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Owen walked into the medibay and made his way over to the EHP alcove. Sonja and Marsh were still standing guard and Billy and Rosemary were sitting on the deck, quietly staring up at the one, occupied EHP. A faint ripple of energy cascaded down the privacy barrier's surface and its control panel was lit up with green telltales, warning that it was still active.

''Morning Major Shira. Corporal Marsh.''

''Time's up?''

Owen nodded, ''Time's up. They've had a little over twenty-four hours and Tuven has sent us a war tug and an escort to greet us. They want to question the Hope's crew about why they followed another warship through an FTL corridor they're ill-equipped to deal with and they no doubt want to inspect the ship, too.''

Sonja stepped back, turned to the control panel and deactivated the privacy barrier. Billy and Rosemary looked up, confusion flitting across their faces as Owen approached them.

''I'm Lieutenant Commander Hartman, executive officer of this ship. I'm afraid your twenty-four hours are up.'' Owen said, ''There's a Tuvenese war tug accompanied by three escorting Tuvenese warships coming to take us in and they have requested that the Hope's Blade merge with the convoy and follow them back to Firmament, where you'll be guided into a parking orbit and put under guard for questioning and a ship inspection. I need to warn you that Firmament High Command are not happy that you were stalking us with hostile intent. You'll be provided with the relevant translation library before disembarking the Ranger so you can upload the programme to your ship's database. And I must stress that disobeying their orders will not end well for you. Firmament's had a recent close call that almost killed them all and any hostilities from any unknowns will go down like a lead balloon in hard gravity. Is that understood?''

Billy stood up, his knees clicking loudly as he stretched. He hid a wince as he straightened up and studied the black furred ferret intently, looking for any signs of a bluff. Owen's exhaustion was obvious, but he was not bluffing. He looked a little gaunt, his black and green ship suit starting to look ill-fitting for his lithe frame. Like the rest of the Ranger's crew, he was heavily rationing himself and the lack of nourishment was taking its toll.

''I understand. This isn't exactly what you'd call an ordinary situation.'' Billy said. He glanced at the EHP then looked back to Owen, ''You need food. Our stores are pretty much over-stocked and we have plenty of clean water to spare. We insist you take some.''

Owen's ear twitched and his eyes narrowed slightly. The idea of trusting someone who had initially approached them with subterfuge and hostility did not sit right with him. He accessed his wetware and contacted Trillian, relaying the offer even though he already knew the answer. The crew had voted on this some time ago and a point couldn't be made to high command if they went back on it. Turning up to Firmament with more food in the pantry than they had said they had would look bad and no doubt give Gensu room to wriggle out of the trouble he was in.

''While I appreciate the offer, we have enough MREs to get us to Firmament. If they're willing to part with some water, though, they can half fill our auxiliary tank. We're getting nothing but rust right now and I don't think the crew will have many complaints about that.'' Trillian replied.

Owen's eyes refocussed and he accepted the offer of water, stating that the auxililary tank should be filled to the halfway mark and no more. Billy and Rosemary looked bewildered.

''Are you sure you don't want food? Your crew is starving.'' Rosemary said, her eyes wide with horror. Declining food when there was plenty to go around was ridiculous and baffling.

Owen smiled ruefully, ''Our upper command structure is rotten in places and so we need to make a point. The Tuvenese will inspect our ship when it docks for repairs and restock, meaning that they'll record everything they see; the condition of the ship, the condition of the crew, food and water stock, spares, ammo, ordnance, medical... it'll all be going into an official report, a report that we'll be getting a copy of. The Ranger is now a year overdue returning to base for her decommissioning ceremony and we're not the only ship that's been run ragged without a break. All kinds of military and general spacers laws have been broken for the sake of money. Some of which keeps disappearing from the bank. We may be mercenaries, Miss, but we still have our values and morals. So, thank you, but we must decline.''

Rosemary looked even more bewildered whilst Billy's expression slowly shifted from confusion to understanding.

''Ah... I see. Well,'' The husky said and cast one last glance at the EHP, ''we'll be heading back to the Hope and follow you back to Firmament.''

Owen nodded, asked them to wait a moment and asked Jashen for some aspirin. Once the ferret had that sorted out, he, Sonja and Marsh escorted Billy and Rosemary back to the airlock.

''Are you sure you won't accept some food?'' Rosemary asked softly as they were waiting for the quarter deck's airlock to cycle.

''We are sure, thank you.'' Owen said, ''Our tug will be here shortly and then it's a one week journey back to Firmament. In the meantime, one of your engineers will contact you about that water. They'll help you re-fill the tank.''

~~~~~~

Trillian watched his screens as the Hope's Blade drifted away from the Ranger. The war tug, Harmony of Tildaan was a speck on their right-hand view screen, her running lights glittering in the darkness. The multi-role destroyer, Archevesen was the forerunner and the two heavy cruisers, Ootlan Fesh and Liundassen were flanking the tug. The small convoy was bearing down on them fast. He contacted Thaslon, who was still busily fighting the ship's coolant systems, trying to stop the drives from overheating and destroying themselves.

''Engineering.'' He said in a harried tone.

''Harmony's almost here and the Hope's at a safe distance. Dump the heat sinks and shut down the drives. Captain Brekan and his crew'll catch us.'' Trillian said.

''Aye, Captain. My team are starting the process right now.''

''Excellent work. Keep me informed.''

''Will do. Thaslon out.''

A plume of heat erupted from the Ranger's rad plates. The destroyer disappeared from everyone's sensors in a corona of seething whites, reds and oranges as Thaslon opened up every heat sink on the ship and dumped all the collected heat and radiation into space.

''What a show.'' Owen commented as he came back onto the bridge and re-took his seat.

Trillian watched as the drive temperature gauges on his engineering screen dropped rapidly. It took half an hour of having every rad plate open and venting to disperse the collected heat. Eventually they closed and the drives were shut down before they could break down. An eerie silence crept through the ship as the subtle vibrations faded and the barely perceptible thrum that lurked on the very edges of hearing faded to silence. The lights dimmed and a series of tellates lit up amber and red all across the engineering board. Without the drives operational, the Ranger was running the rest of its systems off of what was left of the power stored in the ship's considerable batteries. Hopefully, they would hold up long enough to be connected with the life support systems of the Harmony of Tildaan.

Angelica's mind shifted curiously against his own, a flicker of fear underscoring her unspoken query. Trillian sent a reassuring thought back telling her the drives were offline for safety reasons. She was confused by that and he had to sigh, remembering he was now dealing with a mature child who had barely any understanding of how things worked beyond her own world. And, he reminded himself, that Thymion were still playing with sciences and technologies that were hundreds of years more advanced than they were. They had been in space for a paltry twenty years and thus still had a great deal to learn. Her curiosity lingered and so he explained that the drives needed to be shut down through fear of them overheating and breaking or even exploding. An FTL unit, such as a slipdrive, hyperdrive or a rift generator exploding ran the risk of serious temporal fallout as well as the more basic radiation type of fallout. Her curiosity satisfied and her fears assuaged, she went silent again.

That time round, he noted, she had been gentle, almost a pleasant presence. Kindness radiated from her, as did love. A love of life, all life. Even for the Temlasarians, regardless of the atrocities they had committed. Not long after the Hope's Blade had taken up position off the Ranger's rimward flank, Billy had delivered an information packet to Trillian's ship via comms beam. It was a detailed report of what had happened to them as a species and how the Temlasarians had tried to wipe Thymion out using biological warfare, sabotage and basic invasion tactics. He settled in and started reading the files a little more in depth now that things had settled down and the worry about the drives had subsided some. And with the war tug a few hours away, he had nothing better to do. He sent a copy of the files to Owen. The ferret also became engrossed, history being one of his favourite subjects.

The more they read, the more they started figuring things out. Mostly about the entity and how it had seized control of Angelica. During their attempts to conquer Thymion and its colony worlds, the Temlesarians had attempted to kill her and had very nearly succeeded. It had been a well-aimed, fortunate shot from a sniper that had almost done it and had opened the door to the entity. Everything about Angelica had changed from that moment on. No longer was she a loving person whom cared immensely for those around her, she had become a tyrant possessed, using her power to seize the Thymion Empire in totality and almost eliminating all Temlesarians in doing so, enslaving those who were unfortunate enough to survive her wrath.

The entity had been relentless in using her power, both physical and psychic to mount itself on a throne that Angelica did not want nor have any need of. Her family had simply put it down to some form of PTSD. During her time in the EHP, she had meekly quested around the ship, slowly finding people she could talk to and even forging friendships here and there among the Ranger's exhausted crew. In that short amount of time, it had dawned on Trillian that Angelica would be content with a rundown shack in a forest so long as she had her friends and family, and a decent meal.

''Someone needs to tell Thymion that not all mercs and pirates are allied with Sterwil.'' Owen commented softly as he opened up the next file.

''Mhm. We're perfectly capable of damaging our own reputations without outside help.'' Trillian commented. He knew exactly what Owen was going on about. The Temlesarians had infiltrated as many Avran aid shipments as possible and poisoned the lot before sending them on their way with a perfectly feasible border control ticket of approval and blaming the resultant fallout on the nearest merc and pirate units outside of the Empire, even Avras itself. As for the Avran crews that got captured by Thymion and put on trial for being oblivious to a reclusive people's laws and ways...

''This isn't a can of worms I'd like to go near.'' Trillian said slowly as he read on, his expression turning sour.

''I say we let Tuven deal with it. Especially now that Avras has split away from Sterwil and clammed up.'' Owen replied. Telling an entire race that had just gone on the defensive that their dead loved ones were still alive and oblivious to who they were was asking for all kinds of trouble. ''What do you think of the attempted boarding party from the Hope?''

Trillian pulled his attention away from the file he was reading - an in-depth look into the heavy-handed law system that Not-Angelica had put into place - and thought about her family. They were an odd bunch, but that was nothing unusual to Trillian, considering the people he had worked with, was working with and the kinds of people he had met in combat and everyday life. In fact, them trying to get aboard the Ranger had given Trillian a good idea of what to expect from Angelica's family and also figure out what they were. Two vampires, a demon that was maybe a sub-gene of the succubus family, an alchemist plus Rosemary and Billy. He compared them briefly to those he had seen aboard the Daglia and drew a blank as to whether they were native Thymions or not. Rosemary definitely was. Billy had said that he wasn't and Trillian was sure that the alchemist was some kind of victim concerning temporal displacement. Truth be told, what Sonja had explained to Trillian had largely gone in one ear and out the other. It wasn't that he hadn't been listening, it was just that when it came to Sonja and what she was, things could get very weird, very fast, which generally made things complicated. Regardless, he trusted her judgement so he took what words he could understand for gospel.

He mulled them over some more.

Billy was docile enough after having seen his daughter. Rosemary had acted as a mediator between the two ships, coordinating any information exchanges and supplies. But the vampires were, naturally, unpredictable. The female was clearly hostile and Trillian figured that she was most likely the alpha of whatever coven there was on Thymion. She also seemed to be overly protective of Angelica. The male vampire seemed more passive and laid back. Likely a beta in their family.

The plump vixen, the demon, had come across as being timid, wanting to hide behind the others and avoid confrontation. She had called the alpha vampire mum. Then there was the feline that Sonja had tried explaining to Trillian with varying degress of success. He was unearthly and an aura exuded from him that was powerful enough that Trillian felt he might be as powerful as Angelica herself, if not more so. He had also been totally calm whereas everyone had been on edge.

Of course, why be worried when those around you barely register as a threat?

Owen spoke up again, nudging Trillian's train of thought into a siding, ''That feline? The one with the tats? He looked through us. Not past us, not at us, but through us. I'll bet that he could see her through the walls of the ship without even speaking to her. He knew she was there the moment the PsyNet went into stand-by. He was prepared for a ritual of some sort, too. He knew what was going on and he had prepped for it.''

''Aye, I had noticed those sigils and runes looked a little too fresh. I reckon he knew what was going on with Her Grace and he was prepared for either an excorcism or a major fight.'' The tiger agreed thoughtfully.

''Here, I've found something else interesting. Open up file twelve-zero-fifty-fifty-omega.'' Owen said after a moment's reading filled silence.

Trillian closed the file containing the reports of how the Temlesarians had done so much damage to Thymion and opened the one Owen had pointed out. It was a brief history on Billy's life, starting from the point in time that he had found Angelica as a pup, rifling through his bins late at night. She was a runaway, apparently unable to be tamed by the state's child services and so he had taken on the challenge and more-or-less succeeded. Her developing powers had bewildered him but the alchemist, Bojo, had caught on to what was happening to her. They had attempted to train her to the best of their abilities and soon other people, those who didn't fit into society's general standards, started to gravitate towards the family, like cast-off detritus gets caught up in the gravity of a planet to form colourful rings around it.

Like herself, her family were the odd ones out who had eventually found a place to belong, merging into a cohesive family unit where they could be themselves and get on with their lives. And at the core them all, was Angelica, holding everything together simply by existing and being herself. There was no mention of the world's name int he file, but the way it was worded made it obvious that it wasn't Thymion. Maybe an outlier world or something similiar.

With Angelica brought so low so suddenly, it made sense why the Hope's Blade was ready to start a war when they were clearly outgunned within the fringes of an expansive, alien territory. She had become the old husky's world, his reason to go on and woe to those who interferred with that. That, Trillian could understand. He wanted to do to the Synths what they had done to his family, but achieving such a goal was impossible and he knew that it would not bring him comfort.

''Captain, we're being hailed by the Tildaan.'' Lieutenant Lussi announced, a hand pressing her headset closer to her ear. The Jes'wan was busily refining the signal, trying to clear up the static that laced the link. Then she nodded, gave the thumbs-up and opened the line at Trillian's command.

''I am Captain Brekan of the Harmony of Tildaan, war tug of the Tuven Star Kingdom. I request that you seal up your radiator plates and prepare to hand over full helm control to my crew. You are in no fit state to carry on under your own power.'' Said the creature that appeared on the central view screen.

Brekan was a native of Tuven, a race of heavily built quadrupeds, feline in appearance, with a quartet of sabre fangs and six eyes that lined either side of their head. A dark mane of stiff fur haloed Brekan's neck, forming a mohawk that ran down to the tip of hisbroad snout. A thick, leathery hide of dark green and black speckles clad his shoulders and ran the length of his back, forming a broad tail that was tipped with a sting a scorpion would be jealous of. Brekan sat on his haunches in his command chair, a bottle green jerkin of office wrapped neatly around his torso. Trillian stifled a sigh of relief. The Tuvenese were a people he got along with and as much as he loathed the idea of it, he had to claim their debt of gratitude to save his crew from starvation and to make sure the Ranger would make it home without breaking down and killing everyone onboard.

''It's good to see you Captain Brekan. I thank you for being so prompt in replying to our signal. The trailing ship off our rimward aft is the Hope's Blade. She's from the Thymion Empire and she went hostile because we have Thymion's Empress aboard.'' Trillian said. ''She invited herself aboard.'' He added humourlessly.

Brekan looked perplexed, his head tilting, his long ears canting, ''If the Empress is aboard of her own volition, then why go hostile? Has a trap been sprung, Captain Spears?'' Brekan asked, his head dipping low, ears folding. A soft, threatening growl rumbled deep in his chest.

Trillian cast a look at Owen. Owen returned the look with his own confused expression. It was a good question, one they had been mulling over since the Hope turned up and truth be told, they weren't sure. They kept getting flashes of familiarity, especially whenever Sterwil was brought into the conversion. It was like deja vu. But it vanished before anyone could get a firm hold on the reason why and it was all starting to feel more and more vague as the hours ticked by. Maybe there was a trap that was supposed to have been sprung by now, one that had been avoided by coming to the Tuven Sector as opposed to going to Sterwil Federation held space as originally planned. Billy had admitted that he was a little thrown off when he realised that they hadn't come out in the Sterwil Federation, but instead, the Tuven Sector. Maybe whatever had been planned had been strictly for Sterwil and considering what he had read in the files Billy had sent them, he was convinced that they should, right now, be dead.

It's just that Trillian's instinct started screaming at him to change course at the last minute when Sonja had hauled a seething Not-Angelica away for a much-needed beating. Trillian rubbed his hand across his chin in thought then explained to Brekan the situation and his feelings on it, allowing Owen to put in his five Credits. Brekan's expression turned from carefully contained anger to curiosity then dissolved into annoyance.

''I have informed the Ootlan Fesh of what you have said. If the Hope's Blade so much as uncaps a point-defence cannon, they are dust. What they have done to you, after all that you have done for us and countless others throughout this sector and beyond, will not be tolerated.'' Brekan grunted, ''We have informed the Hope's Blade of our intentions and explained in full the whys and wherefores, and they remain submissive. The Ranger and her crew are now officially under Tuvenese protection until further notice.''

''We have requested a full report from Her Grace later, when she is fully awake. I will pass on a copy to you to distribute to your superiors.'' Trillian said. Then an idea occured to him. Lieutenant Commander Darkwater was an empath of some repute, but to have another empath involved... ''Captain, would it be possible to have one of your legal officers aboard for the report? After what's happened, I'd just like to cover as many angles as possible.''

Brekan nodded, ''Lord Vinecath of the Ootlan Fesh will be sent across to you one hour after docking with the Tildaan. Is that suitable?''

''That is. Thank you, Captain, I greatly appreciate it.''

Once the Harmony of Tildaan was within reach of the Ranger, Chief Bracken released control of the helm, allowing the Tildaan full control over the Ranger and what was left of her manoeuvring systems. The Tildaan swung around, the long fingers of her towing apparatus flexing wide. The Ranger silently drifted into the war tug's embrace. The net closed around the destroyer and umbilicals sought out her various plugs and sockets to breathe some fresh life into the battered systems. Once connected, the first thing to happen was a full, deep scan of the entire ship, from structural integrity, the performance of the shield systems, grav-plates, drives, ECMs and general supplies. The overall status of the Ranger turned out to be much worse than anyone had anticipated; of 100%, the old warship rated an overall 27%. The Ranger was no longer space worthy and a ream of citations flashed up in Trillian's inbox declaring his ship a write-off and a danger to everyone aboard and everyone immediately beyond her hull.

''Wait until they get their paws on the medical records and meet the crew in person.'' Owen commented, his eyes wide as he went through the citations. There was just under a thousand of them and he was sure that there was more to come: the physical inspection hadn't happened yet. That would occur when they docked at Firmament.

Trillian was frozen in his seat, staring at the citation concerning the drives and the hull integrity surrounding engineering and the drive block. ''We're at five-percent back there. Last time I was on a ship that rated that in engineering, it was half a hull belonging to an eighty-year old scow, heading to scrap...'' He murmured in horror.

''Jashen to the bridge. We're ready, Captain.''

''I'm on my way.'' Trillian replied and cut the line. He sighed heavily, pulled himself upright, nodded to Owen, ''You have the ship, Ex.''

''Aye, Captain, I have the ship.''

~~~~~~

Trillian stood a few feet back from the EHP, with Sonja and Marsh flanking him and a Jes'wan woman in an orderly's uniform watching as the EHP disconnected from the wall and rotated flat. She held a thick, fluffy towel over one arm, a set of neatly folded clothes over the other. Angelica was now fully responsive and surprising Jashen greatly, she had managed to grasp her mental faculties fully. Though apprehensive, she understood that she was needed to properly document the possession of her and the war that had happened in Thymion, and that certain people needed to be present for the sake of authentication. Her family, however, would not be among them, as the Hope's Blade was currently under lock-down from the Tuvenese warships.

As the EHP drained around her, she sat upright, wiping a slimey hand across her face. Her hands dropped to her groin as her sight cleared and she realised that she had spectators. An awkward blush turned her ears red and the Jes'wan woman stepped forward with the towel, wrapping it around her shoulders, tucking her wings in tight. Feeling a little more calm now she had something to cover herself with - her breasts were hardly the issue. She would happily strut around shirtless all year without a care. It was just other aspects about her physical appearance that had caused some stir in the past. She sighed, rubbing some of the viscous fluid from her fur, her mind clearing from the brief moment of embarrassment and realised that the spectators weren't as numerous as she had initially thought, nor were they bothered about her nudity or dishevelled state.

Trillian, Sonja and Marsh were now beyond the threshold of the EHP area, deep in conversation with one another. It was only Jashen and the orderly that was immediately present. No one but them was currently paying her any attention. When she felt steady enough, she pulled herself out of the EHP, grabbing on to Jashen's proffered hand as she swung her legs over the lip of the open tank. The deck was cold beneath her feet, bitingly so, but she paid it no mind as she looked blearily around. She rubbed herself down and accepted the fresh clothes with a grateful smile. They were thin, but servicable and were tailored perfectly to her body. Her wings didn't feel trapped and the base of her tail didn't feel constricted. She stretched, luxuriating in being free to move again and being free of the numerous attachments that had monitored her life for the last two weeks.

She felt totally different now. Calm, peaceful, even a bit bashful. She was still a bit physically unadjusted to her own body, though. She had spent too much time as a prisoner, but now she was free, it wouldn't be too long before she felt perfectly at home in her own body once again. She heaved a much needed sigh, filling her lungs with the ship's stale air and letting it out in a long gust. Fully dried and clothed now, she seemed to take to the ship around her better. She even remarking softly about the beauty of it. Jashen arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. He figured she was just thankful to be herself again. Either that, or delusional. The Ranger had seen better days, inside and out and beautiful was not a word any of the crew had ever used to describe her.

Clearing his throat, he got her attention before speaking, ''It's nice to meet you properly, Your Grace. I'm afraid though that the matter of your possession needs discussing sooner rather than later. Captain Spears, Major Shira and the ship's legal officer will be present for that part. So will the legal officer from the Ootlan Fesh. Once that's done with, well, I don't know. Things will move on, I guess. The Captain will keep you informed just like the rest of us.'' Jashen paused, checking his datapad before continuing, ''But before that, I need one last scan to updates your medical records.'' The orc then gestured to a table that had been folded down from the far wall.

Angelica nodded softly, opening her mouth and slowly finding her voice. ''After...ward can I... get something to... eat?''

Jashen nodded. He understood that she required a high caloric intake than was considered to be average in some circles and being pregnant made things worse. So he had made sure that they were prepared for it and he had put a request in for the Hope's Blade to deliver some food for her before the two ships had disconnected.

''You'll have to take you meal in private, though, since the rest of the crew is fasting. Your father sent something across, so you won't starve.'' He replied and guided her to the medical scanner.

She looked at the bed and the device coiled above it on its retractable arm. She vaguely recognised it as being identical to the scanner unit she had been subjected to when she had first boarded. She eyed it suspiciously a moment then allowed Jashen to perform his scans, updating her medical record. When all was said and done, Jashen lead her out into the medibay proper, where Trillian was waiting for her.

''Afternoon, Your Grace. Feeling better I trust?''

''I am, thank you.'' She croaked dryly, noting that he was still guarded around her. His mood felt a little off, almost like a dark storm was brewing on the horizon, but it felt attached to someone else, not her.

A nurse handed her a glass of water and Angelica took it gratefully, gulping it down in one go. She handed the glass back and waited expectantly as the tiger's eyes went slightly glassy. His thoughts turned inward and she realised that he was accessing his wetware's communications suite. It was a fascinating experience, feeling someone's mind turn to the technology buried in their brain. It felt almost as if a heavy veil of static dropped over their mind. The veil of static lifted and she felt a new mind come aboard. It was sharp, bright and predatory, and was as calm and deep as a still, mountain lake. She automatically reached out to it, tentatively, fear edging her emotions. The new mind belonged to a predator, a seasoned one, too and it was here for her. She gingerly brushed up against it in greeting and relief washed through her as it returned the salutations with a neutral gruffness.

She turned her gaze back to Trillian. He was slimmer than she remembered, his black dress uniform now a size too big. The broadness of his shoulders and chest had thinned and his amber eyes looked hollowed with malnutrition, his whiskers taking on a silvery sheen like fine wires. There was a golden spark of defiance in the face of starvation though, deep in those amber pools and a sliver of ice trickled through her as she started to realise that he wasn't entirely organic and that he hadn't been for some time. Whatever else was in there with him, she mused, was the reason why he hadn't eaten in three days and instead, like other, more robust members of the crew, giving his cut of rations to the those who couldn't afford such strict diets.

''Do you remember what I asked of you yesterday?'' He asked.

She nodded, ''You want a full report of my possession on record because the files that my dad sent you aren't enough. You need confirmation of facts from the source...'' She said slowly with a shudder of trepidation. The last thing she wanted to do was to re-live what had happened, but Trillian's reasoning had been sound, even to her addled mind.

He needed as many facts to back up his own words as possible, not just to get him and his crew out of trouble, but also to get her and her people out of trouble. With the Sterwil Federation being back in the grips of a war, everyone, both allied and not allied, were at risk. Her being as honest as possible and putting in as much detail as she could remember would help vastly to clear things up and set the record straight.

''Are you ready?'' He asked, eyeing her curiously.

She nodded quickly. ''I am. I have no choice.''

Motioning for her to follow, he led her out of the medibay, Jashen and Marsh right behind her. Sonja walked by her side, helping guide her as she walked and sometimes stumbled through the narrow passages and near-empty corridors of the Ranger. Marsh fell away from the group, taking up post to the left of a heavy, oval blast door with the letters OC-06/03 on it. The meaning of the letters eluded her, as did every other stencilled notation aboard the ship she had come across, but when the door opened, she realised where she had been taken.

Trillian's office, like all destroyer captains', was small and spartan. It contained a narrow desk directly in front of the door, a single, worn leather chair behind it and a smaller, more uncomfortable looking chair before it. Locked drawers, each one narrow and faced with grey painted metal, lined the bulkhead wall behind the desk with a narrow locker in the corner. An engraving of an older destroyer was bolted firmly to the wall, too, in the space between drawers. The room was a mere eight feet in length and ten in width without an outside view. There was another door off to their right, narrow and sealed firmly shut, this one without anything stencilled on it. Angelica looked at Trillian's office, a feeling of claustrophobia stealing over her briefly. It wasn't what she was used to. It was cramped and dark and was about as welcoming as any other space that was set aside purely to perform a single, dedicated function.

It was not a space meant to be lived in.

''Please, take a seat. I apologise that we aren't doing this in the wardroom, but my office is more secure and more appropriate for what's to happen.'' He said and skirted around his desk, sitting down heavily. He thumbed an activation stud on the deskcomp and his red and white face was bathed in the glow of the screen, the black stripes painting his face crinkling further as his expression settled into a look of concentration as he put his details in.

Angelica settled down on the chair opposite him. It was somewhere in the realm between 'it still has some life left in it' and 'it really needs replacing'. She wriggled uncomfortably for a moment, flexing her wings and repositioning her tail as she tried to get accustomed to the chair, wondering if was uncomfortable on purpose. It really wasn't something that was designed for long-term use. A few minutes at a time and no more. It was a quiet way of telling people to not overstay their welcome. Sonja settled in behind her, to the right of the door, her posture and expression taking on the standard un-interested look.

A few moments of silence descended across the room like a thick blanket and Angelica fervently wished her family were there. She could feel them at the edges of her mind, loitering there, reassuring her by their quiet presence. But between her and them were the multitude of minds of the Ranger and the Harmony of Tildaan, the war tug that was now seeing to the old destroyer's needs. Her gaze slid back to the engraving on the wall. The ship was jet black with green markings and was sailing against a stylized backdrop of a nebula to make it stand out more. There was a small, brass plaque on the bottom of the frame with embossed words on it in Basic. She squinted at it, forcing her eyes to focus as she sought for the translation that had become buried deep in her mind. She was used to hearing Basic and speaking it now, but reading it was something entirely different.

The entity that had taken her hadn't put much stock into learning things it didn't want to learn or didn't deem necessary to learn. The written language of Basic was apparently one of them and so it had squirrelled the information away in the depths of her mind. She was starting to grow frustrated until the answer to her question resolved itself in her mind, like a mist evaporating in reverse. It coalesced slowly into something more discernable.

S.S.M.A Ranger

Sickle Class

Dedicated Deep Space Destroyer

Destroyer Group Flagship

2290-2340

''The first ship to carry the Ranger name. Also the most long-lived active duty warship in mercenary history. She was in service for fifty years and fought more wars, skirmishes, battles and performed more ambushes that any other known destroyer. She won quite a lot of them, too. All under three different captains.'' Trillian said. He had caught Angelica squinting at the picture and saw her inner struggle as she tried to decipher the brass. ''This Ranger is the second ship in the fleet to carry the name and I'm the third captain she's had. It could have ended better...'' He sighed with a heavy finality.

Angelica looked at the engraving of the ship. In comparison to the Ranger she was aboard now, it was chunky, with squared-off ends and a drive block half the length of the ship itself. It was a relic and lacked the slanted armour and sleek profile of the current ship. A fresh bud of morose bloomed in her chest. The first Ranger had sailed into glory and this one had effectively died with a pathetic squeak and would sail home with its tail between its legs. She would never allow such a thig to happen to one of her own ships and when she looked back to Trillian, she could see plainly the resignation on his face and in his posture. It was well hidden, but it was there and it was something the rest of his crew shared with him. He wasn't even a full captain and the entity had helped whatever polluted commanding officer he had to strip him of any future of being captain and stripped the Ranger of its dignity.

She opened her mouth to say something but was cut short when the door opened and two figures walked in. One was a tall, slim void elf, her crimson hair pulled into a tight braid and the other was a quadrupedal giant, standing just as tall as the elf. His teeth gleamed in the office's light and he wore a bottle green jerkin studded with ivory pips across the left shoulder and the silver crossed swords on a golden star of an enlisted lawyer.

''May I introduce my legal officer, Lieutenant Commander Darkwater and the legal officer of the Tuvenese heavy cruiser Ootlan Fesh, Lord Vinecath of the-'' Trillian's eyes went slightly glassy for a flicker of a second as he checked his wetware, ''- White Mountain Pride. My guess is that you've already figured out that they are both highly empathic, which is just half of the reason why they're here. The other half is because we need a lawyer or two present to sign off on this.''

Angelica stood and looked from one to the other, bowing to them both. Darkwater was a delicate looking woman with severe features and a cold, calculating sharpness glinting in her crimson eyes. Lord Vinecath nodded to her and padded into the corner to sit on his haunches. He was the mind that she had felt earlier and he seemed quite content to sit in the corner of the room by the other door to watch the proceedings.

''Apologies for being late, Captain, but I wanted to make sure that Lord Vinecath was up-to-date on the situation.'' Darkwater said as she passed the cluster of datapads tucked under her arm to Trillian.

Trillian nodded as he took the datapads and went over their contents with a cursory glance, pressing his thumb and signing each one. ''No problem, Miss Darkwater. I believe we have a day before we re-enter the slipstream?''

''Twenty-four hours, Standard by this point, Captain Spears.'' Vinecath stated.

''Well, with that said and introductions done, how about we rip the bandage off and be done with it.'' He tapped a few commands in, turned the monitor around on its stand and bathed Angelica in its electronic glow. Trillian handed the datapads to Darkwater. She signed the datapads, gave her biosigniture and thumb print, and then passed them on to Vinecath who did the same. Finally, they came back to the desk and Angelica looked at them in mild terror. ''Before we begin, you need to sign here, here and here, just as we discussed. Then we can start recording and be done with it.''

''Um...''

''The language doesn't matter. It's your signature and bio-scan that does.'' Vinecath said. His tone was gruff but not-unkind.

She looked at the three screens before her and the stylus laying across the first of the datapads. She took a steadying breath and signed where she was told to and pressed her thumb pad against the highlighted squares on the screens. There was a soft beep and she handed them back to Trillian. Darkwater stepped to one side and the silence that filled the room was smothering as Angelica stared at the screen, the tiny camera lense embedded in its frame focussed solely on her. She could see herself on the screen, the blank wall of the office behind her. Everyone else had strategically positioned themselves off-screen. She let her mind roam for a moment. No one was intent on rushing her so she sought to calm her mind and gather her thoughts before she started down a path she didn't want to tread ever again.

Sonja was right behind her, a reassuring presence, her strength like a barrier against the crashing ocean waves of her most recent memories. Beyond the door was Marsh and Jashen, one a hungry pit that could -and had - lure unguarded psychics to their doom, the other feeling more like a patient grandfather. She wondered just how old Jashen was but the orc stayed resolutely silent on the subject. Beyond them, the rest of the crew went about their daily lives, searching for something to do now that they had effectively been relieved of their duties now the Harmony of Tildaan was there and running the ship for them. And beyond those, the busy minds of the Tuvenese and the soft, warming touch of her family and the burning curiosity and worry of the Hope's Blade's crew.

''I am ready.'' She said softly into the silence.

Trillian started the recording and spoke clearly and firmly, ''I am Lieutenant Commander First Class Trillian Theodore Spears of the mercenary company, Shadow Stalkers Military Assistance. My ship is the S.S.M.A Ranger, registry SWS zero-zero-four-nine-five. I am the presiding officer over the case fourteen-twenty-six alpha-seventeen and am acting in accordance under the Spacers Law, Principal Divergence. Lieutenant Commander Second Class Karlen Darkwater and Lord Vinecath of the Tuvenese Pride, White Mountain, are co-presiding. The subject in question is one Angelica Sean Wolfen, Empress of the Thymion Empire.

''Her report will address a crime specific to the Ethereal Code of Spiritual Transition, specifically in reference to unwilling possession.'' Trillian said, his expression stating that he was reading those last words from a script that was lurking directly in his line of sight, a script only he could see as it was displayed by his wetware.

Angelica looked a little bewildered and glanced to the Tuvenese sabre and then to the void elf. Both were stern, completely serious and hanging on to every word that was said. Angelica had no idea that there were laws such as these regarding anything beyond the common reality. The fact that laws had been made and put in place concerning the use of the more ethereal aspects of life was nothing short of amazing and she made a mental note to look into them later on.

All FTL corridors run perilously close to the boundaries of un-reality. Such laws are a common thing, even if you don't believe in creatures such as myself and Things do sometimes break through into our realm. Sonja's voice crooned in the back of her mind as Angelica reached out desperately for some sort of explanation. She then focussed her attention back on Trillian who was watching her intently, his expression very serious. What the entity had done was terrible, yes, but she was just starting to understand just how bad it had made things during its time in control. Her people had been shut off from the rest of the galaxy because of it and because of that, they had missed out on so much and she was finding the learning curve to be more of a wall that she was struggling to climb.

Her mouth went dry as she started processing the implications of what it had done. The repurcussions alone would be awful and she didn't think she could handle the fallout. She reached a shaky hand out and clasped the tumbler of water sitting on the edge of the neatly cluttered desk. The glass was tough, shatter-proof, but it still creaked in her grip. She took a mouthful and swilled the cool liquid about, wetting her tongue and the roof of her mouth in hopes that her words would come out clearly. She then placed the glass back down through fear of dropping it. Her mind reached out, searching desperately for an anchor as panic started to rise, her imagination starting to work overtime concerning what the entity had done.

She found solid purchase with Sonja, who stood quietly, staring straight ahead, her mind a quiet tumult, but a surprisingly comforting one. She could still feel her family just as well as she could feel those in the room with her and so she pressed on. It was time to tell all, to get it all officially laid out.

''Your Grace, please identify yourself for the record. Speak clearly and slowly. Take your time.''

''I am Empress-no. Princess Angelica Sean Wolfen. The real Angelica Sean Wolfen, ruler of the Thymion Empire.'' She said. Trillian arched an eyebrow at the sudden change in title.

''Please state for the record, as clear and as much as you can remember, what happened the day of and throughout your possession right up until the end.'' He ordered and then leaned back. He needed her to speak for herself and show everyone the truth and prove that he and his crew were not liars.

Angelica took a deep, steadying breath. ''It was about twenty years ago and we were at war. I can't remember the exact date, but I had gone with my twin sister Rachel to the Temlasarian home world. We were trying to negotiate a ceasefire. Some kind of peace so we could help each other's species grow. They responded in their usual manner, attacking us without hesitation. Whatever their beliefs, we were their monsters, their demons and there was no talking them out of it.''

Pausing to swallow another gulp of water and look aside at Vinecath as he sat there, listening intently, she continued, ''I foolishly let my guard down, since their weapons had never been able to hurt me before. I didn't expect the shot to hit my head. The bullet dug into my skull. I remember- I remember feeling it carve out a chunk of my brain. It was odd, something I'd never felt before. The world was moving so slow, I could feel every cell dying, every bone fragment as it penetrated my cranial cavity. And then... the nothingness. I felt nothing around me except the stone. As my body began to give out I felt the stone in my chest burn. It had never done that before. I had become so accustomed to it, that I often forgot it was even there.''

She looked at her paws in her lap, flexing her fingers slowly and shaking her head as if clearing away bad dreams. ''I remember that I was wounded bad before. Real bad. And the only way to save me was to put the stone in the wound. A demon had stuck it's fist through my chest.'' She glanced up quickly to see their expressions. They were listening intently, fully aware and understanding what she was saying without a single trace of disbelief. ''So my family did what they had to do to save me. And that time, when the Temlesarians shot me, I thought the stone was going to save my life again. But it didn't. It did the opposite. Whatever that thing was, it woke up in that very moment. And it wanted out. It needed a body to use and since I was too weak to resist it, it took me.

''I barely remember the first couple of days. It was a blur of fire, blood and destruction, fuelled by an unholy rage, the likes of which I had never felt before. My mind had to rebuild itself. By the time I came around, I had lost my body. I tried.. I tried so hard... I- I couldn't win. It was too powerful and I was too weak... It felt like I was a tiny... ant. I- I-'' She burst into tears, covering her face as she sobbed, he wings curling around her.

After a moment, Trillian stopped the recording and mulled over what she had said thus far as Sonja, surprisingly, stepped forward to comfort her. What she had said thus far held up what the files had said: Billy had thought he was saving his daughter when they put the stone in her chest, letting it bond to her. Instead, they had inadvertantly cursed her in one of the worst ways possible. And it had been far too late to do anything about it when the truth had come out. Had it been intentional on Billy's behalf, Trillian would be bound by not only Spacer's Law, but also Military Law to mete out the appropriate punishment for purposeful possession, the victim in question being a minor by a technicality of species. Billy would be written off as a menace and a danger to society and he would be executed for the crime.

However, as it was an accident as no one knew the entity was there within the stone and it was a last-ditch attempt at saving someone's life, Trillian threw any repurcussions out of the airlock; under the circumstances, it wasn't for him to dole out any form of punishment. That would have to be left to a higher power within Thymion society. Billy didn't know and Angelica's family was oblivious to the danger posed by the stone, at least until it was far too late, so the only guilty party here was the entity itself, which, according to Sonja, was long gone and was incapable of coming back in any way.

''I suggest we take a break.'' Trillian stated. He was about to call Jashen in when Vinecath held up a large paw dimpled heavily with thick hide.

''I sense one of her people is in contact with her and urging her to continue. I suggest we instead allow her her moment. I feel these emotions have been bottled up for far too long.'' He said, never taking his sharp gaze off of Angelica as she tried to scoot beneath one of Sonja's broad wings.

''Aye, I sense it too.'' Darkwater added quietly as she watched the scene play out with some grim amusement.

Trillian watched a moment longer, considering their words. Then he nodded in agreement with them. A release of emotions was much needed for her and she hadn't had the chance lately, what with being stuffed straight into an EHP the moment Sonja had brought her back from wherever it was she had taken the wolf to be exorcised. He took the pitcher of water and topped up her glass as he waited, studying a stack of to-dos on a datapad that had been dumped in his inbox courtesy of his missile crews as he waited for Angelica to gather her thoughts once more.

''As you were saying Princess, you could not muster the strength to force this invading entity out. Were you in any way able to affect it?'' He asked once she had regained her composure and gestured for him to resume the recording.

''Sometimes I could in a small way. Feelings of affection or love were something it could not understand. But carnal needs and passions it could. It was the only weapon I could muster and so I took advantage of it.'' She looked ashamed to say it. She couldn't resist such a being in any other way than that and she felt sickened by it.

Trillian nodded and thought for a bit. ''You became pregnant multiple times? Was this because of what you did?'' He watched as she nodded miserably, her expression grim.

''Damien is my eldest. One of the few survivors...''

He sighed softly. People in tight situations that found themselves without any escape from it would always do what they could to alleviate the situation. Angelica had done just that, utilizing the one aspect of her nature the entity didn't have a full grasp of. He wondered just how many children she had had over the years because of the entity.

He bade her continue.

''After so long, things began to mix together and become indisguishable. One year quickly became ten. Ten became twenty. Things had managed to calm down after it went on a rampage and killed a dozen star systems in the empire. It enslaved any population that dared speak against Thymion and destroyed those that dared fight the enslavement. When the Avran began appearing with medical aid, it tried to destroy them but my mother convinced it there was a better solution. She used her psychic power to wipe their minds. Convince them that they had crashed on our planet and that they had amnesia. She also told them that they were contaminated. They needed to be isolated. She warped their perception of reality...'' She said quietly. Bitterness hung thick in her tone, mingling with her shame.

Trillian glanced at Darkwater and Sonja. Darkwater's expression remained neutral, mostly because she had read the files Billy had sent across and so she already knew. Sonja on the other hand, looked furious, yet not surprised. It was almost as if she had known about the Avran and she had had quite some time to stew over it. Vinecath, on the other hand was deep in thought, his brow furrowed in worry.

''That was ten years ago. And for the last ten years my mother did the same to every Avran that came. I kept pushing back but every day I grew weaker. I couldn't resist forever. And it threatened every unborn child I had, saying it would rip out their soul in the womb if I didn't obey. What could I do?'' She said miserably, looking up from the camera and staring hard at Trillian. ''I had to protect them. I only began actively resisting again when it began torturing your crew. I saw what it did. I tried to shield their minds as best as I could. When your PsyNet curled in on itself, I tried to protect the ship as well. But it was too much. I was not strong enough. I couldn't do anything, the creature was too powerful, the ship too big...''

Trillian watched as fresh tears came to her glistening eyes. She had split her mind in a million directions, trying to protect everyone from an entity using her as a puppet. She was exhausted and hungry.

''Recording will be paused for a twenty minute, Standard, break.'' He announced and paused the recording. ''Jashen will take you back to his office so you can eat in peace. Your father sent across plenty of food for you, so I suggest you eat your fill within the twenty minutes you have, okay?'' He said, a soft, soothing lilt to his tone.

She wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve, nodding and sniffling. ''Thank you. I appreciate that.''

Trillian gestured to Sonja who helped Angelica out of her seat and back into the corridor beyond, to where Jashen was waiting for her. He looked to Vinecath and Darkwater.

'How do you think Avran will take the news that their lost souls are still kicking around with new lives and families?' Trillian asked, his expression grim.

'Badly.' Darkwater replied simply.

'They can never find out.' Vinecath growled, 'Such news could very well turn their hand back to war.'