"How'd you get that past the doc?"

Ali's head shot up as Hurwitz's voice knocked her out of her head space. He indicated to the bottle in her hand. She swallowed and blinked back the emotion that she'd been dwelling on. "Can't toast the fallen without a damn good vintage," she replied as she offered him the bottle.

"Whiskey?" He asked in surprise as he took the bottle.

Ali's lips almost quirked into a smile. "We all learn bad habits from our COs."

Judging by his silence, Ali figured he deemed that an appropriate answer, as he looked at the closed morgue compartment doors. She followed his line of sight - what she'd been staring at when he'd arrived - as he raised the bottle towards their lost comrades and took a hefty swig of it's contents before passing it back to her. Ali took another sip to join him in his toast.

For a time, they sat in respectful silence as they both processed what had happened down on Celph, then Hurwitz broke it. "Was it worth it?"

Ali sighed as she leant back against the bulkhead behind her. "I really hope so."

"You haven't spoken to the lowlife yet, have you?"

Ali shook her head. "No, I came to make my peace with these guys first," she explained. "We've dealt a blow, a serious blow hopefully, by compromising one of their bases and kidnapping their leader. To find out what comes next, I can't be distracted when I talk to him."

"What do you think you'll be able to achieve?"

"At this point, I'll take anything useful," Ali replied with an exasperated shrug. "Zychene will likely continue making their demands as if nothing happened, providing he can rally the mercs…" She trailed off as she reigned her frustrations back in. "But, if we can get Touchard to talk, then we might just have the advantage we need to put a stop to them."

"One problem at a time, right, captain?" Hurwitz summarised and Ali nodded wryly as they toasted to that.

~-x-~

"If the assault on a Cosmos' Champions' base didn't encroach on S-Core's territory, interrogating their leader definitely does," Pixie warned as Ali and Rila joined her just outside the brig.

"Pix, we stepped over the line the moment we set foot on Celph," Ali reminded her head of security. Pixie deflated and nodded unhappily.

"Besides, we're not interrogating him," Rila corrected, "it's just a little chat to make sure his accommodations aren't… lacking."

Pixie looked worriedly to Ali who shrugged. "How, how do you make even that sound like a threat?" She asked as she turned back to Rila.

"Skill."

Pixie glowered, making Ali laugh. In many ways Pixie was a surprising choice for head of security. By all appearances she was the least threatening member of the crew, with the sunniest disposition. However, despite all that, she was a damn good fighter with a good tactical head. "Don't worry, Pix, we're not going to do anything bad. Like Rila said, it's just a little chat before we drop him off at his new home with S-Core."

"I still think we should do more…" Rila admitted. Ali glared at her second in command. "What? You trust S-Core to do a proper job? Or not release him again?"

Ali sighed. "There's only so much we can do before we shoot ourselves in the foot."

"You're worried about this getting thrown out of a court?" Rila was clearly shocked.

"No, I'm worried about our actions being enough for him to get released and to carry on killing innocent people," Ali corrected firmly. Rila had to give her that one. Ali turned to Pixie who didn't look happy about the plan but opened the door to the brig for Ali. As much as she didn't like the idea of whatever it was she planned on doing, she also knew that they had to talk to Touchard at some point. They needed to know what he knew.

Ali was not surprised that Touchard wanted to maintain the air of a man who was still in control of his situation. Nor was she surprised that he clearly disapproved of his accommodations. "What do you want?" He demanded.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Ali didn't so much as flinch. "As you're clearly enjoying your solitude I'll leave you in peace," she replied calmly and turned back to go the way she had just come.

She'd only taken three steps when he changed his mind. "Wait," he decided, and Ali turned to look over her shoulder at him. "What is it you want?" It was the same question, but his tone was more engaged in having the conversation.

"I'd have thought that was obvious," Ali replied.

"Perhaps," Touchard agreed, trying to project an air of mystery, "you want to disband my organisation? You want my head on a plate? You want me to become your informant within the murky underworld?" Ali rolled her eyes. "What? You don't think I could be helpful."

"I don't see why you would want to be."

"Whatever you may think of me, I do rather like being alive, and I rather enjoy my freedom."

"I'm sure all the people you've killed did too."

Touchard shrugged as if it didn't concern him. "It was simply business, they had nothing they could bargain with and the universe is a cruel place."

"So what do you plan on bargaining with?"

"See, I knew I liked you for a reason. After living in my world you know how the universe really works. You know that we can each help the other."

"Yes, because an upstanding citizen such as yourself will be most forthcoming and without duplicity," Ali said sarcastically as she crossed her arms. "Stop wasting my time, Touchard, I don't have the patience to deal with bullshit today."

"Then why are we having this little chat?"

"Where's Zychene?"

Touchard clearly hadn't expected that question. "Why does that matter?"

"With you behind bars he takes over Cosmos' Champions, even if it is only temporary, of course we'll be interested in the new leadership."

"So you want to know what's coming next?"

"I want to stop the bombings. In practical terms, no one gave a krekt about your outfit when you were just killing other mercenaries or underworld figures such as yourselves. Anyone in that life knows what to expect - though I do sympathise with the people who ended up there through no fault of their own. But when you branch out into a terrorist organisation… well, that's the kind of activity that gets you blacklisted pretty quickly."

"And you're offering a way off the blacklist?" Touchard asked, and Ali wasn't sure if he was deriding the suggestion or not.

"I'm offering nothing except the choice on what your first impression will be when we hand you over to S-Core," she corrected with an all too sweet smile. "I can either tell them that you indicated a willingness to cooperate, or that you have no intention of being so."

Touchard held her gaze, clearly trying to observe her reaction and maybe challenge her. Ali didn't back down, she knew this game, and she knew he couldn't read her. The important thing was that she spoke sense, that gave her words worth to him in the situation he was in. "And just how much would I need to give in order to be considered cooperative?"

"Who hired you? Where's Zychene? Why do any of this?" Ali suggested off-handly. "But I know you aren't going to give something that good without reassurances… So what's your opening offer?"

Touchard took a seat on his bunk and was quiet for a moment before he said, "I shall think about it."

~-x-~

Ali knew there was no point in pushing Touchard for more right then. So she turned and left to rejoin Pixie and Rila, who had been watching the exchange via the security cameras. Their shared looks said it all, there was nothing else they could do. Touchard hadn't given them anything to go on, and none of them were sure if they expected him to give them anything or if he was just yanking their chains for his own amusement.

They disbanded to return to their duties, and Ali couldn't put off reporting back to HQ any longer. Unsure of the protocol in reporting the results of an unsanctioned mission, Ali simply greeted the admiral by telling him that Touchard was in the custody of the Faraday's brig. Even her controlled expression nearly faltered into laughter at the shocked expression on his face before he was finally able to demand how that had happened.

Ali summarised the ground operation as succinctly as she could, somberly accounting for the casualties and emphasising the outstanding work her crew had achieved given the odds. Witworth stayed quiet as she recounted the events and even for a moment afterwards as he fully absorbed the information. Ali waited patiently for the inevitable. Instead, he sighed. "You know S-Core will want your hide for this?"

Ali's lips twitched as she fought the urge to smile. "That's a recurring theme at the moment."

"Quite," he said. "You really think we can get anything useful from Touchard?"

Ali shrugged as she took a breath. "Honestly, sir, I don't know," she admitted. "I think it's possible he'll be willing to bargain for his freedom, equally I think it's possible he'll lie to achieve that."

"Still, it's something. We might have only cut off one hydra's head, but it's a start."

"Our intelligence indicates Zychene is the tactical mastermind and was next in line," Ali said. "But that doesn't mean he'll have the support of the mercs if they think he sold Touchard out to get there. He'll need to be squeaky clean over the last forty eight hours if he wants to ensure they don't make any untoward connections."

"You think we can sow some doubt?"

Ali hesitated. If they could trust Petra, then yes, they easily could. But if she really had switched sides then it would actually strengthen Zychene's leadership claim. "If they find out we're trying to interfere… that is worse than any influence we could hope to achieve."

"I take your point, but ultimately it is S-Core's decision," Witworth admitted after considering her response. "Either way, you'll need to report back to the Forum."

"Yes, sir," Ali said. That was not a surprise. "Formally requesting some liberty time for my crew when we get there."

"Granted, though you will need to submit yourself for a debrief, and likely your senior officers too."

Ali nodded her affirmation and he terminated the call, leaving her in the relative darkness and quiet of her ready room as she considered what was coming next. He was right, capturing Touchard was only part of the solution. But it was progress, and that gave hope that was sorely needed.