THUD!

Julian and I sat bolt upright in bed.

THUD!

I tried to throw the covers back, but they were wrapped around us somehow.

CRACK!

Someone had kicked in the front door!

We didn't even have time to move before six Planetary Security officers burst into the bedroom, phasers drawn.

One of the officers snatched Julian from my arms and hurled him to the floor. He cried out in pain as she drove her knee into his back.

"NO!" I shrieked, launching myself at the officer.

Another officer spun and fired.

I vaguely sensed flying backward in a blaze of agony before everything went black.

When I came to, the first thing I was aware of was pain in my chest.

The second was the fact that I was on the floor, folded up against the wall.

The third came in a form of a terrifying question:

Where the hell is Julian?

Forgetting the discomfort from the second-degree phaser burn on my chest, I scrambled to my feet. Luckily, there was only one place they could have taken him. Getting there would be no problem.

The hard part would be getting in.

I glanced at my chrono. It was still the dead of night, and would be for some time. I dressed in a black tunic and leggings and black boots. I strapped on my black tool belt. Then I grabbed my black backpack and scurried around the house, gathering the things I would need.

Luckily, I had had the presence of mind earlier in the night to hide Julian's uniform and weapon. I yanked them out of the freezer and shoved them into the bag.

I ran through the hole where the front door had been and leaped into my boat. I spun the little vessel around and raced out to sea so fast that my keel barely touched the water.

My destination was Emerald Haven's only prison island. It had been called "Hell" for so long that no one remembered what the island's real name was. It was a couple hundred kilometers from Flora, in the opposite direction from the Smoking Cone. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. All I could do was pray that I would get there in time.

After what seemed like several eternities, I cut the engine and coasted into a tree-lined inlet on Hell's shore. I concealed the boat beneath the foliage and crept through the trees toward the main building.

I stopped at the edge of the clearing. There were two armed guards at the front door, and a couple more walking the perimeter. But no one was watching the open first-floor window on the side of the building. If I timed it just right…

I saw my chance.

I exploded out of the forest and sprinted for the open window. Grabbing the sill, I pulled myself up, got one leg through, and rolled the rest of the way in. I landed on the floor in a crouch.

There was no one in the hallway. Good.

Dusting myself off, I crept to the corner. I peeked around it.

One guard stood in front of the closed door to the interrogation room. He wasn't overly attractive, so that meant my first plan had a pretty good chance of working. But he was also only a little bigger than I was, so that meant I could take him if I had to resort to outright violence.

I pulled a corked bottle out of my pack. Putting on my best seductress' act, I sauntered around the corner.

The guard jumped half a meter in the air. "Wait… what… who are you?" he spluttered.

I held out the bottle. "Would you like a cup of tea?" I purred, batting my eyelashes.

"What? You can't…" Then lust took over. He snatched the bottle, popped the cork, and took a giant swig.

He began to sway as the sedative I had added to the tea began to take hold.

The bottle slipped from his fingers, and the guard toppled to the floor.

I leaped over him, scooping up his phaser and shoving it into my tool belt as I passed. Then I kicked in the door.

Julian was alone in the room.

He was strapped to a table that was tilted at about a sixty-degree angle. He was wearing nothing but makeshift underwear made from a torn sheet.

His entire body was covered with bruises and lacerations. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving.

For a moment, I was completely paralyzed. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to cry or murder the entire Havenese government.

Then my brain slowly started working again. Feelings of helplessness and rage wouldn't help Julian, but action might.

I raced across the room. I patted his face gently but urgently. "Julian, wake up!"

No response.

I shook his shoulder. "Wake up, damn it!"

His eyes fluttered open. His jaw dropped, just a little. "Stacey? How did you get in here?"

"I knocked out the guard. Now look alive, before he wakes up and kills us both!"

"Why are you risking your life to save me?"

"Oh, Julian, you know why." I kissed him briefly but emphatically, leaving no doubt as to my meaning.

Julian shook off his grogginess as I pulled a power cutter from my pack. Its tiny engine whined as its circular, diamond-tipped blade cut through his bonds as if they were made of putty.

He slid to the floor, and I helped him stand. Then I pulled his clothes out of my pack.

The sight of his uniform seemed to magically transform him. I had never seen anyone move so fast. He was fully dressed almost before I had finished handing the uniform to him.

He pressed the com badge on his chest. "Bashir to Rio Grande. Two to beam up."

Nothing happened.

"Bashir to Rio Grande. Respond!"

Nothing.

Julian cursed. "Damn it! My signal's being jammed."

It wasn't really a surprise. "Well, then I guess we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Come on." I grabbed his hand and raced from the room, over the body of the unconscious guard and around the corner. Julian stumbled along after me.

His injuries made it impossible for him to climb through the window, so I half-lifted, half-shoved him over the sill, then scrambled through myself. We landed in a heap on the ground outside. I helped him to his feet, and waited until the coast was clear.

We bolted for the tree line. We could only go about half as fast as I had on the way in, but we made it. We skidded into the inlet, where I all but dropped Julian into the boat. I dove in after him and hauled tail away from Hell.

Once we were clear, I looked over my shoulder. "Julian, you need to eat something and then sleep. I'll wake you up when we get to the Smoking Cone."

He nodded. "Thanks." He reached into the pack and started gobbling trail mix and guzzling water like a starving child.

Facing the way ahead, I raced for the open sea.