Soolin approached the corner at the Xenon base, a few steps from her quarters, and made her way towards the hanger where Scorpio was housed. As she rounded the corner she saw Avon leave his room heading in the same direction ahead of her.

Soolin watched as he walked, noting the sure confident steps he made, she liked a man who knew his mind. Dorian did and it added a certain danger to their relationship, two strong minds, and a battle of wills! What a pity Avon showed little or no interest in those around him. She could teach him a thing or two and she was sure that he had a reasonable body underneath all that leather. Soolin picked up a little speed.

"Avon," she called, as he turned, showing some impatience as he did so. "Have you seen Vila this morning?"

"No! Should I have," he asked disinterested.

"No probably not. But I didn't think it would hurt to ask you." Soolin knew how to treat men like Avon. Never give an inch!

"Fair enough. I think he may be outside with Tarrant, but I couldn't be sure! He might just as well be asleep on the sofa or drunk somewhere," Avon replied with barely contained indifference.

"I won't take up anymore of your time Avon, I'll go and look for him myself," Avon turned as if to dismiss her, then had second thoughts.

"Soolin, if you happen to find Vila or see any of the others, let them know I want them to gather in the meeting room in an hour." With that he walked away.

'Well I wonder what that is all about' she thought to herself as she made her way towards the hanger.

As she entered she noticed Dayna tinkering with something on a workbench.

"A new weapon?" Soolin approached the bench; the look on Dayna's face said it all.

"Yes, well it will be when I've finished with it, and if I can ever get the stupid thing to work," and she threw the tool that she had been working with across the workspace with her normal flair when things didn't go her way.

"I can see that's going well," Soolin noted with a smile. "Time for you to take a break. Avon wants to see us in an hour anyway." Then added, "Probably another fools mission ending in failure," when she noticed the questioning look on Dayna's face.

"You don't think much of him do you?" Dayna face eased into an amused grin as she crossed her arms in front of herself and perched half on the bench.

"Sometimes he's a real pain in the backside," Soolin conceded, "but he has some other qualities I admire."

"Admire them often do you?" Dayna quipped. Soolin didn't answer her instead she just smiled. Dayna noticed this and continued.

"No-one could ever get through that shield of his, and anyway, would the fight be worth it?"

"Oh yes, I suspect it would be worth it," Soolin said with a wry smile.

Dayna laughed "Better you than me. Shall we have a little wager on it?? You do my chores for a month, I do yours sort of thing."

Soolin gave Dayna a wink. "You're on. And if you whisper a word of this to anyone, I will have to kill you." She added with a laugh.

"Who will I tell out here?" Dayna smiled "Tarrant and Vila would take it as an invitation to have a go at us themselves, god forbid they think we have any sort of libido."

"Right! Then it's settled. By the way have you seen Vila?" Soolin asked, to which Dayna shook her head.

"What on earth do you want Vila for?"

"I think he's been snooping around my cabin. I was going to give the little sneak a good talking to and persuade him not to do it again. Maybe that's why I can't find him, he seems to know he's in trouble" Dayna just smiled and Soolin left the hanger, then made a mental note to check her own belongings for Vila prints as well.

Soolin walked out of the hanger and started towards the meeting room, on her way there she saw Tarrant coming down the corridor.

"Soolin, how nice to see you, did you miss me?"

"Ah, but Tarrant, I could never miss you," she grinned, "I'm too good a shot."

"Ouch that one hurt," Tarrant foreigned pain on his face, then the grin returned. Soolin made a point of not acknowledging the attempt at charm.

"Meeting room in an hour," and she continued into the meeting room to make ready.

An hour had passed and everyone had made their way in on time, everyone but Vila, she noticed. Avon looking annoyed and was about to start the meeting, when Vila came charging in.

"Sorry I'm late, I didn't know there was a meeting, I only found out because I couldn't find anyone. Of course you could have left Xenon without me but I though 'Avon likes the sound of his own voice' I bet you they're off having a meeting somewhere..."

"Yes Thank you Vila for that revelation, now would you kindly take a seat and lets get started," Avon said pointedly. Vila knew not to mess with Avon, especially when he looked annoyed, which seemed to be all the time really.

"The reason I have asked you here is to fill you in on a plan that I have been working on for a while. I have discussed this with Orac and we have calculated that it will assist us in our endeavor to resist the Federation."

Soolin watch as Dayna and Tarrant rolled their eyes. Vila just put his head into his hands and moaned. Avon ignored them and continued.

"As I was saying, There is a man by the name of Aristotle Zogar from a planet named Clotho, a rather seedy and non-descriped planet that has only one thing going for it, it has fought off the Federation successfully and kept them off."

Soolin saw the fire in Avon's eyes and it surprised her. Has he really done it this time? She leant forward eager to hear the rest.

"Zogar lead this rebellion about 5 years ago, and the Federation has allowed them to function unmolested. Orac and I are unsure why this has happened, but there is only one way to find out. I'm going to seek him out!"

"Do we get a say in the matter?"

"No Tarrant, you do not! Too much effort has gone into this for any further discussion. I only need one person to come with me for this mission and that someone needs to be very good with a gun." He turned to look at Soolin with a predatory smile that chilled her to the bone.

"You want me to go with you to find someone who may or may not be of any use to us?"

"That's the idea. Are you in or not?"

"Fine, but if there is too much trouble I'm out of there...with or without you," Soolin said with finality.

"Very well. I have all the data you will need and you can read up on it before we leave tomorrow. Oh! And you might want to share with the rest of the class." Avon added before he turned and disappeared through the door. He paused outside the door just long enough to hear all hell break loose from inside.

*

Avon and Soolin left for Clotho first thing the next morning. Avon reasoning this will give Tarrant no time to try and talk him out of it. Soolin rather hoped Tarrant could.

Soolin watched Avon move about Scorpio with a purpose.

"Avon, do you really think you can pull this off? Have we got a chance this time?"

"Would we be going if I didn't think otherwise?" Avon replied without looking up from his preparations. "Zogar exists and that is all I'm concerned about at this time. He can only improve our cause and that alone is worth the risk."

"Could it be a trap? We've been caught in enough of those lately."

"I've thought of that but Orac assures me this time the man exists and was instrumental in Clotho becoming independent from the Federation. That is good enough for me for the time being. Are we quite done with the 20 questions, I wish to leave."

"Oh very well, I can see there is no changing your mind, I'm ready anyway." Soolin sighed getting ready for take off.

"Thank you," Avon smiled at her "Ok Dayna, we are ready to leave. Soolin prepare for launch."

A few hours had past since lift off and Avon was still on the go, checking and rechecking data with Orac.

"I have told you what you need to know, why do you bother me repeatedly with such pointless and costly microseconds of my time. I would have thought that someone with as limited intelligence as yourself would have a grasp on this concept."

"Yes thank you Orac. Just tell me what I need to know."

Soolin stopped listening at this point, she was too busy wondering what the hell she was doing there, what did Avon want with her? She had read nothing different to what Avon had said, other than Zogar was in hiding, not that there was much information to begin with. Did Zogar have a price on his head then? That didn't make sense, he was supposed to be a martyr, a hero, not driven into hiding. She wasn't surprised to find Avon a little cryptic about it either, she was used to that by now. She will just have to wait until they arrive. She was a big girl. She could handle herself.

Soolin turned back to watching Avon and Orac having a disagreement. Avon was getting quite passionate about something, her mind started to wander. He had removed his jacket and had on a black top that seemed to fit him quite snuggly. 'Nice, not bad at all' she thought. The way he was sitting, gave her the best vantage point to watch him without being obvious about it, and watch him she did.

A day out from Xenon base, Slave cut through the boredom and warned of an approaching asteroid belt.

"That's strange," Avon remarked with a touch of curiosity, whilst putting Orac's key in place, "that's not on any of the star charts, Orac explain!"

"It appears that the advancing asteroid field are the remains of a large planet. Evidence suggests that this planet was destroyed by an unidentified weapon at the time of the Andromedan war. There is also evidence that a small number of ships were also destroyed in the process, and I calculate that they were destroyed as a result of the planets outward blast, they, most probably, were the cause of the planets destruction."

"Thank you Orac," Avon said, his dark eyes sparkling, "Were they human ships?"

"The remaining evidence suggests they were not." Orac stated matter of factly.

"So it looks as though the Andromedans blew themselves apart trying out a new weapon," Avon said with interest, "It's lucky for us that they did or the death toll among the Human worlds would have been higher."

"That would appear so. It is my observation that the newly formed asteroid belt is far reaching, if you wish to make it to Clotho within the designated time frame, I suggest that you go through the asteroid belt..." Then Orac whirred as Avon removed his key.

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Avon then turned towards Slave and asked him to plot out a course through the asteroid belt. One that would take them through the shortest, and safest, route to Clotho.

Soolin thought this a good time to do some small adjustments to a power unit that had been causing them some continual trouble and the last thing they needed on this trip was for something to go wrong with the teleport when they had to use it in a hurry. She was making her way over to the teleport bay, when Scorpio made a sickening lurch to one side, Soolin lost her balance and stumbled into Avon who was fractionally better at keeping his feet than she was.

Avon put one hand around her waist and the other held onto the console area for dear life.

"We will be alright in a moment Soolin, this seems to be the worse part of the field and we should be through it soon."

Soolin just nodded and looked up at him. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry and she had forgotten the sarcastic comment she was about to say. She was aware that Avon's thigh was braced against hers and he had her pressed to his body for support. His eyes were looking into hers and he had a strange look on his face. She hadn't noticed how inviting his lips had looked before. Then to her surprise she realized that Avon was about to kiss her.

"I hope you are alright, Master," Slave announced and Avon moved away from her, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it a more comfortable ride for you, and I'm afraid that we will be entering another rough patch soon, I would advise that you strap yourself in for that one. Please forgive me, Master."

"That's enough Slave, just get us though it," Avon snapped, "you heard him Soolin, find yourself a chair and buckle yourself in."

Soolin was furious, how dare he act as if nothing happened. She vowed to get even, and very soon.

At the end of the day they were a little bruised and shaken but otherwise come out of it quite well. They had to do a few small repairs and fix the teleport but nothing seemed to have suffered too greatly considering what they had been through.

Soolin refused to talk to Avon and when she did she kept it minimal, she had noticed a bemused look on his face more than once, but chose to ignore it. He then gave up caring and busied himself with something else, keeping out of her way. Soolin went to bed and left him to it.

It had been two uneventful days since their trip through the asteroid belt and Soolin was getting restless.

"Are we there yet?" she called out to Avon as she tossed a small piece of her sandwich at him. She was rewarded with a sneer and the same piece thrown back at her.

"Go do something useful and leave me alone," he snapped. "You only have 10 hours left to wait. Go get some rest; you might need it when we get there. Oh and there is a package on the end of the console with some clothes in it that will help you blend in with the natives."

Soolin walked to the end of the console and opened the parcel, inside was a pair of pants, a shirt and short jacket, all made from some sort of cotton dyed a dark grey colour. Soolin looked up at Avon and asked.

"There you go, being mysterious again. Why do we have to blend in? I thought they traded outside their planet. Why don't you tell me what I don't know yet!"

"The truth is Soolin, I'm not sure either. It's just a feeling I've got."

Soolin sat up at this not really believing what she was hearing.

"Oh bloody wonderful. So you don't really know what we are up against. Well thank you very much!! Why didn't you bring the others with us?" she said, barely controlling her anger.

"It will be less obvious with just the two of us, and anyway, Tarrant was getting on my nerves, and I needed a break."

"Oh! YOU needed a break."

Soolin made a show of getting up and stomping to her bunk, She could feel Avon's eyes on her back all the way there.

"I don't know what your game is Avon, but i'm going to find out. I don't like being used," she muttered as she settled in. However sleep was impossible now.

*

They arrived on Clotho a little after daybreak, teleporting down to into what appeared to be a warehouse of some kind. A rather large, rather empty warehouse. All the windows appeared to have been smashed by something, perhaps by an explosion of some kind.

"Where are we?" Soolin asked Avon.

"We are in the middle of the largest city on Clotho, Atropos is its name. There is another city in the Southern Hemisphere almost as big called Lachesis, Zogars birthplace. But this is were Zogar has been living when he was last seen here two months ago, and there have been no reports of him leaving Atropos to go back."

"Have there been any reports of him at all? Let alone one reporting that he went home?"

Avon looked at Soolin with a sheepish half smile on his face that read that he had been caught out.

"Not exactly! He could be bidding his time."

"His time for what? What the hell is it that you aren't telling me...?" Soolin suddenly froze, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Avon asked dismissing her. "We've got to get a move on. The quicker we do this. The quicker we can leave."

"Avon, I can hear yelling!!" Soolin grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her, making him pay attention and to hear for himself. They both ran to the other end of the warehouse and squeezed through what was left of the large heavy doors. The sight that greeted them left them both speechless.

It was total mayhem. Not one single building still had all of its windows or all of its walls for that matter. There were fights and people screaming everywhere and garbage of all descriptions littered the streets.

Two men came tumbling out of a lane way that ran behind the warehouse and had a fist fight right in front of Avon and Soolin.

Avon finally snapped out of his trance and grabbed the nearest combatant, almost getting knocked out for his troubles. Avon hit him for six. The other man turned towards them menacingly.

Soolin intervened.

"It's all right, we just want some information," she shouted to the man, who was dressed in rags and went barefoot. He looked like he hadn't bathed in a very long time.

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

"What do you need?" Avon asked still rubbing his jaw where the first man had hit him.

"Food," he said almost begging. "I need food. I'll tell you anything you need to know for that."

Avon nodded at Soolin and she handed over their rations.

"It's not much but will this do?" Avon asked.

The man lunged forward and snatched the parcel from Soolin and tore it open.

"This is more food that i've seen in a few weeks. I'll tell you anything you need to know. The name's Kile."

"Alright Kile, what the blazes is going on here?" Avon snarled. "Why are people fighting each other in the streets?"

"We are doomed, this world has had all it's natural resources used and it's dying. We've been abandoned. I used to be a mining engineer, now look at me. People are killing each other just to stay alive," Kile replied between bites, he then leered at them and continued, "You two aren't citizens of this world, you are too well fed, and you've got nice new clothes. Say! You don't have a ship around here do you?" He then started to step towards them. Soolin drew her gun.

"Ok that's close enough, one more step and I will shoot you."

"Yes I believe you would. You are quite pretty you know..."

Kile didn't get to finish what he was saying as Avon hit him over the head with a piece of wood that was lying on the ground.

"So much for needing a gun hand," Soolin said with a half smile. "You could have saved yourself the trouble of bringing me and just come along with a lump of wood."

"No, that wouldn't have worked," Avon said with a sly smile "Vila would have run off at the first sign of trouble."

"I'll tell him that when we get back," Soolin said as she walked past Avon.

They made their way to safer ground running between buildings and avoiding fights until they came to a block of apartments that surprisingly still had a large part of it intact. Soolin thought it was high time for some answers and now was as good a time as any. She stopped and called out to Avon, who was a few feet ahead.

"Avon. I'm not going any further until you tell me what the hell is going on here," she snapped and then continued, "If you don't tell me, I'll get Orac to teleport me back to Scorpio and I'll damn well leave you here with your precious Zogar."

Avon spun around and raced back to Soolin.

"Will you be quiet, do you want the entire population of Atropos to come down on us?"

Then he looked into Soolins eyes and knew she had meant what she said.

"Fine...I will tell you! The truth is, Orac had intercepted a message from Zogar, to a cousin of his, asking to be rescued. His message hinted at what was taking place here and that it was no longer safe for him to remain. I didn't want to tell you, as I didn't feel it necessary. Zogar was fearful of his life and the transmission bordered on hysteria. Orac said that the message was picked up by a federation patrol and there was no evidence that the message ever made it to the intended recipient. I know where Zogar is hiding and we need to get there fast."

Soolin wasn't impressed.

"You know you should have told me earlier, I might have been better prepared. We will discuss this later in greater detail." Soolin warned then shrugged and said "so where to now. We may as rescue Zogar, before something happens to him."

"We haven't got far now, this is where he has his apartment. I only hope he is still there."

Soolin and Avon disappeared into the building making their way up to the apartment disclosed in Zogars transmission. Unknown to them they had been overheard and now they were being followed.

Avon led Soolin up a number of floors until they came to a rather dirty looking hall with numbered doors running down one side.

"We are looking for room 13, Soolin. Be careful, there is no telling what could be up here, If he is expecting trouble, he might shoot first ask questions later"

He motioned them forward, locating the door and they prepared to go in.

They entered Zogars apartment carefully, the smell of death was in the air and Soolin felt her adrenalin levels go sky high. Avon walked ahead of her and Soolin watched their backs, neither of them made a sound. Papers and garbage lay everywhere. The place looked like it hadn't seen a decent clean in years.

They edged their way into what appeared to be a bedroom, although it was hard to tell with all the mess that was all over the furniture, what little there was in the way of furniture. Soolin moved to check out the other side of the room where there appeared to be another room leading off. Soolin walked in and what she saw made her cry out. Avon came running in, gun ready.

"I take it that is, or rather was, our friend Zogar," she said unable to take her eyes of the body still sitting upright in a chair. His face was still intact but it seemed he had taken half of his head off with a projectile weapon of some kind.

Avon's voice was very strained when he replied.

"Yes, that's him, although he looks much older than the Viscast of him taken 5 years ago. Although I'm not surprised going by the mayhem we've witnessed since our arrival"

"Look Avon, there is a message on the desk" Soolin pointed at the desk that was clear from the clutter that filled the rest of the apartment. Sitting on it was a letter covered in plastic, possibly to protect it from the violence that befell Zogar.

Avon picked it up and started to read it, Soolin watched him freeze and stop reading, his eyes then focused on Zogar. Soolin took the letter from his hands; he never even noticed that she took it.

*I don't know if this will fall in the hands of anyone that cares enough to read it, but I must write this down, I must leave something before I send myself from this living hell.

These are the final words of a man who has let his people die. I didn't win a war. The federation won. They had already cleaned this planet out, we didn't matter anyway, and it was a hollow victory. The federation has used us as an example of what happens when a planet breaks away from federation control. Our world was doomed either way, now it has made the federation look like a haven from such anarchy. My fight has been worthless. My people want me dead. I have failed and with this failure, I shall grant my people their final wish. A. J. Zogar*

Soolin had just finished reading the letter, when they heard a sound from the other room. Avon snapped out of his reverie and pulled Soolin into what would have once would have served as a walk in closet.

They heard the intruders enter the room they had just left.

"The buggers gone and done himself in" one of the intruders said

"Saves us the trouble, now what? There was a reward you know' the other softer voice remarked, possibly female.

"Still is. He was wanted dead or alive, makes no difference to me, there must be something in the kitchen..." the voice faded out as the pair left the room.

Soolin heard the intruders leave the room and she could still hear them looking for something in other parts of the apartment.

Things were fairly quiet for the moment at least.

"What now?" She asked Avon quietly.

"We wait, at least we have the element of surprise if we are discovered."

Standing there in the dark all Soolin could think about was how close she was to Avon. Chest to chest, hip to hip. She could even hear him breathing in the darkness.

Avon's hand brushed hers and sent chills through her body. She could have sworn it lingered longer than necessary. Their breathing became synchronized and Soolin could feel the heat coming from his body. She could feel the tension in his muscles and knew he could feel it in hers.

Before she was completely aware of what she was doing, she reached down, ran a hand across his thigh and cupped him in her hand, very gently. She felt his body stiffen and she could hear him take a sudden breath.

"And just what is it you think you are doing?" Avon whispered between clenched teeth; as he reached down to capture her wrist. Soolin, feeling a surge of courage, repeated her action and again moved her hand over the fabric of his trousers before Avon managed to grab her hand in his and pulled it away.

"I think you've had enough fun for today. You can seek out Tarrant when we get back, if that's the sort of game you want to play," he said. "Now be quiet and behave yourself."

They heard the strangers enter the room again and heard them whisper to each other and laugh. She couldn't make out what they were saying; all she could hear was a sort of sawing noise. After a while one of the voices cried out in triumph and they could hear something being shoved into a bag. The intruders then left the room. Everything was quiet again.

Soolin was still very aware that Avon was in front of her and she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass that easily she reached around with her free hand and grabbed Avon's backside and drew him close into her. She wasn't quite ready for what followed. Avon pinned her to the wall of the closet, she couldn't move at all.

"I said enough!" he hissed.

Soolin however had not failed to notice that her ministrations a little earlier had some effect after all, she could feel him pressing into her hip and without thinking she leaned forward and kissed his neck.

This time Avon didn't stop her. Soolin noticed that his breath had become a little quicker and he had let go of her hand, though he still had her pinned against the wall.

"I am going to make you pay for that" he said dangerously and low, "in the mean time, please keep your hands to yourself, this is neither the time nor the place."

Soolin knew when she had crossed the line.

'What had come over me?' She wondered, 'I'm not usually the sort to throw myself all over a man.' Usually she didn't have to. The fact that Avon never seemed to notice her infuriated her and excited her at the same time.

They strained to hear any sign that the intruders were still in Zogar's apartment, Avon and Soolin stood there for ages before Avon gave the signal that the coast had cleared and they could leave the confines of the closet.

They exited slowly and quietly, looking around for any signs of the intruders.

But it seems they had left as quickly as they had come. Avon turned and fixed Soolin with a glare that spoke more than words, so she did what any woman would do, she ignored it.

"Oh! That's disgusting" Soolin said as she saw the reason behind the sawing noises.

Avon turned to look in the direction Soolin was facing.

Zogar still sat in his chair, minus his head.

"Obviously he had a price on his head, no pun intended" Soolin remarked. "So what do we do now? We could take Zogar back with us as planned but I think he is a little beyond helping us now, and I think the others might complain about the mess."

She watched Avon's face take on a look of surrender as he looked at Zogar sitting in his chair. She barely heard him when he decided to speak.

"I won't end up like him Soolin, I won't allow it. We head back first thing in the morning. There is obviously nothing here for us now, lets get out of this dump."

Soolin could only stare at him in surprise as he turned and left, giving her no choice but to follow.

They made it as far as the first room when the couple that had stolen Zogars head reappeared in the doorway.

Soolin looked at them, they were a male and female dressed in what would have once looked like the clothes she herself was wearing, both of them had their heads shaved and Soolin guessed this was to minimize vermin. They were covered in dirt and grime that would take several washes to remove.

They also had lethal looking projectile guns pointed right at Avon and Soolin preventing them from leaving.

"We thought you were still here" the woman said, "we had only to wait for you to leave and we would have you."

"Your clothes and weapons will add to the bonus of having this bastards head" the man said waving a grotty and weighted down cloth bag around. "Hand them over"

"Very well," Soolin said calmly, "have my gun," and she shot them both before they had a chance to open fire.

"And that, dear Avon" She said smoothly, turning to face him "Is why you bought me along."

To his credit, Avon looked suitably impressed and it was a few seconds before he raised his wrist and ordered Orac to bring them up.

*

They had been in flight for 24 hours. Soolin watched Avon, standing just in front of her facing the view screen, lost in thought and clenching and unclenching his jaw continuously. She was getting worried about him, he'd hardly spoken a word since they had left Zogars apartment.

"Sit down, Avon, before you fall down," she ordered and to her surprise he went and sat in the nearest chair.

"Avon, are you alright?"

"No I'm not alright. I feel like everything I do is a total disaster. We can't win Soolin. We haven't a chance against the federation, there aren't enough of us.... and now we are one less." Avon voice was low and Soolin knew he was deeply affected by what happened on Clotho.

She got up and made her way towards his seat, he was still looking out into the void, no reaction at all to her coming up behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders. She started to give him a massage and he shrugged her off.

"Don't start playing games with me Soolin. I'm not in the mood." Soolin spun his chair around so he faced her.

"Oh SNAP OUT OF IT, Avon, You have other people to think about now!! Zogar is beyond worrying about; he took the easy way out. You can't win a war by giving up. So are you going to sit there Kerr Avon and feel sorry for yourself or are you going to get up off your backside and do something about it?' Soolin then surprised herself by slapping him full in the face.

Avon sprung out of his chair and grabbed her wrists, anger evident on his face, Soolin had never seen him so angry.' Oh god' she though 'I've done it now.'

"Don't you ever hit me again Soolin, You haven't been with us since the beginning. YOU haven't lost everyone you ever cared about!"

"Is that what this is all about Avon? Guilt? You didn't kill those people, the Federation did. You can blame yourself all you like you can't bring them back. Strike at the Federation and make it pay! It's the only way"

Avon just stared at her, standing with his face inches from hers, she watched the emotions play across his face, then he leaned forward and kissed her hard, his hands still grasping her wrists holding her prisoner. Soolin pushed against him and sent him into the chair behind him.

"Oh no Avon, my terms or not at all"

"And what are your terms Soolin?? Raping someone in a closet?" his eyes accusing.

She stepped closer and Avon made no attempt to get up or move. She reached down and forced his head up towards her face.

"These are my terms Avon. Take them or leave them," and she kissed him, biting into his lower lip as she did so. She the reached down and proceeded to remove his overcoat, Avon stood to make it easy for her.

Still kissing him she undid the fastening on his shirt half way and slid her hand inside, moving her hand over his lightly haired chest, she was rewarded with a shiver. Encouraged by this she unzipped the garment and worked it down his arms. She then stood back and took a look. Avon was slim with a nicely formed chest and shoulders, not an overly athletic build but quite attractive.

"Not bad" she said satisfied, Avon raised an eyebrow in response.

"Not bad? Oh thank you very much".

Soolin just smiled and moved in closer, raking her nails down his chest causing him to shiver.

"That wasn't very nice," Avon teasingly whispered into her ear. "I'm going to have to teach you some manners." With that he pushed Soolin onto the console and tore open her jacket and shirt, his eyes widened a little when he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra.

"It's a good thing this panel is offline, who knows what effect it would have on Scorpio"

Soolin said in a valiant effort to keep her head 'what's he doing now? Oh..' She wondered as Avon's head dipped to take a breast into his mouth. He ran his tongue in lazy circles around her nipple before flicking the erect flesh. Soolin almost jumped out of her skin.

"Hmm lets see what happens when I do this." Avon said, his voice thick with arousal. He swirled her nipple again but this time brought his other hand up to pinch the other breast. He was rewarded with a rather undignified yelp.

" I think this is awfully one sided, don't you?" Soolin gasped and with an effort grasped Avon's hair and swung him around so that he was on the console and she was back in command. Soolin started to unbutton his trousers, watching his face as she did so. She saw that he had an amused expression on his face.

"Oh I bet you like them strong, don't you Avon. You like a good fight," she said as she removed his trousers and underwear.

"I should have guessed that you would wear leather underpants" Soolin chuckled.

Avon just smiled and said in his defence and with a touch of amusement.

"They keep me warm"

Soolin removed them quickly. At this stage she was face level with is erection.

"Lets find something else to keep you warm with then" and with an evil grin, she took him into her mouth. There was nothing gentle about it either, she liked things rough, but she was always in control. She used her teeth and sucked him hard, nibbling her way up to the head and down again, causing him to arch his back, offering her more to punish. Avon was caught between ecstasy and pain, he grabbed a hold of her hair and tried to pull her away, and not sure that he really wanted to but at the same time wanted to end the torment. Soolin had other ideas and tightened her grip around the base of his cock with one hand and the other grasped his testicles...firmly.

"Ah..SOOLIN" he cried. "Let me go!"

Soolin smiled and let go of him

" You only had to ask." Then while he was still prone on the console, she kissed her way up his body.

"That really wasn't very nice you know," Avon said in a teasing tone before Soolin managed to silence him with a kiss.

Avon's hands roved her back, making her moan. He started to unfasten her trousers and pull them over her hips when Soolin stopped him.

"All in good time Avon. I'm not going to make this too easy for you," she said in a teasing tone.

"Well now," he said half in annoyance and half amusement. "You started this don't you remember, I am at your mercy.... only speed things up a little, It has been a while."

There's that smile again, Soolin thought, so rare and beautiful. If he keeps doing that, I'm not going to have any self-control. She kissed him again, tasting his mouth and nipping at his lips, all the while her hands were busy with his erection, her hand moving over him, faster and faster. Avon's breathing was becoming erratic and Soolin noticed minute spasms in his leg muscles and his arms.

Soolin took a step back and started to remove her clothing.

"Now lets take this a step further," she said with a hint of a smile. "Let's see if this pursuit has all been worth it."

"Oh Soolin, you wound me," Avon said advancing on her. He captured her just as she had finished removing the last of her clothing.

"I was teaching you a lesson as I recall," he whispered taking her fully into his arms and kissing her.

At that moment Slave came to life.

"I'm sorry to interrupt master but I'm afraid that I have some rather worrying news for you," it announced.

"What is it Slave?" Avon demanded. Soolin noticed that he had snapped back into the Avon everybody knew and tried to avoid, although Soolin almost laughed at the fact that she will never be able to see him in this pose again without visualizing him without his clothes. Not too bad an image though, she thought, taking in another look.

"I'm sorry Master, but we appear to have a ship on our tail and it appears it could be a pursuit ship of some kind. I'm afraid I can't be more precise........."

"It could be the ship that picked up Zogars transmission," Avon said to Soolin.

"I'm sorry to interrupt again Master, but it appears it is gaining on us..."

"Be quiet Slave, and take the ship out of range, how soon before it catches up with us at our current speed?" Avon asked as he made his way into the pilot's chair.

"I estimate, to the best of my abilities, that the ship will be in range in approximately 11 minutes, Master"

"Go to time distort 10 and loose them then," Avon was getting angry as this point and Soolin wisely kept out of his way, she started to pick up her clothing.

"We are losing them Master, I calculate that we will be out of their range in 5 minutes, I will continue with our current course.... that is if you would like me to, I wouldn't like to presume too much Master"

"That will do Slave, you may be quiet and await further instructions." Avon demanded and then continued in Soolins direction. ".... And where do you think you are going" This caused Soolin to turn around and look in surprise at Avon. She noticed that he had his arms crossed and was looking at her quizzically.

"I didn't think that you would fancy continuing this after that little interruption, although seeing you sitting there in Tarrant's chair." Soolin said as she dropped the bundle of clothing that she carried, " without a stitch of clothing is quite a picture." She moved in closer until she was looking into his eyes.

"Whatever would he say if he knew?" She then watched in amazement as Avon laughed, she had never seen him laugh out loud before.

"It would almost be worth telling him to see what his reaction would be," Avon's voice was full of amusement. "Almost". That smile again.

Soolin leant over and kissed him, Avon returned the kiss with an equaled passion. She ran her hands over this chest and over his shoulders, touching him, enjoying the sensation. Avon guided her around in front of him and pulled her closer so that she had to straddle him to keep any sort of balance. Though by now the room had started to spin.

She reached down to take him into her hand while at the same time he had grabbed her buttocks in his hands and lifted her a little. They both paused, looked at each other briefly then Avon started to enter her slowly. Soolin threw back her head and sighed as he did so. Avon made a sort of strangled noise as though trying to hide the fact that he had made a noise at all. When he had entered her fully, Soolin started to rock a little, enjoying the feeling of having him inside of her. Avon kissed her, starting at her chin and making his way over her jaw to her ears, tasting her ear lobes and making her moan. Soolin responded by lifting herself a little and rocking back and forth.

Avon's hands moved to her hips and his mouth dipped to take in a breast, while Soolin kissed the top of his head, one hand in his hair the other clutching at the back of the chair.

She lifted herself higher then plunged herself down hard making Avon cry out.

"Oh Soolin," his voice low and sultry, "do that again"

"In my time Avon," she said nipping at his lips, "when I'm ready "

Avon tried to move her hips, to create some sort of rhythm, but Soolin would have none of it.

"Please Soolin," Avon whispered.

"Not yet" Though she wondered how long she could keep this tease going when her own resolve was weakening. She licked the inside of his left ear very lightly, breathing heavily into it at the same time. It sent shivers right through him and as a result into her. Her left hand had let go of his hair and had made its way down to his thigh, moving lightly over the flesh.

"PLEASE Soolin, I want you." His plea was becoming desperate and his breath was harsh.

"Not yet Avon, I want you to beg for it." She whispered looking into his eyes. His pupils were large and his eyes took on a hungry look.

"No, Soolin, I want you to beg," He said as he stood up, still inside of her and laid her on the console in front of him. Avon pushed her knees towards her body and withdrew until only the head of his cock remained inside of her. He then ran his hands over her breasts and down her body making her moan. "Do you want me to continue, Soolin?" His voice barely controlled. Soolin just closed her eyes and nodded. Avon pushed himself into her as far as he could go, paused, then started to thrust steadily in and out of her. He paused again, taunting her, driving her insane, though it was obvious that it took some effort for him to stop.

"Well Soolin, I'm waiting for an answer," He demanded, then said with amusement in his voice, "I haven't got all day."

"Avon please," She cried "yes I want you, but let me finish what I started" Avon nodded and picked her up and fell back into Tarrants chair, taking her with him, making her cry out with the movement.

Soolin ran her hands down the sides of his face lightly and she kissed him lightly on each eyelid before moving on to the tip of his nose and then finally his lips. Kissing him softly at first and then building in passion. How she loved to kiss those lips and that wonderful mouth.

Avon was the first to break away,

"Please Soolin, I want you.... I... need you," Avon's voice was soft and barely a whisper and Soolin knew this was more than just sex to Avon at the moment, he needed this intimacy, Soolin realized she did too.

She shifted herself a little to make it easier for her to move and then she lifted herself again and dropped, Avon's eyes closed as he savoured every move she made, she watched his face soften and the stresses of the past few months drop away.

Again she rose and plunged, this time she didn't stop, she couldn't, Avon's reaction to her was taking her over the edge. There was no turning back now.

She gazed at him, noticing a light sheen starting to form on his face and body, his hair curling a little at the nape of the neck and at his brow. So becoming.

They were both breathing hard both from excitement and effort, Soolin heard someone. Making small noises in the back of their throat then realised it was coming from her. This surprised her, she wasn't the vocal sort. Avon on the other hand made no attempt at hiding the moans and gasps that he made. She liked it, it excited her.

Avon was close she could feel it in the way his body reacted and as if he had read her mind he reached between them to stroke her clitoris. His nimble fingers knowing exactly what she needed, building her up to orgasm and then taking her over the edge, Soolin cried out, It was a hash sound that went on for what seemed like forever and she found she couldn't focus or control her muscles. Somewhere in her mind she heard Avon call out her name and hold her tight, coming inside of her as he did so.

They sat for a few seconds just holding each other, sharing the feeling of calm that had temporarily come over them.

Avon looked into Soolin's eyes sharing with her a brief moment of peace.

"What ever would Tarrant think now?" Soolin commented breaking the silence. Avon threw back his head and roared with laughter.

*

Later Avon and Soolin sat down and shared a basic meal together.

"We didn't do very well on Clotho did we?" Soolin said looking at Avon, trying to find out if he would be alright.

"No we didn't, but you were right," he said softly, "all we can do is try. We might just loose this fight but if we can wear down the federation a little then that's a bonus. Zogar failed but that doesn't mean we should give up. Not yet anyway."

"What about us?" Soolin asked, "I'm not talking about anything in particular, I would just like to know if this was a once off."

Avon smiled at her and moved a strand of hair from her face.

"Oh, not if I have a say in the matter it won't, but I think a little discretion is in order. That includes you keeping your mind on the job and not watching me when you think I'm not noticing"

Soolin turned a little pale then blushed before leaping at Avon and tackling him to the ground. Things went downhill from there.

*

They made it back to Xenon to find the others waiting expectantly in the control room.

They didn't take the news very well.

"Zogar was dead then huh? So the trip was a total loss" Vila commented.

" Oh, I wouldn't say it was a total loss" Soolin said cryptically and out of the corner of her eye she saw Avon sneer at her in warning. Dayna saw this exchange and the meaning of that sneer hadn't escaped her either. She gave Soolin a very large and very expectant smile.

"You will have to tell me all about it then won't you," she whispered.

"Oh! I think you will be a little busy doing my duties, to have time to hear what I have to say Dayna," Soolin whispered back.

Tarrant and Vila looked at each other, trying to work out what that exchange was all about.

*

Feedback! Pretty please. :)

Min xxx