Chapter Nine

Her hands brushed lightly over the sensitive bulbs and the smile that was starting to stretch over her face grew. In the last couple of days, while she had been distracted over her battle link dilemma, her baby had grown into the optimal parameters to place it into the deoxygenating chamber. Bringing her screen over to the plant, she lined it up and swiped a finger over the scanner icon. Backing up slightly she watched as her screen focused on the plant and uploaded its state for processing. As the numbers and algorithms put themselves into their prospective places, she quickly typed in her analysis of the vines and the bulbs, adding her thoughts on why, though it looked ready, the plant hadn't already bloomed.

She was just finishing up her report to the head researcher, when she heard the labs door open. Looking up, she gave a quick smile to Micah and Rin before finalizing her draft and sending it out.

"That's a creepy grin ya got on your face, Kagome." Micah's slightly accented voice floated over the other plants in the room and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"That's because she's finally ready!"

Rin's eyes lit up and she stepped away from her mentor and towards the other botanist in the room. "The plants ready for the chamber?" She asked in excitement and Micah groaned.

"Oh, for the love of-" She grabbed a hold of the teenager and glared towards Kagome. "Please don't infect my pupil with your strange addiction to plants."

Kagome scoffed good naturedly at the older botanist before grinning at Rin. "Yup! Just sent the analysis report to the head office. Hopefully they approve my request and we could send her in the chamber sometime this week!"

Micah rolled her eyes. "As if they would deny a request from you, oh glorious prodigy." Kagome raised an eyebrow at her and Micah lifted her screen, checking off the plant to her right. "You could ask for five new planters and fire-rock salt mulch and they would get it to you, no questions asked." Though she was teasing the younger girl, she couldn't help the jealousy that rang through her prodding.

Kagome felt her grip tighten on the screen and sweat beading on her lower back. Straightening slightly from her previous position, Kagome stared hard at Micah, who was studiously staring into her screen. "That's not true." She winced slightly when her voice cracked a little in the end. "It's not like that, Micah."

Rin stood in between the two women, not understanding exactly what had changed the mood in the room, or why it suddenly seemed like they were fighting. Twisting her fingers together she looked from the hurt gaze of Kagome into the downward cast of Micah's eyes. She had been under the instruction of Micah for over three months now, and never had the woman in her mid-thirties ever looked the way she did.

Letting out a sigh, Micah looked up from her screen and over to Kagome, shaking off old hurts along the way. "I know. Sorry, Kagome. I guess I still feel a little resentment towards the way things worked out." Kagome swallowed back her own hurt and looked away. It had been her fault that Micah had been bumped down the research ladder, losing her own lab. The very lab that Kagome was now in charge of.

"It hadn't been your fault, Kagome." Micah reprimanded when she watched the guilt twist her face. "It had been mine." She paused as an idea hit. "Or rather it had been that bitch, Anderson."

Kagome looked up at the mention of the head researcher in their division, a small smile working its way up at the threatening smile plastered over Micah's face.

"That bitch had been trying to beat me down since the day she was brought here. You were just the name she used to do it." Tossing her head slightly, moving the dark red curls over her shoulder in the process, Micah crossed her arms over her chest. "But, I'm expecting you to do what I couldn't, Kagome. Knock that toad down the ladder a few rungs, huh?"

Kagome laughed and crossed her own arms. "You keep saying that and our plan will be heard all over this ship!"

"Good! Put some fear in that obnoxious hyena." Micah glanced over at Rin and put up an overly exaggerated frown. "Don't you tell anyone our secret plot, now! Or we'll have to do you in!"

Kagome snorted just as a ding came from her screen. "You sound like an old fashioned gangster from one of those old movies." She swiped her finger over the message icon and ignored Micah's comeback and Rin's giggles. Her heart leapt as she read over the acceptance from the same woman the both of them were just talking about. She had been slotted a spot in the chamber for tomorrow morning.

"Your report was accepted?" Micah asked when the younger woman stopped responding to their conversation.

Kagome frowned slightly as she read over the timetable she had been given, then switched to check the schedule she had been sent by the military. They overlapped slightly and Kagome scrunched her brows. Though she wasn't scheduled to do anything until later tonight, tomorrow morning she had a meeting with an instructor. The same time she would be putting her plant in the chamber.

"Something wrong?" Rin asked when Kagome didn't respond. Kagome shook her head slightly and smiled at the teen.

"No, just conflicting schedules." She looked over to Micah. "What's on your guys' agenda for today?" She asked lightly, changing the subject.

Micah lifted a brow, but decided against questioning it. Instead she brought her screen up and grinned. "We're slotted to check on Dr. Hammel's carnivorous plants in a little bit." She grinned when Rin paled and looked over to Kagome. "Want to tag along?"


"So, explain to me again why that bastard doesn't have to be here?" Inuyasha grunted out as he took another hit from the simulated enemy before delivering a counter blow, effectively eliminating it. He heard Kikyo let out a small gasp in his mind as he recovered from the hit, rolling his shoulder back. To his left, Kouga snorted and took out another simulated enemy before meeting his eyes.

"I told you he has other things to be trained in. His weakness in battle isn't speed, Bakayasha."

Inuyasha scowled and ducked under the claws swiping at his head, bringing his practice saber up in a haphazard strike. "Yeah, well neither is it yours, so why are you here?!"

'To your right, Inuyasha!' Kikyo warned and grit her teeth when, again, she felt the sting of impact on her own shoulder. 'Please pay attention!' Her patience was wearing thin, her partner wasn't concentrating the way she needed him to.

Right from the start, each member, omitting Captain Taisho, had gone off and done their own thing, treating this as a search and destroy like they were used to. No matter how Kikyo had tried to get Inuyasha to stick with the others and work together, the boy had been stubborn about it. They weren't told what the simulation was, as per instructions. It was their job to figure it out and come out of it on top.

Forty minutes into the simulation, Kikyo had realized exactly what the parameters of the "mission" were. The practice simulation had been one of those ambush scenarios and they had been fighting off hordes of aliens for over an hour already. It was supposed to build endurance as well as unify them as a team, however Kikyo felt they weren't ready for this at all.

Especially considering the fact that none of them were willing to work together without Captain Taisho there to bully them into it. Kouga, while trained to be a leader of the team, didn't command the respect and trust of those under him. Kikyo supposed this simulation was chosen as their first to point out the obvious. She sensed two more enemies behind them and warned her partner even as she prepared his energy to buffer the blows.

The expected pain from her own back had her letting out ragged pants, even as she moved his energy to the places he needed it. 'Are you ok, Kikyo?' His worried question had her simmering anger boiling over.

'No, Inuyasha, I am not "ok"! Get your head out of your ass and team up with everyone else! This is not a solo mission! You have teammates with you for a reason!' Her hissed statements had Inuyasha tripping over himself and accidentally avoiding a strike from an enemy. Righting himself quickly, he brought his saber up and through the enemy before rounding on another sidling up to his left.

'But, Kikyo-!'

'No "but's", Inuyasha! Go and cover Wolfe's left flank! It's his vulnerable spot!'

With furrowed brows and grumbles under his breath, Inuyasha made it over to the spot Kikyo had directed him, taking down those closing in on them. 'There, happy?'

'No. Call over to Kaze. Taijya is in need of assistance and Shiro won't make it to her in time.' Inuyasha shouted as instructed, even as he fought off the enemy surrounding Kouga and himself. 'Now, direct them to head back to us. We need to band together to make it out of this!'

Taking out the enemy in front of him, Inuyasha glanced quickly over to take in their teammates situations. "Kagura! Sango! Start heading towards us! Ayame! Use your whip to clear a path and fall in behind them!"

Too tired and strained to disagree, all three women nodded and put the plan into effect, making their way to Inuyasha and Kouga. Kouga glanced back at Inuyasha in irritation. "What do you think you're doing, Bakayasha?" He asked lowly as he turned his attention back to the enemy still swarming in front of him.

"Kikyo said we haveta stick together, Wolfe. It's the only way to beat this simulation." Inuyasha answered back, just as lowly. He turned a surprisingly serious eye onto the one who was supposed to be his superior. "You weren't leading us, so someone has to."

Kouga let out a growl even as he took his frustration out on the simulated enemy before him. 'He's got you there, bro.' Hakaku murmured in his head, even as he tried to relax the tension in the Captains shoulders. 'If you weren't so fixated on your jealousy towards Taisho…' He trailed off as they were both distracted by the two enemies attempting to tag-team them.

'Shut up, Hakaku.' Kouga growled back and brought his fist down on the enemy, unsatisfied that he wasn't crunching bone the way he wanted to. Though Inuyasha had been the one voicing his confusion and anger over the other captain's absence, Kouga was the one most affected by it. Mainly because when he had questioned their instructors on why they had different schedules, he had been told that the majority of the reasons were classified. Apparently, Sesshomaru had been chosen for something that the rest of them wouldn't be privy to.

"Wolfe! Start heading towards the doorway to our left! We need to make a choke point!" Inuyasha shouted to be heard over the hissing and growls coming from their enemies. Bulking at being ordered around, but knowing it was a sound idea, Kouga hesitated before doing as instructed. The team slowly made their way through the chaos to the small opening. Inuyasha stood to the left, allowing the others to get into the hall before backing in behind them.

Ayame stood at his side, flashing out her whip and taking multiple enemies in each strike. Sango slumped against the wall, panting for air and wiping at the sweat drenching her forehead. Kagura worked at calming her own breath as she stood with her hand on her hip, her sword hanging at her side in her other hand. Rolling her shoulders back, she moved forward to take Inuyasha's place, allowing him to step back for a breather as well.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked after he had managed to rest a bit. Kouga scowled at him and cracked his knuckles.

"Why don't you tell me, Taisho?" He spat out. "You've been ordering us around up 'til now. You don't have a plan?"

Inuyasha scowled back, but then thought better of it. Allowing a smile that showed more teeth then sincerity, he stood from the wall he had been leaning against. "You saying you don't mind if I take command from you?"

Sensing a pointless fight in testosterone, Sango stood up straight and headed over to take Ayame's place. Kouga bared his teeth at the younger male and stalked forward, grabbing ahold of the front of his suit. "In your fucking dreams, mutt."

Inuyasha growled right back, grabbing Kouga in the same manner and jerking him forward. "Then get your head out of your ass and lead!" He then pushed him back, Kouga letting go of him in the process. Kikyo snorted in his head. 'Wasn't I saying the same thing to you not five minutes ago?' She teased and stifled the urge to laugh at his own snort.

'Keh. Bastard's lucky I don't have a plan.' He muttered to his amused partner, ignoring the threats spewing from Kouga's mouth. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, you got a plan or what? I'm not gonna stay in this freaking simulation all day, dick."

Kouga snorted and looked over passed his teammates still fending off the wave of enemies, albeit in smaller doses then before. His eyes caught on something glittering up and to the left and grinned. 'Ooh, man. Now that's what I'm talking 'bout!' Hakaku crowed in his head, even as he hashed out the impromptu plan to everyone else.

Sango balked at first, always the one to reason on the side of caution. 'Soryu, what do you think?' She asked her abnormally silent partner as she cut down another enemy. She felt the shift in energy as Miroku jolted, as if startled. 'What was that?' He asked in confusion and Sango frowned.

'You weren't listening to the plan? What's going on with you?!'

Miroku grew pensively silent again and Sango felt like punching him. If he was there anyway. 'Oh, right the plan. Yeah sure. It's a good plan.' He mumbled out and Sango felt her eye twitch.

'And you don't think that it will blow us all up too?' She questioned in monotone, sounding more like a statement than an actual question. She felt the emotional equivalent of a shrug from her partner and let out an annoyed huff. 'Whatever.' She didn't know what had crawled up Soryu, but she would be damned if she let him know that it bothered the hell out of her.

He had hardly paid any attention to her throughout the entire exercise! Not that she cared, or missed, his perverted comments and inane rambling. Clicking her tongue in derision as she pushed back a particularly persistent enemy, she let the train of thought go. Apparently they had decided to go through with Wolfe's plan. That meant she needed to focus, because this was going to require a fast pace and perfect timing.


Sango sat down heavily as the simulation finally ended and the large room they had been in changed into the white walled labyrinth they had first entered. Over to her left Kouga and Inuyasha were busy excitedly exclaiming over the plan that had ended the mission. Boys and their explosions, she thought to herself and stretched her legs out in front of her. She felt Miroku absently going over her tired muscles and was reminded again of his strange behavior.

The silence between them was killing her and she had no idea what to say to end it. Her mind cast about frantically for a subject she could bring up and with a jolt, blue eyes came to mind. 'Oh yeah. You didn't tell me Kagome-chan was such a cutie!' She lead out, intending to shock the silent psychic into asking her how she knew Captain Taisho's partner looked like.

She felt the shock she was looking for roll over her partner, followed by a myriad of emotions that she didn't even know how to decipher. 'You met Kagome?'

The tone he used in that simple question had her heart tripping and her stomach dropping in a way it never had before. The way his voice curled around the other psychic's name confused and irritated something in her. 'Uh, yeah. I called my brother and it turns out he is the guard posted at her lab…' She trailed off, trying to understand the emotions that were coming off of her partner.

'Taijya…of course…' Miroku's tone became more somber as he ruminated over the strange connection he hadn't thought of himself.

Sango squirmed uncomfortably and stood as the instructors announced that they should hit the showers before the debriefing in the meeting room. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the feelings she had inside as she tried to figure out Miroku's. He wasn't…attracted to Kagome-chan…was he? Not that she could blame him if he was, but…

She grit her teeth and pushed the stirrings of jealousy behind her. This wasn't the time to think about such things. 'Uh, going to shower now…' She started and trailed off once again. Miroku seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts enough to answer.

'Of course, another time, Sango-love.' With that she felt the beginnings of him withdrawing from herself. A frown etched into her face as she stalked toward the showers. While he had finally said something normal in the end, his voice had been distracted like he had been the whole time they had been linked. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but she would definitely find out. Kagome had promised to call her, after all.


"Miss Higurashi. Your screen has been properly modified. If you could just finish this transaction, we could have you wrapped up and ready to go." The technician behind the counter gave her a practiced smile and Kagome smiled back, entering the code to finalize her modification. A nearly silent chime echoed out and Kagome bemoaned the loss in funds for the upgrade. 'I guess I'm not going to get that new bath set this week after all.'

"An instruction manual has been provided under the configuration tab. If you have any questions or there is a problem, feel free to come back."

Kagome thanked the man and walked out the doors into the corridor. It had been a while since she had last been in the commerce sector and, even though she had just made an expensive modification to her screen, she felt it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of window shopping. Passing large groups of people, Kagome marveled over how much room the corridors provided in this sector as opposed to the others.

Walking slowly and absently glancing into shop windows, Kagome paused to admire the newest creation from the brand name Izzy. The clothes were always brightly colored and flowy, looking to be made of light materials. Peering closer into the glass to find the price tag, Kagome snorted when she realized the top was way too expensive for her budget now, anyway.

Where the hell would she wear something like that anyway? She wasn't a part of the entertainment factions, and it would be ridiculous to wear something like that into the labs… Taking another long look at the bright yellow sleeves and darker green accents, she sighed and continued on. Just as she was reaching the shop with all the newest hygienic products, her screens set alarm went off. She had thirty minutes to get to the linking pods for her training with Captain Taisho. Ignoring the fluttering in her stomach she made a hard right and headed toward the lifts in the corner of the food court.

She left the changing rooms, still adjusting the sleeves of her suit, when she caught sight of Wallace setting up the multitudes of wires again. Clenching her teeth, Kagome slowly made her way to the older woman's side. "Why are you setting these up again?" She asked quietly and was amused to see the woman jump in surprise.

"Oh! Miss Higurashi! You scared the bajeezus out of me!" Wallace placed a hand over her heart and beamed a smile at the scowling girl. Her smile fell eventually and she let out a long sigh. "Higher ups orders, Higurashi. You'll be monitored by an instructor on Taisho's side as well. This is a sort of test for Taisho. Making sure he is ready for what's ahead of him."

"And me? What if I don't want to be his partner after this? Shouldn't you be training him with someone more permanent? You know, for this being my decision, the lot of you are making some big assumptions."

Wallace frowned and slowly stood from her crouching position. Her eyes remained steady on Kagome, and Kagome could admit that it was rather intimidating. She took a step forward and Kagome stumbled back a step, not quite sure why she did. Wallace turned slightly and picked up the small torch on the table beside the both of them. Turning back, her usual perky look was back on her face.

"Well, whatever you decide, I just follow orders." She said brightly and turned back towards the mass of wires and connectors. "The pod has already been set up, so why don't you get situated."

Kagome swallowed back the nerves that this woman had brought to the surface. "Uh. Right. Ok…" She managed to stammer out as she took a seat in the pod and placed the electrodes where they were supposed to go. 'I suppose that was her way of telling me to put up or shut up, huh?' She reclined in her chair and waited for the top to drop and her pod to fill.


Sesshomaru could admit, clearly and honestly, that the man in front of him irritated the hell out of him. Looking to be near his seventies, the senile old man had taken turns asking inane questions and ignoring said answers and forgetting who he was or why he was there. This was supposed to be a debriefing before an instructed training session with his partner, however Sesshomaru realized he wasn't going to get anywhere with the man they had introduced as Totosai Fyre.

"Well, they sent me a sissy boy, anyway. Can you even run fast, sissy boy?" Totosai had been rambling insults for the past ten minutes and Sesshomaru found it was a credit to his patience that he hadn't strangled the old man yet. "Doesn't look like you have much in the way of muscles, either. Let's hope you have a brain under all that girly hair. Can't believe I was asked out of retirement to help a drag queen pass through the assassin trails. Why, in my day, if a boy had hair that long he would be a liability!"

Sesshomaru tensed and turned to stare at the old man, ignoring everything he was saying after a certain phrase. "Assassin trials? What are you talking about, old man?"

Totosai paused in his current diatribe about hippies to squint at the tall young man in front of him. "Eh? Who are you? Where am I?"

Sesshomaru felt his patience snap and he took a menacing step towards the old man. He clenched his fist hard enough to hear a few of his knuckles pop. "Are you playing some sort of game?" His voice came out as a low rumble and the old man's eyes widened marginally, finally taking in the young captain entirely.

"Eh? I don't know-!" His reply was cut off with a high pitched squeal as Sesshomaru grabbed the front of his jumper and lifted him a few inches off the ground. Before he could maim the old man, or perhaps just shake the hell out of him, he felt his psychic link open. His eyes snapped closed and his hands involuntarily loosened, dropping the little old man back to the floor. He didn't see the way the spry old man landed on his feet, or the way he was watching him react to the feeling of his partner's energy.

Her tinkling laughter reached his ears first. 'What's gotten you so riled up already? Don't want to play nice with the other kids?' Her hands smoothed down his shoulders, kneading into the muscles and relaxing the tension he felt there. He let his breath out slowly, if somewhat shaky, and allowed his head to fall forward as her energy traced up his neck and along his scalp in a brief caress.

'Jeez, you're strung up as tight as if we were engaged in combat.' Her murmur caused a shiver down his neck and the hairs on his arms to lift.

'Hn.' He answered noncommittedly and finally opened his eyes. He was met with a narrowed eyed calculative stare from the source of his tension. Narrowing his own amber eyes, Sesshomaru straightened from the lax stance he had slumped into.

Totosai rolled his shoulders back in a stretch as he examined the change in the one that had been placed under his tutelage. He could feel the energy radiating off of the young man, which was impressive, considering he hadn't linked with his own partner yet. Speak of the devil…

'Momo, you're five seconds late.' He chastised his partner quietly and almost smiled to hear the low scratchy laugh in answer.

'Considering I am well passed my prime and still called into action, I think I am due those five seconds.' His psy-link partner was just as old as he himself was, and twice as sharp witted. 'I don't know why you requested me just because you were called back in to mentor a kid still wet behind the ears.'

Totosai snorted. 'And who else could I possibly have? All these young kids these days don't know anything about anything. You know you're the only partner for me, old gal.' An echo of an amused chuckle reached his ears and he eased into the familiarity of combining his energy with his partner. His eyes switched back to the young captain as he again read the energy around him.

'What are you reading from these two, Momo?' He questioned his partner even as he put up the front of a senile old man again. "Eh? What's this? You link with your partner yet, sissy boy? I don't have all day to wait for you to put on your make-up."

Momo's energy snaked out in an undetectable way, feeling along the bands of protection circling the boy Totosai was to mentor. Her eyebrows rose at the slight sting she received as the energy snapped back, warning her away. 'Well. Who did you say was the psychic partner of your boy?' She asked her partner as she again tested the energy.

Totosai scratched the back of his head as he dug through his memories for a name. 'Kagerashi Higakoi...?' Momo snorted and pressed her own energy into his head, drawing out the information she needed. 'Ah, Kagome Higurashi. That would explain some things.'

'Eh, Momo? Explain what?' Totosai asked even as he took a step back from the menacing air around the boy.

'Higurashi has already trained with an assassin. She is farther advanced than her partner. I see now why you were called out of retirement.' Totosai ruminated over this information as he allowed the senile old man façade to fade. 'Well then. I suppose things will be far more interesting then, won't they?'

Meanwhile, Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the old man's comments. 'S-sissy boy? Make-up?' Her laughter rang in his ears and any other time they would have eased the tension he felt inside. Now however, they had his teeth on edge and his fists balling back up. 'Just what-'

Her voice cut off on more giggles and Sesshomaru felt the urge to snarl for her to shut up. Just as he was deciding the most cutting remark to make her amusement stop, his prayers were answered as she abruptly cut of her laughter. Her energy swirled, almost violently before recoiling back to him, as preparing for an attack.

'Taisho, what exactly are we training for and who is that old man?' She asked in a low tone, completely serious for the first time since their link was initiated. Sesshomaru turned his eyes onto the old man before him and realized that he must have linked himself, judging by the change in his demeanor and the energy he himself was now giving off.

'He made mention of an assassin trail.' He answered curtly as he eyed the greatly changed old man. The abrupt shift in his partner's emotions caught his attention even as he kept his senses trained on Totosai. 'Higurashi?'

'I knew it. I knew they would have you slotted for assassination class. It was too weird for you to just be the captain of a back-end clean-up crew.' She was muttering to herself and a lot of the things she was saying went by too fast for him to adequately understand.

'Higurashi.' He intoned and was annoyed when she ignored him and continued to ramble. Having had enough of people ignoring him, he sent a snap of his own energy to her and was gratified when she immediately ceased speaking. The low moan he managed to catch from her surprised him, however.

'What are you doing?' She nearly shrieked and Sesshomaru suppressed the urge to scowl.

'Focus, girl.' He said lowly and refocused his complete attention on the old man in front of him. 'What caught your attention in the beginning?'

'In the beginning? What…oh! He was checking us out.' He allowed her words to register and something like disgust filled his mouth with a bad taste. 'Not like that! I meant his partner was testing our energy. I don't know what they were looking for, but I warned them away anyway.'

'Isn't that something a sparring partner linked with a psychic does anyway?' He asked, not liking how he didn't understand the difference.

'It wasn't the same.' She answered slowly and he realized she was completely fixated on the linked pair in front of him. 'Pay close attention to his movements, Taisho. He's dangerous.' The way she spoke cautiously made him want to scoff, but, and he would never admit this to anyone, he trusted his partner. If she said the senile old man in front of him was dangerous, then he would treat him as such. At least until he could prove that they were more dangerous.

Totosai, seeing that the young captain was ready to proceed seriously, loosened his shoulders and dropped into a slight crouch. "So, can you run fast, sissy boy?" He taunted out loud and disappeared, right before Sesshomaru's eyes.

Kagome felt his energy spike, but he was moving too fast for her to communicate it verbally to her partner. With a shot of adrenaline, she pushed a portion of her energy into his left shoulder and around his right wrist. Going on complete instinct, Sesshomaru dropped his left shoulder back and brought his right fist up, successfully dodging the blow aimed for his shoulder, but only managing to have his arm caught by the old man.

"Well, at least your link has good reflexes." Totosai mumbled as he threw the boys arm from him, causing Sesshomaru to be pushed back a good three feet. "And at least you have enough instinct to follow her lead, sissy boy. Too bad she was partnered with someone like you." He watched unobtrusively as Sesshomaru stiffened and sniffed to himself. "Couldn't even follow my movements. I suppose you CAN'T run fast, sissy boy."

Sesshomaru was passed the point of patience, with a quiet snarl he lunged across the space separating them. 'Taisho!' Kagome gasped even as she tried to buffer his fists with energy. Totosai hadn't so much as twitched from his position, so she surmised that he was more than ready for Sesshomaru's retaliation.

Before she could give Sesshomaru any kind of warning, Totosai's leg shot up and caught Sesshomaru in the jaw, knocking the younger man across the room and into the wall. Slowly lowering his leg, hands resting comfortably in the pockets of his jumper, the old man watched the angry captain climb onto his feet and meet his eyes.

"Now, boy, the real work begins."

xXx

Thank you for reading!