'Much as I enjoy our little encounters, Swan,' Killian Jones said over drinks at a bar on the SS Auras. 'I really do need you off my back.'

Fourteen hours later Captain Emma Swan woke up fully clothed but handcuffed to a bed with a communicator to the Storybrooke just in reach. She cursed to herself as she explained to the Head Engineer, Leroy, of her predicament. The usually grumpy man had laughed, painfully pointing out her weakness when it came to the roguish Captain before teleporting her, sans bed and cuffs, aboard her starship.

'Not a word of this,' she ordered before making her way to the bridge.

She marched through the corridors. The ship had over twenty miles of corridors but it was a blissfully short walk from the engineering department and bridge. At the elevator, she pushed her finger to the ID panel that provided the trip to the bridge. As she stepped in the automated voice of the ship's AI greeted her in its cool voice.

'Computer, order a report on the whereabouts of the Jolly Roger,' she said as the lift began to move.

'Yes Captain,' responded the Computer. 'We also picked up a transmission encoded so it could only be unlocked by you.'

'Play.'

Killian Jones' handsome, if smug, face filled the screen before her. 'Hope there are no hard feelings over last night, love, but you really should have just walked away when I gave you the chance. Until next time.'

He smiled as he gave her a mock salute before the screen went black. She ground her teeth. Jones was the most infuriating person she had the misfortune to cross paths with. The worse thing was it kept happening. The first time had been a minor infraction on a lesser planet in the Aurilla Belt a mere two months into her mission but this was now the fourth time. The charges against him were much more serious now.

'Computer, send me the coordinates the message was sent from,' she requested as the doors opened.

'Captain on the Bridge,' called Ensign Henry Mills from his seat at the navigation screen prompting First Officer Elsa Snowbourne to rise from the Con.

'Captain,' she said, standing up and bowing her head. 'I trust your evening was fruitful.'

The smirk on face suggested some previous knowledge of the position Emma had found herself in. Emma took her seat, sliding into the leather chair and crossing her ankles.

'I was able to distract Jones for a short while, but he still has something of a head start over us,' said Emma. 'Where team two able to fully identify his cargo?'

'We were able to identify several Class Four Warp Drives and some embargoed Class Seven Plasma Guns from Oebos,' Elsa told her.

Emma looked up to see her First Officer in a stiff position, shoulders tense and hands behind her back. 'What is he doing, Elsa?'

'I wish I knew,' she replied. 'This doesn't seem to be a black market run. While the Class Fours would sell in the right place, there is nowhere to sell the Class Seven's. I'm at a loss as to where he actually found them.'

Emma nodded. 'Thank you, Elsa.'

She glanced down at the screen embedded into the arm of her chair. It was full of the information collected on the location of the Jolly Roger. Emma drummed her fingers against the arm and sighed. 'Mr. Loxley, I'm sending the last known coordinates and projected path of Jones. Set a course to follow.'

Robin Loxley looked at the information Emma had just sent him. 'With all due respect, Ma'am, that is uncharted space.'

Beside him, Ensign Mills shook his head. 'Ma'am,' he piped up, 'it isn't just uncharted space.' The young man got to his feet and walked to the large screen. 'Auras is our most heavily guarded outposts,' he explained, 'because of this belt here.' He pointed to an area blacked out on the map. 'It's Ji territory.'

Emma blinked, her fingers curling over the edges of her chair. 'Can we punch through at warp?'

Captain Emma Swan didn't like putting her crew in jeopardy, but the report on Jones' cargo was enough to follow him through. The Ji weren't capable of warp speeds hence Emma was pretty certain she could outrun them. Still, it made her blood run cold. She paced her study with her hands behind her back pondering what Jones was up to. More than once she spoke aloud to the ceiling in a desperate bid for answers. Jones might infuriate her but when she sat down with the evidence of his crimes she couldn't make head nor tail of it.

A beep on her desk alerted her to a visitor. Emma looked up, pushing her bangs from her face. 'Come,' she yelled.

Elsa walked across the threshold. 'We're coming up on Jones,' she said. 'Appears he has retrofitted his ship with new warp drive.'

Emma nodded. 'He always had a talent for mechanics and engineering,' she said softly, leaning back on her desk.

Elsa nodded, her white hair bobbing as she walked further into the room, dropping the mask of First Officer. 'He made his choice a long time ago, Emma,' she said.

'But why?' Emma replied. 'I can't help but think…' she trailed off. 'What is he doing?'

'I wish I knew.'

Before Emma could continue another notification rang on her console. 'Swan,' she called after pressing the accepted button.

'We're coming up on the Jolly,' said Mr. Loxley.

'Thank you,' she said then looked at Elsa. 'Shall we, Ms. Snowbourne?'

Elsa stepped back. 'After you, Ma'am.'

Emma strode back onto the bridge adjusting her uniform as Elsa took her place at her station. 'Hail Jones on all channels,' she announced as she slipped back into her chair. 'And lock on. If he doesn't answer, we'll blow him out the sky.'

The screen filled with his charming face, an infectious smile on his lips. 'Captain,' Killian said, 'a joy to see you as always. A little sooner than I expected.'

'This is a Class Eight Warp Ship, Jones,' retorted Emma. 'Even with your little stunt you could hardly outrun us.'

'I would have despaired had we had the ability, Swan,' he retorted. 'Now kindly disengage love, you're making my First Mate nervous.'

Emma nodded and with a hand signal the weapons system offlined. She looked at the man on the screen before her. If she looked out the window of the bridge she would see his small ship glinting in the distance. If they were alone, she would ask him why they were on the edge of space.

'You need to surrender your ship, Jones,' she said instead. 'You are in violation of six Space Corps Directives as well as charges of piracy and smuggling lodged against you. I am authorised if you do not stand down to use force to bring you in.'

Killian gave her a sympathetic look. 'Oh Swan, I love it when you threaten me. But aren't you more interested in why I've brought you here?'

Emma blinked in a bid to keep her composure. 'Okay, Jones,' she says, with a quick flick of her eyes to Elsa. 'I'll bite.'

'Take a look at your charts,' he replies. 'To your port side, you should see a 'dead planet', Neverland.'

Mills inputted a couple of commands into his console, reducing the window with Jones's face so the screen before her is dominated with a map. Ji territory now sits behind her. Truth be told, there is a planet with dead status. Emma gets to her feet and walks towards the screen. Elsa is also on her feet, but her icy eyes remain on Killian.

'Computer,' Emma says quietly, 'full status report on Neverland. Location binary; forty-five point nine, fifty, ten point eight.'

'Neverland; forty-five point nine, fifty, ten point eight. Status: classified.'

Emma frowned as Killian's smile grew wider.

'Override; beta, sigma, eight, three, twenty,' she said. 'Report.'

'Override confirmed,' said the AI. 'Neverland; forty-five point nine, fifty, ten point eight. Status classified.'

Emma growled in frustration.

'I wouldn't bother, love,' said Jones, as if he pre-empted her next move. 'Classification goes beyond the Federation. Beyond your father, even.'

Emma started at the reference to her family. She looked at Jones, his expression back to one of sympathy. Once again she wishes she were not on a bridge full of people as she speaks to this man. But before she is able to say anything more, the wail of a siren broke every thought process.

'Ms. Snowbourne, report,' she yells as she settles back into her seat.

'Captain, we have incoming from a Ji Cruiser,' yelled back her first officer. 'Must have broken off from the group. I'm seeing three locked on Type Forty Missiles.'

'Engage full shields,' replied Emma. 'Mr. Loxley, basic evasive manoeuvres. Ensign Mills, plot a course outside of their range but close enough to Neverland to survey it.' She looked up at her screen to where Killian remained in the corner. He smiled in a rather self-indulgent manner suggesting what he saw pleased him. However, just above his head, a missile rocketed past the Storybrooke.

'Killian,' she said, looking at his screen. 'You have incoming.'

Her words were too late as the screen burst into flame. In the distance, a supernova lit up, covering a small portion of the bridge window. Emma flew to her feet as the flames died. The Jolly Roger lost its stabilisation as it somersaulted towards Neverland. Emma grabbed her personal communicator at the sight of the ship glinting against the light of a G-type main sequence star situated two hundred thousand million kilometres to their starboard position.

'Killian,' she yelled as she fell back into her seat as she watched the Jolly Roger get dragged into the orbit of Neverland.

'Detected emergency shuttle deployment,' called Ms Lucas from her radar station. 'Captain's beacon identified.'

Emma spun to look at her third officer. 'Are you certain?'

'Yes, Ma'am,' replied Ms Lucas.

Emma nodded. 'Ms Snowbourne, you have the Con.'

Emma surged to her feet and headed to the elevator. Instead of going to the Captain's chair, Elsa followed Emma, grabbing her arm at the elevator.

'It's a dead planet,' whispered Elsa as Emma wheeled around.

Emma looked to the ceiling. 'Computer, real time analysis of Neverland. Location binary; forty-five point nine, fifty, ten point eight.'

The Captain's wrist strap bleeped as the information was transmitted there. She looked at Elsa. 'What type of dead planet has a full ecosystem with an atmosphere for human survival?'

Elsa frowned. 'Nothing this far from Osiris is terraformed. Emma, I know you still care for him, but this is suicide.'

'Ms Snowbourne, we have a duty to bring the crew of the Jolly in alive,' she said. 'If I am not successful, you are required to report back to High Command and my parents before continuing our mission.'

Emma stepped into the elevator.

'He wouldn't do this for you.'

Emma looked up. 'He would.'