"Captain Turner, are you listening to us?"

Ali's head snapped up from the reports she had been lost to. In truth; no, she hadn't been. "You were asking me - for the third time - why it wasn't my ship that was attacked," she replied instead.

"You cannot deny it would make more sense for your ship - you specifically - to be targeted by the group demanding restrictions on the freedom of hybrids."

Ali raised an eyebrow, though she'd rather throw a punch. "Are you saying that you would have preferred it if the Faraday had been attacked alongside the Endeavour?" She challenged, even two of the admirals in front of her blanched at that, the third looked rather more pleased that she'd rebuked them for it. "I've already explained. Rear Admiral Grey and I were in discussion about running the operation on Celph when the request for assistance at Yerta came in. We didn't want to let the opportunity at Celph pass us by, so we split up. The attack was clearly planned for whichever ship - or ships - aided Yerta. It was chance that it was Endeavour and not my crew."

"You disobeyed orders to go to Celph."

"My crew apprehended the leader of the group blowing up embassies," Ali retorted. "We did S-Core's damn job for them after they put up every blockade they could in our way. Why don't you go and bug them instead?"

"Captain Turner, if you continue to address superior officers in this way, we will have to officially reprimand you."

Ali set her jaw as she rubbed at the side of her head as best she could without pulling her blonde ponytail apart. She wasn't surprised that this interview had given her a headache. "Yes, ma'am." As much as she'd happily let rip and damn the consequences, they had bigger things to worry about right now, and if she was stripped of command then she was going to have a much harder time helping. "What else do you want to know?"

"How well do you know ensign Lartyne?"

Ali raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna try and pin this on her?"

"She was the only one of the landing party to survive the attack, and it's highly irregular for the comm officer to be part of such a ground team."

"It was her damn home world!" Ali snapped, her fists curling as she reigned herself in with an angry sigh. "I've run one mission and a few training exercises with the Endeavour whilst she has been a crew member. She's damn good at her job and calm under pressure, I barely know her on a personal level."

"Yet you would defend her?"

"I know her commanding officer very well, if he trusts her, then that's good enough for me until someone provides me evidence to the contrary."

The admirals shared a look and Ali barely resisted rolling her eyes. It shouldn't be controversial for her to be supportive of the man who was her commanding officer for years. "How many friends did you lose in the attack?"

"Which attack?" Ali queried, stalling for time and hoping she could avoid answering the question.

"All of them, if you like."

"Too many," she retorted, deliberately not looking at the reports under her hands that contained pictures of those missing in action, presumed dead from the explosion. "Why is this relevant?"

"You have a history of going rogue when it suits you. We want to assess the likelihood of you jeopardising any investigations and operations in a misguided attempt to help."

"Is this a court martial?"

"No -"

"Then if you truly believe me to be a danger to USEP, perhaps you should start fresh proceedings to have me removed from the service again."

Two of the admirals shared a look, whilst the other folded her hands together and leant forward on her forearms. "Then you will be willing to share the Endeavour's current location with us?" Ali raised a pointed eyebrow. "We have been… unable to locate them since the attack on Yerta."

Ali relaxed back in her chair with a rueful expression. "I'm sorry, admirals, but I don't know where they are."

~-x-~

The recycled air of the Forum had never felt as fresh as it did after that debrief. Once the door had closed behind her, Ali took a moment to just breathe and let the tension flow out of her as she did. Only to wince as an insistent pain throbbed against one temple. Well, she thought, one annoyance over and done was still progress.

"Another headache?" Rila asked as she joined Ali from the wall she'd been waiting by. Ali nodded. "Do you want me to check it?"

Ali chuckled. "Are you my doctor now?"

Rila's voice was so relaxed that Ali knew she was amused. "I'm jetran, mental health is kind of our brand."

"Since when did headaches count as mental health?"

"Since they can be caused by stress and other matters," Rila retorted as if it were obvious, making Ali smile as they started walking to the beamers so that they could get back to their ship. "Should I ask about the debrief?"

Ali gave her second in command a quick run down. Rila's coral coloured eyes gave nothing away as she did, her turquoise tentacles poised around her head as they passed by the crowds. Ali wasn't sure if Rila's usual stoicism was more reassuring than if she tried uncharacteristically pretending everything was fine.

Once Ali finished her explanation there was a brief silence as Rila fully absorbed the information, before replying simply, that would explain why there's an S-Core operative following us. "They should know better," she added out loud, though still quietly.

Ali almost smiled at that. "It's true though," she replied, partly to confirm Rila's telepathic warning, and partly to stop any potential eavesdroppers thinking she had lied to the admiralty.

They didn't have a chance to discuss any potential next steps when someone called Ali's rank and name across the crowd. Both of them turned to see a tall, human woman with long brown hair hurrying to approach them, not in the least bit unsteady in her heels. Ali thought she recognised her from a photograph. "Samantha?" She checked once she'd caught up.

The confusion manifested itself as a blink, before it was gone again. "My brother actually mentioned me?"

Ali chuckled once. "Believe it or not, yeah, he did."

"Colour me surprised then," Sam said, before turning to Rila with an extended hand, palm up. Rila scrutinised her for a moment before reaching to place her own hand beneath and gently rotated both till they were palm down. "Sam Wood," she introduced herself.

"Rila," was the curt response she got as they both retracted their hands. "You know jetra hand gestures?"

"It's my job to keep diplomats from insulting their guests, I've picked up a lot," she explained with a shrug and wry smile. Rila considered that an appropriate explanation and glanced to Ali. Picking up on the cue Sam did the same. "Captain Turner, do you have a minute?"

"Ali," she said, not sure if Sam just didn't know or wanted permission to call her that. "Rila, I'll meet you back on the Faraday." Rila's tentacles bobbed as she acknowledged the plan before turning to continue her journey. "I know somewhere nearby that does a decent shot of caffeine…"

"Lead the way."

It didn't take them long to get settled in the cafe Ali remembered that served half decent coffee, or more rather coffee that could satisfy USEP's officers. They sat in slightly awkward silence before a server placed their drinks on their table, Ali's was practically a mug of espresso, Sam's was a black tea blended with a fruit Ali was unfamiliar with. "This is probably a dumb question, but how are you holding up?" Ali asked after testing the temperature of her drink.

"My brother's MIA, how am I supposed to be doing?" Sam retorted, Ali shrugged by reply and Sam sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just sick of people asking if I'm okay."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I get that," Ali admitted.

"Yeah, I bet you do," Sam chuckled to herself as she blew over her tea before taking a tentative sip. "I wanted to ask if there was any news?" Ali opened her mouth with a defeated look on her face. "I know you might not be able to tell me anything official, but can't you at least give me a hint?"

"I'm sorry," Ali replied unhappily. "I don't have anything to add to the official reports."

Sam lowered her mug back onto the table as she sagged backward into her seat. Ali understood the weariness that emanated from the woman opposite her, it was almost harder when they were missing. There was a certainty about death at least, it hurt - and it hurt like hell - but at least you knew. This way was just never ending hope and disappointment as you struggled to work out if you should be doing more, or if you should just accept what felt inevitable but horrible and the guilt that came with giving up. Ali folded her arms on the table, hands cupping each elbow, to resist her temptation to play with a sugar packet she had no intention of using. What could she say?

Suddenly Sam let out a noise that was part laugh, part sigh before wiping at her face with a hand. "I told him I'd kill him myself if he ever did this to me again," she explained.

Despite knowing the horrendous circumstances under which Ben had spent three weeks out of contact the last time, that comment still made Ali smile. "I'd say there's a queue, but I think you get dibs," she quipped instead.

"As his twin, damn straight I do," Sam agreed firmly. There was a pause before they caught each other's eye before they both started laughing.

~-x-~

Though the initial awkwardness had disappeared, they didn't linger once they'd finished their drinks. Ali resumed her journey to the beamers so that she could return to her ship.

She hadn't gone very far when she felt the all too familiar feeling of being followed. She was walking through a merchant district of The Forum - the large spaceship that acted as the central political and trade hub of the sector - and there were more than enough shop fronts for her to glance at to confirm her suspicions. It was the same S-Core escort that she and Rila had acquired before her coffee break.

That meant they were patient, Ali mused as she pretended to be looking at a shop window display. The question that left her with was: was that because they didn't want witnesses or because they didn't actually want to do anything but watch?

Her attention was briefly diverted when her comm flashed a notification, she quickly opened it with a double tap from her left hand. "What's up?"

"We have a problem," Rila replied bluntly. Somehow, Ali wasn't surprised.

"Just one?"

"Specifically a warrant for your arrest," Rila explained. Ali pinched the bridge of her nose as her brain translated that into a single four letter expletive. "Olkant's working his magic to get a lock on you, just don't get arrested and we'll be good."

"What about the rest of the Faraday?" Ali asked as she started moving, she could already tell the S-Core guys knew something was up with their target - her.

"We're in the clear, though if you're about to do what I think you are that might change," Rila explained.

"Oh, I am," Ali confirmed. "Don't do anything to get yourselves in trouble and cooperate with any investigation they see fit to launch," she ordered. "I'll work something out."

"This wasn't how I envisioned taking command," Rila's voice was soft to indicate she was joking, but Ali could hear the edge of worry that laced it.

"Consider it a trial run," Ali replied. "Stay safe."

With that she closed her comm and ducked into the nearest shop she could see. Her best bet right now was to play cat and mouse until she lost her tail and then stow away on a transport and make her way to one of the less reputable areas of the galaxy. Maybe Peshtar or Gooli?

Though that would be far more difficult starting from The Forum rather than one of her old stomping grounds. Somewhere that she could easily evade them for hours as she exploited every shortcut, back alley and contact she possessed after two years of living by little more than her own wits and whatever jobs she could find willing to pay a freelance.

The proprietor barely glanced at her as she asked about a bathroom, and just pointed towards a corridor. Once she fell out of sight of the patrons she untied her ponytail and shook out her golden hair around her head in the hopes that it would help her blend into the Forum crowds when she rejoined the main streets. She glanced around but didn't see any jacket or overall she could discreetly swipe.

She ignored the sign for the bathrooms and hunted around until she found another door, a service or goods entrance, and took that out into a side street. By the time she rejoined the main thoroughfare she realised that luck wasn't on her side and they'd sent a couple of competent people to arrest her as she saw one of them already waiting for her and the other quickly catching up.

She swore to herself as she considered her options. She had been hoping to avoid a firefight, and she had better things to do than spend the next few months in a jail cell.

In the end she tried to side step them entirely, keeping her head down and merging with the crowd and pretending like she was unaware of them. It didn't work and she was presently stopped by one of them blocking her path and she wasn't able to pass them as if they were simply another pedestrian. She didn't need to turn to know the other was flanking her in an attempt to block any escape attempt.

Fine, let them think they had her cornered, she decided as she took a steadying breath as she addressed the officer in front of her with her most nonchalant expression. "Can I help you?" She asked politely.

"Captain Turner, you're under arrest on suspicion of withholding vital intelligence leading to the attack on the Endeavour. You are also charged with providing intelligence to the organisation responsible."

Ali didn't even have a chance to put up an objection about how utterly ridiculous that was before the one behind her moved to drag her wrists behind her to cuff her. "Get off me!" She shouted as she span to grab the offending hand, digging her thumb in hard and twisting whilst her other hand collided with his shoulder. She followed through with the momentum as she stepped to put her leg behind his calf and sent him sprawling to the floor.

She released him before he'd even hit the floor so she could jump over him to evade the other one as he made his own attempt to grab her now that he'd finished calling it in to his bosses. She heard the aghast whispers and panicked scuffling from her commotion as she started running into the crowd. They wouldn't try and shoot her in a crowded street, right? She hoped frantically as she dodged between the few people who hadn't already gotten out of her way and leapt over one guy's leg as he attempted to try and trip her to help the security officer.

She heard a chorus of panicked, shocked gasps and quickly ducked into a side street to avoid the shot the S-Core man had aimed at her. Idiots. She also cursed under her breath as she realised that The Forum was too well kept to provide her with stray crates and garbage to use to try and block off their path behind her.

The side alley she'd taken opened up into square of shops and eateries and she just barely managed to side step one of the chairs outside an establishment in her hurry. She vaulted over a small wall and into the central garden, much to the indignant gasps and glares that she generated from the crowd. One even yelled at her not to trample the flowers. She'd have found it funny in any other circumstance. She made use of one of the trees to dodge another shot at her - and could only imagine the ire the S-Core officer had just earnt for hitting said tree - before leaping to vault over the wall at the other side.

She needed to get out of the open, as she searched desperately for some kind of way out of S-Core's path. She knew they'd have scanners, so she couldn't sit and hide. Or could she? She remembered one of her less than legal purchases, one that she'd definitely transferred a copy of into her USEP files. So she still had access to it until she disconnected her uniform's internal computer from the USEP servers.

She took a sharp turn into a leisure centre before the S-Core guys rounded the corner to see her, and sprinted up the stairs as fast as she could. Hopefully they'd expect her to head down, where the docks were. It was her ultimate destination after all. The upper floor - the third floor of the leisure complex - had an exit onto a balcony walkway it shared with a nearby merchant plaza. She ducked into the nearest clothes seller and made a beeline for the changing rooms as she swiped a set of loose kentarian formal robes on her way past.

As soon as the door shut she leant her back up against it and started tapping on the sleeve of her uniform top, accessing the scrambler program she owned and also activating some subroutines that Etsile had left in her possession. The chip that still resided against her collarbone that was designed to fool scanners into believing she was human rather than a hybrid.

Once she'd finished activating the programs she pulled on the robes over her uniform. She'd need to buy replacement gear once she was off the ship, but for now she needed to retain the top half of her uniform to maintain her access to the computer systems it housed. Once she had finished changing she cast out with her telepathic senses to see if there were any S-Core officers searching the shop for her, and for the moment her luck was holding and there was only the shop keeper and a single other patron perusing their eshbat offerings.

Confirming she could pay for the items and walk out wearing them was easy, and the payment from her old freelance account went through without a hitch. Two years of underworld dealings had taught her to always keep a hidden emergency fund, she just hadn't expected to need it to escape USEP, S-Core or Forum space. From there on she kept her head down in the crowd and matched pace with different pedestrians until she spotted a viable path out of sight in the form of a bouncer she recognised.

He recognised her as well. "You aren't about to cause trouble, are you, miss?" He asked as she approached the door.

"Of course not," she promised with her sweetest smile.

"The boss doesn't tolerate lies," he reminded her as he stepped aside to let her in.

"I just need a shortcut," she said, a promise to be out of the way as quickly as possible.

The casino itself was dark in-between all the brightly lit consoles and stage shows, and it suited Ali perfectly. She cut a wandering path through the labyrinth of walkways, designed to maximise temptation to resume spending money, avoiding as many cameras as she could before she finally found herself a few floors down and at a back exit that gave her a direct access to the transports that restocked the giant ship. She yanked off the robes she'd purchased and replaced them with a kitchen jacket she had swiped on her way through, and grabbed a trolley stacked high with empty crates and made her way towards the nearest transport with the attitude and appearance of a kitchen hand that was running through their orders.

She was using the stacked trolley to obscure her face as best she could from the security personnel, but no one gave her a second glance. Even when she left the trolley near a ship that was unloading and jumped into the cargo hold of an adjacent transport that she could tell was running through it's preflight checks. After a quick scouting of the area she found somewhere to hunker down until they'd jumped to light speeds, at which point she could hack the controls to get herself into the passenger area and from there she just had to find out where they were going and how many times she'd need to transport hop to get herself somewhere useful.

As she felt the ship shift as it took off she released a breath she hadn't even realised she was holding. This was not how she expected her day to be going.