Bara walked into Chief Neex's office, her bodyguards at her back, her expression grim.

"Captain," Neex said. "I see you received my summons."

"Yes. I completely understand that I can't expect this matter to pass by without the appropriate measures."

Her expression stayed serious, but inside she wanted to smile at the satisfaction she could see radiating from him. Oh, you think this is going to be so easy, don't you? You fool.

"Thank you for your co-operation, Captain, I will need --"

"As soon as I heard about the assault on Mr Chervaz, I interrogated my guards, and they confessed to me." She glared at the two men and they hung their heads.

"I'm... what?" Neex stopped.

"They told me that they assaulted Mr Chervaz because they believed he had insulted me. They acted from loyalty, but of course their actions were entirely unacceptable."

Neex stood up now. His skin flushed various shades, surely confused, Bara thought.

"Mr Chervaz claims you gave the order to your men to attack him."

"What? I..." She let herself stutter. "I can't... he said that? I'm sorry, Chief, either he was mistaken or...." She trailed off.

"Or what?" Neex said.

"Well, he does have a certain agenda that he uses his newspaper to pursue. I'm afraid he sees me as an enemy. I'm not quite sure why. I've barely had any contact with the man."

Neex stood staring at her for a moment, before he spoke again.

"Witness reports say you left his office before the assault, but without your guards." He looked at the two Marines.

Bara laughed. "Chief, after I left Mr Chervaz's office that day I was heading for the ladies spa and steam bath. The one on level four of the market place. I could hardly take my guards into a ladies sauna."

"So you left them in Mr Chervaz's office?"

"I left them to go and have a drink or do whatever they wanted to do. Unfortunately they decided to assault Mr Chervaz."

Neex looked at her men. He'd question them now, she knew, but they had gone over the story enough times that she had every confidence that they'd keep it straight.

"Is this true?"

"Yes, sir." They chorused it, and then one continued. "He insulted the Captain. We wanted to teach him he can't do that."

"We got a bit carried away," the other one admitted.

"What did he say to insult her?" Neex asked.

"Won't repeat it," the first one growled.

"You will," Neex said. But he got no answer.

"Chief," Bara said. "I value the loyalty of my men, however misguided it was on this occasion, and I would prefer to deal with this matter through my own disciplinary procedures. But I realise you have the jurisdiction here and I must put them in your hands."

Neex wasn't entirely convinced yet, she could tell.

"Mr Chervaz is a credible witness," he said. "When the court considers the case, his accusation against you will have to be taken into account."

"Of course."

"And I will check that you did indeed go to the spa."

She had, of course. No sense in lying about something so easy to check. A good choice. Fate perhaps. She hadn't gone there specifically to set up a reason not to have her guards with her. She'd just needed to relax and clear her head after that awful day. However, as it turned out, it had been the best choice she could have made.

Glancing at her guards again, she couldn't suppress a tiny sigh. Such a shame to sacrifice her men to this alien cop. But, they'd have plenty to keep them occupied, once they go to the detention cells. There were plenty of other humans there. The Marines had their orders, and they were glad to do this for her.

As for herself, she knew Neex wouldn't hold her. Now it came down to her word against Chervaz's, then he would wait until it came before their court. If it ever did. If certain plans she had didn't come to fruition before then.

And especially as she'd given him her two men. They were a guarantee she'd come back. Hostages. He knew she wouldn't abandon them.

"Now I must detain your men and take them into custody." Neex pressed a button on his panel.

"Of course," Bara said. "I will engage a legal representative for them, and expect them to be properly treated."

"They will be treated according to strict rules, as all prisoners are."

He'd question them separately later, she knew that. Try to get them to break down and admit the truth. But he had no chance. These men were trained to resist torture. An interrogation with "strict rules" would be no problem for them.

The door behind them opened and some of Neex's men came in. Bara turned away and caught the eye of one of the guards as she did. He winked. So fast only she could have caught it. Ah, her boys, such loyalty. So touching. It almost left her choked. But she gave a quick wink back and then left them to it.

Emerging from the Security office, she strode off, alone for a change, and pulled a folded up Chronicle from her pocket. She had already read the story exposing Maiga's real identity and it had boosted her triumphant mood even more.

Maiga was off the station right now. Wait until she came back to find her identity revealed, and the revelation circulated in part by her lover's newspaper. Bara had known for sure that Chervaz would publish the story. Men of principle were quite predictable and easy to manipulate. Chuckling to herself, she read the story again, walking, head down.

She could walk like this without thinking now, even in the crowded areas, as people always got out of her way. So nice to have respect. So she almost fell over when she ploughed into a man coming the other way, and they grabbed at each other. Bara dropped her Chronicle.

"Watch where you're going, lady!"

She gaped at him. The snap in his voice would have earned him the same treatment as Chervaz, if her guards had been with her. Rage started to boil up inside her, but then his dark face softened into a smile that calmed her anger.

"Sorry, ah, Captain," he said. "You took me by surprise. I didn't mean to snap at you."

He doesn't know who I am, she thought. He said Captain because of my insignia. She couldn't recall spotting him around the station either, felt sure she'd remember him. About thirty, rather handsome, no, very handsome. And well muscled, she knew that from her collision with him. She'd always found dark skinned men attractive actually, had even pursued Alex when she first joined the Trebuchet. Until someone told her that she was barking up the wrong tree there.

The right tree this time though. He definitely gave her a once-over, up and down look, and she was glad she'd left her coat off, so her fitted uniform showed off her figure to best advantage.

"Oh, it was entirely my fault..." She left the question on the end hanging.

"Max," he said, offering her his hand. She took it in both her own and hung on to it.

"Max. My name is Bara. Please, let me buy you a drink to apologise."

He reacted to the name and stammered a bit, as he responded. "Oh, that's not --"

"I insist." She let go of his hand and took his arm, steering him towards Dav's bar. Being without one's bodyguards had some advantages. "You see, I feel like celebrating."

~o~

"Trebuchet's here," Wixa said, checking her messages as she and Maiga walked from the docking area. "Wonder what Captain Trouble is getting up to?"

"As long as she stays away from the paper," Maiga said. She glanced at Dav's as they passed, and smirked at good memories.

"Maybe Neex is giving her a going over with a rubber hose." Wixa grinned. "We can only hope."

Maiga clicked her tongue, at Wixa, and then she nodded at a woman in maintenance department uniform, as they approached her. The one who'd repaired her power that time. What was the name again? Why was she staring like that? Had she not seen Wixa's now fading blue hair before?

"Hey, Kiral," Wixa said, "You okay? You look like you've seen a goat."

"That's ghost," Maiga said. "Ghost, not goat."

"Are you saying you wouldn't stare if you saw a goat right here in this corridor?"

"Wixa..."

Kiral didn't speak, but she rummaged in her pocket and took out a folded paper. She handed it to Maiga and then walked away without a word.

Maiga stood with the paper in her hands, frozen in place. Wixa looked over her shoulder at the Chronicle.

"Oh, shit."

Maiga didn't react to Wixa's words, didn't even hear them. The words. Her identity. Her life. In print, exposed. This couldn't be real. Chervaz, he couldn't do this to her.

People avoided her, as she stood rooted to the spot. Nobody pushed her, as they would have before or told her to get out of the way. She became an island in a river of people. Eventually Wixa took her arm.

"Let's go," Wixa said, quietly. "Get you home."

Maiga walked where Wixa pointed her. Back towards the human sector. Well that's where Maiga wanted to be. She had someone she needed to see. A sudden fear gripped her. What if Bara somehow got to Chervaz again, and forced him to do this? She shouldn't have left him unprotected.

Well now she'd be leaving again, for good. No choice. She couldn't stay here. Not now. Look at the faces, the stares. Everyone knew. They'd never allow her a moment's rest. They'd want something from her, something she couldn't give, didn't want to give.

She should have left before. Should have left by herself. Alone. Well she would be alone now. For a moment, she thought she would weep, for the Maiga of Hollow Jimmy. The one who had started to make a home here, found friends, even love. That Maiga had just died.

"Keep walking," Wixa muttered as a couple of people approached them, wanting to talk. "Not now!" Wixa snapped at them and they retreated. Maiga didn't react at all, just walked on.

~o~

Bara grabbed Max the moment the doors swished closed in his quarters. One drink had been enough, enough time for them to flirt a little and then for him to tell her his story about being shipwrecked. And how Maiga had rescued him. Right then, she wanted him, because she had to take away every one of Maiga's allies. In this case, it would be more than a pleasure.

As they kissed, he pulled at the tie in her hair, letting it fall loose, to run his hands through it. That felt so good. Sometimes she longed to forget the burden of command. This man would help her do that. One of her hands stroked over the short frizz of his neatly clipped hair.

Make me forget it all, she wanted to say to him. All of the pain and grief and guilt. She pulled back from kissing him and ran her hands up under his shirt.

"Take it off." Though not her usual tone of command, Max was quick to obey. He pulled the white shirt - cheap, thin, cloth she noticed - over his head. With one hand, Bara traced her fingers over the bare skin of his chest, up to his shoulder, making him breathe faster. Then she ran her hand down his arm and took his hand.

Max led her into his bedroom.