The Place: Kasstra Corporation, just outside Propadio, Tannakan I, Bleak Lands
The Time: Yulai Convention 12.06.110 - EST 10:26

Sella Hodron smiled, confident in her own superiority, "You are one hard nut to crack, but I knew you'd see sense in the end. It's a damn shame really, we could have worked together instead of….this." she gestured about her. "If only Baston had told me about you sooner." Seeing his reaction she continued, "Oh yes. It was him who told me you were coming."

The man sitting across the table from him was only restrained at the wrists but she hadn't got to where she was today by showing fear or weakness. No, quite the opposite, she had got there by instilling fear in others and ruthlessly exploiting their weaknesses. That and the series of carefully engineered accidents and calamities that had befallen the men who had gotten in her way. She smiled as she recalled the sweetest of them all, the downfall of Baston, which ironically had also resulted in the ruin of the man facing her now.

"So. You promised me a name?"

"Before I tell you maybe we can discuss working together after all."

She pondered this for a second or two. He would be an extremely valuable asset but having already been hired to kill her could also be a liability. She'd need to be certain he could be bought and the knowledge that he'd flushed his life down the pan to save Baston's worthless ass didn't give her that certainty.

"Well we can discuss that afterwards. You are not in much of a position to bargain", she said nodding toward to the two men standing by the door armed with blaster rifles. She fingered the blaster pistol at her side, partly just because she liked the feeling of power it gave her and partly because she was not impressed with the choice of weaponry the guards had been given. The rifles were intimidating but would not be a great deal of use in such close quarters. But it was too late now to do anything about it now without appearing weak and, in any case, she could handle herself.

Drevek was playing for time, slowly loosening the ropes around his wrists with simple but effective muscle contractions. "Well I'd like to discuss it now if you don't mind. I'm going to have to leave everything I had built up behind again if I give you the name."

His mark flew into a rage, jumping up and slamming her palms on the table "IF you give me the name?"

Seizing his opportunity Drevek slipped his hands from the ropes and grabbing the table he swept it across the floor towards the guards sending Sella off-balance and stumbling towards him. Moving quickly behind her he swung his left arm round her throat and in one smooth movement his right hand took the pistol from the holster at her side and put it to her temple.

The guards had had no time to bring the cumbersome rifles to bear before the table had crashed into their legs and now they didn't know what to do. They looked at each other then at Sella. She shouted at them impatiently "IDIOTS! Put the rifles down!" They complied. "And your knives." added Drevek.

"Move over there." Drevek commanded calmly nodding to a corner away from the door. "You! Take the rope and tie your friend's feet and wrists," he said to the taller of the two, "If its not tight enough I'll kill him." The guard, just a young man, did exactly as he was told and his friend grimaced at the tight bonds.

"Now her." Drevek continued, shoving Sella towards them and levelling the pistol at the group. "If these aren't tight enough I'll kill you."

The man gave a pathetic look and said, "I don't have any more rope!"

"You only used half of it on him. Use the loose ends and tie them together."

The poor man was confused and scared witless. He'd only applied for this job because it was the only one going with half decent pay and even that wasn't enough for all this. He didn't understand the instruction and tears began to well in his eyes.

Drevek sighed. "Where did you recruit this lot from Hodron?"

"He means tie me to him you moron." she said, spitting out the words derisively and wondering the same thing, then added optimistically, "OK Tesnar, well done, you passed the test. Now, about that job?"

Drevek enjoyed saying sarcastically "Well we can discuss that afterwards. You're not in much of a position to bargain."

"Bastard! You won't get out of here alive." A thought entered her head and she added, "Baston will see to that."

"I'm bored of hearing that name. I'll deal with him if I see him here, which I doubt."

Having completed his task the guard looked at Drevek helplessly for further instructions. Drevek asked him "You want to live soldier?". He nodded enthusiastically. "Then you're coming with me." More nodding. "Stand in that corner, hands on head." The guard obeyed. Drevek sighed again "No. Face the wall."

After collecting the rifles and knives he took the sidearm holster off Sella, strapped it to his own waist and holstered the pistol. Bending over Sella again he took her access card and grabbing the lapel of her blouse ripped it open. This prompted her to spit in his face and snarl, "If you think I'm going to lie down while you have your fun you can damn well think again."

Drevek was expressionless as he wiped the spittle from his face, "Well, again you're in no position to bargain, but in any case, no thanks. I prefer my women nice, not complete bitches. This is all I'm after." Locating the necklace he had been told would be round her neck he yanked it sending broken links bouncing across the floor. He separated the biometric card from the remnants of the chain it had hung from and pocketed it.

"That's no good to you without me. We can still strike a deal Drevek."

"I tire of people pretending to be my friend just because they know my first name. In any case I know that's not true, I only need this," he said grabbing her right thumb behind her back. Her eyes widened with horror as he took up one of the knives and she realised what he was going to do. The ruthless and self-confident woman was breaking apart and a frightened little girl was appearing through the cracks.

Sella began to plead pitifully "Please, please. Take me with you, we'll make a brilliant team!" Getting no reaction from him she became more desperate "Please I'll do anything – you can have me, any time you want. I'll do anything you want, be your slave, anything!" She had practically squealed the last word.

"No thanks. Not my thing, and somehow I don't believe you'd live up to that promise."

Drevek sliced cleanly through the knuckle of the thumb separating it completely from the hand and Sella emitted a strange muted gurgle as the walls finally came tumbling down and she began to sob, "Please, let me live. You can keep the card."

Drevek ignored her and instead examined the edge of the knife, impressed with it's sharpness, and stood up straight. He steeled himself, forcing any feelings of pity from his head. This wasn't really what he had signed up for but he had a job to do and he had suffered a great deal over the past days at the hands of men doing the bidding of this woman.

"Sella Horton, I am well aware of many of the crimes you have readily committed, regardless of the suffering that it has caused to innocent people. Even if I were not being paid to do this I would be pleased to rid the universe of scum like you." Stepping back a pace he raised the pistol and fired.

The man Sella had been tied to had been lying still and silent but hearing the unmistakable sound of an energy weapon firing, feeling the woman's body pushed hard against his and then smelling the acrid stench of burnt flesh he began to wail. Drevek was about to fire again but held back and clubbed him with the butt of the pistol instead. Cutting and tearing a strip from the fabric of Sella's trousers he gagged the guard tightly.

The tall guard was still standing in the corner with his hands on his head. He was whimpering quietly and flinched as Drevek came and stood behind him. "I have spared your friend's life and if you do exactly as I say I will spare yours too. She was an evil bitch and I can't believe that you will have enjoyed working for her." The man shook his head slowly in agreement and fought back his tears.

"What's your name soldier?"

"I'm not really a soldier. They just gave me a rifle and told me to look mean."

"Answer the question soldier."

"Polski."

"OK Polski. Take off your boots, trousers and shirt. Give me your access pass."

Polski did as he was told. He resolved there and then to go back home to his parent's farm if he made it out of this alive. All those years ago he couldn't wait to get out but right now he couldn't wait to see it again. He put on the ragged overalls that Drevek had been wearing, trying hard to look anywhere but at the blasted body of his former commander or the mass of bruises and cuts covering the body of his former prisoner.

"Rule number one – you don't speak unless I ask you a question." Drevek looked at the access pass he been given and read the full name. "Until I tell you otherwise you are the prisoner Drevek Tesnar and I am the guard Vladin Polski." Polski nodded in agreement.

"How well do people here know you?"

"Not well sir, they keep us separated mostly. I worked with Irton most of the time." nodding at the unconscious form of his friend, still tied up in the corner.

"Good. Rule number two – don't call me sir. Will there be many people about here at this time?" Drevek asked as he tied Polski's hands behind his back.

"No, not down here. Probably just the doctor. He's probably in his office."

"How far is that from here? Does he have a computer?" Drevek removed the charge cartridge from the second rifle and put it in his trouser pocket."

"About 40 or 50 metres I guess. Er…yes I think he has a computer."

"You think or you know?"

"Yes. He has a computer."

"Good. Lead me there. Remember, you are the prisoner, keep your head low and try to look as beaten up as you have seen I am."

Polski played his part well and the one person they met on the way didn't pay them a second glance. Polski nodded at a door with a plaque bearing the name Dr. Hufty. Shifting the rifle onto his left arm Drevek took out the knife and gestured to Polski to open the door. It swung open revealing a small office only two metres by four. "The Doctor", the man who had been tormenting Drevek for days, was sat at his desk typing on the computer.

Dr. Hufty had been pondering another cup of coffee when the door opened. Expecting it to be "The Bitch" here to tell him it was all over and that he had some "cleaning" to do he started to stand. Seeing the two men confused him somewhat. Suddenly recognising the second man, standing just behind the other, he opened his mouth in amazement just as the knife sliced through the air and into his neck. Choking on the blood running down his throat he sat back down again and silently cursed that woman for bringing him into this mess. "I'm just a doctor." was his last thought.

Closing and locking the door, Drevek instructed Polski to stand in the corner and moved to the desk, passing a cupboard with its sliding door open revealing medical equipment. He felt no compassion for this man and pushed the body off the chair onto the floor. The access card was still inserted in the slot on the front of the computer and taking the seat Drevek began searching the database for the information he wanted.

Polski, wanting this nightmare to end, dared to speak without first being asked a question. "You'll probably need Commander Hodron's access card to get what you want."

"You know this system?"

"My access is about as low as it gets but I know the general structure. I'm pretty good with computers."

"Get over here then." said Drevek rising from the seat. Polski walked over and Drevek untied his hands. Polski sat at the chair taking the card Drevek offered him.

"Try anything funny and it'll be the last thing you ever do." Polski nodded solemnly. Seeing the doctor's limp body still pumping blood onto the floor he retched and looked back at Drevek, "Could you…move that…please?"

Drevek felt a stirring of pity for him and dragged the body into the cupboard before closing the door and standing behind Polski.

"OK I'm in. What are you looking for?"

"Communication transcripts."

Polski's fingers moved quickly and smoothly over the keyboard, finally demonstrating a skill in something. "OK here." he said standing again and returning to the corner.

Drevek found what he was looking for almost instantly, the name Opolen Hutreu standing out like a sore thumb. It was the name of the identity he had obtained for Baston all those years ago. Scanning the transcript confirmed what Hodron had told him, that Baston had tipped her off that he was coming for her. "Why?" he said out loud.

"Why what?" answered Polski and Drevek remembered he was not alone.

"Nothing. Come here and find me the logs of arrivals and departures."

Polski got them quickly but as he started to stand Drevek put his hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down into the chair. "Stay there. Find when Hodron arrived here last." Looking over Polski's shoulder he saw that it was the day before Drevek had arrived. "Where had she come from?" Drevek enquired. "It doesn't say. Restricted information apparently. You'll probably need to be on Commander Hodron's personal computer for that. That should be in her office."

"How long has she been Commander here?"

"Ever since I started but that was only six months ago. Irton has been here ages; he once told me she got the job because the previous guy got busted for having a hide-away full of sex slaves. I forget his name now, some Amarrian guy. I can find it for you." Polski started typing again but Drevek said "No don't bother, I know who that was."

Drevek thought for a few seconds. "Can you get up records of the executive orders that Hodron has given? Between 7 and 8 years ago?"

"I can try." Polski typed away for a while, scanning the screen looking for what he wanted. "No I can't get at it from here. I'd have to be on the computer in her office."

"OK let's go."

"WHAT? Are you crazy? That's on the top floor; you'll never get past all the security. I'm not allowed up there."

"Well you'll have to think of…."

"Oh wait! Once I saw her come out through a door that I've never been through in all the time I've been here. It's back near the interrogation room. I was on my way from the bathroom to relieve the guard at the elevator entrance. Just before I finished my watch she came back onto the level again through the elevator doors I was guarding. She hadn't left that way so she must have got off the floor another way. It must have been through that door.

"OK we're going there then."

Drevek tied Polski's hands again, then cautiously unlocked and opened the door to the corridor. It was clear. "OK, go."

Polski led him back the way they had come. As they approached the interrogation room they had been in before a man appeared from a side corridor a few metres ahead of them. His smart suit and the fact he was unaccompanied showed him to be somebody of importance here. Seeing them he stopped and barked "Guard! Why is the prisoner out of the interrogation room?"

Drevek was relieved that this man had evidently not actually seen him yet and answered, "He needed the bathroom Sir. Commander Hodron instructed me to escort him there."

"Really?" the man said dubiously. He eyed Polski with disdain as if he doubted that this man could really be as dangerous as he had heard. "Lead the way then guard." Drevek prodded Polski in the back with the rifle. "Move it prisoner, back to the interrogation room." Polski shuffled on, continuing to play the part well.

As they reached the interrogation room door the man in the suit said, "Wait there." and moved forward being careful not to turn his back on the prisoner. As he opened the door, he immediately started to speak "What's going on here Hodron? Why is…" but broke off as he saw Hodron's blasted body tied to the second guard who was trying to wrestle his way out of his bonds. He span round to see the "guard" stepping forward and a rifle butt rapidly closing in on his face.

Pulling Polski through the door Drevek closed it behind him. "Who the hell is this?" he asked.

"I have no idea at all."

"Well he must have been important. He didn't use Hodron's title. Nice suit though." A quick search of the pockets revealed nothing of interest except a calling card for what was clearly a local prostitute.

Irton was still trying to escape his bonds. Drevek felt compassionate enough to ask him if he was OK. Through the gag Irton responded, "O I a fukin ot."

"Well you lie still, it'll all be over soon and you can go home. Cause me problems and you won't even make it out of this room." Irton nodded and returned to his incumbent position.

Drevek had to untie Hodron and drag her to one side before he could tie this new man up in her place. Hodron's trousers provided another gag. "She'll be wearing shorts soon if this carries on." Drevek chuckled at a small scrap of much needed levity. Suddenly feeling mischievous he tucked the calling card into the new man's gag to be found when he was rescued.

Polski found it funny too but stifled the laugh when he saw Irton's eyes drilling into his with disapproval. He wasn't sure whether he was in shock or just becoming immune to dead bodies. He'd never seen one before today and now he'd seen two in a very short space of time. One of them he'd seen horribly killed in front of his eyes and the other he had heard happen behind his back. Both murders had been committed by a man that was now using him to escape a place he was paid to help guard. A man he was helping, a man he had freely offered his help to. The gravity of the situation sank in again and a mental tug-of-war began in his head, morals versus self-preservation. But, in any case, he could not do much right now. His hands were tied and this man was armed and trained to kill, and clearly trained very well.

Drevek saw the change in the Polski's face and correctly guessed what was going on in his head. He still needed his help but wasn't sure what to do; people skills were not his forte. The boy clearly cared for his friend tied up on the floor and Drevek decided to revert to his previous tactic. "He'll be fine as long as you continue to do as you are told soldier. You are both still alive because you were not the ones torturing me but if either of you becomes a problem for me I will not hesitate to remove that problem. You understand?"

Polski nodded but resented the return to threats, having preferred it when the man was being nice. With that thought came the sudden realisation that he had been enjoying helping him and had been getting a thrill from the excitement and tension of it all. He felt sick at the thought and forced his mind to return to the days he spent as boy playing in the fields of wheat on his parent's farm. He wondered if the tree house was still there in the old apple tree.

"Right soldier. Take me to that mysterious door and hopefully this nightmare can soon end for both of us."

The boy seemed lost in thought and didn't respond. "POLSKI!" Now he was paying attention, "That door that you saw Hodron come out of?"

He just nodded sadly and walked despondently to the door. Drevek realised he was losing him and dreaded the thought of having to kill again, least of all him. He was just a boy caught up in a mess not of his own making.

Thankfully there were no more encounters on the short walk there. Drevek examined the door. It had no handle, lock or control panel. He noticed that this door was the only one he had seen that had thin black lines painted onto the frame around it, all the rest had been plain. Running his hands over the frame he quickly discovered a slot hidden in one of these lines just about the right size for a card. Taking Hodron's access card he inserted it but nothing happened. He tried the biometric card from the chain around her neck but again nothing. This was taking too long and he risked being discovered, it would be tough to explain why a guard would be examining a door while escorting a prisoner.

Removing the card again he started to turn away when a reflection of light from a small area on the doorframe caught his eye. Moving his head around failed to recreate the effect so he felt around again. Finding a small rectangle with a different texture to the rest Drevek discovered it was some kind of coloured plastic instead of the painted metal of the rest of the frame. Re-inserting the second card he took Hodron's thumb and pressed it against the plastic and the door slid open to reveal an elevator. Taking the card out he pulled Polski inside and the door slid shut again. There were only two buttons so he pressed the top one and felt the surge of the elevator moving upwards. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder he took the blaster pistol from it's holster hidden under his shirt and stood behind Polski.

A few seconds later the elevator slowed down and then stopped. The door slid open again revealing a lushly decorated office with large windows looking out over the forest that nearly encompassed the complex. Stepping into the office Drevek revelled in the natural daylight on his face and wondered how long he had been in that torture chamber. He quickly spotted a second door next to the one they had come from and, depositing the almost vacant Polski in a nearby corner, he quickly scouted the office. Not only were they were alone but Drevek discovered something that almost made him cry with relief. The office sat on the roof of the building but only took up a small proportion of it. A door led out onto the rest, which was dominated by a landing pad, complete with waiting transport ship!

Feeling the first glimmers of real hope for a long time he led Polski to the office desk, holstering the pistol and propping the rifle against the desk. Gently pushing Polski into the comfortable chair he inserted Hodron's access card in the slot on the computer.

"OK computer wizard, it's time to weave your magic again. Find me those executive orders." Polski just sat staring at nothing and didn't move. "Polski?" Drevek waved his hand in front of the boy's face but got no reaction. "OK, down to me then.", Drevek said out loud, wheeling the chair with Polski still sat in it out of the way. He crouched at the computer and started looking for the information he wanted. He found it quite quickly.

Firstly he found an order from Hodron, dated a week before he had seen that news report in the bar on Oursulaert III, for the transportation of seven Minmatar slave girls that had been recently rescued from an Amarr slave ship by operatives working for the Kasstra Corporation. A report linked to the order described how, during their journey to Rens for repatriation to their families, the ship had been attacked and destroyed by pirates resulting in the apparent loss of all lives on board.

He also found records of several "bonus" payments made shortly before that time to three different Kasstra employees based at their facility on Dammalin VII, for "service above and beyond the call of duty" allegedly involving anti-pirate activity in Bosboger. Another report from a few days after those payments were made described how these same three were killed on another mission into Olfeim.

Suddenly curious he executed a search for his own name. There were several results but one stood out immediately, an official Gallente government report regarding his trial and imprisonment. It stood out because the prison named in the report was not the one he knew he had been incarcerated in. His thoughts immediately turned to Kira and the fact that she had never visited him. He hoped he now knew why that was and his heart lifted. But that had been many years ago. Could there be any chance she was still waiting for him?

Drevek searched for her name and found only one match. It was a Kasstra Corporation employee record for her. It revealed three things, the name of her recruiter, being Sella Hodron, her date of employment which was a little less than a year after Drevek's trial and a mention of a transfer to the "special operations" department a few months later. There the trail went cold, with everything else marked as "Restricted Information".

His lightened mood evaporated again and his mind drifted back to when they had been together, back to when he had been happy. A noise broke through his haze and he instinctively reached for the rifle – which was not there. He looked at the chair and Polski was not there either. The second door was wide open and as he stood up an alarm began to sound.

"Back on the clock Richie!" came Boss Man's voice into his head.

Taking the pistol from it's holster Drevek moved quickly to the door leading onto the roof, swung it open and ran to the transport ship. Reaching it he realised he did not have the ship door's access code. As he considered returning to the computer to find it the door opened taking him by surprise. The man standing there said, "What's going on?….Who the fuck are you?" before noticing the pistol in Drevek's hand.

The man kicked out at the pistol sending it clattering to the floor then launched himself at Drevek knocking him over and they grappled and punched at each other for a few seconds before Drevek managed to throw him off. He got to his feet but the man had landed by the pistol and was picking it up. As he fumbled it into his hand Drevek took the knife he still had tucked into his belt. He had to throw it quickly and his aim was off, failing to make a lethal blow and only wounding the man, but it was enough to delay him a few seconds. Drevek leapt through the door of the transport, quickly closing and locking it.

As Drevek sat in the pilot's seat and fired up the engines the man started shooting at the transport with the blaster pistol. As he took the ship up he saw a flood of guards pouring out of Hodron's office onto the roof. Taking their lead from the man still firing the pistol at the ship they joined in with their rifles and the transport took several hits.

Drevek gunned the throttle and turned the transport toward the port. It couldn't go out of the planet's atmosphere so he still needed the ship he had left there. Nonetheless, elated that not only had he made it out of the complex alive but had also completed the mission, he sank down into the chair and relaxed.

Barely a minute into the flight his elation turned once again to despair as warning lights started flashing. These ships were not designed to absorb much damage and the blaster fire had clearly hit some critical areas. More warning lights flashed and an alarm began insistently beeping as the transport quickly started to lose power and altitude. Drevek prepared for an emergency landing at a small clearing he spotted about half a kilometre away. It was a bit too small but it would have to do.

He was losing control of the ship and Drevek buckled the safety harness before wrestling the transport into a crash landing. It skidded further than he had hoped and careered into the trees surrounding the clearing tearing open the hull. He had taken a blow from a chunk of flying metal and was dizzy and bleeding again when he crawled from the wreckage. Taking only a few seconds to compose himself he headed off into the trees toward the port.

*****

The Place: Propadio spaceport, Tannakan I, The Bleak Lands
The Time: Yulai Convention 13.06.110 - EST 07:12

Bang-bang-bang-bang. "Karag! Are you alright? What are you doing in there?"

Slowly he realised he was on the floor in the shower room of the dormitory and that someone who knew Karag was outside the door threatening to break it down. Snapping back into action he swept up the largest shard of glass from the broken bottle lying around him and moved quickly to the door.

Jutta might have only been a warehouse worker but he was not stupid. He knew that breaking a door down wasn't as easy as the movies would have you believe. He considered getting security but if Karag was in some kind of difficulty that would cost precious minutes he might not have. "The hinges will be the weak point" he thought to himself and was testing to see if the corridor was narrow enough for him to brace his back against the wall and push with his feet against the door when he heard the click of the lock.

He began "Fucking hell man, I was…" when the door swung suddenly open and a naked man lunged through the open doorway, "…FUCKING HELL!"

The man banging on the door had been standing against the opposite wall and not where Drevek had expected him to be. His swipe with the piece of jagged glass had missed and now he was off balance.

In sheer panic Jutta scurried down the corridor into the common room crashing into one of the tables sending it clattering across the floor, scattering the four chairs set about it. On his knees bent over an upturned chair he scrambled to get back up again. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the naked man bearing down on him, his face grim with determination, and Jutta threw himself to one side. The purely instinctive reaction saved him again as the chair tipped with him, swinging one the legs up into the side of his attacker's head.

Momentarily stunned, Drevek's head rang from the blow. He shook his head to clear it and blood splattered on the floor. He was getting tired of seeing his own blood and couldn't help wondering how much he had lost since being captured.

The man was out the door and shouting for help. Daylight showed through the open door and Drevek realised he had been unconscious on the shower room floor all night. He briefly considered giving up and taking what was coming to him but Boss Man came back into his head again "No Retreat! No Surrender!"

Drevek shouted out loud "LEAVE ME ALONE!! I'M ONLY IN THIS MESS BECAUSE OF YOU!!"

He desperately wanted to hate Baston but underneath that he wanted more to believe that there was some higher reason behind it all. If only he had the slightest idea what the hell it was.

The man was too far away to try and chase after now. Back in the shower room he quickly put the overalls on and returned to the door. Standing to one side he peered round the corner and saw a great deal of movement in the distance. Several personnel buggies were heading his way with men hanging on to the sides. He couldn't make a stand here without any weapons. Drevek cursed as he realised he would have to try to get off the port again.

He ran out through the door back toward the forest. Having no idea how he would get off the planet now despair began to take him over and once again he considered surrendering despite Boss Man's words still ringing in his head. These were port authority and nothing to do with Kasstra. They would treat him properly, but he had killed a port worker and had no desire to spend any more time in prison, so he continued to run. A few of the men clinging to the buggies took some pot shots at him but they all went wide.

Glancing over his shoulder to see how close they were he was rather surprised to see an explosion just in front of the leading buggy. It launched into the air landing several metres away, scattering the men that had been holding on to it and causing the following buggies to swerve to avoid running them over. Suddenly he heard the roaring of engines above him and he looked up as a ship swung into view and fired a few more warning shots near the men who threw themselves on the ground. The ship sank down to hover just above the ground only ten metres away from him.

Drevek was confused but this seemed to be the normal state of affairs lately. The ship's door opened turning Drevek's confusion into utter bewilderment when he saw Kira standing there holding out her arm towards him. She was saying something but the noise of the engines drowned it out completely and Drevek just stood and stared open-mouthed. Was he dreaming again? As she beckoned urgently to him a rifle blast whooshed past his head so close he felt the heat from it. Snapping out of the daze he sprinted to the ship and dived through the door, which closed behind him. The nose of the ship quickly lifted and then rocketed up towards outer space and freedom.

Fighting against the g-forces Drevek got himself into a sitting position against the back wall, which was serving as more of a floor than a wall at that point. Again he just stared at Kira who had managed to climb into one of the seats and was kneeling on it clinging on to the backrest.

She smiled at him and said "Hello darling! How was your day?" That was Kira's sense of humour all right. Drevek opened his mouth to speak but no words came out and the result looked like an amusing impression of a fish. The ship levelled off, although it was still climbing, so she crawled over and put her arms tenderly around him. Still lost for words Drevek returned the hug, put his head on her shoulder and cried, letting loose all the pain and the frustration of the last seven and a half years./p

He lost all sense of time and the ship had crossed several systems before he let her go. Gazing into her blue eyes he finally managed to speak albeit only one word, "How?"

"Well you really need to thank somebody else actually." Drevek understood even less than before. Seeing his confusion she continued, "A friend of yours visited me a few days ago and explained why I could never find you after the trial. He said he needed me to bring you back home." The door opened and there was Baston in the doorway smiling, "Hello sonny boy!"

"YOU!" Drevek snarled as he started to rise but Kira restrained him, "It's OK Drevek, hear him out." Right now he would have done absolutely anything for her and he slumped back down again.

"I hope you managed to get that card?"

Drevek was so drained he just reacted to the voice of his former officer. He realised he didn't know if he still had it and quickly patted all the pockets on the overalls finding it in the last one. As he pulled it out he saw the dried blood and remembered the severed thumb, which he also retrieved, from the bottom of the pocket.

"Ewww" squealed Kira and she grimaced at it as he handed it to Baston along with the card. Fetching a portable computer Baston inserted the card in the slot on the side. After tapping a few keys he placed the computer on Drevek's lap, "You can be the one to make the final move."

Drevek looked in bewilderment at the screen, which showed an almost completed money transfer between two accounts. He did not recognise either name but the amount of the transfer had so many digits in it he lost count twice then gave up.

Baston handed him back the thumb and Drevek pressed it against the touch pad on the computer, which responded by saying, "Transfer complete."

Baston smiled and said simply, "There! Told you I'd make it up to you."