CHAPTER ONE: Set the Stage

(Seven months later…)

Cain rolled over in bed and opened his eyes. He sat up, stretched and yawned while taking in his surroundings for the first time that morning.
His old room…

Golden sunlight poured in from his curtains and left a dusty glowing patch across the vacant hardwood floor. The only thing in the room was his bed; it was nestled against a corner and the vast emptiness seemed to swallow it whole. He pulled back his covers and slowly got out of bed, stumbling over to the bathroom; a hand made contact with the cold metal handle of the faucet and he turned on the water to the shower. Sleepily, he rubbed his eyes and shed his clothing into a pile on the floor before stepping inside where hot, stinging needles of comfort greeted him.

Cain smiled softly to himself. Today was a new day…a time to start things over and try again. He may have failed the first time around—but now, things were different. There was still hope in his mind. Hope to bring ruin to his enemy. Last night he pondered over how to do so…today brought the answers he had sought for so long.

Cain cleansed his previous troubles from his body with a bar of soap and watched them go down the drain. Snickering, he reached for the shampoo, his current plans for the day replaying in his head. His strategist's mind planned and counter planned until all other options except victory were depleted.

This would work.
It had to work.

A deep chuckle roused within his throat, as now he could taste his enemy's suffering and demise; today was going to be a good day, he decided.

"Come on, Bunny, it's time to get up."
Bonnie Carter rolled over, away from the sound of the voice and pulled the blanket up over her head. "Mn," she replied.
"Bonnie," the voice relayed a little more seriously, "come on. It's 7:30. Time for breakfast."
She squeezed her eyes shut tight when she felt a weight sink beside her into the mattress. "Buuuuuun~nnnnyyyy," a hand took hold of her shoulder; she jostled a little against her free will. "Wake uuuuup."
"Ringo!" Bonnie finally cried while twisting around to look at him; she flailed an arm out and whacked him in the face by mistake. "No, I wanna sleep. Lemme alone!"
The blonde man rubbed the side of his jaw while shaking his head. "You have to eat something first."
She tossed her head from side to side and loosely curled back up beneath the blankets. "No."
Ringo nodded the contrary. "Yes."
"But I don't want to…"
He narrowed his blue eyes and gave her a stern look. "Don't argue with me—you're gonna eat even if that means I have to tie you up and force-feed you!"

Bonnie pulled her quilted Halloween pumpkins and cats back over her head. "It hurts too much, Ringo. Leave me alone. I don't want to eat anymore of that nasty blended crap…"
She could feel him staring a hole through her blankets and directly at her back. "If you don't eat, then the doctor says you'll keep getting sick and you'll never regain your strength; your stomach will shrink and you'll die of starvation."
"I don't care." Bonnie grumbled.
"Which in turn means that you'll never be able to pilot again, resulting in Commander Jamison discharging you from the Space Knights."

"Go awaaay…" Bonnie whined. "Leave me alone…"
"What about chocolate? Maybe I could con the doctor into letting you have some of that for breakfast." He bargained.
"Nooooo…Ringo, go away."
"Bunny, please? For me?"
"Hey, how can I be discharged from the Space Knights, if I'm already dead?" Bonnie answered.
"I'll do anything…please?"

Silence was the only answer he was given.

Ringo groaned in frustration and yanked away her blankets. "Bonnie!" He growled. "Get up now!"
"Nooo." Bonnie replied in a whine. She tried to draw her knees up to her chest, but it just hurt too much. Her diaphragm was still sore from her injuries and coughing fits.
"No, I won't go! You can't make me!" She cried as he leaned over to grab her. She fought with him as best she could, clawing at his wrists and pushing his hands away. She would've used her legs but it still hurt. Although her stitches had been removed long ago, her insides still felt raw. Her ribs and back still burned; it still hurt to eat. She had no interest in going for her breakfast from the blender.

"Knock it off—hold still! Bonnie—!" Ringo snarled angrily and pinned her down by the wrists, ceasing her struggles. She knew his tempers often ran short; she also knew that she had reached the end of the line with it.
"This is ridiculous! I shouldn't have to literally FIGHT with you to eat something! Bite the bullet and take the pain like a soldier, Carter. You're a Space Knight—not some yellow-bellied coward from the military!"
"Please…let me go…go away…" She begged, staring deep into his irritated sapphire eyes. "You can't even," she paused to toss her head to the side and cough. It was a wet, barking cough, the kind that made the residual crap in her lungs rattle around and tickle; Bonnie was still grieving over the loss her spleen and the several pneumonias it had left in its place.
"You can't even scare me into eating anything…" She finished.

He just sighed heavily and stared down at her. "Do you want to go back to the infirmary?" The tension in her small body dissipated.
He let go of her wrists and got off her bed slowly. "Think about it."
"I'll leave you alone and go," Ringo bent over and scooped the woman into his arms in one fluid motion. "But you're coming with me!"
"Nnnoooooo! Ringo put me back…I don't want to…I don't want to…! It hurts! It *cough cough cough* hurts!"
He rolled his eyes and ignored her as he carried her off to the infirmary. "I feel like I'm dealing with a two-year-old…"

Blade sat in the mess hall with a cup of hot cocoa in hand. He stared down into his cup and brooded over his loss of memory. "I wonder if I'll ever remember who I am…Maybe there's a reason why I forgot…maybe I'm not supposed to remember."

"Penny for your thoughts." A gentle voice called from the seat in front of him.
He lifted his head and looked at the young woman with long blonde hair and royal purple eyes. For whatever odd reason, his heart always filled with warmth every time he looked at her. Blade shook his head slightly. "Oh. It's nothing…"
What was her name again? He wondered. Anderson, Annie, Andromeda…
She smiled at him. "You sure?"
He nodded. "Yeah." Then it hit him: Andrea, that's right. Andrea Summers.

There was a silence.

A sudden heavy sigh startled them both as a man plunked down in the seat beside Andrea.
"You're late, Ringo." Andrea chided as she checked her watch.
Ringo's head fell back into his shoulders. "I'm not in the mood for a scolding, Andy," he moaned.
Blade returned to staring down into his mug.
"How is she?" Andrea asked. "Did you get her to eat?"

Ringo winced; Andrea noted the fresh red scratch mark that slashed near his ear and ran down the hinge of his jaw. "Not without a fight, I see. Poor Bonnie…" She sighed.
"You can't imagine the guilt," Ringo murmured, "She fought so much…I had to hold her down while the doctor shoved another feeding tube down her nose…we thought she was getting better, but…"

Blade tilted his mug slightly and watched the way his cocoa splashed around. "She still can't have solid food, huh."
"Mm-mm." Ringo answered as he sat upright. "Unfortunately we found out this morning that her stomach isn't strong enough yet…"
Andrea sighed heavily and rested her head in her folded arms on the table. "God bless her…"
Ringo blue eyes narrowed into a squint. "I'm gonna kill that bastard son of a bitch the next time I see him."
"I wish the doctors would let me go in and at least hold her hand…" Andrea said.

Blade kept playing with his cocoa.

Ringo shook his head. "No, the Commander kept you out for a reason. You shouldn't have to hear her cry while the doctors force that ice-cold, already broken down shit they call 'nutrients' into her gut…"
"But why should they make you stay?" Blade asked suddenly.
Ringo snorted and shrugged. "Because I'm the only one who can restrain her."

"Where is she now?" Andrea asked.
"In her room asleep. They shot her in the ass with Dilaudid."

Andrea stood up.

Ringo opened an eye and grabbed her by the wrist as she passed. "Where are you going?"
"To sit with her." She slipped out of his grip and walked away.
Blade and Ringo left the conversation at that, content to sit with each other in silence.

She was still angrier than Hell. Vitani lay on her small prison bed, and all she could do was cry the burning fires of fury from her eyes. She had pleaded and pleaded with the general…but to no avail.
Her lover and best friend—her husband…was gone now.
And she couldn't stop crying.
She'd attacked Gault in a raving fit of madness; she found herself waiting here for her sentencing as a result.
Who cared at this point?

Certainly not her.

"Balzac…" She murmured, blinking away some more tears. "Why'd you ignore my warnings and attack Saber? Why…? You knew he'd kill you…you knew you were no match…why didn't you pull out? Now you've gone and left me all alone…" She took a deep breath and let it out shakily.

Every day, she kept crying that same song, over and over again. It didn't matter how much time had passed—the pain was the soundtrack of her life. A part of her subconsciously found the sound of her voice somewhat comforting.

Vitani's stomach growled angrily; she hadn't eaten a thing in days—let alone had even a single drop of coffee. She rolled over and tried to wipe away her tears. She'd been down in this hole for so long, she didn't even know if her other best friend had pulled through his injuries; for all she knew, the rumors could be true—Marlow was dead. To survive an injury of that magnitude…

He was most likely…
She drove the gruesome memory out of her head, and a quick chuckle broke through her tears. Why did she have the privilege to watch her loved ones die?
Not that it mattered much—even if he was alive, he'd never be in her company again.

She was a felon now.

If only her punishment would be swift—she couldn't live like this anymore. She didn't want to be by herself. When Vitani was alone, the darkness swallowed her…

Footsteps echoed down the hall and caught her attention. Hmph. Maybe General Bastard-son-of-a-bitch is coming down to bitch-slap me himself… She mused silently. Just hurry the hell up and kill me already.

"Vitani…? Are you in there?" A voice asked from the other side of her door.
She looked up and saw two inquisitive brown eyes staring back at her through the narrow slit on her door. "Macmillan?" She asked.
"What the hell are you doing down here?"

The lieutenant looked around nervously and unlocked her door. Grinning sheepishly, he held out a Styrofoam cup and replied, "I brought you some coffee."
Vitani eyed the cup in his hand wearily. "Hmm..."
He waved her off with his hand. "Don't be silly. You look like you need it."

She took it from him and sipped at it slowly, deciding to be grateful. "Thanks, Macmillan. I appreciate it," Vitani murmured sadly. "I'd appreciate it even more if it was poisoned."

"Moron! Don't say that." Marlow scolded as he popped his head into her cell.
Vitani spat her coffee and started to choke. "Mar-cough-low!"
He gestured for her to calm down. "Hey, careful—don't choke."

The coffee dropped to the floor; she almost knocked him down with a hug. The tears she had just fought to stop came back tenfold. "You're alive…jesus…thank god you're ok…" Vitani continued to sob into his collar. "I was forced to watch…he was no match…I-I tried to stop him but…and then…and then…I thought…and someone said that you died…and…"
She cried for a long time.

"Vitani Saint Jacques…what have you gotten yourself into this time?" He suddenly sighed.

Vitani pulled away and glared at him coldly. "How can you take this so lightly? Balzac's dead because of Gault…"
Marlow shook his head. "I don't think so. He's out there, somewhere… I know it."

Vitani's frown worsened into a scowl. "How can you say that?" She growled back. "I watched him die! Why'd you come here anyway?"
"To check on you." He replied as he turned on his heels to leave. "I'll get you out…just be patient."
Vitani turned her back on him and flopped back down into bed. "Yeah. Right. Well, get on outta here—if you get caught, you'll be dead for sure."

Her heart sunk as she heard the heavy titanium door shut and darkness devoured her once more. It was quiet again; she was alone. How unnerving it seemed suddenly. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to sleep.

Cain stalked around silently outside the Space Knight's Command Center. He followed his target like his own shadow. He knew what he had to do…he felt more like a lioness stalking her prey—he followed in silence; learned, watched their every move…waited until the moment was right…and then he'd spring out of nowhere and catch them by surprise.
A mischievous smile danced across his lips. "She thinks she's suffering now…"
He ducked as he took notice of a security camera some fifty feet away; it hadn't seen him.
"Well, sorry sweetheart…you ain't seen nothin yet." He hurried along before his prey escaped from view of his watchful eyes.

All in due time…all in due time.

A/N: I changed Bonnie's physical repercussions slightly in this version. She's still weak and having probs moving around and eating because of the pneumonia—not because her stitches or superficial wounds hadn't healed.

Also: Yes. Her last name is Carter. She was adopted.
FYI: Dilaudid is a much more potent pain-killer in the same family as morphine, percocet, and vicodin.