Maggie groaned, her body aching in places she barely knew she had as she fought to open her eyes. Unsurprisingly, she saw Blye’s face staring back at her.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” the Knight chided her.

“Shut up,” she said without rancor.

“I’m serious, Maggie...do all your plans involve doing grievous bodily harm to yourself?”

“Damn it woman, I made sure the amperage was low enough to be safe,” she fired back, as she tried to sit up. It didn’t go as well as she’d hoped. Blye watched in silence as she struggled, which only irritated her further. “You gonna help me or what?”

“I’m leaning towards ‘or what’,” she replied. “You’re not even healed from your last little adventure.”

Maggie took a moment to rein herself in, instead of letting fly with a string of colorful invectives, as satisfying as that might be. She had more important things on her plate. “Blye,” she said, “I need your help. I need to talk to Samara and figure out what the hell is goin’ on.”

The Chevalier sighed, lending Maggie her arm as she helped her to her feet. “I’m only doing this because Rúna vouched for you...and because Samara is refusing to speak to anyone but you,” she explained. “Otherwise I’d chain you to the bed to prevent you from doing another mischief.”

“...thank you,” she mumbled. Needing someone else’s help didn’t come easy to her, but after electrocuting herself it didn’t seem as mortifying. Looking around, she realized something was missing. “Hey...where’s Diggs?”

Blye’s face went hard. “He won’t come. He’s scared, Maggie...scared that maybe next time, you won’t come back.”

“...shit.” That blow hurt worse than the electricity. “I’ll make it up to him, Blye. I promise.”

“Oh really? And just how do you plan on doing that?” Maggie winced at her tone; it was the same one she’d used to tear a strip off her hide back on Azhakom. “Are you going to wrap yourself up in packing foam? Promise to never ever put yourself in harm’s way again?” The older woman started to answer, only to be silenced as the Knight cut her off at the knees. “Admit it, Maggie...you are who you are. You won’t change. You’ll keep sticking your head in the blender, until one day, it’ll catch up to you...and Diggs will have a ringside seat to all of it. He’ll fear for you every time, until he pulls away, shuts down...or suffers the consequences.” The Tinker felt her face flush as the shots struck home. “Why don’t you think about that for a while, the next time you’re tempted to try one of your damn fool schemes.”

She felt about a thousand years old. “Blye…” she began, before sighing and making another run at it. “Look...you ain’t wrong,” she admitted, “but I’m tryin’. I love that boy like I birthed him myself. It’s just...this was important.”

“Lots of things are important,” she sniffed, “and if you aren’t careful, you might end up losing them forever.” She refused to make any further eye contact or say another word as she led her to where they were keeping Samara.

Maggie focused on keeping her temper in check...never easy when she knew she was at fault...but damn, that woman could infuriate when she went all high-and-mighty. It tempted her to fire off a furious retort anyway, not like she could piss her off any more than she already was...when her fingers brushed the jagged scar across her belly.

When it rains, it pours, she sighed, as they entered Gyrfalcon’s makeshift brig.

Rúna looked up from the chair she was lounging in, rolling her eyes. “If I’d known you were gonna pull a stunt like that, I’d have shot you myself.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Maggie admitted, before looking over at the others in the compartment. Sergeant Kai was standing guard alongside the corporal, while Prash was seated next to the cot they’d shackled Samara to, monitoring her vitals, while the Protean herself appeared to be unconscious. Remi stood at the foot of the cot, his arms crossed, scowling.

“....you faked the data from the transponder, used it as bait, pulled Corporal Aukes into your scheme, rigged the power grid to electrocute yourself along with our guest here...and you did it all without bothering to tell me?” The Corsair captain closed the distance between them until they were nose to nose. “This is my ship, Tinker. You go behind my back like that again, and I’ll throw you out the nearest airlock myself. You get me?”

“I didn’t know who I could trust,” she sighed. “Hell, I was taking a gigantic risk just bringin’ Rúna into it.”

“That was your one free pass, Maggie,” Remi warned. “You won’t get a second.” He glared at her for a few more seconds, before tromping back off to where he’d stood when she entered.

“You could have at least warned me,” Kai grumbled...though he directed his comment to Rúna, not Maggie.

“She swore me to secrecy,” the redhead flushed. “Like she said, she wasn’t sure who to rely on.” She had difficulty meeting his gaze.

Kai had an unreadable expression on his face. When he spoke, it was far softer than anyone might have expected. “I’m not surprised she didn’t trust me...but I thought you knew me better.”

Rúna’s head drooped, hiding her face. “...sorry,” she mumbled.

“Look, can we hold off on the finger pointin’ til later?” Maggie snapped, before looking over at Prash. “What’s her story?”

“She’s stable,” he informed her. “When she first woke up, she tried to shape-shift her way out of those shackles. The captain ordered her sedated after that.”

“Heard she was asking to see me,” Maggie said to the young Knight.

“That’s right,” he nodded. “That was before she tried to escape, though.”

“Well, I need to talk to her, too. Can you wake her up?”

The two Chevalier’s glanced at one another. “Yes, we can bring her out of it,” Blye answered, “but are you sure you want us to?”

“No...but I got questions I’m pretty sure only she can answer,” Maggie sighed. “Do it.”

The two Valkyries moved, drawing their weapons, and positioning themselves on either side of the cot, out of each other’s line of fire. Remi stood between them, and Maggie was certain he was carrying a hideout piece of his own.

Unless the Protean was also bulletproof, she wasn’t going anywhere.

Prash produced a hypospray and loaded it with something, before pressing it to her neck. That done he stood up and moved out of arm’s reach. I’m bettin’ there’s a story there, she thought to herself, as Maggie hobbled over to the vacated chair and sat down.

Whatever they dosed her with, it acted quickly. A handful of minutes later Samara’s eyes snapped open, lunging at her shackles only to be snapped back, while Kai and Rúna trained their weapons on her.

“Bad move,” Maggie cautioned. “Might be smart to play nice.”

The Protean stopped struggling. Instead, she seemed to deflate, lying back down on the cot. “Whatever it is you’re planning on doing, I’d prefer you just get it over with,” she said quietly. “I hate long goodbyes.”

“Nothin’s been decided yet, far as I know,” Maggie told her. “I figure what happens next has a lot to do with you. Like I said at the start...I got questions.”

Samara sighed and gave her a resigned nod. “Ask. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “I was expectin’ just a bit more resistance,” she said nonplussed.

The prisoner got a far-off look in her eyes. “The moment I failed in my mission, my life was forfeit. They’ll come for me; in a week, a month, a year...eventually, they’ll finish the job. Whether I talk or not won’t change my fate.” She paused for a moment and looked into Maggie’s eyes. “Nor yours, I suspect.”

Maggie leaned in. “Who’ll come for you?”

Samara regarded her, studying her face. “What do you know about us Proteans?” she asked.

“As much as most, I guess,” Maggie shrugged. “You all got implants and gene splices and whatnot, to give you abilities...like your shapeshiftin’.”

“That’s true...to a point,” she agreed. “We’re guinea pigs, Maggie. Lab rats. We allow the various races to experiment on us, hoping we’ll draw a royal flush. There’s no guarantee, and the procedures themselves can be...grueling. The rehab, even worse.” For a second she seemed to look at something only she could see, before shrugging once more. “I was one of the lucky ones. I got everything I could have ever wanted. Considering where I started from, it was a miracle.” Samara closed her eyes, seeming to age thirty years in a heartbeat. “There’s something most people don’t realize about miracles, Maggie.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“...that they come with a price,” she whispered. Samara winced, whether in pain, or memory, or guilt, Maggie wasn’t sure.

“How much?” she asked.

“Nothing of consequence,” she replied, trying to make light, “...only my soul.”

“Who, Samara?” she demanded, “who’s pullin’ your strings?”

She opened her eyes and looked up at her. “The Eleexx.”

“Son of a…” Remi snarled, “no wonder they never came after us. Their Mole was already here.”

“It’s how they prefer to operate...covertly,” she explained. “They made sure they chose me for this mission...mine aren’t the only strings being pulled.” She looked back at Maggie. “That first time we crossed paths? That was no accident either. They meant for me to bump into you; make an impression, size you up, all of that.” She shook her head in defeat. “They were already planning this.”

“How?” Maggie said in shock. “How could they have known any of this would happen?”

“They didn’t, not entirely. Not all their plans come to fruition. But this one...the last survivor of the Katabasis mission, coming out of the cold at long last? It didn’t take a genius to realize that once the Clans knew you were back, they’d stop at nothing to shanghai you into a second mission.”

“How could they have even known I was coming?” she asked, still reeling.

“The To’uuk,” Samara told her, the ghost of a smile playing around her lips. “The Eleexx and them have...an arrangement.”

“Fucking Bugs,” Remi growled, as everyone in the compartment nodded in agreement.

“So...you were supposed to steal the data, get it to the Eleexx, and…what? See the rest of us had a convenient accident?” Maggie surmised.

“More or less,” Samara agreed. “It wasn’t personal.”

“Feels personal to me,” she sneered.

“Well, you won. Congratulations.” She laid her head back on the pillow. “Enjoy the victory, Maggie…for all the good it will do you. Once they realize I failed, they’ll clean house. Starting with me.”

“It don’t have to be like that,” Maggie countered. “Between all of us, we can protect you. You can help us stick it to them.”

“Sounds lovely,” she smiled, “but I’m afraid it’s not an option. The Eleexx didn’t give me these wonderful abilities without making sure I wouldn’t betray them. So they installed a leash.”

“What are you talkin’ about...a leash?” she asked.

Samara pointed at her own head. “They modified my Pineal gland. Once they decide I’ve outlived my usefulness, they’ll pull the plug. A simple coded signal will release enough neurotoxin to kill a herd of elephants...assuming there were any still alive for them to kill, that is. I’ll be dead before I hit the deck.” She gazed up at the overhead. “...at least it’ll be quick and painless. That’s better than most get.”

Maggie stared at her in horror. “How can you be so damn calm about it?”

“I’ve been living with this for a long time. Besides, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I don’t believe that,” she snapped. “There ain’t no problem that doesn’t have a solution. We just gotta find it, is all.”

The Protean let out a peal of laughter. “Maggie, you electrocuted me. And yourself, let’s not forget about that...and now you’re going to save me?” That started her laughing once more. “If you wanted into my bed that badly, all you had to do was ask.”

Remi made a sound in his throat that raised a few eyebrows and earned him a smirk from Samara.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Maggie snorted. “You got knowledge and skills that are valuable, if we’re ever gonna find that world. Besides...ain’t enough of us humans left to just let one kick off without even tryin’ to do somethin’.”

Samara smiled...perhaps the first genuine smile she’d seen on the woman. “That’s sweet Maggie, really. But it’s impossible. Ask yon Chevalier how difficult it would be to remove a Pineal gland...even one that hadn’t been tampered with.”

Maggie turned to face Blye. “Well?”

“...you’re talking about brain surgery, Maggie,” the Knight said, her eyes wide in trepidation. “Most Primaire’s would refuse to do it.”

“So...that’s it then? We just let them kill her?”

“Why not?” Rúna spoke up. “She was willing to kill you.”

Maggie shook her head. “I swear, none of you get it. We’ve been fightin’ amongst ourselves since Earth got fragged, and it’s only made us weaker. They keep pickin’ away at us, bit by bit, and eventually nothin’s left. Well, I’m tired of bein’ their chew toy. And you should be too.”

Blye sighed, shaking her head. “If I were to make the attempt. I’d kill her. I’m sorry. There’s just no way around that.”

“...what if there was?” she blurted out.

“What are you talking about? This is my field, not yours. Assuming for the moment I had the proper equipment...which I don’t...and the necessary training...which I also don’t have...the Pineal gland is located dead center in the brain. Even getting to it would likely kill her. And we have to assume the Eleexx have safeguards in place to prevent tampering. I cut into her, maybe I end up killing all of us.”

Samara reached out and touched Maggie’s arm. “I appreciate the effort, but there’s no use. Blye is right.”

Maggie jabbed her finger at the Protean in return. “Just answer me this...if I come up with a way to give you even the slightest chance, would you take it? Would you go under the knife...even if the odds were a thousand-to-one?”

“This is insane, Maggie,” Blye exclaimed, “even by your standards.”

The Tinker’s glare didn’t waver. “Answer the question, Samara…yes, or no?”

The two women stared at one another before the Protean looked away. “I’ve been their puppet most of my life,” she said softly. “I gave up dreaming there could be anything else, long, long ago.” Sighing, she stared off into the distance. “But I’d rather die free than live one more day as a slave.” She turned back to face her. “Yes, Maggie. Even at those odds...I’d take the chance.”

“You heard the lady,” Maggie nodded. “Now, we just gotta figure out how.”