I hope you are all enjoying the rate at which I've been posting. If you want me to slow down a bit, I will. If not, I'll keep updating about every day or two. This chapter is a poignant one, so let's once again get lost in the story. Enjoy, my friends.

Freya stood by the table as the orderlies carried a still unconscious Drakken out on a levitating gurney. The thin, stretcher-like apparatus hovered over the table, then slowly lowered onto the surface, locking into place and forming a semi-comfortable bed of sorts. The red-haired woman stepped forward as the surgeon used a syringe to inject a small amount of artificial adrenaline into Tharcourt's arm. After a few seconds, the device monitoring the commander's vital signs began to beep a little faster.

"He should be coming around in a few moments, Lieutenant." The medical officer declared. "It's good you are here so he has a familiar face to wake up to. Sometimes there is some confusion in people who have been out for more than a standard rotation…sort of a form of hibernation sickness." She nodded to the doctor. On the table, Drakken made a guttural groan, then let out a cough. Freya moved to his side and held his right hand.

"Drakken?" She said softly. He stirred a little. "It's okay, I'm here, Drakken." The surgeon motioned to his orderlies, and one of them dimmed the lights a little over the table to accommodate the light-sensitivity he would no doubt experience. A small droid flew over the man, scanning his body and sending the readouts to a nearby terminal.

"Huh…" Drakken sounded. His eyes flickered a bit.

"Aye Drakken. Ye can wake up now." Thorne goaded. "Ye've been abed slumberin' far too long." His eyes slowly opened, and she squeezed his hand a little more. "Hey…how ye feelin'?" He stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before his eyes moved to her.

"Luh…" He rasped, then coughed and cleared his throat. "Like…I got hit by an asteroid…" Freya chuckled.

"Well, they didnae treat ye fer that, love." She commented. "But jings…I think ye went an' got hit by e'erything else ye couldae…" She saw a hint of a smile cross his lips.

"Ugh…If I'm all patched up…why do I still feel thrashed…"

"Aw, the doc says ye'll still be a few days yet afre yer back t' normal." She explained. "But no worries. I'll take care of ye till then…"

"Nope…" Drakken grunted, and attempted to sit up. He paused midway and made a pained face. Thorne helped him the rest of the way into a sitting position. "I got…too damned much to do…" He groaned. She huffed.

"An' I'll take care o' it!" She scolded.

"Help me get up." He said.

"Ye gonna take er easy, Drakken?" He moved and grunted in pain again.

"I'm gonna…ugh…get back to my job." He protested. Drakken's head hurt, and for some reason, his left leg and arm were stiff. "Damnit…"

"Then I amnae 'elpin' ye oop or anywhere else, Commander Drakken Tharcourt." Thorne crossed her arms over her chest. One of the orderlies nudged the other.

"Ever see a Lieutenant boss a Commander around like that?" He muttered with an amused grin.

"No Rendo, but it's funny to see, isn't it?" The white-clad medical attendant answered. "Reminds me of my mother." He gave a dramatic shudder.

"Alright…you win." Drakken sighed. "Just get me out of here and back to the office." She put an arm around his shoulder and helped Drakken to his feet. He had trouble keeping himself up, and relentlessly forced himself to take steps. "You bring…guh…you bring clothes?"

"Naw, I was gonna hae ye walk all the way back in a diaper. Course I brought ye clothes."

Freya helped Drakken to a private ward where he took ten minutes to get on a clean uniform. Once he was ready, he called for her to come help him out of the medical facility and back to their headquarters. Thorne thanked the surgeon and his team as she assisted him out of the room. They made their way slowly down the corridor and back to the office.

"Yeah, he's coming back tonight." Ekks said to Gallen and Lago. He grinned "Where do you think Thorne went? To get an order of boiled swamp frogs?"

"What do you think he's going to say about this last mission?" Lago asked.

"Aw maaaaan…" Gallen whined, throwing his red ball into the air and catching it. "The Old Man gets wind of that, and he's gonna flip!" The sniper groaned. "His face is gonna get all red…and those veins on the side of his head are gonna pop out…"

"Stop messing around, Gal." Lago shot. "I don't like the fact that we killed all those people." Gallen shrugged defeatedly.

"Ugh. We didn't do it, buddy." Ekks grumbled. "The people upstairs did." The Corellian plopped down on a bench and held a hand up to his nose. "I dunno about you two, but I've about had it up to here with this kriffing job. I sure as Hell didn't sign on to ice little kiddies. You ask me, the Empire is just like the Pike Syndicate…with legitimacy."

"You'd better watch your mouth, Corporal…" Felian growled, entering the room from the barracks. "That sort of talk will get you shot real quick."

"I don't care." The roguish Ekks stated. He unzipped his black flight suit to three inches down from his neck and huffed. "Who's gonna shoot me sarge? You?"

"No…I won't." Felian answered. "But somebody will."

"And before they do, I'll jack a ship and be outta here like Pa'askemere. You can't tell me you're all "Glory to the Empire" about killing women and kids, Felian." The scout grunted and leaned up against the wall.

"No, I'm not." He replied tersely. "And you should know better than that. I signed on to protect the people of the galaxy…"

"And kill them." Ekks added. Felian shook his head.

"Look, I know we've had some bad orders. The Commander and the LT's done as much as they can to keep us from having to do things we don't believe in, and you've all seen it. I don't like what happened, and I've done things I regret. You troopers have too." They all nodded solemnly. "But I still serve the Empire. You do too, Ekks. And we will continue to do so…" The pilot rolled his eyes. Felian let out a sigh. "Until further notice..." He added in a low tone, and Ekks looked back up quizzically. The sergeant stared him in the eyes. "That's all I'm saying, corporal. End of story. Now shut your face." He walked over to the caf dispenser and poured a cup of the hot drink.

"Void…" Ekks grumbled. "If it weren't for the Boss, I'd be thrown out on the street by now anyway. That pair of genuine human beings is about all that makes this job bearable."

"Mm." Felian hummed. Lago nodded. Gallen just threw his ball up and caught it before snorting in laughter.

"In Oooold Man we trust…" He commented. The hatch slid open, and the four Troopers turned to see Thorne entering with their commander draped over her shoulder, an irritable expression on his face. "Sir!" Gallen called. "We were just talking about you. Stars I'm glad you didn't die." Tharcourt gave him an unamused glance.

"How do you think I feel, Corporal?" He grumbled. "I trust you boys've minded Thorne and not been…ugh…too much of a headache."

"Yessir." Felian nodded.

"I…I cleaned the barracks, Commander." Lago added.

"Son, I've been gone all of four days." Drakken stated. "You forget you don't have to kiss my boots?" Ekks and Gallen laughed. "Guh…my head kills. Freya…to my command center." She giggled.

"Yer desk, Drakken darlin'?"

"That's what I said."

Drakken sat at his desk, his head buried in his arms. His hand reached out and grabbed a small metal bottle. He popped the lid off with his thumb, and he raised up enough to dump two small blue pills into his mouth and wash them down with a slug of caf. He shot a look at Freya, and his head fell back into his arms with a sigh.

"It wasn't your fault." He muttered. Freya slumped back in her chair with a groan, her head rolled back and her arms fell over the sides of the armrests.

"That's what they keep a' tellin' me…" She said.

"Well the Empire…" He hesitated, then grumbled something under his breath. Drakken reached into a compartment on his desk, pulled out a scrambler and turned it on. "The Empire is a bunch of murdering cretins that don't care to kill a building full of kids." He wiped his face on his sleeves, his head still buried. "Wasn't you, Freya. It was Vader…or somebody else. Likely Vader. You're a flower…a flower in a garden of weeds, sweetheart…" She huffed, and nodded sadly.

"Think I'm about done." She admitted. "We need to think about leavin', me love." Tharcourt was silent a moment, then turned his head so that he was looking at her.

"We need more time." He returned. She softly moved her head side-to-side.

"Vader's tryin' tae merc us." She said gravely. "He might know we're plannin' somethin'. Might know what we've been a' thinkin'." She expected him to protest, but instead, Drakken just stared past her in silence a moment.

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"Zala said so." Thorne answered.

"Mm. Zala told you…"

"Aye. Think she was lyin'?"

"No…no." Drakken breathed. He thought back on the last few missions. Even if their superior wasn't attempting to get them killed at every turn, it was at least apparent that the Empire had no desire or inclination to preserve the lives and well being of himself, his girlfriend, and all of his troopers. Whether deliberate or by happenstance, he realized, their life expectancy had just officially dropped to zero.

"Love?" Freya called softly, brushing an unruly strand of red hair from her face. He locked his eyes back onto her. "Ye were kilometers away there…"

"We need time." He said. "Whatever…kricking time we have…" He groaned as he sat up straight, and fished around on his desk, then started slapping his chest and trousers in the ceremonial dance of one looking for smoking material.

"Oi, love." He caught the electronic cigarra that was tossed to him and took a long drag and exhaled. Then he took another.

"You know this frightens me…right Freya?"

"Leavin'?" She queried, and he nodded to the affirmative.

"I've been a soldier about all my life…" He began, and massaged the bridge of his nose. "It's all I've known.

"Nae…ye've been a warrior, Drakken…and a good 'un." She countered. "This I think…is'nae our fight no meur." He popped another blue pill. "Fer the love a' feck darlin', go easy on them things."

"You think we need to go…" He muttered. "You calling it?" Thorne frowned and looked down at her feet. She tapped the floor listlessly with her toes, not wanting to make such a decision lightly. Her gaze fell onto her rank plaque, and she took it between a thumb and forefinger to get a better look at it. Freya's green eyes glittered with rising tears.

"It's been…somethin' grand, ain't it?" She whispered. "Me lil' adventure…gads…nothin' like I dreamed it'd be, Drakken." She looked him in the eyes, and a single tear rolled down her freckled cheek. "I had me moments…where I hated it. I doonae think I can regret it though. None of it. It brought me to ye, Drakken." He gave her a small smile. "Yeah…yeah, I think I'm callin' it. We go."

"Get Ekks in here." Tharcourt said. She stood and left the room. A few moments later, she returned with the team's pilot. Drakken motioned to the chair in front of his desk without raising his head from his arms. Ekks sat and stared at his commander a few seconds.

"You look like shaz, Boss." He said dryly.

"Yo mama." Tharcourt grumbled. Ekks looked at Thorne. The young woman was still misty-eyed, and she let out a sniffle. He looked back to Tharcourt in time to hear the commander groan and rub his forehead.

"Uh…what did I walk in on?" The Corellian inquired. "Somebody krickin' die or something, Boss?" Tharcourt raised his head and looked the man in the eyes.

"We might." He answered. "One way or the other…" Ekks huffed defeatedly then offered a shrug.

"Ugh. What else is new?" He growled. "What's going on guys?"

"Well…we're all going to get killed if we don't bail." Drakken explained. "At least Thorne and I will. Guess we outlived our usefulness, and they want to jettison the trash." Ekks scowled and narrowed his eyes.

"Those filthy Imperial rats." He commented darkly. "They got no right…" Drakken held up a hand.

"If…if we bail…" He continued. "They're most definitely gonna try to kill us." Ekks shook his head.

"You need a plan."

"Yeah."

"Well…Zala said we should try an' cut out durin' a mission…make like we got killed an' disappear." Freya said. The two men nodded.

"That would work." Ekks replied.

"Yep." Tharcourt agreed quietly. "Thing is, we need more supplies out there. Credits especially, but food, equipment…blasters. I think we're good on blasters, but a few more couldn't hurt. Need more coin though." He thought for a moment. "I got a few thou in our savings cache. If I drained my account, I could get another thirty. They'd be on me quick though." He noticed Freya giving him an incredulous look. The pilot had his eyebrows raised. "What?"

"Thirty thousand credits, boss?" The Corellian asked. Drakken scoffed.

"Hey Freya, remember how I didn't have a life before you?"

"Aye…"

"Yeah…wonder how much you can save up when you never take leave…or have any hobbies…or eat or wear anything that wasn't issued."

"Damn boss." Ekks chuckled. "Thorne, you are this poor fella's life. You better not cut out on him."

"Nahhh." Freya said with a grin. "I think I'll keep 'im around."

"Hey…" Drakken interjected. "I think I have an idea." They both turned their attention to him. He drained the rest of his caf. "We'll do a couple more assignments. Ekks, we need to loot as much as we can from the rebels. Money, supplies, med gear, everything we can get. We'll split it like always. We start another cache. That'll make three. On our third mission, we get blown up or something, and we'll make our move."

"Wot about the others?" Freya asked in a worried tone. "Cannae leave then behind."

"Ekks?" Drakken inquired. He knew what his commander was asking.

"Gallen's good to go." He stated. "Daraay would follow you into a black hole, I think. Lago's with me. I need him as a first mate when I go off on my own." Drakken gave him a nod. "Believe it or not, I think Felian is about fed up as we are, Boss. He'd probably go along with it." He let out a breath.

"An' the others?" Thorne asked softly.

"I think Mets and Coleth are still good soldiers, Hellcat." The Corellian said. "Dall too. Maybe Felian would be able to talk some sense into those two adrenaline junkies. The doc…"

"I reckon he's seen enough death." Drakken said. "I could convince him to take his chances." The commander shook his head. "Firmus wouldn't go. Not in a thousand years. I guess…I guess that's it. Man might as well be my brother…"

"I'm sorry, love." Freya whispered. She wiped her eyes. "Zala won't. She said she can't."

"I know." Drakken said sadly. "I asked her too. I'm gonna miss her. Gonna miss both of them." The room was silent a few moments.

"So what d'we do when we're out?" Freya queried. "If it's t' be the lot of us…what do we do?" Drakken looked back to Ekks.

"You need a crew?" He asked. "You get to play captain for a change. I don't care if I'm your cabin boy."

"As tempting as that sounds Boss, it's gotta be a no." Ekks returned. "One, unless we get a Hell of a big ship, ten people's way too many. I'm in it to become a smuggler, not a pirate king."

"And two?"

"And two, the Empire's going to be looking for us hot and heavy. We're all about to have a price put on our heads, and if we stick together…"

"We're a bigger target." Tharcourt finished his sentence.

"Yeah."

"At least take one or two of the others." Drakken implored of him. Freya stood behind her companion and put her arms around his shoulders.

"I'll take Gallen. He's a dead shot, and he makes me laugh."

"Mm. What do you think we should do?" The commander asked. Ekks leaned back in his chair and pointed at them.

"I've been thinking about that." He said. "Lay low for a while, all of you. Give it a year or so for everything to die down. Then get you some forged documents and chain codes, and you could hire yourselves out."

"Hire…for what, birthday parties?" Drakken grumbled.

"For soldiers." Ekks shot back. "Don't play dumb, Boss. You're the toughest, gunslingin S.O.B I ever met, and Hellcat, you're a close Number Two. You could make a killing as mercenaries. No pun intended."

"I…I've never thought about…" Drakken started to say then grunted. "Yeah I have, the Hell am I saying? I could do the job, and it's better than…" He gestured about the office. "…this mess." He reached back, wincing a little in pain as his muscles stretched. He took Freya's hand. "Guess we have a plan then." Ekks nodded.

"Yeah. Couple more hands, then we cash out, Boss."

"Gonna miss it?" Drakken asked.

"The Empire? Hell no." Ekks replied. "Having a good time with you guys? Yeah, I'm gonna kinda miss that." Tharcourt let go of Freya's hand, and held his up to Ekks. The man slapped his into the commander's.

"Thanks, Ekks." Tharcourt said. "I knew I needed a pirate." The unit's professional burglar grinned.

"Everyone does. You just admitted it." He spoke, then stood. "You want, I'll fill Gallen and Lago in."

"Then take this." Drakken stated, tossing him the scrambler. "I want that back now, too."

"You'll get it." Ekks replied. "Hellcat, take care of him. He looks like boiled garbage." Freya smiled.

"Oh, I plan on it, if th' blighter'd get his arse in bed." She paused, realizing how that sounded. Her cheeks turned pink. "Och…ye know what I mean." Ekks left the room laughing.

"Freya…I do think I need to lie down." Drakken said softly once Ekks was gone. He started to stand, and his legs seemed to turn to jelly. Freya caught him in her arms.

"I got ye, me heart." She said lovingly. "Let's get ye tucked in all warm. Ye need yer rest, me darlin'." He nodded, and she helped him through the hatch at the back of the office. They bypassed his room, and she took him to her quarters, and sat him on the bed. Drakken shot her a half-amused/half-weary look.

"This…isn't my quarters." He muttered. She smirked, and lifted his right leg and began slowly pulling at his boot.

"Nae. I need ye close so I can take care o' ye." She said. She removed his boots, then went to work getting his belt and tunic off. She made him lay down on the bed, and climbed in beside him. Freya put an arm around him and kissed Drakken on the forehead.

"Quiet before the storm…huh?" He sighed. "Freya…we don't make it out of this…" She shushed him with a finger over his lips.

"Nae ye worry o'er what may 'appen t'morrah." She whispered. "Right now, we're right here. Ye rest an' get better, Drakken."

"I've been sleeping for days." He reminded her. "Don't think rest is on the menu right now." Freya gave him a loving smile and brushed his hair with her fingertips.

"Well t'morrah, we'll have us a nice hot meal together." She said softly. "I dunno about ye…but a hot meal always made me feel worlds better, love." Drakken let out a snicker. He braved the aching in his body to lean in and kiss her on the lips.

"Stealing my lines now?" He asked. She kissed him back.

"Och…best pickup line ee e'er heared." She grinned. "I bet ye offer mess 'all vittles tae all the girls."

"Only you, sweetheart." He replied, and wallowed into the mattress a little more, getting himself comfortable. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Everything hurts. I hate it."

"Ye came close." She stated. "Dunnae ye e'er do that again." Their foreheads touched together.

"I'll try not to." He grumbled. "Maybe being a mercenary's safer than this job." She shushed him again.

"Rest, me love." Freya whispered. She saw him losing his battle to stay awake and smiled a little again. Drakken could be so stubborn sometimes. It was one of the things she loved about him, but his dogged determination sometimes irritated her, especially when it meant the man she loved was walking on broken glass through an inferno, and being too stupid to find a safer route or to even put on shoes. He was a warrior, a protector, but sometimes, he needed someone to protect him. She felt warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that this was their bond. Two warriors fighting for each other, always there to save one another, and not always from an enemy they could see…

"I know you´ve always been a good, good man…On the straight and narrow…" She began to sing in a low, sweet voice. He slowly opened his eyes and watched her as she sang to him;

A knight, a shining archer…order of th' arrow

But tonight with all your weapons down, You´re feeling scorned and scarred.

I´ll bind yer wounds and comfort you…as I know who you are."

Drakken felt himself drifting off to sleep, lulled by Freya's hauntingly beautiful voice. The words of her melody brought him comfort, and he vaguely wondered how this strong, beautiful and loving woman could have a song for everything. His mind relaxed though, and he nestled into his pillow as she continued.

"I´ve seen you move mountains…turn rivers around,

Defy the force of gravity, with both feet on th' ground.

Under the weight of the world, I´ve seen the kindness that you´ve shown.

So tonight I´ll be your harbour, tonight I´ll be yer home." Freya stopped the song there. Drakken was fast asleep. She gently kissed his forehead and cuddled up to him. She had a small amount of fear over their plan, what they were about to do. To her though, the risks hardly mattered. At least they would be together. "G'night, melove." She whispered. "Lights off."

So that's it. Just like that, they've made their decision. Can you feel the way the entire tone of the story just suddenly changed? Almost like when you feel a storm starting to gather on a sunny day, or when the mood of a room shifts, and you can feel the energy. Yep, this just got real, and our heroes are plotting desertion and treason. If their lives weren't constantly in danger before, they sure as Hell are now!

The lullaby Freya sings Drakken at the end of the chapter is "Gravity" by Mary Fahl. I mentioned Fahl before, and besides only being the inspiration and model for Thorne's singing voice, she is a magnificent singer and songwriter, and if you haven't already, you should check her out. At least you'll then know what Freya sounds like *Whispers* You'll swoon for her.

Oh, and the story has officially been finished on my end for a couple weeks now. It's done, and I'm actually at the time of posting this working on Episode II. And maaaaaan, it's gonna be awesome! I know you all can't wait to see where this story is going now, so I'll try to have the next chapter up within a day or two. I'm rather busy, but I should have time to post. Until then my loyal readers, drop me a line, PM me, review me, call me beep me, whatever. Until next time, Cheerio!