The sun was just beginning to peek out from over the buildings around us. Orange and pink streaked the sky, only stopped by the occasional ship or cloud passing between us. Soon, the docking bays would be full of action. The realization was exhausting and also sobering - we'd never find that shipment of CD now. But that wouldn't matter if my plan worked.

"Alright, spill. What is this plan of yours?"

Lenna and I sat on the roof of the Phoenix, the repairs just finished. We were waiting for Kala and whoever else she convinced to come help. I didn't say it, but I was afraid of how few she'd bring. After my black-out spell the last time I tried to use my abilities, I knew we'd need a lot of Maji help.

"Promise to stay on my side?"

She gave me a look before whacking my shoulder lightly. "I'm always on your side."

Hoping that was true, I laid my hand on the cold surface of the ship. It was always a little surreal sitting on the outside of the ship versus the inside. Was crazy to think of all of the situations a big bucket of metal had gotten us through. To think that only a few inches of metal, wire, and atmo kept us safe from the vacuum of space. "Uhh...so you remember how I used my abilities to lower the bomb into that compound?"

She raised a brow, but nodded. "I recall the recount of the story, yes."

Forcing myself not to wince, I took a deep breath. "Right. So I was thinking if there were enough Maji, all focusing on the same task, that we could take that station down without anyone needing to get close."

"You've lost me. You want to use a giant bomb?"

"No. I want to tear the station to pieces. Literally." I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid to even look at her for fear of what her reaction was. But when I finally gave into the intense curiosity, I was met with a shocked smile.

"You devious little thing, you."

Laughing, I laid back on the ship. The metal was even cold through my jacket. All the air emptied out of my lungs, "Gee, thanks."

"No, I'm serious. That could work."

I inclined my head the best I could, laying on the ship. "I think it could. But I don't think my father is going to go for it. He's more of the...meticulous planning type of guy."

She snorted. Laying on the ship beside me, the warmth of her body was a sharp contrast to the metal underneath me. "So what? He's not suddenly the boss of you - and he certainly isn't the boss of me. He wanted our help. Here is us helping."

Turning to look at her, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She had been working on fixing the ship all night. I should've made her go get some rest, not made her stay up with me. "Thanks for not saying I'm crazy."

She smiled, her hand came up and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "We're all crazy, TJ. We have to be in our life. But I believe in you and that crazy brain of yours. We can do this - with or without your father's help."

Suddenly, my stomach was churning but for once it wasn't out of fear. At least, not that kind of fear. My lips parted as I took a deep breath, trying to calm the racing beat of my heart. Lenna's eyes followed the movement and before I could say anything - something - her lips pressed gently to mine. I'd never felt something softer in my whole life. The butterflies in my stomach flew about in force but thankfully my hand wasn't shaking when I lifted it to brush curls out her face.

She leaned away, just enough that our noses still touched. We were both breathing hard but neither of us moved. I didn't want to move an inch and I hoped she didn't either.

Licking my lips, I cleared my throat a bit. "Uhh...we should..."

"TJ! Lenna!"

We jumped apart, both of us a mess of disheveled hair and red lips. Peaking over the edge of the ship, I saw another sight that made my stomach churn. Kade stood with a grin on his face, beside him was Kala - and a dozen Maji.

"Absolutely not." My father's image crackled in the confined space of the bunker. With a dozen extra people hanging around, there wasn't much room to breathe, let alone do anything else.

I could feel Kade's body heat on my right and Kam's on my left. If any one of us moved, our arms would bump. Even so, I crossed my arms. "I'm not asking for your permission, of course having your back-up would be nice. We're doing this. That station has to go."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Temperance. But I think we need to slow down and look at every angle; make a plan."

"And I told you I have a plan."

"Yes! A plan that could likely not work, at best, and kill you or others, at worst!" His raised voice startled me, but I didn't let it show. I wouldn't let the man in full military regalia - the man who I had been running from for all of the wrong reasons - intimidate me.

I felt movement on my left seconds before Kam's face appeared in my periphery. "Sir, for what it's worth - I understand your concerns but I believe this plan will work. She's right - we have to stop this. Enough people have died."

Silently thanking Kam, I let my arms fall to my sides. "We lost that transport, the drugs are probably already in circulation. We can't afford to lose any more ships. We need to stop this at the source."

My father's holo shimmered as he moved away, pacing in short bursts. His hands clasped tightly behind his back; his face was giving nothing away. For the first time, I wished it was easier to read people's eyes in a holo-message. After a moment of watching him pace, he sighed. I could see his whole body deflate an inch. "Alright. I agree that the station needs to be destroyed. But I want it to be clear that I do not approve of this plan."

"Noted."

Pursing his lips, his eyes felt like they were staring into my soul. "I'll send a message to the rest of those loyal to me. You'll rendezvous with them in six hours. We have a base closer to the station - Kam knows the coordinates."

I nodded my head, glancing at Kam briefly before back at my father's digital face. "We'll be there."

"Regris should be arriving soon with new devices for the Maji in your care. And TJ?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I won't be there. It's too risky, and I need to be ready to leak all of the information we have on Red Industries the moment that station is out of the picture."

Although I wasn't sure why he felt the need to say it, I was still struck with some sense of fear when he said he wouldn't be there. I didn't need him or his help, so why did I feel like a child being left to deal with an intruder alone? Trying to get a grip on the influx of emotion, I nodded once. "I understand. We'll keep you up to date on what's going on."

He nodded, his eyes searching my face, before his image vanished from the room.

My eyes took a second to adjust to the dim lights of the room, after staring at a blue image for so long. When I finally turned away, I met the eyes of my friends. "Well, guess we better start preparing."

Kade nodded, squeezing my shoulder quickly before motioning for Axon to follow him. I thought I heard him talking to Kala about taking some of the Maji back to the Phoenix where there was more room.

"He's worried about you."

I gave Kam a side-eye. "Yeah, I figured that. Thanks."

He had the grace to cringe, but his eyes told me all I needed to know. "I mean it...he just got you back - we just got you back. I agree with this plan but it's -."

"Risky." I nodded, heading for the tiny kitchen to make something to eat, even though my stomach didn't like the sound of that. "But it's our only option. You know there's no way we'd get bombs onto that station." I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the counter in front of me. "This has to work."

Kam's hand appeared on my shoulder, "I know it does. I just hope it doesn't cost my friend her life."

My shoulder felt cold where his hand had been moments before.

"It's going to be fine." Lenna said as she came up beside me. A small smile on her lips, she bumped my shoulder for good measure. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. This will work."

Her eyes looked so bright and full of life when I looked at her. I couldn't do anything but believe her. Everything would be fine and then RI wouldn't know what hit them.

A/N

Oh boy. It's almost time! Do you think TJ and the rest of the Maji can pull off this plan?