"There's something inside you that isn't right
There's something that haunts your dreams at night
There's something that you have lost
And you're bringing it down
You're bringing it down
On top of us" "Bringing It Down" - Starset

"A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. " - Ecclesiastes 3:8

Red if you die, I will hate you forever.

I didn't mean to go...

Where am I?

He stood and held her in his arms. Once again she was blind, her augments shutting down as she lost power.

I don't want to do this. 

He remembered thinking this way back then, but he hadn't found another way then, and the dream didn't wait for him to come up with another way now...

He tried holding her back but she slipped from his grasp as Karik yanked her away and dragged her on top of a table. A willing sacrifice, but Red hadn't known then how much it would hurt watching her take it. He stiffened as each kicked found its mark and Ember coughed up blood. His fists tightening as she cried out, Dag holding him back. 

His inability to move was the most frustrating part.

...and then the doors had opened.  

He hated that she'd been right. They'd almost sacrificed her for the chance at freedom. She'd taken the gamble with them and won. 

He turned to carry her out with him, but this time there wasn't a faint breath on her lips. Her eyes were lifeless, glassy, staring straight up at a sky she'd never fly again.

Ember was dead.

Red's knees hit the dirt, even as he heard Dag yell at him to leave her behind.

If Ember was dead, so was he.

################################

Null tried to relax but found that was proving difficult. The medical ward while not overly threatening was not her favorite place to be. She shifted and stared at the patient lying unconscious in front of her. Why had she promised Lars to wait until he woke up at least?

What's bothering you Null? Lars, the AI who shared a body with her sensed her unease.

You know how much I love being here, she snapped back. I'm sorry. Just bad memories, you know that.

We promised, Lars reminded her. And you promised. In her mind's eye, she could see Lars, his eyes like tiny galaxies staring at her with his arms crossed.

Null nodded, don't remind me. Shifting her lithe body into a more comfortable position. She'd promised Ember to keep an eye on Red and make sure that Jack Dawson current leader of New Elysium didn't lay a hand on Red while he was in their care. Being on New Elysium simply made her antsy and it wasn't like she and Jack got along in any way.

She knew he'd rather be rid of her, but she had a particularly good skill set and he needed it. She'd trade him supplies for the occasional repair job. So far it was working out.

So, she was stuck here on general terms because she made a promise. She didn't have to say anything out loud though, both of them knew Lars was concerned for the former Captain of the Aphelion. In another time Lars had been the Second-in-Command of that ship and Red had been Captain Scott then. No other promise would have kept her on New Elysium except the one to assuage Lars's fears that Red would wake up.

She turned and studied the small brunette who'd fallen asleep on Red's arm. Ember had barely left Red's side. The Vesper pilot had given Jack a full taste of her combat training when her brother insisted on putting the Last Resort bomb inside Red's unconscious body. Ember had beaten him to a pulp only to be pulled off by Dag. For that alone, Null decided Ember would have her eternal respect and admiration.

Null didn't understand the dynamics of the crew that had come with Red, but obviously, Ember had trusted Dag, as she didn't fight him. None of that stopped her from sleeping in the medical ward, watching Red's chest rise and fall every day. No dared tell her no.

"Amy?" Dr. Cyril's whispered voice came from just outside the door.

Her pulse quickened at the sound she forced herself to remain calm. She rose and moved just outside the door sliding it shut behind her.

"What is it?"

Cyril eyed her for a moment. She understood the look, he wanted from her, more than she could ever really give anyone. It wasn't that she didn't like him. It just wouldn't work. Cyril was grounded here... And Amy Larsson? Two beings in a shared body who preferred the black to being planetside.

There's always Nova, Lars interrupted her thoughts.

She sighed impatiently, not right now Lars. She hadn't heard from Nova, and that bothered her more than she was going to admit to Lars or anyone right now. 

Cyril took the sigh as a sign she was impatient with his interruption. He glanced at the door and she knew he was wondering what exactly the relationship was here. She crossed her arms. Let him wonder if it kept him from trying to get too personal.

"The stats look good, I think he will wake up soon as we lower the dose to keep him under."

"Why don't you tell Ember that?"

Cyril looked at her, his hands clenched around the tablet. "She's barely slept, I didn't want to wake her."

"Are you afraid of her, Cyril?"

Cyril looked surprised at the question. He raised his clear medical tablet and shrugged. "I did treat Jack after she was finished with him. I didn't realize she had that much of a temper."

"A temper?" Null raised an eyebrow. This was another thing they didn't see eye to eye on. Cyril trusted Jack in a way that Null never would. She'd never put her life willingly into his hands. She'd seen too much of how he was willing to sacrifice it for the good of the many. 

Red was proof of that.

Ember's temper was entirely protective. If Jack didn't continuously insist that Red become a martyr, a symbol for his cause, Ember probably wouldn't hurt a fly.  

"You're afraid of her but not me? I'm insulted."

Null, stop flirting with the good doctor. Can we go back now?

"He's lucky," Cyril said finally. "If she hadn't tossed him in cryo on her ship and gunned it here without you guys we wouldn't have had a chance."

Null nodded. "Tell you what, I'll relay the information to Ember."

"Wait..." Cyril held up a hand.

"Is there something else?" Null crossed her arms, feeling Lars growing impatient. That wasn't like him. Red needed to just wake up, so they could at least go to the Blackstar.

"Has anyone else been in and out of here? I'm missing several of my interface tools, a data pad, and there have been a few glitches in the system. I wanted to know if you knew anything?"

Null cocked her head to the side. "Don't know. Has Dex been in and out or something?"

Cyril shook his head. "Dex has been closeted with Jack. I know you don't get along with Jack, but Jack's been training Dex to build parts for years. The kid has a knack for it."

"I remember." Null smiled. Dex had built her so many things over the past few years. Then being able to help bring his father back to New Elysium, it felt like she'd finally been able to pay the kid back. Jack had mentored him well. Score one for the hated boss.

"But he's not been here, just Leah helping me put Red together. That kid would never steal, you know Leah would hang him out to dry if she caught him."

Null chewed on her lip and then shrugged. "Not my problem. I don't know what's happening. Check the video feeds. Sounds like you have a leak."

A leak that needs plugging, Lars said.

"Look, check the video feeds and get back to me." She turned away from him without looking and slid back into the room, sitting in the chair. Because Lars, I wanted to be in here even more than out there.

Thank you, Null.

Null shrugged and leaned back as she mulled Cyril's problem. She was just about to suggest they patch in from this room and view the feeds themselves when Red groaned, and she froze.

##############

The worst part about not being dead was waking up and finding out that in fact, you were very much alive. It hurt.

Red groaned as he shifted not bothering to open his eyes. If he wasn't dead, he might soon be.

Everything hurt. Just breathing hurt. He was slow, his augments were offline.

He could hear the soft whir of machines, deciphering from the sounds that he was in a medical ward of some kind.

He cracked an eye open only to meet the deadpan stare from Null. That was enough to snap his eyes open wide. 

"Fuck," he tried to get out. It came out barely above a whisper.

Her gray organic eye looked stormy and morose, the black one expressionless as ever. She cocked her head at him.

"She's exhausted. She wouldn't leave your side, I told her I'd keep an eye on you, but she stayed anyway."

"What?" Red tried making sense of her statement, watching as Null's brows furrowed.

"Ember," Null pointed and whispered. "She's there."

Red shifted his head, wincing, his augments must be offline, every move was sluggish. There next to him, a brunette had both of her tiny hands wrapped around his and her head lying next to his arm. Her face was tilted towards him, eyes closed, she looked at peace. He blinked away sudden tears as he looked at her. They'd made it after all.

"Before you wake her up, I just want to say something," Null whispered. "Before I lose my nerve."

Red turned and stared at Null, there was little he could do to stop her right now. She could kill him if she wanted and all he would be able to do was breathe at her in protest.

"I just wanted to say, I understand you now when you wanted to kill Adam because he was hurting Ember, back on her ship." Null took a deep breath. "Back on the Perihelion, I almost lost Lars back there." He could barely hear her whisper. "That AI tried to kill him. Let's just say, I know what it felt like to hear him suffer and want to tear what was hurting him apart."

Red slowly closed his eyes and opened his hand towards, Null stared at it for a moment and then grabbed it and shook it. He winced but grasped her hand as hard as he could before releasing her and letting his own hand drop back.

"We've been taking shifts just to make sure Jack doesn't come in here himself and try to put the LR back inside of you," Null continued. "Ember has been a permanent fixture."

"He found it?" Red's words slurred a little and he hated how weak he sounded.

"Not yet," Null grinned devilish grin at him. "But he hasn't spent any time on the Aphelion in the Captain's quarters either."

He cracked a grin in return and relaxed back into the pillow to close his eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone, Leah is probably going to be in here sometime in the next hour," Null stood up and shifted slightly until it was Lars standing before them. "Welcome back, Captain." He saluted Red. Then Null took over again, her shoulders slouching as she smiled.

Red tried raising his arm to return the gesture, but it was sore. He settled for a slight nod instead.

Null nodded in return, took a passing glance at Ember and left the room, darkening the lights slightly.

Red was already turned to the woman who had been through so much with him in such a short time. She was still breathing, that part had been a dream at least.

"Ember," he whispered. Just saying her name brought a flurry of memories, some he was prepared for, others, not quite so much.

Yanking her out of the containment unit after being terrified he'd never see her again. The look on her face when she realized he'd really come for her, it was the one time he'd seen her lose her composure.

And then he killed her father.

Afterward... Realizing he might never see her again and trying in vain to get his limbs to move to her.

"Ember," he said again, more loudly this time. He would make damn sure she knew this time. His voice sounded raspy to him and he closed his eyes, frustrated at his inability to move, but when he opened them again, Ember's head had popped off the bed and she had a death grip on his hand.

That hurt, but he didn't mind the pain. It was a reminder that they were both very much alive.

"Ember, you are hurting me," he managed, his voice low, as he cringed. He missed his augments now more than ever.

She looked down at his hand. "Oh! I'm sorry."

"So, you don't hate me forever, right?" He whispered.

"What?" She sounded so surprised that he laughed, and damn it that hurt too.

He raised both of his hands as high as he could. "Just come here."

Ember's eyes started to look shiny but she sat on his bed and carefully laid her head down on his chest, being careful not to disturb any of the medical wiring or tubes that were coming out of his side. 

His arms wrapped around her and then only then, did he truly relax. "We made it," he whispered into her hair.

Ember leaned back and he could see a few tears streaming down her face now. She leaned forward and placed her lips against his and Red felt himself responding to that and he felt an irrational anger at himself for not being able to do more than keep his arms around her.

"Ember!" A woman's voice yelped from behind. Ember scrambled away, her face scarlet, but she didn't look the least bit apologetic.

Behind her, a tall dark skinned woman with her hair braided in hundreds of tiny braids that hung down her back gave her a disapproving frown. "You can wait a few more days, can't you? Larsson said he just woke up. Stay off, I'm sure Dag can still peal you off in a heartbeat if necessary." Lean's voice was stern but even Red could detect amusement in it. Dag's wife looked at the tablet and then studied Red's face for a moment.

Red hadn't gone to see her or their son, Dex, because he still felt guilty that Dag had ended up in Helion 7 with him. Seven years was a long time for a man not to see his family just because his friend had anger issues.

He said nothing dropping his eyes to his lap. Ember sat back in the chair next to him taking his hand once more.

Leah's fingers bustled over him, lifting his shirt gently as she pulled back the bandages. "They look fine. I suppose you've already got someone to watch you when I release you from this place?"

Red's hopes rose. And then she dashed them.

"Of course that's not happening today. Sorry." Her tone told Red she knew exactly what she'd done. She pushed the material back down and looked Red in the eye. "That was one of the scariest surgeries I've ever had to perform with Cyril. You're lucky you're girl thought to put you in cryo, or you wouldn't have made it here."

Red glanced over at Ember. "Cryo?"

"You almost bled out." Leah wasted no words as she turned away. "Dag will be up here to see you, he's been hanging around waiting. I finally had to force him to work on The Ember since that is technically his job while it's in dock."

"What happened?" Red directed this question at Ember.

"You died." This time Ember's voice was hollow and low.

Leah looked at her and then clicked her tongue. "Almost died, besides God must have wanted him here, he didn't stay dead for long."

"So you do hate me," Red looked at Ember, trying to make a joke, but his voice had gotten lower. He felt almost drained from talking.

"Of course," she responded. "But in the good way. I plan on making you pay for it for the rest of your days."

Red closed his eyes. "Did you just pop the question at me? I'd kneel you know, but I don't have a ring, and I don't think my body will cooperate right this second."

"Shut up, Red." Ember's lips pressed against his forehead. "Go to sleep."

Red felt himself sliding away, but not into darkness, rather the comforting sensation that Ember had made it back, and so had he.

"That was either the worst marriage proposal I've ever heard... Or the best. You think he'll remember that when he wakes up later?" Leah whispered over him as she and Ember both pulled the blankets up under his chin. He felt Ember's hand over his again.

"Of course, I will," he muttered, not releasing he'd spoken out loud, he relaxed completely his head falling to the side where moments ago he'd seen Ember asleep on his arm.

##################

Bjorn Anderssen studied the remains of all that he'd managed to collect from the original headquarters of Orion's Reach. From the remaining Starseed pods, to the files he'd dug up he'd been sifting through the remains trying to build a better foundation on the old one.

Credit had gone to man by the name of Red, a former Captain in the Neo-Tokyan Navy. It was a believable story, but looking at the footage Bjorn had managed to get his hands on, he knew that this hadn't been the case. 

The propaganda machine needed a scapegoat and this Red apparently fit the bill. But Bjorn studied the faces of the woman and the purple haired man in the video. They'd fought well together, and he knew without a doubt these were the real infiltrators.

He turned to the chair behind him. In it sat a man, his shrouded in a black hood, bound hand and foot to the old style chair. Bjorn had always found the antique style more useful, easier to use in situations like these. 

On the desk in front of him, an incredible collection of weaponry sat on display. He'd been surprised when they'd pried his coat off of him and he'd gone through every pocket. But Bjorn was never less than thorough. This pitiful human in front of him deserved to die, but for now, he needed him.

He turned and yanked the hood off the man slowly.  

The man's beaten face was almost unrecognizable. His shock of purple hair was completely in disarray. But Bjorn would have recognized him anywhere... In a past life, they'd been friends.

"Theo," He greeted. "Or is it Nova now?"

Nova spat at him. Mixed blood and spit hit Bjorn's face. He pulled backed and walked to the desk picking up an impressive dagger they'd pulled out of a sleeve. Taking Theo had been no easy task for them, he'd lost a few men in the process. But seeing him here squirming, it had been worth it.

"I want to know a few things, Theo."

"It's Nova!" Nova spat as he sat back, eyeing the Bjorn. Bjorn could tell from the look on his face that Theo knew what was coming. "I never took you for such a softie Bjorn."

Bjorn snorted. "Why don't you tell me how one man, made a Navy Captain surrender an entire ship without firing a shot."

Nova snickered. "Oh, he fired a lot of shots that day, Bjorn. Stop reading Propaganda, Greer is a former crew member of his. Haven't you heard? They've been defecting right and left."

"I've heard," Bjorn said softly. The dagger was suddenly sticking up right in Nova's right leg. 

Bjorn stared into Nova's eyes seeing them light up with white rings around the irises. Nova gasped as Bjorn stood over him.

"Why would they do that?"

"If you ever met him, he's intense." Nova gasped. "Plus he did kill Darius, the old man died on the Perihelion."

"I had wondered," Bjorn picked up another knife, his back towards Nova. "And the woman?"

Nova laughed out loud. "Man you are picking the wrong fight Bjorn."

"Oh?"

"Red is one hell of a shot, he doesn't need to see you to do it. It was fucking beautiful, even more intense than when we tried it back home. And Pirate Queen?"

"What about her?" 

"She's the fucking devil herself. You get lost in that one."

"You sound like you know from experience."

"You missed one Bjorn."

"Oh, who?" Bjorn turned around to find Nova standing, a knife in one hand, the other holding the one he'd pulled from his own leg.

"Not who... What." Nova eyed him. "I never thought it would be this easy to get inside. She's going to kill me you know, my Pirate Queen. But I heard a rumor and just couldn't pass this up."