I Got By With A Little Help From My Friends

Somethin' woke me up. Weren't like I was sleepin' sound anyway, every little noise jarrin' me back to consciousness as I laid there waitin' for the tromp of boots to lead me to my doom. But so far, it'd just been noises: The slam of a cell door, the occasional shout from another prisoner over on the next block echoin' through the complex, a set of footfalls, usually the guard doin' his checks. This time was different, though. Wasn't a sound, either, but a feelin'. Not an ominous one - Almost like the warm breeze comin' off the desert sand on Hale's coupled with the smell of coffee and incense, just brushin' my mind.

As I got more and more aware of my surroundin's, the sensations intensified. No, not intensified, just... there was more of 'em, one set after another. The smell of motor oil, the taste of pumpkin pie, and the feelin' of cold steel pressed up against my face. And then, a clean scent, antiseptic, and a hint of chocolate, along with the way it feels to slide between freshly washed silk sheets. The last was the taste of blood, the bite of a blade into flesh, and the howlin' of wolves. And I knew. They'd come for me. My friends. Seana. Sabrina. Belize. Td. Their minds sang to me in close proximity, and I wondered how the hell they planned to get in here, let alone how the hell they planned on gettin' me the devil back out.

I laid there silent and still as the guard passed me on his circuit so he wouldn't think somethin' was up. That'd be a great one to add to Perkins' dossier on me - She knew her friends were comin' for her without any outward indication of their presence. I pretended to sleep, lettin' my breathin' slow, partly to lend credence to the facade, but also, to calm down the thrummin' of my heart, which was threatenin' to jump outta my chest and fly away. I was scared. Not for my own self. I was already in the poo, and it wasn't likely gonna get much worse'n the prospect of what the gorram 'lliance was gonna do to me. No, I was scared for my friends, who were riskin' their own freedom to spring me. Please God, I prayed silently to myself, Please let all of 'em get outta here safe and unharmed and free.

The lights blacked. This was it. I waited for the sound of gunfire to start. And I kept waitin'. Didn't hear nothin' til the sound of the door lock bein' sliced into by a hot wire. I opened my eyes, lookin' up and barely saw her in the darkness, in this matte black getup. She was like a ghost, she blended so well. The little ninja, she'd called herself once. I'd known beneath the serene, businesslike exterior that she was a force to be reckoned with, but 'til that very moment, it was just sorta a bit of information to me. Now, her dangerous potential struck me in the most profound way. Here was a woman even I was scared to tangle with.

"Ain't you a little short to be a Browncoat?" I whispered, trying not to let my voice carry beyond a few feet.

"Shhhh. Follow," She hissed.

Just to be sure, I asked, "Sea?" I was sure, just didn't want her thinkin' I was sure. She whispered back, "Who else? We've got to move, though." The message was clear: Shut the frakk up and put your ass in gear, you can ask questions later. Well, fine. I hadn't planned on chattin' 'bout the fine weather we was experiencin' on Persephone here in my dank little cell anyway. I heard her speakin', presumably to whoever was playin' God for the op. "Archangel? I have the package. Heading to extraction." And then, we was up and movin', slow, careful. As she knew the layout better'n me, I automatically fell back to rear guard, coverin' our six. The woman was damn good, I gotta say. We didn't run into a soul, and slipped outta the God-foresaken place like it was a stroll in the park.

She'd brought street clothes for both of us, and we donned 'em, then headed out into the street 'fore the Feds even knew they'd been foiled. Well, no, the alarm was up, someone figured out I was missin', but whoever was playin' God out there'd done somethin' to scramble everything in the Fed station, so insteada runnin' out to fetch me, the place was in a state of total chaos.

Walkin' out in the crowded street, I was waitin' for somethin' to happen. Someone was bound to recognize me, a Fed squad was gonna come along and see me. Reckon, though, it was all 'bout flyin' casual. No, sir. No escaped federal prisoners here! Just us girls out on a jaunt 'round the town. Yeah. We made it all the way back to the outskirts of town where Seana'd parked Wave Equation without so much as a dirty look.

And then, I was surrounded by my friends. Seana, Sabrina, Belize... Td. Sabrina, who'd played God, or Archangel, watchin' from on high. Belize and Td, who'd gone out in the street to cause a diversion. They'd all risked their hides to save mine. I owed 'em all. Big.

Once we broke atmo, the questions started. They was simple at first. Was I okay? Did the Feds hurt me? They got progressively more difficult, though. Why the hell did I go back home and get myself caught? Yeah. How do you explain to your fiance you risked your life to get some silly trinket for another man, even if it was to tell that man goodbye? I reckon he didn't take that news so well. I could see it in his eyes. The others weren't entirely thrilled, either. A gorram locket, which I didn't even manage to keep a hold on - My dear old Pa'd rid me of it while he searched me for weapons and presumably anything of value.

What was the point, really? I ain't even sure. Maybe I needed a last yeehaw 'fore settlin' down. Maybe I needed closure with Duncan. Or maybe I was just plain crazy. I reckon, though, no matter what, there'd be consequences, even more'n gettin' caught by the Feds. Boy, was I right.

Thing was, soon as they'd busted me out, I knew I had to go back to Persephone. Had a couple real compellin' reasons for it. More'n that locket, too. One, my boat was still parked there. I sure as hell wasn't leavin' Merkabah on that gorram rock. And two, I had to get my family the hell outta there. It'd only be a matter of time 'fore that Perkins'd go nosin' 'round there, and there was a good chance my little sister'd end up takin' my place in some gorram 'lliance lab. Just like she was takin' my place as a daughter to sell of into marriage. And that was somethin' I just couldn't live with.

So, I went back to Persephone.