Getting back wasn’t easy. Remi and his pilot Xuilan worked out a course that avoided the most heavily traveled lanes, adding to their itinerary. There were some benefits to the circumspect route; for one, it gave Samara enough time to heal. Blye replaced the bone plug in her skull and grafted a swath of skin over the surgery site once the swelling had gone down, but the Protean still had a long way to go. While grateful she was alive and free on her Eleexx “leash”, she had not yet regained full control of her abilities.

The young Knight warned that her abilities might never return, news she took better than most had expected.

As for the rest, despite the constant fear the Troika might yet discover their location, there was a relaxed air aboard the Gyrfalcon. They’d been to hell and back again and survived to tell the tale. The mutual distrust that had kept each other at arm’s length was nowhere to be found, the group drawing closer as they made their plans for finding...and keeping...Terra Nova.

For her part, Maggie was more than happy to pass the burden on to someone else. Almost forty years had passed since she’d kept the secret of her first mission, and now that everyone aboard knew what happened she could sit back and let them take the reins...though she still found ways to keep busy.

“All right, Diggs...show me the Torque Wrench.” She’d spread an array of tools out across the floor, arranged in precise rows, as the boy chewed his lip in thought. He’d shown some aptitude for mechanics back on Azhakom, but the insane pace they’d been running ever since hadn’t allowed her to follow up. Now, however, she had the time.

Diggs rose, walking between the rows as he looked over his options. They’d spent the morning going over the names of the various devices, and now it was time to see how much he’d remembered. He stopped in his tracks, doubling back, before bending down and picking up a tool as he decided, holding it out to her as he fidgeted. The boy was nervous, and it showed.

Maggie broke out in a grin. “That’s the one,” she told him, as Diggs wriggled like a puppy with joy, before returning the wrench to its place and awaiting her next test.

“Okay then, let’s see how you do with this one. Show me the Needle-Nose Pliers.” This time there was no hesitation, as the kid went straight to the target and picked it up. “Good job, kid,” she told him, as Rúna entered the compartment. Diggs gave her a jaunty wave as he replaced the pliers, while she plopped down beside Maggie.

“How’s he doing?” she asked.

“Really well,” she nodded. “Only missed a couple, and I guarantee he won’t get ‘em wrong next time.” She glanced back over at the array as he set the pliers back down. “Let’s see the Hex Driver next,” she called out, as he scurried to find it.

“You think this is what he wants?” the Valkyrie asked. “I mean, if it is, that’s great, but what if he’s doing it because he wants to make you happy?”

Before she could answer Diggs held up his prize, and once again he’d guessed correctly. “Well done, boy,” she grinned, “now show me a Phillips Screwdriver,” she told him, before returning her attention to the redhead.

“Kid’s got a real knack for it,” she explained, “noticed that right off when we met...when he was conscious, I mean. We’re still at the basics, sure...but he’s already passed the most important test far as I’m concerned.”

The young corporal stared at her with a puzzled look. “When he saved my life back on Fiddler’s Green,” she explained. “He didn’t panic, kept a clear head, and came up with a solution on his own usin’ the tools we had on hand. If he can do that…”

“I get it,” Rúna agreed, “but his folks were Corsairs, right?”

“His father was,” Maggie shrugged, “not sure about the mother.” She looked up and clapped as Diggs once again held up the correct tool. “Let’s take a break for a sec,” she told him, as he replaced the screwdriver and sat down beside them. “But don’t take my word for it,” she continued, “ask him your own self.”

“Okay…” She turned to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Diggs...do you know what you’d like to do when you’re older?” He nodded, his grin infectious, as he pointed at the tools spread out across the floor, and then at Maggie.

“A Tinker?” she asked, as the older woman just chuckled. “Cause you know there're many things you could do…”

The sentence fell apart as Diggs began shaking his head, jabbing his finger in Maggie’s direction even harder, before taking up the wrench hanging from his neck and using that to make his point.

“Told you,” she smirked.

Rúna raised her hands in surrender. “A Tinker it is then,” she agreed, before turning back to Maggie. “We’re coming up on Beta Canis Majoris soon,” she reminded her, “and the Captain wants you on the bridge when we enter the system, to give him an idea of Freya’s current condition.”

“If she’s even still there,” she grimaced. “I didn’t get a real good look at her durin’ the attack, but what I did see wasn’t encouragin’.” She leveraged herself up off the deck and faced the boy. “I gotta go see the Cap’n, Diggs, so I’m trustin’ you to put everythin’ back. A Tinker is known by their tools, and never just leaves ‘em lyin’ around.”

He nodded, gathering them up and carrying them over to the toolkit, making sure that he returned each one to its proper place. Maggie smiled, tousling his hair as they walked past. “That’s a good lad,” she told him, earning her a toothy grin, as she and Rúna headed for the Bridge.

It didn’t take an Empath to tell the crew was on edge when they arrived. Remi was perched on the edge of his seat, leaning forward as he stared at the monitor. “Status,” he snapped.

“Just passing through the heliopause,” Xuilan informed him. “We should be within visual range of Freya’s last known position in the next fifteen minutes.”

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“Keep me posted,” he ordered, before turning to Maggie. “Last time we were here, you thought her keel had snapped,” he reminded her. “Still sure about that?”

“No,” she admitted. “It was just a quick glance, at long range...and you’d just pulled that ‘Crazy Ivan’. I could be wrong.”

“Let’s hope you are,” he frowned. “Without something to anchor them, the flotillas and squadrons will drift further apart, with ships going their own separate ways.” He turned in his chair to look at her. “If that happens? There’ll be plenty of captains deciding it’s every man for himself. It could destroy the Corsairs.” Gazing past her, he raised his eyebrow at Rúna. “Still have your shadow, I see. Would have thought by now you’d have eased off on that.”

“Maybe you’ve forgotten how you got that leg wound, but I damn sure haven’t,” she snorted, while the young Valkyrie smirked at her quip. “Besides, who knows what’s waitin’ for us?”

Choosing to ignore her comment, he turned his attention back to the monitor. “We should see something soon,” the pilot apprised him, as everyone on the Bridge peered at the main viewer, awaiting their first glimpse. They could have radioed ahead, but given the possibility the Troika was still there, they’d opted for a more subtle approach.

But well before Xuilan’s deadline, an image appeared on the screen. “That’s not Freya,” she said, as tensions spiked.

“Is it a Troika vessel?” the captain asked, a hair-trigger away from ordering her to reverse course.

There was a lengthy pause before the pilot shook her head. “No, it’s one of ours,” she said, sighing in relief as she queried its transponder. “CCS Iridium Princess. She’s a bulk freighter, inbound to the system.”

“A freighter?” The Bridge crew looked to one another in confusion. “I can’t imagine there’d be a freighter inbound if there was trouble,” Remi mused. “Increase our speed. I want to see what’s waiting for us.”

“Aye Cap’n,” Xuilan nodded, as they closed in on Beta Canis Majoris itself...but as they neared the last position of Freya, other ships appeared on the screen. It seemed there was a fair amount of traffic in this corner of the galaxy, all headed to or leaving from a single location. As they drew closer, they saw why.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Maggie drawled, gazing at the structure on the screen. Others stared in wonder as Remi rose to his feet, his eyes misty.

Freya sat in the center of all the hustle and bustle, its superstructure now covered with a complex grid of scaffolding, while shuttles jetted about ferrying materials and personnel, hard at work repairing Mankind’s last remaining battleship.

“Hail the Admiral,” the Captain ordered, his voice hoarse. “Tell him…” His voice trailed off, as he searched for the right words.

“Tell him...we’re home.”

----------------------------------------

The group found themselves in the same compartment the Clan leaders had held their meeting, though only two were still in residence; the Corsair Admiral Van Aalst and the Tinker Diplom-Ingenieur Kalina Svéd.

“After the attack,” the Admiral explained, “Freya was in bad shape. We got hit hard, and the casualty lists…” His voice trailed off for a moment, before shaking his head. “We were preparing to abandon her, when...I just couldn’t.” He shrugged. “As selfish as that sounds, I just couldn’t give the order. I tried passing it off to my XO, only it turned out he couldn’t do it either.” A wry smile graced his features. “The more we spoke to the other survivors, the more we realized that we weren’t ready to give her up. Not without a fight.”

“Just how bad is she?” Remi asked.

The Admiral turned to the head Tinker. “It would be quicker to say what’s not broken,” Kalina said. “I’ve pulled in every spare Tinker I can get my hands on and taken charge of the refit. That’s how committed we are to this.”

“And how well did Júlio take getting pushed aside?” Maggie said.

The two Clan heads shared a brief look. “He was killed…’Tickling the Dragon’, to keep her from blowing herself apart,” the Admiral said quietly. “He died a hero, Maggie. Saved hundreds…thousands of lives.”

Maggie blanched, blindsided by this sudden turn of events. “Well…damn,” she whispered, as unexpected tears threatened to make a show. She rubbed her eyes, surprised to find herself mourning her first love, a man she’d hated and reviled for the last forty years. “Ain’t no better way to go, for a Tinker,” she said at last, as Blye squeezed her shoulder in support, while Diggs gripped her hand.

“He won’t be forgotten,” Kalina vowed. “His death is one reason I’m here. The Engineers were hit hard, most of the senior Tinkers were killed or wounded in the first few minutes. The rest carried on as best they could, but without proper coordination…”

“...yeah,” she nodded, wiping her face on her sleeve. “I hear what you’re sayin’.”

“By all rights, we should have written Freya off,” she continued. “The damage to the keel alone would have been enough, but when you add in everything else…” Kalina sighed, and then shrugged. “But if we lose her, what’s left for us? She’s our last major link to Earth, the hub of our civilization, and…”

“...our home,” the Admiral finished. “Maybe it’s a fool’s errand. Maybe the resources we’re using towards her refit would have been better spent elsewhere. And maybe all our efforts are doomed anyway…but I’ll be damned if I’ll accept that without fighting to my last breath to save her.”

“I’ll help,” Maggie blurted out. “I’m still handy with a wrench.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” the Admiral smiled. “I’ve got a job in mind I think you’re uniquely qualified for.”

“Oh? What’s that?” she asked.

“...Chief Engineer,” he grinned.

Maggie blinked. “...what?”

“He’s serious,” Kalina explained. “You may be loud, and brash, and opinionated, and an all-around pain in the ass...but you’re also one of the best wrench turners I’ve ever known,” she admitted, though it looked like she’d bitten into something sour.

“Job’s yours if you want it, Maggie,” the Admiral said.

“Can I...have some time to think it over?” she asked, stunned by the offer.

“Of course,” he nodded. “We haven’t even debriefed you and the others yet.”

“There’s a lot we need to tell you,” Remi informed him. “This mission was one for the books.”

“I look forward to hearing it,” he replied.

“Excuse me, Admiral,” Samara interjected, “but do you know where Princeps Jibril is currently located?”

“I’m afraid not,” he shrugged. “He said he would check with his alien contacts and try to learn why the Aggaaddub targeted us.”

“...I see,” she said. “Perhaps I’ll try to track him down.”

“Will we have any problems getting transport from here?’ Sergeant Kai asked, as Rúna raised an eyebrow.

“I doubt it,” the Admiral answered. “You saw the ships out there. You may need to transfer once or twice, but you should have no difficulty getting where you need to go.”

“I might stick around for a bit,” Alphad said from a nearby monitor. “I suspect there’s software here I could help with.”

“You’d be most welcome,” the Admiral said with a nod.

“We were supposed to report to Malta, before we got rerouted,” Blye explained, indicating her and Prash. “I think that’s our next stop. If what happened with Samara is any sign...we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“Admiral...off the top of your head, do you know which alien planet has the most humans in residence?” Genvass asked.

“Hmm...Qoo’qoidii, I think,” he answered after a moment. “Any reason?”

“I believe that’s where I’m headed,” the Dharmist explained. “I have some insights I’d like to share with my brethren.”

“Sir, what are your orders?” Remi asked.

“To do what you do best,” he answered. “Refitting Freya is costing us every spare credit we can scrounge, and far too many alien races are trying to take advantage while we’re vulnerable. I need you to discourage them...and should anything of value appear on your radar…” He left the thought unfinished.

Remi, however, understood what he wasn’t saying. “Aye aye, Sir,” he nodded.

“In the meantime,” Kalina intruded, “you all have a story to tell, and I’d love to hear it.” She sat down, making herself comfortable, as the Admiral joined her.

“So let’s get started.”