The next week went by in a blur. I spent two more days in the medical bay, and probably would've been stuck there longer, but Regris finally relented. I had to get out of that room or I was going to go crazy.

A funeral was held for Kala and the other three Maji who had sacrificed everything to destroy the station. It had been a small thing, nothing extravagant, on the beaches of the tropical planet of Herculis, but I was pretty sure Kala would've liked it that way. After making sure each Maji had a device to keep them safe in the future - whether it would be needed or not - the crew and I headed back to Rama. There was someone we needed to check on.

The heat of the two suns of Rama's system were a welcome respite after the chill of space. Ever since destroying the station, I had been cold a lot easier. Regris said it had something to do with the strain I had put my body through, and that it should ease after a little time. I sure hoped it did because it was a pain in the butt to try and hack a shield-wall while shivering.

Kam was back with my father, setting the groundwork for the new GPF to stand on. Everything had gone according to plan after the station was destroyed. My father leaked everything he had on RI - including the video footage we had of the station. There hadn't been any amount of money RI could fork out to make the entire galaxy forget what they had done. We didn't know all of the ramifications of it yet, but it was certainly putting a strain on the galactic market. RI had a hand in everything, after all.

The one thing my father and Kam were working hard on came as a total surprise to me. No one had said anything about it but it was happening all around us. The new GPF would work together with the Republic to reintegrate the Maji into society. We weren't illegal anymore. I knew it wasn't going to be a simply fix. People tended to hold onto old stereotypes, after all. But if gave hope to the future and that I could handle.

That wasn't stopping us from distributing our device to every Maji we could find though. If they wanted to stay hidden, they could. We were going to make sure that no one could do what RI had done again.

Kade and Lenna walked beside me through the market street, weaving around the bustle of trade. The world continued on running, like nothing had happened. Like no one had just lost their lives defending it. Such was the life of heroes.

Coming upon the red door, I climbed the few steps and knocked twice. A second later and a familiar head of curls opened the door.

"TJ!" Hazel jumped off the top step and I thanked the stars my reflexes were damn good or I would've dropped her. I was not prepared for the kid to launch herself at me.

As it was, my strength wasn't up there yet. Almost as soon as I caught her, she started to slid out of my arms. Kade caught her, thankfully, and tossed her into the air a foot. She was laughing when her mother came to the door to see what the matter was. Her eyes were guarded as she took us in.

Clearing my throat, I introduced myself, then Kade and Lenna. Whatever Hazel had told her mother, she had obviously told her about us. Instantly, the woman's face lit up and she pulled us into their small home.

"Please, come in! I'll make you lunch!"

"Oh, no, that's fine. Really." Lenna waved her hands in front of her, as if she could calm the woman down.

"Nonsense! I haven't had the chance to thank you for saving my baby. But you're here now!" She smiled wide, her eyes brimming with tears she didn't shed. "Please, allow me to thank you."

Looking from her face to Hazel, who was still sitting comfortably in Kade's arms, I smiled. "Sure, that sounds great."

Sitting in the common room of the Phoenix, I struggled to keep my eyes open. It was a week since the station and I still felt like I had been run over by a bus. I really needed to have a chat with Regris. Except maybe not - he'd probably tell me I should've stayed in bed like he asked.

"TJ, if you need to go lay down we can have this chat later."

My eyes snapped up to the image of my father floating above the table. I could see Kade and Lenna on the other side of the table, their brows pulled in concern. I could feel Axon's eyes on me from his corner of the room. Ugh, I was getting tired of seeing that expression. "I'm fine, sorry. Continue."

My father's face showed he didn't buy my lie for a second, but he nodded. "As I was saying, things went better than we could've hoped. Now that have full control of the GPF, as I did before RI, I'll keep things in order." He gestured to Kam, who's image flickered just beside him. "Although it sounds like I might have to do so without my Lieutenant."

Kam's face was sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck but the smile Kade had on his face was hard to miss. The captain of the Phoenix shrugged a shoulder, "Guess the smuggling life was more interesting."

My father raised a brow but I could see the hint of smile on his lips. "Yes, well. Speaking of smuggling. I've cleared your names in the GPF system, taken down any warrants for your arrests."

That...that was not what we had been expecting. My shocked expression was mirrored on the rest of the crew. Axon was the first one to break the silence, climbing out of his booth and heading towards the table. "You cleared our names?"

"Of course I did. I think recent events proved each of your characters." His eyes narrowed, "But that can always change if you kids decide to start smuggling unsatisfactory items."

Kade gave him a salute, "Don't worry, General. We're the clean kind of smugglers." The grin he wore didn't match a word of what he was saying.

"Yes, I'm very sure." My father's voice was dry but there was a twinkle in his eye when he looked at me.

"Thanks...dad." My tongue could barely get around the word, like it was a foreign language. But the shocked look on my father's face was worth it. It wasn't like I had suddenly forgiven him for everything - or, as it were, forgotten everything I had believed about him. But it was a start. And hey, he had just cleared me and the crew of arrest warrants. I could give him a little for that.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his shoulder. "Well, where are you all off to first?"

Kade leaned back in his chair, resting his arms behind his head. "Well, first we need to pick up my new copilot." He winked at Kam's image. "And then, who knows. Wherever the stars take us."

I smiled, "Just the way we like it."

"Just the way we like it."

Meeting Lenna's eyes across the table, my heart swelled a few sizes as I returned her smile. Back to life as usual then.

A/N

Well, there is it, guys! My first sci-fi. I am so incredibly proud of this project and it taught me so much. I can't wait to come back to it, to spend more time with this crazy crew, and turn it into something really great.

Thanks so much for reading xx