Doppler was awake unusually late that night, carefully studying the drawings he and Kilroy had made of the controls in the Black Knight and writing out the sequence that would be needed to dump the stellar material from the alien ship's fuel cells. It was a slow process and took a great deal of cross-referencing against the intricate diagrams of the circuits to which the controls corresponded. Doppler ran his hand through his hair and frowned in concentration.

Right...circle, petals, half-moon, squiggly thing, set of three triangles, squiggly thing...

He turned and reached for a cup of water on the corner of his desk without taking his eyes off the diagrams before him. As a result, he missed, and the cup clattered off the edge, spilling its contents across the floor and part of his cot through luckily not across any of the meticulously-compiled paperwork. Cursing, he stood and picked up his towel to start dabbing up the water. He was on his hands and knees, reaching under the hanging cot, when there was a quiet knock on his door.

"Comi-ow!" He sat up too quickly, banging his head on the wooden frame of the bed. "Coming!"

Rubbing the back of his head, he tossed the towel aside and opened his door. To his surprise, Aurora was standing diffidently in the passage outside, a lantern in her hand.

"Ms Mayflower!" Doppler blinked. "I wasn't expecting you at this hour."

"No, I...I know." Aurora smiled hesitantly. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Oh, no. I believe I was sufficiently disturbed prior to your arrival," Doppler stepped back and indicated the spillage. "Please, come in. Is there something you need?"

Aurora closed the door behind her. "Someone to talk to."

"Ah?" Doppler sat down. "May I ask what about?"

There were no other chairs in the cabin, but Aurora perched on the edge of the bed. She seemed very small and self-contained, and not just because she was avoiding the damp patch.

"Tomorrow," she said quietly. "Well...among other things."

"I have the calculations for the core's ignition right here," said Doppler. "If you'd like to go over them again? Though there's still no surefire way of predicting timings of any reaction. You'll just have to be ready whenever it happens."

"The ship will be prepared," Aurora nodded.

"Then there's nothing more you can do," Doppler said. "After that, it's up to your training and your instincts."

"I'm afraid you're right about that."

Doppler stared. "What do you mean?"

Aurora sighed and looked away.

"I'm not a natural spacer, really," she said. "In truth, I never even wanted to join the Navy."

"You didn't?" Doppler was surprised. He'd naturally assumed that Aurora had followed Amelia's example after having been raised with her.

"No. Not for some years." Aurora smiled oddly. "Which I suppose is why Amelia is a Vice-Admiral and a sector commander and I'm a mere lieutenant and a ship's navigator, even though I'm not that much younger than her."

"Don't ever say 'mere'," said Doppler. "Even you junior officers have great responsibilities. And Amelia...well, there was a major war right when she graduated and that does wonders for promotion prospects, I hear."

"I suppose so." Aurora tried to smile.

"So...what changed your mind? About the Navy, I mean."

"Well...it wasn't easy. The Navy took both my parents." Aurora said. "And I never knew how either of them died. I didn't want to follow them. So even when I came of age, I didn't enlist. And that caused some friction at home with Amelia's family as you can imagine."

"What did you do?"

"I left. I tried my hand at a few things. Worked in a shop. Tried to be a painter. Never got anywhere with any of it. And then one day Amelia came to see me. She was a Commander back then. She was back home on shore leave and she just walked in on me in her uniform, sat down and started talking to me." Aurora shook her head. "For hours. I hadn't seen her in...I can't even remember how long. But she acted as if no time had passed at all."

"What happened?" Doppler sat forward.

"She said that the Navy needed good people. People like me." Aurora gave a fleeting smile. "It had been a long time since I'd thought of myself as a good person. And longer still that I thought that anyone had needed me. So when she asked if I'd be willing to try it out, I couldn't say no. And then I got into the Academy, discovered navigation and...well, here I am. All because of her."

"She's changed a lot of lives for the better," Doppler nodded. "Mine, too. And I'm glad she could do it for you, too. Because she's right. People will always need people like you."

"I wish I could believe that." Aurora looked down.

Doppler fixed her with a stern gaze over the tops of his spectacles. "You'd better do more than just 'wish', my dear. You're one of the brightest and most capable individuals I've ever had the honour of working with. And I know that Amelia sees it, too, or she wouldn't have chosen you as her aide."

"I know she's always believed in me. But what if she's wrong?" Aurora raised her head, her eyes dark with pain. "It's because of me that we're stuck here. That Partridge died, that Patricker might still hang, that you have to go and risk your life, that-"

"No," said Doppler firmly, raising a finger. "Stop right there. That's the core talking, not you. Those effects Dr Gray was talking about. It's getting into your head and making you think like this. After tomorrow, after we escape, you'll feel much better."

"I hope so," Aurora shook her head. "And you're the one who has to make that happen. How selfish of me to impose on you."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Doppler put a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't think that. I mean...aside from anything else, you'll have to position the Lyonesse to catch the wind when we ignite the core, so we're all counting on you, too."

"If you can send me the wind, I can catch it," said Aurora. "Just be quick about getting back on board. The reaction won't last long and if you don't make it back from the Black Knight then we'll have to..."

"Leave me behind." Doppler felt his own heart flinch at the thought. "Yes, I...I know. I've thought about it a lot. And I know it may come to that."

"I just can't imagine the Admiral giving that order," Aurora said quietly. "It would be so hard for her..."

"But she'd do it," said Doppler. "And it's one of the reasons I love her so much. There's nothing in the universe that would stop her getting this ship home with you and everyone else safely on board."

"Still, I hope it won't come to that." Aurora shivered. "For her sake as much as yours."

"You and I both." Doppler gave what he hoped was an encouraging grin.

"Be careful over there, though," Aurora met his eyes.

"You needn't worry about me." Doppler shook his head. "I promise not to trip over anything – that's about the worst thing that could happen."

"I suppose so." Aurora managed a small smile. "And I suppose I'd better let you get back to your planning, too."

Doppler shrugged. "I just hope I've been able to help."

"You have. Thank you." Aurora stood up and looked at him honestly. "I mean it. I could hardly have said any of that to the other officers in the wardroom. And I don't want to add to the Admiral's fears."

"I'm glad I could be of assistance." Doppler smiled. "I could always try telling you a joke if you still need cheering up? Though I'm afraid most of the ones I know are astrophysics jokes."

She looked at him curiously. "Oddly enough, they never covered those in the Academy."

"Oh, there are quite a few." Doppler grinned. "Like the one about the neutrino that went into a bar. And kept on going."

Aurora chucked. "That's terrible, doctor."

"How many absolute relativists does it take to change a light bulb? One to hold the bulb, and one to rotate the universe around it."

"Oh, stop it." Aurora was laughing now.

"And I could go on." Doppler stood as well. "Good night, Aurora."

"Good night, doc- Delbert." Aurora gave him a small, shy nod of thanks and left, closing the door behind her. He sighed and sat back down again, pulling his papers towards himself. The flash of humour had gone, and a darkness was throbbing painfully at the back of his brain again.

Thank goodness we're leaving tomorrow, he thought. I'm not sure how much longer we can last...

The ship's bell rang in the forenoon watch the next day, the clear notes carrying a surprising distance throughout the hull. For those further-flung or better-insulated areas, where the tannoy would normally operate, spacers coming off watch were sent around to rouse their replacements. Lieutenant Kilroy, wearing his orange boiler suit, was leaving his cabin when someone called his name.

"Mr Sorensen?" He turned around. "Good morning to you."

"Yeah. And to you." Sorensen stepped forward. "Do you have a minute?"

Kilroy shrugged. "Sure. I'm not actually on watch yet. I was just going to go and check that the doc was all set before getting some breakfast."

"So you're going to be going over to the Black Knight with him?"

"No. I'm staying here." Kilroy shook his head. "It's only a one-person job anyway and he knows what to do. He's got a copy of all our diagrams."

Sorensen looked up. "A copy? Who's got the others?"

"Just me." Kilroy waved at his cabin door. "It's all done on carbon paper. We'll have to wait until we get back to port to do proper reproductions. Every engineer in the Empire'll line up to see them when we do, though."

"Right." Sorensen nodded. "Mind if I see them? If you've got time. I'd like to see what's going to happen."

"Why not?" Kilroy opened the cabin door again. Sorensen stepped behind him, the rattle of the door obscuring a click of metal from inside the salvor's coat...

The deck of the Lyonesse was a hive of activity. Doppler dodged past a hurrying spacer and looked up to where other crew were racing up through the rigging and working on the sails. The ship's canvas had been at full spread ever since they arrived due to the desperate need to wring energy from the anaemic solar breeze, but the crew were now hard at work securing the sails and bracing the yards. Nothing was being left to chance. Doppler watched and hoped that he was going to be able to justify all this effort. Looking up to the bridge he saw Aurora working at her console and Rennier in conference with Lieutenant Macpherson.

"Ready, sir?"

The petty officer overseeing the jackstay crew touched his forehead respectfully. The longboat was resting against the Lyonesse's side and the spacers who would haul on the line to pull it across to the Black Knight were watching him expectantly. Doppler nodded and hefted the folder under his arm.

"Yes. As ready as I'll ever be."

"I'm very pleased to hear it." Amelia smiled. Doppler spun around to see her standing just behind him. His heart lifted at the sight of her.

"Well, one can't let the side down," he managed.

"Indeed not." Amelia nodded. "You know what you're meant to do over there?"

"Dump the stellar fuel and come back as quickly as physically possible," said Doppler, patting the folder. "The theory is quite sound. It's the, er, practice that remains untested."

"You and Ms Mayflower are yet to be proven wrong on matters mathematical," Amelia observed.

Doppler coughed. "Well. We've done our best. As has everyone. I assume that the ship is ready?"

"As ready as she'll ever be." Amelia nodded. "No need to worry about us, doctor. Riding the wind is what we do."

"And you do it well." Doppler agreed.

"Just make sure you get back to the longboat," Amelia nodded. "We'll get you back on board in no time."

"I know." Doppler could see the look in Amelia's eyes. She was doing well at maintaining a brisk, professional facade, but he knew that there was more that she wanted to say. Just as, he had to admit, there were things he wanted to say as well. But in public, on the main deck, was hardly the place for such intimacy, especially from a flag officer, and he knew that there would have to be words left unspoken. In that case, it was best to get it over with.

"I'll be careful," he promised. "Just so long as you are, too."

"When have I ever been otherwise?" Amelia tried a smile. "Good luck, doctor."

"Thank you." Doppler watched her nod to the petty officer and turn away, moving towards the bridge. Trying not to think that it might well be his last sight of her, he clambered into the longboat and signalled to the crew. At a bellow from the petty officer, the spacers took up the strain and began hauling the boat along the cable towards the Black Knight. Doppler tried to focus on the docking port, rather than glance over the side at the stomach-churning drop to the grey surface of the core below. The longboat's engine and tiller was covered by a bulky blue tarpaulin, leaving him with nothing to hang onto but the gunwales, which he gripped tightly. It seemed to take an eternity to cover the distance and he couldn't help but feel lonely as he sat by himself, waiting for the lurch and bump as it reached the wooden docking port built onto the Black Knight's flank.

"Well," he murmured to himself. "Here we are."

He climbed out of the boat awkwardly – he'd never mastered the art of disembarking with dignity – collected his folder, straightened his clothing and set off into the depths of the alien ship, forcing himself not to look back.

"Godspeed, Delbert," Amelia whispered, watching him go from the deck of the Lyonesse.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am," said Midshipman Collis behind her. "But you're needed on the bridge."

"Thank you, Mr Collis." Amelia straightened up and folded her hands behind her back, resuming her normal posture and banishing any sign of fear. "I'll be there directly."

"Yes, ma'am." Collis touched his hat and hurried off. Amelia took a deep breath and followed him, resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder.

Sorensen waited for Doppler to disembark, and then waited a couple of minutes more to ensure that the longboat wasn't being winched straight back to the Lyonesse. Once he was certain that any watching eyes had gone back to other tasks, he tossed aside the tarpaulin and climbed out of the boat. Pausing to withdraw the switchblade from his pocket, he set off into the depths of the Black Knight.

"All sails, loose, sir," said Aurora. "Yards braced up. Engine room reports standing by."

"Very good," Rennier was pacing the bridge deck. "Keep all hands at stations. There's nothing left to do now but wait."

"Aye, sir." Aurora glanced around at Amelia, who caught her looking and nodded to her.

"Is your course set, navigator?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Aurora touched her hat, knowing that her Admiral must be preoccupied with thoughts of Doppler. "All we need now is the wind."

"I'm sure it will be with us presently." Amelia turned to look at the Black Knight. As if in answer, the alien ship's nose cone suddenly opened up, dividing into four neat wedges delineated by lines of light before they opened like giant petals. She smiled to herself, knowing that it meant that her husband's work was succeeding.

She almost allowed herself a flash of optimism, but her attention was distracted by a sudden commotion on the deck below. Frowning in irritation, she strode to the edge of the bridge and looked down.

"What's the meaning of this?" she demanded.

A knot of spacers had emerged from the companionway, led by Major Tansley. As they turned, Amelia saw Lieutenant Kilroy being half-carried in the middle of them, blood running down his face and an arm clutched tight across his midriff.

"It's Sorensen," Tansley shouted. "It's bloody Sorensen!"

"What?" Amelia's eyes narrowed as she hurried down to the main deck.

"He's gone," one of the men supporting the wounded engineer said. Amelia recognised him as one of the rescued salvors and turned her glare on him.

"It's Ruskin, isn't it? What do you mean, gone?"

"To the Black Knight," Ruskin stammered. "He...he tried to get us to go with him. He doesn't want to leave. He wants to stay with the salvage. We told him to get stuffed, and then he went off and disappeared."

"And you didn't tell anyone this before?"

"We thought he'd just gone somewhere!" said Ruskin frantically. "But then-"

"Then the bastard came to see me," growled Kilroy. "Asked about Dr Doppler. Wanted to know what he was going to have to do. Then he stabbed me from behind. I hit my head when I went down. He must have thought I was dead because he just ransacked my notes and left me there."

"He was unconscious in his cabin when we found him, ma'am," said Tansley. "His boiler suit saved him, but he insisted on reporting to you before going to sick bay. Then we questioned the other salvage crew."

"It's like what he did on the Adar," said Ruskin. "When the captain said for us to leave. He wouldn't accept it then, either."

"He-" Amelia stopped as realisation dawned. "That mutiny on your ship...you were the mutineers?"

"He said the salvage would make us all rich," Ruskin looked down. "Said we couldn't just walk away from it. And we believed him. So when the wind came up again and the captain and the rest of the crew went to leave, we...tried to stop them. They threw us off the ship and left us behind. And now he's making it all happen again. When we told him we wouldn't help him, he cursed us and said he'd do it himself."

Amelia turned to Rennier and Ko, who had followed her to the main deck. "Search the ship, Captain. Every hold, every locker, and find him before-"

"He's not on board," said Kilroy. "I reckon he's already on the Black Knight. Sneaked over there somehow."

Rennier looked across the jackstay to the docking port. "He must have hidden in the longboat, ma'am. There'd have been a chance while the crew were all busy preparing for departure."

Amelia's blood ran cold. "Is he still armed, Mr Kilroy?"

"I don't know, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." Amelia nodded to Tansley. "Get the lieutenant to sickbay at once. And Sergeant-Major?"

"Ma'am?" Ko stepped forward.

"Give me your weapons belt, please." Amelia held out a hand. "And get that longboat back over here."

Ko hesitated for a moment before complying, unbuckling the white leather belt holding her sword and sidearm and passing it over as she realised what Amelia intended to do.

"If you want, ma'am, I can get a fireteam ready in-"

"No." Amelia shook her head. "I don't want any more people risking themselves over there than necessary. I'll go."

"The escape plan, ma'am," Rennier began. "What if-"

"Continue the plan as discussed, Captain," said Amelia, buckling on the weapons.

"But-"

"I said, continue the plan!" Amelia snapped. She looked up to see Aurora watching in anxiety from the bridge. "Get the ship to safety as soon as you can."

"As you wish, ma'am." Rennier saluted. "Good luck."

Amelia returned the salute and turned back to where the longboat had just been pulled back to the Lyonesse. She climbed aboard and then nodded to the crew to start hauling it out again. As the boat set off on its short, but painfully-slow journey, she drew her laslock pistol and checked the charge, her eyes narrowed and her heart racing with sudden fear.

The lonely walk through the Black Knight's deserted corridors had been a challenge for Doppler, each step into the gloom bringing the weight of his task more heavily down upon his shoulders and the horror of the ancient crew's presumable fate now seemed to permeate the air. The only sounds he could hear were the echoes of his footfalls along the vacant passageways, and the increasing thud of his own heartbeat in his ears. It had been with some relief that he'd reached the generator room and had been able to emerge into the bright light of the fuel cells lining the chamber walls. Hastening to the controls, he opened his folder and studied the diagrams therein one last time.

"Let's see here..."

He touched the matt black surface of the console, which sprang to life, projecting a hovering, three-dimensional constellation of control runes. He studied it intently, mentally rehearsing the planned sequence of control inputs before he reached out a hesitant finger and activated a series of icons to open the nose cone of the ship and power up the tractor beam ready to dump the fuel. His acute hearing picked up a distant hum of actuators and he sighed with relief to know that the first stage had been successfully accomplished.

"Well, that wasn't so hard," he muttered. "Now, then..."

He turned a page and began running through the checklist to open the fuel cells and reverse the tractor beam's pull. Whilst he was fairly sure that the process was right, it was inescapable that it had never been tried before and he could only hope they'd got it right. He reached out again and touched a rune at the edge of the controls. It glowed brightly and there was a faint hum of power.

"Hello, doctor."

The unexpected voice almost made him jump out of his fur. He whirled around and saw Sorensen standing at the entrance to the generator room.

"Mr Sorensen! What are you doing here? Nobody else is supposed to be on board..."

"I...I know." Sorensen began walking towards him. "I wanted to talk with you. Alone. I think you're one of the few people who understands how important this ship is. I think we could reach...an understanding. To put an end to this madness."

"What madness? You mean the escape plan?" Doppler stared. "But...but we have to leave. If we stay, it'll be a fate worse than death!"

"If we leave, we'll never come back," said Sorensen. "This ship and all its secrets will be lost. We'd be throwing away a fortune."

"And our lives," said Doppler. "You know what the star's done. It did it to this ship's first crew. It did it to the crew on your ship. And it'll do it to us, too. We've no choice but to leave."

"I can't let that happen." Sorensen reached the control platform. "I've given too much to get this ship. That's why I need your help."

"What do you want from me?" Doppler backed up nervously, not at all liking the tone of the salvor's voice.

"To stop." Sorensen said simply. "Don't go through with it. Then we'll have to stay here."

"But I'm not the only one who knows how to work the controls," said Doppler. "Even if I agreed with you, Mr Kilroy would be sent over to do it."

"No. He wouldn't be." Sorensen shook his head. "I've already seen him. He didn't agree with me either, so I had to...had to deal with him another way."

"You..." Doppler stared as realisation set in. "What have you done?"

"I didn't want to do it," said Sorensen. "But he left me no choice. So really, doctor...when I tell you to stop this..."

There was a metallic click. Doppler watched in horror as the salvor raised his switchblade, the razor edge gleaming in the light of the fuel cells. And was it his imagination, or was there recently-dried blood in the recesses of the hilt?

"I don't want to hurt you, either," Sorensen went on. "But I will, if I have to. I've sacrificed too much for this salvage. Step away from the console. Or else I'll make sure you can't finish the sequence."

Doppler raised his hands and stepped backwards. "There's really no need for this-"

"It's the only way now," Sorensen advanced. "Please, doctor. Hands behind your back."

Transfixed by the shining blade now just inches from his chest, Doppler complied. Sorensen moved around behind him and wrapped a cord around his wrists.

"You don't have to-"

"Now we're going to go back to the docking port," said Sorensen. "And you're going to tell the Admiral that the plan's over. That we're staying here with the Black Knight. She'll have no choice but to accept."

"Is that so?"

Doppler looked up, his heart suddenly leaping at the sound of Amelia's commanding voice, and then simultaneously plunging as he realised that it meant she was now sharing the danger with him. She stepped out of the entrance onto the walkway, a vision of blue, white and gold as striking as the Lyonesse herself, a laslock pistol raised in her hand. Sorensen moved quickly, yanking Doppler back by his collar and bringing his knife around to the canid's throat.

"Don't come any closer!"

Amelia stopped, her hand tightening on the grip of the pistol. Sorensen was using Doppler as a shield and she couldn't see enough of him to be sure of placing a shot – or at least, of placing a shot certain to debilitate him before he could use the knife. The switchblade was not a visually impressive weapon by comparison to the cutlass at her side, but it was more than sufficient for the job at hand.

"Let him go, Sorensen," she said. "Don't make this any harder on yourself than it is already."

"You're the one who has a decision to make, Admiral," said Sorensen. He grabbed Doppler's ponytail and jerked his head back, making him cry out in pain. Amelia hissed at the sound.

"I don't negotiate with mutineers," she snarled.

"Mutineers?" Doppler exclaimed. "You mean-"

"Yes. There was a mutiny on the salvage ship and Mr Sorensen here was on the losing side of it," said Amelia, advancing slowly. "But what he hasn't told us is that he started it. Your crew have told me everything, Mr Sorensen. They're not on your side this time."

"No. They were weak." Sorensen spat. "They don't understand. After everything we've been through for this salvage, the idiots want to throw it all away! And you'll stop there, Admiral. Stop there and drop your weapons. I can hurt the doctor without killing him, you know that."

Amelia stood still, eyes narrowed as she tried one last time to line up a shot. With no opportunity presenting itself, she lowered the pistol and let it clatter to the floor.

"And your sword as well," Sorensen said. "Slowly, now."

Amelia gritted her teeth as she put her hand on the hilt of her cutlass. She met Doppler's wide, frightened eyes and cursed herself for having rushed into the situation so unprepared. There was a silken, metallic sound as she drew the sword, and then another harsh clatter as it landed on the deck next to the pistol.

"That's right," said Sorensen. "Now step forward so they're behind you."

Doppler watched as Amelia did so. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears. Sorensen's tone was increasingly frantic, and he didn't like the idea of a frantic person holding a knife at his throat. He'd hoped that Amelia's arrival would resolve the situation, but the wily salvor had positioned himself with all the advantages. He was having flashbacks to their abduction on Treasure Planet, but John Silver's pirates had been a sane and steady enemy compared to the erratic Sorensen...

But it's still the same. Amelia trying her best, so strong and brave. And you, panicking and useless like always, like the weakling you are-

He stopped suddenly as he remembered something else from the past.

A weakling...but with abnormally thin wrists...

He moved his hands experimentally, sliding them against the cord tied around his wrists. To his delight, there was just enough leeway to start working his right hand loose – the cord had been tied around the voluminous cuff of his coat in Sorensen's haste. As he worked, he racked his brain to come up with a plan.

"Stay right there, Admiral," Sorensen warned. "There's nothing you can do. I won't let him go, and you can't kill me."

"You are threatening my husband and jeopardising the safety of my ship," said Amelia darkly. "What in all the worlds makes you think I won't kill you? You think I need a pistol or a cutlass to do that?"

"You can't kill me before I'd be able to kill him," said Sorensen. "The cards are all in my hand. You can see that. So let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," snapped Amelia. "How do you think this will end, Mr Sorensen? I have one of the most powerful warships in the Empire out there. The best part of three hundred souls, all of them trained, all of them armed and not one of them who wouldn't sooner shoot you down than stay here. What do you think you can do in this room that will deny them?"

"There's only one person who knows how to operate the controls on this ship," said Sorensen triumphantly. "And I've got him right here."

"Wrong. Mr Kilroy's alive," said Amelia. "You didn't kill him. It looks like your second mutiny isn't working out any better than your first one, doesn't it?"

Doppler sighed with relief, but Sorensen yanked on his collar again. "That doesn't matter!"

"I think you'll find it does," said Amelia, stepping forward. "It means that, whatever you do here, we're leaving. All that's left is for you to decide whether you want to come with us and live, or to stay here and die with your precious salvage."

"It's more than just precious! It's priceless! Tell her, doctor!" Sorensen shouted, pointing at Amelia with his knife. "Tell her!"

Doppler looked at Amelia, meeting her eyes. "Amelia..."

"Delbert?" She searched his face.

"Do you trust me?" Doppler raised his eyebrows, hoping that Sorensen couldn't see his face.

Amelia caught the meaning in his expression. She didn't know just what he had in mind, but she braced herself for anything as she replied.

"Completely," she said.

Doppler nodded. And then he struck, jerking his right elbow back into Sorensen's stomach before he threw himself forward in a desperate attempt to break free of his grasp. He felt the blow connect and heard Sorensen swear, but the salvor recovered surprisingly quickly and struck out with his switchblade. Doppler yelped as he felt a sudden, sharp sting in his ear and he landed heavily on the hard metal grate of the floor. But Amelia was already moving, a feral snarl on her lips, striking like lightning and cannoning into Sorensen, knocking him away from Doppler. She drew back her hand and threw a snakebite-fast punch that sent the salvor reeling back against the railing. He tried to raise his knife to block her, but she caught his wrist in her left hand and slashed the claws of her right across his face. Sorensen yelled and dropped his weapon, which skittered across the floor. Reversing the swing of her hand, Amelia balled it into a fist and landed a punch which lifted him up and over the railing, his limp body falling from the platform and bouncing with a sickening crunch off the top of a glowing fuel cell before disappearing into the bottom of the chamber. She flexed her fingers and nodded with satisfaction as she recovered her composure.

"Are you all right, Delbert? Your ear-"

Doppler got back to his feet, panting. "I'm fine. And thank you. You're not hurt?"

"No," said Amelia. "And well done on that move just there."

Doppler shrugged and tried a grin. "Abnormally thin wrists, remember?"

Amelia laughed. "How could I forget? But we're not out of danger yet. Can you finish the sequence to dump the fuel?"

Doppler nodded as he tried to straighten his coat. "Yes, of course. But we'll have to start moving as soon as it's finished."

"I don't plan on staying here a moment longer than necessary." Amelia was collecting and sheathing her weapons. "Carry on."

"Right." Doppler moved over to the glowing control array again. Trying to refocus his mind on the exacting task before him, he took a deep breath and reached into the constellation of controls again. Amelia watched him work, the green glow reflecting in the lenses of his spectacles and his brow furrowed in concentration as he carefully picked out the complex series of runes.

"Is it done?"

Doppler touched a final icon and nodded. "It's done. I've disengaged the containment fields and rigged the tractor beam to reverse, which should expel-"

A strange, discordant sound rang out, and it took Amelia a moment to realise it was an alarm of some sort. She opened her mouth to ask Doppler whether that was meant to happen, but then saw that the blazing light of the fuel cells was dimming as the levels of incandescent material within them began falling.

"I'd say that it's working," she murmured.

"So it looks," Doppler joined her as the shadows in the chamber lengthened as the light died away. "Which means we should be getting out of here."

Amelia smiled. "I'm right behind you, doctor."

It wasn't far back to the docking port, but it was clear even before they reached it that something was changing. The Black Knight began rolling and pitching, imperceptibly at first but with growing strength until Doppler and Amelia were forced to brace themselves against each other. There was a distant roar of wind that also grew in volume as they neared the exposed docking port, and necessitated shouting to be heard by the time they arrived in it. The thin wooden structure creaked alarmingly like a run-down shack in a storm, and the reason was soon evident. The view through the port – once so placid – was stained with fiery reds and oranges. Flashes of yellow lightning struck up from below. Stumbling over to the entrance past the longboat, Doppler looked down, his eyes wide.

"It's the star!" he shouted.

The once-grey surface of the star had transformed completely. It was boiling with fury, whirlpools and tornadoes of flame dancing across the tortured surface. A gust of hot wind blasted up at him so strongly that it made the ships lurch again. Attached only by the thin line of the jackstay, the Lyonesse bucked visibly alongside as she rode the tempest rising from below. The ship's sails opened out to full stretch, ballooning out in the wind, their circuits flickering into life as they began channelling energy from the core's rebirth.

"Was this part of the plan, Delbert?" Amelia joined him, watching in a mix of wonder and horror.

"Er, I suppose it's possible I underestimated the amount of stellar material in the Black Knight's fuel cells," said Doppler, staring at the roiling inferno below.

There was a deep, booming rumble, audible even over the howling star, as the Lyonesse's main drives awoke from slumber, drawing on the energy now blazing through her billowing sails. The exhausts flared blue with plasma as the battlecruiser's powerful engines were relit.

"She's caught the wind," Amelia said quietly. "She's getting ready to leave."

Doppler opened his mouth to say something, but there was a sudden, sharp crack of wood above them as the beam to which the jackstay's mounting had been bolted began to give way and the longboat began sliding, scraping across the docking port floor and out through the entrance. Amelia didn't hesitate. Doppler felt her hands suddenly gripping him by the belt and collar, and then felt his feet leave the ground. Amelia always had been far stronger than her slender build implied, and Doppler experienced only a moment of confused disorientation before he thudded down onto solid timbers and felt himself roll into the crumpled mass of a tarpaulin. Ignoring the bruising, he shook his head and tried to scramble to his feet, tripping over a boathook as he did so. A lurching pitch threw him off-balance, sending him painfully to his knees as he clasped the gunwales to steady himself. He was in the longboat, looking back at the Black Knight to where Amelia stood alone in the disintegrating docking port. It seemed even further away now, and the reason why was soon obvious as another sickening lurch put another metre or two between the tiny craft and the port.

"Amelia..."

He reached out to her, as if there was any hope of closing the distance. A gust of wind caught the longboat, jerking it around again. There was a creak of the jackstay straining under the pressure, and the sound of breaking wood. Amelia looked up and saw the cable mooring starting to pull free of the solid beam into which it had been bolted. Eyes narrowing, she looked again at the longboat, mentally calculating distances and angles as she discarded her weapons belt and threw aside her heavy blue uniform coat. And then she started to run.

"Ame-" Doppler gasped as he saw her leave the docking port in a graceful jump, hurling herself out into the storm. He dived forward again, flinging out a hand to catch her. Miraculously, impossibly, she seemed to be covering the distance. Doppler lunged for her desperately. Behind her, the cable mooring finally gave way and broke. No longer anchored at one end, the jackstay jerked back towards the ship, flailing madly. The sudden change of direction took Doppler by surprise even as his fingers closed, and – too late – he realised that they hadn't closed on Amelia. The longboat had moved too far away, thrown back by the recoil of the breaking cable. She thrust out a hand to reach his, but missed by more than a metre as she fell past him. Staring in horror, Doppler saw a flash of green eyes pass underneath the boat, and then she was gone, vanishing out of sight in the storm.

"Amelia! Amelia!" He tried to lean out of the longboat to see where she had gone, but the movement threatened to overturn it completely and he drew back, numb with terror, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Oh, gods, no..." Aurora, watching in horror from the bridge of the Lyonesse, saw it happen and heard Doppler screaming. She felt her heart stop and her blood run cold.

"Prepare to haul in the jackstay!" Rennier shouted. "Get that longboat back on board! Mr Macpherson, engine status?"

"Engines at full power, sir!" Macpherson looked up from his console. "Maximum thrust ready at your discretion!"

"Very good!" Rennier turned to Aurora. "Navigator! Prepare to initiate escape!"

"I can't, sir! The longboat will be caught in our wake! He'll be killed for sure!" Aurora was still watching, eyes wide and fearful. It had been blown around to the flagship's starboard quarter, bucking and rolling in the wind. She could make out Doppler's frantic figure clinging to it as he tried to look over its side. "We have to get him back on board first!"

"Sir!" Midshipman Collis was shouting and pointing at something over the side. "It's the Admiral!"

Aurora looked again. Behind the longboat, the last few metres of the severed jackstay were whipping wildly, twisting like an angry snake across the tortured sky. But right at the end of it, there was a shape hanging on for grim death.

"Amelia!" Doppler saw her too, in a confused moment as the movement of longboat and cable brought them into view of each other. His heart leapt, but there was no ignoring the danger she was in. He reached instinctively for the boathook and swung it up and around. By sheer luck, he caught the trailing line on the first attempt and began hauling it in. Amelia was climbing her way up the cable inch by inch, her hair flying in the wind her as she clawed hand over to hand towards the precarious safety of the boat and the pole which Doppler had lowered towards her. He felt a jolt as she had seized hold of it. He gritted his teeth and braced his feet against the sides as he put all his strength into one last effort.

"Come...on...damn...you!"

He went over backwards, the boathook clattering from his grasp as he crashed into the longboat's mast. Shaking his head to clear the starbursts behind his eyes, he looked up in time to see Amelia hauling herself over the edge of the boat and dropping into it.

"Amelia!"

"Delbert," Her hair was wild, her eyes were wide, and the only sign of her exalted rank was the red silk sash she wore under the coat she'd left behind, but there was no mistaking the grin she flashed him.

"Amelia...oh, my gods, you...you utterly impossible feline! Don't you ever do anything like that ever again! For a moment there, I thought I'd -"

Amelia laughed as he flung himself towards her and held her close. "Oh, I'm afraid you're stuck with me for a while yet, my dear."

"Yes, but I really did think that you were-"

"Hush." Amelia touched a fingertip to his lips. "Later. I promise. But right now, we rather need to get back to my flagship."

"I think they're just working on that now." Doppler looked back to where spacers were lining the side of the Lyonesse and grappling with the cable. Amelia stood up in the longboat, sure-footed despite its tossing and turning, and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Ahoy, there, Lyonesse!"

"Ahoy, there, Admiral! We're bringing you on board!" Rennier waved his hat in acknowledgement and turned to Aurora. "Turn the ship and bring them into our lee!"

"Aye, sir!" Grinning with relief, Aurora hurried to her console and began keying in commands. Doppler and Amelia watched as the big warship's manoeuvring thrusters fired, turning her on the spot to try to use her sheer size to provide a measure of shelter to the vulnerable little longboat. The ceaseless buffeting of the wind seemed to lessen, though Doppler still didn't feel confident enough to try standing. Amelia, however, was on her feet in the bows, apparently careless of the gale. As they drew closer to the ship, a crewman tossed an additional rope across to them. She caught it and made it fast to the bow cleat before she stood again and waved a hand.

"Haul away, there!"

"Come on, lads!" The petty officer commanding the assembled spacers roared. "Don't leave the Admiral waiting there! Heave!"

It seemed to take a small eternity to reach the Lyonesse, and Doppler breathed a sigh of relief when the wood of the longboat scraped up against the flagship's railing. He stood shakily and went to disembark, gratefully accepting the helping hands that reached up to aid him. It wasn't until he had both feet flat on the deck that he dared feel safe for the time being. But if Amelia was at all fazed by her brush with certain death, she wasn't showing it. As soon as she disembarked, dropping neatly to the quarterdeck without any assistance, she was taking stock of the situation and heading for the bridge, acknowledging the salutes of the officers and giving an economical nod of thanks to the petty officer supervising the jackstay crew.

"Welcome back on board, ma'am," Rennier grinned, touching his hat to her.

"Thank you, Captain," Amelia returned the salute calmly. "Is the ship prepared?"

"All standing by, ma'am. And there's more than enough power to break orbit."

"Then it's time we made our exit." Amelia nodded to Aurora. "Get us out of here, Ms Mayflower."

"Aye, ma'am!" Aurora hoped that her smile was enough to convey her happiness at seeing Amelia safe and sound, but the urgency of the moment prevented her from saying more. "Helm! Switch to gyrocompass and come to port, new heading three-one-five!"

"Gyrocompass engaged! Port three-one-five, aye!" The helmsman span the wheel. Hastening up the steps to the bridge, Doppler heard the masts and rigging creak as they turned in the wind.

"Bow positive zero-four degrees!" Aurora shouted. "Engines, all ahead full!"

"Up zero-four, all ahead full, aye!"

Doppler had felt the Lyonesse's main drive at full thrust before, but only after she had worked up to it. A deep-throated roar came through the planks as the engines engaged and he stumbled over the top step as the ship leapt forwards from a standing start, energy coruscating through her sails.

"Watch the stress readings on the masts and yards!" shouted Rennier. "And watch the voltage in the primary circuits! Do not let the breakers trip!"

"We're close to maximum even with all the capacitors active, sir!" said Lieutenant Macpherson.

"Dump power into the auxiliaries if you have to! But keep the main engines online even if it means melting the conduits!" Rennier held his hat onto his head and looked up at the sails as they burned like fire.

"Status report, Ms Mayflower!" Amelia shouted.

"Steady on course, ma'am! Thrust steady!" Aurora was gripping the top of her console. "Acceleration holding! We're at seventy percent escape velocity and climbing!"

The Lyonesse's bowsprit had swung around and was now pointing out into clear space. Doppler looked behind them at the fiery surface of the star as they began powering away from it. His heart was racing in his chest, but now, at last, it seemed like their ordeal was over. And then the deck lurched under his feet.

"Acceleration dropping!" Aurora's voice took on a sudden tone of alarm. "Seventy-three percent escape velocity now! Seventy-one! Sixty-five!"

"What's going on, navigator?" demanded Amelia. "Are we losing the wind?"

"No, ma'am! Wind's holding strong! Power translation is steady from the sails!" Aurora looked around, her eyes wide.

"Thrust output still at 100%, ma'am," said Macpherson. "No problems reported from Engineering."

"I don't understand it," Aurora checked her controls frantically. "It's like there's something holding us back..."

Doppler swallowed nervously and raised a shaking finger to point. "Er...I think there is..."

Amelia was with him in an instant, raising a telescope to her eye. It took a moment for the instrument's filters to cut in and screen out the blinding light of the star, but then she saw it. The Black Knight had come about and was now pointing at them, a black circle of shadow with a blazing blue iris at its centre.

"It's the tractor beam," breathed Doppler. "It's locked onto us."

"Sorensen's doing?" Amelia's eyes narrowed. "I knew I should have made sure that he wasn't still a threat..."

"I suppose it might be if he's alive and was able to get a look at Mr Kilroy's notes before," Doppler stared. "Or it could be some kind of automated system that's zeroed in on the high energy of our wake emissions. The ship was built to mine stars, after all."

"Well, it doesn't matter." Amelia snapped the telescope closed. "Can we escape it? What's its maximum range?"

"I-I don't know." Doppler shook his head.

"Then we've no choice but to destroy it," said Amelia. She turned and raised her voice to the officers. "Load the starboard battery! Full charge and double-shot with high impact!"

"Can our shells even pierce its hull?" asked Doppler.

"I don't see any alternative to finding out," said Amelia. "If anyone else has any better ideas, I'm ready to hear them. But if not, I'll thank you all for carrying out my bloody orders! Mr Constantine! Load the damned guns!"

"Aye, ma'am! Permission to ready the starboard carronades as well?"

"Granted!" Amelia turned to Aurora. "Bring us about through one-eight-zero, navigator, and give the gun crews a clear shot."

"Through one-eight-zero, aye, ma'am!" Aurora's fingerstips danced across her control panel. "Helm, hard-a-port! Full rudder! All astern on port azimuths! And all hands, brace for incoming change of course and speed!"

Doppler felt the ship lurch as the bow suddenly pulled hard around to port, swinging across open space one moment and pointing back down towards the raging hellscape of the blazing core. For a moment he feared that they would plunge into the fiery depths, but then the thundering engines shoved the stern sideways and they were pointing back towards the Black Knight.

"Target's turning with us, ma'am!" shouted Pike.

"Good," snarled Amelia. "Then we'll ram our shells down its throat. Mr Constantine?"

"Starboard battery ready, ma'am. Guns run out, double-shotted and charged."

"Excellent," said Amelia. "Ms Mayflower, how close are we going to get to the Black Knight? Can you put us within pistol-shot?"

"That depends on whether she keeps moving, ma'am," said Aurora. "But it'll be close. Maybe as close as twenty metres. The tractor beam's still trying to pull us in."

"Killing close," said Amelia, flashing a predatory grin. "Excellent. Mr Constantine? Stand by to fire as you bear. We've only got one chance to knock that thing out."

"Standing by, ma'am," Constantine watched the range counting down on his console. "We'll make it count."

Doppler looked out at the alien ship as they raced towards it. He wondered whether this would have to end in destruction, but then he knew it could end no other way. He watched the distance between the two ships narrow alarmingly fast and for a moment he feared a collision until he saw Lyonesse's bowsprit settling on course to pass just ahead of the Black Knight. Even so, it was close – so close that he could see every detail on the ancient, curved hull even before he moved to the corner of the bridge for a last view that saw straight down the tractor beam tunnel, glowing with unnatural blue light.

"Target entering our firing arcs in five...four...three...two..."

The end of Constantine's report was cut off by the sound of cannons as the starboard battery opened up at point blank range. The flagship had twenty heavy guns on each side, plus three large-bore carronades. Amelia's orders allowed them to fire independently as each gun crew saw the target, but they were passing it so quickly that their fire was almost simultaneous, a ripple of flame erupting down the Lyonesse's flank. The starboard quarterdeck carronade was immediately below him and its blast left his ears ringing. And then they were gone, leaving the Black Knight behind.

"I saw hits, ma'am!" shouted Constantine.

"Is it moving to follow us?" Amelia turned to look astern, but Doppler could already see that the damage had been done. Deep rents had been torn in the Black Knight's hull that now billowed green flames. The flagship's shells had struck deep into the ancient ship and torn out its heart. Even as Doppler watched, the forward half of the Black Knight was wreathed in a crawling spiderweb of blue lightning from the wrecked tractor beam and an explosion in brilliant white light that he knew must have come from the generator room tore her in half. There were cheers from the gunners below as they celebrated the kill.

"We're free of the tractor beam, ma'am!" Aurora called.

"Very good! Resume escape course!" Amelia turned her back on the wreckage of the ancient ship and strode back to her place on the bridge.

"I can't, ma'am! We've fallen too close to the core!" Aurora shook her head. "We can't sail away from it – we'll have slingshot around it!"

"Then make it so!" Amelia waved to Doppler. "Doctor! Get in there and help her with the calculations!"

"Right!" Doppler hurried across the bridge, but Aurora was already hammering the numbers into her computer. He watched the numbers scrolling across the screen, his mind racing to keep up.

"Navigator!" Amelia shouted.

Aurora shook her head again. "It's taking too long to compute, ma'am! Captain, permission to take manual helm control?"

"Granted!" Rennier nodded.

"Thank you, sir! Doctor, take over here and give me the coordinates when they come through!" Aurora stepped away from her console and took the ship's wheel from the helmsman. She flexed her fingers experimentally around the spokes, and then set her eyes and gritted her teeth as she span it in her hands. The bow began moving in response as she piloted the ship deeper through the core's gravitational field by feel alone.

"I suggest a point or two to starboard!" Doppler shouted to her. "We'll have to pick up speed by letting the core pull us closer!"

"Starboard, aye, doctor!" Aurora turned the wheel, listening to the clicking of the gyrocompass repeater. A gust of wind took her hat off, but she didn't dare remove a hand from the helm to recover it. The sails billowed overhead, their white glow intensifying, and sparks flew from the bases of the masts.

"Power's surging as we get closer to the star, sir!" cried Macpherson. "Capacitors overloading!"

"Keep those circuits active!" Rennier ordered. "Turn the sails onto the port tack!"

"Doctor! The course!" Aurora appealed knowing that there was only so much she could achieve through instinct.

Doppler watched the console displays flash green. "It's done! Turn three and a half degrees to starboard, drop the bow two and then hold her steady!"

"Starboard three and a half, bow negative two and holding!" Aurora span the wheel and then braced herself, redoubling her grip. She could feel every movement of the rudder, every slip and buffet as the storm beat against it and she gritted her teeth with effort, knowing what a loss of control would mean as the ship plunged towards the star. Despite that fear, and despite her earlier insistence that she wasn't a natural spacer, part of her was almost enjoying this, the pure adrenaline thrill of acceleration and speed and the wind whipping in her hair. The core filled half the sky, great arches of incandescent gas erupting from its boiling surface and reaching out into space. Touching them would spell certain disaster for the canvas of the sails. One loomed up in front of them and Aurora desperately steered the Lyonesse though the middle of the gap, so close to the blazing sheet of stellar fire that she felt a gust of heat against her face and it seemed as if she could reach out and touch it.

"Now hold this course!" Doppler gripped the console tightly as the wind rose. "We're still accelerating! Eighty-nine percent escape velocity! Ninety-four! Ninety-eight!"

Aurora grasped the spokes of the wheel so tightly that her fingers began to hurt. Her muscles strained at the effort of holding the wheel fast against the force of the wind on the rudder and she wondered herself whether she could keep the ship steady - until suddenly the pressure was removed. Turning her head, she saw that Amelia had taken hold of the other side of the wheel.

"Stand your ground, Ms Mayflower," Amelia said firmly. "We've got this."

Aurora smiled. "With your help, ma'am, I think we might."

"That's it!" Doppler looked up from the console, his face alight with excitement. "Escape velocity! Plus six percent! Plus seven! We've done it! Plus eight! And still rising!"

"I suggest we adjust to starboard, ma'am, and take some of this pressure off the rudder," Aurora suggested.

"That won't cost us speed?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"Not enough, ma'am," Aurora grinned triumphantly. "Nothing can stop us now."

Doppler glanced astern as the racing ship pulled away from the star and felt his heart lift. "She's right. Look, we're already getting further away."

"Distance from the core is two stellar miles and opening, ma'am," said Constantine, checking the gunnery rangefinders. Amelia sighed with relief and relaxed her grip on the wheel.

"Thank the stars for that," she said. "Helmsman? Take over here. Navigator? Back to your station and report."

"Aye, ma'am." Aurora stepped away to rejoin Doppler. He stood aside for her cheerfully and turned to smile at Amelia as she moved back to the middle of the bridge. Aurora tapped a series of commands into her console and smiled with relief as the results came up.

"We're out of the core's gravitational field, ma'am," she said. "Speed is dropping and I'm picking up crosswinds from the Fraser Current again. We're back into its flow and heading for its edge."

"Thank you, Ms Mayflower." Amelia said and looked to Rennier. "Well, Flag-Captain? Will you make it official, or shall I?"

"I think that honour should be all yours, ma'am," Rennier smiled. "The crew will be delighted."

Amelia nodded her thanks and picked up the speaking tube for the ship's tannoy. The address chime rang out before she began speaking, her voice clear and strong.

"Attention all hands: this is the Admiral speaking. We are clear of the core. I repeat, we are clear of the core. Well done, everyone."

The cheers had started all over the ship before she was able to replace the tube. Even the officers on the bridge joined in, whooping and clapping hands. Laughing with the sheer emotional release of their escape, Doppler embraced Amelia warmly – and she hugged him back, all propriety forgotten in the moment of jubilation – and turned to Aurora, who surprised him by impulsively flinging her arms around him and placing a kiss on his furry cheek before drawing back bashfully.

"Er, sorry, doctor. Oh, and...sorry, ma'am."

Amelia was grinning broadly as she watched them. "I think it can be forgiven under the circumstances, my dear navigator. That was magnificent work from both of you."

"I'm just glad it did what it was supposed to do." Doppler smiled awkwardly.

"Ludicrously effectively." Amelia smiled back and nodded to Aurora. "We'll hold this heading until we're clear of the Current, lieutenant. Then plot us a course for home."

"My pleasure, ma'am." Aurora saluted.

"And Captain? Secure all stations. Reef sails and rig for cruising speed." Amelia turned to him and shook his hand. "Then bring me a status report in my cabin."

Rennier touched his hat. "As you wish, ma'am."

Amelia took Doppler's arm. "And perhaps you'd care to join me there now, doctor?"

Dopper bowed and smiled. "Thank you, Admiral. I'd love to."

Surgeon-Commander Gray was standing at the port quarterdeck rail by the carronade, looking back at the Fraser Current even though it was already too far to see the core that floated at its heart. Sergeant-Major Ko had joined her, and it would have taken very close observation indeed to detect the fact that the two were now standing slightly closer than they normally did.

"So much for that," Ko remarked to break the silence.

Gray nodded and flipped open a new page in her notebook to reply. THANKFULLY.

"Good thing you had that magazine with you, with the article about magnetic fields messing with people's heads, though," said Ko.

IT'S CALLED A JOURNAL. AND A MAGNETIC COMPASS WAS WHAT PROVIDED THE VITAL INSIGHT.

Ko shrugged, grinning at the way the surgeon wrinkled her nose. "Sorry, doc. But still, we might still be stuck there if it wasn't for you, all of us slowly going mad."

Gray considered it before writing again. I LIKE TO THINK THAT SOMEONE WOULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT EVENTUALLY.

"One can only hope so, ma'am." Ko shook her head. "It's too bloody horrible to think about the alternative. And I suppose you'll be writing an article for the Annals of Fleet Medicine now yourself, right? Confirmation of that one you dug up? Quite a discovery, I'd say. Might even be a medal in it for you."

YES, Gray agreed.

Ko paused for a moment, gathering her courage to broach the real reason for her having initiated this conversation. "So...about what happened between us in the sick bay the other night...when I found you..."

Gray felt uncharacteristically uncomfortable. YES?

"Do you think...well, did the star have anything to do with that? Influencing us, I mean?"

IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY, Gray noted. IT WOULD HAVE AFFECTED OUR BEHAVIOUR AT THE SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL. WE MAY NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN AWARE OF IT.

"Right." Ko nodded and turned her head as if inspecting the carronade. "I suppose that explains why we...well..."

YES.

"Kind of like how the Admiral's not going to hang Patricker now, because he wasn't responsible for his actions on the mess deck."

RIGHT. Gray kept her gaze fixed out into space.

"So neither of us could be held responsible for-"

Gray nodded. Just once.

Ko cleared her throat before continuing.

"And, ma'am...that proposition...about moving in with you when we get back to Crescentia?" She swallowed nervously. "I'd...like to accept that, if it's still open."

OF COURSE. Gray tried not to look relieved. Ko didn't bother.

"Thank you."

YOU DON'T NEED TO.

"So you say, ma'am." Ko smiled. "Won't stop me trying, though."

YOU'RE INCORRIGIBLE.

"Only for good causes, ma'am."

Gray rolled her eyes, but there was a sparkle of amusement in them.

THAT SAID, THERE HAS BEEN ONE OTHER RECENT DISCOVERY WORTH NOTING.

"Oh? What's that, ma'am?" Ko looked around at her. The surgeon's head was lowered as she wrote and her face was obscured by the tall white collar of her coat. Gray tore the page out of her notebook, folded it and pressed it into Ko's hand, turning to leave as she did so. Ko caught a glimpse of dark green eyes and went to stop her, but she was already gone. Puzzled, Ko opened her hand to read the note that Gray had given her. It took her several seconds to open the careful folds in the paper and read the words they hid.

"Oh, doc..." Ko whispered. She whirled around, but Gray had already vanished below decks. Ko shook her head and smiled wryly.

"I never figured you for the romantic type," she murmured. "But you always have to get the last word in somehow, don't you?"

Doppler stood in Amelia's cabin, gazing out the stern gallery windows, lost in thought. The Fraser Current's distant haze was barely visible against the backdrop of the etherium as the Lyonesse turned for home in the glow of the morning light. Amelia and Rennier were talking about various technical matters across the conference table, and he'd tuned out, knowing it was best to leave such things to them. Besides, after the chaos of the last hour or so – or was it even less? – it felt good to have a moment just to catch his breath and get his thoughts in order. He was so engrossed in this process that he didn't even notice when the conversation stopped and gave way to an expectant pause.

"Doctor?"

He started as his wife's voice recalled him from his reverie. "Hm? What? I mean, yes?"

Amelia grinned. "We were just wondering whether there would be any lasting effect on the ship's systems from exposure to the core's magnetic fields."

"Oh. I see." Doppler thought for a second. "Well, your magnetic compasses will need recalibrating, of course, but the rest of the navigational system and everything else of importance should have be shielded from interference. You won't know for sure until you check your entire electrical system, but you should be able to de-gauss anything that's been affected. The Chief Engineer would be able to tell you more."

"Excellent." Amelia smiled. "Though I'm sorry to have interrupted you. You're clearly thinking about something."

Doppler chuckled. "Yes. Well, I was thinking of many things, but I suppose...why is it that every time we come across an irreplaceable piece of Forefather technology, we end up destroying it? We barely scratched the surface of the Black Knight and we already learned so much..."

Amelia nodded. "I'm not insensitive to that...but when I think about the use that Flint and his pirates made of Treasure Planet's portal network...exploiting that miracle to rape and pillage their way across the universe...maybe it's not such a bad thing that the Forefathers' secrets are safe for a little longer. I don't think the galaxy is ready for them just yet."

"Yes. Perhaps you're right." Doppler smiled sadly.

"It's the core that I'm worried about," said Rennier. "I don't much like the idea of that thing wandering through the middle of the Empire, destroying peoples' minds as it goes. What would happen if it got drawn into the orbit of an inhabited world? It hardly bears thinking about."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that, Captain," said Doppler. "The orphan core is firmly in the pull of the Fraser Current. In a year or two, it'll fall into the black hole at Van Ryen's Point and be destroyed."

"Even so," said Amelia, "We must do what we can to keep people away from it in the meantime. We'll update the shipping advisory notice for the Fraser Current, and establish an exclusion zone around the core itself. And when we get back to headquarters, I'll see if we can spare the resources to put a guardship there to enforce it."

"I think that would be a good idea," said Doppler. "You know, normally it's sad when something unique in nature is destroyed but in this case...perhaps it's for the best as well."

"I can only agree with you, doctor." Rennier nodded. "If you'll excuse me, Admiral, I'll contact Commander Vendross about the electrical systems. A full diagnostic check will take days, so the sooner we start..."

"Of course, Captain. Thank you." Amelia smiled.

As Rennier left, closing the cabin door behind him, she stood and went to join Doppler at the window. Her hand found his and their fingers entwined. He looked down at her and took a deep, happy breath as he enjoyed the sight. It wasn't just that she looked unusually magnificent in the gold-encrusted blue and white of the dress uniform coat she was wearing in place of the plainer duty uniform she'd lost on the Black Knight, nor even the rows of decorations that glittered on her chest in testament to past valour. It was something more fundamental than that. There seemed to be a lot that he wanted to say – and yet he was so content with the silence and peace of her presence that it was Amelia who broke the spell and spoke first.

"Are you feeling all right, my dear?" she asked. "You haven't touched your drink."

Doppler looked around guiltily at the desk, where a mug of Calydonian coffee was stagnating. "Er...no. Sorry. It's...not really my cup of tea."

"It's not really tea at all," Amelia said. "More's the pity. But you are all right, aren't you? I hope that ear's not too sore."

Doppler touched his floppy ear gingerly where Sorensen's knife had cut it. "It'll mend. And the headache's gone, too, ever since we got out of the core's magnetic field. So Dr Gray was right about that. And...er...are you..."

"Yes." Amelia looked at her reflection in the mirror and nodded, giving a small smile as she rested her head against his shoulder, enjoying how the frame of the window made it look like a couple's portrait. "Perfectly. Thank you. For everything."

"Oh, well, the astrophysics was fairly straightforward and Aurora was the one who did the observations. And Mr Kilroy did most of the engineering work. Besides, I should be thanking you for saving my life back on the Black Knight. Twice."

"Not the science. Well, not just that." Amelia held his hand. "Though your contribution to the effort was greater than you seem to acknowledge. But also for keeping me sane. I thought I was losing my mind."

"But you weren't," said Doppler. "And besides, I thought I lost you. When you missed the longboat after you jumped-"

"I know. And I'm so sorry that I scared you." Amelia said softly.

"Weren't you scared?"

"Given the situation, I'm not sure that I had the time to be scared," Amelia gave a wry look. "All in a day's work, you might say."

"Then I'm even more glad that I never joined the Navy," Doppler joked.

Amelia chuckled. "I think you'd have done just fine. You've always had a stronger heart than you've ever given yourself credit for."

Doppler blushed. "Oh, Amelia...well, I'm still glad you're all right."

"I'd have questions to ask if you weren't," grinned Amelia. "But...so am I. We have so much to look forward to after we return."

"The children," Doppler smiled.

"The children." Amelia kissed him. "I've missed them so. How long do you think it'll take to get back?"

Doppler shrugged. "Well, I'd need to ask Aurora for her calculations. But I'd estimate perhaps a fortnight or a little bit more. Not too long."

"Not too long at all." Amelia smiled contentedly. "Though I must say...I'm dying for a proper cup of tea..."

- The End -

With thanks to all readers, reviewers and megers67