the fuck up, Aelia." She spat. "Unless you want to get investigated as well." Aelia looked stunned. Octavia was pale, and nearly shaking with anger. She had been in a state of shock after Lukas' explanation of Zev's plan. He had spent months and months gaining her trust, and when he had gained enough, started to plant ideas in her head. He had done all sorts, from bringing up dissent and division that wasn't even really present yet in their ranks, to using flattery, empathy and straight-up lying to eventually convince her to go after Yao. The distraction had helped to steer any suspicion away from him, and had simultaneously split the resistance in two. His plot with Dana Milevski had sown the first true seeds of doubt in Yao, and it had worked to fruition.

The reason he had failed, according to Lukas, had been that even Zev didn't know the details behind Yao's past, and wouldn't have anticipated that he would be found innocent. He had also not intended for the existence of the spy to ever become public, which had failed after the canister – which had been intended to be a total suicide mission (and would have been, save for the ingenuity of both Aminata Nasrin and young pilot) – had been recovered. He hadn't leaked nearly as many files as they had thought, because he did the majority of the damage by manipulating a powerful figure – Octavia. However, he never would have expected that Yao would fail to inform Octavia of the arrival of a royal figure in the resistance. It had been Yao's instinctual caution which had stopped the entire resistance – and especially Lukas and Emilia – from being hunted down and murdered.

Yao regarded Zev a moment longer, then nudged the devices at his feet. "I know that these belong to you." Zev stared back up at him, expression hateful.

"Oh? You really think so?" he asked, tone sharp and angry. Yao smiled, expression sinister. Ayshe grinned. She knew what was coming.

"I do think so, since they were found in your tent, and have your fingerprints all over them, not to mention that we drew audio files, and they're all of highly important meetings that you were present in." Zev leaned up a little, curling his lip.

"You can't indict me without a trial." He said, tone victorious. Yao cocked his head to the side.

"Actually, I can, because not only do we have physical evidence of your crimes, but, according to my friend here," he gestured to Lukas, "your thoughts and memories also reek of treachery." Batbayaryn looked over at Lukas, understanding dawning on his face. Lukas stared him down. Finally, Zev turned back to Yao.

"So, you caught yourself a little Fynknian royal. Good work." He spat, loudly enough for most of the people around them to hear. "But here's the thing," he paused, expression twisting into something smug and cruel, "it's not treachery. I was never loyal to you in the first place." Yao moved, evidently to hurt him, but never got the chance.

Octavia got there first.

Her boot slammed into his face with so much force that Ayshe was surprised that Batbayaryn's head didn't leave an indentation in the ground. When she drew her foot away, his nose was clearly broken, and there was blood spilling all over his face and neck. She paused, regarded him, and then slammed her foot into the side of his face. A sharp crack emitted from his jaw, and Ayshe knew immediately that it was broken. Batbayaryn yelped in pain, but Octavia wasn't done. As he attempted to shove her foot away with his left hand, she looked at him with disdain, and pinned his hand flat on the ground. Without missing a beat, she pressed her other foot to the underside of his fingers and pushed them up, up, up, until they were pressed backwards against the back of his hand, and he was nearly screaming in pain.

Octavia staggered back a step, looking at him with loathing. He opened his mouth to speak, but Yao cut him off, muttering a short "walk him to a cell" to Elizabeta and Ali. Octavia held a hand up, however, considering the disgraced major on the ground.

She circled around him once, then strode towards his legs. Octavia dropped to her knees and drew a knife from her belt. To the astonishment and confusion of everyone surrounding them, she then pulled one of his shoes off. Yao himself even looked surprised. Their unasked question was answered a moment later, however, as Octavia plunged her knife into the back of his ankle and tore it outwards, immediately severing his Achilles tendon.

"If I may correct General Yao." She said sharply as she stood, turning to Elizabeta and Ali, "You can drag him to a cell." Without another word, she threw the soiled knife down next to his whimpering, beaten body, and strode off.

Yao didn't dare to seek out Octavia for several more hours. He spent a good twenty minutes walking slowly around the perimeter of the camp, considering the day's events, before he had talked himself into confronting her. The last face-to-face conversation that they had had was when she had him arrested. He didn't count the trial, as that was interrogation. By that logic, however, he probably shouldn't have counted his arrest, either, as that had been her accusing him of a crime. He sighed.

After Octavia had stormed off, they had taken the now very injured Batbayaryn into custody. Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, he had been stripped of his position. The entirety of headquarters probably knew that he was the spy by this point. The only real high-point of the day had been the reactions from Yao's friends and supporters when they saw him after he was exonerated. Vlad and Kristian had decided to come running at him, full speed, and tackle him into a hug. He'd almost gotten elbowed in the face, but it had been a very sweet gesture.

He had been quite chagrined to find that one of the most 'interesting' facts about Yao, according to the rebel masses, had not been his survival of the SS Arbiter, nor his previous relationship with Arshad. No, what most of the rebels had been fascinated by was the fact that Yao was only 36. He had spent almost an hour trying to resist the urge to roll his eyes as numerous people approached and asked if he was absolutely certain that he wasn't 40 yet. It had been funny at first, but he'd soon resorted to death-glaring at people to make them go away, which proved rather effective.

Yao glanced around as he approached Octavia's tent. The area was quite empty. As he understood it, someone had tried to ask her about Zev, and had, of all things, a toaster thrown at her. Octavia clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, so everyone in the vicinity had cleared out – many of which had done so to either celebrate the court decision or Zev's exposure and capture. Yao had only stayed at the revelry a while before he could no longer bear it, and had left to be alone. Perhaps, though she didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, Octavia would tolerate his presence.

He paused, standing just a few inches from the entrance flap. Octavia had long hated the idea of anyone walking in unannounced, so she had all flaps tied down permanently. There was a small bell hanging outside, and Octavia had made it clear that it was to be used. Feeling a little silly, he reached up and rang the bell. He heard her footsteps before he saw her. She began to speak as she approached the flap.

"For the last fucking time-" she tore the entrance open and froze when she saw Yao. Her face was pale, and she had definitely been crying. She opened her mouth and closed it again, looking shocked. Yao bowed his head a little, unable to meet her gaze.

"Do you mind if I come inside?" he asked gently. She stood, still frozen for a moment, before she seemed to come to her senses, and nodded. She stepped to the side, holding the flap open. Yao ducked inside, and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as she closed the flap and moved to stand in front of him, arms folded.

They were both completely silent for a few moments, before Octavia broke the silence to speak.

"Are you going to gloat about being right?" she asked, voice very small. Yao blinked in surprise.

"I'm not sure that I've ever been known for gloating, but no, I am not."

"Well why not? Not only did I accuse the wrong person of treason, I trusted the real spy like a fool." Her voice was faltering a little, and Yao could see that she was starting to cry again.

"We had no idea that Batbayaryn was the spy, Octavia, there's no way that you could have known. He wasn't even remotely a suspect." Yao said. "It isn't your fault."

"Well, I shouldn't have trusted someone with such a lower position, then," she said, sniffing, "I gave him information that he never should have known."

"It's not bad to trust someone younger and less experienced than you." Yao said. "If I didn't do that, I would have almost no friends. Most people my age are already fed up of me."

Octavia huffed a small laugh, shaking her head a little. They were silent again, before Yao spoke up.

"He's locked in a secure cell, and will have a guard at all times. The amount of evidence against him is overwhelming, so a trial isn't necessary." He said. "With Lukas' help, we should find out exactly what he leaked to the Union." Octavia nodded.

"So…Bondevik." She said. "I'm glad you didn't tell me he was here." Yao blinked in shock.

"You…are?"

"I told Batbayaryn far more than I ever should have. I could have accidentally slipped that to him. If I had, we'd all be finished." She said grimly. Yao nodded a little.

"I suppose so. Right now, I'm just trying to dispel the rumours that he and his sister are in fact, here. The ruse likely won't work, though, so it might be better to just hope for discretion where they are concerned." Octavia looked up.

"Are you certain that there are no other spies?" she asked. Yao nodded.

"Lukas checked. Batbayaryn was working alone." Octavia nodded slowly, turning away. Silence again engulfed the room.

"I just can't believe I let him manipulate me like that." She murmured. Yao looked at her, and saw that she was crying in earnest again. "I mean," she hiccupped, "I was so stupidly trusting, I didn't even begin to suspect that he could be a traitor. I've been a terrible leader these past few weeks."

"Octavia-"

"No! I have been. I put faith in my seedy underlings, when I didn't even trust you! I acted out of panic. I ordered a group of innocent prisoners to be killed just because I was so desperate to keep the resistance under the radar like you do. They would all be dead if Matthew and the others hadn't intervened. I…" she trailed off for a moment, closing her eyes as more tears spilled down her face, "…I put you through hell that you didn't deserve. I didn't trust you and I humiliated you and I am so, so sorry, Yao." She was openly sobbing now, and pressed her hand to her face, shaking.

"Hey, no, no, no," Yao said as he approached her, pulling her hands down gently, "don't apologise. Octavia, you did something which many leaders don't have the gall to do." She looked at him, completely perplexed, as he continued, "you had the courage to question authority. You challenged the set ways of this resistance. You might have been pushed to do so under false pretences, but that doesn't matter. You didn't stand around absently while suspecting that something wasn't all right. Even though you knew that there would be a huge backlash, you still went ahead and arrested me. You put the safety and integrity of the resistance above your own reputation or my influence. Octavia, don't ever apologise. You did what you thought was the right thing for everyone here, and I can never fault you for that."

She stared at him, still crying. She shook her head a little, and Yao put his hands on either side of her face to stop her. "Just agree with me for once, okay?" he said gently. She sniffed, but nodded.

"Okay then." She whispered. She was still crying, but she met his gaze. "I'm still sorry, though. I'm sorry that I couldn't recognise that the spy was right under my nose. I'm sorry that I was so open with classified information. I'm sorry that I unjustly accused you and frightened you. I-" she hesitated, "I'm sorry that you had to pour out all of your secrets today. And I'm sorry about what the Union did to you." She breathed in shakily. "You didn't deserve that. You were a good espionage agent, and you're an excellent leader. You deserve this position, and I hope that I don't see you leave it." Yao stared at her, stunned.

She started to cry again, and he gave in, dropping his hands from the side of her head and wrapping them around her instead. She reciprocated his hug, pressing her face into the junction of his shoulder and neck and crying into his shirt. They just stood there for several moments, holding one another, and Yao relaxed, pressing his face into her should as well. No more words passed between them, but he knew that they had both been forgiven.