The Centurion's deck was overflowing with boisterous students that were dancing away the elegant meal that they had just finished. Jim had awkwardly fumbled with the numerous forks and knives, trying his best not to feel like a country bumpkin. The Benbow had rarely hosted luxurious five course meals and the few times his mother had done something close, she'd warned him away from the dinner to keep trouble at bay. He had watched Kate and Dalia, who seemed far more comfortable plucking meat out of the hard shell of some rare space crustacean, and tried to emulate them. He'd heaved a sigh of relief when the last course was brought out.

"Look," Dalia grinned, dipping her head towards the large table in the dining room that was slightly higher than the others. Many of the professors and a few sailors were sitting properly and chitchatting over the meal – Admiral Blake jutting out from the middle like a rock standing above a rustling sea. Jim tried not to swivel his head too noticeably and Kate didn't even turn, obviously not wanting to make accidental eye contact with her father.

"What am I looking at?" he asked.

"Look at the dean. That guy next to her…look under the table," Dalia said gleefully. Sure enough, Dr. Doppler had rested his hand on Captain Amelia's thigh quite unobtrusively if one wasn't situated to see under the table.

"Yeah, they have a thing or something," Jim grinned back. "It was really weird on Treasure Planet. Like, the captain was absolutely delirious because she'd been stabbed during a bad longboat landing and she kept going on about how beautiful his eyes were."

"And you never thought that we'd love to hear about that?" Plott, despite his threat to not show up, had arrived in splendor, his uniform perfectly tailored to his lanky form. "You told me the whole story when you first got here and you left that part out? Hawkins, that's honestly one of the funniest things I've heard this whole semester. Can you imagine the dean being in love, because I didn't think it possible."

Half the table chuckled in agreement while the other half seemed to honestly ponder the hypothetical question.

"Ready to accept your award, Miss Admiral?" Plott changed the subject instantly. Jim shot a warning look at his hallmate, detecting some bitterness. "What is it Hawkins? I know she got it and so did you. It's the worst kept secret of this school. I'm happy for you both – I don't have to see you two fawning all over each other next year."

Kate opened her mouth to argue with Plott, but before a single word could emerge the hall fell silent as Admiral Blake stood up and clinked a fork on his glass.

"I'd like to welcome everyone to the celebration of the semester," he joked. It was an entirely different canid than the one that had accosted Jim in a study on Eteria. This Admiral Blake was jovial and the life of the party. He stood at ease, pleasantly surveying the many tables beneath him. "I'll keep this short – it's an immense pleasure to see so many young faces that understand the importance of keeping our Empire safe. I am proud of each and every one of you – the service that you will dedicate to the Navy…or the trades that support us…is essential to the operation of the best Empire in the galaxies. I look forward to working with all of you in the future, in whatever capacity that may be.

"Speaking of working with the Navy…I know what everyone is anxious to get to. As all of you should know, every year, we pick three of the best third years to be midshipmen on an export trip. This year, our midshipmen have the honor to travel on the RLS Centurion, the very ship that we stand in, to continue our diplomatic missions to the Procyons." At this sentence, Admiral Blake coughed lightly and took a sip of water. "So it is my great honor to announce the three students that will be attending this mission. The professors at this great Academy watch you all, and nominated a great many of you – the Board of Directors had a hard choice to make. Leaving at the end of next semester are the following three students …" he trailed off for dramatic effect, as the hundreds of students went absolutely and completely silent.

"Annick Loras! James Hawkins! Katherine Blake! Please join me on the dais."

Annick's face had lit up and Kate and Jim shared a small smile as they all danced awkwardly out of their seats and pushed through the angles of tables and chairs to make it up to the platform where they shook hands with the Admiral and the dean.

"Bang up job," Captain Amelia's feline smile graced Kate and offered her a spiky peace as she stood closer to her father than she had in a while. The students on the deck offered a smattering of applause as the ceremony closed and a band struck up music while deckhands moved furniture around for the students to begin dancing. Kate and Jim walked down the stage, Annick trailing behind them, and they rejoined their friends.

"What'd I say? Worst kept secret of the school," Plott repeated, but his wide smile belied kindness. He pounded Jim and Annick on their backs simultaneously, then mock-bowed in front of Kate.

"There's no need, lieutenant," she said, magnanimously. "I am a gracious captain."

"Is that a joke out of Miss Admiral's mouth? I'm impressed." Plott winked.

"Yes, yes, we're very proud of all of you," Dalia extended her hand to Plott. "But let's focus on the more pressing matter – it's time to dance!"

And off the students went, cavorting for hours to the rollicking strings that the band plucked. The entire student body screeched and whooped with cheers when Captain Smollett twirled about with Doctor Doppler for a few minutes. While all eyes were on the unlikely pair tangoing across the ship's deck, Jim searched the melee. He was sitting down, resting while Kate spoke with Smi about something. Maybe it was that he was already aware of his dean's dalliance with the doctor, or maybe he was just curious, but no matter the reason, he surveyed the audience and casted his eyes towards the teachers and officers lingering in the background. Many of them were drinking champagne and mingling with each other, and a few were politely dancing, with much less enthusiasm than the exuberant students. At that moment, Jim made the unfortunate mistake of looking directly at Admiral Stevenson Blake at the same time that Admiral Stevenson Blake looked at him. The two men locked gazes and Blake's eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth – as if Jim could hear him across the crowded floor – and then snapped it shut, before he shook his head and slowly drifted towards the kitchens.

What Admiral Blake needed to do in the kitchens, Jim wasn't sure, but the thought danced away as Kate breathlessly came to him. He smiled at her, at the pink in her cheeks, and her bouncing orange curls.

"Having fun?"

"Oh, Jim. I don't think I've ever had so much fun before! It's…it's like a weight has been lifted off my chest. I get to escape! We get to escape together!"

He grabbed her waist and twirled her out, reengaging in the dance. "I told you. We're rattling the stars together. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

The blast was instantaneous. Lieutenant Hollant fell to the floor, blood gasping from her stomach, her face eternally confused. Screams began piercing through the music, which was faltering towards a stop. Captain Amelia looked in the direction of the shot, which had to have come from behind the Lieutenant, but there was no one there, just a dark hallway that led below decks. It was as if time froze while she took stock of the damage, of the panicked teenagers, of the professors who had either drawn weapons instinctively or moved to protect those closest to them.

"Get the students off the boat," she shouted, and those nearest to her sprang into action and barked orders to the crowd to begin shepherding people down the gangplanks back planetside. She drew her revolver, clicking it on, when she heard the skittering. Vikhensians began crawling up over the stern of the Centurion, their claws poised to strike. They were a tall species, hovering heads above the crowd, which made aiming easy. She fired, and shouted.

"Oi! Spider brains! Over here!" It was calculated. There had to be a dozen or so of the men, not enough to take out the students, but enough to exact a heavy amount of casualties. She could distract their focus to get as many people off as possible.

The shot powered through the claw of the Vikhensian at the front of the group. He hissed in pain, clutching it. Time froze again as Amelia took stock. There were very few students left, and the professors were almost complete in quickly marching everyone off. Just a few more seconds, but the spiders were quickly on her.

"Get off this ship," the one she shot hissed at her. "Or I will use this claw to paint the deck red."

"You and what army?" Amelia scoffed, raising the gun again.

"What army?" The spider creature laughed, dropping his injured claw and using his good one to reach out to try and snatch at the felid, who nimbly danced backwards. "Why, the Procyons. I've been paid…heavily to send a message."

"What message would that be?" Movement flashed out of the corner of her eye. Jim, Kate and Plott were on the other side of the deck from the gangplank, having apparently ducked behind some barrels when the shots had gone off. They'd have to cross through the gang in front of them to escape. She didn't want to draw attention to them, but needed to let them know to make a run for it. But while this raced through her head, time didn't freeze this time. It was a long enough distraction for the creature to grab her, digging his claw painfully into her shoulder blade. Amelia felt the fabric of her jacket tear and blood start to drip down her back.

"The message is the loss of this ship. You want to use it for a diplomatic mission but they've hired us to steal it. I think you can read between the lines here. Captain Smollett." He pressed harder and Amelia tried not to gasp as her back's flesh tore open. The world was going hazy. She had to save the students. The other Vikhensians had begun swarming the deck, some starting the launch process while others pushed the adults coming back to protect their dean off the gangplanks. But there were still three students hiding, horrified behind those barrels, and they weren't about to stay hidden.

"While murdering one of the most famous Navy captains in the galaxy might be in my future," he hissed out suddenly. "It's not what I was paid to do, and it's taking up my time." He lifted his claw upwards, still hooked into Amelia's shoulder, and the world went black. She was thrown viciously overboard, landing on the dock below.