After Allegra made a left turn at the tail end of the Prousley's route they found the trip as painstaking as Lyra had imagined it would be. She and Tess poured over the data from the nav sensors every five or six hours. Even with military-grade equipment, they could only map the gravitics a few hundred parsecs in front of them. Their attempts to locate hyperwave beacons became exercises in astrogational aggravation. If the Empire had placed waypoints, their transmitters were extraordinarily well-shielded. Varun thought that might reinforce the importance of the operation, but for Lyra it just slowed them down.

Tess and Taz were polite but cool with each other. She spent most of her time in the cockpit, where she felt most comfortable. She and Lyra discussed everything from celestial mechanics, to the trainers they'd flown as cadets, to the differences in Imperial and New Republic doctrine for starship operations, and Tess ended up feeling at home in Allegra's copilot seat. The one subject she avoided was Taz. For one thing, she didn't know how much the former Imperial pilot knew, or didn't know, about their relationship. For another, Taz had made it clear that Lyra wasn't on his sensors as anything other than a fellow member of the crew. She also knew how private he could be— for a Filvian— and how easily wounded.

They spent nearly six days carefully picking their way through the sector, until finally the navcomp indicated that their last jump was nearing its end. Not knowing what to expect, Lyra had taken the precaution of plotting an exit from hyperspace that would put them well outside any standard Imperial defense line.

Sera sat with Taz at the gunnery stations. Like Lyra, Allegra's captain wasn't too keen on having passengers in the cockpit, although Numarkos and Daro were hardly their typical fares. Varun stood near the back of the cockpit, leaning against the wall near the engineering controls. There was a folding jump seat, but he didn't seem interested in sitting.

Lyra called the countdown to realspace: "Three… two… one… mark." She pulled on the hyperspace motivator levers. The perpetual light show dissolved to instant black, then an unfamiliar starfield appeared. In the lower-left corner of the viewport a pinkish sun hung suspended in the void. A dark, round silhouette was closer, but still hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

Taz began his sensor sweep while Sera powered up the weapons. "See anything, Doc?"

"Nothing between us and the planet," he pronounced after a few seconds.

"Did we end up where we wanted to be?" she asked Lyra, who was checking her nav scope.

"Looks like it, Captain." She turned to Tess. "Great work, partner."

"Back at you, Lyra," Tess replied. They shared a handshake and satisfied grins.

"Nice work, everyone," Sera said, turning in her chair. "Captain Numarkos, what's our next move?"

Varun drummed his fingers rhythmically against the wall. "If this installation is as important as it seems, we can't just drop down there unannounced, and any civilian ship is bound to raise their hackles. I looked through the rest of the data you provided. There are reports about ancient structures scattered all over the planet. That works in our favor."

"I don't see the connection," Sera admitted.

"I've been building cover identities for us. Allegra's crew has it easy — most of you, at any rate; you've been hired to bring us here. Taz, Tessa and I are your customers."

"Me?" Taz looked surprised.

"You, Oktos-grasha, are researching paleological sites and ancient languages for the Tagge Company's Cultural Preservation Initiative."

"Tagge Company? You think that'll fly?"

"It has a fair shot. TaggeCo is one of the oldest, largest corporations in the galaxy, and one of the Empire's most visible corporate supporters. Their paramilitary forces even fought alongside Imperial naval and ground forces. They're a well-known element. They also happen to have a cultural preservation initiative. It's mostly for show, a front for exploring potential new markets and finding resources to exploit, but their researchers publish papers on all kinds of things — languages, customs, art, music, religion, you name it. If we put those things together, it should minimize their index of suspicion about us."

Numarkos took a data cylinder from his pocket and handed it to Taz. "Memorize everything on that; you need to be able to recite it at any moment, without hesitation, and with the same assurance that you'd answer a question about your own family."

"How much is there?"

"Nothing we don't need. Tessa filled me in on your upbringing, family history, education, that kind of thing. I used as much of it as I could. The less you have to lie about, the more likely the lies you do tell will be believed."

Taz stiffened and stared hard at Tess, then back at Numarkos. His eyes flashed, and he had to clamp down on the tirade he was about to spew. She had no right to tell that man anything about me. Divulging details about my family, my childhood? He felt like raging at the two of them, who thought it was okay to casually delve into his past. Instead, he clenched his jaw and gripped the code cylinder so hard it made his knuckles white.

Sera didn't miss his angry posture. "Listen, Doc," she breezed, a hand on his shoulder, "why don't you go get started on that. Like the man said, you'll need to have it memorized by the time we get planetside, and we've got more than enough hands up here to handle the approach."

"Yeah," he said through his teeth, trying to sound normal. "Good idea." He got up slowly and left the cockpit, shooting a dark glare at Numarkos.

"Have a seat, Captain." Sera patted the arm of the chair Taz had just abandoned. The look she gave him made it clear it wasn't a suggestion. Varun pursed his lips, then sat. "Know how to work a sensor cluster?"

"It's been a while," he admitted slowly.

"I'll give you a refresher," she offered and leaned over, reconfiguring the sensor controls to their default positions. In a quiet voice with a steely undertone, she advised, "You and I are going to have a conversation later." Then more casually, "So Doc has his cover. What about you and Tess?"

"Good point," said Numarkos, just as casually. "I've maintained a cover identity at TaggeCo for a few years. Mid-level management in their industrial division, low enough not to have much of a profile, high enough to get me out of trouble, usually. I'll provide the impetus for our trip."

"And me?" Tess asked, looking back at Varun.

"My assistant, a former pilot with the Mining Explorer division."

"And your girlfriend," she immediately added.

"It goes without saying," he smiled. "In any case, with some help from Miss Nimor, I narrow-casted a burst transmission via encrypted hyperwave to Fleet Intelligence after we left Baros. I instructed them to insert our covers into the TaggeCo records, just in case someone goes snooping to check our stories."

"Do you think the message was received?" Sera asked.

"Hard to say. I wouldn't bet a sabacc hand on it, but if it wasn't it's not the end of the world. TaggeCo's a sprawling megacorp. Records get lost all the time or mixed up, especially for the lower priority programs."

"Okay, so the covers are covered. But why are we here?" Sera probed. "Is Tess just going to magically discover her parents on a one in a hundred billion coincidence?"

"Excellent question. TaggeCo's mining division is one of its biggest, and this is a mining operation; it's not out of the question that TaggeCo might have supplied some of the equipment. Being an Imperial corporation, TaggeCo likely has access at some level to Imperial reports and logs like the ones you provided. Our story is that Tess was reviewing some of those logs at my request, when she saw the names of her parents, which put us on the road here."

Sera pursed her lips. "It's a little thin but it might hold together."

Varun made adjustments to the sensor controls and worked for a couple of minutes. "Would you look at that." He flashed his teeth and projected the sensor return on the forward viewport. It showed an irregular wedge of a continent running roughly northwest to southeast. A red dot flashed about a third of the way down. He magnified the image to display an industrial facility nestled against a range of mountains around two thousand meters high.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Sera gave him a tilt of her head. "Nice work on the sensors. You must be a fast learner, Captain."

"I was in Razorclaw Operations for three years. Running scans was pretty much a daily thing."

"You seem to have most of this figured out."

"Most of it, but there's always unpredictable elements. We'll need to be on our toes the entire time we're there, but we can't look as if we're on guard."

"So, on our toes, but playing it loose."

"Something like that, yes."

"I can't think of anything that could possibly go wrong," Lyra quipped from the pilot's station.

Finding no sign of orbital defenses or starships, Lyra suggested that they wait until local daytime to arrive at the facility. She put Allegra's Heart on a static course to keep them outside of typical planetary scanning range. Varun configured the sensors for regular passive sweeps, and they left to get some sleep before tomorrow's landing.

As they passed the starboard cargo bay, Tess caught a glimpse of Taz bent studiously over his pad resting on the medbay's bed. She waved Varun and Sera on. "I'll catch up with you in a bit. I want to see how Taz is getting on with his cover story."

Varun looked back at her with inquisitive eyes.

"I'll be right down, sweetheart," she assured him and stepped to the door of the infirmary. She stuck her head in. "Still at home in a medbay, huh?"

"It's familiar and usually quiet," he said with a glance, returning to study the fictitious background he'd been given.

Tess took a seat on the stool at the desk. "Thank you for doing this, Taz. It means a lot, to both of us." If Tess saw the flicker of a scowl on his face, she didn't let it dampen her rising excitement. Instead, she kicked her feet with nervous energy. "I wish tomorrow was here now. What do you suppose we'll find down there?"

"I don't know, really. Those logs are years old. Anything could have happened since they were written."

Tess's bright expression dimmed. "You could try being a little more optimistic," she suggested.

"What I'd like to try," he said tersely, "is memorizing this pile of w'lorta crap your boyfr—" He caught himself and took a second to moderate his tone. "Numarkos put together."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's shoddy. It'll never hold up." Why is she here, needling me?

"You're upset."

"You're damn right I'm upset!" Taz exploded. "He thinks it's okay to use every detail of my life, my family. He wants me to perform like some Kowakian monkey-lizard!"

"That's not fair, Taz. You need a good cover story."

"And I guess that makes my entire life fair game?"

"I gave him those details, Taz, it was me!"

Taz snorted. "I don't care! He's the one who used them!"

"Because I told him to!" Tess retorted, red-faced and as angry as he was. "You have to stop taking out your frustrations on him, Taz! It wasn't his fault. If you want to be angry at me, then be angry at me, not Varun!"

"And then to spring it on me in front of everyone — He did that on purpose to goad me, just like he goaded you."

"No he didn't. Listen to yourself! A cover has to be believable. If he'd made up everything about your life there's no way you could make it convincing, especially with just a few hours to prepare. Come on, Taz, you're smarter than this. Why are you letting this get to you?"

"Because that was ours, Tess, it was OURS!" He reverberated with outrage that did nothing to relieve the pain he was feeling. His whole body buzzed, barely under his control. "I told you all those things because I loved you, and I wanted you to know everything." Taz jabbed his finger toward the passenger berths below. "He doesn't get to know that! It was ours to share!"

The anger was so visceral, like a physical presence invading the space, suffocating him. All at once he felt the Force rising unbidden in his perception. It called to him, seductive and strong, offering relief from the pain, and justice for the wrongs they'd done to him. He only had to surrender, give in to the hatred and betrayal he was feeling, and power would be his. Power enough to pull everything down around them.

Taz breathed hard while he struggled for control. He felt angry and hurt, but terrified of the potent energy he could feel roiling at the edge of his consciousness. Taz forced himself toward calm, pushed back against the dark, ugly thoughts burning through his mind. He turned away from her, fearing his own rage and lack of control. His hands shook until he gripped the edge of the bed so hard that the metal frame bit into his palm, drawing blood.

Tess's voice trembled. "Taz, I'm sorry. If there was another way I'd take it. But I need this to work. I want to rescue my parents and everyone else the Empire is holding in that facility, under who knows what kind of awful conditions."

She inhaled deeply, steadying herself. "Varun's good at this. It's what he does, Taz. I know you don't like him and I guess I can't really blame you for that. And I know you're angry and upset with me. I can't blame you for that either. But I'm asking for your help." She sounded dismal, desperate and pleading. "You loved me once, and you trusted me. I'm just asking you to trust me this one time, until I've taken my parents away from here. Then if you want to hate me, I'll understand." Tears pooled in her eyes. "Please, Taz. Please do this one thing for me."

Taz couldn't face her. He felt ashamed and scared of what was happening to him. The Force continued its siren song of power and vengeance. He shook his head so hard it hurt. His throat was raw, his chest wouldn't work right, and he felt like gasping for air. He managed a stiff nod after a moment. "Alright."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Leave me alone please," he rasped. There was a pause, then Tess's footfalls on the deck plates as she fled. A moment later he heard the sound of the lift. When he was sure she'd gone he let go of the bed and pounded the wall until his hands were bruised, his knuckles bled, and his furor was spent. He sunk to the floor and sat there feeling miserable and alone.

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

Lyra ducked into her cabin, leaving Sera and Varun in the dim corridor. "Captain Numarkos, let's you and I have a chat."

"Of course, Captain Rendix. What can I do for you?"

"You blindsided the doc up there, and you did it in front of everyone. That wasn't fair to him. It won't happen again on my ship."

"I'm not sure I follow, Captain."

"I'm pretty sure you do, Captain; you're not a stupid man. Listen, I know you, Doc, and Tess have a… complex history. He's getting back on his feet after some rough months, and you're not helping."

Varun smirked. "Oktos is a big boy. I think he can handle it."

"Tell me that after the woman you love dumps you, then brings her new boyfriend aboard your ship for a two-week cruise."

Numarkos looked unconvinced. "So you're here to fight his battles for him?"

"Doc can fight his battles just fine, but he's my crewmate. He's also my friend, and the man who saved my life on an actual battlefield. So his battles are my battles, whether he wants them to be or not.

"Listen, I don't have a lot of rules on my ship, but I do have a few. First, what I say, goes. Second, you hired us to bring you here, but you don't get to use my crew however you see fit. If you need Allegra or one of my people for something, you clear it through me first. If you have a problem with that, or any other rules I might inform you about, let me know now and I'll turn us back around and drop you at the nearest New Republic facility." She leveled a hard stare at him. "Do you have a problem with that, Captain Numarkos?"

Varun pursed his lips and gave a slow shake of his head. "No problem at all, Captain."

"Good. I like Captain Daro and I think she's a good judge of character, so I think you're probably a good man. Do me a favor and prove me right. Doc's got enough to deal with having Tess onboard a twenty-two meter ship for weeks on end. Not saying you have to treat him with silk gloves, just give him some space, and maybe try not to rub in his face the fact that you took the love of his life away from him."

Varun wore a sober, if unenthusiastic expression. "Fair enough, Captain Rendix. You'll have my full cooperation from now on."

"Thank you, Captain Numarkos," Sera said, extending her hand. Varun grasped it. The lift dinged its arrival. Tess stepped out looking haunted and upset.

Sera frowned. She could guess the reason for Tess's glum look. "Get some sleep, you two. Big day tomorrow."

Palming the door switch, Sera entered her cabin. The lights were out and she let out a long, tired sigh into the darkness. She undressed and slipped under the covers. Reiko snuggled up next to her. "Long day, Rei-sha?"

The engineer stifled a yawn. "Not really. I adjusted the hyperdrive engagement sequencer, ran scheduled diagnostics on the etheric controls, fixed a glitch with the ventral turret actuators, and flushed the sublight cooling system. Oh, and I started compiling a protocol program for Yuzu. You?"

Sera smiled and kissed the nape of Rei's neck. "I understood almost none of that, but it sounds really impressive." After a pause she added, "Doc blew up today."

"Over what?"

"What else? I swear, he and Numarkos need to have a good old fistfight. Get it out of their systems."

"That doesn't sound like Taz," Rei said.

"No, I don't suppose it does. Think I'll have a talk with him tomorrow. I need him to be on his game. If he can't get Tess out of his head—"

Reiko turned to face her. "I couldn't get you out of my head after two months, if someone stole you away from me."

"That would never happen," Sera said with absolute certainty. "Want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're my girl." Sera swiped Rei's nose with her finger.

Rei giggled, then said, "I think he'll be okay. He thrives when he has someone to save, and it sounds like there's going to be a lot of that going on soon."

"You see things so clearly. Maybe you should be the captain."

"I'd be as poor a captain as you'd be an engineer," Rei teased.

Sera hugged her close. "I love you, Reiko Hudson."

"And I love you, Serasana Rendix, with all my heart, until the universe ends." Her kiss smothered any further discussion.