It was touch and go once they made daylight and exited the cave.  The not knowing as to when a sniper might decide to separate their head from their shoulders created a thick, slowing tension.  But as they drew closer to the air/rafts and the seconds turned to minutes it became the general consensus that there either was no sniper or he'd decided to leave them alone.

Teagan stood close to Keese, arranging herself to help support the proud woman in his arms.

Once at the vehicle, Keese lay Sheeba/Honey down onto one of the gravity couches and began to work.  His medkit was right where he left it. One slim clawed hand pulled Teagans hand down onto Sheeba's shoulder. "Here. Pressure on this point." he directed as he pulled a copper-colored glove-like device out of his case and pulled it on his other hand. After ensuring that Teagan was applying pressure correctly, he attached the device to a pad via optic cable, then spread his fingers and ran the glove/sensor over Sheeba's supine form.

He muttered to himself, ears flicking back as the data on his patient scrolled down the screen. He tucked the pad inside a vaccsuit pocket and began pulling ampules of various colored liquids from the kit, snapping them into place on the back of the hand sensor, just above where his knuckles would be.

"Thank you. You've done well," he said to Teagan, gently removing her hand and placing the glove above the damage site. There was a hiss as biological agents and anesthetics were injected into the wound. The doctor fished out his pad and consulted it again, running his glove once more over Sheeba.

Teagan watched closely as the doctor worked, scanning her databank to locate her medical downloads and follow along with what he was doing.

"I'll be able to stabilize her here, but she'll need treatment at a medical facility for true repairs." he said to no one and everyone. He ran a cool hand over Sheeba's sweaty brow and looked carefully at her eyes, noting the dilation as the sedatives took effect. He nodded, ears pricked forward to calm her. "I'm going to seal it with a pressure bandage. You won't feel anything. Lie still."

And that's what he did.

"You want answers," Honey/Sheeba finally asked the four who'd pursued her so well this day.  "Get in."

Adam wondered what exactly he was doing here.  This woman had attacked him and stolen the greatest discovery of his life.  He should kick her solidly or something and run away with the artifact.  On the other hand, whatever was happening promised to be quite an adventure.  As he climbed into the air/raft, he couldn't suppress a smile.  He was excited and curious, which was a potent combination.

After a moment's hesitation Gunnar moved to the pilot's chair and in short order got them into the air, following Honey's weakly-spoken instructions towards a set of coordinates in low orbit.  That meant everyone had to don a vacc suit, but everyone had experience in them except Adam, so it wasn't much of an inconvenience.  Gunnar helped the academic get dressed and Keese got Sheeba gently secured into hers.

Before the mountain had left their sight, Sheeba had Keese sit her up enough that she was able to use the small device in her hand.  The top of the mountain where the cave had been became a dusty fireball, the satchel charges clearly no bluff.  There was no sign of the Zhodani man who had confronted them, nor of another air/raft in the vicinity.

The smile vanished from Adam's face.  "What was that for?" he demanded angrily.  "You could have killed someone.  You were away fine, there was no reason to risk more lives."  He couldn't believe she had actually blown up a mountain.  What if there were hikers or other people around?

"It had... ad to be done," was her only reply, immediately followed by some wet and disturbing coughing. 

Aurora grimaced, but said nothing.  Shooting the Zhodani in the head would've suited her better, it would also have been less likely to draw attention to their operation from the local authorities.  Then again, she could hardly raise a complaint against the injured woman, it was clearly a personal vendetta and finishing it with an exclamation mark instead of a simple full-stop is probably exactly what she herself would've done if she had needed to make sure.  Besides, she wasn't even certain shooting a Zhodani Agent would stop him.  Even If he let her pull the trigger, who's to say he couldn't stop the bullets with his mind, or something?  This was only the third time she had encountered one up-close. 

Most of the time she just blew them out of the sky from several thousand K...

Sitting in the back, with Honey Love and the doctor, Teagan's face became shadowed with confusion.  "The signal...it isn't resonating as strongly now."  She looked down at the foggy dust where the mountain used to be and continued to process the situation.

Seemingly focused on the task of flying the air/raft, Gunnar inwardly winced. What the hell am I doing? he mentally chastised himself. Walk away! Just fucking walk away! An easy escort job had turned into choosing sides between one psychopath or another. And though he'd be damned if he'd admit it aloud, he was more than a little curious as to just what all the trouble was about. What was the artifact? Why was it so important? It wasn't about the money anymore, though he'd stick to that as his excuse--for now. No, he really did want answers.

And if he didn't like the answers....well, he always had options. Some of the lousy, to be sure, but options nonetheless.

"Where are we going?" Aurora finally said, having been silent and brooding since the cave.  "These coordinates aren't anywhere near the orbital starport."

"R-radio," Honey said, and Keese handed it to her.  She took a deep breath, or tried, and then activated it,.

"Nomad, phantom, shepherd, four, billy, leaking, exigent, sleeper."  Each word was pronounced clearly and in sequence, and then she dropped the radio handset showing how much it cost her physically to do so.

"Don't use the radio again," she said to nobody in particular before adding, "You'll get your money, and the mess with Danacava will be taken care of."  That had clearly been meant for Gunnar and Adam's benefit. 

"A pinnace is going to rendezvous with us at those coordinates.  They'll be running silent.  cough-cough... That's our ride.  Let them take us aboard and then do-cough-cough-hack... do... do what they tell you."

"Do what they tell me."  Teagan replied absently as she took note of the coordinates, pushing them into her internal navigation system. 

"Not a big fan of this plan so far," Gunnar muttered. But he was, as they said, in for a penny already. Might as well see where the ride took him.

"If you don't mind," Sheeba finally said weakly to Keese at her side.  "I'm going to pass out now."  And then she did.

Keese sighed in relief. "Stubborn woman," he muttered, then looked at the others. "Which of you can take us to the coordinates? I've no doubt you'll all be paid for your troubles." He glanced back at the mountain, shook his head and returned his attention to his patient.

"The air/raft systems should get us there.  The coordinates are located in a place off the regular star lanes, where the shadow of Overnale's moon falls.  We should go relatively undetected."  Teagan replied, her voice matter of fact and flat.

"We'll get there," Gunnar said flatly. As if he couldn't follow a computer's instructions.

As the others discussed how to get to the coordinates, Adam considered how best to get his hands on the artifact.  He looked carefully around for anywhere she might have put it.  Even if he couldn't leave with it, he could at least study it further, maybe begin to decipher some of the symbols on it or learn something of its history.  In his search, he couldn't help but notice that the strange scout had her hand resting on Honey Love's pack.

Taking a moment to glance back over his shoulder, Gunnar assured himself that Sheeba was indeed unconscious.

"Okay," he said to the others. "What do we know about this woman? What do we know about the artifact? And what the hell is going on?" He looked over his shoulder again. "Anyone?"

Satisfied that Sheeba was finally out and resting as best as the circumstances warranted, Keese sat back and regarded the assembled humans more carefully. "I'm her doctor. I came along because she felt I would be of use." He sighed heavily through his teeth as the terrain sped past below. "It would seem she was right." The Vargr tilted his head and added "were you in the room at the hotel? Did she take the whatever-it-is from you?" 

Teagan nodded at the question, but remained quiet.

"From them, technically" Aurora said, with a gesture towards Gunnar and Adam.  "But if their employer is dead, then..."

She looked out at the passing landscape for a moment and then shrugged, her facial scars twitching as she did.

"I don't know who the thing belongs to now.  To be honest, I didn't care.  I came along because I don't like not knowing who it is that's sticking their nose into my business, and now that I do know, I still feel like I don't know."

Determination framing her face, the older of the two women looked Keese in his eyes and declared, "I'm sticking around until I know." 

And a free, anonymous, off-the-books trip off-world is just the thing I need to make sure my tracks are covered, she didn't add.

Gunnar nodded. He couldn't have put it better himself. He didn't really care about any of the others beyond what help they might provide in clearing up the mess he'd found himself in. A clean ident and a paycheck were all he'd been after. So far things hadn't worked out all that well towards those ends. He really should've shot the Zhodani.

Adam sighed.  "It doesn't belong to anyone.  You can't own an artifact of the Ancients.  Unless it is turned into the authorities, we're all legally culpable.  Claiming to own it would just make it worse."  He began opening her bags and poking around.  "On the other hand, if you were mercenary enough not to care that you were breaking Imperial law and denying the universe at large the incredible knowledge this artifact might supply, it is also well beyond priceless on the black market." 

"No."  Teagan said, holding tightly to the pack still clutched by the thief.

Adam snapped his mouth shut and shot a glance at Gunnar.  Inwardly he cursed himself for his run away mouth.  Not that Gunnar didn't already know the object was valuable, but admitting its value in front of the psychopath was just stupid.  The archeologist wondered how long it would be before Gunnar was threatening to shoot him again.

Catching the slight, intended or otherwise, Gunnar opened his mouth to retort, then decided it wasn't worth it. He wondered if he should just shoot the guy and get it over with.

"While I didn't major in human psychology and behavioral models, I suspect it's rude by your species standards to go through another persons belongings," Keese said to the rummaging archeologist. "I'm sure she, or the people we are about to meet, might want to discuss that with you." The Vargr sat back, made himself as comfortable as possible, and waited. 

Adam shrugged, still looking for the artifact.  "It's also rude to attack someone, threaten to shoot them, have them arrested, kidnap them, or threaten to blow them up.  Not to mention probably killing innocent hikers, so I suppose it is just a day for rudeness."

For the first time since they left the cave, Aurora smiled, faintly.  She glanced at Adam with a look that might have been motherly or patronising but spoke clearly as 'What did you expect?' 

When the young man got to the strange woman's satchel, it being worn by her prone form over her shoulder, across her chest, he discovered what he was looking for.  The dull silvery metal of the cylinder he removed perfectly revealed the slightly indented elliptical etchings that ribbed its surface in a darker hue.  The foot-long object was perfectly smooth, but for the etchings. 

Of one thing he was certain, his scientific knowledge unclouded by the shock he had experienced the last time he held it, back in the hotel room.  Adam held in his hand something fashioned from a long-dead advanced race, something created over a thousand years ago.  It looked like it was made yesterday.

Immediately losing any interest in the woman or her other possessions, Adam moved to his seat and examined the artifact further.  He longed to know all of the items secrets, how it was made, why it was made, especially who made it.  Reopening his sketch book, he smoothly drew more pictures of the artifact, examining it from every angle and doing his best to recreate the etchings and any marks on it.

"Well?" Gunnar prompted from the front. "What is it? What's it do?"

Adam barely registered the question.  In an absent voice, not really paying attention, he replied.  "It is an artifact of the Ancients.  It fascinates me.  Any thing else will have to wait for me to finish my analysis."

"It's the signal."  Teagan replied as she watched the scientist.

Aurora shifted uncomfortably in her chair and looked over her shoulder at Adam as he examined the artifact. 

"Just don't blow us all out of the sky while you're playing, Professor."  She said, then threw a glance towards the Sword-worlder next to her.

"You must have heard the rumours.  Ancient tech might be fascinating, but it can be damn dangerous.  Frankly, the Imp's getting their hands on it would make me just as edgy as if the Zhodani did.  The bigger the bastard, the more damage they can do."

Keese kept one baleful black eye (and one gold and blak tufted ear) trained on strange little man holding Sheeba's prize. He remembered what he'd seen in the cave, but said nothing. She'd said it wasn't about money. She'd gone through extraordinary efforts to attain it and decipher at least some of its purpose. And while he really was nothing more than what he'd claimed - her doctor - he would have felt disloyal in a strange way to share any of this with these other people. No, best to wait and see what came next. Perhaps the ones waiting for them could shed some light on things. Hopefully there would be no more violence, as his patient really wasn't up to that sort of thing at this point.

He absent-mindedly ran a clawed hand down his vacc suit over and over again as he considered all that he'd seen and learned. Truly, the universe was a strangely wonderful and perverse place! 

The next half hour passed quietly save for the sound of the gradually thinning atmosphere outside the air/raft as Gunnar piloted them towards their rendezvous in orbit.  He seemed focused on his own thoughts and the thoughts of what was soon to come, as was Aurora.  Adam was completely wrapped up in the enigma of the cylinder, which was revealing nothing to him and yet strangely validated his years spent pursuing a field of study most had told him was a waste of his time and talents.  Keese maintained a careful watch over the unconscious woman strapped into the grav couch while Teagan watched over them both.  Her strange, neutral expression never gave away a hint of inner thought, even with the continual but significantly less intense pulses from the object in the academic's hands.

As they neared their destination, Gunnar spotted their objective.  A nondescript pinnace was cutting space towards them on a vector from Heap, the largest of Overnale's three moons.  It cut engines well before reaching them and executed a stabilizing maneuver, positioning itself for the rendezvous.  The cargo bay door in the rear of the small craft was already open and ready to receive them.

"Nice & easy..."  Aurora murmured, keeping a careful eye on the instruments as Gunnar positioned the ship.  Automatic beacon relays between the two craft should do all the fine maneuvering, but she felt the need to be in control, especially ship-side, where she felt most comfortable.  As they shifted from free-fall to the Ship's own light-G, Aurora felt the familiar nausea as her body re-orientated to a sense of 'up' and 'down.'  She glanced back to make sure none of her companions were suffering a more adverse reaction and, when she was satisfied, unclipped herself from the G-seat.

As soon as the air/raft was securely docked, the bay began to pressurize.  It took only a minute.  As the roof of the air/raft opened and slid back into the body, the hatch leading forward into the boat opened and a uniformed man stepped through.  He was youngish but not too green, with close-cropped red hair and too many freckles on his face than was truly called for.  The uniform looked Imperial Navy, but there wasn't any of the usual decorations, standards, or insignia.  There was nothing of the kind.

Aurora stiffened, warily examining the interior of the bay but the lack of armed guards and the casual attitude of the young crewman caused her to relax a little.

He stood at ease just off to one side of the air/raft.  "Welcome aboard," he said to all of them, right before asking Keese directly, "Is she stable?"

"She is, but I need to get her to a medical bay or lab or facility..." he waved a clawed hand in the air as he gathered his case. "Whatever you have here should suffice. And I'll need someone to help me take her there, if you can provide." 

"There's a full hospital where we're going," the crewman replied.  "If she's stable, I'd rather not move her."

Turning back to the group, he said, "Please exit through the forward hatch."  He stood back and gestured with one arm to the hatch he'd used to enter the bay. The doctor nodded. "I'll remain here with her then." He settled once more into the air car, and began rummaging in his case. 

"I'm sorry, sir,  but I'm going to need you to move forward with the others," the crewman replied firmly but respectfully.

The Vargr froze very briefly, then looked up at the man speaking to him. "Why?" he asked, ears twitching slightly. "She is my patient, and I'm not leaving her without a better reason than you've given. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, of course." Irritation crept into his voice. "There's been far too much insisting going on of late, if you ask me." he stated gruffly.

"You said she was stable, sir," the crewman answered, undeterred.  "If that's so then she'll be fine until we get to where we're going.  Until then I really need everyone to move through the forward hatch."

"If there's a problem, I'll come get you immediately," the crewman assured Keese.  With a nod towards the hatch, he asked, "Please, sir?"

Keese glared at the man, coal black eyes sparkling with irritation. She had said to do whatever they told us to do, he remembered. He let his breath out in an explosive near bark, snatched up his case, then headed towards the indicated hatch. "If anything happens to her," Keese began as he stomped past the crewman. He realized that threats really weren't his style, so decided not to finish the statement. Kasse would have no doubt shot the man stone dead for being impertinent. The thought made him feel marginally better. 

Adam stood up quickly when the hatch opened.  He slipped the artifact into his bag with his sketch book, then headed forward as directed.  Although he was irritated and confused, he still had a smile on his face as he wondered what adventure he was going on.  Whatever happened, it promised to be exciting.

Intent dark eyes watched the scientist as he laid claim to the artifact, as Teagan followed the others as she was instructed.

Aurora watched Keese thoughtfully as he stormed off through the hatch.  For a mercenary-medic, he was remarkably concerned for his employer.  Perhaps ingrained Medical Ethics, or that famous Vargr Loyalty... but maybe more. 
Honey Rose might be arrogant, dangerous and mercenary, but she didn't work for the Zhodani or the Imperium so maybe she wasn't so bad after all. 

The Erisian gave a shrug, a sympathetic smile and a half-salute to the young crewman before shouldering her bag & heading forward with only a brief glance back towards the air/raft.  They hadn't been restrained or disarmed and, at least while Honey was unconscious, it seemed unlikely they would find themselves in immediate danger of breathing vacuum.  Maybe they would even get some answers.

Gunnar finished securing and shutting down the air/raft before sliding out of the pilot seat.  He made a small show of adjusting his pistol in it's holster as he stepped out and onto the cargo deck, his eyes watching those of the welcoming officer.  The other man simply returned his look and nodded once - tacit approval as far as the Sword Worlder was concerned.  They weren't looking to disarm him. Gunnar resisted the urge to frown and instead settled for an affected casual, almost bored countenance.

Once through the oval pressure hatch in the forward bulkhead of the large cargo/docking bay, the passenger compartment revealed itself.  There were twelve seats arranged in three rows, all grav padded and secure.  Just to the right of the hatch, against the bulkhead, was fixed a small, low table that had been bolted to the wall.  On the table were two small cargo boxes, the lockable top panels open.

Standing at the forward hatch in this compartment was another crewman.  This one was taller than the first, and much more bulky.  He was similarly dressed in an unmarked Imperial Navy-style uniform and as with the other crewman, unarmed. His dark brown hair was high and tight and he stood in a relaxed at-ease stance.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," he said crisply and politely to whomever looked his way.  "There's refreshments on the table so help yourselves.  We'll be transiting out-system about six and a quarter standard hours before we get where we're going."

"Where is that?" Keese asked, perusing the offered refreshments: Imperial military rations filled the first box. He whuffed in resignation; the things were nutritious enough but tasted extremely bland to the Vargr palate. Still, the other box somewhat made up for the blandness of the first. Juice drinks!  He did so love straws... He snatched something claiming to be chicken, another claiming to be rice, and took two of the juice's - apple and orange. He then crouched down against one of the bulkheads, set the pouches carefully atop his case after activating the heating elements, and happily took a sip of apple juice. 

"I'm not at liberty to say, sir," crewman two replied.

The man's answer immediately caused Teagan to firmly settle into her surroundings.  She took in the people and the room, and then reached out beyond the physical boundaries that she could see.  Her mind fired into action as it began to familiarize itself with the ship's outer security network.  She knew that it might take a while before she could become one with it, but it was never too soon to see what she was up against.

The Vargr flicked his ears in irritation: he should have known. "Provided it has facilities that will allow me to treat my employer, you'll have no trouble from me." He took another sip of apple juice and eyed the others. 

Adam shrugged and sat down.  He was really curious where they were going, but was willing to wait it out.  No matter where it was, he probably hadn't been there before which made it exciting.  His fingers itched to get the artifact back out and study it more, but he wasn't sure how the crewmen would react.  Instead he pulled out his sketch pad and began carefully sketching pictures of the new people he had met, including the Vagyr and Honey Love, or whatever her name was. 

At this point Aurora passed through the door.  She moved past the first row of seats, occupied by Keese and Adam, stowing her gear in the compartment immediately beneath the aisle seat in the next row and placing the helmet of her Vac-suit on the adjacent seat.  Satisfied, she went back to inspect what refreshments had been made available to them.

Adam meant to stay quiet, but curiosity overwhelmed him.  He grinned at the Vargr.  "So, obviously you're a doctor.  How'd you wind up mixed up in this crazy business?"

The Vargr's ears went back: hadn't he explained to them all on he ride up that he was Sheeba's physician? He was fairly certain he had. Maybe the strange artifact-loving man had been focused on his prize and simply hadn't paid attention. Peeling open the strip on the 'chicken' pouch, he explained his own place in the day's events again. "Yes, I'm a doctor. I'm Sheeba's doctor, more to the point." He sampled the chicken - it was bland, but hot and contained several proteins and fats that his body was craving so he scooped up more. "That is how I got involved." He pointed at the crates. "You should probably eat." 

Adam nodded, suddenly aware that he was starving.  "Good thinking."  He poked around in the box for a moment.  "Cool.  I've always wondered what these things tasted like."  Picking out a ration pouch at random, he looked back at the Vargr.  "Yeah, I got that, I have just never heard of a doctor that does house calls before, much less random trips to ships.  Do you just have a wandering practice, or love to travel?"  Adam smiled happily, the excitement of a new adventure washing away any residual concerns about the trip, at least for now.

Keese stared at the young man without blinking for several long moments. "I go where the research takes me," he finally ventured, tasting the truth of it. 

Adam laughed in delight.  "Really.  Me too."  He waved his hand around at the room, "I have to admit, I never imagined it would take me here."  He took a bite of the food, then gagged slightly.  "Wow.  These are nasty."  He looked down into the pouch.  "It says szechuan beef, but apparently they forgot the spices.  Any sign of a salt shaker around?"

Teagan regarded the scientist for a moment, as Aurora tossed him a small packet of salt, while selecting something for herself.  

Surprised by the salt, Adam fumbled it briefly before grabbing it.

 "Get any of that in your suit and you'll regret it later."  She murmured, ripping open a packet and spooning some of the contents into her mouth with a slight frown.  It was hardly gourmet cuisine but it was, nominally, food.  Having eaten nothing all day, other than a few bites of protein bar on the trip to Lurd Heights, Aurora persevered with the ration pack whilst leaning against the hull.   

"Oh, and bearing your teeth to a Vargr...mmm... Pacifist or otherwise, can be a dangerous course of action."  she added, between mouth-fulls, pointing at Adam with the plastic spoon.  "Right?" The Erisian  smiled at Keese, her mouth politely closed.

Adam covered his mouth, an almost comical shocked look crossing his face.  "Oops, I forgot." 

Bowing his head slightly to Keese, he said in fluent, unaccented Vargr, "I'm very sorry." Keese waved a clawed hand in dismissal. "If you're going to associate with aliens, especially as a physician, then you learn to overlook that kind of thing quickly." he said, emptying the rice pouch into his mouth. "Though your thoughtfulness is appreciated." he told them both around chews.

"My brother, now... he would probably shoot you for it." Keese added, with just a touch of pride.

"He and Gunnar would probably get along great, then," Adam answered, trying hard to keep his teeth covered when he smiled.  He dug into the pouch, now liberally salted, and ate, scrunching up his nose at the lack of flavor.

The ex-marine had just pulled a packet of shepherd's pie (it sounded good) out of the supply crate and froze in the act of tearing it open at the young academic's comment. 

Don't kill him...don't kill him...don't kill him....  Gunnar talked himself off the ledge and kept his cool.  To get physical with someone so clearly unprepared would only prove the ivory tower intellectual's point for him, regardless of how satisfying the moment might be.  He resumed opening his meal and grabbed a bulb of water from the other crate before turning around.

"You ever poke a sabercat with a stick, Finch?" he asked Adam casually.  "A sabercat's a fairly dangerous but awfully patient type of creature.  You can poke it and poke it and usually it'll just ignore you.  But you poke it in the right spot or just often enough and that animal's going to have you for lunch."

The marine took a bite while staring intently at the other man.  Around the food he asked, "Know what I mean?"

Teagan watched the exchange quietly.  Unlike the others she was still standing and her posture was stiff.  Odd, just like the rest of her.  Not even the food seemed to interest her yet.  

Adam thought for a moment as he chewed the bland food.  He wasn't sure the reason for the change in topic, but what could you expect from an unstable mind?  It would certainly be best to humor the man.  "Not really.  I've never seen a sabercat.  Sounds quite fascinating, though."  He swallowed his mouthful and looked down at the packet.  He wasn't really full, but wasn't hungry enough to inflict any further torture on his tastebuds. 

"Well, that's all I can stand."  Adam dropped the package in a nearby waste receptical, then pulled a pack of cards out of his bag and started shuffling them.  "Anybody up for a game of cards?"

Aurora sighed, sick of the posturing between the two human males and glad Keese had kept out of it.  

"If it'll keep that mouth of yours shut..." She began, slumping into an adjacent seat, "...I can afford to loose some credits."

"Um, yeah, sure," Adam said.  He wondered what he had done to upset her.  He hadn't meant to offend.  "Anyone else?"

Keese shook his head. He'd never found games of chance interesting. Instead he pulled his medical computer out of his pocket and began to diagram a treatment plan for Sheeba. It made him uncomfortable to be denied access to the woman, but she was as stable as he could make her at the moment.

Teagan shook her head and reached to retrieve the artifact out of Adam's pack.

"Hey, wait a minute," Adam said as the strange woman grabbed the artifact.  He wasn't sure what she wanted with it, apparently it produced some kind of signal she could detect.  So far she hadn't been violent, so he hoped he could talk to her, despite her obvious strangeness.  He moved closer and spoke quietly.  "You said it makes some kind of signal you can detect, which is really cool and I'd like to talk to you about it later."  He tried to gently turn her away from the guards to keep the artifact at least somewhat hidden.  "But right now we need to keep it hidden.  Maybe they don't know what it is, but they will certainly take it if they can.  I promise we can study it together if we get the chance.  Just slip it back in the bag now and we'll try to get it out later."

Teagan gave a simple nod at that, and slipped the artifact back into the bag.  She did not, however let go of the bag when she stood up.  "You play cards.  I'll hold the bag."  And with that she walked over to join the doctor.

"Um, OK," Adam wasn't happy about her taking the bag, but at least he still knew where the artifact was.  He couldn't study it now anyway, so it was probably better not to rock the boat.  Somehow he seemed to have made pretty much everyone else mad at him.  Keeping her happy, or whatever she was, seemed best.  "Just don't mess up my sketch book, OK?" he called after her as she walked away.

"Don't mess up your sketch book." Teagan echoed in her flat monotone.  "Okay."

Gunnar looked over to meet Aurora's eyes and shook his head.  He didn't know why he felt she'd be sympathetic - maybe they were cut from more similar cloth than the others - but he guessed she'd get the message.

She caught the grim humour of his gaze, saw a thousand klicks of suffering as their eyes met, a life of violence in twin, ice-blue mirrors.  The thin line of her mouth twitched, just a tell, or maybe the ghost of an understanding smile.  Then, just as soon, it was gone.  Aurora wanted to hate Gunnar, he was the symbol of everything she abhored but the truth was that in the brief but stressful period she had spent around him, he had acted less like a blade-brain than she had expected. 

Hell, he'd been practically polite and, well, Adam had pushed it.  Dumb kid. 

Still, she felt inexplicably angry.  For all his calm professionalism, Gunnar had that detached, absent look of the mercenary.  Like a lost child.  For Aurora, who had possessed such motivation and zeal, seeing that hollowness, in someone so like alike, was infuriating.   Even more so for the fact that she realised 'Aurora' had become more and more like Gunnar - and less and less like Oriene - since her time in the camps on Anselhome. 

She almost wished he would spout the xenophobic, patriotic, rhetoric of the Sword World Confederacy.  At least it would give her some justification for her rage.

As Keese was going over his instruments, the odd woman joined him. 

"Your patient is okay.  They're taking us to coordinates just beyond Overnale Prime's second moon, and they'll arrive at a moment when the moon is in perihelion to Overnale Prime." Her tone was flat but something inside of her was obviously pushing her to share this information. 

"The coordinates also happen to be a very short trip to the 100 planetary diameter limit for jumping, but isn't near the established jump point for Overnale Prime.  It's likely that our ship will rendezvous with a larger jump-capable ship hiding in the shadow of the second moon, and it is equally likely that they will make for a jump point soon after their arrival."  Here she paused and cocked her head a bit.  "I don't think I'll be able to go back to work tomorrow."

Gunnar snorted around a mouthful of food. That might've been the funniest thing he'd heard all day.

Teagan's dark eyes regarded him as her mind silently ran through the items that she'd catagorized as being humorous.  Not finding a match, she clutched the bag tightly and closed her eyes.  It had been quite some time since she'd rested.