They came for her the next morning, cold and silent. The door hissed open and Officer Clair and two others entered the room. She stood by the doorway as the other two undid her restraints. Mali shivered in her clothes, they had given them back to her a while ago; it was hard to tell time without her omni-tool and the zero windows in her cell. Despite her misgivings about VIs, Mali missed Victoria's company, she hoped she was ok. A familiar weight hung in her pocket, which Mali discovered to be her lucky credit chit. She clutched it in her fist reassuringly as she was led from her cell.

She was in a long white hall, doors to other prison cells lined both sides of the hallway, and Mali discovered that from the outside they were see through. She could see in to the other rooms, which in most cases, were empty. Officer Clair led them down past the many doors and out of the hallway, into a bigger room filled with desks and computers. The place was like a bee hive, people flitting from one place to another, getting through their busy schedules. At the desks, officers were busy filling out reports, drinking coffee, and socializing with their neighbors.

As Mali passed, many of them looked up with curiosity, finally getting a look at the girl who had stirred up so much commotion in the last couple of days. The officer pushed her from behind, and she picked up her lagging pace. They passed to the opposite side and turned a corner out of sight. They were traveling down the front entrance, Mali realized. The big metal door that lay at the end of the hall must be the front door. She vainly strained against her bonds as they headed to a door on the left, turning her head to face the daylight streaming in through the windows next to the main entrance. She was poked and prodded through, losing sight of the golden light. Nausea churned her stomach like a pot of boiling water, sweat glistened on her brow. They had entered a plain white room, shaped as a cube, it was empty except for the four officers already inside, each of them holding a rifle.

Mali quavered at the sight, stumbling with fright she almost fell to the ground, but Officer Clair grabbed her arm at the last minute and hoisted her to her feet again. For a brief moment, their eyes met, and they both stared into them, hers full of pain, but resolution, and Mali's full of primeval terror, like an animal looking down the throat of her predator. If it hadn't been for Alexandra supporting her weight, Mali doubted that she could have walked on her own. Together, they walked to the far wall, for a moment facing the gun men together. But then Alexandra left her, and Mali stood alone, facing the four men who were to kill her.

Her pulse hammered in her temple and her heart rocked and bashed her chest like an Earthquake. Her teeth were clamped together in a grim line, her jaw muscles aching from the action. Her hands were clamped into fists at her side, in one she gripped her credit, which had gone clammy long before. She refused to let her knees buckle as the men prepared their rifles, checking the thermals and sights. Officer Clair looked helplessly on, watching the small girl opposite her tremble with fear, knowing that she had to give the order, she had to do her duty. She did not want to, yet she knew every moment she delayed was another moment of torture for Mali.

A man approached Mali with a ruff burlap sack in his hand, but Mali shook her head in refusal, she would not cover her head like a coward; it seemed scarier to have one's head covered than not, she thought, imagining the suffocation. The man shrugged and retreated, taking his place back in line. They stood motionless, waiting for their orders. All the muscles in Mali's body stood tense, clamped together by her fear. She breathed heavily out of her mouth, as if she had just ran a mile. Her eyes landed on Officer Clair's. They were tortured with internal struggle, as she fought against her moral judgment with her duty. Mali could see the self-hate taking root in the older woman's heart, she did not want her to blame herself for her what she was about to do, Mali thought.

Gathering her depleting strength and courage, Mali straightened herself from the slight crouch she had been in, and took a deep breath. She wanted to face her death like Yane did, with resolution and peace about the future. She looked directly at Officer Clair, and pulled her lips into a reassuring smile that she did not feel. "Do it peacekeeper. It's ok." Her voice came out clear and strong, despite the lightning panic within that threatened to take hold of her at any minute and turn her into a crazed animal of fear. Officer Clair looked away, hiding her face from the untold horror to come. She raised her arm, and the men's guns went up, their barrels pointed at her chest like accusing fingers. Mali watched the down ward sweeping motion of Alexandra's arm as it finalized her death sentence. She closed her eyes, breathing hard and fast. She filled her thoughts with Yane's smile and his warm embrace, I will be with you soon, she thought.

A loud BANG spilt the air, and Mali's muscles spasemed instinctively, expecting to feel bullets penetrate her anatomy, but the pain never came. Her eyes fluttered open in surprise, taking in what was going on. The sound had not come from the guns as she had previously imagined, but the door to the room had been slammed open in the haste of the intruder. Three figures fully clothed in N7 onyx battle armor were storming into the room, assault rifles and pistols held at the ready. The four officers who had been about to kill her whirled around in surprise, crouching down defensively with their guns pointed at the mysterious assailants. For a moment, it looked like the two opposing sides would start firing at one another, until Officer Clair strode out between them, holding her hands up for peace.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" She demanded, turning to the three men who had burst into the room. Behind the men, people from the offices outside were crowding the hallway, trying to get a peek at the action. The man in the front, obviously the leader, slowly straightened to his full height, which made him taller than the fierce woman below him, and lowered the point of his rifle to the ground, the other two taking his neutral posture as well. The men behind the peacekeeper slightly relaxed at their show of peace, and they too lowered their weapons, abet a bit less than the other group.

The leader motioned to Mali, behind everyone, who had collapsed against the wall in relief of not being shot. "We come for the girl, on the order of the ICT."

"The ICT? What business does it have with her?" Officer Clair asked, surprised. The lead man activated his omni-tool and prepared to sync his with hers.

"May I?" he asked motioning to her own omni-tool, which had lit up. Clair nodded and lowered her defense wall, and he sent her a document, which popped up on her screen. Below on her arm, Alexandra could see the official ICT seal with a note under it:

To who it may concern,

These men are under orders to take the girl, Somali, under custody and bring her to our headquarters on Thessia. They have our full support and reserves at will, whomever obstructs their mission with be held and tried for misconduct. Thank you for your full cooperation, and rest assured that she will be reprimanded for her actions.

Clair looked up from her screen, the note explained everything she needed to know, nut not everything she wanted to know. She closed her omni-tool and looked up at the commanding officer of the little N7 troop, he had the nerve to wink at her. Wink at her! She snorted with disgust, all N7 men were the same, too cocky for their own britches. He only smiled at her blow off, a mischievous glint in his eye, he was pretty impressed with this fiery red head in front of him. "I do not see any reason to detain you from your mission any longer, gentlemen." She started, the N7's started to smile, "However, I find it necessary to accompany you to Thessia, where I will confront the board myself with this." Their smiles turned into frowns, and the other two men turned to their leader.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, ma'am." He said.

"Why not?" She asked. "The letter didn't say anything about coming along, besides I am the peacekeeper of this city, I can do anything I deem necessary." The man was at a loss when confronted with her passionate words, he just gave his companions a blank look.

"Well I guess." He relented. He was glad that his helmet covered his face, or everyone would have seen him grinning with amusement. "Get prepared, we leave within the hour." Officer Clair turned around and walked up to Mali, who was still in a daze. She gently pulled her to her feet, and anyone with eyes and a brain could tell that she was relived for the girl. She guided her out the door, and through the throng of bystanders outside the room, the N7 soldiers following close behind. For better or for worse, Officer Clair wasn't about to let this helpless girl out of her sight for a long time yet.

I

An hour and a half later, Mali was led outside the station into the striking sunlight, the fresh air hitting her lungs like a punch to the face. She gulped massive amounts of it through her mouth, tasting its sweetness she hadn't thought that she would ever breathe it again. It was a relatively cloudy day, but to Mali the light was blinding, she had never been so far up above the smog. Walking in front of her was the mysterious leader of the small group, and the other two walked close behind her, making sure she didn't try any escapes. The leader looked over his shoulder and yelled "Would'ya hurry it up back there? We got a schedule to keep!" Behind all of them, Officer Clair was lugging a huge duffle bag full of her belongings, which she was dragging behind her tiredly.

"Well if you were any sort of gentleman," she stressed the word, "you would help me!" She shouted back. The man waved threw his hands into the air.

"Women!" He groaned. Trudging back to where she was lagging behind, he picked up her duffle bag and stalked to the front again. "Why do they always have to pack so bloody much?" he asked his comrades, who snickered in reply. Mali herself felt a smile creep upon her lips. After Mali had been taken from the room, Alexandra had led her to a back room, where all of Mali's things had been stored. She ordered her to put all of her things into the backpack she had been handed, and then Officer Clair had left, going to do some packing of her own. Mali would have strapped on her omni-tool right then and their but one of the three N7's had quietly entered and watched as she gathered belongings. It had only taken her a few minutes to get ready, and when she came out with the small bag it had been taken from her and slung onto one of their backs.

It had been Officer Clair who had taken all the time. While everyone else had been lounging awkwardly in the front entrance hallway, she had been bustling back and forth, seeing to the last minute details of her departure. The whole time Mali started at the door into which was the room where she had almost been killed. One of the men had offered her a plate of food but she had denied it, still nauseated from her encounter with death.

Finally, the men had just simply pulled Alexandra from the office and told her they were leaving right then, with or without her. So with a final goodbye from her co-workers they had set off, Mali was glad to leave the horrid building. The lead man walked up to a shuttle that was parked around the bend behind some trees from the police building. She stared at the small group of trees, they were so tall! One of the men misinterpreted her expression of awe and bent down to her ear and said "Don't be so impressed, wait till you see the real ship!" he said, meaning the shuttle. Mali felt drawn to the trees, as if they were calling her to walk under their towering branches. As the men loaded the luggage, Mali quietly slipped away from the group and wandered over to the trees. Behind her she could here another argument rising up between the captain and Alexandra.

As Mali approached the towering plant, the branches above her danced in the wind to some silent music that Mali, couldn't hear, the leaves shivering in the wind. The trunk swayed ever so slightly in a graceful rhythm, rocking back and forth, balanced on its deeply set roots. Mali leaned against its coarse bark, enjoying its sturdy feel, and listened to the peaceful sound of the leaves whispering secrets to one another. She drank in the rich scent of the wood, something she had never smelled before. The whole thing was positively awe-inspiring to Mali. She could feel the ancientness radiating off the beast, she decided she liked this tree, it calmed the boiling emotions within her, like a balm for a stinging cut.

Shouts of alarm filled the air as the company realized that she was no longer amongst them, she could hear the captain berating himself for his stupidity. Mali snuggled closer to the wizened creature, knowing she would be separated from her friend very soon. Soon she could hear crunching behind her, and great arms wrapped around her shoulders. The officer picked her up and carried her back to the shuttle, Mali reached out to the tree, a tear trickling down her cheek as she was separated. She did not fully understand what she was feeling, but she knew for certain that she did not want to leave the tree.

The man trudged up the small embankment to the shuttle, where Alexandra and the captain tensely paced. When they saw them coming, they ran over, both giving Mali a shrewd look. By this time, Mali was bawling like a baby, the stress of almost being killed pressing and the shock of her predicament finally taking hold. The captain and the two other men looked on confused, standing awkwardly as they watched Mali cry, they didn't know how to handle a crying girl. They had been expecting to save a half-crazy felon when they burst into that room, instead they had found a small girl almost half dead from shock. Officer Clair rolled her eyes at the men, and gathered Mali into a comforting hug.

The captain, who revealed that his name was Niles, ushered them all into shuttle, with a tired sweep of his hand. The pilot waved them in, and over the intercom told them to buckle up. The doors slid shut with a hiss. Officer Clair sat next to the calmed down Mali, and helped her strap herself in, as she had never been aboard this type of ship. The powerful engines and thrusters were fired up, and the sizable ship lifted off the ground. Through the small porthole window Mali could see the ground beneath her melt away, the thrusters buffeting the trees into a wild dance.

They ascended quickly, and soon Mali could see them approaching the atmosphere. The thrusters increased to FTL speeds and the ship broke from the orbiting planet. Mali gasped as she saw Earth from space for the first time. The planet was an amazing blue and green, the blue covering most of the planet. Mali knew what those where: "oceans," she whispered. The large orb rotated silently in front of her, looking serine and beautiful, the water below shimmering in the sun's light, reveling nothing of the pain and cruelty Mali had experienced on its surface in her short fifteen years of life. The shuttle changed course and Earth was lost from view as the ship turned away.

A great ship hovered just above the curve of the planet, ghosting silently on two main thrusters jutting out the back. Designed for speed, the STS Nova was a light craft, having only one main turret and only two smaller ones beside it. They hung just underneath the main body of the spaceship which was oval ending in a sharp fin point. It looked much like the main handle and body of a mechanical screwdriver, plus a cannon and a shark fin. The shuttle snugly circled the spaceship once, and then the pilot maneuvered it through an opening hanger door near the bottom of the ship, and then they were in.

The shuttle flew into a small landing pad, was powered down, and everyone disembarked. As soon as Mali set her feet on the landing deck, vibrations shook the soles of her boots. A low hum filled the air and walls as the main two thrusters of the Nova were powered on, and the ship glided away from Earth. Niles and the other two men, Burt and Daniel, all piled out after her, all taking their helmets off. Mali instantly recognized Niles's face as the man she had seen at the ICT recruitment stall in the marketplace. "You!" She exclaimed. "I know you!"

Niles laughed a hearty laugh and tucked his helmet in the crook of his shoulder, putting his hand on her shoulder with his other one. "I was wondering when you would recognize me!" He gave Mali a sly wink, "that's how I knew we rescued the right girl, because the first time I saw you, I thought: I never want to tango with this girl! And boy! After seeing what you did to those guys over the surveillance tapes, I sure was right!" Mali smiled, but she didn't feel it inside, those men didn't deserve what she had done to them, they had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she had killed them. All she had wanted was Finnick.

"You two know each other?" Alexandra asked, her eyes switching from Niles's to Mali's faces over and over again.

"Not as well as you think," Mali explained, "Niles's tried to make me sign up for the N7 program about two and a half weeks ago while I was doing grocery shopping," Mali paused and looked down at her shackles, "before I did all this." Those last words hung heavily in the air, and everyone stared around awkwardly, until Niles tried to break the silence.

"Well, much good it did you, because you're in the program now." He joked.

"What?" Mali asked, "I never signed up for the program, how am I in it?" Niles looked at his omni-tool, confused, and then pointed to a file that glowed on the screen.

"Someone must have signed you up, because it's all right here. Your name, age, signature...everything." he looked up at her confused face, "Don't worry, we will all have a meeting to fill you in after you've gotten a chance to settle in, say, in an hour or so?" Mali nodded, and Niles smiled. "Good, I'll have Burt show you to your room, and then stay till after the debriefing. I've got to get this piece of junk movin' before Christmas." With that he turned and climbed up the stairs that were behind him, disappearing into the network of the ship.

"This way, please." Burt motioned them to follow him off the landing pad and up the stairs Niles had just used. While they had been talking, Daniel had gotten their bags from the Kodiak and had slung them onto his shoulders. Burt went first, with Mali going second, and then Clair and Daniel following behind. Burt led them through many cramped hallways, steadily taking them higher and higher through the ship.

Most everything around them was made of either a metal alloy or some type of plastic material that ranged from soft to hard depending on what it was used for. The interior of the ship was quite bright and cheerful—a pleasant surprise for Mali. She had always imagined space ships to be dreary and cold inside, but this plucky vessel showed her different. People dressed in Alliance uniforms were constantly squeezing past them in the confined hallways, and they passed many rooms where Mali saw them manning their stations by computers. Bright lights lit the passageways and rooms to a comfortable degree, and every once in a while they would pass a porthole window that would show the shimmering stars outside.

Burt led them to the crew's courters, which Mali estimated to be at the back of the main deck, which was the mess hall and recreational activity rooms. They were shown through a circular door that opened by separating into three different pieces that withdrew into the two walls and floor. Inside was a small room crammed with two bunks, which had only a few feet of space between them. A small round window looked out at the stars from between the beds on the wall. Burt backed out of their room to free some space, saying as he went, "make yourself comfortable, I'll come back and get you in about forty-five minutes for the meeting." Officer Clair nodded and he walked out, leaving the two of them alone.

Mali sat down on the left bed, making room for Officer Clair to hustle about, setting things up. Underneath the window was a small bedside table that connected the two beds together like a bridge, on which she placed Mali's bag, to be dealt with later. Upon careful scrutiny, Alexandra found that if she pressed on the wall opposite the footboard, a small door would pop open to reveal a small cupboard, which could be used as a makeshift closet. She stuffed her duffle into hers, and then Mali's backpack into the wall at the foot of Mali's bed. Then, she sat down on the opposite bed, relaxing against the wall. Mali was tense in the silence, she knew Officer Clair would ask her questions that she didn't know if she wanted to answer.

"Can you take my cuffs off?" Mali asked, raising her wrists. Alexandra activated her omni-tool and the restraints vanished.

"Only for a while, the law says you must be cuffed until pardoned of offences by some judging body of some sort." Mali rubbed her wrists with her hands, getting the blood flowing again. Alexandra watched Mali with interest, puzzling over things in her head. Mali was sure that she would hear of them later, but for now, Clair kept them to herself. Officer Clair leaned back against the headboard and sighed, letting her muscles relax. Mali shifted toward the window, looking out at the passing stars, but every once in a while she stole a glance at her. Gradually, her breathing became slow and even, and her eyes stopped wandering underneath their lids.

Quietly, as not to disturb her, Mali got up from her cot and tip-toed to the end of bed, near the closet with her stuff in it. She stole another glance at the peacekeeper—still no change. The sound of her own excited breathing filled the room as Mali leaned over her crossed legs, and with her fingertips, pressed down on the wall. She cringed as the door opened with a slight pop, and she whipped her head around. But the officer was as stoic as ever, her chest rising and falling to her own snoring. Mali's backpack had been stuffed into the tight space, upside down, the buckles trailing off the edge of the closet into open space, making small clacking noises.

Carefully, she pulled at the backpack, lifting it from its mold. The material slightly crinkled as she carried it over to her own bed, leaving the closet door open. She unzipped the biggest pocket, and quietly rustled around through the contents, keeping one eye on the officer the whole time. Finally, her hand found the small hard square it was looking for, and Mali withdrew her omni-tool. She let the bag fall back on the bed as she strapped the watch-like chip to her wrist again, and basked in the glory of its familiarity. She clenched her fist, and the omni-tool pieced itself around her arm with its usual cheery glow, the silver light brightening the otherwise dark room.

Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm painfully. "Ah ha! I knew it!" Alexandra said triumphantly, "I knew your omni-tool was only self-activating!" Mali tried to yank her throbbing arm out of the woman's iron grip.

"Let me go!" Instinctively, she shut down her omni-tool before Alexandra could hack it from hers. "I thought you were asleep!" Mali sat accusingly, glaring at the triumphantly smiling officer. Alexandra watched as her opportunity of finding out more about this girl disappeared with the omni-tool's silvery light, and she puckered her lips in irritation. As she pulled the omni-tool off of Mali's wrist, she answered.

"If you don't remember, I'm a trained cop! And you are like, sixteen; I think I can outsmart you when I want to." Mali's temper rose as Alexandra poked fun at her, her eyes flashed a dangerous ice blue. "Besides," she continued, oblivious to the steaming teenager in front of her, "I took drama in high school." She activated Mali's cuffs again and sat back against the wall. Mali was still angry at what she had said, and so she turned away from Alexandra's direct gaze. "I don't get you, Mali. Why did you do it?" She asked, now all seriousness. Mali didn't answer, she kept her eyes away from Alexandra's face.

"You are like no one I have ever met," She mused, going on as if Mali wasn't in the room, "no criminal record, no DNA analysis, you come out of nowhere. And then you show that you have had high training in combat, but lack basic skills like working with technology. It just amazes me to no end—a girl who doesn't hesitate to kill thirty men—yet cries over seeing a tree. How did you get your training? Why did you submit yourself—knowingly—to a possible lifetime sentence in prison, with so much life ahead of you? What drove you to use such extremes?" All her questions drudged up the deep pain that she had pushed deep inside her, it felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

Officer Clair saw her expression of pain and leaned in, concerned. "Are you ok? You look like you're gonna hurl." Mali felt sticky bile rise in her throat, threatening to fill her mouth. She got up and rushed out the door, running through hallways in a panic. Luckily the men's bathroom wasn't far from their room, and without a second thought, Mali turned into it. Her eyes locked on to the toilet, and she rushed to its edge, vomiting into it. As she was sick, she started crying, the violent actions of her body scaring her. She was helpless as it had a mind of its own—not obeying her frantic commands to stop. Sweat studded her face and her teeth chattered from nervous energy, her hands shaking uncontrollably; her mind was a blur of thoughts and emotions, and her stomach had climbed its way to her throat, seizing like a fish out of water.

As time passed and her sickness abating, Mali wiped her mouth and leaned against the cool wall that stood close to the toilet. She groaned and turned her face upward, closing her eyes. The bathroom was dark and quiet, with nobody else in there. Mali felt the weight of her own guilt pressing down on the silence around her. She just wanted the pain to end, to stop controlling her life, but she had let too much of it into her soul. It perforated through everything that made her who she was, and had changed—no—twisted her until she no longer knew how to love or be happy. Her darkness sapped everything she had; her strength, her love of life, everything, and it scared Mali to death.

The bathroom door hissed open, and Mali looked up, expecting to see Officer Clair, but it was Burt instead. He saw her tear-stained cheeks and red eyes but he didn't say anything, instead, motioning her over. Mali stood up and brushed herself off, conscious of her disheveled appearance, and walked up to him. "Time for the conference, I understand I am to lead you there." He said. She nodded and silently, he turned and exited. He led her further down the hall into an elevator that took them to the bridge. A giant hologram of the Milky Way shimmered in the middle of an oval table set in the middle of the bridge. A big padded seat was set at the head of the table—the captains seat—which was empty. Besides this there was a few people working on the sides of the room, their eyes glued to their computer screens, and a pilot concentrating on the switchboards in front of him.

To the left of the elevator was another door that led into the conference, or war, room. The inside was darker than the bridge, and Mali had to squint to see anything. Six or seven chairs were placed around a circular table, four of them occupied. Burt guided her to a chair and then sat down beside her; across from her, Officer Clair made eye contact with her, but did not say anything. At the head of the table saw a man Mali hadn't met yet; sitting on his right was Niles, on his left, Daniel, and then Officer Clair. The new member turned from where he had been talking to Niles, and smiled at her. "Welcome to my ship, I am Captain Reid." Mali nodded in return;-

"Nice to meet you, I am Somali." Captain Reid looked to be in about his forties; he had short greying hair that was once brown, and hazel eye. He was strong and fit for his age, but Mali could tell he would probably be retiring from the Alliance soon. He wore his blue officer's uniform and he had a small cap tucked under one hand; Mali could tell he was a rule follower.

"I have heard so much about you, I am very impressed." He smiled again, showing whit straight teeth. "Finnick was not a much-beloved character to the government, you did Earth a favor by dealing with him." Mali was taken aback, this man was actually glad she had killed him. Officer Clair frowned at Captain Reid's comment.

"What she did was wrong, Captain, you shouldn't encourage her to think different!" Alexandra interjected. "Killing a man is against the law!" Niles stepped in before things could get any more heated, shooting a look at Alexandra.

"Why don't we get down to business, eh?" The Captain and Clair shot daggers at each other, but he otherwise relented. Niles continued, turning to the smiling Mali, "As you know, we are bound for Thessia, where the headquarters of the ICT are. When we get there, you are to be taken before the board of members and will be questioned."

"How do they know about me? Why do they want to see me?" Mali asked.

"Well for one thing, you have been signed up to enter the program for a few weeks now, so they have your information." Mali shook her head, baffled.

"It just doesn't add up, there are too many unknowns. I wasn't even the one to sign myself up! You were there when I refused, Niles! I never went back!" Mali was tired of unraveling her own life, she didn't like not knowing things. Niles pulled up her information on his omni-tool and fed it into the tables system, six glowing files appeared in front of everyone on the glass-like table's surface. She watched Burt as he opened to the first page by flicking open the "cover." Mali did the same, and was surprised to see that it worked for her to, however, it meant nothing as she couldn't read. Then Niles started to read it out loud:

Name: Somali Avon

Age: 15

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Weight: 130 IB

Mali was confused for a second, she didn't have a last name—she'd never had a last name—Yane had used his for the file: Avon. She didn't like other people staring at her information, especially a stranger like Captain Reid. She stood up; "If there is nothing else to say, than I think we are through." Everyone else nodded and stood as well, most exiting through the door, only Mali and Officer Clair remaining. After a time, Clair broke the awkward silence between them.

"So, you're fifteen?" She ventured.

"Yah." Mali answered, not elaborating.

"Oh." Clair said, blankly. Mali smiled.