Dariux reached for the comm unit, pausing momentarily before pressing the button.

"Maroq," Dariux said into the comm unit. "It's Dariux. How is my mother?"

"Yes, Dariux," came the woman's reply. "Same. She has good days and bad days."

Dariux sighed and she could see the pain in his eyes – pain she wished she could take away from him. She'd take it on herself if she could.

"I understand," he said. "Listen, I can't say too much on an open comm, but that contingency we discussed?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"We need to pull the trigger on it," Dariux said. "Things out here have gone sideways and I need you to put my mother where we talked about. As soon as possible. I'll be back to collect her as soon as I can."

There was a pause on the line. "Are you okay, Dariux?"

"I'm fine for now," he said. "I just need to make sure my mother is stashed away somewhere safe."

"Understood," Maroq replied. "It will be done immediately."

"Thank you, Maroq," he said. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

"You can tell me yourself when you get back here," she replied. "Get back here soon, Dariux."

"I will. I promise," he said. "Helios out."

Lyra swiveled in her chair to face him. "I hope that's a promise you can keep."

"Yeah, me too," he said.

The flew in silence for a few minutes and she could feel the tension growing thicker in the air around them. She was nervous, she couldn't deny it. Scared, not knowing what was going to happen or what would become of them. She knew they were up against some powerful forces – forces that had the ability to swat them like flies if they wanted to.

But, Dariux was confident they could give themselves a running start and a chance. That was all they could hope for. So, she put her trust in him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Computer."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Initiate entry sequence."

"Initiating."

The computer guided them down through the planet's atmosphere. Lyra was so consumed with her own thoughts and worry though, that she couldn't take the time to appreciate the world that appeared below them. Part of her was afraid there would be men with guns waiting for them when they landed. That this had all been for naught and they stood ready to scoop her up and take her to the pits anyway. That same part also worried that she'd have to watch them kill Dariux in front of her – because of her. Because he'd taken a chance on her.

"Hey," he said, making her look up at him.

He held her gaze steady and a roguish little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Just remember, you didn't get me into this," he said as if intuiting her thoughts. "Although I don't know what to call this thing between us just yet, it's obvious to me that I care about you. I got myself into this because I wanted to. And nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do."

Her smile was uncertain, but hearing those words come out of his mouth did make her feel better about things – if only a little.

Dariux turned back to the console in front of him and went through the procedure to secure a landing spot. When he was granted permission, he told the computer to take them down and land. A few moments later, there was a soft thump as the ship settled onto the landing pad. Dariux went through his shut down procedures. Once the ship had shut down, he paused and let out a long breath.

"What is it?" she asked.

He looked at her, his own smile suddenly a little uncertain. "Those seven back there," he said. "I just have a feeling that we're letting chaos and death walk straight out of the ship. That's a dangerous crew and I'm pretty certain they're going to do some bad things."

"Yeah, I'm not sure you're wrong about that," she replied. "But, what they choose to do isn't your fault."

"Part of me thinks I should have airlocked their pods," he said. "Because I feel like I'm going to feel guilty about any crimes this little gang commits."

"You're assuming they're going to be running around committing crimes."

His bark of laughter was short and sharp. "You saw them," he said. "You can't believe they're going to walk the straight and narrow."

Lyra shrugged. "Probably not," she said. "But, they could. Stranger things have happened. And besides, you're not a killer. Firing them out the airlock would have made you feel ten times guiltier."

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a long breath, still clearly at odds with himself.

"You're probably right," he said.

"I know I am," she replied. "And you can't beat yourself up worrying about things that could happen – things that might never happen, oh by the way."

He gave her a small smile. "I'm a master at beating myself up though."

"Well, you're going to have to find something else to be good at," she said. "Besides, you have me to beat you up when you step out of line now."

Dariux leaned across the console and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Damn right I do," he said.

He sat up again and pushed a button on the console. Lyra heard the whining and groaning of gears as the cargo bay ramp lowered. He hit another button and opened a communications channel. He punched another button and a vidscreen came to life, giving her a view of the hold.

"Welcome to Torv," Dariux said into the comm, his voice echoing throughout the ship.

On the screen, all seven of the former gladiators turned and looked at the ramp as it was lowered. Sunlight from outside flooded the interior of the hold.

"Good luck out there," Dariux said. "And remember – be good."

The woman turned and seemed to be looking straight at the camera – which was strange since Dariux had told her it was hidden and practically invisible. The woman smiled and gave the lens a thumbs up sign, laughing as she turned away and joined her new gang as they headed down the ramp.

When they were gone and the hold was cleared, he raised the ramp again and they sat there for a long moment. Finally, he turned to her.

"You ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I can be."

"Time to end this," he said.

"Hopefully, once and for all," she replied.

"And just think," he said. "To hopefully keep the Syndicate off our backs, all we have to do is die."

She let out a long, nervous breath. "Don't remind me."

He gave her a serious look. "If you want to stay down here on Torv while I – "

She shook her head and took his hand, squeezing it tight.

"No," she said. "We're in this together, all the way.”

He placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "Then let's do it," he said. "Let's go die together."