Some time passed, without any other conversation. Dream was more silent than usual: She checked Fian's wounds and vitals every minute or so, and little else.
Her hands were less firm and dexterous than when she had pulled out those bullets so skillfully a bit earlier: she seemed both a bit shaky and... well, clumsy. Like she was sleepy, or drugged, or drunk.
Her skin had been slowly changing color, too, from her initial light yellowish-green to a darker shade of ochre yellow.

"Yeah, mmmkay..." she muttered. "You'rre... I mean, you'll be fine. Hope we arrive soon at that Alaian... Alleian... Alliance thing of a ship."

Valen nodded before replying, "Hm... alright, take all the time that you need. We'll be arriving at the NSS Alliance soon, and I have to get back to the bridge. I'm not sure if we'll ever see each other again, but just remember this: You'll have a friend in me, Valen Sasorix, Soldier Second Class. Remember that if you ever get into trouble again." He smiled one more time before turning to leave.

On his way out of Engineering, he told Pavel, "You can keep an eye on her, if you want, but don't harm her. Yamatai wouldn't have sent a Neko as a spy. A Yamataian disguised as a Geshrin would be more plausible." Valen hoped his assumption was correct, as they didn't need any more blood shed right now.

Tweak thanked Valen and watched him go. Then she turned to Pavel. As much as she just wanted to look for clues, they might still need her. "Can I still help here?" she asked the engineer.

Pavel gently let out a breath he had been holding. For a moment, it looked as if the Neko was going to leave, sticking him with the bewildering world of astrogation mathematics. “Why yes, I think I could find a bit of something for you to do. We are now very behind schedule, so I will leave you with the math while I try to get these heat sinks set up. If you find we need more deceleration force, well, I will just have to think of something. With your permission, Valen, we will get started at once.”

Valen nodded his approval right before taking his leave. He then made his way to the bridge. Fortunately, the captain wasn't in the mood to question Valen's explanation for Pavel's earlier behaviour. That was fortunate for Tweak's sake.

-----

About two hours later, the NSS Banning finally met up with the NSS Alliance. After Valen had transmitted an explanation and apology for their lateness, the freighter soon docked with the destroyer. Then, new orders came to Valen, who relayed them to Captain Sebastrano. The captain then spoke to everyone through the Banning's communication system:



Shortly after the message, some medics arrived in the cargo bay to bring both Fian and the decapitated head of the Red saboteur to the Alliance's medbay. They would be taken care of promptly and professionally. The lead medic ordered Dream to get back into her Voidwalker suit and proceed to the Alliance before leaving with his comrades.

Valen, as last act as a member of the crew of the NSS Banning, saluted his captain and stated, "It was an honor serving under you, sir! I hope that I may serve under you again one day!" The rest of the bridge crew also stood and joined Valen in his salute, saying in unison, "So say we all!" David smirked as he tried not to cry with pride. In his eyes, his subordinates had just given him the greatest gift possible. He turned away from them as he responded with a tough guy attitude, "Ah, get the hell out of here! Y'all were a bother anyways." Valen and the rest of the bridge crew smiled as they filed off the bridge. The captain waited a while to get one last look at the ship that he had called home for so many years. It was his own way of saying goodbye to the old girl... once and for all...