Amber left the briefing room with a coiling snake of unease wrapped around her heart. Even though she'd known Darien had been called back from his suspension, when he actually walked into the room it had triggered a violent outpouring of conflicting emotions within her. This was the young man who'd found her and given her the opportunity to join Blink, to make her mark on a whole galaxy in way that the vast majority of the human population never could.

He was also the young man who she'd watched murder a prisoner without even a shimmer of regret.

She'd only seen him briefly after that incident, during their after-action report. After that Darien had been placed on suspension, and Amber spent the subsequent months trying to forget that awful confrontation out on the edge of nowhere.

But they were all back here together now, and all set to be hurled into another conflict different to anything they'd had to deal with before. She didn't relish the prospect of going to Ravine at all, let alone under the command of a military officer. Blink operatives were not soldiers – their remit was much closer to a well-equipped police force as opposed to an actual combat unit.

The other squads dispersed, eager to get to grips with their new assignment, but almost as though drawn by some unseen force, the operatives of Hammerhead grouped together just outside the briefing room, waiting for their leader to emerge.

Darien stepped out of the room and she saw a flash of uncertainty on his face when he saw his team lurking in the corridor beyond. For a moment an uneasy silence hung in air; no-one seemed to know what to do. But then Idas rescued the situation. His mulish features cracked into a broad grin and he stepped forward, slinging one heavily-muscled arm around Darien's shoulders and dragging him into a hug. It took a second for Darien to register the motion and return the embrace.

"Well I'll damned if you're not a sight for sore eyes," Idas rumbled good-naturedly. "We were starting to think you weren't coming back!"

"That makes two of us," Darien replied with a rueful smile as they stepped apart. His eyes swept over the others and Amber felt a shimmer of apprehension run up her spine. "It's good to see you again," he said. "All of you."

She managed to smile and nod as the others returned the sentiment; even Hekket moved forward to give the other operative a firm clap on the shoulder. If he noticed her hesitance he didn't react – at least not immediately. He finished his greetings with the others and they stepped apart, gathering around him in a vague semi-circle.

"Alright, I know that when I left, things were rocky," he said, his voice firm with resolve. "But we're going out again, together. If things are bad enough for Blink to be called in, we're going to have to be at the top of our game to get though this in one piece."

"We're still the best unit on this station," Niamh declared, casting a dismissive glance down the hallway where the other operatives had exited. "No matter what Vass might think."

"Gettin' a bit big for his boots, eh?" Darien shook his head ruefully. "I wouldn't worry about it. Vass is good at what he does, but he's not a strategist. Smith knows that – he was never going to be in charge of this op."

"I'm glad you're back," Niamh continued. "It hasn't really been the same..."

"Maybe not." He cast an appreciative glance over the squad. "But I gather you guys have pulled off some impressive work while I've been gone."

Uther grinned. "We struggled along."

Darien's smile broadened. "Well, struggle no more. It only took a civil war, but I'm back now."

"How's it feel?" Idas asked.

"Damn good."

Amber kept her face impassive, not wanting to display her unease. As the conversation wound on her mind weighed up the pros and cons, over and over and over. She couldn't deny that Darien was, and always had been, Blink's most effective Squad Leader, with a list of commendations and field successes as long as her leg. The logical part of her mind knew that his natural ability coupled with his knowledge of Ravine made him the best choice. She ought to be glad he was back in command.

But she just couldn't quite get there. He'd always had a streak of controlled viciousness that crept out every now and again. She could handle that, but he'd pushed things over the edge last time and fundamentally shaken the whole guiding principle that had convinced her to join Blink in the first place. They helped people. They were not soldiers; they were not killers.

"So, now that you're back, what happens to Bryn?" Hekket piped up suddenly. "We're up to seven now and she's..."

"Her assignment was always temporary," Niamh interrupted flatly. "We all knew that. She's done a good job while we've had her, but now that Darien's back she'll need to get a new squad placement."

Amber frowned. There wasn't really an argument she could make against that – Hammerhead was Darien's squad, no matter her personal feelings. Still, it seemed somehow ungrateful of them to just kick Bryn out the door without a second thought.

"I'll see she gets a good placement," Darien told them. "I read the mission reports that she's been a part of. The kid's more than pulled her weight. She's earned a good unit." He gave Niamh a small nod. "As her command officer I'll need you to write up a recommendation."

"Consider it done."

"Alright. We've got forty-eight hours to go over these files – we'll meet in the mess hall in thirty-six to go over the brief and gear up. All clear?"

A murmur of assent passed through the five operatives.

"Good. Then I'll see you all in thirty-six hours."

Amber still didn't quite know how to feel about the whole exchange, so she was eager to get out of this conversation and sink her teeth into the raw data from the planet. Maybe getting buried into a mission of this calibre would force her mind away from the tension. She started to turn to leave.

"Amber?"

She stopped in mid-turn, grimacing. "What?"

"Can I have a word? Hekket, you as well."

Knowing she didn't actually have a choice in the matter, Amber swivelled heavily on her heel to face him again. Uther, Niamh and Idas didn't need to be told to keep walking, and they melted away into the body of the station, leaving the trio alone in the tensely crackling air of the passage.

She cast a sidelong glance at Hekket. The group's medic had his hands buried firmly in the pockets of his hooded Blink jacket. He gave the slightest of shrugs before turning his attention to Darien.

For a moment it seemed like their newly returned squad leader didn't know what to say. He folded his arms, leaning against the corridor wall with a furrowed brow and eyes downcast, as though hunting for inspiration in the deck plates. Eventually, though, he seemed to gather his thoughts and his eyes snapped up to meet them.

"We need to have a conversation," he said carefully. "After Logan and that ship, we've got some things to straighten out."

Amber tucked a stray loop of hair back behind her ear, lips pressed tightly together as she waited for him to continue. That memory was still raw in her mind after the months that had passed: the thump of the cannon and the explosion of a defenceless man's skull – the spatter of blood, bone and brain across the floor. Even now it made her muscles tighten and her stomach turn.

"I know you don't agree with everything I did," Darien told them. "And I'm not asking you to change what you believe, not for me, not for Blink, not for anyone. It was a ... difficult situation. I made a command decision."

"Darien," she said, wincing at his words. "Please, don't quote me command regulations right now. Just say what you want to say."

"Fair enough." His jaw tightened. "I need to know that both of you have put that behind you, at least for this mission. I don't always see eye to eye with Smith, but he's right about one thing. I'm the only one who has any idea what we're really walking into down on Ravine. For me to actually lead this operation I need to know I can count on everyone down there and I can't be looking over my shoulder. So, are we going to have a problem?"

"That depends," Hekket said flatly.

Amber looked at him sharply, surprised by his directness. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Darien bristle, but he controlled himself.

"Depends on what?"

"On if we're going to end up in that same situation."

He shook his head. "Hekket, Theodore Logan was one of a kind. I can't guarantee much, but I have no plans to kill anyone else." Darien straightened up, hardness creeping into his voice. "Do you think I don't relive what I did? Do you think that was an easy decision? I'm not standing here pretending it was normal; pretending I was happy about it. I made a choice, one that, if I've got any sway on what happens in this messed up galaxy, one I won't have to make again."

Despite her misgivings, Amber felt the coil of unease in her gut unwind slightly at his words. It was easy to blame, easy to abhor what he had done, but she reminded herself that the horrendous situation they'd been in was not of his making. She didn't have to make command decisions, so she couldn't get them wrong.

"We are on your side, Darien," she said after a moment. "When we get down there, you're in charge and no-one is questioning that. You do your job; we'll do ours. I can promise that." She looked to Hekket and the boy gave her a small nod. "For both of us."