Alexis woke in the wee hours just before dawn. She found Saphira and her brother Roland awake. She watched without a word as Captain Decker came to join them. “Not one shot!” She heard the stern command in Saphira’s whisper and Alexis sat up, worried. They looked at her, so she spoke what came to her mind in the night.

“Do you think the stick people might have repaired the damage you did to their systems in the night?”

“We didn’t damage any of their systems,” Saphira responded.

“But you rewired things and changed things. Did they really understand what you were doing and why or did they just watch so they could put it all back after you were gone? I doubt they understand weapons and probably imagine the Balok were mistaken and certainly would not follow them here.”

Saphira finished her thought. “They fled their home world to escape the Balok, but—” Saphira nudged Boston and Katie and instructed them quietly to return to the stick ship and check on their work to make sure it had not been tampered with. Then she hushed Alexis and took Roland and Captain Decker into the dark. Alexis only heard Saphira’s strong whisper once more. “No shooting.”

Boston and Katie stayed visible longer beside the embers of the bonfire, but soon they also disappeared into the dark. Alexis looked to the sky. She knew the sun would be up soon enough, but it was hard to tell how soon. She felt a touch on her shoulder.

“What is going on?” Lincoln asked as he touched and then held her arm. He propped himself up on one elbow.

“I don’t know,” Alexis answered. “Boston and Katie wandered off that way to check on their work and Saphira, Roland and Captain Decker went off that way like they were leaving the camp.”

Lincoln tried to smile. “Don’t worry. I am sure we will find out what is going on soon enough.”

“Why are you awake?” Alexis wondered.

Lincoln’s smile fell away and he let go of her but stayed propped up next to her when he answered. “I guess I don’t need as much sleep as I did when I was old.”

“Is being young again that hard for you?” This came out as a serious question, and Lincoln knew it. He made his serious face before he shook his head. Then he would not look at her.

“I’ll adjust. It is just seeing you young. You are so…” he softened his voice to barely a whisper. “…beautiful.” He paused to cough and clear his throat. “We don’t have to still be married if you don’t want. This is like a new life.”

“Why would I not want to be married?”

“It’s just.” Lincoln had a hard time framing the words. “You could have anyone. Why would you want me?”

“Benjamin!”

“I mean; I know you were not exactly happy those last years.”

“I was happy.”

Lincoln frowned at her. “I got old, complacent, grumpy.”

“You’re not old now.”

Lincoln smiled, but just a little. “Neither are you.” She hugged him. “To be honest, I woke up because you weren’t beside me. I don’t think I could sleep if you were not beside me.”

Alexis tackled him, landed on top of him and grinned mightily. “Even if I don’t have the blood or form anymore, I am still an elf at heart.”

“I remember.” Lincoln got out that much before they kissed.

The sun had started to break the darkness, but they did not care. They also did not hear Mingus mumble, “I think I am going to be sick.”

~~~*~~~

Saphira and Captain Decker came up from one side. The captain no doubt imagined he was protecting the woman, but Saphira wanted to keep an eye on the man to make sure he did not shoot anyone, needlessly. Roland came up from the other side, and she knew whoever it was would not hear the elf, as long as Roland did not have some noisy human by his side.

Captain Decker stopped her with a hand on Saphira’s shoulder. She had already seen the men, or three of them, but she thought to grab Decker’s hand and turn her head to look into his eyes. She paused before she dropped the man’s hand and showed great restraint. “Not a good idea,” she whispered, but now she had her pent-up energy to release.

Saphira stood, her spear ready, and she reverted to her native tongue. “All right you men. Get up and show yourselves.” Saphira spoke loud enough for her voice to carry. Some nearby stick people woke up and looked. “You’re surrounded, so there is no point in trying anything. No one needs to get hurt.”

The men stood, though they held tight to their own spears. Those stick people who noticed got up and scurried away with a sound of alarm and a clapping of hands. The men had been camouflaged, having branches and such attached to their clothing. No telling how long it took them to inch up close to the camp. Decker stood ready, just in case, and in the rising light, Roland showed himself. Roland looked just as ready, but he relaxed a little when the elder of the three men spoke.

“Saphira. What are you doing here?”

“Right now? Hunting fools, Coramel. And who are these two idiots with you?”

“These are my sons,” Coramel said, proudly.

“Are you lacking any brains like your father?” Saphira asked.

“Yes, er, no.”

“We wanted to see the strange creatures.”

Captain Decker tapped Saphira on the shoulder this time. “I take it you know these particular idiots.”

~~~*~~~

Boston and Katie used their lanterns to get back into the ship and found that indeed, the stick people had begun to “fix” things back to the way they had been. They had some work to do. They returned and reported to Lockhart even as the light began to glimmer across the horizon. They took a bit of bread for breakfast and then figured they had better get started rather than wait for Saphira.

Boston felt pretty sure she could redo what the stick people had messed up before the night made the sticks stop working. She did not feel worried, since Martok calculated at their present rate of speed, the Balok would not arrive until mid-afternoon.

“Plasma cannon looks untouched,” Katie said.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Boston countered, as she began to examine the jury-rigged work.

“Well, at least the screen enhancements are still in place,” Katie said, and Boston nodded with a grunt as she followed a circuit line.

“I don’t imagine the stick people are stupid,” Katie continued. “Anything that might help them ward off the stray asteroid or radiation in space would be appreciated.

“I’m sure,” Boston mumbled, but she was not really listening.

Katie nodded. “I guess I’ll have a look at the radar array. Hopefully they left it alone.” She wandered off slowly, but it was not long before Boston heard the words. “What the hell were they thinking?”

~~~*~~~

Saphira brought Coramel and his sons to the others and made them sit and keep still. Alexis got out the bread, so they were content. “And if you so much as touch one of these stick people, I’ll have to kill you,” Saphira said.

“Yes, ma’am.” Coramel grinned.

“Father?” One of his sons questioned what their father meant.

“Son. You must always do what the golden lady says if you expect to be rewarded.”

“Her?” The other son was not shy to point.

“Golden lady?” Lockhart asked.

“I’m expensive,” Saphira said. “Only the best.” Then she thought she had better go check on the work inside the ship.

“Damn!” The word echoed out of everyone’s wrist communicators. “The Balok must have overdrive. They just entered the atmosphere.”

Saphira said something, too, and it came out a bit stronger than “damn.” She grabbed Lincoln and marched to the stick ship.

Once inside, Saphira set Lincoln by the screen array. “If they come in firing, as I expect, you just keep your finger on this button. She checked the damage to the plasma cannon she had built.

“I can fix it,” Boston insisted. “I just need some time. You need to check the microwave chamber.”

Saphira went to do that very thing and did not swear too much. She had it rigged to send out a microwave pulse, but the stick people had started to dismantle it. Besides, by then she started swearing at herself for not anticipating this.

“Bring everyone inside.” The call went out over the wrist communicators. When the Balok ship appeared as a dot in the sky, the stick people did not have to be encouraged. Apparently, they had very good eyes. They scurried toward the ship, clapping and howling. They hardly knew what else to do. Coramel and his sons were reluctant to enter that strange place, but they were given no choice. They stood with the travelers by the open door and watched.

“Strafing run.” Lieutenant Harper recognized the move on her radar.

“Lincoln finger.” That was all Saphira had time to say. She got too busy.

Lincoln pressed his finger as hard as he could against the button, and when the Balok ship came low and let out a blast of its main gun, that energy pulse got repelled. The Balok ship rose-up to what they had to believe was out of range and paused. The Balok Captain, no doubt, had to consider his options.

“It’s overloading,” Lincoln shouted.

“Finger off the button.” Everyone yelled at him, but Lieutenant Harper had to step up and help put out the small electrical fires.

“What are they waiting for?” Lockhart’s words came into the ship over his wrist communicator.

“We are working as fast as we can,” Boston yelled back, having misunderstood the question. “Almost there.” But their homemade weapons were still offline. The Balok had them, only the Balok did not know it.

Saphira connected the last wire as the Balok ship moved. It dropped down in the sky, but not far, and began to disgorge small ships, probably fighters from an open bay. Saphira spoke when the first got launched.

“Set the radar on the mother ship. The pulse is tied to the radar.”

Katie knew that, but this reminded her not to be distracted by the fighters.

When the second fighter got successfully launched, Saphira spoke again. “Ready. Boston?” She had to shout, but Boston answered.

“Almost. Just a minute.”

A third fighter got launched and away before Saphira said, “Go.” To be sure, her fingers were crossed in one hand, while she threw the switch with the other. Theoretically, the microwave pulse should burn out every electrical system on the Balok ship, provided they used electrical systems and provided the Balok screens were not strong enough to ward off Saphira’s strike. Even Martok could ultimately only use what was available to him.

The pulse went out, and for a second, nothing seemed to happen. Saphira had to take her finger off her switch lest she burn out the Stick systems. The Balok ship began to wobble. By the time Saphira joined Katie at the radarscope, the Balok ship started to plummet to the ground. It fell at last like a stone and exploded on impact. Fortunately, not an atomic explosion as Saphira feared it might be, but the explosion looked big enough to assume there were no survivors.