Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters of TMNT: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, or April. I do own the rest of the characters in this series.

A/N: I thought I'd keep this one light-heartted after all that drama in "Orphan's End."

"Wow…."

"It's so beautiful!"

"You can say that again."

"This is incredible!"

"This is so cool!"

Cat turned away from the group gathered in front of the large observation windows to look back at Raph, who was settled on the long couch with his brothers and Sarah. "You guys have got to a do a lot of cool stuff, and we haven't." She pouted.

Raph chuckled. "Most of our trips into space ain't been so relaxin'." He smirked. "But if ya like it so much, I'm sure I can talk Stin into givin' us a ship to cruise around in."

"We have a ship." Leo commented from beside him. "Just not one big enough to carry our entire clan."

Don snorted. "That old cruiser is practically an antique at this point." Sarah chuckled, where she sat tucked into his side with his arm draped around her.

"It was very nice of Marina to send a ship all the way to get us." Jamie smiled, pushing her glasses up her small nose. "And to invite everyone." She frowned a little. "I wish we could have talked April into coming. She would have enjoyed this."

Leo frowned as well. "She said she had something important to do and that it really couldn't wait."

Star turned towards them. "I still don't understand what we are going for or why. Not that I'm complaining, because this is really awesome."

"For Zarin's Bonding Ceremony. It's like a wedding. Mazar take their mates at a lot younger age than most humans." Sarah explained.

Ona glanced her way. "And Marina is your half-sister?" She frowned in confusion. "I still don't understand how that's possible. I thought if you're bonded that if one dies so does the other."

"Yes, most of the time that is the case. But there are some rare instances where the couple doesn't bond properly, which can be caused by a number of things including the timing. Females are the catalyst of the bonding process. There is a window of time in which they must be matched with their mate. If it's missed, then the female will never be able to bond properly. Marina believes this is what happened in my mother and father's case." Sarah sighed, a distant look in her eyes. "It allowed my mother to escape Zenfered, but it also allowed him to kill her and not die himself."

Don squeezed his wife's hand. "He must have realized their bond didn't take earlier than your mother did." Sarah gave a sad nod. Although she had never met her mother, she understood why she had run when she did. And if she hadn't, she would not have met Donnie and they never would have bonded. For Sarah the idea of never having met her mate was the most terrifying thing in the universe. She shivered, squeezing Donnie's hand tightly. He frowned feeling that touch of fear from her. It was something he felt as well. To be without her was simply unthinkable. Kissing her brow, he sent her wave after wave of love. She returned it eagerly and snuggled deeper into his side.

Kaz was standing behind Ona, an arm curled around her waist. "Yoshi and I got to meet Marina and Stin a long time ago."

Star looked over her shoulder at Yoshi, where he stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "You did?"

He smiled at the memory. "Yeah, we was just kids back then."

Raph snorted. "You're still kids." Yoshi shot him an annoyed look as a round of laughter went around the room.

"Well, at least you two got to go. I had to stay home." Shinta groused.

Jamie smiled over at him. "You were still small. Besides, I kept you entertained."

Shinta couldn't help the laugh as he grinned at his step-mother. "I thought I was the one entertaining you."

Cat chuckled, elbowing Jamie beside her. "He has a point."

Jamie laughed as well, catching Leo's eye and smiling at him. Leo returned it. He seemed to recall the best part of that particular adventure was when he'd gotten home and they had shared their first kiss.

K-three sat in a large armchair with Mira in his lap. They both grimaced. "That had to be the worst trip I have ever taken."

"Yeah." Mira agreed softly, remembering how terrible the separation sickness had been. She leaned into him, pressing her face into his neck. K-three's frown deepened and he rubbed her shoulder and arm soothingly. Don and Sarah frowned as well. That had been a terrifying time for them too. They had nearly died fighting Zenfered.

Katsu and Kara came running into the room, followed by Liling at more appropriate speed. Leo eyed them. "You three haven't been making trouble, have you?"

"No, sir." The three chimed way too quick for Leo's liking. But he let it go. If they had done anything, he was pretty sure someone would have told them by now.

Kara bounced up to her father. "Daddy! Daddy!"

Kaz smiled as he picked up his eight-year-old daughter. "What is it?"

"We found a big room with lots of games!" She swung her arms out wide to show how big it was.

"Yeah, one of the crew showed us. He said it was for Zarin." Katsu explained.

"I hope you didn't break anything." Don said.

"Oh, no." Liling told him. "I made sure." She was nearly fluent in English now. Though there were words she stumbled over from time to time, it wasn't often anymore. She walked over to stand beside Shinta and peer out the large window at the stars with wide bright eyes. Shinta glanced at her and the corner of his mouth twitched up.

Donnie smiled at the thought of Liling trying to tell Katsu or Kara what to do. Neither listened to her much. That was probably due to their ages being so close. Liling was now fifteen and developing into a young woman. She studied more than she played these days. And although she had started so late, she was picking up ninjutsu quite well. One benefit of her and Katsu being so close in age was that she seemed immune to Katsu's charm, which he used on the women in the family. All he had to do was flash his gold-brown eyes and smile, and they would give him nearly anything he wanted. But Liling didn't fall for it, she simply rolled her eyes when he tried to charm her.

Kara was too much like Mikey to fall for his trick either. Her attention span was rather short. She didn't need to charm anyone; she had her daddy wrapped tightly around her finger. There was rarely anything Kaz would deny her. Ona wasn't quite so gullible and had no trouble telling their daughter no. But Kara had learned to play her parents off one another. If mom said no, she'd get dad to say yes. There would be a short "discussion" and she'd get her way. Mikey was no better than his son. His granddaughter wanted for nothing. He didn't spoil her per se, but he would often show up with little gifts for no reason at all.

The first mate, Commander Loteh, appeared and stopped in front of Don and Sarah. "The captain has arranged a meal for our honored guest. He was hoping you'd join him."

"Us too?" Kara piped up.

The first mate turned and smiled at her. "Yes, of course. All of you are invited."

Kara grinned. "Good! I'm hungry!"

Laughter rolled through the room again. "Well, then I'd better show you where." The first mate continued to chuckle. "Please, follow me."

As the group stood to follow, Kaz let down Kara and stepped up beside his father. "You know, I remember you popping me on the back of the head for that."

Mikey smirked, raising an eye ridge. "What? You want me to pop her on the head for it?"

Kaz made a face. "Well, uh, no. But…"

Mikey chuckled putting an arm around his son's shoulders. "You might as well face it, Kazzey, she's gonna get away with a lot more than you ever did."

Ona giggled behind them. "She already does."

They entered a large room that appeared to be some type of banquet hall. A large table was arranged beautifully with flowers and candles. Each place setting had real silverware and porcelain dishes rimmed in gold. Raph frowned at the delicate glasses. He was pretty sure at least one of those would be broken by the end of the meal.

The captain was standing near the head of the table. He gave Don and Sarah a broad smile. "My lady, my lord, please come and sit. I am honored to share a meal with you."

Don returned the smile. They had met the captain upon their arrival. He seemed to be genuinely kind, but still managed to have an air of command. "Thank you, Captain Taxal. We are all very grateful." Kara wiggled out from between Don and Leo. "Some of us more than others."

The captain chuckled as he watched the young turtle lick her lips at the large table lined with fruit and bread. Leo put a hand on her shoulder, silently reminding her not to behave rudely to their host. But the captain just smiled. "Well, let's not keep them waiting any longer. Please, sit." The family took their seats along the long table much in the same fashion as they did at home. The captain sat at the head with Don and Sarah to his right, and Leo and Jamie to his left. "I hope you are enjoying the trip so far?"

"Yes, this is a new experience for most of our family." Leo said. "I just hope we're not distracting your crew from their work."

"Certainly not. You are after all the very reason for this trip. Do not hesitate to ask for anything. We are here to serve you." He looked down the long table. "All of you."

"Exactly how long will it be until we reach Mazaryn?" Mira asked.

"It takes nearly twenty of your Earth hours to reach the home world from your planet." A crewman appeared and began filling the captain's glass with a light brown liquid. Then proceeded to fill everyone else's glasses as well.

Cat frowned. They had already been on board for more than four hours and they'd left in the late afternoon. "Does that mean we'll be sleeping on board tonight?"

Taxal nodded. "Yes, my men have already placed your luggage in your quarters. So, whenever you desire to sleep you may."

"What is our expected arrival time on Mazaryn?" Sarah took a tentative sip from her glass.

"It will be late morning when we arrive. Lady Marina and Lord Stin have asked for you all to join them for breakfast." Taxal took a piece of purple fruit from the bowl in front of them.

"It'll be good to see them again. It's been a long time." Mikey was also picking at the fruit bowl near him.

"Yeah, they were supposed to come visit. They even promised they would." Raph took a sip of his own drink.

"I'm sure running an empire has kept them very busy." Don tested his own drink. It was sweet and fuzzy. It reminded him of cream soda.

The captain sat back as their meal was being served. "I was not present for the right of succession, but I have been told that you were the one that slew Lord Zenfered, not Lord Stin."

Leo glanced at the captain, trying to judge if the man approved or not of what had happened between his brother and Sarah's father. Across from him both Sarah and Don frowned. "I did, but it was never our intention to take the throne. That has always been Marina and Stin's right."

Taxal looked at Sarah with curiosity. "And you were alright with giving away your birthright? You are the first born after all."

Sarah shook her head, taking Don's hand in hers and meeting his loving gaze. "We aren't suited for that sort of thing. We don't desire that type of power. We never have. Besides, we could never leave our family." She smiled at Mira and gave Liling a small hug where she sat beside her.

Leo was relieved when Taxal's expression turned to one of admiration. "Such humbleness." He smiled. "I'm sure you would have made great rulers. I would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude. You have allowed our children to grow up in a peaceful society, rather than the violent one we were subject to for many decades."

"Has the transition from a warring race to one that's not been difficult?" K-three still felt the sting of anger and resentment towards Zenfered for attacking Shellri-La and for the death of his brother and parents.

Taxal sighed. "Honestly, for some it has been. Those are the ones that spent the majority of their lives conquering worlds for Lord Zenfered. But most feel as I do and their transition has been much easier. The Mazar are by nature a gentle race. Serving under Lord Zenfered was very hard." Taxal frowned. "And had the counsel been active at the time, we never would have invaded your home world. I know it's not much, but I am sorry for what happened to your people."

K-three paused with a frown of his own, his glass in mid-air. Mira put a hand on his arm feeling his sadness. He looked down at her before meeting the captain's gaze again. "It means more to me than you think."

The rest of their dinner went rather smoothly as they all chattered, excited about the coming events. Later, Commander Loteh escorted them to their quarters. Each room was furnished with a couch, a bedroom with one large bed, and a small kitchenette kind of area. The only one that was different was the one prepared for Don and Sarah. Theirs had a separate full kitchen and a servant on-call. It was also far larger than the other rooms. The couple felt odd being treated with such extravagant attention and had immediately relieved the servant.

Down the corridor a way, Raph sat on the side of the big bed, removing his gear. He frowned at Cat where she was staring out the large window. "What's wrong, darlin'?"

She sighed. "It's nothing."

He stood, stepping up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "You nervous 'bout bein' in space?"

Cat frowned. "Yeah, I guess."

"Don't worry, I'm here with ya. And I've done this several times now."

She gave him a crooked smile. "So you've said."

He moved around to stroke her cheek with a large callused thumb. "You know, there is one thing I've never done in space."

This time Cat smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

His smirk was larger, bending to kiss her deeply. "Yeah, and I'd really like to give it a try."

She slipped her arms around his neck. "Maybe it would help me sleep."

His hands slid up her back, one tangling in her hair. "If ya need help sleepin', I got what ya need." He kissed her again, moving them towards the bed.

A/N: The funny stuff starts in the next chapter, courtesy of poor Leo. ;D