"Rhys, I can sense your discomfort through our pact. It has been growing steadily for the last few minutes, and you seem to be struggling with some intense emotions. Is there anything I can do?" Zaxx whispered as Rhys stepped inside the Endeavour.

"Yes. No. I mean, I don’t know, it’s all just too much," Rhys said, putting his face in his shaking hands.

"My observations of the others and my own experiences with your emotions tell me that you should take immediate steps to relieve yourself of these worries."

"Yes, yes, you’re right," Rhys said, breathing deep and exhaling steadily as he got himself under control. "We need to talk."

Heading through the Endeavour, Rhys was thankful that the others were either in their cabins or elsewhere. Rhys lacked the energy to deal with anything else right now.

Shutting the door to his cabin firmly behind him and locking it, Rhys walked over to his bed and slumped down heavily.

"Zaxx, I have a problem. There’s a military commodore here who knows about you, who says he commissioned your core to be built. He wants you, and he will either pay me to leave or kill me. I tried to refuse him, but it's not going to work. I’m going to have to take the money. I’m sorry," Rhys said, hanging his head in shame as he spoke.

"Is his intent to remove you so he can make a pact with me directly?" Zaxx asked after a few seconds delay.

"Yes, I think so. Drake mentioned growing the Alliance, so no doubt he wants to put you into a warship or the like. Something more worthy of a core like yours," Rhys said, his tone turning bitter as he realised how wasted Zaxx had been on the Endeavour. Not only could the Commodore give Zaxx a larger ship, but Drake had already shown he had access to vast resources.

"Unfortunately, your solution will not work. We have a pact. While that pact remains in place, another can not be made. In order to possess my core, this Drake must first kill you. Even then, there is a chance that your death will result in my immediate banishment, but it is a small chance, currently."

"Of course, that sounds just about right," Rhys muttered, closing his eyes and falling back on his bed. He was doomed; there was no way out of this.

"Regardless, I have no desire to become a warship. I have found my time as the Endeavour to be satisfying, and I doubt a warship will do as much exploring."

"Well, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed yourself. It was nice while it lasted," Rhys said, laughing somewhat maniacally at the thought of Drake dealing with a warship that didn’t want to fight.

"I have no desire to lose this arrangement. Please do not give up on it so easily. We have not lost until you’re dead and I am banished."

"You’re right; I just know that I can’t take the deal, that’s all. I need to tell the crew. No sense in taking them with me," Rhys said, getting himself under control. He might be doomed, but he would make Drake work for it.

Getting to his feet, Rhys took a few deep, calming breaths and straightened his clothes as he let his mind settle. The beginnings of a plan were forming in his mind, it wasn’t a good plan, but it was the best he could come up with. First of all, he needed to talk to his crew.

Heading out of his cabin, Rhys made his way up onto the top deck of the Endeavour, finding both his crew and Fy waiting for him.

"Captain, how did it go?" Oliver called out as he spotted Rhys, getting to his feet eagerly.

Rhys paused at the top of the stairs and stared blankly at Oliver as he tried to figure out how to even start this conversation.

"Captain?" Tom asked, concern written across his face as he started toward Rhys.

"I’m fine, don't worry. The meeting was just entirely not what I was expecting." Rhys held a hand up to reassure Tom as he came to a decision. "So, we need to have a conversation, but first, Fy, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, not a problem," Fy said, a little nervously as he came over to Rhys. "What do you need?"

"I wanted to ask what you were going to do now, I’m going to be leaving soon, and there’s going to be a lot of people coming after me. You’ll be safer here on Arn Gol than coming with me, though I know Goer wanted you to join the crew. My advice is to leave now and disappear," Rhys said, laying it out for Fyodor as bluntly as he could. He hadn’t ironed out the specifics of what he was doing yet, but he would be running. That much was certain. Staying here meant death right now.

"You’re dropping a lot on me there," Fy said, letting out a low whistle as he took in what Rhys had said. "Look, do you know where you’re heading yet?"

"No, I don’t."

"Then I’ll come with you. I’ve been around the block a few times. I know people and places outside the Alliance. I owe you for getting me out of there if nothing else. If things get too hot, I’ll bail, but it sounds like you need my help."

"No, I can’t ask you to do that. You don’t know the sort of danger that we’re going to be in," Rhys said with a shake of his head.

"Ah, but that’s it, you’re not asking; I’m offering. Now, are you going to do the sensible thing and accept?" Fy crossed his arms and gave Rhys a crooked grin that only grew at Rhys’s look of defeat.

"Okay, you can come, but you better follow orders, and if I say things are getting too dangerous, you have to leave at the next port. Understood?" Rhys sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was already not going according to plan.

"Yes, Captain," Fy said, crisply bracing to attention, the image ruined by the smirk on his face.

"Right, okay, moving on," Rhys muttered as he turned and beckoned the others over to him. "I have bad news, everyone. I’m in the middle of a complicated situation, but suffice to say that I will be hunted by the Alliance military tomorrow afternoon. They want the part of the Endeavour that makes it special, and I can’t part with it, so they’re going to try to kill me to take it by force. I can't fight them, so I will be leaving Alliance territory as soon as possible. I know this is a shock, so please ask any questions you might have." Rhys told them, some ideas firming up in his mind as he mentioned leaving the Alliance.

"Where are you going to go?" Oliver asked, his voice a little faint and his face somewhat pale.

"I have a few ideas, but nothing is certain yet." Rhys shrugged and spread his hands. That part was still up in the air.

"Who is in the wrong?" Lucy asked in a guarded tone.

"It's difficult to explain, but I claimed something that had no owner as far as I knew. Drake claims he commissioned it, but even if he got it back, it might not work for him now." Rhys told them, trying to explain the situation without mentioning Zaxx.

"Drake? Commodore Drake?" Lucy asked, her fingers curling into fists at her side as Rhys nodded.

"That bastard abandoned my father’s ship when they were attacked. If he’s after you, then I’m helping you," Lucy said, eyes flashing with pain and anger.

"Is this to do with the strange things the ship does?" Tom asked, a knowing look in his eye as Rhys froze up at the question.

"Strange things?" Rhys asked, his heart sinking.

"The cups of tea waiting for us, the fact that no one cleans, but the ship is spotless. The way you hid our things without leaving your cabin, but the pirates found nothing in there despite all but tearing it apart. The way you opened the door without the medallion, and that’s just off the top of my head," Tom said evenly. There was no judgement in Tom's voice; he was simply stating the facts.

"The helm turned on its own to bring us back to Arn Gol as well," Oliver added, nodding along with Tom’s statement.

"In short, yes, it does," Rhys said, his mind racing as he tried to think how to spin this. Then again, everything was falling apart, so why not lay all his cards on the table. "Look, if you want to know everything, I’ll tell you, but there’s no going back at that point. That includes you, Fyodor."

"I vote for hearing it all," Tom said after a brief pause, the rest of the crew echoing the sentiment.

"I’m late to this party, but I’m fascinated, go ahead," Fy said, leaning against the bulwark with a half-smile.

"Okay, so the first thing you need to know is that the ship is inhabited by an entity called Zaxxrthryn…." Rhys began his explanation, going through everything he knew about Commodore Drake’s actions. He kept the details of his pact with Zaxx to himself, simply mentioning how Zaxx liked to explore, and that was why he agreed to inhabit the Endeavour.

It was a long and involved story, and Rhys had to have Zaxx transfer something in and out of storage in front of them to convince them it was true. Except for Tom, he’d suspected something since day one, but he’d only had positive interactions with the 'ship spirit', as he called it, so he’d not mentioned anything.

It was a big leap for Rhys to trust them with this, but he was about to have one of the most ruthless military leaders in the Alliance chasing him. He needed his crew to know the stakes, what they were getting into and that they could leave whenever they wanted. Besides, if he was realistic, he was likely going to die anyway. He may as well let them know the truth.

"So, that’s it, that’s everything. You can walk away if you want to, no hard feelings," Rhys said, bringing it all to a close.

"This is fantastic. No way I’m bailing on this; I can’t wait to see this upgrading process in action," Fy said with a somewhat manic laugh. Rhys wasn’t sure what to think of his newest recruit, but he needed all the help he could get.

"A lot of things make more sense now," Lucy said, shaking her head as she looked at the spot where Zaxx had reabsorbed the crate he’d produced. "I’m still in. Denying Drake what he wants will be a good start to the payback he has coming." Lucy had a vicious smile on her face that sent a shiver down Rhys’s spine. He never wanted that directed at him, that was for sure.

"It's not what I signed up for, but I’ve never felt as comfortable on a ship before this, and this Zaxx has only been good to me. I’ll help you get out of Alliance territory. After that, we’ll see," Tom said, reaching over to pat the ship's railing in a comforting manner.

"Same for me. I’m not here for the danger and adventure, but you’ve done right by me; I’m not cutting loose just yet," Oliver added, giving Rhys a firm nod before hesitating. "I’d probably advise against telling anyone else about your friend. We've had time to adjust to how strange this ship is, and it's still a lot to take in; other people won't be so forgiving."

"Don’t worry; I don’t intend to!" Rhys shook his head with a slightly forced chuckle. He wouldn’t even be mentioning it now if it weren’t such a desperate situation. "Honestly, I don’t deserve any of you. I can’t say how much your support means to me." Rhys told them after a moment to take in their answers, a flicker of hope daring to burn in his chest again. Maybe with his crew behind him, they could do this. After all, they didn’t need to beat anyone. They just needed to get away and out of Drake’s reach.

"Alright then, what’s the plan, Captain? Where to?" Fy called out with a mocking salute that earned him a few glares.

"There’s only one place we can go, the Agrestal Expanse," Rhys declared, his mind fully shifting into planning how they would make this work. "Everyone down to the galley. We need to get a list together of what we need."

Rhys had a day to get everything he needed and leave Arn Gol. After that, all bets were off. That meant he would make every moment he had to prepare count.

-**-

"Commodore, I apologise for disturbing you, but I have news of the Endeavour," Captain Becker called out as he opened the door to Drake’s cabin. Becker was captain of the Stormrunner and had been Drake’s right-hand man for quite a few years. He was one of the few people Drake would allow to barge in on him unannounced.

"Not at all, Captain. Please, report," Drake said, leaning back in his chair as Becker came in and braced to attention.

"Our men watching the Endeavour have reported that Captain Hunt’s crew is standing by him, including the one he seemingly rescued from the Kou-nak."

"Interesting. I wonder if they realise just what is on that ship," Drake mused, drumming his fingers on the desk in front of him for a moment before waving for Becker to continue.

"They also reported his crew heading into the spire to buy supplies; it looks as though they are going to run. They will try to get further information, but I deem it unlikely at this point."

"No, pull your men back. I don’t want any direct contact with his crew. Forsythe still has that damn inquisitor breathing down his neck, so we need to keep clear of the Endeavour until it’s away from the spire. A shame he didn’t take the money, but I wouldn’t have if I was him. Prepare the Stormrunner. Once the Endeavour has left port, we will go visit the Kou-nak and deal with any witnesses there."

"Yes, Commodore," Becker said, bracing to attention and turning on his heel to leave.

"Ah, Becker, one more thing," Drake called out before his flag captain made it to the door. "Contact the rest of the squadron via the resonator and find out where our other ships are. If possible, get the Swift and Alacrity on the Endeavour’s trail once they leave the spire. The inquisition is likely focused on our larger ships."

"Yes, Commodore," Becker said again, shutting the door firmly behind him as he left.

"Well then, Captain Hunt, the game is on. Let’s see how long it takes us to run you down," Drake said softly, a smile stretching across his face as he turned back to his paperwork.