As they made their way to the tent, Bo broke the short silence that had settled comfortably between them. "Hey, why did you have your men drag in Khan and Silver like that? Don't your people even know your own second-in-command?"

"The patrols are equipped with nightvision goggles, so they recognized Khan," Adam said. "But we can't be too careful these days. They know our second-in-command, but they don't know that airship or the man who was with Khan. They radioed it in, and I told them to bring both of them in for questioning."

"You don't trust Khan?"

"I don't trust that he wasn't kidnapped by the militia and forced to reveal our whereabouts," Adam replied.

"Didn't Khan tell them what was happening?"

"Yes, but, again, if he's being held in duress, we can't trust what he said," Adam said. "We had to make sure he was somewhere that he would feel safe to tell the truth."

"And Helga and myself?"

"They knew others were on board, but they were told not to venture into the airship. I didn't know what kind of traps might be down there. Best to just guard the outside, and use force only if they need to."

"Woah, woah, wait did you order that they use force if they saw someone?" Bo asked, narrowing her eyes even though he couldn't see her in the pitch black.

"Yeah?"

Bo snarled and smacked Adam's arm loud enough to make a noise. "So I have you to thank for all these bruises that I got when your lackey punched me?"

"He hurt you?" Adam said, his voice sharper than before.

"Pfft, of course. You just finished telling me you ordered him to use force if need be," Bo replied.

"He should have known not to—"

"Mm, yeah, I'm sure he'd know the face of his boss' long lost girlfriend," Bo replied, nodding. "Sounds plausible."

"Shut up," Adam muttered, and Bo laughed.

"The bruises are nothing," she said. "I've gotten worse than that sparring with Ana back home."

"Ana?"

"Girl I left in charge of home," Bo answered.

"Speaking of your home," Adam said. "They're okay without you there?"

"Of course," Bo said. "That's why it took me so long to find you. I had to make sure they didn't need me to be their mother."

Adam sighed. "Well, I'm glad you're here now," he said, and she felt his arms wrap around her once more. She smiled into his chest, rubbing her hands along his back and letting herself feel happily carefree for a few more seconds.

Adam spoke first. "We'd better get inside before they send out a search party."

"If we must," Bo said, pulling away as they began to walk again. Adam held her hand right up until they entered the tent, at which they dropped their hold and walked in separately. As much as BO wanted to hang onto Adam for every single second, she knew that it would not set the best image of authority if he was clinging to some woman none of the Forlorn even knew.

So, hands to self, they walked through all the staring faces and back to the table where Bo had first seen Adam. Khan was sitting in the seat near the one at the head of the table, and Silver, now untied, rested in a chair a few feet away.

Adam sat down in the head seat, and motioned for one of the Forlorn sitting to his other side to get up. The man moved, and Adam signaled Bo to sit down. She did, and then Adam looked around at his crew.

"First, I need someone to go back to John Silver's airship and fetch Helga. You go, Horace," Adam said. "Be careful, she'll probably be spitting angry to be left behind."

The man who had brought Bo to the tent nodded, and slipped away from the group and out of the tent. Adam rolled his neck and then sat down.

"Now, it's time we plan how to get into the compound with as few casualties as we can manage."

The Forlorn nodded, and with that they turned into a group that pulsed with ideas and plans. Everyone leaned in close, pointing out areas on the map and suggesting military tactics. This was a band of people who all knew what they were doing, and all had experience in fighting of some kind. No one here was just a brute for filling the ranks. Everyone was a perfect piece in the puzzle that made of the Forlorn. As Bo listened to them build and refine their plans, working together though they were all different, she saw why the Forlorn were such a thorn in the side of the militia. Because, even though they faced an almost suicidal mission, they were all eager to come up with the perfect plan that would keep as many people safe as possible.

Bo glanced at Adam as he listened and added his own thoughts, and she smiled to herself. He had once been a solitary man trapped in between two species and locked into his home to hide from the world. But now he stood among the humans, part of their world, and perfectly leading them to make a difference.

After a few hours, they finally settled on a plan. The sun was just beginning to thin the darkness outside, and everyone yawned. Helga had been fetched and contributed to the plans, and now she stood as Adam did. Everyone else followed suit and Adam rested a fist on the table. "I know we're going to all be exhausted, but we must strike while we can. Now that Clayton and Aston have arrived at the compound, we are fighting against time before they bring in too many men for us to fight."

The Forlorn nodded in unison, no one complaining about lack of sleep or how their breakfasts would be dry rations gobbled down as they moved into position before the sun rose enough to reveal them to the compound guards.

Adam looked over his crew, his eyes lingering for a few seconds longer on Bo. "It's a dangerous mission, but I want to remind everyone again that we are not targeting the Judge or Clayton this time around. We simply want to get in, save the girls that are being held there, and get out. Once that is done, we can bide our time for a better opportunity to attack the Judge himself."

"Yes, sir!" the Forlorn shouted together, and Helga led them in a salute Adam. He nodded and returned it, and this was taken as the dismissal. Everyone moved to pack up the tent and their supplies, and Adam sat back down to finish some troop placement on the map.

Bo stayed by his side, her gaze scanning over the people in the tent. In only a few short hours, many of these men and women may be lying dead in a compound of an evil man. Bo only hoped it wouldn't be too many.