Kerusso walked out of the spaceport bar with the Rebel official.

"That's right. We need you to investigate the disturbance in the Spica system. There have been three freighters and three Mantas destroyed in the last week, and we don't know why. That's what we want you to find out. We think that it's probably the Confeds, but it could be anyone. We don't have any ships to spare to check it out, so that is where you come in. You will, of course, be compensated for your troubles."

"Well, OK. I guess I can. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. We are prepared to install a cloaking device into your ship so that you may go in undetected to do your reconnaissance."

"Great. When will it be ready?"

"We will have it fully installed in four hours. I'll be at the ship then to give you your final instructions."

"OK. I'll be there."

Kerusso walked further around the spaceport until he came to the spaceport outfitters. Fearing what he might find in the Spica system, he purchased a missile jammer and three shield capacitators to be installed onto his ship with the cloaking device. He drifted towards the commodity exchange, wanting to pick a little extra profit on the Yemuro to Spica medical run. He bought 30 tons of medical goods to sell on Spica, possibly to make a huge profit if there had been any recent mining accidents. After making sure that the goods would be put into the cargo pod of his Clipper, he walked over to the shipyard to check the price of a Corvette. Kerusso hoped that the payment for this mission would give him enough money to purchase a Corvette. If only the cloaking device would stay on future ships. Cloaking device....then Kerusso looked down at his chrono. It had been the four hours that the official had specified. Kerusso hurried back down the main terminal to his docking bay. The official was already there, perturbed that Kerusso had not been on time.

"Mr. Barnes, you're late. But let's get down to business. There may be some underworld actions going on, so watch yourself. Also watch for Confeds. They have your number now, and will try to kill you if they find you. I have been authorized to pay you 250,000 credits for the successful completion of this mission. Just bring us back the information we need. Dismissed."

Kerusso stepped into his Clipper, and prepared it for takeoff. As the ship cleared the atmosphere he checked all the new systems to make sure they functioned properly. The shield bars were glowing brighter then ever, and the missile jammer checked in as working. He flipped the new switch in the red box on his control panel, and when he did, the lights went to red and his shields disappeared. When he switched off the device the lights flickered back to normal and his shields began to recharge. From what he had heard about the cloaking device, that was normal. He would have to ask about that when he returned to the Yemuro system. For now, Kerusso flew around New Istanbul and towards the jump point.

When he was outside the system center, he set his computer and hit the hyper button to jump to Kathoon and then to Spica. When he arrived in the Spica system, he engaged the cloaking device, then scanned the system. There appeared to be a Confederate Cruiser in the center of the system, which was never a good thing in Rebel space. The odd thing was the two Pirate Kestrels on the other side of the planet. They obviously saw each other, but did not engage. Kerusso flew towards the planet, uncloaking when he got close enough to hail the planet and get landing permission. He began his descent into the atmosphere, and landed at the assigned landing pad.

The first place he went to search for clues was the spaceport bar. At first glance, the bar was just like many he had seen before, but at second glance, there was an underlying tension that was not there in other bars. There seemed to be a man in secluded place, one of power. Kerusso was extremely scared when the man motioned over to him. He traversed the bar and approached the man.

"Mr. Barnes, how nice to see you. I'm going to make this very concise, so listen up. That was my partner in the Corvette you boarded last month. We Pirates don't like having our partners killed. So, in return for killing my partner, I have an offer to make you. You can either run a little "mission" for me, or you can die."

"OK. Just two quick questions: one, how did you know my name, and two, what type of mission?"

"Well, your name is obvious since the Clipper registered to you is the only vessel that has landed here in the last hour, and since I have seen a picture of you. The mission is as follows: You will smuggle 20 tons of Substance E to Opal. En route, you will kill every Rebel you come in contact with, excluding Cruisers. In return, I will give you five million credits and your life back. It's your choice."

Kerusso breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that his brother was home safe on Palshife with his uncle. This would not be a pretty picture, whichever option he chose, and he would not have wanted to be dragging his little brother into it.

"OK. Where's the money?"

"Whoa. Not so fast. You'll get the money once you have completed your mission."

"And then you'll leave me alone?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"OK. You get me the drugs, and I'll transport them to Opal."

"Excellent. I'll have my contact meet you at a prearranged spot."

Kerusso walked back to his Clipper, already forming a plan in his mind. When he got there, he saw three unscrupulous figures begin to load unmarked boxes into his cargo pod. They loaded all the boxes, and then approached him.

"Dat dere is da good stuff, heh. Take good care a it."

"I will. Tell your boss that I will."

The men collected their carts and walked away, and disappeared into the crowd of the main terminal. Kerusso got into his ship, and pulled it up and out of the docking bay. He quickly turned the engines on, and burned a path into the stars. When he broke into open space, the Confed Cruiser and the Kestrels were still assuming their defensive positions. Kerusso was the one who was changed. Instead of jumping to Kathoon, to return to Rebel space, he jumped to Levo. Upon landing on Levo, he found a rush delivery to Opal. On his way out of the system he engaged a Confed Light Freighter that was carrying expensive luxury goods. After firing a few missiles at it and strafing it with his proton cannons, easily disabling it. When that had happened, the Captain of the Freighter hailed Kerusso, begging him to spare the ship in return for the money it was carrying and the cargo. As Kerusso's cargo hold was already filled with drugs, he declined and repeatedly shot the Light Freighter until it exploded.

Kerusso flew away from the wreckage, and jumped into the Capella system. He began to have a change of conscience, feeling that what he had done was wrong. He felt this even despite the fact that he would have done it if he was a Rebel too. He couldn't be a Pirate, and he knew it, down in his heart. He cleared his nav computer, and set a heading for the Nemesis system, the nearest Rebel planet. He jumped into the Arrakis system, finding no one there. That was not surprising, as Dune was only a big ball of dust with a minor spaceport and a small shipyard. Kerusso decided not to land there, firmly entrenched in his need to report his actions to General Mitchell. He jumped to the Darkstar system, and hailed the planet. He asked for docking permission and for a secure Rebel comm link to Satori, so he could speak with the General. The comm officer was suspicious, as he should have been.

"Sir, I can't let you use a Rebel link so easily. What's the passcode?"

"You know I can't tell you the passcode."

"Cleared to land. I'll meet you at the docking pad. We'll see about your comm link."

Kerusso pulled the ship out of orbit and down towards the planet below. When the ship came to rest on the ground, Kerusso opened the hatch and opened it. The comm officer was already there with three security officers behind him, laser rifles at the ready.

"What, you don't think I'm honest?"

"No. I don't think you are."

"I'll deal with you after I speak with General Mitchell."

"No. I'm going to be there when you speak with him."

"You don't have clearance that high," Kerusso spoke, beginning to become angered.

"Do you? I don't believe so."

"I do. I'll show you my clearance passes, if you want to see them."

"Yes. I do want to see them."

Kerusso went back into his ship, to his personal locker, and got his clearance cards out. Then he relocked it and walked back out the officer.

"I have a level A clearance. These are my clearance."

After looking at the various papers and cards, the comm officer finally relented and capitulated.

"OK. I'll have a comm link prepared for you."

"Thank you. I'll be there in just a moment."

The officer went back into the building, presumably to clear up a comm room for Kerusso's transmission. Kerusso followed after a few seconds, and found the officer standing outside a conference room.

"It's all yours."

"Thank you. I'll be done in a few minutes."

Thirty minutes later, Kerusso emerged with a plan. He would go to Opal and get the five million credits, of which a quarter would go to the Rebellion, and Kerusso could keep the other three. His legal status would even go up for it. The only problem Kerusso had was with the Pirates. If and when they found out about Kerusso's betrayal, they would come after him to dispatch of him. The General had offered him no help, as all ships were distributed to other necessary projects, and none could be spared to protect Kerusso. But Kerusso was ready to take that risk, for the money and for the Rebellion. It made him feel atoned to right the blatant wrong that he had committed in the Capella system. He had not told the General about that, with good reason. He also wanted to keep the 250,000 credits that had been paid for the completion of his primary mission.

Kerusso walked down the corridor to his ship, and took off for the short hop to the shipyard. He haggled with one of the salesman until he got a million credits for trade-in on his souped-up Clipper. He proceeded to buy a new Corvette, and have it massively updated and upgraded. He sold the laser turrets, the Javelin launchers, the missile launchers, the heavy rocket launcher, and all the ammunition. He bought three proton turrets, five proton cannons, two torpedo launchers, thirty torpedoes, an acceleration enhancement, a speed enhancement, an RCS enhancement, a Ramscoop, an auto-refueler, two external fuel pods, a density scanner, an IFF decoder, a layer of Armaplast and Durasteel armor, and two mass expansions. He was ready to kill the Pirates.

Kerusso left Darkstar with a heavier ship and lighter pockets, but with no less heavy a conscience. He set his nav computer to jump to Nexus, and then to Pelagon, where he would offload the drugs for five million credits, then turn around and "betray" the Pirates. He was prepared. That was the real reason that he had bought the Corvette: to save his own skin when the Pirates found out that he had betrayed them.

When he had made the jump to Pelagon, he switched on his cloaking device. He was glad that he had been able to keep it, as it would come in handy now. He scouted out the area, and all he saw was one Pirate Kestrel, probably his "friend" coming to collect the drugs. He asked for and got landing permission, and made his way towards the prearranged docking point that he had been made aware of. When he landed, he was greeted by three heavily armed men carrying laser cannons on tripods, and wearing armaplast suits. They were very cordial, though, and greeted him as a brother. Kerusso almost felt at home, until he was led into the presence of the leader of the men, who was brash and rude. After long, energetic bargaining, he was able to make the Pirate pay him 5.5 million credits instead of the original 5.

With the credits in hand, Kerusso ran back to his ship, and fired it up, lest the Pirates decide to back out of their deal. After he had taken off, Kerusso cloaked, and began the transfer of credits to the Rebellion. After that was done, he set off to Satori system. On his way through the Levo system, Kerusso met a Pirate Kestrel, and decided that here was a chance to get revenge on the Pirates. He cloaked, moved in towards the Kestrel, and warmed up all of his weapons. Luckily, Kerusso thought, he had found a way to keep his shields up while cloaked at the expenditure of fuel. So when he decloaked, he began to pound the Kestrel with his proton cannons and turrets, and his torpedoes. The Kestrel launched its Lightnings, then rotated to began firing on the Corvette. After the first pass of the Lightnings, Kerusso knew that he would not win this battle. He pulled away, and tried to cloak, but the Lightnings' missiles kept connecting and precluding his ability to cloak. He tried to hail the planet, but no one responded. Great, Kerusso thought. They must have my transmissions jammed. He tried to jump to another system, but his fuel light registered empty. He had used all of his fuel to keep his shields at maximum strength. He was now a sitting duck. As he tried to run away, the Kestrel's torpedoes began to connect, and Kerusso watched his shields drop down to nothing before his eyes. His shields went dead, and the last two torpedoes struck armor. With his engines now dead, Kerusso resigned himself to defending his ship from the Pirates that would soon be attempting to board . He had his men take strategic positions to defend the hatch that the Pirates would soon be coming through. What the Corvette he had boarded had done wrong was to not design a strategic plan of defense. The Captain had just thrown his men against the invading forces, and they had been slaughtered. But that would not happen to him. He was prepared. He would not let the Pirates take his new ship. he had laser and proton rifles pointed at the hatch. He would win...

...and then the hatch blew open, and his worst nightmare occurred. The Pirates began lugging neutron grenades into his ship, denting bulkheads and killing his well positioned men. Then groups of them rushed in, firing the entire time, and never stopping, always dodging and firing. When the second group came in, Kerusso knew that his smaller crew could not beat this larger, better trained and disciplined mob of Pirates. This was no ordinary group of Pirates. Kerusso walked back to the bridge, and sat back in his Captain chair for perhaps the last time. After a moment, he heard the footsteps of a group of people that was definitely not of his crew.

"Good day, Mr. Barnes. We meet again. I'm afraid that you will not be keeping the 5 million credits. But, maybe, you will die. I see you upgraded ships. This is a nice one, but it just made it more fun for me to capture. I am taking the ship as mine, and you will be a prisoner on my ship. If your precious Rebellion wants to ransom you, than they can. If not, then you will die. So we'll just wait and see. Take him away."

Three of the soldiers who had accompanied him walked over to Kerusso, handcuffed him, and escorted him down to the hatch. As they were walking down the hall, Kerusso saw the dead bodies of many of his crew members, but many more of the invading crew's. His crew had put up a great fight, Kerusso realized. They had died to try to save his life and the lives of the other crew members, wherever they were now.

As they stepped through the hatch, Kerusso could feel the difference between the two ships. The Kestrel was colder and darker than the Corvette had been, and it scared Kerusso. He wondered how much the Rebellion would pay for his life. Then they walked up to a blue force field, and the last thing he saw was the force field dropping...

...when Kerusso woke up, he saw that the blue force field was still there, and that he was in a small cell. The back of his head hurt immensely, and it disrupted his thinking, and the metal cot he was laying on was not helping. He rolled over to abate the pain, and sat up when he saw the Pirate Captain standing right outside the force field.

"Hello yet again, Mr. Barnes. I'm glad to see that you are up and awake. We need to talk." He went to one side, and pushed something. The force field went dead. "Come. I always liked to walk and talk." He began to walk down the corridor. After a few seconds, he turned around and walked back.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked, sounding pissed.

"Why should I?"

"I could make you want to."

"Then make me."

The Pirate Captain turned down the corridor and came back with a little box.

"Would you like to know what this little toy is?"

"No. I'm coming. I've seen those in action."

They began to walk down the corridor. Kerusso saw lots of high tech gadgets and upgrades that he had always dreamed of, but have never had the pockets for. He didn't know if the Captain wanted to talk or show off his ship.

"Well, Mr. Barnes. Why did you attack my ship?"

"Because I don't want to be a Pirate."

"Why not? You still get to kill Confeds."

"Because I am a Rebel. The Rebels are just and honest, and do not cheat to win. I could never do that."

"You are starting to anger me, Mr. Barnes. Do not make me use this." He held the box out at the ready. "I don't have to remind you what this can do, do I?"

"No, you don't. I have used an inverse vortex generator before. You wouldn't really use it, would you?"

In response to the question, the Captain pressed the blue button on top of the box. The orange bolt that lashed out struck Kerusso in the neck, and he collapsed. When Kerusso woke up, he was back in his cell, and he was in intense pain. With the five minutes of sentient thought Kerusso knew he had left before the hallucinations started he thought about his family, and the Rebellion. Then he succumbed to the pressures in his head, and fell to the floor in agony, to endure the days of psychosis.

While Kerusso was unconscious, the Pirate Kestrel encountered a Rebel patrol in the Turin system.

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