It had been a long time since Darien had felt this kind of anger towards another Blink operative, but Vass had pushed things too far. It was open insubordination, a virtual mutiny and he wouldn't stand for it. Images flashed in his mind of pulling out his pistol and shooting Tundra's leader dead right there.

He wouldn't have done it, but the thought didn't go away.

Both he and Vass followed Vanna from the room, Rigel's commander moving swiftly from the main briefing room, face impassive. Alongside him, Vass had an expression of virtual boredom on his face, as though listening to Vanna was a courtesy and nothing more. She led them out of earshot of the others, turning into a smaller briefing room that currently lay vacant. Turning, she nodded to Darien.

"Shut the door," she said quietly.

But as soon as the door closed, Vanna's ice-cold demeanour evaporated. She shook her head, gathering in a deep breath, eyes blazing as she looked from one to the other.

"Are both of you completely insane?" she hissed, slamming a clenched fist against the nearest table with a bang that echoed around the room. She pointed towards the door. "What in space was that?"

Darien bristled. "A disagreement."

"Oh, it was a damn sight more than that!"

"So what?" Vass replied, shrugging. "We're entitled to raise concerns about command decisions." And he shot a pointed glance at Darien.

Her eyes narrowed and she took a step towards him. "Of course we are, but if you have to question your commanding officer you show a bit of respect, and you sure as shit don't start a screaming match in front of everyone else!" Vanna's gaze flickered to Darien. "Those operatives in there trust us to make decisions. We're responsible for them, and if we make the wrong call we can get them killed. I can live with that responsibility, but if they see two of their senior officers yelling at each other like a pair of toddlers how can you expect any of them to have confidence in anything we decide?!"

That pierced through the anger that had been clouding Darien's mind. He shifted his footing uncomfortably, his mind flashing through the myriad of life-threatening operations he'd undertaken as the commanding officer of Hammerhead Squad. The others had followed him unquestioningly; decisively. That decisiveness and coordination was what kept them alive. He couldn't lose that. He pinched the bridge of is nose, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, before nodding slowly.

"I see your point," he relented, looking at her.

"Good. I've got a lot of respect for you, Darien, but you're losing your grip on things here. You're the commanding officer – act like it. Someone disagrees with you, don't start yelling at them in the middle of a briefing – sort it out in private. I'll follow you, but you have to lead us."

"So you're saying you're okay with all of this?" Vass asked her, disbelief clear in his voice. "You know as well as I do that Darien's only in charge because he's from Ravine. Smith's got tunnel vision on that and nothing else. Any one of us could have commanded this operation."

"If that's what you truly think then you're just not paying attention, Vass," she shot back. "There is a very good reason Hammerhead lead these operations. They have more experience than any of us dealing with the extremes. You were with them on Marianas – you should know that."

"That was one mission. All of us had to pull it out there. I'm not saying you're not a good operative, Darien, but you're judgement's all over the place here. You've got a personal stake. Smith seems to think that's a good thing – I think it's a liability. You're not thinking straight."

"That's bullshit, Vass, and you know it," Darien spat. "You wanted command of this mission and it kills you that Smith picked someone else. And thank God he did. If you had your way we would be shooting our way through everyone in our way, no questions asked."

"God damn it I am sick of this!" Vanna snarled before the exchange could continue, her coldly beautiful features now wrenched into an expression of rage. "I don't know what the hell it is that means you two can't plan a damn thing without being at each other's throats, but I'm not having my squad get caught in the middle. If you boys can't get your act together I'm pulling Rigel out of this operation. I'm not having them put in the firing line because the pair of you can't put this macho bullshit out of your heads for five seconds to actually think about what's best for the mission."

"You don't have the authority-,"

"Oh, shank your authority, both of you," she spat, cutting off his protest. "I don't care what you have to do, but fix this. Otherwise I'm gone, and if Bandle and Taggs have any sense they'll come with me, because if you two can't pull yourselves together you're going to get us all killed."

She didn't wait for a response, turning and storming from the room in a swirl of anger, leaving Darien and Vass alone. For a moment neither of them spoke, simply staring at the doorway where their comrade had exited, as though her presence still lingered in accusation.

"She's right, Vass," Darien said eventually. "We can't keep doing this."

"I know." Vass shook his head and slumped down into a chair, eyes downcast.

Slowly, Darien lowered himself into the seat opposite, looking at the other operative, mind spinning. He had to heal the rift; had to put their differences aside and he had to do it right now. His jaw tightened and he exhaled a long steadying breath.

"Vass, I know we don't see eye to eye," he began carefully. "But I have never, ever questioned your skill as an operative."

Tundra's leader looked up at that, meeting Darien's gaze. "I suppose not."

"But we're not all the same. Not everyone operates the way you do. You've turned Tundra into one of the best fighting units on the station, but Blink isn't a military organisation. There are other moving parts to this, other strengths that I have to balance. I have to look at the big picture and keep it in my head every time I give an order. You're the best at what you do but you've got to work with me."

"Then let me do what I do best," Vass replied spreading his hands pleadingly. "Ever since Merlynn kicked up a fuss you've been keeping Tundra on a leash, using us as the safety net; the back up. We should be first in the door, every single time. You're worried about collateral damage – casualties. I understand that, but that's part of the job, Darien. My people can handle it. We can bust that place open, but you've got to trust us to do it. Give me what I need and we'll have that gun back in government hands in a day."

"Vass, you just can't guarantee that," Darien replied heavily. "And that's not because I don't trust you. None of us can make a promise like that."

Vass's expression darkened, but he didn't reply, his brow furrowing in thought. Eventually he looked up, his tone level.

"You do understand my problems with your plan, don't you?"

"Of course I do. There are a lot of unknowns."

"We need to change the playing field somehow." Vass drummed his fingers against the table, chewing his lower lip. "What if we could draw the guards out – bring them away from the inner positions and give them an external threat to worry about?"

"What are you thinking?"

"That main bulkhead," he elaborated. "As long as that's shut they'll turtle up. Even if we can clean the gun emplacements out, there's nothing forcing them to come out. They can bottleneck that entrance even without the supporting fire. Merlynn might have the firepower but that's a choke point."

Darien's eyebrows rose as he began to see what Vass was driving at. "You want to open the bulkhead? Sabotage it so that they have to defend in force?"

"It would clear out most of the interior guards for us. They aren't defending at full strength – only about a third of the regiment stationed here actually switched sides. They'll be stretched as it is to keep all the defences manned. If we give them something extra, that gives your teams on the inside a fighting chance to clear out the generators."

"My teams?"

"Split us up. Give me Panther Squad and we'll take care of the bulkhead. When it opens and they have to scramble to plug the gap, you take the other squads in and hit every generator."

"Timing will be tight," Darien cautioned. "You'll need charges to blow the mechanisms to keep it open."

Vass nodded. "We can do it. It'll be a squeeze, but nothing we haven't handled before. Just make sure Merlynn and the big guns are front and centre when we do it. They need to be visible – make it seem like the bulkhead opening is for the dragoons to launch a frontal assault. When they're panicking and trying to get their defences ready, that's your window. Get in and wreck everything."

Darien exhaled a long, slow breath, and nodded. "Alright, Vass. Let's make this happen." Standing up, he extended a hand. "I don't care if you like me or not – I'm sure the feeling's mutual – but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we keep this unit together, okay?"

"I hear you." Vass shook his hand, though his expression remained stony. "Let's go put on a face for the troops, eh?"

With Vass close behind, Darien turned and trudged from the room, making his way back through twists and turns Vanna had taken until they reached the room holding their comrades. From the outside he could hear the low buzz of conversation. He glanced once at Vass, then stepped through the doorway.

When they entered the briefing room again an expectant hush fell over the operatives and all eyes turned on them. Vass clapped him on the shoulder and moved to join the members of Tundra Squad.

"It took a bit of thrashing out," Darien declared without preamble. "But Vass and I have come up with a new plan. A better plan." He glanced at Vanna and gave her a small nod. Rigel's leader visibly relaxed, shoulders easing down and her eyes brightening as she waited to hear what they had to say. "So everybody listen, and listen well. We get this right and that cannon will be back in government hands in a day."