Guards rushed in but Jack held up his hand forestalling them. "It's all right," he said pushing himself up off the floor as he wiped blood from his mouth. He turned to them. "Meet your new captain."

Both guards stopped and looked at each other, then at Red. Then as one, they saluted. 

Red froze and stared at Jack.  There was no explanation, but he immediately knew what Jack wanted. He had to admit he'd known it since looking out the window at the Aphelion floating there while they were violating whatever trust he was going to put in them.

Jack stood wiping the blood away from his mouth and rubbed his jaw, as he pushed himself up off the floor. "Isn't she beautiful?" He whispered turning to look out the windows at the Aphelion. The Ehring station was filled with glass windows on this level, it was a view Red normally would have loved. But now with some of the present company. 

Red looked over at Ember feeling slightly panicked, his nostrils flared as he closed his eyes. 

"And you brought us a Vesper ship, complete with a Vesper," Jack smiled at his sister, who was frowning as she watched Red.  

"Jack," she snapped. "Can't we settle in first before you start assigning jobs? And there's a fleet behind us, remember?"

"I know," Jack turned to her. "That's why I need you in there as soon as possible. We could hook someone else up, but we don't have an experienced Captain, someone who has done this before. And I know you'll need a co-pilot, Ember..."

"I have a co-pilot," she snapped. Red's gaze settled on her, he knew what she wanted. He wanted that too, but he realized then and there. As much as he hated to admit it, just this once, Jack might be right. If the fleet broke through, there really wasn't going to be anyone else.

He hated Jack at that moment. Jack had always had a plan. Usually, they were good, sometimes they were suicide. Jack's motto had been 'sacrifices must be made.'  He hated that phrase. 

But he was exhausted. He knew Ember had to be too, no matter what she pushed through her system while connected to the ship, she needed real rest. 

He was only half listening as Ember, Dag, and Jack began to argue. He stared up at the Aphelion again, wishing for once that he'd ditched the New Caledonians and taken off with Ember and Dag. Well, Dag would have stayed... And he still needed to get T to a proper doctor, one with the experience to augment a spine...

"Jack!" It was Leah who snapped and broke the tension. "We have two children here who need to be attended to, three adults who look like they are about to drop. We can get them rooms, let them rest and keep an eye on the situation. I am sure they will help when the time comes but they need clothes, and rest." 

Jack actually looked sheepish and Red was glad she'd taken over. He glanced back at T and Alt who waited, mute as their futures were decided. This had not better be for nothing, he decided.

"Of course," Jack muttered, glancing back out the window, impatient as ever. It hadn't mattered as much before when Red was more than willing to die, but now as he glanced over at Ember, he realized he wasn't in a hurry to leave this plane of existence. Not yet, anyway.

"If you would follow me."

Commander Larsson followed after Jack, flanking him on his right while two men followed behind her. Lars nodded at him as he passed, the straightened shoulders giving him away. Red could only manage a small nod back. Ember was at his side grabbing Alt's hand, and T had a grip on his. Behind them, Dag and Leah, glancing shyly at each other held tightly to one another with Desmond behind them, face split almost ear to ear as he grinned at both of them.

Red followed wondering what it was going to look like planetside. He hoped this was the sanctuary he'd dreamed they had made over seven years ago. He also hoped they hadn't just brought death to its doorstep.

########

Ember stared at Red when she'd entered his room. He looked incredible in the black uniform they'd given him. Complete with black boots, and a jacket. 

Jack had insisted that they have separate rooms even though she'd said it wasn't necessary. He'd tried to speak with her in private but she refused, insisting in return that she wanted to see Red. She'd gotten her way eventually, she was a fully charged vesper pilot. 

Red stared at himself in the mirror when she'd entered. His previous clothes were piled on the floor in his room the boots included. The uniform he'd been given was mostly black with a strange insignia on the side in bright blue. It matched the color his scanners lit up with whenever he used them. There was a large one on the back of the jacket which he'd left sitting on the bed. His black shirt held a the half circled squared lines that didn't quite touch in the middle on each shoulder.

Ember wore the same outfit, the same jacket and when he turned to look at her, his breath caught. Her hair was brushed and pulled back in a ponytail away from her face. She looked professional, like the Vesper she was. 

"Hey," she said quietly. "Looks good on you."

He studied himself. "I think it looks like another prison uniform." 

"I could help you take it off if you like..." She lifted an eyebrow when his gaze swung over to meet hers, an almost hungry expression on his face as he moved toward her and planted his lips against hers. His hands cupped her face as he pulled back and placed his forehead against hers.

"I would love to take you up on that," he started. "But first..." He produced a lighter. "Did you bring yours?"

She nodded and wordlessly opened a black bag she carried in, dumping her clothes over his.  

He knelt and lit the brown prison uniforms on fire, the same outfit he'd worn for the past seven years. Ember reached over and grabbed his hand and silently they watched the last vestiges of that period crumble into black ash. They stood there until it burned.

"No fire alarm?" Ember whispered. It felt wrong to raise your voice at this moment. 

He leaned into her, "I might have jammed the alarms. I'll fix them when we're done." It felt like ages when Red sighed and moved forward stamping on the ashed to put the pile out. The fire cooled, the air still smelled of smoke, he'd already cracked the window. When he was sure it was cooled and would not spread at all, he walked to the bed grabbed his new jacket and slung it around his shoulders. Ember, stared at him from head to toe, appreciating the way he contrasted with his new outfit. She'd followed the rules they'd set for her, hair pulled back out of the way. Red hadn't bothered to remove his piercings or shave his hair off. 

"Where are you going?" Ember followed, grabbing the black bag and slinging it over her shoulder. 

"To our room," Red answered, as if she should have known that.

"And you're just going to leave that in there?" Ember crossed her arms as she looked back at the pile of ashes.

"Call it a little payback," Red said quietly. "He wanted to see if I would snap, and I didn't. He wants me to take control of that flagship, and I don't want that either. But mostly he wants me under control."

"So you left him a mess."

"Yeah, I did. Plus I'm going to go sleep with his sister."

"Red!" 

He held up his hands, mock innocence on his face.

"I'm not going to be pinballing between you two," she warned as she followed him out. 

Red stopped and turned back to her, his expression was serious. "Ember I wouldn't ask you for that, but let's get something straight here. He doesn't come between US. Not the other way around. He's not dictating our relationship... We are."

"Hey, I know that," Ember soothed. "But we need to focus on the what's about to happen."

"I am," Red managed. "Once again, I've got all of my belongings on my back." He winked at her. "And you've asked me to move in, so I am."

"But you also need to see a..." Ember struggled trying to remember the name.

"A Doctor Cyril." He frowned, running his free hand through his hair. "They want to make sure I'm running at a hundred percent. And then they want me to head to the Aphelion to see the changes they've made."

"Already?" Ember stared up at him. "You just got here, you haven't slept yet."

"I know," he stifled a yawn as if to prove the point. "Which is why we're going to our room, first."

"But--" 

"We can delay them a bit, unless some alarms go off, in which case, we'll head up."

"Red," she stifled a giggle. "Has it really only been a month since we met?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "But I'm doing my damndest to make it permanent."

"You... You want that?"

"Ember, seriously? I find the most self-sacrificing person I know, perfect in almost every way, except she could be a little more selfish. Just a little, it wouldn't hurt. And you think I am going to give that up?"

Ember stared at him, tears welling up. "Shut up," she whispered. "The room is this way."

Red wiped at her eyes before she could move, brushing each tear away. "I'll Captain just this once, and then I'm your copilot on The Ember, sound like a plan?"

She nodded. Red was sounding more sure of himself since he'd gotten rid of his clothes and gotten off of Ehring Station. She'd never seen him this reliant, and if she didn't know any better, he looked as if he was more than ready to get this over with.

Great, my brother is running the opposition. My father is coming to blow it away. And they both hate Red enough to kill him. She couldn't deny that Jack didn't like Red. She knew her brother. He'd been a genius, but he was also very political. They both had been, she thought remembering Caidus.  

Caidus was next in line for their house.  Ember was the unfortunate weaker twin, the love of her mother though, her father had let her keep the unfortunate crippled blind girl.  If anything caring for her had given her something to do. 

Ember shook her head as she disengaged from the past.  Jack would try to separate them. He would have the bigger picture in mind, but she didn't miss the way his eyes had narrowed at Red. He needed Red, for whatever reason. If Red couldn't stay with her on the Ember she'd just have to make sure she was on the Aphelion. 

She pulled Red behind her in silence and opened her door.  She had a small room, that was meant for one person. It was much bigger than her chamber on The Ember. And given that she and Red both had next to nothing, it was more than adequate for the two of them.

"This is it?" He whispered looking around.

"Shut up, Red," she dropped the bag and faced him. "You aren't here to look, remember?"

############

Red sat on the med bay, stripped down to his black pants. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the Neuro-Cyberneticist in the med bay.  

The man had scanned him repeatedly, but less invasively than Ehring Station. He'd take vials of blood, tested Red's scanners.  Whistled at what he saw, his eyes widened a few times in surprise.

"Well, Captain, I can put a few things back in, charge a few things back up, what do you have in mind?"

"What did I have in mind?" Red was too startled to correct him. "I didn't have anything in mind just yet. I'm not sure why I'm here."

"Our Commander in Chief wants to make sure all your hardware is still in working order." Cyril paused and set down the scanner he'd used on Red.  

"And is it?"

"Yes," Cyril faced him. "But you are missing a few components that you had before. For instance, you should be able to shock someone like a Vesper, nowhere near as powerful, but a stun--"

"Yeah that was removed," Red crossed his arms over his muscular chest. 

"And you still have the tactician nodes inside?"

"I do."

"Weapons training?"

"I probably need to redownload a few things."

Cyril looked at his datapad. "Let's see stun, faster reflexes, tactical connections, electronic pulse, blades in your wrist?"  

"They did take the blades," Red countered. "It would have come in handy but I still can use my fists."

"Do you want them back?"

Red thought this over, chewing on his lip and running a hand through his hair. He wanted Ember in here for this, he hated doctors, always had.  

"I guess so."

"Your pain management is still in there."

"PAS? Yeah still in there."

"The LIDAR, we know works..."

"The sensors in my hand are fine, too, I used them to interface, doc. They still work." Red reached for his shirt."

"You don't have your Last Resort."

"I don't want that."

"But--"

"No."

Cyril nodded marking this down. The Last Resort was a self-destruct system, built to explode, more than just the Captain but everything attached. Setting it off would have set each ship he was attached to auto-destruct. It was to keep secrets should they ever run into an enemy they couldn't overcome.  Red didn't want that back in his body. 

"I wanted to tweak them, tune them up a bit, but if you can interface just fine then it can wait till...this is over." 

Red nodded drawing his shirt back on.

Cyril suddenly saluted him. "It's an honor, Sir," he looked embarrassed as he did it.

"I'm not sure your Commander-in-Chief agrees."

Dr. Cyril stopped and gave Red a look. "Look, Sir, it is not my place, but I'm going to suggest you go and study the news feeds on your way up if you haven't already. Your face is all over them, Sir."

An hour later, Red was on a small charter ship back on his way up to the Aphelion. Jack and Larsson would meet him there. Red wondered when Jack would figure Larsson out yet. He'd caught on early that they didn't know she was two people on the inside. He'd almost brought it up but then discarded the idea. If Lars and Null didn't want them to know he wouldn't say a word.

He missed Dag already though. Dag had taken the two boys home with him at Leah's insistence. Dag would get them care, but Red still felt guilty for leaving them with Dag. Dag had had his back for years. It felt odd going off without him.

Ember was next to him in the shuttle. She was to oversee the repairs that The Ember was getting. She'd gotten her rail guns like Red had promised her. Although Jack had insisted on four, not two. Red was ok with that.  

Red hadn't felt the urge to plug in to the newsfeed because he'd hadn't done it in years and a part of him was afraid of what he would see.

He gingerly put his hands on the console and closed his eyes as he opened the news feeds that made their way this far to New Elysium. Most of them were a few weeks old. Minutes later he jerked his hands back, and leaned back into his seat, groaning to himself, as he understood exactly why Jack wanted him as Captain of the Aphelion.