Summary: Harry Potter, newly appointed Captain of the Marauder and son of the famous Captain James Potter, was falling apart at the seams. His crew didn't respect him, he was lost in the empty expanse of space, nightmares plagued his sleep, and his Commander deserved the Captain position more than he did. Good thing multiple attempts on his life and a vicious warlord after his head was all it took to turn it all around.

Alternatively, that space fic in which Harry Potter almost dies too many times, Tom Riddle slowly becomes the most smitten fool on the ship, and there are a lot of exploding things. Too many exploding things.

A/N: Shameless HP and Star Trek fusion thing. I don't know anything about space travel outside of the Star Trek movies, so please forgive me. This fic also deals with some mental issues that is not outright named but is present. I don't know anyone, nor have I myself experienced any of these, so I hope my depiction of it isn't horribly inaccurate and I haven't offended anyone by trying to write about such a complex topic? Feedback is welcome on that end.

This is my first multi-chaptered completed fic (yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read that right, I actually have the whole story written, all I have to do is edit it for grammar, smooth over the writing, and post it!), and I actually struggled with a lot of it, not because of motivation but because I'm...not quite happy with it. On one hand I'm super satisfied that I've finished it, but on the other I feel like I just didn't take advantage of what I had and didn't flesh it out well enough, and my storytelling didn't even do my concept enough justice.

But, I'll let you decide on that. Also, I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE WRITING THIS RIGHT NOW. MY MCAT IS IN 3 DAYS HOLY FUCK AND I HAVE WORK IN 5 HOURS. *hyperventilates*

Anyways, please enjoy!

XxX

Harry Potter stared at the ensign in front of him.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, voice deadpan and so flat even the clumsiest oaf wouldn't have been able to trip over it.

"Lieutenant Commanders Malfoy and Weasley have engaged in another altercation in the mess hall, sir," the ensign reported. His four eyes still sparkled with excitement from being in outer space and talking to the Captain, wait until I tell my friends. Harry was sure that enthusiasm would die a painful death when they sailed for the seventh continuous week out in the asshole of space.

Harry wasn't impressed. He pinched his nose and closed his eyes before gusting out a noisy sigh. Draco and Ron were two of his most trusted officers, competent and responsible and intelligent, and yet somehow, they were still mentally stuck at ten when it came to each other.

"Alright, Ensign. I'll go deal with it. Return to your post."

"Sir!" With a sharp salute, the Ensign made his merry way back to wherever he was supposed to be. Harry slumped in his seat. Beside him, Hermione gave him a commiserating pat on the shoulder.

"Maybe they haven't started a food fight yet," she suggested.

"Or maybe they've destroyed our one good food replicator, and we'll have to suffer horrible tasteless imitations of lasagna until the next stop," Harry muttered darkly. Hermione winced and withdrew her hand. She ran her claws through her hair and shrugged.

"Do you want me to call Commander Riddle to handle the situation?" Hermione asked in a last ditch effort to put Harry in a better mood.

Blaise snickered from the navigation panel. "You act as if Riddle won't be adding fuel to the fire, Granger."

"He's a great deal more level-headed than those two idiots," Hermione sniffed.

"The last time Riddle interfered in interpersonal altercations, we had to replace our ten thousand credit medical equipment."

"That wouldn't have happened if Nurse Lovegood hadn't pushed him out of the way of one of her imaginary creatures!"

"Lovegood doesn't have a body to push anyone with!"

"Careful, Granger, your crush is showing," Zacharias drawled. Hermione's cheeks glowed blue in embarrassment and anger. "And you're blushing bright blue. Rein in your fangirling."

"Shut your mouth, Smith, I do not have a crush. I just greatly respect Commander Riddle for his accomplishments, especially his work on how the tectonic plates on Diagon IV affect the geothermal environment, which in turn gives rise to the planet's particular coloring and rock formations-" Hermione began hotly before being cut off.

"Lieutenant Zabini, please focus on navigating our ship. Ensign Smith, stop riling up Lieutenant Granger. And Lieutenant Granger, get Commander Riddle up here, he'll babysit you kids. I will go talk to Draco and Ron," Harry snapped. He felt a headache growing in the back of his head. It had been only a little more than a month on this ship, and he was already going stir crazy. He needed to get off this ship and away from his crazy officers before he committed murder, and then how would he control the ship?

There wasn't one single sane person on the deck right now. None. He irritably walked towards the elevator that would lead him to a lower level. The doors closed behind him, and only the soft whir of the elevator rushing downwards broke the silence. Sweet, blessed silence.

The elevator slowed to a stop, and when he stepped out, he came face to face with a handsome, pale face, slicked back black hair, and red irises framed by black sclera. Red lines spider webbed out from the man's eyes. Even for a Dershite, the being was uncommonly handsome.

"Lieutenant Granger commed me to come to the bridge," Tom said. His voice was low and even. Well, at least someone on this god forsaken ship was calm. Harry certainly didn't feel calm, not when his nerves were so frazzled and the steady pressure of his headache threatened his sanity.

"Commander Riddle," Harry greeted tiredly. "If you'd be so kind as to get the circus act upstairs sorted out, I think I'm going to pry the toddlers in the mess hall away from each other and then end my shift early, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Tom said cheerfully. He smiled reassuringly, which wasn't actually that comforting considering the sharp white teeth.

"Great. Thanks," Harry said, but as he strode forwards to the mess hall, his headache throbbed. Vertigo hit him with all the subtlety of a transport ship, and he wobbled slightly.

A hand reached out, nails black and clawed, and latched gently onto Harry's elbow to stabilize him.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Tom asked, a rare trace of seriousness in his voice. He ducked so press his forehead onto Harry's own forehead and hummed. His skin was cool, with a strange, velvety texture. "You seem to be a little hot for Human temperatures. Are you becoming ill? You're one of our most important officers, you must stay in good health."

Harry shifted away and shook his head, which was followed by regret as the movement exacerbated the pain. "Hopefully not. Then you'd be the only one I'd trust this ship to, and then where would we be?"

Tom quirked a grin, a touch of viciousness beneath it. "Probably with a more competent crew and making progress on our five year expedition, Captain."

Harry flinched harshly. Tom always appeared to be joking whenever he made such comments, but Harry was pretty sure that behind that stoic, composed demeanor, Tom was bitter. The Marauder had almost been his ship, after all, until Harry had somehow found himself aboard, accidentally saved her from certain doom, and banished one of the most deadly Dershian warlords in space, Voldemort, to who knew where. The Dershite had just vanished like particles in the wind. Harry was appointed Captain for his feat of heroism, a position he didn't feel like he even deserved, with Tom as his Commander.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew what others said about him, both behind his back and in his face. Harry had been accused of being favored for his deceased father's skills and was gifted the ship. Harry himself wasn't quite sure how he went from being a student at Hogwarts Space Academy to being the Captain of his own ship, and he was pretty sure luck and sheer bullheadedness played a large part in the entire incident. Everyone else had just complained of nepotism under their breaths except for Hermione and Ron, stalwart friends to the end. That didn't mean they didn't think it, though. There were even rumors that the Space Federation was just trying to prevent a Dershite from becoming Captain of his own ship. Voldemort was a Dershite, after all, and if Tom Riddle was one as well, what would stop him from going the same way as the banished warlord?

Needless to say, the relationship between them wasn't the warmest.

"I'm sorry I don't measure to your standards, then, Tom," Harry said, icily, before twisting out of his Commander's grip.

"Captain, that is not-"

"I suggest you get to your post, Commander. I don't think the crew will last five minutes without supervision," Harry cut him off and made his way briskly to the mess hall without a glance backwards. The moment he turned the corner, his shoulders dropped, and he leaned resignedly against the wall.

He was starting to regret taking up Admiral Dumbledore's offer for the five year expedition to continue his father's work. It had barely been more than a month, and already Harry felt doubts attacking him on all sides. His officers didn't respect him. His own second in command didn't think Harry could successfully command the ship. The emptiness and loneliness of space was already starting to gnaw at his insides. Whereas before, the mere sight of space sent Harry into fantasies of freedom and adventure, now only the deep chill of black nothingness seeped into his bones, feeding on his insecurities like some voracious beast. And that wasn't even including the nightmares that plagued his sleep.

He breathed out his anxiety, shook out the tension from his shoulders, and made his way to the mess hall. He was greeted with food caking the walls, a fork that mysteriously found its way stuck in the ceiling, and two red-faced, angry Lieutenant Commanders.

XxX

Hermione peered at Harry, golden brown eyes worried.

"You look horrible, Harry. Have you gone to the medical bay yet to see what's going on with your headache?" she asked, concerned. "Malfoy may be a jerk, but he's good at what he does."

"It'll go away in a couple of days, Hermione, don't worry about it," Harry said, shoving around the replicated peas on his plate. He stabbed his sad excuse of meatloaf and shoved it in his mouth. "It happens from time to time."

"Harry, please finish eating before you speak," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes before elbowing Ron roughly in the side. Ron was content shoveling the replicated chicken pot pie in his mouth and downing it with pumpkin juice. Hermione leaned away slightly in disgust before turning her attention on Harry again. "I know it does, Harry, but I still think you should go check it out."

"Hermione, if I went to the medical bay every time my head hurt, I wouldn't ever leave," Harry replied exasperatedly. "I'll go if I need to."

"I wouldn't be worried if you didn't have a habit of leaving your injuries unattended until they became life threatening!" Hermione exclaimed. "It doesn't help that you've had a persistent headache since…you know what."

Harry grumbled into his food spitefully.

"You should listen to Hermione. She's smart," Ron garbled through his mouthful of food, and Hermione didn't seem to know whether to cringe away in disgust or look pleased at the compliment.

"Alright, I'll go!" Harry finally conceded under the combined attentions of his best friends. "Can we talk about literally anything else?"

"We can talk about how I finally landed a date with Cho." Another metal tray plunked beside Harry's, followed by large alien with bronze, rough skin and a wide, scaled face. There was a swipe of grease across his cheek, and a bit of black in his mohawk that tied back into a low brown ponytail. Despite his size and rough appearance, though, the large man was still charmingly adorable.

"Congratulations, Cedric!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"I'm glad for you," Harry agreed. "Good to know there's still a bit of life in other parts of this ship."

"I'm sure there'd be a bit of life on this part of the ship if you'd stop being such a downer," Ron mumbled. "You're putting me off my appetite, Harry."

"So sorry, Ron, but I don't think there's really anything that can put you off your appetite, mate," Harry grinned, nudging his friend in the side. "Except maybe spiders."

"I'd like to see you trying to eat with a spider sitting right in front of you. Especially one of those large ones from the Forbidden Sector. They're giant!"

"Look at him, being friendly with the upper officers."

"I bet the only reason he became Captain was because of his connections."

"Commander Riddle would have made a better Captain."

The whispers usually weren't obvious, but today, someone wanted to make their opinions known and weren't afraid to share. Generally, his crew didn't normally speak ill of their Captain in his presence. Harry was, of course, aware of his reputation and how his entire crew saw him, but knowledge did not equal comfort or acceptance, and the fact that he was being discussed so openly…

Harry felt what was left of his appetite abruptly vanish. He stood abruptly. Ron was bewildered, but Hermione and Cedric both had that same look of pity. Actually, Hermione looked ready to launch into one of her famous tirades against the gossiping group seated two tables away.

"Leave it, Hermione. I think I'll head to the medical bay now. Thanks for chatting with me," Harry said, fighting against the onset of the headache again.

"Harry…" Cedric began before turning silent, unsure of what to say. Harry was pretty sure Cedric had similar, if not the same, opinions the rest of the ship seemed to have but was just too nice to voice them aloud.

Harry turned on his heel and dumped the remains of his food in the incinerator. He made a swift exit out of the mess hall.

XxX

"Well aren't you looking absolutely dazzling today," Draco drawled in a monotone when Harry stepped into the chilled medical bay. Everything was sterilized and clean, with smooth surfaces and rounded corners. There was a crisp quality to the air. Harry shivered at how…surgical everything looked.

"Are you coming in for your headache, Harry?" Luna asked as she wandered over in a flickering of white lights. Her form was largely translucent and intangible, so she often didn't see the need to wear clothes since nobody could really see details about her anyways. Luna was the strange one of her race. The rest of her species tended to be incredibly xenophobic and kept to themselves, priding themselves on their ability to See things many other species didn't. Luna couldn't be more friendly or curious about the world outside her home, which led her to break away from her home and venture into the welcoming arms of the Space Federation. Those from Luna's planet willing to put up with communicating with other species were rare, but the fact that Luna went out of her way to meet other aliens was absolutely baffling.

"Head Nurse Lovegood, please prepare the necessary equipment for a blood draw," Draco commanded as he pulled his long hair into a ponytail. "You're coming in for a headache? How long have you had it?"

"For several weeks now," Harry winced as Draco shone a light into his eyes.

"For seven weeks, in fact," Luna interjected dreamily before she seemed to sharpen. Harry got the distinct feeling he was being watched like a butterfly under a microscope. "Since Voldemort."

Draco stilled. He pushed his hand under Harry's messy bangs and pulled them up, revealing a healing, red scar in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"It hasn't gotten any better since then," Draco observed in a low voice. He glanced down, and Harry averted his gaze. "You haven't come to us for assistance before today. Why?"

"I didn't think it was a big problem," Harry muttered. "Hermione was nagging me."

"So our Captain doesn't know how to take care of himself unless someone does so for him," Draco said, razor sharp with a hint of disgust behind his tone. "And you call me a child."

Harry flinched and convinced himself it was because Luna had stuck a needle into his vein. Harry watched his blood drain into the little vial, which the nurse then took to a small machine that coughed up a sheet with numbers. Draco tore it off and scanned it briefly.

"All your numbers are normal, but your forehead and pain say otherwise," Draco observed before turning cool, grey eyes on Harry. Draco had been Harry's rival during the academy, but the blond Veela had graduated early with top marks in the medical department and subsequently joined the Marauder legitimately. Harry could only guess what Draco thought of him now, far younger than the doctor and so much less qualified than Tom. Draco narrowed his grey eyes like he was trying to figure out Harry like a puzzle.

"Doctor Malfoy," Luna chided gently, and Draco wiped his face blank again.

"I think your biggest problem is the lack of rest you've been getting. You're overworked, even I can tell all the way from the medical bay. Blaise speaks of how you're always on the command deck," Draco said, shredding the paper and throwing it in the incinerator. Draco was smart, with a wicked sharp memory, and he kept all crew members' medical information stored either in his memory or his private Pensieve. "You need to take better care of yourself. Despite whatever you may believe, you cannot work two straight shifts in a row."

"I can take care of myself fine," Harry snapped. His patience was nearing the end, and he was tired of everyone doubting him. He didn't want to see pity in others, incompetence in himself. He was doing fine. He could do this, no matter what Hermione or Draco or Tom thought.

Draco regarded him coolly. He let out a small sigh, which was practically a facepalm in Veela language, and dug around a nearby cabinet and pulled out a small, orange bottle with little white pills in it.

"When's our next stop?" the doctor asked, counting the number of pills in the bottle.

"Port Nurmengard's several days away. We need to go there to repair some things and stock up before we leave for the long haul," Harry replied.

"Take these, one each time before you sleep until then. It should knock you out for a minimum of six hours." Draco handed over the bottle, and Harry pocketed it without even examining it. Rival or not, Harry trusted Draco not to poison him. If only Draco could trust him too. "I'll be able to restock then, those are all I had prepared for before we left. And please take care of yourself. You've got a whole crew depending on you."

"I know," Harry snarled as he vaulted to his feet in a fit of temper. He immediately felt guilty. Good Captains didn't snap at his crew's legitimate concerns. He waved a hand with a muttered "thanks" before stalking out of the medical bay under Draco's intense stare, fully planning to go take a very long nap, but was stopped at the door by the shimmering, incorporeal form of the Head Nurse.

"What the doctor means to say is," Luna began, and it was only Harry's respect and fondness for her that stopped him from walking through her, "we care for you, Harry, and it would sadden us if you fell ill. The heliopaths would swamp you then, and then where would we be?" Luna seemed to smile.

Harry didn't say aloud that that was probably what Luna had meant to say, not Draco, but he definitely thought it.

"Thanks, Luna," Harry said before nudging around her and out the door.

XxX

Nurmengard smelled like oil, machinery, and smoke. Harry was used to the fresh air of Terra or the industrialized but clean air of Hogwarts Space Academy, not the pollution that choked Nurmengard. Compounded with his headache that seemed to be growing worse despite the sleep he'd been getting from Draco's prescription (and ignoring the flashes of green, red on black eyes, the screams of thousands in his nightmares), Harry certainly didn't want to go out, but his curiosity got the better of him. He'd never been to a space trading center before.

"We leave in two cycles," Harry announced over his comm to the rest of the ship. "Be on the ship by then, or we're leaving you behind. Make sure your responsibilities are taken care of before you skip off to town. Captain out."

"Nurmengard's a port that trades in all kinds of things, right?" Hermione asked as she sidled up to Harry, who was readying to leave the ship himself. He'd managed to beg off some painkillers from Luna, which he downed two of dry, and double checked his phaser. In an environment like Nurmengard, it was always better to be prepared for trouble.

"From what I've heard, yeah."

"I wonder if there are any good texts," Hermione muttered. Blaise turned his head in interest from where he was plotting possible paths through uncharted space.

"Is the bookworm going to find more reading material?" Blaise asked, voice sneering but demeanor eager. Harry wondered what was up with the helmsman. His behavior always seemed to contradict his thoughts, especially around Hermione.

"The bookworm is finding something to entertain herself with for the next five years instead of sitting around like a useless lump," Hermione retorted shortly. "Unlike you."

Blaise made a wounded noise before joining the two. "I've never been to Nurmengard. I want to explore a bit."

"You can't explore by yourself?" Hermione asked irritably.

"Nah. Smith is probably going to find himself a good lay, and Malfoy's busy stocking up on items. Diggory will probably try to rope me into doing something down in engineering, and lord knows Riddle's just going to be more absorbed in his experiments than interested in going out. So I'm coming with you."

"You're like a bloodsucking tick," Hermione wrinkled her nose, and Blaise laughed.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"Please don't flirt in front of me," Harry moaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I'm feeling nauseous enough, don't make it worse."

Hermione drew back, thoroughly disgusted at the very notion, but Blaise just looked unruffled, even a little pleased. Harry decided that he wasn't going to even poke that with a ten foot pole.

They exited the ship, boots crunching along the gravel. Harry relished the feeling of being on stable land again instead of a ship flying through space. It felt so…nice, not being confined to the ship anymore, pressed on all sides by judging stares and whispered words. Maybe he'd get some much needed, restful sleep here, without any dreams of green energy crackling, powering up, ready to wipe a planet out of existence.

Nurmengard was alive in a way that space wasn't. Sure, it was polluted and populated with dubious characters, all selling or trading equally dubiously procured goods, but it was busy, and here, nobody would really know who Harry was. Here, he was just another visitor looking to trade some goods.

"Hey, it's Riddle!" Blaise exclaimed, trying to peer over the heads of annoyed workers. "Commander!"

Tom turned, bewildered at the sight of the trio. Harry didn't blame him. Harry and Hermione hanging out together was common, but Blaise didn't often interact with them outside of the command bridge. His expression quickly smoothed into the charming and confident visage he was known for onboard. Harry hated the mask. He couldn't ever tell what Tom was thinking.

"Captain, Lieutenants," Tom greeted.

"What are you doing outside of your lab?" Blaise asked enthusiastically.

"Trying to escape you lot," Tom said dryly. "I heard rumor that there were several traders with rare plants. I wanted to find a sample."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the Commander. Nurmengard traded in many things, sure, but it was mainly in machinery and technology, not botany. Besides, Neville would have jumped at the chance to find new plants instead of Tom. The Dershite dealt more in the environmental and biological side of science, last Harry recalled.

"You can join us! We're exploring too," Hermione said sweetly, and Blaise recoiled with another wounded expression on his face.

"I thought you and I were on a date!" Blaise exclaimed melodramatically. Tom quirked a smile and smoothly took Hermione's hand.

"You can do much better than this cretin," Tom said smoothly, and Hermione blushed bright blue while furrowing her brows.

"Stop teasing me," she growled and squeezed Tom's hand a bit tighter with her not inconsiderable strength, making Tom hide a wince.

"Let's just go," Harry groaned, grabbing Hermione by the upper arm and trying to drag her along with him. Blaise managed to latch himself onto Tom, and they were off exploring the stalls that lined the main street.

Harry couldn't stop turning his head trying to look at everything. Everything here was so much more advanced mechanically. Little handy devices for the most common things, such as opening beer bottles (not that there were many of those on the ship) and voice commanded music players. Harry lost sight of his companions several times. Hermione seemed to have drifted towards a stall holding books, Blaise right behind her, although his eyes wandered more towards the advanced compasses, and Tom faded in and out of the crowd more than once. Harry wasn't quite sure if he'd even find his plant.

He'd been browsing the street for at least several hours, trying to ignore the pounding in his forehead that was getting worse despite the painkillers, slowly accumulating small trinkets and things that reminded him of home (there was a small toy snowy owl that hooted and played music, and had instantly charmed Harry), when an alarm suddenly went off. It blared through the streets, and Harry immediately snapped into motion. He felt a calmness fall over him, the same battle-readiness and level head that let him survive, save a planet from Voldemort's claws. He took charge as he scanned his surroundings.

He quickly found the source of the alarm.

"The Death Eater," Harry hissed. A large, black ship loomed at the edge of the atmosphere, a black, hulking monster of a ship against the green sky. He felt more than saw the unique Dershian beaming technology, the tell-tale radioactive green energy that Dershites were known for. Harry caught glances of red irises on black sclera as multiple soldiers landed amidst the crowd, red veins protruding from their eyes as they used their enhanced eyesight to scan the fleeing crowds. One caught sight of him, and a wide smile cracked the Dershite's mouth, teeth filed to a point.

"Found you, little Potter," the man trilled. All of the other beamed down Dershites suddenly turned their attention on him. Harry's headache split his head like a lightning bolt, making his vision waver slightly.

Shit.

"Harry, this way!" Hermione appeared. Her clawed hand latched onto his wrist, and she pulled him away, using her enhanced strength to push people out of the way. He felt crackles of green energy rush towards him, but they missed. Several shots went wide, hitting civilians instead and leaving behind singed and mutilated corpses charred beyond recognition. Harry hated Dershian phasers. They were permanently set to kill.

There was a rumble, and a wall beside him began to crumble. Debris flew towards several Dershites, sending them crashing into the streets. Hermione and Harry managed to round the corner and hide.

"Are you trying to kill us, Zabini?" Hermione screeched. Blaise was floating in midair as yellow energy enveloped his body. He waved a hand, sending more rubble and machinery crashing onto their chasers.

"I'm doing you a favor. Get to the ship! Smith and Diggory have been informed about the situation, they'll set off as soon as we get on."

"There might still be people that haven't made their way on board yet!" Harry exclaimed as he tugged his arm back. Hermione whirled around in dismay. "We lost Tom in the chaos, and we don't even know how many of the crew made it back!"

"We can't afford to wait around. In case you missed it, that's the Death Eater, Potter," Blaise snarled, charm gone in the face of danger. He thrust his arm forward, telekinetically hurling whatever his powers could get a hold of at their pursuers. "I'm a good psionic, Potter, but I can't hold them off forever."

"It's a wonder how they even found us," a cool voice interjected. Tom vaulted over a flipped stall, a small phaser in one hand and a larger, more powerful energy rifle in his other. He blindly fired from over their cover. "We've barely been on this planet for half a cycle, but they knew. I thought you'd destroyed their fleet, Potter!"

"I destroyed Voldemort's fleet, not him or his ship!" Harry exclaimed, gratefully accepting Tom's proffered second gun. His head pounded, and he grit his teeth. Anything to distract him from the pain, to get his head in the game, to get his crew to safety.

"How did he find us? Why is he coming after us?" Hermione growled. Tom grunted as he hefted his heavy phaser onto his shoulder and returned fire.

"There must have been somebody who leaked our location," Blaise said from his other side, using his psionic powers to collapse rubble onto the oncoming soldiers. There was a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead from exertion.

"He wants your head," Tom said, quietly. He narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Voldemort wants your head for destroying his entire fleet and defeating him."

Harry closed his eyes and breathed raggedly through his nose. It seemed that he had brought upon him and his crew the wrath of Lord Voldemort. None of this would have happened if Harry had just stayed like an obedient cadet at the Space Academy. But no, he had to go play the hero, and even though he severely crippled the Dershian army, he had their warlord gunning for his blood. He could try to escape to the ship, but he didn't know how many of his crew were still planetside. He had to stall, give more time to any stragglers. He had to get Hermione, Blaise, and Tom safely to the ship. He was the Captain, after all, and even though he was a shit one, he'd do everything he could to protect them.

With a sharp pain lacing through his scar, nausea building in his stomach, and desperation trapped behind his teeth, he met Tom's eyes.

"If he wants me, then he'll get me," Harry said. "While I'm distracting him, get Cedric to beam you up, and then get out of here."

"We're not leaving you here!" Hermione said fiercely, and Harry tilted his head, smile grim as he readied his phaser. He needed to break cover, distract the Dershites, and perhaps lead them on a merry wild goose chase across Nurmengard. With any luck, Voldemort would let the rest of his crew go in exchange for his life.

"It's either just me or all of us. Commander Riddle will be in charge. Go!"

When there was no motion for them to leave, Harry turned to face the group. Hermione had blue tears leaking down her face, and even Blaise looked defiant and angry. Tom was staring at Harry, face blank. Harry didn't know what he was thinking, not that he ever did.

A bright flash of green blew part of the concrete by Harry's foot into dust, drawing them into action again.

"Just go!" Harry said, turning again. He quirked a grin, with no humor. "Get out of here. That's an order."

The Commander roved his eyes over Harry's face, in search of something, before he emotionlessly nodded in the face of Harry's determination. He hauled Hermione over one arm and pulled Blaise away by his shirt.

"The Captain's orders," Tom said, and he threw a last, unreadable glance over his shoulder before herding the other two away. Not even Hermione's strength could help her escape Tom's clutches. "We will go."

"I'm not leaving him!" Hermione screamed, sobbing and clawing at Tom's shirt. Blaise only closed his eyes and used his powers to build a stronger shelter for Harry.

"It should help you last longer. We'll come back for you, Captain," Blaise promised fiercely before boosting their flight towards the ship. Harry methodically checked over his phaser. The power was still good for at least twenty shots.

Harry felt a battle calm settle over him. It was ironic that, in the midst of chaos and pain, Harry felt the most clear in ages. Nobody to judge, nobody to blame him. Just him and his enemy, a clear cut path, black and white. Not even his headache registered, not really, because when it came to protecting his crew, his people, he'd ignore his own pain, always.

Harry lifted his phaser and, with pinpoint precision and determination burning down his throat, shot a Dershite right in the chest.

The time passed in a blaze of green and smoke, between trading fire with the enemy, diving behind partially collapsed buildings, and darting between covers. Harry had long run out of energy on his small phaser and, with disgust in his mouth that tasted like rot and ashes, salvaged one of the Dershian phasers. Even as one person, Harry had a psionic enforced wall to return to if he needed a break and the training from one of the Space Federation's finest, James Potter. He could handle several Dershian grunts.

He ignored the buzzing weapon in his hands that resonated strangely with his flesh, his head, his very being, ignored the same weapon that killed his father and nearly snuffed out millions of lives, ignored the pain that grew to excruciating levels that wrapped around his head like barbed wire, ignored the fact that he probably wouldn't be getting out of this alive, and fought.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the Marauder start to lift. They must have gotten everybody on board. Harry smiled grimly.

This was it, then. Harry didn't often wonder how he would die, but he'd never wanted a peaceful death, one that would come for him in the middle of the night. In his darkest hours, he'd imagined himself dying in the medical bay, no friends beside him, only the yawning void of space to keep him company, and fear always clawed at his chest. At least here, now, he'd go down protecting those he loved.

He closed his eyes and gripped the Dershian phaser that seemed so heavy, laden with so many deaths by Harry's hand.

Suddenly, there was a familiar tingling along his spine, and Harry breathed out in disbelief. Anger, denial, and then relief flooded through him as he felt himself dissolve into a million little particles. When he reassembled, he was standing on the transporter pad, Cedric's relieved face peering over the control panel.

"Good to have you back with us, Captain!" Cedric grinned.

"You were supposed to leave me. The ship's going to follow us now, with me on it," Harry snapped, trying to hide the relief. He'd just doomed the entire ship. The Marauder, although fitted for warfare, couldn't stand up to the repulsor and shielding technology of the Death Eater. They were outmatched.

"Not to worry, Captain. Lieutenant Zabini scrambled their navigations and control. They won't be airborne for at least the next hour. Plenty of time for us to escape and mask our ship," Cedric said cheerfully.

"Everybody's accounted for then?" Harry pressed, to which Cedric nodded, before the implications of Blaise's actions dawned on him. "That's a huge amount of power from Blaise. He was already at his limit down there!"

"Well, he's in the medical bay from exhaustion-" Cedric began, but Harry was already racing out of the transporter room, running down the hallways and dodging his crew to get to the medical bay.

"Blaise!" he burst in and was met by Luna's giggling and Draco's glare.

"This is the medical bay, Potter, not your playground." Draco returned to fussing over Blaise, who was trapped in bed but still waving to Harry. Hermione, on the other side of the bed, sniffed before launching herself at Harry.

"Thank god, oh Harry," Hermione said, and Harry was pretty sure when she pulled away, his shirt would be stained blue from tears. He couldn't find it in himself to begrudge her of it.

"I'm good. I'm more worried about Blaise," Harry said. "You alright?"

Blaise shrugged, and Harry could see the fatigue lining his face, but the psionic looked happy enough anyways.

"I had to drink one of Draco's energy shake potion things, and I borrowed the power of several other psionics on board, but I've temporarily crippled one of the most fearsome warships this side of the galaxy and saved our ship, crew, and Captain. I'd say I'm feeling pretty alright," Blaise bragged, and Harry was glad, for once, for the smug bastard. Hermione, on his other side, gave Blaise a watery smile, and Harry resigned himself to the inevitable disaster the two would make as a couple. "They had focused all of their attention on you and not their ship, though, so I probably won't be able to do it again. They'll have countermeasures in place to cover for their weakness."

"That's good enough. I can't thank you enough for your service," Harry said sincerely. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You risked your health for – for me. I don't know how I can repay you."

"You've already repaid me by saving Draco," Blaise replied, and Draco tensed at the mention of his name. Harry made an inquiring noise, and Draco relented.

"I'm grateful for the sacrifice you've made as well, Potter," Draco said stiffly. "I was restocking my supplies at the market when I heard the alarm. I made it onto the ship right after Commander Riddle and Lieutenants Zabini and Granger arrived. Your diversion stalled for enough time that everybody could be accounted for, and Zabini had time to scramble their navigations."

"You've exhausted yourself for me-" Harry began but was cut off.

"I think you underestimate your worth, Potter," Zabini grinned good-naturedly while Draco fluffed his pillows and fussed as much as a Veela could. "You put your ass on the line for the crew. I think you deserve the same from us, at least, don't you?"

Harry blinked, bewildered, before breathing out a shaky breath and burying his face in his hands. Draco and Blaise pretended that they didn't see their Captain breaking down in front of them.

XxX

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please tell me what you think! Feel free to yell at me in the reviews if you don't think I handled something right. I can't make any large changes to the story now since it's already written, but I still want to know for future reference. I tried to keep unfamiliar terminology as sparse as possible (didn't want to go around giving random names to alien species), so let me know if something gets confusing. I named Tom's species because they're central to the plot, and Draco's cuz, c'mon, when I think Draco and magical species Veela is like, the go to one. Also, fun fact, I may or may not have stolen the name Dershite from Homestuck's Derse, but they don't hold much in common.

Also, the Hermione/Blaise snuck up on me. It wasn't my intention, but then it happened, and I kind of ran with it.

Also! For those who care. I have a tumblr at haplesshippo. I don't usually have time in my day to do a lot of reblogs, so it'll be sparse in terms of entertainment value, but I'll always try to answer any questions or hold conversations! Just hit me up in an ask or whatever you people do on tumblr.

Sincerely,

haplesshippo