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LOG FORTY-ONE

Ford rolled over slowly, bringing her hand to her chest and thumping soundly the blast plate under her tunic. She coughed as she sat up and reached for her firearm. She closed her eyes taking a deep breath and hoping, for once in her stubborn little life, Marra was doing what she had been told. It wasn’t possible to open a com link with her now.

Pushing up from the floor she stumbled slightly, the jolt of the hit she had taken shook her to her core. While obviously not deadly, it still offered quite the sting. She cleared her throat and shook her head as she started down the corridor.

She felt the ship rock with another blast. The alarms had finally started going off and the entire crew now knew what she had known for several minutes. They were under attack. She ducked into an alcove when she heard the thundering of boots coming her direction. She let a deeply relieved breath when she found it to be her own troops. Stepping out of the shadows, she held up her hand to the young man leading the pack.

"Report!"

"Ambassador, we’re under attack…"

"No kidding. Now tell me something I don’t."

"We’ve been boarded."

She pointed to the singed fabric of her tunic. "Try again. We’ve been boarded and I’ve been shot. Seems I’m one ahead of you."

"The Garron has ordered the ships scrambled and the escape pods readied. He had sent a team to your quarters."

"Good. They’ll see to it that Marra makes it out safely. Carry on."

"Yes Ambassador."

She watched the troops continue to their duty. "Capri protect you." She whispered before moving further down the corridor.

* * *

"Lady Kurrathian please!" The young soldier looked to the woman with pleading eyes.

"I won’t leave Ford behind!"

"My Lady, the Ambassador will find her way out I’m sure. But it is my job to get you to safety!"

The ship was rocked by another blast, causing the lights to dim and flicker before coming back up to only about half strength.

"I’m not going to argue with you! I will not leave this ship without the Ambassador." Marra turned on her heals heading for the bridge. She knew Ford would be headed there first, since she didn’t have a fighter of her own aboard ship.

"Lady Kurrathian," The young guard took Marra by the arm and pressed a note into her hand. "The Ambassador told me to give that to you should a situation like this arise."

The blonde unfolded the note, sucking in a deep breath at its simple words:

Her shoulders slumped. She folded the note back up and turned to the guard. "Let’s go."

"Thank Capri." The young man sighed and led Marra toward the shuttles that were being used to evacuate the civilians aboard.

* * *

The communication officer listened to the transmission then blinked before even attempting to relay the message to the Ambassador who stood next to her at the weapons console. "Your shuttle is safely away Ambassador. Lady Kurrathian is aboard."

"Good." Ford breathed a relieved sigh. "I’m sure she went kicking and screaming, but at least she went." Ford’s attention was soon drawn to the view screen and the battle cruiser that was now headed for them. "Well, I wasn’t expecting that."

The Ambassador looked to Garron Richards. Every fiber of her warrior being, telling her to get involved and take command, but knowing that to do so would undermine the young man’s command ability after this crises had passed, so she remained silent.

Her eyes tracked the battle cruiser and its weapons systems. She waited for the gun ports to open. Every moment that they didn’t, she began to realize what a horrible mistake she had made.

She searched the space around the ship with frantic eyes. They landed on the shuttle that carried Marra then quickly carried back to the battle cruiser. "It’s not me they want…" She realized quickly. "Carry on Richards. Do what you must to keep this ship safe and make a retreat as rapidly as possible. You know the coordinates that we’re headed for. Do whatever you must to get this ship there."

"Yes Ambassador. You will be?"

"Trying to save my wife’s life."

Ford bolted from the command deck. Carefully making her way to the fighter bays, avoiding the skirmishes with the troops that had boarded by listening to the tactical reports over the com links.

As she neared the flight deck she realized that getting in the front door wasn’t going to be possible at all. At the last possible moment she headed for a ladder that would allow her to climb into a service corridor and make a rather stealthy approach to the bay area. She listened intently hoping for a piece of good luck that would allow her to make it to a fighter.

Opening the hatch slowly she watched as a few troops had a final look around and left he bay, securing the door from the outside and declaring it secure.

"Yeah, that’s what you think." She grumbled as she dropped to the floor below and moved to a remaining fighter.

She climbed aboard and placed the helmet on her head then pulled the hatch shut preparing for a fast launch. Ford knew she only had a short time to intercept her shuttle and serve as escort and protection for it. She was mentally kicking herself for not realizing what was happening sooner. If any harm came to Marra because of her own preoccupation she would never be able to forgive herself.

Ford eased the fighter out of the bay, using her own override code to open the bay doors. She trusted Richards to do his best from his position on the bridge to protect her on her departure and she set the fighter locating systems to find and lock on to her shuttle signal. Then she let the ship go and waited for the shuttle to come into view.

She opened a secure com link to the shuttle and tried to raise the pilot. There was no answer and as she approached she could see the hull had been breached and the shuttle had been boarded. Her heart sank when she glanced to the battle cruiser several thousand feet to her right. She knew deep down inside that’s where Marra was at this very moment.

"Capri protect my wife and child." It was a short prayer, but it was the most heartfelt one Ford had ever uttered.

Taking a deep breath she guided her fighter directly for the battle cruiser. She knew she’d have to do something to get their attention.

"Okay, where is the plasma vent on this thing?" She made a quick reconnaissance flight around the ship. She smiled when she found the port she was looking for. "This is going to be close."

* * *

Marra struggled against the chains and the hands that led her. "Let go of me!"

Her ‘escorts’ ignored her protests entirely and tightened their grip on the little blonde, half walking her, half dragging her down the corridor. They finally stopped and opened the doors to the cell, roughly pushing her inside before sealing it.

She stumbled a bit, barely catching herself before she hit the corner of the small bed with her belly. An action she was more than concerned would have hurt the baby. She rubbed her stomach and spoke very softly. "It’s all right little one. Your mother will come get us. We’ll be all right."

She settled down on the bunk and began examining her shackles. Her mind tried to focus and not think about the fact that she had been removed from the shuttle so quickly she hadn’t had time to react. She had no idea what had become of her staff or of…Ford.

She snorted and refocused on the shackles. "If Ford were dead I’d know it. I’d feel it." She realized in very short order, as she tugged on the shackles, that for the moment, all she could do was wait.

* * *

The crash was hard and fast, as most crashes were expected to be. Ford hadn’t been able to maintain the control she would have like and her ship had ended up on its side, skidding to a halt. She heard the alarms and knew she only had a few minutes at best to free herself from the wreckage. She tore her helmet off using its hard shell to bust out the hatch. Pushing the debris clear, she pulled the harness from her body and started to pull herself out. That’s when she felt the pain in her hip and leg.

"Oh no," She groaned, looking down at the bloodstained material of her jumpsuit. "Wonderful, just wonderful."

She gritted her teeth against the pain and pulled herself free. But even as she attempted to stand upright she knew that if she could walk, she couldn’t run and if she walked, she would be leaving a bright red trail that could be followed by a blind man with a reasonable sense of smell.

She decided to make an attempt to move further into the battle cruiser, ripping the sleeves from her jumpsuit she made a field bandage for her thigh. "Women," She muttered as she tied off the bandage good and tight. "Didn’t have this problem before I fell in love."

Ford move cautiously along the wall of the small corridor, finally finding a hatch. With some effort on her part, she put her shoulder to it and pushed it open. Slowly, painfully climbing out she dropped into a main corridor of the cruiser, ducking quickly into a doorway to allow herself a moment the regain her breath and hopefully a bit of her equilibrium.

* * *

Marra’s arms were tired and the shackles were heavy, string to bite into her flesh, causing it to rub raw and bleed. She tried to hold her hands still, but her nervousness made that almost impossible.

She lifted her head and stared at the tall man who filled the doorway when the cell door slid open.

"I’m Garron Beagin."

She dropped her eyes and stared at the floor. She was determined not to respond to anything he said.

"You will be taken to the med lab for an exam to make sure you are in good health before I take you home to your father. Then you will tell us what you know of Kurrathian’s mission."

She remained seated and silent. Beagin entered a little further and gestured. "Please, don’t make this harder on yourself than need be. You can walk or we can carry you. It doesn’t matter to us."

Marra raised her hands. "Is this really necessary for the daughter of Lord Hadrin?"

"The daughter of Lord Hadrin, no. The First Wife of Ford Kurrathian, yes." He gestured to the door once again. "Please."

She stood and slowly approached the door. Beagin followed her out, taking her lightly by the elbow and guiding her down the hall. "What will happen to me now?"

"After we destroy Kurrathian’s ship we will return you to your father. Those are his orders."

"Why would you destroy the ship? It is basically unarmed and loaded only with civilians and the barest of crew. It is on a diplomatic mission."

"Our orders are to see to it that Ford Kurrathian dies."

Marra’s stomach turned in knots. She had to find a way to keep them from destroying the ship. Not just for Ford but for the family and crew. "Why haven’t you done it yet?"

"That is not your concern." He nudged her down another corridor toward the med lab. "Your only concern should be returning to your father and your family."

"The same father who gave me over for experiments and slavery?"

"He did what was in the best interests of our people. He did what was required. Your father is a patriot."

"My father is a beast."

Beagin led her into the lab and turned her over to a med tech. "Complete physical. Make sure there are no transmitters or termination devices implanted anywhere."

"Yes Garron. And if we find anything unusal?"

"Remove it and try not to kill her in the process. Lord Hadrin would be very upset."

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