The three-dimensional map of Ravine spun gently on its axis under her direction, a glittering crimson array of lines that looked disarmingly calm. On it Amber could see the lines of blue and red that marked out friend and foe over the unfolding battlefield of the planet. There was a lot more red than she had expected.

Kyros was not waiting around for a peace deal to materialise, it seemed, with the remaining rebel forces moving quickly and decisively to consolidate the positions they had. More broadcasts screamed over the airwaves, exhorting Ravine's battered and exhausted population to join the fight. Some did. Others formed militias of their own to support the Beltock Dragoons, creating an almighty mess as Merlynn's officers tried to figure out which ragtag units of armed thugs they should be shooting at.

Around a quarter of the planet could be classed as enemy territory – a handful of larger towns straggling across a section of the northern hemisphere through crags and churning lava flows – where the surviving rebel army units were dug in. Attack plans were being drawn up by the colonial staff at Karpa Luna, but no-one was under any illusions. An all out assault on those regions would be a bloodbath.

Which left Amber and her comrades as the only alternative.

Kyros's hideout was just a few miles from Ravine's north pole, marked by a blotch of pulsing red on the display. She chewed a thumbnail as she examined the terrain with a critical eye before reaching forward and keying a command into the holographic interface. The globe stopped spinning and abruptly zoomed to the location she had specified.

The region formed a snaggle-toothed hell scape of sharp valleys, crags and canyons carved by long dead volcanos, once the site of several failed mining operations in the planet's early days. Abandoned and inhospitable it made for the perfect refuge from the colonial troops. Too far for a land assault, too much of a natural barrier for any kind of orbital drop; Amber had to admit that the man had chosen his position well.

"The orbital scans Merlynn gave us show a structure cut into this canyon bed," she said, rotating the display and plunging the image down into the one of the snarling valleys. Embedded into the wall at its base the building was outlined with an electric red lattice. "It's a disused magma siphon, probably been there for more than sixty years based on the modelling."

"And it digs far back into the valley wall," Darien muttered, leaning on the octagonal briefing table with both hands as he craned his neck for a closer look. "The feeder tunnels used to run to refineries to the west. There's a whole labyrinth of them in these crags."

"And how much should we be betting that Kyros is holed up in the deepest, darkest little pit that place has to offer?" Idas muttered.

Uther smirked. "I'd stake your next wage on it."

"The feeder tunnels give us ways in," Amber continued, one hand spidering across the interface to highlight the vein-like scars of red that emanated from the structure. "If we don't want to risk Blinking in blind – and I don't – we should try these."

Niamh shook her head. "They'll be guarded."

"Nothing we can't handle." Darien glanced at her. "We'll Blink past the entrance and work our way in. We can bypass any check points with short range Blinks. Amber, Uther, you're on sweeper duty. Eyes open for any security cameras and defensive measures. There'll be more than just people guarding this place.

"If they even suspect we're coming for them Kyros will run." Niamh glanced at him with a shrug. "Anyone that spots us before we box him in, we'll have to put them down fast."

"We'll do what we have to do."

Amber bit her lip, wondering how much scope there would be for any kind of non-lethal approach to this assault. In the end she pushed through the apprehension keying another command into the display to show an interior schematic of the main building.

"According to the plans Merlynn provided," she said. "Our target should be in the command node for the siphon." A flick of a finger; a small oblong cuboid of a room pulsed blue on the display. "It's raised higher than the old flow lines and was build to withstand massive temperatures in the event of a facility breach. The thing's virtually indestructible. It's a good place to hide. Unfortunately the armour plating makes it impossible to get an interior scan so we can't say for certain who or what is in there."

"We can take a good guess." Straightening up Darien blew out his cheeks in a long sigh, looking over the members of Hammerhead squad one at a time. "This is it people. One more mission and we can get off this damned planet once and for all. We remove Kyros and it all ends."

Amber stiffened, unease prickling through her. "Darien, we're going in there to arrest him," she told him, her voice low but firm. "We are the only people on this planet capable of getting in there and getting him out without a bloodbath. We get him, we take him back to Karpa Luna and he gets a trial. It's not our place to do anything more than that."

"I'm afraid that's not what I've been told."

"Darien..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes screwing shut as though the act of putting the words together caused him physical pain. "I'm sorry, Amber, but Merlynn and the government of Ravine have made it pretty clear to me that they're not interested in putting Kyros on trial. They want a permanent solution and they want it now."

"Damn," Idas grunted. "So we're going in there to...?" He let his voice trail of, instead miming a gunshot with one hand.

"I'm afraid so."

"They can't do that," Amber hissed.

"It's already done. Kyros is a symbol of everything the colonial government are trying to contain here. If he gets a fresh platform to churn out more of his crazy demands things will just keep escalating."

Closing her eyes tight, she willed him to stop talking, not wanting to hear his justifications. Nausea boiled in her stomach, a combination of disbelief and rage filling her mind. She didn't want to hear another word.

But Darien continued on, addressing the whole squad as he spoke.

"I understand that this is not what we were brought here to do, but the situation has changed. Arresting Kyros is the best way to guarantee this war continues. If we spirit him away; lock him up in a cell somewhere; put him on trial? He'll be a symbol for every single person fighting against us. They won't stop killing until he's free."

"And if you kill him he becomes a martyr!" she exploded, eyes snapping open and blazing fury at him. "How is that any better?"

"Him being alive gives the rebels hope that he can be set free," Darien replied, an edge of desperation creeping into his voice. "We remove him, quickly, quietly and cleanly. That's how we end this."

"You can't know that."

He bristled at that, inhaling deeply through his nose. "You think I'm just doing this on a whim, Amber? I know Kyros, better than anyone here. He was a friend. He was someone I looked up to a long time ago. This is harder for me than it will ever be for you."

"Darien," Amber said, her voice shaking with disbelief. "We – I – joined Blink to keep the peace, to help people, to protect them. We are not assassins!"

He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table and looking her in the eye. "I'm sorry, Amber, but today we are."

At first she couldn't do anything but stare at him in disbelief for reducing their current situation to something so pithy. She waited but it seemed like he had nothing more to add. One order from Merlynn and he was ready to kill again. Her stomach turned and she dug her nails into her palms in frustration.

Had he always been hoping for this? His anger at Kyros for what had happened to Vass and the others had been clear. Or was it just a selfish desire to get off of Ravine and never look back? The toll the assignment had taken on him was clear; maybe he just wanted it finished, no matter the consequences.

Seconds crawled by. Darien held her stare for a moment before his eyes flicked around the room, assessing the faces of his team. Amber couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I know this isn't how we wanted this to end," he said, speaking deliberately; carefully. "But sometimes keeping the galaxy safe means that we have to get our hands dirty. We are going to do this – one life traded to stop a war."

"No."

It was out before she could stop herself. Darien blinked. The word hung in the air like a guillotine. Seconds ebbed by; looks flashed between the operatives. She could feel her body trembling.

"Amber-"

"No," she repeated, ignoring the tremor in her shrill voice. "I'm not doing it."

"Amber, I know how you feel but-,"

"NO YOU DON'T!" she screamed, a sudden surge of emotions boiling up and spilling out in a single, violent rush. She locked eyes with him, the young man who'd led her out of a life of safety – of security – with honeyed promises of making the most of her gifts. When they'd attacked Theodore Logan's ship all those months ago she had followed her orders. When they'd been forced to attack one of their own convoys on this hell of a planet, she had followed her orders. When they'd assaulted the cannon emplacements she had followed her orders. But this was nothing more than cold blooded murder. That was an order she would not follow.

"You obviously have no idea," Amber spat bitterly. "When you first came to me you told me we helped people. You said I was special, and that we could do great things. We were supposed to be the good guys. I don't care how you want to justify it to yourself, but this is not that!"

"We're under orders."

"Screw orders, screw Merlynn and screw you! You can all find someone else to do your killing." She unclipped her carbine and hurled it to the floor with a crash, glaring daggers at him. "You can report me. You can tell Smith whatever little story helps you sleep at night, but I am not a murderer!"

And after a moment, another voice spoke.

"Neither am I."

All eyes turned to Hekket. The medic swallowed hard, meeting Darien's eyes with an effort. "Darien, she's right," he continued quietly. "None of us signed up for this. To do this." With a gentle motion he, too, unclipped his carbine from its strap and laid it down on the table in front of him. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Having said his piece he moved over to stand beside her, and Amber had never been more grateful to another human being in her entire existence. He looked at her and she could see sweat beading on his cheeks. It was plain that defying Darien had stretched all the reserves of courage that the operative possessed.

She looked back to Darien. His jaw was tightly clenched, lips pressed into a thin line as he looked from one defiant squad member to another. No-one else spoke up. Niamh's sharp stare could have cut diamonds as she cast her eye over them. Uther rooted his gaze to the floor while Idas simply looked baffled at the turn of events. Then at last, their squad leader spoke.

"Okay." His voice was heavy, almost weary. "Both of you go back to the barracks. We'll do it without you."

"Darien?!" Niamh hissed. "They're disobeying orders!"

"I know that," he snapped, silencing her protests. "But some people aren't cut out for this kind of work." He let his gaze drift back to Amber, sadness in his eyes. "And I understand that. Now go, both of you. The rest of us have a mission to plan. There are other operatives on this base that will do what you won't."

Cheeks burning, tears threatening to spill out any second Amber turned and stormed out of the room, Hekket's footsteps right behind hers. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her pace increasing, faster and faster, twisting and turning through the halls of the complex, desperate to get as far away from what she'd just said and done as humanly possible. The tears overflowed, rushing down her cheeks and over her hand in an unrestrained flood. Her quick mind was racing with the consequences, of all she might just have thrown away in a single defiant moment.

A hand grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her back around. She almost wrenched herself away before she realised it was Hekket, his expression numb, as though he couldn't quite believe what they had just done. He opened his mouth; closed it again. Shrugged.

Then she threw her arms around his neck, hauled herself close and buried her face against his shoulder, letting the tears run, silent sobs wracking her body as she clenched her teeth, anger, frustration and panic boiling through her in a whorl. His arms closed around her instantly, his grip tight as though he was clinging to her just as desperately as she clung to him. She felt his cheek press against the side of her head; could feel the tightness of his jaw in the tremble in his body.

They clung to one another for minutes before Hekket slumped against the wall, still holding her, his chest rising and falling. Amber looked up, blinking the tears from red-rimmed eyes.

"What did we just do?" she choked out hoarsely.

"I..." Hekket shook his head. "I mean, we had to do something... didn't we?"

"I couldn't do it," she said, leaning her forehead against his chin, closing her eyes and fighting to get her breathing back under control. "I just couldn't."

"I know." His hand closed around her shoulders and a firm grip. "But you did something I've never had the guts to do."

"What?"

"You stood up to Darien. I mean... really stood up to him. If you hadn't I don't know if I..." his voice trailed off. She looked up again and saw his face, crumpled with shame. He didn't look her in the eye.

"Hey," she said in a trembling voice, turning his face back towards her. "You backed me up in there. You have no idea what that means right now."

And before he could reply she kissed him. It was a desperate, ferocious, grateful thing that made the world seem a little less screwed up for a few precious seconds. Her lips pressed against his, one hand sliding up the back of his neck and clutching tightly at his sandy locks of hair, the other clasping a fistful of his combat vest.

For the briefest instant he was taken by surprise, then his arms snapped tight around her, squeezing her close as he leaned into the kiss. She felt the rage of a kindred spirit in that moment, the two who wouldn't go along. The two who would not murder. She pressed up on her toes against him, a revitalising strength coursing through her veins. They were right. She was right.

When they finally eased apart she looked at his face to find him with a faintly shell-shocked expression on his face. Hekket managed a shaky, lopsided smile.

"Well," he said. "I think that was long overdue."

Despite everything Amber couldn't stifle a laugh, slapping him lightly on the chest and stepping back. She heaved in a steadying breath and scrubbed the tears from her face with both hands.

Hekket glanced around before giving her a dubious look. "Now what?"

"Now?" She shook her head sadly, taking him by the hand. "Now we sit back and watch this whole world go to hell."