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Life goes on, even when you want to slam on the brakes. The twists and turns that come cannot be avoided. One had to face them head-on and make the best of the situation. For the Dancing Lights Clan, that meant letting things play out as they will when it came to Travis. For Travis himself, that meant taking a long look at what he wanted in life. He wanted to be happy. He wanted to have a family he could come home to. He had started considering the Dancing Lights Clan as that family. Especially after Serenity came and pulled him into the fold. Now Baiyoshay and Sequoia were wanting to be a part of his direct family as well. It was overloading everything Travis believed in and grew up with. A learning curve was set before him, and he was well behind said curve.

Travis had taken most of Eighthday to ponder and contemplate his situation. While most of the holiday weekend was spent with Dancing Lights Clan, he had gone home after dinner on Seventhday. He needed time to himself. Serenity respected his request which Travis was grateful for. Shi didn't pry reasons out of him nor did shi try to force him to accept hir help. This was something for him and him alone. He had taken Eighthday to play his bass and ruminate. He had actually played so hard and long that he made his fingers bleed. His thoughts were focused entirely on the question that he had since Remembrance Day: where did he stand in his relationships with Serenity, Sequoia, and Baiyoshay?

This question for most other beings would have been laughable. He was Serenity's Companion and friends for now with Sequoia and Baiyoshay. Serenity wanted him in hir life without any true commitment yet. To Travis, that translated to a somewhat deeper version of friends with benefits. While crass, it was an apt description for the situation he found himself with hir. It had all the makings of physical and slight emotional intimacy without any of the commitment. Their version of emotional intimacy was not to the level of what Serenity and Sequoia had. The relationship between them was strong and deep, while his position could easily be dissolved if himself, Serenity, or even Sequoia deemed it necessary. Which was smart in its own way. It allowed Serenity to investigate him and make sure they were a good match before taking the dive. He could guess that shi was wanting a little more time before shi declared anything more than just being Companions. That thought brought him to the next part of his problem.

Sequoia was a whole new can of worms. Their pseudo-relationship was only based on and through Serenity. Sequoia was Serenity's denmate while he was just a fuck-buddy. He was the epitome of a true friend with benefits to Sequoia. There may be slight emotions attached, but those were fleeting and easily dissolved. However, that wasn't the whole story. Even if that was where they were now, Sequoia was making noises that shi wanted something deeper with him. Whether that was from Serenity or himself, he didn't really know. What he was sure about was he didn't want to ruin anything with Sequoia and Serenity's denmateship. If he knew for certain that he would end up causing strife for them, he'd pull back and cut off all contact. It would hurt like nothing else. He was willing to make that sacrifice if it meant they could be happy. If you loved someone, you had to let them go.

Then there was the whole problem with Baiyoshay. Hy seemed to have grown a little more into Travis since the barbeque. That put Travis in somewhat of a tailspin mentally. He had been a Companion for about a week. If a second person started interacting with him like that, in his mind, he'd be disrespecting Serenity. It was one thing to have that interest from Sequoia since shi has already established hir position to Serenity. But to bring in someone new less than a week after being together rankled Travis to no end. He couldn't see an effective way to navigate that heartache. The only real thing he could possibly do was to talk to Serenity. That was a dangerous option, though. He didn't know which way shi would fall on that. He should have, though. Shi was a Chakat. Shi believed in love growing with more people, not dividing. His brain conveniently forgot that fact.

The whole crux of this confusion (and partial memory dump) was from when Serenity kissed Kairen. He should have guessed that they'd be intimate. Kairen was all sorts of loveable boisterousness. He couldn't blame Serenity for wanting to be intimate with the other 'Kat. He was also pretty sure that Amethyst was also on that list. Granted, he had heard that some Chakat sisters had a special bond that evolved into something physical. A weird dynamic, to be sure, but it seemed only Chakats could make it work near one hundred percent of the time it happened. These seemingly higher beings were able to love anybody emotionally and physically they could click with. He guessed that was probably the reason he and Serenity had grown so quickly in love. He just wished he could get over his Humanity and accept who he was intimate with.

Jealousy was a very ugly emotion. It stemmed from possessiveness and control. It showed up when someone was encroaching on what was considered yours. Travis knew that was a sort of heinous thing to think when applied to another living being. You couldn't really possess someone else. That was considered slavery and had been outlawed for centuries. In a monogamous relationship, the boundary of having no others had to have some form of consideration to have the concept of infidelity. A poly relationship on the other hand, which is what he was technically entering, was a different beast. Everyone in the relationship was communicating what was going on so that no one was left in the dark. That openness and transparency would be the only saving grace to make such a dynamic work. Travis just couldn't bring himself to communicate, though.

He didn't want to voice his jealous thoughts. The reason for his silence was the source of where such thoughts were coming from. They weren't based on Serenity moving outside the relationship. Using that excuse would be the highest form of stupidity. Sequoia would have more leverage to use that if shi so desired, as would Amethyst. Travis knew both would never use it, though. No, his jealousy came more from how these other beings could emulate the perfect form of compersion. Sequoia was not angry or unhappy that Serenity was pursuing him or that Serenity should be intimate with other people. The very opposite was true. Shi was pushing them together and was happy doing it. Travis was jealous that he couldn't afford the same courtesy.

When Serenity and Kairen kissed, his Human nature screamed out in confusion. The dark side of his mind raged that everyone else flaunted their carefree compersion in his face. His heart lamented that he couldn't be happy that his Companion could find love in other people. He had never been truly intimate with anyone. He couldn't be like a Chakat and just look elsewhere. His introversion and fear kept him from exploring. He wished he could be, though. Maybe he wouldn't be in this situation if he had been born different.

There was one aspect that he was struggling to come to grips with. He wouldn't have been mad if Serenity had kissed Sequoia. That begged the question of why it bothered him so much that it was with Kairen. He came to the conclusion that since it was Kairen, who was supposed to be in a denmate relationship with Amethyst, he viewed it as something akin to being unfaithful on both their parts. He couldn't feel happiness for Serenity that shi loved hir sister and hir sister's denmate. It was like some mental chain was attached to a Human idea of propriety and ethics. He had to get rid of it if he wanted to stay with Serenity. The only other option that he could see if he couldn't get himself in order was to leave hir. His heart wouldn't like that. Neither would shi for that matter.

His mind kept circling around the issue that he knew as the foundation for all this turmoil. He needed to grow to accept compersion. That required letting go of his desperation for love and family. He had to be okay if he had no one. He had to stand on his own. He had to find assurance within himself that Serenity loved him and wouldn't just drop him if someone else came by. He had to believe for himself that he was worth the time and effort shi had put into him. He had to find some form of inner strength to trust Serenity with his heart and mind. His past, though, came back to laugh at him.

When he looked back on his life, he realized he had never been real with others. He always had a mask on that protected him from scrutiny and pain. He had tried to wear that mask in front of Serenity but shi had seen right through it. He couldn't hide his heart from hir. Shi easily broke through all the mental barriers he had placed. Shi looked into his soul and saw something worthwhile. Whatever that was, he was sure it was the exact opposite. He couldn't convince Serenity of all this to his great frustration and hidden glee. He was agreeable to let that sleeping dog lie for now.

There had to be a way to not let his Humanity break what he had found. He wanted to emulate the Chakats compersive attitude. He wanted to be truthful with Serenity. His timidity came from what that openness would hold for him. Being that vulnerable was scary. There were so many different ways shi could hurt him if he bared everything to hir. Shi could weaponize his shame to great effect is shi wanted to. He knew shi never would. Shi was too kind for that. His fear would not let him be that vulnerable to hir. He was killing himself slowly with the stress from this problem. The answer was simple. He just didn't want to take it. The minefield was too vast and dense to take the first step.

---

Thirdday of Week Twenty-Two rolled around as most days usually did. Travis woke up, got himself ready for the day, and went to his bus stop. Work seemed to fly by for both him and the rest of Team Warp Core. Several simulated tests had been conducted for the warp core on First and Secondday. On Thirdday, tug boats had moved the Orion far enough away from Gateway to start live testing. They were going to be doing what amounted to a complete shakeout for SI in Engineering. The idea was that by the end of Week Twenty-Six, Team Warp Core would be finished, and the Orion would be ready for her first cruise. That would be the start of the F.S.S Orion Modernization Test and Evaluation project. She'd be the proving ground for all new technologies produced for Star Fleet.

For Thirdday's test, Ardiz and Travis would be on board the older Galaxy starship manning the SI consoles. Serenity and Kris would operate one of the TM Rooms on Gateway to make sure data was being transmitted. Tucker would stay on board as well in support just in case something had to be fixed quickly. For efficiency purposes, another technician had come as well. The rabbit Morph male was nearly as new as Travis, only having about ten weeks on the Human. He was promising in his knowledge. Just needed a little more field experience to get him past the Dunning-Kruger effect. Other than SI, the entirety of the Engineering section for Orion was on board.

Travis was sitting at the SI console with Ardiz waiting for the all-clear for the test to start. The Chief Engineer was getting hir crew ready in main Engineering, the Starwalker Breed Stellar giving out orders as final checks were conducted. Main power was being supplied by the auxiliary backup generators for now. Once the core was online, they'd switch to main power and bring up SI. Then testing will truly begin. They'd get baselines for standard operations, hard shutdowns, some emergency simulations. All of this was to certify that the warp core was alive and not interfering with any other system. The number of tests, procedures, and recordings needed would take a full week and a half, maybe two to go through and review. There was so much to do and so little time to do it.

“All callsigns, all callsigns. Gateway control. Be advised: Eff-Ess-Ess Orion now conducting warp core startup and testing. Maintain a five-hundred-kilometer distance from holding zone two-three-delta-niner. Gateway, out. " SI was tuned to the transmission frequencies for convenience. Gateway control was the command center for all space travel in and around the Chakastra system. They did not deal with anything in the atmosphere, as that would be handled by the ground stations. Luckily for Orion, they did not need to worry about any traffic from planet side or from space. Gateway control would maintain strict boundaries around the starship for safety.

A new voice said, “Hunter actual, Gateway control. Traffic is now clear. You are authorized for warp core start-up. Emergency services standing by on one-three-nine-point-six-niner. Transporter systems are 'go' for beam out if required. Good luck on your tests. "

Lieutenant Commander Sunspot, Chief Engineer of Orion, responded with, “ Gateway control, Hunter actual. Copy, traffic is clear, Hunter is authorized for core run-ups. Emergency services on one-three-nine-point-six-niner. Transporters are 'go'. Thank you. Hunter, out. " Hir response was quick and professional as all readbacks should be. Shi continued by initiating a ready-up account. “ Hunter actual to all Hunter teams: say status. "

To help with communication security and efficiency, each ship was given a callsign during operations. Orion's callsign was Hunter given the mythos of her namesake. Hunter actual was always the person in charge of the ship at that time. Usually, this was the captain or first officer. Since neither were on board, that duty fell on the chief engineer.

“Engineering Cee-Two. Prechecks complete, standing by."

“Helm. All systems show green across the board."

“Ops. Crosscheck complete. Concur all systems green."

Ardiz leaned over to their mic and said, “ Hunter Ess-Eye is ready. "

Serenity's voice followed with, “ Gateway Ess-Eye. Ready to receive. "

Sunspot's voice came back in response. “ Hunter actual copies all. Cee-Two, you may begin startup sequence. " And so, it began. Engineering C2, or Command and Control, ran everything from main engineering. Helm was the bridge's navigation position. They would make sure they could bring up warp capabilities from their console. Ops was the Operations console right next to Helm and acted as an overall system observer. They would also be able to tell Sunspot if things weren't right from the bridge. Hunter SI was always the engineers and techs on board from main SI, along with Gateway SI. A total of about sixty people, not including the emergency crew and Gateway personnel, were required to conduct the evaluation.

It would take about twenty minutes before the warp core would be up to speed. During that time, Travis was content reading his book. He wanted to focus on something other than his problems and limitations. They had been vying for his attention to the exclusion of nearly everything else. He was drained and sick of his Humanity. He wanted to shuck off everything and focus on just being happy. His dark thoughts just wouldn't let that happen. They were insistent that he needed to give up. He was going to crash and burn if he didn't get his mind under control. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon at this rate.

Barely five minutes had passed when Ardiz had noticed hys colleague's turmoil. While not as empathetic as a Chakat, hy could still insinuate that the Human was agitated. He kept twitching slightly in his hands. He was alarmingly paler than what he should be and he was breaking out into a severe cold sweat. His eyes may have been looking at his PADD, but they were unfocused. He was seeing something else. His mind was not here in the present. Ardiz decided enough was enough.

Two quick snaps of the finger jolted Travis back to reality. He gasped as the world came back into focus. The fog that had surrounded him lifted its hold, though a split second of panic did take him. He reacted by moving into a defensive stance to counter the perceived attack. When he noticed that the only person near him was Ardiz, he started to relax. Ardiz gave a comforting hand to Travis' arm.

“Travis? Are you alright?"

“Yeah, sorry, Ardy," he responded while rubbing his eyes. “Been thinking too much. I keep getting lost in my own thoughts."

“Are you getting enough sleep at night?" Travis paused for a moment to think hard on that answer. He had not been getting good sleep for years. Normally, he'd just push through the exhaustion to finish whatever task was assigned. The few nights he had spent in Serenity's arms, he had experienced a restful and deep night's sleep. He had noticed the difference in quality. Too bad he couldn't get it every night.

“Sort of. I've never really slept well. Too many nightmares." Ardiz didn't seem convinced. Hy pulled back and crossed hys arms over hys chest. The raised eyebrow and downturned lips did not give Travis confidence that Ardiz would leave this alone.

“That's not the whole story, is it?" Travis winced and looked away. He wasn't used to people scrutinizing him. During all his years as a mercenary, no one really cared what his mental state was. Well, two people did, but they couldn't really do anything about it.

“You're not going to drop it, are you?"

“Nope. I always say that talking about things makes it easier to understand. So, talk to me, Travis." Travis felt a small spark of rage light off. So many people had been trying to get him to talk and it was starting to piss him off.

“What is it with you Chakonans wanting to air my dirty laundry? What if I don't want to?"

“Travis Archer!" Hearing his last name got his head to snap around in shock. Ardiz was not happy. There was a slight growl to hys voice that denoted that Travis was on very thin ice. “Keep your baseless accusations to yourself. I'm not here to attack you, or to force you. I'm only trying to be a good friend and coworker."

Travis sighed and said, “I get that, Ardy. It's just difficult to talk about myself."

“I understand that, Travis. But that gives you no right to accuse me of wanting to harm you."

“I know. I'm sorry." Travis hung his head in shame. He didn't want to cause strife, nor did he want to treat Ardiz like a stranger. His defenses were trying to keep him safe. He was harming a potential friend in doing so.

“I'm willing to listen to whatever is bothering you. That's what colleagues do for each other." Travis was tempted with the offer. He had talked to Serenity plenty of times, but he couldn't talk to hir about this! He had to try, though. There would be dire consequences if he didn't. His Human brain tried one last desperate attempt to get Ardiz to leave well enough alone.

“It's a Human problem. I don't think you want to hear about it. Besides, I don't want to burden you."

“Try me." That confidence was surprising. It seemed that Chakona had given him so many people that wanted to help. He needed this release from the stresses of life. So, he decided to talk.

“You know I'm currently in a relationship with Serenity, right?"

“Yes, shi told us. We thought it would happen with the way shi had been looking at you." Travis had to chuckle at that. Hy wasn't wrong. The moment they met she was all over him. Like white on rice, as they say. Travis should have known it would come as no surprise. “Wait, you two aren't having a fight, are you?"

Travis yelled, “No! No, we aren't fighting. I'm just…" He had to pause as he gathered what he wanted to say. There were so many issues going on in his head. “I love hir, and I believe shi loves me. Shi loves so freely, it's infectious. I feel like a leech to hir sometimes. Like all I do is drain from hir."

“Why do you think that?"

“I can't seem to love like shi does. I'm trying so hard to let my insecurities go, but they just keep coming back. I'm losing my mind over here." Travis' head fell into his hands. He started to pull the short hair on his head, or tried to. When that didn't work, he started to dig his nails into his scalp. The pain helped keep him centered, but it was merely a stop gap. He had to find a solution to his problem.

“Have you tried talking to Serenity about it?"

“Oh, deities, no! Why would I want to do that? This is a Human problem. I have to solve it myself."

“But that's the harder path," Ardiz said wisely. “A burden shared is a burden lightened. Do you think shi will dislike you because you're having a problem?"

“Shi'll think me stupid for having the problem in the first place. I'm a Companion to a Chakat; I shouldn't have these insecurities." Ardiz seemed to get really steamed at that. Hys ears went flat to hys head. A snarl came upon hys face that was enhanced by a very high pitch hiss. A foot stomp was added to finalize how pissed Ardiz seemed to be.

“That's a load of crock, and you know it! Have you tried talking to anybody about this? Gone to a therapist? Anything?"

“I can't, Ardy. There's no therapist anywhere on Chakona I could talk to."

“Can't, or won't?" Hy said with a slightly hostile tone. It wasn't meant to be aggressive to harm. Ardiz was frustrated at hys coworker's supposed attitude. Travis was stonewalling any chance to improve himself, and Ardiz was getting sick of it. Things were going to change.

“Both. There are so many hoops I would have to go through to receive any care like that, it's not worth it. The therapist would have to be briefed, sign a multitude of En-Dee-Ay's, pass rigorous background checks, and go through kilometers of red tape just to know what I did. So, I won't because I can't." Ardiz seemed to heavily deflate with that realization. Travis had effectively removed the winds from hys sails.

“That doesn't mean you can't talk. Would it be possible to--?"

“Hunter Ess-Eye, Gateway Ess-Eye." That was Serenity. Ardiz looked over to Travis with a glare that said 'We'll be talking about this latter'. He went over to where the mic was on the console and tapped the transmit button.

“Go for Hunter Ess-Eye."

“Ardy, can you check the power converter temperatures for the core? I don't like what I'm seeing. " Both Ardiz and Travis looked at each other in confusion. Travis went to his console and started looking at the data coming in. What he saw scared him.

Serenity was right: ambient temperature was way outside of normal ranges. In fact, it was still rising. The only reason for those power converter couplings would be overheating would be either the core has run away on them, or they lost cooling. Checking the core, he saw that it was acting normally. There were things that were slightly off, but nothing that denoted the core was going critical. The problem was elsewhere. Since cooling was the only other possibility, he went to check the coolant pumps. The data showed that the pump which fed those couplings was reading low pressure. The other pumps were feeding to their assigned locations. However, there was one pressure sensor that was rising much quicker than the heat of the couplings. That sensor was connected to one of the junctions that fed to the warp core for cooling. The reality sunk in to Travis immediately. He had worked on plenty of cores to know what would happen.

“Oh, shit! Ardy, give me that!" He pushed Ardy slightly away from the mic and switched channels. He needed to act fast before things went to hell in a basket. Time was of the essence. “Emergency! Hunter actual: scram the core! You're going to--" Too late.

The explosion rocked the ship like a bucking bronco. Travis had to grip the console to stay upright. There was yelling and call outs from the comms. Travis could hear Sunspot trying to get a status update. There were several other calls from the emergency services on standby. Alarms had started blaring warnings in their usual screeching pitch. Several red lights started pulsing. They were now in an emergency situation.

Travis looked up from his position and said quietly, “Lose a pipe."

Sunspot yelled on the comm, “ Cee-Two, status report!"

“One of the coolant lines exploded in section four! We're leaking coolant! Core is overheating! We'll lose the core if we can't cool her down! "

“Shut off the core! Get that coolant leak under control!" Travis shook his head in horror. To have an emergency pop up like this was Travis' worst nightmare. If they continued to lose coolant, it was very possible that a fire would start on board. That would kill them all in a fiery death. That wasn't the worst of it. If the power couplings overheat enough, they'd lose containment. Then the entire ship would go out in an explosion. That would atomize them. Travis had to do something. He was probably one of the few people on board who had enough experience with warp cores to know enough details to have any chance of rectifying the situation. He got himself righted and turned to his co-worker.

“Evacuate! Get the fuck off this ship!"

Ardiz called back, “What about you?!"

“I'll help where I can! Get back to Serenity! Tell hir I love hir! Go!" He ran out of the little room for SI on board. Ardiz watched in horror as the Human hy had grown to consider hys friend ran into harm's way. The fool.

---

On Gateway, Serenity and Kris listened in shock and horror as conversation devolved. They looked at each other with mouths agape. Alarms had started going off throughout Gateway when the mayday call had been declared. Emergency transporters were already spooled up. Serenity and Kris left TM Room Three at a dead sprint to head to said transporters. Shi had to push hir way through the crowd before the crowd parted for hir. Shi rushed into the room right when Valardiz stepped off. Shi rushed to hys side and brought hym away from the pad so the next group could evacuate. Once they were out of the room, shi hugged Ardiz to hirself as Kris came up from behind and sandwich Ardy between them.

“Where's Travis?" Serenity asked after releasing Ardy from hir hug. Ardy took a shuddering breath before shaking hys head. Hy ground hys teeth as tears started to fall. Serenity didn't need hir empathy to know what Ardiz refused to say. However, hy was able to get hymself to tell hir something.

“He said to tell you he loves you." Ardiz couldn't say anymore. Pure despair engulfed hir. Thoughts of hir Companion dying in a fiery death consumed hir mind. Shi had just found him, and now shi may lose everything shi had built with him. They would lose a trusted friend, and there was nothing shi could do to stop it.

“No. Please, no!" Shi ran to the closest window and looked out in the direction of Orion. Shi couldn't see it, but shi could feel the direction of Travis. Shi cried out into the darkness of space. “Travis! Please, sugar! Please!" Shi fell to hir belly as sobs wracked hir. Hir shields failed and those around hir could feel hir despair. Some of those around hir came next to hir and offered their condolences. Shi cried till shi could cry no more. Shi ended up in an almost catatonic state as tears freely fell.

---

On the planet's surface, Braveheart was in the middle of a hearing. As the district attorney for Amistad, shi was one of the best prosecutors out there. Shi was fair and all about justice. There were rumors that shi was going to end up being a sitting judge if things kept going hir way. Prime Minister Sunflare had given hir approval for Braveheart to become a new sitting judge after the Honorable Mike Zukowski retired next year. Braveheart was looking to be the new district judge for Amistad if confirmed by the council. From there, shi would discuss with hir family if shi should stay at this level, or continue on to the Supreme Court. But that was for a later time. For now, shi was comfortable in hir job. Shi'll cross that bridge when shi gets there.

Shi was presenting evidence for a criminal trial regarding a conspiracy to commit murder. So far, the trial was going hir way. Communication records and concrete plans had been entered into evidence. The defense team was trying everything to keep the sentence light by offering a plea deal. This hearing was to discuss the deal and decide if the judge and prosecution would accept what was offered. So far, Braveheart was more concerned about justice being served than getting the maximum sentence. Shi would take the deal if justice was observed.

The judge decided to leave the final decision to the prosecution, “Shir Braveheart, has your team come to a decision?" Braveheart stood from the table and nodded to the judge. The elderly Chakat that presided over this trial had been sitting in the district court for nearly forty years. Shi still seemed as spry and energetic as a young adult.

“We have, your honor. We will accept the plea deal and suggest a lower sentence. Thank you."

“Let the record show that the prosecution has accepted the deal. We shall continue with the trial and sentencing. Braveheart, Daniels, please approach the bench." Both lawyers came forward to talk to the judge. On the way, Braveheart froze. Something was wrong.

The defense lawyer noticed when shi had stopped. He cocked his head in confusion. Hir tail started whipping around widely. Hir hackles had risen considerably. A low growl was building, but was contained enough to not get the bailiffs involved. Hir ears were laid back while hir eyes seemed to see something invisible.

The Human asked quietly, “Shir, are you alright?" Shi didn't answer him. Shi was still in hir own little world. However, one word escaped hir muzzle before the spell lifted.

“Serenity…" Shi shook hir head and seemed to come to hir senses. The judge asked if shi was alright this time. Braveheart answered in the affirmative and continued to the bench. Shi wondered what had happened to hir daughter to cause such a reaction. Hopefully, everything was alright. Shi would hopefully find out tonight.

---

Baiyoshay looked up from the report hy had been listening to. Even though hy could feel everything around hym, the written language was still difficult. Hy knew Braille which allowed hym a general way to read. His reports, though, had to be written by an assistant and read aloud. That assistant was a Lynx morph female that had been working with hym for a few years now. They had solved several criminal cases together. Hir skill at sniffing out information from people allowed her to be the interrogator at the scene while Baiyoshay reconstructed all the events. A perfect team if there ever was one.

Hy had felt the blast of fear from above, then the shock. While hys skill usually covered about ten meters around hym, hy could focus in on objects much further away. Hy had been able to see things happening on Chakona Gateway pretty regularly, but had immense difficulty getting to the mining operations on the moons. It also disabled his 3D map for a more general sense. Hys friendship with Travis had given a slight entry to the Human's signature. Baiyoshay could get a direction at any distance. The further away Travis got, the less and less Baiyoshay could effectively see until there was nothing to see. At Chakona's surface, trying to see Orion only gave vague shapes and feelings. Nothing concrete enough to work on.

Even if the surroundings of Travis were blurry and greyscale, Baiyo could feel hys friend doing his duty. He seemed to be conversing with someone else. Then something he had seen spooked him really badly. The next thing Baiyoshay knew, hy was seeing visions. The mutual friend had laid the groundwork for passing along important information when needed. This was how that was accomplished. The things Baiyoshay saw were to be a warning for Baiyoshay on what was to be said and done. Travis would need hys support after this ordeal. Hy was more than willing to provide.

“Be strong, love. The upcoming trial will test your resolve and faith. We will stay by your side. Soon, you will see an old friend again. Shi misses you." Baiyoshay's assistant stared at hym as he mumbled hys prayer. Hy sighed longingly for the life hy wanted to come about. The happiness they would have wouldn't be realized unless Travis was willing for it to happen. He just needed that extra push to take the plunge. “Trust in us, love. We all love you." Hy shook hymself out of hys daze and turned back to hys assistant.

“Are you okay, Detective Baiyoshay?"

“I'm fine, Miss Dohan. Please, continue?"

---

Travis rushed into main engineering and directly into chaos. People were trying their hardest to get things under control. Sunspot had run down from the bridge to take over. Shi was barking out orders to the crew. It seemed that they still haven't gotten the core shut down. The power couplings were overheating and starting to get a slight red glow. If those grew too hot, they would cause a warp core breach. They'd all be dead at that point. Travis was bound and determined to not let that happen. He just had to get in there.

He rushed to where Sunspot was working on trying to shut down the core. The pipe explosion must have destroyed the controls. Travis knew of a few other ways that could effectively shut down the core, but that would require a few things that have to be working. If there was significant damage to the core itself, they would lose the ability to shut it down or eject it. They didn't have a lot of time. They needed to do something or they were all going to die.

“Chief!" Sunspot looked back at Travis as he ran to hir. Shi seemed a little surprised at his appearance in hir engineering section. Shi decided to voice hir confusion.

“What are you doing here?! Get to Gateway, and--"

“No time! You need my help!" He rushed to one of the consoles that he knew controlled the core. He continued, “I might be able to get the core to stop, but I'll need time!" Shi ran over to him and hovered over him. He started going through everything he remembered on warp cores and emergency procedures. He started using several of those procedures to try to get the core shut off.

“How much time?" Sunspot asked.

“Core won't go critical for another thirty minutes as long as we don't get a fire!" He was pretty confident that he could get the core to shut down. He just hoped his fear was unfounded.

Remember how Murphy likes to cause mass mayhem and chaos when you say stupid things? Well, he decided to make his appearance. The coolant had dripped onto a power bank nearby where the pipe had burst. The power bank short circuited and started a blaze right where section four was. The flames quickly started spreading all over. The fire sensors caught the blaze and started a fire alarm.

Someone nearby started yelling, “Fire; fire; fire! Suppression systems active in section four!"

“Better make that five then!" They were now on borrowed time. Their only hope they had was for the fire suppression system to contain the blaze. If that didn't happen, they would have to vent all the maintenance spaces. That could work, but the risk would be pretty high. Here's hoping they could survive this.

The same person said, “Fire suppression is working, but the coolant is still feeding the blaze! We need to cut the flow!"

Someone else screamed, “Coolant control is malfunctioning! Need a manual shut off!"

“Copy that!" Sunspot responded. “Jhovanny! Take Guillan and Ervin and get that pipe shut off!" The officer and two shipmen hurried off to do their assigned task. As they left, Sunspot turned back to Travis. Shi noticed that he was rapidly moving through commands and screens faster than shi was used to. He seemed to quickly move from one test to another. He was trying to get the core to stop the matter/antimatter reaction before they lose containment. “You! What's the status of the core?!"

“Core controls are shoddy! I'm seeing all power couplings overheating! Can't seem to get the core to shut down! We need to purge the heat and shut it off manually!" A purge of this magnitude was unheard of. To facilitate this, several heat sinks were installed to pull heat away from the core in certain circumstances. Heat dissipation was usually through the coolant lines. A work around was to use the ship's air supply. If they used that method for too long, they'd cook like a Christmas ham. They needed another way.

“We'll start air cooling!" one of the other engineers reported. “We'll get ten minutes before we'd have to vent!"

Travis turned on the man and yelled, “No, air won't cut it! Not fast enough!"

“What about the fire suppression foam?! It's endothermic!"

“That'll flood the entire compartment and kill us all with its fumes! We have to do this the old-fashioned way!" He stood from the console and went to a partition of the wall near the core. He banged it open to expose a valve and hose. These were connected to the backup fire suppression system. It was connected to a reserve tank of water used only for firefighting. Travis pointed to two engineers and ordered, “You and you! Take the hose and start spraying the couplings!" He passed the hose to them before moving to Sunspot. “We can't shut the core down normally, so we have to hot stop it! Get someone up to the matter containment and get ready to shut it off from the flow control valve! I'll take the antimatter!" He didn't leave any time for Sunspot to stop him, so shi did what he asked.

A ladder was positioned for maintenance crew to climb down to the lower chamber for inspections and repairs as needed. The antimatter chamber was a tight space. While Travis never really had claustrophobia, he also knew how dangerous this would be. The whole experience was rough on him. His mind turned to its training and started going into a hyper focused state. The core overheating and water flowing on top of him didn't deter him. He pressed on to where the valve for the antimatter was.

The valve sat right on top of the antimatter chamber on the opposite side of the ladder. Travis would have to make a leap of faith to reach the valve. Normally, this wasn't a difficult jump. With the water flowing down the core from above, Travis was convinced that he was being stupid. One slip would be all it takes and he'd end up dead with a broken neck. He wouldn't be surprised if Serenity found some way to bring him back to life to kill him again for being such a daredevil. Shi may still smack him around for even trying this little stunt.

He took a few deep breaths and steadied his courage. He tensed his muscles and took the leap. For several milliseconds, Travis' life flashed before his eyes. All the things he'd done that he was proud and ashamed of. All the things he regretted not doing. He prayed to see his adopted family one last time. He wished to hold Serenity in his arms. He wanted to be off this ship and on dry land. There were so many things he wanted in life that he hadn't taken advantage of. He was missing out on life because of his fears and cowardice.

He landed on the other side with a giant thump. His grip tightened on the core as best he could. The deluge of water coming from above soaked him to the bone. Fighting exhaustion and adrenaline, Travis climbed his way up the valve. He knew his body could handle the punishment. He had gone through worse things in his life. This was a cakewalk in comparison. Yet, he did not let his mind stray from what he had to do. His focus was entirely on shutting down this core and getting everyone to Gateway. He needed to see Serenity again. To do that, he had to get up there.

Once he was at the valve, he reached for the hard shut off switch. He made sure he had a strong grip in the lever that would stop all antimatter flow to the chamber. The other lever at the matter chamber was similar to the one here. Both had to be flipped at roughly the same time to avoid a disaster. Travis held on for dear life as he waited for the call. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long.

“Status, you two!"

“I'm ready!"

“Ready down here!"

“Copy that! On my mark! Three!" Travis gripped the lever a little tighter. His thoughts drifted to his love. Serenity would be on Gateway. “ Two!" Shi'd already known by now that he was still on board. Shi's probably crying, thinking that shi was going to lose him. Shi shouldn't be crying for him. He wasn't worth hir tears. “ One!" His muscles clenched and his teeth ground into themselves. Everything was dependent on this one chance. The core had to be shut off, or they were all going to die.

Serenity, I love you and I'm sorry…

“Mark!"

He brought the lever down with a clang.

---

Back on Gateway, Serenity was still despondent. While shi could generally feel what was going on with hir Companion, their bond wasn't strong enough yet for hir to know exactly his status. It frustrated and scared hir. Shi wouldn't even know he was dead until his signature faded. Shi had run hirself ragged trying to deepen the bond. Shi had been hoping that over time, it would grow naturally. Forcing it seemed to drain hir emotions and strength. Shi didn't even know if shi could cry anymore. Shi was too tired.

Kris and Ardiz stayed by hir side. Their comfort and support kept hir from totally unraveling, but they could only do so much. Shi wanted Travis back. Shi wanted him safe and sound. Sure, he'd get a tongue lashing for not evacuating with Ardiz. Shi'd be happier to see him alive than to throttle him. Shi also knew that once hir family found out about this, they'd also have their own words to say to him. Shi also could see Baiyoshay giving him a few licks hymself for his stupidity. Shi just hoped they would have him back soon. Shi didn't want to end up at a funeral. That'd break hir and hir family's heart.

A feeling came over hir. From the depths of the inky blackness of space, shi felt hir Companion reach out to hir. Shi felt him for a split second, but that was all it took. Shi could feel everything from him. His hopes and dreams. The fears and shame. All of it was encompassed in one feeling that was being broadcasted to hir. His love was vast and deep. An indomitable beast that could move mountains. A shamed vagabond that wanted to be brought in from the cold. A great warrior that brought destruction to those who threatened his family. A lonely soul that wanted to bare everything but was afraid of the consequences. At that moment, shi knew Travis was thinking of hir. Shi couldn't tell if this was a goodbye, or if he was telling hir he was okay. Fresh tears burned in hir eyes.

A commotion drew hir attention from hir internal thoughts. A Federation officer and Gateway official were standing right by the transporter room. They had been mostly conversing quietly between themselves for the most part. When a new voice started talking on the radio, the atmosphere changed. Both of them had quickly crowded around the transporter console. Shi quickly stood and joined them.

The Federation officer asked, “Hunter actual, last transmission was garbled. Please say again."

“Gateway, we have shut down the core, and contained the fire on board. Situation is nominal. Request transportation off of Hunter. " Did that mean the emergency was over? What about Travis? Was he okay? Shi wanted those answers, but kept silent.

“Copy that, Hunter actual. Transporters are on standby. We can beam you out at any time." The transporter techs quickly started making their calculations to begin moving the crew off Orion. Serenity stepped away to offer room. Shi sat on hir haunches and waited.

The first group to arrive were a few of the engineers. They were taken by some medical staff to be checked over. The bumps and bruises they had didn't require a hospital stay. In fact, the only thing of any worry was a small amount of major heat exposure from the three who went up to shut off the coolant pipe. The burning coolant had necessitated some protective equipment that kept them safe but they were still affected by the heat. A few days under observation during treatment, and they should be back to work. The last group was the Chief Engineer and Serenity's Human.

When Sunspot and Travis arrived at Gateway, Sunspot turned to him and gave him a pat on the back. Shi was happy to be alive. He had not only saved hir life, but the lives of hir team and saved the ship itself. He was a hero in hir book. Shi would put in a good word for him to get a medal or some commendation. Shi mentioned this to him which brought him to laughter. He claimed that wouldn't happen. Hir response was for him to be more open to the possibilities. Shi walked off the platform and into the waiting medical team's arms. He also stepped down, shoes squishing annoyingly. Being soaked in work clothes was not a fun experience. That was really the only thing that was off for him. He had nothing else to worry about. He wasn't even exposed to radiation, which was a miracle. He was released and told to go home. There was just one person he had to see first.

After passing the medical team, he was greeted by three familiar faces. Kris and Ardiz were relieved to see him. They greeted him with a few waves and thumbs up. He saw Serenity push hir way through the crowd. He braced himself as shi collided with him. They embraced as two lovers reunited. He clung to hir just as hard as shi clung to him. They had survived this trial as champions. They had spit in death's face. The tears they shed were testament to how strong their emotions went and how far they were stretched.

“Oh, sugar. I thought I lost you." He rubbed hir back in comforting circles. He thought that he would be lost as well. He wouldn't have minded too much several weeks ago. This time was different. He didn't want to put Serenity through this again.

“I thought I was, too." That seemed to cause a spark since Travis ended up getting a bonk on the head.

“You idiot! Why didn't you evacuate with Ardiz?" Frankly, he didn't know fully why. Sure, he wanted to help. He had enough experience to be an asset. Yet, he could have advised Sunspot on possible fixes from the safety of Gateway. Why did he need to be on board?

“I needed to help. There was too much going on and I needed to be there. I'm sorry, Ren. I didn't want to make you worry."

“Fool. I'll always worry about you. I love you, sugar," shi mewled to him as shi came closer for a kiss. Travis accepted it and returned the affection. They continued like that for a few moments just reveling in the feel of the other. They separated the kiss and nuzzled each other. “Come on: we're going home. Kris, Ardy; see you tomorrow." Shi pulled him away from this transporter room to catch a beam down. The other two engineers agreed and followed them to the next room.

Travis asked, “Wait, what about Gearbox? Shouldn't we--"

“Don't worry about that," Kris said. “I'll talk to hir when we hit the surface. You two need time alone together." Travis could agree with that. He wanted a few hours surrounded by family. His mental facilities were a little bit fried and the adrenaline withdrawal was hitting him hard.

The four SI engineers were transported to the surface, each to their own home. Kris surprised his third wife at his sudden entrance. The female Caitian had jumped into his arms when he had entered their home way earlier than expected. He would later tell the tale to his family about one Human doing the impossible. His first wife made the suggestion that they should host a dinner to celebrate Travis' bravery. Kris agreed with his first wife and tasked her with making the plans. Kris hoped Travis would agree to come by.

Ardiz would be greeted by his roommate, a Chakat hy had grown to care for as a Companion. Shi would be hys rock as hy told hir how close hy had been to dying. Hy also regaled how his coworker saved Orion at great risk to himself. Hys roommate told hym that this Human had the biggest pair of balls to stay behind on an exploding ship. Ardiz had to laugh at that. Hy snuggled up to hys roommate and drifted off for an afternoon nap.

With Serenity and Travis, their reception was a little different. The second they appeared on the sidewalk outside the Dancing Lights residence, Diamond had almost instantly appeared in the doorway. Shi had felt hir big sister's wavering emotions right when the transporter had dropped them off. The shock of hir sudden arrival had both Diamond and Marathon moving to the front door. Seeing Travis all wet and Serenity clinging to him so tightly gave both of them pause.

“Dad, can we stay here for a while? We've had a bit of a bad day at work." That was an understatement. Marathon and Diamond could instantly tell that there was more to it, but didn't have the time to ask. Travis needed to be taken care of first.

“Of course, dear," Marathon began. “Go inside. Get Travis out of those wet clothes. Diamond, can you get a towel, please?"

“Right away." Diamond scurried back inside to do as hir mother asked. Travis was brought in by Marathon and Serenity. His legs had started to turn to jelly. The two Chakats supported him as they entered the house.

It was here that Lapis ran in from the backyard. Shi had been enjoying playing with a few of hir toys when shi heard a commotion coming from inside. Shi saw a very tired and wet Travis being guided in by hir eldest sister and hir mother. They helped strip him out of his wet clothes with no fuss from him. Hir older sister came back with several towels in hand which were used to dry him off. Now that he was dry, they led him to the family room. They ended up surrounding him.

Lapis had taken his lap and hugged him fiercely. Serenity cuddled up on one side while Diamond took the other. Marathon took the motherly role and enveloped them all from behind. The collection of purrs and fur soothed Travis. His own tears fell as he started to understand how close he had been to losing all this. Lapis felt his sorrow and pain, even with hir underdeveloped talent. Shi took off for hir room. A few seconds later, shi returned with something in hir hand.

“Travie?" Shi called him Travie. He normally never lets anyone call him that. It always was Travis. Trav was reserved for those he was close to. Travie always used to grate on him. Hearing that nickname come from hir didn't bring about his usual reaction. Instead, he felt a warm glow start in his chest. That glow was intensified when shi passed him hir Tiger Dolphin plushie. “Mr. Splash always makes me feel better when I'm sad. Would you like to hold him?" He held the plushie in reverence and awe. This sweet little cub had given him something more precious than just the plush. Shi had given him hope. Hope for a new day, hope for the future, and hope that everything will be alright.

“Thank you, Lapis. I feel better already." Shi raised hir head to his own and gripped him with hir little hands. This beautiful little angel gave him the words that he needed to fully come back from the brink of darkness.

“Love you, Travie. We all love you." His tears didn't stop, but a smile did replace the grimace he originally had. He hugged the cub all the tighter. Hir own purr tickled his chest. The others poured all their love into him. He soon realized just how much they all meant to him. He told them exactly how he felt. There was no better opportunity than now.

“And I love you all. Thank you." The Chakats held onto him for the rest of the day. They had decided that a nap was in order. They had curled up together for comfort in this trying time. Travis had been sandwiched between Serenity and Diamond. Lapis had curled hirself around his head with hir little plush next to hir. Marathon took on the matron role and encircled all of them as best shi could. That afternoon was spent in the loving arms of one another in support.