Veerna, Don, and Yulia finally reached the security building of the planet. It was as empty as the rest of the planet, aside from the body of the security guard collapsed in his seat. Veerna hardly gave the corpse a second glance as she shoved him out of the way and started hacking into the massive computer that took up the entirety of the main room. "Well," she muttered. "Sabotage."

"Someone wanted this all to happen?" Yulia asked, looking terrified.

"And who killed him?" Don added, indicating the body Veerna had ruthlessly tossed aside.

Veerna shrugged. "Nothing did, from the looks of it," she said idly. "He hasn't got a mark on him."

Yulia squeaked. However, Don's attention was claimed by an explosion that rocked the booth—an explosion that brought a scowl to Veerna's face. "That wasn't from above us," she mumbled.

"Not from above us?" Don questioned. "Then, where did it come from?"

A second explosion blew up a flaming geyser through a hidden trap door close to Yulia. The Atonian shrieked in panic, scampering to put Veerna between her and the explosion. Veerna's eyebrows shot up. "There," she said, pointing helpfully.

Don sent her a glare, but even he wasn't expecting to see Flint crawl through the hole. Veerna's gun, which had appeared in her hand in a split second, lowered to the floor. "Flin?" she said with a frown. "What're you doing here? Where are the others?"

Flint smirked. "Veerna, are you really so blind?" he said, and swiftly drew both his guns, pointing them at Yulia and Don. Veerna's gun was raised as well, but she was hesitating, an unreadable expression on her face. "I've come to do some business, Veerna. And it concerns her." He motioned to Yulia with his gun.

"What does—ohhh." Veerna nodded slowly. Her gaze slid down to the corpse on the floor. "I think I get it."

"Get ... what?" Don questioned with a frown. "Veerna?"

"Everyone on this planet died from the same plague that destroyed her planet," Veerna said, indicating Yulia with a toss of her thumb. "Flinty here wants to make some cash off of it, don't you?"

Flint inclined his head towards her. "You always did have a good grasp of business," he complimented her.

"Enough with the false compliments, Flint," Veerna said, her voice steely again. "You're not taking this kid. Particularly not to sell her off to the highest bidder."

Flint raised his eyebrows. "You think you can stop me, Veerna? I'd hate to ruin our good relationship, my dear."

"Good relationship?" Veerna's eyebrows shot up. "I don't get a good relationship quality from you, chum. I get a 'keep her around until she's useful' quality from you."

Flint's nostrils flared. "I am fond of you, Veerna. And I thought that you returned those feelings. Will you really throw that all away for Federation flunkies and some indigo-haired coward?"

Veerna put her hand on her hip, the other still pointing the gun at Flint. "Let me ask you something. When have you ever tried to save me from Rulon? When have you gone back for me, when I'm everything that you hate and fight against? They despised me, yet they came back for me when Rulon was torturing me." She touched her throat, and Don saw the burned flesh of her brand there. "Seems like I know who my real friends are now, huh?"

Flint switched his target from Yulia to Veerna, apparently concerned by her statement. "You wouldn't dare attack me," he said flatly, but Don could detect nervousness in his voice. "You haven't got it in you."

"Haven't I?" Veerna questioned. "I protect those that are important to me. And right now, one of those things is Yulia. So, if you want to mess with her, you mess with me, Flint, and I don't think you want to do that, do you?"

Now both guns were pointed at Veerna. Don moved Yulia behind the chair, forcing her down by her shoulder. The little girl was trembling, terrified. Don kept his hand on her arm, knowing she hated physical contact, but knowing she needed it.

"You've gone soft, Veerna."

"Where are the others?" Veerna demanded, her weapon not faltering. "Chris, Suzan, and Xander, and Melody. What have you done to them?"

Flint shrugged. "Other than Captain Chase, they're all fine. As for the captain, she's having a nice, long nap."

"How long?" There was a steely note in Veerna's voice that Don had never heard before.

Flint's eyebrows raised. "One hundred years."

The flood of words that exploded from Veerna's mouth were delivered in the strange lilting language of the Voldinians. Although pretty to hear, Don could tell from the venom with which they were spoken that they were certainly not compliments. At the same time, her grip on the gun increased, and she fired at Flint.

The alien's eyes went wide as he hurled himself aside. The bullet from Veerna flew harmlessly past. When it struck the computer screen Flint had been in front of it, the screen cracked into numerous tiny fractures, still presenting the security images of the city.

"Run!" Veerna shouted at Don and Yulia. "Get clear!"

"No!" Flint came up on his knee, firing at Don and Yulia. Although Don managed to jerk the Atonian out of the bullets' paths, but one dug into his arm and he yelled in surprise.

Veerna dove at Flint, kicking and sending him flying backwards. "You do not shoot my psychologist!" she yelled, pointing her gun at him.

Flames suddenly burst off of Flint, and Veerna jumped backwards, banging against the massive keyboard. He took advantage of her momentary distraction to grab her around the throat, squeezing until the Voldinian dropped her weapon. "V-Veerna!" Don cried, going towards her instinctively. He was too late to stop her from losing consciousness, and even later to prevent Flint from turning his weapon towards him.

"Unless you want to end up with a bullet in your head, Collego, I'd advise you to stay back," he snarled, letting Veerna drop to the ground. The white-skinned young woman was limp as a rag doll.

Yulia whimpered, still crouching behind the chair. Flint kept Don covered as he moved towards her. Why am I so useless? Don groaned to himself. The little girl was too terrified to even move, and if Don tried, the only thing he'd earn himself would be a bullet to the brain. That certainly wouldn't help anyone.

Just as Flint neared Yulia, she jumped up, yanking off her glove. The little girl actually moved with surprising speed as she tried to brush her fingers against his cheek. However, Flint was faster than she anticipated and he managed to grab her wrist without touching skin. "Now now, my dear," he said. "Can't go around damaging you, can we? You're worth far too much for that."

"No! No! Let me go!" Yulia screamed, kicking at him. Her kicks weren't nearly as effective as her power would have been, and she put the finger of her glove in her mouth, trying to tear it off with her teeth.

Flint responded by aiming the gun at Don. "That glove comes off your hand and his brains will be decorating the room," he warned her.

"N-no, please, don't hurt him," Yulia pleaded. "Please!"

"I'll let them both live if you don't fight," he responded. "Understand?"

Fearfully, the girl nodded, letting her hand drop. The instant she did so, Flint knocked her over the head and she went limp in his grasp. "I love this," he said gleefully. Then he turned back to Don, once again pointing the gun at him. "Ready to die, Doctor? You can perish happily. You've ruined a great space pirate."

Don shook his head. "I don't know what you mean," he said.

"Veerna was perfectly happy without you, Doctor. You made her feel, like she was ... normal." Flint said the words like they were poison, rather than a good thing.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Don asked. "To actually think like a person? Something happened to her, in her past. Something that broke her mind. Doesn't she deserve to be happy?"

"Not if it hurts my business," Flint replied. "And you turned her against me, Doctor. I don't appreciate that. Ready to die?"

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you," Don protested.

"It isn't," Flint said. "Good-bye."

Don squeezed his eyes shut, unable to face death bravely. Poor Yulia. Her whole life, she'd spent being shunted from buyer to buyer, and now, she might end up in some laboratory to be experimented on for a cure for the plague. If she was lucky, she'd end up in the hands of someone who would want her dead instead of curing the plague. A quick death would be far better than a slow and painful one to solve the disease.

The gunshot sounded. Don waited for the pain that would accompany his death, but oddly enough, he felt nothing. Something made a peculiar thudding sound, like it had fallen to the ground. Slowly, Don dared to open one eye. Flint was sprawled on the ground, red blood oozing from a wound in his back. Yulia had crumpled as well, though that was only because she was unconscious.

Don turned to the secret entrance that Flint had come in and a deep breath of relief escaped him.

"Miss me?" Xander Weni said, putting his still-smoking rifle over his shoulder.