Disclaimer #1: See Part 1.

Part 2

The docking bay doors opened slowly, revealing the activated fighter hovering in the bay. As soon as the clearance would allow, the fighter shot out of the belly of the giant starship and towards the nearest of three moons. Moving erratically, the fighter played hopscotch in the shadows of the moons, camouflaging its position, waiting for the inhabited hemisphere of the planet to rotate away from their location. When it was sure that the early warning systems on the planet were out of range, the fighter deployed atmosphere wings and descended toward the planet's surface.

Sandy and the other children gathered beside the communal kitchens, chattering excitedly. Today they were going on a field trip, rather a literal name for their outings in the wilds of Gaia. Many of the children remembered school field trips on Earth. They went to museums, libraries and historical buildings, but they never went outside to explore the wonders of nature. Sadly, the only wonder of nature remaining on Earth when they left was the survival of mankind. By now, 50 years later, even mankind could be extinct.

Twenty-five children from the same family cooperative made up the group. Eight adults would accompany them today as teachers and chaperones. Two or three of the adults were discretely armed with projectile weaponry. Although they were reasonably sure of the safety of the group, there were some unpredictable predators on the planet that might instinctively choose one of the children as a target. Best to be prepared for all eventualities.

Neither of Sandy's parents was able to get away to participate in today's picnic. Sandy was a little disappointed, but she was used to her mothers' important work. Anyway, her friend Amber and her mother were going along and she was looking forward to playing in the lake with them. Karyn had been teaching her to swim and she wanted a chance to get better at it before showing off her new skill to her mothers.

It was a beautiful spring morning, warmer than usual for this time of year. As they set out on the path to the lake, Sandy looked up over the tall trees to her left. The sky was a clear blue with a few puffy white clouds lazily floating past, driven by the gentle breeze. The grass and trees were full of new growth that had burst forth over the last few cycles in a brilliant, shining green. Wildflowers bloomed in brilliant colors, scattered wildly across the meadows. The grass sparkled with early morning dew and the air was moist and clean.

When the group reached the lake, the children stripped and ran into the cold, clear water, squealing their shock and delight. Splashing and chasing each other, the children reminded Karyn of a pod of young dolphins playing tag.

She smiled as she stripped off her own clothing and entered the lake more slowly, trying to adjust to the frigid water at her own pace. The only adults to stay on the shore were the three guards. Even though they were supposed to watch over the children, they became lax in the warmth of the day and began to watch the antics of the children in the water rather than the clearing's perimeter.

No one noticed the watchers from the shadows. Four years of living in a secure environment had made the colonists complacent. Until today, nothing on the planet had presented a danger that they couldn't handle. That was about to change.

After a few hours of play in the cold waters of the lake, the parents called the children to shore to eat their lunch. Wrapping each child in a large, fluffy towel made from their own cotton plants, the adults guided them to the blankets spread on the grass and began to serve them bread, cheese and fruit. The icy, clear water of the lake was served as their beverage.

When they had eaten, the younger children settled in for a nap, while some of the adults took the older children on a nature walk. As one of the colony's best horticulturists, Karyn was the leader of the nature walk along with Gina DiLuca, a zoologist. Together with nine of the children, they headed off into the forest, away from the settlement.

As they moved further into the forest on a well-trodden path, the watchers monitored their progress, waiting for them to be well away before striking their target in the group left behind. As they waited for the perfect time, the younger children settled in for a nap, curled tightly in a group like a litter of puppies. The adults arranged themselves on the perimeter of the circle and seated themselves cross-legged to wait. Before long, most of the adults had been lulled into sleep by the quiet warmth of the afternoon.

The two dark figures were about to act when they noticed movement in the circle. One of the children was detaching herself from the group and heading toward the forest. As the child came closer, one of the figures laughed long and low.

"That's the one...it has to be, it looks so much like her. And so considerate too, coming to us."

As the little girl entered the forest, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Rats," she thought, "Caught again. I want to go with Amber." Turning to face her captor, she was surprised to see a tall, dark, bearded man with eyes the color of the shiny black marbles she'd gotten for her birthday. Realizing that she didn't know this man, she opened her mouth to ask his name. Thinking the child would scream and give away their presence, the man stuffed a rag in her open mouth and lifted her under his arm. As he began to move away, the child realized something was wrong and began to struggle. The second shadow followed the first, head lowered in thought.

Today was a regular workday. Each cycle, the colonists worked two full days, performed community service one day and enjoyed the forth day for recreation or family cooperative obligations. Brie spent her workdays in the Med Lab. Most of her patients were the pregnant women of the colony who were monitored daily for progress and to detect any problems as soon as they appeared. Her community service days were split between council meetings and transcribing Earth's literature.

Xandra's community service also included half days in council meetings, but the remainder of her community service days were spent rehabilitating the birds of prey. She really spent far more time with the birds than that. Half a day in four was simply not enough to accomplish her goals. Her workdays were spent in the administrative offices of the colony.

Having been the colony's main benefactor and the expedition's commander made her the best suited among them to see to the day-to-day running of the colonial structure. Her staff consisted of Penny Baker, once Quartermaster turned controller and a representative from each of the sciences and art guilds. These groups had taken to calling themselves guilds, after the tradesmen of old on Earth. They felt that was a fitting description of their function in the new society.

Xandra was engrossed, studying the information on her computer screen. She had been receiving responses from the other council members through the network since early this morning. Not surprisingly, they had all embraced the task and had produced an amazing quantity of information and opinion. At the moment, she was trying to put the feedback in some semblance of order as a basis for a second draft of the document to be discussed at the next council meeting.

Stephanie burst into her office without knocking, breathing heavily from exertion.

Xandra looked up, her mind still occupied with her task. Noting the serious look on Stephanie's face and her labored breathing, Xandra snapped back from her concentration.

"What's wrong?"

"We just reviewed this cycle's downloads from the Artemis. One of the cryo-chambers failed just after the last download."

Xandra frowned uneasily. "Poor bastard probably died of cryo-sleep disease. What a way to go."

"That's what I thought too at first. Twelve hours after the failure, another chamber's thaw mechanism was triggered."

"Damn. That's what I was afraid of."

"There's more..." Xandra's head snapped up, her eyes locking with those of her second. "Sometime last night a fighter was launched from the Artemis and entered Gaia's atmosphere. I downloaded all logs to the current hour and it hasn't returned to the starcruiser yet. Whoever they are, they're still landside."

Just then Xandra heard a commotion in the hallway outside her office. As the noise came closer, she recognized Brie's voice raised in fear and anger.

"Dammit, I don't care who she's with, I have to see her NOW!

Xandra nodded to Stephanie, who turned and opened the door. Brie shot into the room and into Xandra's arms like a heat-seeking missile. Tears streamed down her face as she sought Xandra's eyes. Panic filled the older woman as she waited to hear what her lover had to tell her.

"She's gone...lost. No one saw her leave the clearing. They looked and looked and they can't find her. Oh God, Xandra, Sandy's missing."

In the next few hours, Xandra was forced to deal with both problems. She secretly feared that they were actually one in the same, but as of yet she had no proof. Search parties were organized to search for their daughter. Brie was incensed that Xandra did not personally lead the search and Xandra didn't tell her why. She didn't want to terrify her lifemate unless she had to.

Stephanie continued to monitor the Artemis' logs and Xandra mentally prepared herself for the worst scenario. Just a few hours after sunset, Stephanie confirmed that the fighter had returned to the starcruiser. Minutes later the message that Xandra had most feared arrived.

Aaron DuMonte was awake. He and his accomplice had kidnapped Xandra's daughter and were willing to trade for Xandra herself. Of course, she'd better hurry, DuMonte might get bored and have to amuse himself with Sandy.

Xandra called off the search and sent for Brie. She had to explain this herself and say good-bye to her love, maybe for the last time. For once in her life, she feared she wouldn't live through this one. Perhaps she had never before feared death because, until now, she hadn't anything to live for.

Brie found Xandra in their home, preparing for her ordeal. Not even bothering to arm herself, she merely changed into comfortable clothing and concealed several microscopic hypo-sprays in the hems of her garments.

"Xandra, what is going on? They said you called off the search, did you find Sandy?"

"Well, not exactly, but I know where she is. I'm going to get her."

Crossing her arms over her chest she demanded "Dammit Xandra, stop being so mysterious, where is she?"

Xandra paused in her preparations and sighed wearily. "Aaron DuMonte is awake. I just got a message that he has Sandy and will trade her for me. Stephanie will pilot me to the Artemis and bring Sandy back here to you."

Brie's emerald eyes widened in fear. "Oh, God...oh, God. Xandra, he'll kill you."

Refusing to meet her lovers gaze she responded non-comittally. "Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't matter, I have to go. You know that."

"Yeah, I guess I do." Brie stepped toward her lover and clung to her, fear for both Xandra and her daughter overwhelming her. "Send her back to me. Come back to me. We need you" she whispered brokenly.

Xandra kissed Brie and held her tightly. "I promise I'll send her back safe. I'll do everything in my power to come back too, but if I don't..."

Brie put her fingers to Xandra's lips to halt her words."Shh...don't say it...because you're going to come back. You have to - you are the other half of my soul. I love you."

Xandra traced Brie's lips lightly with her finger. "I love you too."

Arm in arm the two women left the house and crossed the settlement to the airfield. Stephanie was waiting to pilot the shuttle. She was back in uniform and heavily armed. "Ready to go Commander?"

With a wry smile Xandra responded "Some things never change, do they Steph?"

Xandra pulled Brie into her arms once more and kissed her deeply. She would take the memory of this moment with her into her private hell, holding it close to her heart in the darkness ahead. She had no illusions, she knew exactly what DuMonte wanted from her. Her greatest regret was for the child growing under her heart. He might never have a chance for life if DuMonte succeeded in destroying her.

She knew that Brie shared her concerns when she felt the delicate fingers of her lover's hand brush gently over her belly as they kissed. They had no more words, it was time to go.

Brie held back her tears as she watched Stephanie and Xandra disappear into the shuttle. Only when the engines had been activated and the shuttle was beginning its take off did she notice the dampness on her cheeks. She watched the shuttle until it ascended beyond her sight and then stood staring into the empty expanse of Gaia's night sky. She never knew how long she stood there or how she got to the infirmary. Later, she vaguely remembered Sara leading her back to the settlement sometime before daylight.

Aaron paced impatiently, wanting instant gratification. Having to wait even the few hours required for a shuttle to travel from the planet's surface to the starcruiser was honing a sharp edge on his anger. Pausing, he gazed thoughtfully at the child huddled in the corner of the room. She was so much like her mother, she could have been Xandra at the same age. This thought made him want to see the fear in this child's eyes.

Approaching her with the intention of amusing himself while he waited, he was surprised to find his path blocked by his daughter.

"Don't go there" she growled.

He raised an eyebrow as he attempted to stare her down. She didn't budge, refusing to lower her gaze. Expecting to see fear in her eyes, he was surprised to find hatred and disgust instead. He wondered when that had happened.

"I'm not letting you do this. I was too small to stop you the last time, but that's changed. You're not in top condition right now Daddy. This time I'll win...maybe I'll even have to kill you. I'd do it too. I wanted to every time you hurt me. Come on...give me a reason." Arianna's body was tensed and battle ready, her gaze steady. She held a saw edged assault knife in her right hand, its sharp point pressing into Aaron's belly.

Aaron backed away from Arianna and the child, continuing to watch his unpredictable daughter as he retreated. Arianna's eyes never left his face as she neatly balanced the knife in one hand and reached for Sandy with her free hand.

"Come on, you can wait for your mother with me." She led the child toward the door, backing out of the room slowly. Once in the corridor, she time locked the room, allowing them ten minutes to reach a safe haven. As she sped down the corridor toward the lift with the child in tow, she heard her father banging on the door with his fists, screaming at her. "You bitch, you locked me in. If I lose Xandra, I'll make you pay. You'll take her place."

His last words echoed in Arianna's mind. It was the same thing he said to her after her mother's funeral. Usually, thinking about that time reduced her to shivering tears. This time she saw red. Overwhelmed by her burning anger, she almost went back for him. This time she would surely kill him. Forcing down the compulsive thoughts, she pushed Sandy into the lift in front of her and pressed the controls. She wanted to be well away when her father got out of his room.

Brie came out of her trance-like state several hours after sunrise. She was lying on a bed in her own infirmary while Sara worked quietly at the terminal across the room. Brie blinked back tears as she wondered where her lifemate and daughter were, wondering if they were alright. She pushed herself into a sitting position and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Pausing to get control of her emotions, she slipped her feet into her shoes and prepared to rise.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sara asked her patient.

"Sara, I don't have much time. We need to have a special meeting of the council."

"Brie, you're not thinking clearly. You've been out of it for hours and..."

"I am thinking clearly...and I haven't been out of it, I've been figuring out how we can protect ourselves if they get control of the Artemis and come after us. We have to be ready."

Sara stared at the doctor in amazement. "Xandra and Sandy are in that bastard's control and you're in a trance planning the colony's defense?"

Brie's shoulders sagged with the weight of their situation. "Well, I can't do anything about Xandra and Sandy, except worry myself crazy. I had to do something to keep from going out of my mind." Sitting straighter, she spoke again. "Now stop arguing and call the council together. I'll speak to them in twenty minutes."

Brie stood and headed toward the shower, shedding her clothing as she went.

Sara stared after the young woman, not sure what to do. Shaking her head, she opened a com channel and informed each council member of the special meeting. She told them that attendance was mandatory.

Xandra and Stephanie sat in silence as the shuttle ascended through Gaia's atmosphere. Stephanie darted occasional glances at Xandra when she thought her commander wasn't looking.

Aware of the looks she was getting, she turned toward Stephanie and asked, "So what's on your mind Hunter?"

Stephanie shook her head and smiled. "Never could fool you. I was just wondering if this is the only way. Maybe I could..."

"I have to do this myself. No one can help me. If we don't do just as he says, he'll hurt Sandy. Maybe he already has." Xandra's eyes were clouded with worry. "I have to stop him once and for all. The colony will never be safe as long as he's alive."

"You're going to kill him?" Stephanie asked, matter-of-factly. Killing and dying had been an every day occurrence for Earth military personnel. This all felt very familiar to both of them. Old habits came back full force, but this time there was something new. This time they were fighting for their own and it felt very right.

"If I can...or die trying." Xandra paused and gazed out the forward view port. They were approaching the starcruiser and would be in the docking bay in minutes. Xandra looked thoughtfully at her friend and comrade-in-arms. "Steph? ...if I don't come back, take care of Brie and Sandy for me, okay?"

Stephanie was surprised at the mixture of fear and sadness she saw on her commander's face. Meeting Xandra's eyes, she answered solemnly. "I will. They'll never want for anything, I promise."

Holding her gaze for a few moments longer, Xandra nodded and turned away.

Stephanie guided the shuttle into the docking bay and brought the massive ship to rest on a lighted landing pad. Both women rose from their seats at the same time. Stephanie absently ran her hands over her weapons, subconsciously checking that she had everything. It had been a long time since she had packed this much hardware.

Turning to face Stephanie, Xandra clasped hands with the other woman. "It's been a pleasure serving with you Hunter."

Reaching out to squeeze Xandra's shoulder with her other hand, Stephanie answered. "The pleasure was all mine Commander."

Xandra spent the next few moments breathing deeply, schooling her features into a hard mask of indifference. Stephanie's face was devoid of emotion as well as she activated the hatch and stepped back allowing Xandra to exit the shuttle in front of her.

Aaron stood in the docking bay with Arianna and Xandra's brat. Together they watched as the shuttle settled on to the landing pad, waiting for the engines to die and the hatch to open. In those brief moments Aaron was almost mindless with anticipation. This was the moment he'd waited for all these years. Now he would have his revenge on the bitch responsible for ruining his career and his life. He had lots of little games planned for the two of them and couldn't wait to get started.

Arianna was still not convinced that Xandra would come for the child. After all, hadn't she abandoned Arianna to Aaron's cruelty all those years ago? Why should this be any different?

Sandy was simply confused and frightened. She didn't understand what was happening, but her empathic senses told her that this woman both hated and feared the man. She couldn't feel much from the man. Staring into his heart with her inner eye, she saw nothing...it was a complete void.

Showered and dressed in her old blue uniform, Brie entered the council chamber. Her expression was grim as she strode into the center of the room and began to speak.

"After four years of peaceful prosperity under a civilian government, we are once again faced with a situation that threatens the entire colony. We must begin preparations and planning for possible attack and invasion immediately. I, for one, would feel more secure using the best people for the job. I'm a civilian leader...but now is the time for military leaders to be in control. It takes us weeks to make a simple decision. Right now we don't have that kind of time. I propose that we suspend the council's control of the colony and hand the reins back to the military, just until the current crisis has passed. Our survival could depend on it."

Brie's determined eyes slowly scanned the room, gauging the reaction of each council member. Since this was an emergency meeting, it was considered an extension of their last meeting and Sara was still presiding. "Any discussion?" she asked.

The entire council simply stared at the young Doctor in total agreement with her assessment of the situation.

Sara called for a vote and it was unanimous, a military government would prevail until the crisis had passed. Until Stephanie returned, Art Hill would be in command. He immediately fell back into old patterns as he assembled his staff and snapped off instructions. Within hours, the colony's children and pregnant mothers had been evacuated to a safe zone, deep in the hills beyond the forest.

Operations personnel were assigned to monitor all activity on the Artemis through their remote access interface. All colonists with military training were issued assault weapons and body armor, equipment that only Penny Baker seemed to know that they had.

Civilian personnel moved critical supplies into storage caches strategically located in the forest and hills surrounding the settlement. If they were forced to go to ground, at least they would have access to food, ammunition and medical supplies. Brie supervised the transport of medical equipment to the safe zone, depending on Sara to set up their main infirmary at the other end. Brie intended to stay with their 'army' to provide medical support.

Everything in place, they watched and waited.

Sandy immediately saw her mother as she stepped onto the shuttle's ramp. "Mama, Mama" she cried, struggling to escape Arianna's arms.

Xandra almost panicked when she saw DuMonte raise his weapon in her daughter's direction. "Stay there baby, Mama will get you out of here soon. First, I have to talk to these people."

Sandy heard the fear in Xandra's voice and paused in confusion. Her Mama was afraid of something! She'd never seen that before and it only increased her own fear. Never one to follow instructions, Xandra hoped that Sandy wouldn't ignore her this time. Thankfully, the child did as she was told.

"Well, Xandra, what a pleasure to see you again my dear." Aaron smirked and continued. "I believe I have something you want. I see you've come prepared to bargain,"

"No bargains DuMonte. Stick to the original terms, me for her." Xandra's voice was low and dangerous as she descended the shuttle ramp. "If that's not good enough, let me know and I'll just pull the pin on this percussion grenade and blow us all to hell. Because if Sandy doesn't get out of here alive - no one will. Do I make myself clear?" She raised her left fist and displayed the large oval grenade. Her middle finger was neatly tucked inside the pin ring. A flick of her finger and they'd all be space debris.

Aaron considered his next words carefully. He'd hoped to have them both...and maybe the pretty blonde soldier as well. Damn...he'd have to stick with the bargain. "Okay, start walking toward me and she'll send the kid to your friend."

Stephanie stepped onto the ramp, weapon trained on DuMonte. Xandra began to walk slowly toward DuMonte, watching to make sure that Sandy was being released simultaneously. When Arianna first let go of the child, she started to run toward her mother. Arianna caught her before she got away. She knew that Aaron might shoot the child if she got in the way. Leaning down, she whispered "You go to the woman on the ship...if you run to your mama, he will hurt you both."

Sandy understood, but didn't like it. She wanted her mama NOW! The bad feelings she was having were making her more frightened that she already was. She caught images of the bad man doing things to hurt her mama. Not realizing it, she was picking thoughts right out of Aaron's mind. Sandy straightened her spine and looked into her mother's bright blue eyes. Xandra nodded to her to move toward Stephanie. Sandy swallowed her fear and walked toward her mother's friend.

As they crossed in the middle of the room, Xandra looked down at her beloved daughter. "I love you baby."

Sandy sniffed and gazed at her mother with longing. "I love you too mama."

"How very touching...now let's get on with it." Aaron barked, becoming more impatient by the minute.

Each took their final steps and the exchange was completed. Stephanie took Sandy's hand intending to lead the child into the shuttle. She stopped in her tracks at the sound of an assault rifle powering up.

"Not so fast Blondie." Aaron had the rifle pointed directly at Sandy. Next he spoke to Xandra. "Now slowly remove your finger from the pin and hand that grenade to her." He indicated Arianna with a nod of his head.

Xandra slowly detached the grenade from her hand and casually tossed to Arianna, giving the young woman a scare as she almost dropped it. Xandra growled "That's all I have DuMonte, let them go now."

Aaron nodded to Stephanie. "Get out of here before I change my mind."

As Stephanie led Sandy into the shuttle and closed the door behind them, she wondered if this would be the last time she saw her commander. She wanted to believe that Xandra would come home, but the odds weren't in her favor.

As the shuttle fired its engines and lifted off the pad, Aaron turned to face Xandra, smiling in anticipation. "I have big plans for us this evening my dear and you're going to cooperate fully if you want your little family to live another day. I have the ships disrupters trained on the colony. One wrong move from you and my dear daughter will blow them all into oblivion."

Turning to Arianna, almost as an afterthought, he told her "I don't want to be disturbed for any reason. If something happens, earn your keep and deal with it."

With that he dragged Xandra from the docking bay onto the lift and made their way to a room he'd set up for his purposes. He opened the door and Xandra's skin crawled as she surveyed to room's contents. This was going to be worse than she thought, but she'd done it for Sandy and Brie. Now she had to survive for them...and she had to find a way to put a stop to this madman once and for all.

Arianna closed the docking bay doors. Relieved that the child was safely away from her father, exhaustion set in. She wearily set off toward the room she had shared with Sandy while waiting for Xandra to arrive. She had slept very little since Aaron had awakened. Now she could rest easy, for a while anyway. Her demented father would be occupied for some time tormenting his new prize. Arianna shuddered inwardly, torn between angst at the older woman and sympathy for her situation.

Struggling against her naturally compassionate nature, she told herself that Xandra deserved her fate. It was only right that she feel what Arianna had felt. The fear, helplessness and despair that had characterized her childhood were brought about by Xandra's exposure of her father and her failure to rescue Arianna as she had promised. Reaching her destination, she collapsed onto the sleeping pallet and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Xandra stepped into Aaron's modern chamber of horrors, eyes searching for anything that could help her escape and turn on him. Xandra sensed movement as DuMonte stepped quietly up behind her and administered a hypo-spray to her arm. Xandra didn't react immediately. She'd expected him to drug her, he knew she was stronger than he was and wouldn't take any chances.

"What's the matter Aaron? Afraid to face me on your own?" It was a gamble...Xandra was trying to make him angry, hoping he would get careless while she could still use it to her advantage. "Gotta drug me up so you can have your fun?" She snapped her fingers and continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, that's right, you usually torture little girls who can't fight back. I don't think you can handle the likes of me...but then you never could, could you?"

"Shut up bitch." DuMonte snapped and backhanded Xandra. Her head didn't even move and her face remained expressionless. Frustrated by her lack of response, he shoved her toward the wall and growled. "We'll see who's laughing at the end of this day."

Grabbing her wrists one at a time, Aaron secured them in plasteel shackles attached to the wall over her head. Adjusting the length of the chains so that she had to stretch on her toes, he fastened the end to a hook in the wall a few feet to her left.

Aaron stepped back to admire his prize, one arm across his chest supporting the elbow of his other arm as he slowly stroked his beard and smiled. "I think I rather like you this way Xandra." Suddenly frowning he paused. "Something's missing. Hmmm...no, actually something has to go."

As he stepped forward, Xandra struggled to keep her eyes open. Aaron grabbed the neck of her old chamois shirt and jerked down, shredding the shirt beyond repair and exposing Xandra's full breasts. Staring into her eyes, he grabbed both breasts and squeezed cruelly.

Xandra didn't respond, knowing that to do so would excite him further. She began a series of mind control exercises designed to help her leave her body behind. Her mind was schooled from so many years of training that in spite of the drug, she could retreat far away from what was about to happen. Somehow she sensed that he wouldn't enjoy hurting her as much if she remained impassive.

As her level of concentration deepened, she was only faintly aware of DuMonte's actions, but she could still hear his insane laughter interspersed with graphic descriptions of what he planned for her. After a time, she was not even aware of that...only a vague sense of peace as she allowed her mind to soar over the bright hills and valleys of Gaia on the wings of her beloved hawks.

Stephanie made sure that Sandy was safely strapped into the co-pilot's seat before taking her own seat at the helm and firing up the shuttle. Her grim expression was the only outward sign that she was consumed with worry for her commander. She conducted the pre-flight check sequence in silence and, handling the controls with a practiced ease attained with years of experience, guided the shuttle smoothly out of the shuttle bay.

Sandy sat quietly, gazing out at the stars. She tried to 'feel' her Mama, but there was nothing there. She was sure that this was because of the distance between them -- it just had to be. The only other reason for her not to be able to sense Xandra was if she were dead and her Mama had to be okay.

Sometime about halfway through the flight, Stephanie realized that she had a traumatized child on her hands and should probably talk to her. The pilot wasn't very good with children and had no idea of what to say to this stoic child. Observing Sandy surreptitiously, she was momentarily stunned by the expression on the child's face. God, she looks just like Xandra when she's planning something. "You okay kid?"

"Hmm?" Sandy responded, slowly pulling her gaze from the vastness of space to meet Stephanie eyes. "Ah...yeah, I guess so."

Relieved that she didn't have to deal with a hysterical child, Stephanie turned her attention to setting the correct trajectory for entering Gaia's atmosphere. Maybe it's better to wait until we get landside and let people who know what they're doing handle this.

Several long minutes passed in silence before Sandy spoke again. "Stephanie?" She paused and waited for the pilot to return her gaze. "Will my Mama be all right?"

Shit...what do I tell her? One look at the child's face made the decision for her. As Sandy stared steadily into her eyes, she realized that lying to the daughter would be no easier than lying to the mother. Taking a deep breath, the pilot answered as honestly as she could. "I don't know kid, but if anyone can find a way to escape and save the colony, it's your Mom."

Sandy nodded and settled quietly in her seat; satisfied that she had gotten a truthful answer, even if it wasn't the one she really wanted.

Pain.

Every inch of her body was enveloped in pain. Some places burned, some were bruised, some cut...it all seemed to run together, making it impossible for her to determine where one injury ended and another began. She tried to open her eyes, but they were swollen shut. Taking a deep breath, she was rewarded with sharp pains in her torso, indicating that she had several broken ribs. The raw feeling of torn flesh between her thighs let her know she had been brutally raped.

Whatever had happened, it was over for now and she didn't remember a thing. The meditation technique had worked. She knew she was lying naked on a cold hard surface, but something soft cradled her head. Although she couldn't see, she heard soft sobbing coming from above her. "Who?...Where?" she managed to croak from her abused throat.

"Oh God, Xandra. I'm so sorry, I didn't know." Arianna laid a gentle hand on her face and brushed the hair from her eyes. "I didn't know you were pregnant. I'd never have let him do this if I'd known."

"Am I...am I going to lose the baby?"

"I don't think so. Not if we can get you out of here before he wakes up again. Can you move?"

"Move?" Xandra would have laughed if she could. "I can't even open my eyes."

"I can help you if you'll let me. I tried while you were asleep, but you resisted."

"I was in a deep trance. I put myself under so I wouldn't feel what he was doing. I think it worked too well...must have pissed him off a lot. How are you going to help?"

"I'm an empath Xandra. I can heal the worst of it...maybe get you able to walk. But I don't know what we'll do then."

"I'm gonna have to kill him Ari," she whispered. "There's no other way. Can you get me strong enough for that?"

"I don't know Xandra...he's still weak from the cryo sickness, but you're pretty trashed yourself. I'll do the best I can. Just relax and let me in."

"Ari?" Xandra breathed softly. "Please save my baby."

"I'll try, I promise."

Arianna breathed steadily, preparing herself for the painful task ahead of her. She knew she would feel Xandra's pain intimately. She'd had this experience herself many times in her youth, but he'd never done so much damage to her all at once. Clearing her mind, she laid her hands gently on Xandra's body and allowed her mind to monitor both lives in her care. Xandra's heartbeat was slow, but steady. The baby's was very weak and that scared her. She wasn't sure if she could save them both, but she had to try. There was no one to monitor her, so if one of them died, Arianna might die with them. All their survival hinged on her ability to set this to rights.

Arianna went deep, finding all the internal injuries first and healing each one as she went. She managed to stabilize the infant's heart rate and heal most of the damaged tissues of Xandra's uterus and vagina. Moving on, she mended three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Checking for head injuries, she was grateful to find that there was no permanent damage there. She reduced the swelling around Xandra's eyes and the bruised throat that made it so difficult for her to speak. She tended each of the cuts and burns on her abused flesh and closed the whip marks on her back, buttocks and thighs.

When she had done all she could, she carefully withdrew. Leaning back against the wall, she sobbed with the pain she'd encountered in her friend's broken body. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she realized that Xandra was her friend. When she'd been in her mind, she realized that Xandra hadn't abandoned her. She had tried to get to Arianna all those years ago, but Aaron had hidden her over and over, threatening to kill Arianna if Xandra kept trying to find her. That was why they had kept moving during those years...to keep Xandra off their trail. Now she knew that Xandra had felt her greatest failure in life had been her inability to save Arianna. The young woman resolve hardened into a tangible thing. She would save Xandra and return her to her family -- no matter the cost. She had been very wrong about Xandra and she hoped they both lived to forgive each other.

Slipping from beneath Xandra's head, Arianna crept across the room and sealed the door with a medical privacy code that even top ranking military personnel couldn't override. Hoping that they would awaken before her father, she once again cradled Xandra's head in her lap and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Brie sat staring into space as she gently brushed the hair from her sleeping child's face. She was a jumble of emotions -- relief that Sandy had been returned to her virtually unharmed, consuming fear for her soulmate and white-hot anger toward the man who had caused all this. With a sigh, she turned her attention to her daughter. After a few moments of watching her sleep, she silently rose from her chair and left the med Lab in search of the colony's acting commander.

She had wanted to talk to Stephanie when the shuttle had first landed, but she'd had her hands full comforting her daughter whose composure had finally broken the moment she'd seen Brie. Before she could settle the child and see that she got something to eat, Stephanie had been swept away by the command staff filling her in on what had been done and what still needed to be accomplished. There had been a few emotional moments with Sandy as she explained to the child that they would once again be separated as Sandy was sent to the safe zone with the other children and Brie remained in the main settlement to supervise her med Lab. Sandy finally agreed, but begged to be allowed just one more night before being separated from her mother once again. Brie had relented almost as much for herself as for Sandy. She needed her daughter close by so that she could reach out and reassure herself that Sandy was safe.

Brie found Stephanie in Xandra's office, pouring over the schematics of the Artemis, searching for a way to remotely disarm the disrupters their sensors had detected aimed directly at the settlement. The past few hours had been thankfully filled with the organizational details of preparing the colony for siege. Hill had gotten a good start on things before Stephanie took over, but there had still been many decisions to make and tasks to assign. She had been surprised, but pleased to find that the military personnel among them had forgotten little in their fours years under a civilian government. The crew of the Artemis still operated like a finely honed machine.

Pausing to rub her tired eyes, Stephanie noticed Brie watching her from the open doorway of the office. Stephanie thought she had never seen such a defeated expression on the intrepid doctor's face. Sighing, she started to speak, but just couldn't find the words. Brie mercifully raised her hand, palm out and said "It's okay...there was nothing you could do. And you brought my baby back to me. I just...I need to know, does she have a chance?"

"Brie, I just don't know. But I'll tell you the same thing I told Sandy...if anyone can survive this, it's Xandra."

Brie lowered her head as the tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "Thanks Steph...thanks for telling me the truth."

As the colony's second-in-command watched, Brie slowly turned and walked into the night, fear and sadness clearly evident in her stooped shoulders and bowed head.

Pleasurable images flooded his mind, as he slowly became aware of where he was and what he was doing here. A few hours sleep had energized him and he was ready to indulge his psychotic desires once again. Breathing deeply, he decided that he'd never had this much fun with any of the others -- not even Carla or Arianna. Xandra was the finest prize he'd ever owned.

Rolling over and sitting up, a goading voice echoed in his mind. Too bad she's withholding it from you Aaron. She's holding back the best of her pain...the suffering you want to see in her eyes. She should be begging you for release...begging for death. But when you look in her eyes, she's not there.

Standing and pacing the room, he muttered to himself with intense dissatisfaction. How? How can I make you feel the exquisite torture? What can I do to make you stay? Where is your mind going as I'm peeling the flesh from your bones? Probably in the arms of that irritating little blonde.

"That's it!" Abruptly he stopped his pacing and turned purposefully toward the door. "That's it! I know how to make her stay! I'll threaten her irritating little blonde bitch! She'd never do anything to hurt her precious family...her precious whore! She'll have to stay and feel it this time."

Heading down the corridor, the man walked with a bounce in his step like that of a child anticipating a day in an amusement park.

Xandra awakened to instant awareness. A quick inventory of her injuries revealed that she was in much better shape than she had a right to be. She lay still as she examined the problems facing them. Her analytical mind easily wrapped itself around the situation and played out each possible scenario.

Her immediate goal was to disable DuMonte, contain him and call for help from the planet below. Realizing it might not be possible to achieve her task and keep the man alive to face a planetary tribunal, she accepted the fact that she just might have to terminate him. A slow smile spread across her face at the prospect. No matter how civilized she pretended to be, Xandra was a magnificent beast at the core of her soul. She would enjoy wrapping her powerful hands around his throat and squeezing the life from his miserable body. This was the man who'd taken Sandy, threatened to harm her. This was the man who'd cruelly abused little Arianna, who turned her into the pale imitation of a woman in whose lap she lay as she slept.

Shifting her weight onto her side, she used her arms to push herself into a sitting position. Taking few deep breaths, she rose slowly to her feet, stretching. The soft pops of her spine re-aligning itself echoed in the silence of the room.

How to do it? That's the question. Xandra knew that DuMonte was weakened by the after-effects of cryo sleep sickness, but then, she wasn't in top form herself. Still, with a little clever deception, she was sure that she could disable him. She continued to plan as her body moved through a series of Tai Chi exercises intended to sharpen the mind and open the body's channels to the proper flow of energy. As she moved from one form to the next, an idea was born and grew to logical maturity.

The slight sounds of Xandra's movements and measured breathing awakened her companion. As the younger women moved gingerly and moaned in discomfort from the awkward position she'd slept in, Xandra brought her exercises to a conclusion and stood quietly waiting for Arianna's eyes to open.

"Xandra?" Arianna called sleepily.

"Yeah, it's me kid. Come on...wake up. I need your help and I'd willing to bet we don't have much time."

Arianna looked up with sleep heavy eyes and blinked as she saw her childhood hero displayed in all her naked glory. Her brain instantaneously registered the perfection of Xandra's strong body before her mind switched into professional mode and began to visually examine the extent of the damage and progress of the healing that had taken place.

"You look better than you did when he brought you in here, but you could use another treatment."

"Sorry, no time for that now. I'll just have to get by the way I am now. Actually, I feel pretty good considering. Thanks, I'd never have made it without your help." Xandra's level gaze took in the configuration of the room. It appeared to be standard crew quarters stripped of any furnishings. Only the built in replicator and computer console adorned the room's barren plasteel walls. Well, it's not much, but we can make it work.

Stalking across the room to the replicator, she requested two high energy drinks and returned to settle cross-legged on the floor of the otherwise barren room next to the young doctor. "Drink this and I'll tell you what were going to do..." She offered one cup to Arianna and sipped her own before continuing.

The man grinned evilly as he wound his way toward his destination. The whine of the ship's main power source the only sound besides his malignant chuckling. He was only a few turns from his destination when the sound changed and died as the lighting in the corridor faded into blackness. Halting mid-step, he wondered what was causing the power loss. A few seconds later, low light illuminated the corridor as emergency power kicked in. Glancing carefully around him, the man slowly resumed his journey, doubt nibbling at the edges of his previously confident attitude.

Approaching his prisoner's 'cell,' he paused, fingers moving quickly over the security console to the left of the door. When the door did not immediately respond to his commands, he slammed his fist against the impenetrable plasteel and cursed loudly in a fit of rage. "Shit, nothing works right on this over-modified piece of junk." His anger eventually gave way to logic. Ah...you idiot! Of course it doesn't work on emergency power. You have to open it manually.

Releasing the control panel cover, he exposed the manual controls and hit the door release. The door slid about six inches before grinding to a halt. Frustration combined with anticipation as he grasped the edge of the door and struggled to push it further. In his weakened condition, he was only able to move it a few more inches before pausing for air. Leaning against the small opening, he searched the room for his prey.

There she was, just as he left her. Lying naked on the cold, hard floor. Her dark hair spread in tangles around her head and shoulders, face turned away from the door. Smiling with delight, he gathered his strength and forced the door open enough to slip sideways into the darkened room. Just as his body cleared the narrow opening, a heavy fist flew toward his face, landing squarely against his jaw.

Stumbling to his knees, he reached for his side arm while visually searching the room for his assailant. Movement directly in front of him caught his attention as the prone figure rose facing him and he saw Ari's face instead of Xandra's. Taking aim, he fired his disrupter just as a bare foot exploded from the darkness to strike his wrist, spoiling his aim. The next blow, when it landed, nearly snapped his neck, slamming his body, head first, into the plasteel wall to his left. He slid limply down the wall into a broken heap, looking up into icy blue eyes before the darkness closed in around him.

Xandra paused, watching for signs that DuMonte would fight on -- wanting an excuse to wring the life from his worthless body. Panting in her efforts to control the violence threatening to conquer her thin civilized veneer, she slowly gained control of her emotions and knelt beside her tormenter, checking for life signs. She quickly scanned him with Ari's medical analyzer. Looks like he's down for the count.

"Computer...activate main power, authorization code 87624 alpha Lawless 1." Although her voice was weak, the computer was able to confirm her voice pattern and the whine of the Artemis' main power coming online filled the room. As normal lighting was restored, Xandra's eyes were drawn to her companion lying lifelessly across the room. The smell of burnt flesh filled her lungs and her heart sank as she realized the source.

Xandra moved quickly to Arianna's side, long fingers pressing against her throat in search of a pulse. Finding a very weak throb, she noted that the blood pumping from Ari's side was spurting in time with that pulse. DuMonte's shot had missed her heart, deflected by Xandra's blow, but he'd done critical damage nonetheless.

This kind of injury was beyond the commander's limited first aid training, she had to get help. Not bothering to secure DuMonte, Xandra lifted the broken young woman in her arms and, cradling her as gently as possible. With main power restored, she had only to enter the correct code and the door slid to a fully open position. Xandra wasted no time as she strode purposefully through the corridor on the most direct path to the ship's med lab.

As she entered the med lab, she was instantly aware of the sweet memories this room held for her. The wife and mother wanted to savor those pleasant images and rest safely in their comfort. The practical soldier knew where her duty lay and brushed aside temptation. She deposited her companion in one of the stasis beds and activated the controls with shaking fingers. The last two days had nearly depleted her considerable strength.

Crossing the room, she sank into a seat at the computer console and activated the communications system. "Gaia, this is Lawless. I need a medical team and a security team up here immediately."

The crisp, professional tones of her second-in-command barely hid the relief and concern in her voice. "Right away Commander. Are you all right? Is the ship secured?"

Xandra sighed deeply, knowing that the answers to both of these questions would terrify her soulmate and distress her friend. "No and no, Hunter. But try not to scare Brie to death, okay? I'm not gonna die or anything. Just get up here as fast as you can."

"On my way. Hunter out."

Leaning back in her seat, Xandra considered the current situation. She was feeling weaker by the minute and although she was reasonably certain that DuMonte was in no condition to challenge her again, she couldn't afford to take any chances. Rising to her full height, she straightened her shoulders and left the med lab. Despite her iron resolve, her strength was waning. Better get it over with before I collapse.

Retracing her steps, she made her way back to DuMonte. He appeared no better than when she left him, still unconscious, breathing labored. Xandra knelt, intending to pull him over her shoulder and carry him from the room. As she knelt, she felt a warm, wet, stickiness between her thighs. Looking down, what she saw nearly stopped her heart. Blood, thick and red, flowed slowly from her vagina, down the creamy whiteness of her thighs. Sharp pains tore through her belly as tears spilled from her pale blue eyes. After a few moments, the pains passed and she was able to catch her breath. Don't have much time left. Hooking her hands under DuMonte's arms, she began dragging the dead weight of his body out of the room and down the corridor.

Xandra was completely exhausted from the strain of moving DuMonte's body and fighting against what she had finally identified as labor pains. Knowing that she had to get herself into a stasis chamber as soon as possible, she had completed her task with all possible speed and returned to the med lab. The last of her reserves were fading as she sank on to the stasis bed. Curling her body into a fetal position against the pain in her belly, she activated the stasis unit and tried to focus her mind on her soulmate as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Stephanie worked as quickly as possible to prepare the first team headed to the Artemis. The colony only had two of their shuttles landside, the Argo and the Aphrodite. The Argo was larger and accommodated more personnel, but what the Aphrodite lacked in size, she made up for in speed. Since the need for a medical team had been the commander's first directive, Stephanie decided to send most of the medical personnel on the Aphrodite.

Six of the eight shuttle seats would be occupied by medics and the other two would be military personnel. Their orders were to secure the bridge and access to the ship's weapons system. Right now, with the disrupters targeting the colony, the settlement was still in grave danger.

The Argo would leave the surface soon after with a full security team and the remaining medics. Stephanie would pilot the Argo herself. She wished she had gotten a more complete report from Xandra, but suspected that it had been all her commander could manage to contact the colony at all. Something was wrong -- very wrong. Stephanie's internal sensors had been on red-alert since her brief conversation with Xandra.

Her feeble attempts to conceal her concerns from the settlement's chief medical officer had failed miserably. Brie knew immediately that her soulmate was in trouble. Her reaction however, completely surprised everyone. Turning Sandy over to Karyn Rose with a few quiet words and a reassuring hug, she threw herself into preparations for the flight, making sure that the medical team was prepared for any situation they might find upon their arrival. They gathered supplies and instruments that they had stripped from the Artemis' med lab before settling on the planet.

The Aphrodite was ready to move out less than an hour after receiving Xandra's message. The Argo would follow as soon as they were ready. Stephanie paused in her preparations to watch as the Aphrodite lifted from the surface and sped upward at a steep trajectory to clear the planet's gravitational pull.

Take care little doctor...I'll be right behind you.

Brie sat in silence as the shuttle sped across the starlit expanse bringing her ever closer to her beloved. The sick feeling in her belly was more a result of worry than the extreme maneuvers indicative of the pilot's haste. Stephanie had been quick to tell her that, although Xandra wasn't in good shape, she had said she wasn't fatally wounded. What Stephanie didn't know was that Xandra was pregnant. They hadn't had time to share that happy news with the baby's other parent before the crisis had begun. When Sandy had turned up missing, all thoughts of a new child had flown from their minds -- until Xandra left to give herself up to DuMonte.

Even if Xandra came out of this okay, there was still an unborn child to worry about. Who knows what kind of trauma she had been subjected to? Xandra was the strongest person Brie knew, but strength only went so far in protecting the fragility of new life. She could only hope for the best.

About twenty minutes before reaching their destination, the co-pilot received an in-coming message from the Argo. They too were in route and had just entered sensor range of the Artemis. Sensors were showing 33 life forms in cyro sleep and 3 normal readings. That meant that two of the space pirates were awake and potential security risks. Hunter instructed her people to split up on arrival. One of them would accompany the medical team to the lab and the other would secure the ship's bridge and shut down the weapons systems.

Brie's patience was wearing thin by the time the Aphrodite entered the shuttle bay and settled gently on an open pad. She was out of her seat barking orders to her staff even before the shuttle doors were opened. Pushing her way to the front of the ship, Brie tried to take the lead. The co-pilot gently blocked her way as the pilot opened the door. Slowly, the young man slid the door open and exited the shuttle. He held his weapon ready, while the co-pilot followed close behind, scanning for life signs as they moved down the ramp.

After what seemed like an eternity, Brie and her team were on their way toward the med lab. Bracing herself for the worst, she entered her old domain and found her eyes drawn to the stasis units. There lay two women, both dark-haired, naked and hurt. Although her face was obscured by the tangled mass of her hair, Xandra's form was unmistakably the larger of the two.

Brie was torn between her fear for her soulmate and her need to function as a doctor. Her professional side took control, but just barely. Stepping to the computer console, she quickly scanned the readings from the two stasis units. The stranger's indicated a disrupter wound to the chest, damage to the right lung and heavy bleeding prior to stasis. Xandra's…well, it was difficult to determine what to treat first. The computer indicated a number of injuries to vital body systems in various stages of healing. Narrowing the search, Brie saw what had finally caused her lovers collapse. She was hemorrhaging internally, her damaged uterus trying to abort the fetus within.

"Well," Brie raised her eyes to her team "let's get moving people. Both patients are in critical condition."

Brie turned to other doctor on the team. "Michael, you handle the pirate and I'll…"

Michael Winslow stopped his colleague with gentle fingers on her lips. "No Brie, I think it would be best if I took care of Xandra. You remember that old adage about doctors treating their own family members?"

"But Michael, this is different and I'm perfectly capable of…" Brie's voice was rising along with her panic. Then she paused and in a brief moment of clarity she realized that Dr. Winslow was right.

"No Brie, you know you're not. Now go do your job and let me do mine."

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Brie responded "Right."

Brie turned to the second stasis unit and proceeded to release their patient, directing the medics as she worked.

"Okay, get her prepped for surgery. Set up room 1 stat. Pressurized IV 6% Ringers and type match the blood. We'll need to replicate at least three pints. She's lost a lot and she's probably going to lose more during the surgery."

Brie continued to monitor the sensor read outs on her patient as she stripped out of her flight suit and stepped into the sonic shower for the 60 seconds required for sterilization. Exiting the shower from the rear, she stepped directly into the surgical suite she'd designated. The room was an organized chaos as the medical team prepared for surgery. As one of the medics stepped forward to assist Brie into scrubs, mask and gloves, she lowered her head and mouthed a silent prayer for her lover and their child.

The young doctor looked up to see three pairs of eyes watching her, waiting for her to take command of the situation. She returned their questioning looks with one of grim determination and took her place next to the surgical table. "Okay people, let's do it."

Stephanie was nearly at the end of her reserves when she finally entered the med lab. In the last three hours, her people had scoured every last inch of the ship, but hadn't found that third life form. She knew from a brief conversation with Dr. Winslow that one of the pirates was critically wounded and in surgery, but the second pirate had succeeded in eluding her.

Well, at least the weapons are off line, and I've got checkpoints set up throughout the ship. That bastard is not gonna get away from me.

Stephanie stepped into the silent medical suite and was greeted by the sight of the young doctor seated quietly next to one of the treatment beds. Xandra's pale, still form seemed smaller than usual, dwarfed by tubes, wires and machines. Brie held her hand and gazed intently at the monitors above the bed.

Clearing her throat to announce her presence, Stephanie approached the pair. One look at the doctor's face let her know that she was very worried.

"Hey Doc. How is she?"

"Better than I expected, but still not good." Brie sighed and lowered her eyes. "We've done everything we could, but… We'll know better in a few hours." She paused and raised her eyes to her friend. "Is the ship secure now?"

"How'd you know?" Stephanie arched one brow in surprise.

Brie smiled, wondering if the pilot had copied this gesture from her commander unconsciously or by design. "Well, when Flash Gordon, Jr. jumped in front of me at every turn, waiving his disrupter all over the place, I kinda got the idea. You know, maybe you should continue training that bunch. I think they might have lost their edge."

Sinking into the seat across from Brie, Stephanie rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Exhausted, she was still able to see both the humor and the wisdom in Brie's words. Smiling, she met Brie's steady gaze and chuckled. "You know, you just might be right. Tell me something. How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?"

"How do you manage to keep you sense of humor with all that's happened?"

"I have to…its either laugh or cry and if I start crying, I don't think I can stop."

The two sat in companionable silence, Xandra's labored breathing the only sound in the room. Stephanie watched the doctor and the doctor watched the monitors.

After several minutes had passed, Stephanie remembered that Brie had asked a question. Until now, she hadn't wanted to burden the doctor with their security problems, but with the medical crises under control; she felt that she owed Brie a response.

Rising from her seat, she began to pace. "We think DuMonte is still somewhere on the ship. On the way in sensor readings indicated three life forms…and now. Well, none of the ships are missing and there's no other way off the ship." She lifted her hands in defeat.

Tears flooded Brie's eyes and threatened to spill over as she spoke. "Stephanie…that third life form…Xandra's pregnant."

Stunned, the woman stopped and stared at the doctor in disbelief. "Pregnant? Wha…when did you find out?"

"The night of Sandy's party." Brie raised her hand as Stephanie tried to speak. "I know, I know…we were going to tell you the next day, but there was the council meeting and then Sandy was kidnapped and then…" Brie gazed helplessly into Stephanie's eyes, silently praying for understanding.

Sinking back into the seat she had just vacated, Stephanie lowered her head in her hands and asked in a muffled voice "And the baby?"

"Stable for the moment. It's going to be touch-and-go for a few days but I'm sure they can both survive this. Xandra will just have to take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy…no stress, lots of bed rest."

Stephanie snorted in amusement. "Xandra? No stress? Bed rest? I don't think so."

"She won't have a choice Stephanie. She really wants this baby too." Brie paused to gaze at her soulmate before continuing softly. "It's a boy you know. The X/Y chromosome cross worked. The geneticists have perfected the technique."

Leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, Stephanie grinned and shook her head. "Well I'll be damned. I'm gonna be a daddy."

Late summer

The golden afternoon sunlight bathed her body in contentment as she lay in the hammock she'd strung near the house last spring. A gentle breeze offered some relief from the oppressive heat of the day as the shade from the tree canopy crept ever closer, promising even cooler temperatures. The smell of wildflowers permeated the air and the musical sounds of birds floated from above her.

Being on medical leave had its advantages, but most of the time, Xandra was bored out of her mind. No lifting, bending or reaching. After her near miscarriage, she wasn't even permitted to work with the animals. The worst part was that everyone else was busy putting the settlement back in order and getting on with daily life. At least she was still allowed to participate in council meetings, even if they did have longer and more frequent breaks in deference to her condition.

This morning had been spent writing her report to the council on her encounter with DuMonte. It was a task that she had been avoiding for months, knowing that it would reveal a part of her that she'd just as soon not admit to. Although she'd written her account in a succinct, factual manner, inside, she felt the looming darkness in her soul.

Closing her eyes, she was transported once more to the deserted corridors of the Artemis where she'd made her choices in silence. Hurt and frightened by the possibility of losing her unborn child, she had dragged DuMonte toward the only holding cell on the starship. Designed for cryo-genic travel, the Artemis was not equipped for long-term detention. About halfway to the cell, her strength nearly depleted, Xandra paused to catch her breath close to airlock #4. Panting from her exertion, she dropped DuMonte and leaned against the wall for support.

Pain rippled through her belly and more blood flowed crimson down her trembling thighs. She knew then that she'd never reach her destination. Closing her eyes, she slid down the wall to the floor as tears overwhelmed her. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head against her arms, sobbing with pain and frustration. Xandra knew she needed to get into stasis soon or she'd lose the baby for sure. She couldn't do that with the possibility that DuMonte might recover enough to fire the ships weapons or come after her and Arianna.

Staring blankly ahead of her, she slowly focused on the control panel of the airlock. That's it! I can just lock him in there and disable the interior hatch controls.

Taking a deep breath, she got to her feet and hooked her hands under his arms once again. Dragging his dead weight the short distance to the airlock was exhausting. She hung onto him with one hand as she keyed the control panel opening the airlock door. The weakened woman heaved DuMonte's body across the threshold and shoved with her feet to get the rest of his tall frame into the small space.

She closed the door and entered the commands to disable the controls on the inside of the airlock. Leaning against the door, she looked into the tiny chamber in time to see DuMonte open his eyes. At first he appeared dazed and disoriented, then recognizing where he was, she saw fear and panic blossom in his eyes. He hauled himself up to the window facing her. Frantically, he mouthed words at her, but the thickness of the ships outer hull prevented her from hearing him.

In her dazed state, it took a few moments for her to realize that he thought she was going to open the outer hatch. He thinks I'm gonna space him. I gotta hear this.

She activated the com link to the chamber and was immediately engulfed in his hysterical entreaties. "Please Xandra…Please! I'm begging you. Don't do this. I promise, I'll never hurt you or your family again."

As he continued to plead for his miserable life, Xandra began to consider the satisfaction she'd feel watching his body implode in the vacuum of space. It wouldn't be as much fun as beating him to death, but it was beginning to look pretty good. A depraved smile spread slowly across her face as she stared into his eyes and disengaged the com link.

DuMonte's expression changed from hysteria to sheer terror as Xandra's eyes turned to glacial ice. The darkness in her soul overwhelmed her and the decision was made. She keyed in the sequence that would change the environment in the chamber to match the vacuum of space. The process was a slow one, designed to accommodate space walkers on their way to repair external damage to the ship. But without the proper space gear…

Xandra watched intently as oxygen was drawn from the room. DuMonte was gasping as the air was sucked from his lungs as well. Grabbing at his throat and gasping, he continued to plead with his eyes - lying eyes. Smiling, she enjoyed his agony as she remembered the fear in Sandy's eyes and the despair in Ari's soul. This was justice. She was judge, jury and executioner and it felt very right.

De-pressurization of the chamber almost complete, DuMonte's eyes began to bulge. His mouth was frozen in a silent scream. The indicator lights on the chamber changed from red to green and the outer hatch opened. As she watched, the man's body floated gently into space just as his eyes burst, shreds of optical tissue caught in the weightlessness of the airlock chamber. The skin on his exposed face and arms stretched taught before being literally ripped from his bones. By this time, he was surely dead, but still she was enraptured with the sight of his body slowly pulled apart in the vacuum until only pieces of him were left to drift aimlessly in space.

Only when there was nothing left was she able to tear her eyes from the scene and close the outer hatch. At that moment, nothing could have convinced her that she hadn't made the right decision. DuMonte was a psychopath and there was nothing anyone could do to change that. The colony would never be safe if she had allowed him to live.

Now she wasn't so sure. Sandy was safe, her own condition had stabilized and her baby was growing every day. Maybe she shouldn't have condemned him to such a horrible death, but she just couldn't find it in herself to feel remorse. Her report had been brief, revealing none of the intense emotion she had experienced. She doubted that the others would understand the demons driving her at that moment. The laws of the colony could have her facing murder charges for her actions and she knew it.

Wondering what the council would decide, she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Brie stepped into the med lab, glad of the environmental controls that kept the building cool even in the afternoon of a Gaia summer day. She just spent the last several hours in council observing the review of Xandra's incident report. She'd chosen to waive her voting rights since her interest was so personal, but had hoped that the rest of the council would see the situation the way she did.

A brief look at her patient reinforced her opinion. Four months now and the young woman had not regained consciousness. Her physical injuries had long been healed and there was no good reason for her to remain in a coma. Brie was convinced that her psychological scars kept her trapped in the depths of her own mind. The doctor was getting desperate. She knew some of what Arianna had been through from conversations with Xandra and she wasn't sure if there was incentive enough for the young woman to return to them.

Making her decision, she turned to her assistant. "Sara, I need you to monitor me. I'm going to see if I can bring her out of it."

Sara turned a disapproving gaze on the young doctor, but kept her opinions to herself. Attempting to revive a coma patient empathically was dangerous. The fact that Arianna was also an empath only increased the risk since she could pull Brie in just as easily as Brie could pull her out. It all depended on who was stronger and more determined. The medic knew that Brie had been contemplating this course of action for several days. As time passed and the likelihood of Arianna awakening on her own became more remote, Sara was afraid it would come to this. Now that Brie had made up her mind, Sara knew there was nothing she could say to discourage her. She could only assist her friend and pray that she survived.

Brie settled on the pallet next to Arianna's bed. Reclining, she waited for Sara to attach the probes to her temples, heart and pulse points. Sara finished her task by tucking a pillow beneath Brie's head and squeezing her hand reassuringly. As she took her seat at the console, Brie rolled to her side and laid one hand against the petite woman's head while resting the other against her heart. Closing her eyes, she began the breathing and meditation techniques that would allow her to go deeply enough to touch this woman's tortured mind.

It felt like falling into a pit of fire. She couldn't find the bottom of Arianna's well of pain. Hot colors spun in her wake as she sought the young woman's hiding place. Each twist and turn brought another wave of fear, pain and despair. She was burning from the intensity of it. Insidious, it invaded her mind, blurring the boundaries between doctor and patient.

Brie fought against the awesome power of stark emotions enhanced by Arianna's natural empathic talent. She had to focused, wrest control from the terrified child hiding somewhere in this morass of torment.

Tentatively, Brie called out to that little girl. "Ari?…Where are you Sweetheart?" Pausing, she waited for a response that didn't come. Trying again she stretched her thought a little further. "Ari? I'm here to help you Baby, but I need to find you first. Please talk to me. I'm going to take you out of here to someplace safe. Take my hand Ari and I promise I'll protect you."

"Mommy? Is that you Mommy? Where are you? I'm scared Mommy, please help me?"

"I'm right here Ari." Brie responded instantly, trying to locate the source of the tiny voice. If Arianna wanted to believe Brie was her mother, it didn't matter as long as she trusted her. "Come to me Baby. We'll leave here together."

"Mommy, why did you leave me? When you left he hurt me. He kept hurting me Mommy and you didn't come back for me."

Now what do you say Brie? Thinking quickly she answered as if she was speaking with her own daughter. "I'm so sorry Ari. I didn't want to leave you, but I didn't have any choice. I didn't know he would hurt you like that…you were just a little girl. Come to me Sweetheart, let me hold you and kiss the pain away."

Apparently, Brie's loving words reached the frightened child. In the distant flaming dreamscape, a small silhouette appeared and moved tentatively toward Brie. Reaching out to embrace the tiny form, Brie waited silently as a gamin face perched on a thin body approached her. Staring into the doctors emerald eyes, Arianna still saw her mother. Her eyes overflowed and tears coursed down her cheeks as she leapt across the last few feet separating the two. Gathering the child in her arms, Brie spoke reassuringly as she gently touched her terrified mind. That inner place where all the bad memories lived.

In a flood of suffering, Brie experienced each moment of Ari's miserable childhood. Her mind reeled with the pain and humiliation this young woman had been made to endure time and again. Feelings of abandonment and betrayal -- worthlessness and absolute despair. The intense desire for oblivion -- release from her internal prison.

In those brief moments, they were one, empath to empath. The soothing tones of Brie's psyche infinitely stronger that Arianna's battered soul. Wrapping the child in loving arms, she shared the pain and thereby weakened its hold on Ari's mind. Gently rocking her, Brie whispered words of love as the child relinquished control to the doctor.

Slowly the dreamscape changed. The fire and swirling colors faded into a forest at the edge of a mountain lake. The sunset painted pinks and purples across the twilight sky. The slight breeze cooled their skin and both fell into an exhausted, but natural sleep.

Continued in Part 3.