Dust flew as the shuttle made its final approach. The hand on the throttle felt no challenge, not in the landing anyway. Getting permission had been more of an issue, Mark was certain he was delayed on purpose. He had little choice, at least since he'd lifted off the Tempus Volat. It was a Mobius class vessel with temporal applications. It was a Legion ship with roughly two hundred fifty loyal Legion members of mixed origins. It was also running low on power. The warp engines were still functional, so travel wasn't the issue. It was some of the other more critical systems that wouldn't function without a supply of Deuterium.

Mark knew that he shouldn't have come, but it had been his decision to enter this space and push so far beyond legion controlled territory. Long range sensors had found this place, there had been warp signatures of ships coming and going. Mark had over ridden the protests of his first officer, the man needed to understand that this had been Mark's fault, and he would fix it. There was still plenty of work that needed doing on the ship, that wasn't why Mark had come alone. He needed to get away from the faces looking to him for a way out. There'd been no complaints, they were too disciplined for that, but he could see it in their eyes. Unless of course he was simply seeing what he wanted"

The dampening field had become more apparent the closer he got to the planet. It shed some light on why the ship couldn't get more than rudimentary information from its attempts to scan for Deuterium. The field was immense, It quite literally covered nearly the entire settlement below. There were a few breaches in the field, landing sites it seemed. Mark's scans of the breaches revealed that there were currently no other ships present. Mark keyed open a channel to the communication towers he'd spotted. "Shuttle Craft Hora requesting permission to land."

The voice that came back to him held a slight hiss to it, there was no video for him to get a look at the person speaking. "Shuttle Hora, ascend to thirty seven thousand feet and drop your shields for scanning." Mark let out a frustrated growl but complied. He didn't blame them, were it him he would likely have done the same. Protocol being what it was, they always scanned vessels encountered. It was just hard being on the receiving end when he had a mission to accomplish.

The tower initiated communications again. "Shuttle Hora, do not arm your weapons, and state the nature of your visit to Shin Kyoto." Mark put the weapons on lockdown, they hadn't said he couldn't raise shields though, so as a precaution they went back up. He may not be able to retaliate but he could at least be defense capable.

"Business, I'm hoping to do some trading." The radio went silent, leaving Mark wondering what was taking so long. There was another long pause then one of the landing sites lit up. According to Mark's scans though there were many which were closer to the settlement. He opened that channel once again. "Is it possible to land someplace closer?"

That hissing voice sounded once again. "Shuttle Hora will land near at hanger bay four, or it will return from where it came."

Mark complied, he seemed to have little choice. He dipped his head as he stepped from the shuttle, so few things had been made for someone his height. There were some who could claim more than his six foot six inch frame on his crew. None of them were human though. His black uniform hid a lean body of one hundred kilos, at least until you looked at the white trim across the shoulders and chest. Slightly unkempt dark hair, and brown eyes gave him what he'd been told was a boy next door look. Especially when that crooked smile came out and set his eyes to sparkling.

When he hit the tarmac with his boots, Mark took what he was sure would be his last reliable reading with the tricorder. The area wasn't completely empty but the life signs were scattered and moving" most of them were moving, there was one that seemed to be staying in one place. Mark started moving in that direction. He'd never felt quite this alone before, buildings rose around him in states of disrepair. The entire place seemed empty, hollow. He carried a phaser, but knew it wouldn't function. He hadn't tried but the tricorder had died the moment he breached the edge of the dampening field. His comms had gone down too, so there was no way of getting a hold of the shuttle or a way to beam out should he need it quickly. It made him feel like he was being watched, which unintentionally had his head on a swivel.

The seemingly abandoned buildings didn't help any either. They rose like monuments to the dead, and littered the horizon no matter what direction he looked. Not that he could see much from those blind alleyways he kept finding himself in. He'd have sworn there were more alleys than actual roads, not that this mattered either since there was no vehicle traffic on street or in alley. That was when he saw her, or thought he saw her. He wasn't sure what the building was, or had been, all he knew for sure was that someone was there and it was the first person he'd seen since landing. Mark took a breath to steady himself and stepped into the lobby. He fixed Ayumi with a crooked smile despite the way she hid her eyes behind a pair of reflective glasses. "Dampening field got you stuck too?"

There were always protocols involved, first contact with a species had rules of engagement. Mark was ignoring several of them right now, but in his defense they were a long way from home through hostile space. Salgarian space shared no border with Legion space, he wasn't ready to say that to her yet. Neither was he ready to tell her that his being here was an accident. Somehow it never came up, she led him through "The Hollows", at least that was what she called it. He could see why the name had been given, so much had been abandoned. He wondered at the cause, but every time he was ready to broach the subject something steered him away.

Mark could tell she was military, the way she moved screamed it to him. The way her shoulders worked with her hips to maintain that center of gravity spoke of experience in ground warfare, yet she claimed to be a pilot. He wouldn't say she wasn't, he still claimed to be a pilot even though he'd been years in the captain's chair. No, in his mind it was once a pilot always a pilot. There were those who chose to forget where they came from. That wasn't really correct, the person he meant was forced to become something different. It came down to reflexes, nanoseconds mattered in the cockpit. He'd done his share of ground warfare too. It was impossible not to have if you were in fleet when the Federation came to blows with the Romulan Empire.

He'd survived where many of his friends hadn't. It had changed him though, made him bitter in a way towards a system that allowed its enemies to go free after committing atrocities. He wasn't the only one to have felt that way either. Oddly enough many of those cadets he graduated with were of a similar mind. Then again maybe it wasn't so odd considering that those who started the legion had all been prisoners on Galven XII. All except for Mark that is, he'd been sent away on a ship, his mission to break through the Romulan blockade and bring help. He'd done his job, gotten through, the Romulans shattered the resistance hours after his departure. His friends were prisoners of war for weeks under a green lieutenant. They almost never talked about the things they endured to anyone but each other. Mark knew, one man had told him, that green lieutenant and probably his best friend.

It was easy to speak to Ayumi about the virtues of The Legion. They truly were a melting pot of species that all shared a common interest, keeping their sector of space from being subjugated to anyone. Mark began to feel like a recruiter as he prattled on, but so long as Ayumi had questions he would answer. He wasn't sure what it was about her that had brought up the old memories. Perhaps it was the way she seemed to do everything as though she had a purpose. It could be that she reminded him somewhat of his best friend and the man he claimed he was searching for.

He hadn't lied exactly, but there were enough people searching for him that Mark had decided to follow his fears. He knew in his bones the Romulans were hiding something. Part of him saw Ayumi as a source of information that would be invaluable in this sector. The rest he had to admit saw her and was intrigued. She had advised letting her do the talking when they reached her contact. It would be as good a test as he could think of for her.

Shin Kyōto, despite its size was still just a small way spot in the sector. The planet was M class, with a breathable atmosphere and plenty of vegetation. The planet itself was larger than earth and would certainly have greater gravity. The fact that the settlement was so high in the mountains meant thinner air and fatigue would become greater. Mark made up for some of these difficulties by his size alone. Ayumi's pace would have been much for some to keep up with, but the length of her stride was already something he was comfortable matching. He wasn't out of shape either, making sure to spend time doing daily physical training. That wasn't what had him lying awake though.

The night had come on more quickly than expected, a storm rose the droplets of water drummed at the roof like a million tiny hammers. Thunder rolled through the mountains, the echoes seeming to go on forever. This wasn't the problem either, if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't sleep he'd have been lulled into it hours ago. Incense filled the air, the aroma like heavy spiced wine that was not unpleasant in the least. He breathed it in and knew that it was another thing meant to be calming and aid in giving sleep. Sadly it was having the opposite effect on him.

Ayumi had shared enough of her story for Mark to understand that coming here had been as difficult a decision as he could imagine. She hadn't given her rank though, Mark couldn't think of it as anything else. Back on earth it would likely be a title, a traditional role that had long since gone out of practice and use. Here the government was run as an empire, the titles had meaning and a place within the structure. There were rules, and he'd inadvertently broken one of them. Dr. Shi had needed to step in and remind Takahashi that Mark was a guest in his home, and ignorant of Salgarian ways. It was such an easy slight to make, especially as he hadn't been informed it existed. Her name, Ayumi, spoken with no honorifics no addition of rank and title. Takahashi had taken offense, he'd let only a few words go in English before reverting to Salgarian in what Mark could only assume was calling his parentage into question. It was strange, Ayumi had given him her name, but really he was the only one who used it. He'd heard others name her Ta"em, this was first seen with Takka the merchant whom they'd traded with for Deuterium.

This wasn't what kept him awake though when he should have been asleep long ago. He'd eaten a little slower than everyone, kept his attention on how things were done and imitated them as well as he could. Dr. Shi had of course, he'd provided Mark with eating utensils he was accustomed to. The glares never stopped from Takahashi, but he was pretty sure that relationship was already set in concrete. They were forced to stay, the ship wasn't far but in the dark the predators would come. He had no reason to doubt the words of Shi.

After the meal, they'd retired to their rooms. It was perhaps a loose interpretation of the word. A screen of silk was all that separated him from her. Even now he could hear her breaths in a tone just under the beating rain. He'd had folks closer in much harder situations. Warzones meant camps, and camps meant bunkmates and beds that were never ideal. He may not be used to it anymore, but in comparison, this was downright private. Yet he laid there, he'd long since stopped trying to force himself to sleep by keeping his eyes closed. He turned over as quietly as he was able, not overly difficult with the beds being on the floor. Their last conversation kept replaying in his head. He'd seen others look at her, some curious and others with an interest that went beyond casual. Hell he'd encouraged her to be open, she was a member of his crew now. There would be time for her to get close to someone. Someone more appropriate than him. Besides, there was no indication that she had any interest in him outside of as her captain.

So why was it so difficult to get the words out to her" To try and convince her to see people and form relationships" Why did the whole thing have him talking himself in circles and forgetting that she was with him as he started to get ready for bed" When the realization hit him that he was half dressed and she wasn't yet out of the room he stopped talking. He did what he always did when needing to think. He started to workout, just calisthenics and really only push-ups. He used the physical exercise to loosen his tongue better. "Men look at you, will want to pursue you. That should come as no surprise because you are quite attractive."

He hadn't noticed her move from the opening in that silk dividing screen but she was knelt in front of him before he was more than a few reps in. She held his gaze and spoke clearly to him. "I want no other to pursue me." It could have meant anything. It might have meant she wasn't interested in any relationship.

Mark pulled his knees up, and sat on his heels. He searched for something to say, questions to clarify. Before he could give voice to any of them though his hand was on her face and he was kissing her. She didn't expect it that was certain. One thing he had gathered from observing the Salgarians was that they were not a species that engaged in a lot of physical contact or displays of affection. He'd expected her to strike out at him, and end his advance in no uncertain terms. What he got was far more confusing. She hesitated a moment at the contact, then relaxed and returned the kiss. It went no further, not physically anyway. Mark couldn't get it out of his mind though, taking it further down as many pathways as he could easily think of. She was a member of his crew, but' every time he started out with that thought it always held a but in it.

Mark rolled over again and huffed slightly. He listened to the sound of Ayumi's breathing and wondered if she slept. Was she dreaming" Of what? Or was she as awake as he and thinking" He could simply say her name and find out. He could but' but he wouldn't.

Mark was waiting, he couldn't hear anything, he was sure that Ayumi would signal if there was trouble. He took a position behind another rock formation, his rifle propped and trained on the opening. How long should he wait before he checked on her" He didn't necessarily feel any different, just the nagging worry over her being out there by herself. There was of course a wondering if he were far enough out of sight that she wouldn't look into his head and know everything that he had thought after she had left him to try and sleep. Time ticked by and there was still no sign of Ayumi.

Mark may seem calm but he wasn't exactly patient. He was headed back to the opening when he couldn't sit back anymore. The polyweave armor formed over his body, he activated a personal shield generator and turned on the overwatch dampening field. He hadn't heard energy weapons, or any weapons for that matter. It was what he had though and might give him just a little more resistance to whatever was waiting for him. He looked to the space that Ayumi had been in when he left her and saw her glasses, lying there on the ground with her no where in sight.

She had admitted she had just one pair of the glasses and he knew that she wouldn't have just left them there if she had any choice. He picked the reflective glasses up, clipping them to his shirt as he peeked outside. The sound of a phase gun had him ducking down for cover but the glimpse out had told him Ayumi was in danger.

Ayumi was two feet off the ground and struggling against something invisible. Her body was twisted, she had a gun in her hand but her arm was being bent at what looked like a painful angle behind her back. There was something around her waist, noticeable from the indentation in her shirt, something was crushing her ribs, probably why she hadn't called out to him. She was about fifty feet from the cave's entrance and moving away quickly.

Mark picked up his rifle again. He adjusted the beam to it's lowest level knowing that a full on blast would hit both Ayumi, whatever had her and likely the vegetation three feet to either side. Running forward trying to get a better angle. She fired a second shot, it didn't seem to do much but the thing shifted her body upward slightly and that gave him a shot. He took it, aiming low.

The impact hit the unseen enemy, taking it and Ayumi to the side. The grip around her midsection tightened and as bones and filaments cracked she finally got a sound out, a short cry of pain. Her eyes had been shut against whatever weapon they had used to stun her initially, and also the knowledge that Mark was somewhere near and she didn't want any of her abilities to affect him. The burst of pain and she lost focus for a moment, her eyes opened and when her gaze swept the area she saw Mark nearby with the rifle. Of all the things that could go wrong the thought of harming Mark accidently was the worst she could think of and an involuntary shout escaped her. "No!" Shutting her eyes tight once more. Her struggles redoubled, there was a way....it would mean more pain but it should get her free.

For a brief moment Mark saw Ayumi's eyes, in that moment it was as though every thought in his head was visible like the brush strokes in a painting. The worry at her predicament, the horror of seeing her being carried by something invisible, and the anger that anyone would try to separate them. If there was more than that he couldn't tell, his pace increased at her cry of 'no'. He couldn't feel anything of his efforts to chase them down, only the strongest desire to catch them.

As he watched, preparing another shot Ayumi twisted her body, planted a boot on an invisible body and used it to push and give her space. It meant that the arm that had been pinned behind her was pulled in a direction it was never meant to go and she felt the ligaments give way as the shoulder dislocated from its socket. Ignoring the pain she reached the dagger she kept at her waist and used the momentum she'd gained to stab down at the arm that pinned her to the creature.

Its howl echoed in her ear even as she was unceremoniously dropped to the earth, landing on the dislocated shoulder and gasping in pain. There was the sound of another weapon burst and a moment later Mark was there, next to her. "How badly are you hurt?" He sounded worried to her, her eyes were shut tightly so she had just the timbre of his voice to judge.

"I am fine, but I lost my glasses and my dagger. I need them both." The glasses were absolutely necessary but the dagger, that was of high importance to Ayumi. It was a family heirloom and she would not, could not bear the shame of losing it. "Were you harmed?" The answer more important than she would let on.

Mark spotted the knife but made no move to retrieve it yet. He just looked down at her and knew that she wasn't really fine. "You aren't 'fine' Ayumi," He moved to help her rise taking her good arm in his hand beneath the shoulder and settling her hand on his leg to give her something to brace on. "I see your knife, we'll get it in a minute, first things first. I want to get that shoulder reset, and figure out what else might be wrong with you."

His fingers touched the glasses he was carrying, he was tempted not to give them to her, the exotic beauty he'd seen in that brief moment was something he wanted to experience again, despite the way his brain seemed to go on overload. "I'm the one that's fine, and worried about you." Mark gave in to guilt and pulled the glasses free, he put them against the hand on his leg. "You dropped these bright eyes." That's what he seemed to remember most about them, how vivid the coloring was.

Ayumi took the glasses with a soft, relieved sigh and slipped them on, her finger sliding along the edge to activate the seal. Once in place her body relaxed noticeably and she placed her good hand against his chest. "Trust me when I say I am well enough. I will need to tend to the injuries but I can function." Then because that wasn't completely true. "Mostly, if you can help me get my shoulder back in place that will make this easier. The knife is important, I can explain to you later why but I need to retrieve it."

She ignored the comment about her eyes for the moment, she couldn't address it yet. There had been impressions in the moment she looked at him and she didn't have time to sort out what she had seen. It felt like peering into a persons soul when she looked at them like that and that wasn't something to take lightly. "I would say we should go after them but I think it would be a wiser course of action to return to the town. "

The priority for Mark was getting her back to the relative safety of the village. He wished he had more time to enjoy that hand on his chest. He took a deep breath and grasped the dislocated arm. "I'm gonna count to three, then put it back into place." He let his gaze go to her face, to the glasses that hid her eyes from him. He licked his lips and began to count. "One..." He didn't say any other numbers, just pulled at the arm lifted and twisted it back into the shoulder joint. Perhaps it seemed cruel to lie about the moment but when three came he didn't want her to resist. Better to just do it when she was relaxed and not expecting it. She grunted softly as the shoulder was pulled back in place. "I'm sorry." It was all he could think of to say. He stood and stepped away from her bending to retrieve the knife that seemed to be more important to her than her own physical condition.

"We can sort this out when we get back to town, after we get the rest of your wounds tended." Dr.Shi should be able to help, if Ayumi allowed it. He retrieved the knife and returned it to Ayumi, who put it back in the sheath at her waist without comment.

"Back to town then.? He said and she nodded.

She had only been back from the away mission for one day when a transmission came from Salgaria, the timing of it was suspect but there was nothing to do but accept it and confirm her fears. It took only a moment from her asking to have the transmission put through to her quarters that the face of Tatsuo Ta"em appeared. He looked the same, in her life she could not remember him looking like anything other than the man she saw before her now. Immutable, implacable, and cold, those were the things she got from the First-Baron of the Salgarian Empire.

"Father. I did not expect to hear from you." The words spoken in the calm, cool tones that were her trademark. She had fallen into a ready stance, as informal a position as she ever had with him. She would not kneel on the floor to speak to him in this manner, he would have to accept that was something she only did in person. It was not a sign of disrespect, she simply did not think it appropriate at this time, in this place.

"You are my daughter. Did you think I would not want updates on your well being while amongst strangers?" His words held no warmth, it was obvious where Ayumi learned the way of removing emotion from her words.

"Are we going to pretend that we have a normal relationship, Father" I would request that you give me advanced warning if that is what you are hoping. I have never been good at lying." No anger or sorrow clung to the words. There had been a time when Ayumi would have come to blows with anyone that implied her father did not love her like other fathers loved their offspring. He was just reserved, or that was the excuse she told herself to explain his aloof behavior. She had too many experiences now, too many years to see how other people interacted to believe that lie anymore. She was an albatross around his neck, something to be suffered for past sins.

"We are not normal, Ayumi. Do not attempt to bandy words with me. I am your father and you will respect me, or I will come and remove you from that vessel." It was not an idle threat, it was a promise. He knew that if he began the process of retrieving her that she would go home to prevent bringing problems to the ship....bringing problems, or was that more problems, to Mark.

"Forgive me, Father." Infusing the words with as much obeisance as she was capable of producing. Falling silent until he gave her leave to speak again.

"Remember that you are a Ta"em. Even now, even where you are you must keep that in mind. Life is for one generation; a good name is forever."

"When have I ever threatened the Ta"em name" During the cycles I fought' During the cycles I did nothing but serve with honor and integrity?" An edge, soft as a summer breeze gave the words a bite. "I will not do anything to shame you Father. You can set your mind at ease and move on with your life."

"Silence child. You know nothing. You will continue to know nothing if you insist on remaining in the dark." His face seemed to soften, a moment and then gone, like an earthquake that briefly shakes off the top layer to reveal the one below. "Some day you will understand, Ayumi."

"You mean some day you will decide to tell me." The words left her mouth before she could stop them and she dropped to her knees and bowed low. "Forgive me, Father."

"I expect a communication from your Captain. If he continues to court you without asking my permission I will become angered. Take care, daughter, I will speak with you soon." And then the communication was cut and she was left alone in her quarters. She did not rise up, remaining on the floor. Far away and outside of the Salgarian influence her father still weighed heavy upon her life. She had thought he would be happy to have her gone, to let her fly free at last and disappear.

"Court me?" The words seem to cut and wound something inside. "No. Not that." She would need to figure out how her father was getting information or ....or" Or she would have to try and keep away from Mark, that thought cutting deeper than the words.