List of characters

Ship's Crew

Emma Swan – captain

Ruby Lucas – second in command and a member of the alien race Populus Lupus

Daivd Nolan – pilot

Mal Ficent – gunner

Belle French – first engineer

Aurora Rose – second engineer

Killian Jones – sensors calibrator

Archie Hopper – doctor

Robin Loxley – loadmaster

"Tink" Bell – mechanic and shuttle pilot

SNO – ships AI

Other characters –

Senator Henry Mills – one of Earth's senators and Regina's father

Regina Mills – the crew's newest mission and daughter of a very influential family

Fa Mulan – Regina's bodyguard and best friend

Cora Mills – Regina's abusive mother

Jefferson Petasus – an old acquaintance of Regina and the crew's latest bounty

Admiral Rumple Gold – an Admiral for Earth's Fleet and Emma's old commanding officer

As requested, here is a list of characters we have been introduced to so far. Just to give you a little idea of who is on the ship and who we have met. I hope this helps.

So, it has been a bit. And I'm sorry. My place was broken into a few weeks ago and my mind has been focused elsewhere. And since my PS3 and PS4 were both stolen (with all of my data taken with them) I have been going through my games again. (What a chore!)

I don't own OUAT. I don't even watch the show anymore. I can't take it. But from what I've seen, I'm not missing much. But I'm still in the fandom. Gotta get my Swan Queen fix somehow, right? Fanfiction is awesome for that!

A huge thanks to Laura, of course. This wouldn't be possible without her!

The dull glow of the digital clock was the only light in the room. Its read out of 5:00 am taunted her, reminding her that she had gotten no sleep what so ever that night.

Regina sighed and rolled over onto her side, her back to the clock. She was exhausted. Or her body was. But her mind wouldn't stop. She kept seeing Jefferson's face, his mad eyes and smirk.

She was hurt, confused, and more than a little angry. Jefferson and she were never best friends. They both knew that. They were friends because their parents were friends. But they were together for many years. She had been there when he first met his future wife. He had been there when she first met Daniel.

And he had comforted her when Daniel had died.

Because he was there.

They had lost contact right after that. Her father was determined to get her away from her mother. And they left the colony. Just left in the middle of the night. No explanation. And Regina had been eager to go. To leave behind the memories of pain, loss, and heartbreak. And abuse at the hands of her mother and sometimes Jefferson.

He had been fascinated with her and her powers. He would introduce her to others as "My friend, Regina. She can do awesome tricks with these powers she has."

She hadn't really known that true friendship was missing from her life until she met Daniel.

And then lost him so soon after.

That's when she knew Jefferson wasn't a true friend.

She hadn't even thought about him for years. He was a blimp in her memories of the past. But seeing him again, hearing him speak, brought it all back in vivid detail.

And she had some questions for him.

Thankful that Mulan had her own room, Regina slipped out of her bed before pulling on a robe. She quietly left their quarters and made her way down the stairs, intent on asking Jefferson what she wanted to know before the entire crew woke for the day. She deserved some answers.

The holding cell was just big enough for a small cot and a toilet. And Jefferson was currently on his back on the cot, his hands across his stomach and his eyes studying the ceiling above him.

She cleared her throat and his eyes flickered to her before a grin spread across his face.

"Gina," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "So nice of you to drop by to see me!" He sat up. "We didn't really have a chance to catch up before Captain Bitch locked me up in here."

"Don't call her that," Regina ground out. "She's a good woman."

Jefferson's eyes widened before his smile turned malicious. "Do I detect a bit of a crush coming from you, Regina? Is she your new Daniel?"

"She's not my new anything, Jefferson. She's a good woman with a good heart. And that's more than I can say about you."

Jefferson chuckled and stood up, stretching his arms over his head and letting out a grunt. "True. I'm not a woman. Never have been."

"You know what I mean."

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean," he snarled as he made his way to the bars separating them. "You have always thought you were better than me." He gripped the bars in front of him and placed his face in between them, his eyes cold and cruel. "And you were and will always be inferior. Even your mother saw that. She tried to train you to be better but you went crying to your daddy and he let you run away."

Regina took a step back, the mad look in his eyes scaring her.

"You do not deserve that power you have. You never have." He seemed to be trying to push himself through the bars, his face turning red in his ranting. "You are weak and helpless. And no amount of training from Cora would have ever helped you."

"Emma."

SNO's voice pulled Emma from writing her report to Gold about the mission and picking up Petasus. It wasn't thrilling anyway. She could use a distraction since sleep had decided not to visit her that night.

"What's up, SNO?" Emma asked, letting the data pad drop to her desk.

"There seems to be some sort of altercation at the holding cell."

"What?" Emma said, standing up and grabbing her Fleet hoody.

"Regina is down there and Petasus is being very hostile towards her. You may want to-"

Emma left her cabin before SNO even finished.

If the AI had a face, she would be smiling. Instead, she decided that David would like to hear about this. And maybe watch what happened next.

"You are a tool, Regina," Jefferson growled with a cruel smirk. "Always were and always will be. For your mother, for your weak father, and now for that bitch, Emma Swan. You don't matter to anyone. And you know it."

"Shut up, Jefferson," Regina said softly, her voice weak and her eyes downcast. He had managed to poke right at the place that hurt the most. Her insecurity as a person.

And Jefferson caught that. And latched onto it viciously.

"You are nothing, Regina. All you are good for is that power that you don't even deserve. You stupid cun-"

A hand wrapped around his throat stopped him from continuing. All that came out of his mouth was a loud "urk". Regina stepped back in shock and looked beside her at Emma, who had seemed to appear out of thin air.

The blonde had one hand through the bars and around the man's neck and her face was right in front of his, barely touching the bars. "You talk too much, Petasus," she growled. She gave him a little shake and her face twisted into a cruel smirk. "Maybe I should shut you up permanently. I was told to bring you in dead or alive."

Jefferson's eyes bugged out and he brought his hands up to hers, frantically trying to pry it off his throat. He couldn't understand how she was hurting him so much with just one hand. What was this woman?

"You wouldn't kill me," he rasped out. "You're too good for that."

"Good?" she gave a dark chuckle. "You think I'm good?! I'm a bounty hunter. There is nothing good about me." She tapped into a small part of her powers and threw him back, making him hit the far wall with a soft thud. "I have morals, though," she said, still pressed against the bars. "I don't kill unarmed people. And besides, you're worth more alive. The Fleet pays handsomely for scum like you."

Feeling safer now that he was away from her grip, Jefferson laughed. "I'll get off. I have enough money to buy the best lawyer around."

Emma laughed right back and shook her head. "Oh, Petasus, you idiot." She held up a hand and encased the man in blue power, slowly pulling him toward her. When he was near enough, she reached through the bars again and grabbed the front of his shirt. "You aren't getting a trial. You may not even get sent to an actual prison. There is a special place just for people like you."

Fear entered Jefferson's eyes at that and he swallowed hard. Emma snarled in disgust and let him go before turning to Regina, who had been watching all of this with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked softly, her voice losing its dark edge.

Regina nodded, her eyes still wide and Emma flinched slightly at the fear hidden in those brown depths. She turned back to Petasus and narrowed her eyes at him again.

"You need lessons on how to treat women, you son of a bitch."

Jefferson actually had the nerve to smirk. "I won't be taking lessons from you, Captain Swan. You have scared her just as much as I did."

Regina watched as Emma's shoulders slightly fell and the blonde head gave a small nod. "I am aware of that, Petasus. I never said those lessons had to be from me."

The captain turned around and nodded to Regina before looking toward the ceiling. "SNO?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Please set up a kinetic barrier in front of the cell. I don't want any sound going in or getting out of that cell. And if you could continue to keep an eye on him please."

"Of course." A barrier of blue kinetic energy was suddenly inside the cell in front of the bars.

"Thanks, SNO," Emma said, her voice sounding tired and her eyes sad. She then turned back to Regina. "Let's go back to my cabin," she said softly, not meeting the other woman's eyes. "We need to talk."

Regina nodded, her voice still not working, and followed Emma up the stairs, casting one more glance at Jefferson. He just stared at her before positioning himself on the cot again. She never got her answers but now she wasn't as confused.

Jefferson was crazy. That was all there was to it. He was just crazy.

"Would you care for something to drink?" Emma asked as her cabin door closed behind them. She gestured for Regina to take a seat on the small sofa in the middle of the room.

"Sure." Regina said softly as she sat.

Emma opened a small cooling unit behind her desk and crouched down in front of it. "I've got water, whiskey, an awesome lupus fruit drink that tastes like apple cider, and a weird purple liquor that Mal gave me on my last birthday."

"It's barely half past 5 am," Regina exclaimed. "We can't drink alcohol this early in the day!"

Emma smirked and shrugged. "Suit yourself but I need at least a glass."

Regina sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I'll try the lupus drink."

"Good choice," Emma stated as she grabbed the bottle. She snagged two glasses from on top of the cooling unit as she stood. "Ruby loves this stuff and insists on buying it whenever it's available. Her granny makes the best though. This is one of her batches."

The captain poured the light blue liquid into the glasses, handing one to Regina. She then sat across from Regina in an armchair, took a large gulp of her drink, and then leaned her elbows on her knees, her green eyes boring into Regina's.

"Now, getting down to business. What the hell were you thinking going down there alone?"

She didn't sound angry. More like worried and exasperated. And that made Regina relax. "He was someone I grew up with, Captain." She looked at her glass and played with the drops of condensation that were already forming on it. "I may not be friends with him, per se, but I knew him. He was there during many points in my life. I wanted to know…" she trailed off.

"You wanted to know why," Emma finished for her.

Regina just nodded and took a sip of her drink. Wincing at the burn of alcohol but liking the fruity, tangy taste.

"I can understand that, Regina," Emma said softly, standing up and moving to sit next to her on the sofa. "But you have to keep in mind, he is a dangerous man. He has killed hundreds."

"I am aware of that, Captain Swan," Regina said bitterly, her eyes fixed on her lap.

A soft sigh came from the captain and a gentle hand was placed on Regina's upper arm. "I know this is hard, Regina. Believe me, I know better than most but you have to understand that he is not the person you grew up with. He has changed."

"That's the thing," Regina argued. "He hasn't." She finally looked up into sympathetic eyes. "He was like this when we were little. He just didn't have large amounts of a deadly mineral then."

Emma's brow furrowed in confusion. "Then why are you-?"

"So upset?" Regina finished for her. She sighed and felt her shoulders relax. Emma's hand stayed on her arm but became a caress instead of just a show of support. "I feel like I could have prevented this."

"Oh, Regina," Emma whispered, her arm moving around her shoulders. And with almost no resistance, she pulled Regina into her arms.

And that was the breaking point. The tears Regina had been holding back, the anger, the betrayal, and the fear that it was all her fault came out. Hot tears fell from her eyes and onto Emma's hoodie.

She wasn't sure how long she cried. But she finally ran out of tears. And Emma's arms were still around her. She felt exhausted and really didn't want to move.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed.

A gentle hand started running up and down her back, making Regina relax even further into the captain. "There is nothing to be sorry about, Regina. You have had a very trying day."

Regina resisted the urge to snuggle into Emma but she didn't pull away. "I'm an adult. I should be able to handle this."

"Bullshit," Emma said fiercely, making Regina start in shock. But the arms around her tightened and would not allow her to pull back. "You have as much right to cry as anyone. Everyone needs a good cry every now and then. No matter how old you are."

Regina smiled. "What about you? Do you cry?"

Emma cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Not to anyone's knowledge."

Regina chuckled into Emma's chest. "It will be our secret, Captain."

"Are you feeling better?" Emma asked, pulling back slightly to look down at Regina's tear-streaked face.

Regina nodded and slowly sat up, missing the warmth of Emma's body immediately. So, she stayed as close to the blonde as she could without being in her lap. "Thank you."

Emma smiled and gently wiped a remaining tear from the brunette's face before cupping her cheek in her hand. "It was my pleasure," she whispered.

Regina searched Emma's face, first her eyes and then her lips, trying to gauge what the captain was thinking.

Slowly, their faces drew closer until their lips were almost a breath's width apart.

"Captain?"

SNO's voice over the intercom startled them both, making Regina jerk back and Emma to almost fall off the sofa.

"Shit," Emma muttered before running a hand through her hair and looking up at the ceiling. "What, SNO?"

"We have reached The Enchanted," the AI said. "They have two guards prepared to board and take Petasus back to Earth for the trial."

Emma stood up and brushed off her pants. "Okay. I'll meet them down in the holding area."

"We aren't taking him back to Earth?" Regina said, barely able to meet Emma's eyes.

"We aren't a ship designed for prisoners. Whenever we have one for the Fleet, we always transfer them over to a Fleet ship as soon as possible." Emma slid open a panel on the wall, revealing a closet, and quickly took off her hoody, leaving her clad in a white tank top and black military issued cargo pants.

Regina couldn't look away from the captain's muscled back and arms.

The blonde pulled out a Fleet issued button up shirt and slipped it on, turning back to look at Regina as she did so. "That way we aren't responsible for the prisoner for too long. Less paperwork and hassle."

Regina just nodded as she watched Emma finish buttoning her shirt.

Emma noticed.

"Enjoying the show?" she smirked, walking back over to the other woman.

"Very much so," Regina said without thinking. A blush flared up on her face when her mind finally registered what she said.

Emma laughed and held out her hand to Regina, offering to help her stand from the sofa. The brunette took her offer and gracefully stood, her hand still in Emma's.

"You feel this, right?" Emma whispered, her eyes searching Regina's.

"Yes," Regina whispered back.

"And what do you want to do about it?" Emma asked.

Regina licked her lips. "So much."

A small smirk quirked Emma's lips before Regina's hands grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her to her.

"And I will take advantage of that," Regina muttered before crashing her lips to Emma's.

A shock seemed to shoot through Regina's body. And when Emma slowly let her arms wrap about her waist, warmth surrounded her like she had never felt before. Her own arms left Emma's collar and went around her neck, pulling the captain closer.

The feel of Emma's tongue on her lower lip, asking for entrance, made Regina's knees weak. And a moan escaped once their tongues actually met.

"Emma?" SNO asked over the intercom.

Emma slowly pulled back, her eyes at half-mast and her arms still around Regina. She cleared her throat. "Yes, SNO?"

"The guards are still waiting."

Emma blinked and looked back down at Regina's lips. "Who?" she asked.

"The Fleet soldiers here to take Petasus," SNO answered.

"Get Ruby to meet them," Emma said as she leaned back for another kiss.

"You have to sign off on the transfer, Emma," SNO responded. "It is regulation."

"Screw regulation," Emma whispered against Regina's lips before capturing them again with her own.

"That is illogical, Emma," SNO said. "One cannot 'screw' regulations. Unless of course, you have the regulation book. And then you could very well-"

Emma pulled back with a laugh and stopped the AI before it could go any further. "Alright, alright." She said. "I'm coming."

She placed a sweet, innocent kiss on Regina's cheek before stepping fully back, keeping her hands on Regina's hips. "I gotta go," she said.

"I heard," Regina smirked.

"Are you…okay with this?"

"If I remember correctly, Captain, I am the one who initiated this."

"Right," Emma muttered. "But we should still talk about this later. After this is dealt with."

A look of fear entered Regina's eyes before she could hide it. Emma gently cupped her face in her hands and kissed her nose. "We just need to decide what this is, Regina. Nothing bad. I believe we are on the same page."

"Captain, Mulan is looking for Regina," SNO said, interrupting them again.

"How did you know she was in here?" Emma asked, pulling back yet again and walking to the door.

"It is the most logical explanation, Emma. She has not been in any other part of the ship since you both left the holding cell two hours ago."

"We've been in here that long?" Regina asked, her eyes wide.

"I believe you humans have a saying," SNO said before they left the room. "Time flies when you are having fun."

Emma let out a bark of laughter as the door slid shut behind them.

To be continued…

Let me know what you think!