I followed Spike until after the sun set. She led me so far into Baron territory that under ordinary circumstances I would have been nervous, but I was too determined to see my teammates that very night to worry. I forced myself to slow slightly when I realized that I was in Baron land and should be practicing stealth. Why was it taking so long to find them? From how far away had Spike picked up my scent? Or had she just been interested by the smoke and come to investigate? And even then, how far away could she have been? As it got darker and darker I got more frustrated, more hurried, and less careful. I even began to wonder if I'd been wrong; this wasn't Spike, and I was just chasing some crazy wild puffan through kilometers of forest.

When it finally became so dark that I could barely see, I gave up, flopped down on the ground, and put my head in my hands, asking myself what was wrong with me? I was running after some ridiculous obsession! And I certainly wasn't helping my teammates or myself crashing mindlessly through the forest like this!

After a few minutes Spike realized that I was no longer following her and came back, butting into me and chirping so loudly in complaint that I sighed, got up, and began following her again, lest she make our presence known to every Baron in the forest. For I was pessimistically sure some must be around, lurking in the shadows of the night. Spike had to be content with proceeding at a slower pace, since I couldn't even see where I was going anymore. I also became aware once again of the painful burns on my back, hands, and face that hadn't had time to heal. But, as always following Captain Gill's deeply ingrained advice, I turned my mind to positive thoughts. Like reuniting with my team. Yeah�where did Spike go?

I didn't dare call out for her, but my heart skipped a few beats. She couldn't have disappeared into thin air. Then I caught sight of her again, worming her way through a thick bramble back toward me. She chirped once and turned back the way she'd come.

"You want me to follow you through there?" I asked in a dull voice, which of course, meant nothing to Spike. So I sighed and followed. She was a very stubborn puffan, I thought, as I grimly reminded myself what had happened last time I'd crawled under a bramble of bushes.

My already-burned hands and face were scratched up quite a bit by the time I'd made it through the thick tangle of prickly branches. The bushes opened up into what seemed like a cave, though in the dark I could not judge how wide or tall it was. I heard Spike scuttle across the floor and crash into something, or someone as was evident by the groan of complaint. Then, "Spike? You found me. Oh, it's good to see you, girl."

I nearly leapt into the air for joy. I knew that voice!

At that point Tuck apparently realized there was someone else in the cave, because he said warily, "Who's there? I'm armed, and I'm warning you, if the puffan morphs she'll crush us both."

"Tuck, it's me!" I cried, laughing in jubilation.

He was silent for a moment, then, "Bryt? Bryt Sarliss?"

"I'm back!"

"Impossible!" he shouted, and I felt his hands patting at my arms and head, making sure I was real. "How the�how the�of all the pure, idiotic, stupid dumb luck in all the world! Did you just happen to be passing by?"

There was way, way too much to explain. I was so happy I couldn't even talk. I just batted his hands away and managed to say, "Spike led me."

"Spike led you! But how�how'd Spike find me? You know what � I don't care! What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" I cried, just as vehemently.

He just laughed. And so I started laughing, too. I couldn't help it. We were giddy, both of us. And Spike was practically bouncing off the walls of the cave. I hoped there were no Barons nearby, because otherwise our secret was out. We were both out of breath when we finally calmed down, and Tuck said happily, "Wow, that really hurts."

"What does?" I asked.

"Any number of a long list of injuries," he said indifferently. "But that's another long story. Not for now. I still can't believe I'm not dreaming. This just doesn't happen!"

"Is Shay around here, too?" I asked, suddenly very afraid for the reply I might get.

"No. I hope not, anyway. Like I was saying, long story. Oh, he's fine. Sorry. I'll bring you up to date in the morning." His voice took on an excited tone, and I knew I'd missed some good action. "You're not going to vanish as mysteriously as you appeared, are you?"

"Not after I chased the little monster through the woods all day!"

"You probably have some stories for me, too, don't you?"

"Well, I haven't crashed any flaming puffans through anything, but�"

"That's a good thing. I'd be sorry to hear you hated Pathic Training that badly!"

I laughed. The idea of a giant flaming puffan crashing down through the ceiling on top of Baria was more appealing than I'd have liked to admit. I sobered abruptly when I realized that I was going to have to explain about quitting Pathic Training. I wouldn't tell him tonight, though. No bad news would spoil our miracle.

"Anyway, in the morning," Tuck said, resettling himself.

"As if I'll be able to sleep now," I snorted, but even as I lay down on the dirty cave floor I realized how tired I was. I'd just had the most strenuous day of my life (Could the attack on the ship really have been only yesterday?), gotten about four hours of sleep, swum across the river, and then run through the Barons' forest for hours. My eyes closed almost instantly (though it was no darker with them shut than with them open), and my breathing became slow and steady. I'd never felt so triumphant in my life, and I hadn't really even done anything. I wouldn't have traded being there in that tiny, dark hole-in-the-ground for all the pathic skills in the world. I'm sure I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

My body must have understood my need for sleep more than my mind did, because it was afternoon by the time I woke up. I wasn't surprised to find out that Tuck had slept almost as long as I had � he'd seemed as tired as I'd felt, despite his excitement. Still, when we crawled out of the cave in to the light and I saw him for the first time in seven months, my jaw dropped. He looked like he'd come through an entire Baron army before slinking humbly into the cave to hide. His uniform was ripped in several places, and in others he'd obviously torn strips off it himself to bandage cuts. There were dark patches of dried blood caked onto his clothing, and his faced was bruised and dirty. One hand appeared swollen, and the other clutched his ribcage when he moved.

"Oh, stop," he said when he saw me scrutinizing him.

"How did you make such a mess of yourself?" I asked, incredulous.

He shook his head. "You first. I still don't believe you're actually here."

I hesitated. "Look, Tuck, there's something I have to tell you that you probably won't like to hear."

"Bryt, whatever led you to show up here last night, I'm glad to hear it."

"Well, okay�I ran away from the Pathic Training center." I hung my head dutifully. When he made no response I continued, "My instructor was a monster, who hated me because she hates the entire military. And my partner was a pathic genius next to whom I felt like a total imbecile. She used me to practice on. That's all I was good for. I told them about the jailbreak." I looked at him significantly. "It was an accident, while they were reading my thoughts for practice. I'm sorry; I'm really sorry, but I couldn't stand it there! I couldn't do it."

"Well, I am disappointed," Tuck said after a moment of thought. "I've never seen an empath's badge. I was curious to find out what it looks like."

I breathed out in sheer relief. Though Tuck was certainly in no position to be upset about my leaving Training early, he was very unpredictable. "Empaths don't wear badges," I pointed out. "If the people they're observing know they're an empath, it only makes things harder."

"Well, they still carry them around," Tuck countered. "I'm actually kind of glad to hear you can't read my mind."

"Don't be too sure of that," I teased. "After all, you're the one who insisted I'm psychic. And I did stay there for six months."

"So how'd you end up here after that? I'm sure even you realize you're pretty far from the training center."

So, accepting the jibe, I told him how I'd sneaked away, met Torrey and his makeshift team, had to take the long way around the river, met Jossander and his team and become a part of their half-successful mission, and finally how Spike had appeared and led me here. Tuck listened quietly, visibly impressed by the project that had destroyed an entire warship and regretful that it wouldn't be continued.

"She must have gone to the smoke, realizing it meant humans," he said when I'd finished my story. "She's a lot smarter than most would give her credit for. She's saved all our lives before � more than once � but this is more than even I thought she could do. And then to come all this way back and find me�" He shook his head in amazement.

"And she pulled me all the way back here," I added. "You've truly got a loyal friend."

"Yeah." He nodded, and for a second an unguarded tender expression crossed his face. Then he grinned. "Or she just wants me to feed her."

"She's not due to be fed, is she?" I asked, fervently hoping that she wasn't.

"Not for another week," Tuck assured me, and smiled at my exaggerated sigh of relief.

"So what have I missed?" I asked. "Did you complete the mission?"

"Mission? Oh yeah, that cave. Never mind that. Come here, Bryt, I've got something to show you."

As I scooted closer to him he pulled a small cloth pouch from a knife case in his weapon strap. He handed it to me. I opened it. It seemed to be filled with fine, gray sand. At first I didn't understand, and then I did. I froze when I realized what I held in my hands. I wanted to fling the bag away, but I didn't dare move. Finally I looked up at Tuck, not knowing quite what it was I wanted to accuse him of, and still too stunned to speak anyway.

Tuck actually laughed at my consternation. I glared at him. "How could you?" I cried. "Do you know�don't you understand�" I couldn't finish my thoughts.

Tuck sobered when he realized that I was really upset. "Bryt, it's fine. It's harmless unless it's exposed to fire. Oh, come on. Here, look." And he grabbed the pouch of explosive powder from me, took a pinch out, and threw it all over me.

In total shock, I reacted instantly by slapping hard at the offending arm. Tuck immediately yelled in pain, clutching his arm and swearing, and I realized that that limb had not escaped injury. We glared at each other for a few minutes.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here," I reminded him.

He regarded me for a moment, then said cryptically, "It's good to be back together, isn't it, Bryt?"

I snorted, but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Yes, it's good to be back together. Yes, I can't wait to find out what crazy scheme you've got in store for me now. Now tell me your story!"

"Well, as you know," he began with a wicked smile, "we managed to get our hands on some explosive powder. But then the Barons we stole it from came after us. Since there were only two of them, we divided the powder among the three of us and split up. At least one of us would have to get free. Unfortunately, that one wasn't me. I have no idea where Shay and Keni are now."

"Keni?" I asked.

"Our new teammate, remember? She's a medic. Don't be jealous."

I ignored the taunt, but realized that I was jealous. For all I'd graduated early, this new medic had had far more experience missioneering than I had. And a chance to bring a sample of explosive powder into Col territory. I cut of this line of thought as useless. But�if only I hadn't been forced to go to Pathic Training!

"Both the Barons ended up following me," Tuck continued. "Really, that's a good thing. It doubles our chances. I don't appreciate it as much as maybe the others do, though. Actually, most of this I did to myself," he indicated his battered figure, "diving between cracks in the rocks to hide. I don't mind the scrapes and bruises, but their knives did get to me once or twice, and I think I may have cracked a rib throwing myself against the rocks like that." He grimaced at his own stupidity. "I've been working my way back slowly. They get lazy, using the river to get down to Col ground whenever they need to go. I know these woods far better than they do. I didn't know where Spike was the whole time, though. What a great puffan."

"So," I began carefully, "at the risk of putting myself into an idiotic situation, we seem to have once again found ourselves without a Captain. What do you think we should do?"

"I've got to get this powder back to a Col base."

"Can you walk at all?"

"Slowly and with considerable pain." He grinned.

"How far are we from the War-Pac?" I asked, getting an idea.

But Tuck shook his head. "We'd have to cross the river."

I frowned. "Where the team I was with set their ship trap, it's narrow enough to swim across. Oh, wait, sorry. You can't swim like that. Is there anywhere else we could go?"

"There's another pac nearby," Tuck said hesitantly. "It's a small one, just started recently."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"It's a Baron pac."

I sucked in my breath. "Do you think we should chance it?"

"There is one other option," he said earnestly.

"What?"

"You could take the powder back on your own."

I looked him firmly in the eyes. "No."

"It's really what you should do," he said quietly.

"If Spike bringing me here was a miracle, I'm not about to leave you alone to die now. Besides, I doubt I could find my way back on my own," I added more briskly. "Now, how do we get to that Baron pac?"