Valon could barely contain the smile trying to break is mask of cold indifference. Bram, was still Bram. The former captain prayed silently to the goddess, tracing the scar on the inside of his palm.

Lord Jeron gave the pirate a wicked smile before signaling the autioneer for his final bid. “3,000 credits!”

“Sold to Lord Jeron!” The auctioneered ended the bidding, the price to high for the man to let this continue. “Please see the man at the table to your left with your money. Thank you…next up for bid…”

The lord smiled, turning to the pirate. “He is mine, Captain…I suggest you rethink your threat, boy. If you attack me, I will have your head and that lovely arm of yours mounted on my wall before you can think to retreat.” He walked away from the other man, two large body guards trailing after him.

Valon fought back as he was moved down the stage and presented to the Lord. He snarled, bucking and twisting against the chains. No…no! The lord glared nodding his men towards the slave. “Hold him still.”

Burly arms pulled Valon’s muscles taunt keeping him immobile. The noble approached the slave taking the angled chin in his rough grip, making the former Captain look at him. Jeron used the other hand to lay a blow with his cane across Valon’s face. “YOU…ARE MINE, Boy…you would do well to remember it. Bring him, we’re leaving the planet now.”
-----
A few minutes later Valon was aboard the Lord’s ship, the Chimera. He was chained spread eagled and naked to a medical table. Jeron was near him laying out knives and other wicked medical implements.

“I was so lucky to find you ungelded…It is something I enjoy performing on my slaves greatly.” The noble grinned wickedly, brandishing a scalpel. “Do feel free to scream slave…”

Despite himself, he could help but yelling something nasty at the auctioneer. If anything, he would have just kept bidding, despite not having enough money. Anything to rile up the prat beside him. Sending a wicked glance the Lord's way, he silently promised to keep his word.

"And your outfit has no taste, sir!" was all he could think of to shout back. He was angry and still drunk. The feeling was going away in his almost desperate state, but one didn't find their thoughts that quickly after the drink he had.

----

"So, we're going on this raid instead of relaxing happily at the bar because?" his first mate and pilot asked again. Bram had been more than vague about the whole situation. She had known him for a long time now and he wasn't the slave buying type. For all she knew, he was just on a liquored rampage based on principle.

"I already explained, now when I give the word, shoot their thrusters. That will keep them busy and immobile for the time being," he snapped in an excited manner. Zipping up his suit and placing on his helmet, he was making the final preparations for the task at hand. All around him, his crew were buzzing with the same amount of anticipation, all getting into their own suits and readying gear to take the Chimera.

The woman rolled her eyes and sighed, still not getting it, but trusting her captain none-the-less. She returned to the main deck of the Delta 9 Warship, affectionately dubbed Shangri-La. Being high military grade, it was sure to give the Chimera a good run for their money.

"Now!" Bram suddenly yelled over the com in his suit. The Shangri-La appeared out of nothingness, the top-notch cloaking device and shield coming down in order to fire. His number one shot a direct hit, though how much damage she actually did to the vessel she couldn't be sure of. If anything it would send their crew in a sudden, unexpected panic. The loading dock to the ship opened and his men and women poured out. Some aboard riden vehicles, others on boards that cruised across the short distance with ease - doing their best to avoid whatever scraps may have been flung from the Chimera.

The captain made it to their destination first - hitting their own bay like a rock. Around him, lasers were making quick work to put holes into the entrance. As soon as an opening appeared, they began pouring through. The mechanisms in the Chimera began putting synthetic patches on the holes to keep the pressure and air from leaving the cabin, but they weren't enough to keep screaming, raid driven pirates out.

"Spread out! Take what you can from the bastard except. No prisoners! Free the slaves!" With his orders obliged, Bram went in his own direction. Twisting his metal arm, it began shifting pieces until it became not just hand, but a readily available phaser gun.

His crew was having the time of their life, but he was on serious business for once. He had a promise to keep to his new friend Lord Jeron.

Valon glared at the sadistic Lord not giving him the pleasure of seeing the fear that he felt. Lord Jeron returned the glare grabbing a pair of gloves and a large serrated blade. He approached the former captain the blade winking in the overhead lighting.

Suddenly a violent explosion rocked the ship sending the lord onto his a** and the large knife skidding across the floor. The tray of knives fell against the table where Valon lay still chained, he extended his fingers able to hide a smaller one in the palm of his hand. He was hoping that if he could get the blade into the small crack of the cuffs the locking mechanism would short and disengage, an old trick taught to him by Bram.

Jeron cursed violently in a foreign tongue, “It seems that Pirate has a death wish.” He stood pressing the com button on the wall. “Security REPORT!

“We’ve been hit sir! And now we’re being boarded!” A worried voice came over the com.

“Kill THEM! Everyone accept the captain. I want him alive!” Jaron moved back from the com only to find himself face to face with an angry Valon.

The knife had worked like a charm, and in seconds Valon had moved silently across the room. Snarling and exposing both his longer cainies and the wicked looking knife the lord was going to use on him.

“Please…Don-gurgle.” Valon slit the man’s throat without another word, silencing Lord Jeron forever. The body fell to the ground as the door to the room slid open, Valon raised his knife growling.

Bram had been busy choosing every room he passed to peek his head inside. Most of them were empty, but others were now filled with an angry ship crew. Often he caught them off guard and was able to shoot them down with ease. Others happened to be far more prepared and ready for him. Luckily, Jaron wanted him alive it seemed, so none of them were willing to give him everything they had.

Luck. That was always on Bram's side.

In the next room he opened, hand facing palm out into the room and ready to shoot at anyone who came at him. His eyes went down to the, practically dead, Lord Jaron on the floor and back up to the snarling Valon. This.. wasn't the man he knew all of those years ago. He felt strangely disappointed. He always pictured Valon being the heroic military captain, not what he saw before him. Maybe he really was broken.

"Valon.." he said softly and reassuring. The pirate wasn't sure what he was going to do. A man, rabid and animalistic, was something you had to tip toe around. He put his bronze hand down and motioned with his flesh one," Come on, we have to go. Put the knife down."

The ship jerked suddenly again and he stumbled on his footing. He wasn't sure if it was another hit by the Shangri-La or something else. Either way, they had to get going, time was running out and at some point, a crew member would round the corner and-- The sudden pain shot through him. Winded, he hit the wall with a clang, whirling about his arm to shoot in whatever general direction the stun blast had come from. A groaning yell answered with a thump and Bram turned groggily back on Valon.

"C'mon now.. love," he managed, shaking the dizziness from his head.

Valon snarled again his mind still not registering the man in the doorway as Bram. He was pulled from the blood fog, by the sound of his old friend calling his name. Confused, his mind rapidly working to process the situation, the former captain huffed and growled like his family’s cat ancestors.

When the ship jerked knockng them about Valon dropped his wepon grabbing the counter to steady himself. A sudden pain shot up his arm at the same time Bram was hit. The pain forced his mind to wake fully up and he stumbled towards the other captain.

“Bram?” He helped steady the other man.

Bram grasped on to his friend. His vision was shaky, but returning to normal. To get a footing he looked down, made a face, then returned his attention up to the taller, naked man.

"Well, aren't you a lucky bastard," he managed a lop sided smile," Hello Valon. Are you alright?"

Silently he was thankful the man didn't run after him with the knife. It looked as if at first, Valon didn't know who he was or what he was doing. It was a bloodthirsty look that Bram had seen before, but never wanted to see on the man's face again. Maybe nostalgia was just talking. Expecting the Kaftrigain to be the same man.. was extremely childish.

"Captain, we've taken the ship and are loading supplies. I'm reading fleet vehicles in the area and the Chimera may have sent out a distress call. We need to move. Did you find the slave?" his first mate's voice came over his communicator.

For the moment Valon didn’t care about his state of undress. Though the look that Bram gave him, as he looked over his body made something burn inside of him. He pushed the feeling aside, nodding in the affirmative to Bram’s question.

Valon locked eyes with his old friend, they looked worried. For him? Bram wasn’t supposed to care anymore, especially not about a man like him. The shorter man looked good, healthy and alive. The half-kaftrigian leaned a little into Bram’s personal space, breathing deeply and tasting the man through the air.

The voice over Bram’s communicator snapped him back from his animal-istic examination. He huffed softly and a low rumble started in his chest.

“We need to go…where is your ship?” He barely recognized his own voice it was so gravel filled.

The captain could feel a tension between them. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, till Valon leaned just close enough. Bram could just barely hear the intake of breath and that made him flush. Well, that wasn't exactly what he was expecting. His heart beat a little faster for it. The wild fantasies he had in his head of meeting Valon again, of an epic battle of some sort, completely flew out the window.

Bram, to say the least, was confused about these turn of events.. It just felt unreal.

Snapping back to reality, he stood straight and let go of Valon.

"We're on our way," he answered, then motioned for the less than appropriate man to follow him. Entering the dock that his crew had deemed home base, there was an bustling going on that he hadn't seen from them in a long time. Apparently his own excitement earlier was contagious. They'd cleaned the Chimera out faster than ever. A few of them took notice to Bram and Valon, a little surprised to see him with a naked man, but it wasn't.. entirely out of character.

"We need to get you a suit that fits. Can't have you dying outside after all this, can we?" he said cheerfully, trotting down to one of the crew's vehicles and rummaging through the contents. Anything to break the odd feeling he had being so close to Val. "What size do you wear then?"

"Captain, they're in range."

At those words he just guessed and tossed a suit at Valon," Who cares, put this on and get on the rider!"

Valon, unabashed at his nakedness, followed Bram through the ship. When they entered the loading dock, he ignored the stares of the other members of Bram’s crew, his eyes solely on the pirate captain.

Something was off with Bram. Valon felt drawn to the other man, but in no way he could clearly define. One moment he would want to pick up the man and hug him, the next punch him in the face or throw him down on the bulkhead and have his wicked way with him. It was frustrating, putting the already riled half-breed huff again, his hands twitching.

He looked back at Bram with clearer eyes trying to focus as the other man spoke. What size did he wear? “I- the biggest they have,” was all he could think to reply. He grabbed the suit thrown at him, slipping it over his body and zipping it up. He jumped behind Bram on the rider putting the helmet over his head and tucking his arms around the pirate captain.

As the rider zipped out into the blackness of space Valon took a deep breath of pleasure. It had been six long years since he saw the sky like this, the rich never ending black punctured by pin pricks of light.

As they zipped out towards the Shangri-La, Bram shared that breath with Valon. Being out in the wild like this, free as a bird, and immediate danger, put him at his best it felt. He wasn't one to sit about for long periods of time with nothing to do. He had done that for half of his life. This was what it meant to live.

They made a bumpy landing back onto the ship, mostly because his vehicle wasn't used to carrying two people and he was out of practice. Once everyone was aboard behind him, the doors closed and he called out," Make it swift, first lady!"

"Aye sir," a light laugh replied over the com. The cloaking mechanism flashed them into nothingness and they were on their way. While the crew was busy cheering themselves on for a good show and looking through what bounty they could get their hands on, Bram was unzipping his suit and giving Valon a melancholy expression.

"Come with me to my quarters. I think we need some quiet," was all he could say. His little adventure was over, now reality was hitting him. What.. was he supposed to do with the once proud and strong man before him?

Valon hissed as them bumped into the Bram’s ship’s loading bay, sensitive anatomy not well padded. Once they had landed the taller man took in the other members of Bram’s cure sizing each of them up. Live as a slave had taught him to never trust the weak looking or those smaller than himself. He could tell that despite her appearance the first mate was strong, agile.

He watched the rest of the group looking over their bounty. The half-kitirigan looked over the others claim the soils of he raid. Valon could only see the men and women, slaves, who had died for such riches. His thoughts were intereuped by Bram’ rich tones.

“Where?” The whole incident felt so very familiar. It felt like their last night together on the observation deck. He followed the other man silently as they made their way into the ship.

(I g2g, bedtime)

"This way," he replied, leading Valon to his quarters. They were smaller than most people would expect a captain to lavish in. One main room with his desk and several shelves filled to the brim with books and odd looking trinkets from all over the universe. A side room was obviously where he slept. Nothing else.

Bram hopped backwards on to his desk and sat on the edge. Okay, here they were. He didn't know what to say now and that was rare for him. Up till this point he hadn't thought the entire situation through other than a urge deep down inside him, that wild child from years ago yelling, help Valon.

He wasn't even sure how to address his friend. Before it had been a hug. Now.. what?

"So.." he started awkwardly, suddenly feeling a choke in his throat. The pirate shifted where he sat to loosen himself up and looked at Valon - attempting to appear as confident as possible, though he felt the opposite. "Welcome to my.. ship. It's.. been a few years, my friend."

Well, Bram, that came off as pretty dumb, he thought to himself. Here he had just rescued his childhood friend from slavery and that was all he could say? All he could say to the man who made him feel very strange being close to. He didn't remember that from their last encounter.. The emotions he felt coming from Valon earlier sent him for a loop, that was certain enough.

((Have a good night!))

Valon followed his friend through the halls of the space craft, slient and cautious. The former captain memorized the lay out as they moved through the ship, part of his old routine as a slave, the better the man memorized the lay out the easier it was for him to avoid his owner or escape entirely.

He was curious to see why Bram had tried to buy him. Was the pirate captian truly doing it for their friendship or did he want Valon for something like everyone else.

The captain’s cabin was not what the former slave was expecting at all. Valon had pictured a large bed covered in red silk, the finest china and gold, things that he had witnessed when capturing other pirates across the galaxy.
It was plain and homey, but it fit the man before him like a glove.

The former captain didn’t smile at his friend’s awkward attempt at conversation, his face remained impassive, even dark. Sat in one of the chairs zipping down the suit he was wearing and taking it off his torso.Valon tied the arms around his waist to keep it from falling off. The fabric had hurt, his skin sensitive from so many ears with little more than a loincloth on his body. He sat tall, chest out exposing the numerous scars of his enslavement.

“It’s been twelve years Bram.” Valon looked around the room again emotionless. It had been a very long time, a life time. “Why did you save me?” Bram had made it clear all those years ago when the man left he wanted nothing more to do with him.

Bram couldn't have expected Valon to be the same man. Time changes people.. and his old friend had obviously been through a lot. His eyes darted over the man's chest for a second before glancing away again. Now was the time to act like an adult and not give in to such fancies. The way the man spoke, however, stung him in a way he hadn't anticipated.

Finding his voice again, he fumbled with his hands awkwardly," It's been twelve very long years."

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I saw you up on the stage and just.. had to. I had no plan other than that," he continued, finally able to turn his eyes back on the former slave. "And-- it is very good to see you, believe it or not."

This was the most serious conversation he'd had in quite some time. Even on his voyages and perils he'd faced, Bram always went along with a child-like whimsey. He had that innocence about him, strangely enough, where looking up at the stars and wondering still gave him that same wonder they did years ago. Having Valon here brought up things in him he'd pushed away years before.

"I'm not sure what do to with you now, other than make you comfortable I suppose," he said lightly, an edge on his voice hinting that he wasn't saying everything he wanted. The captain was attempting to be delicate. Something he wasn't good at in the least.

Valon’s heart softened a bit hearing that his friend had missed him. He gave the pirate a smirk full of fang. It had been years since he smiled at all, the gesture feeling foreign on his lips.

“It’s good to see you too…” Valon was on foreign territory again. What do you say to the man that has just saved your life, that a life time ago meant everything to you. “You look good, a real pirate. The gun in your arm is a nice touch.”

He leaned his head on his crossed arms over the back of the chair. “Thank you. I don’t think I would have survived the good Lord Jeron…at least not with all of me intact.” That sparked a toothy grin, his fangs flashing in the light.

Bram smiled back, his legs swaying a bit off the side of his desk," No, I'm just playing pirate, you know. And thank you."

The captain held his arm up a bit to look it over. With the synthetic skin gone, the human-ness of him seemed to lessen. He was never sure why that appealed to him so much. "I added that myself. Among a few other things," he grinned at his friend.

"Well, I can see why he would want you so bad at least. You're quite impressive to look at," he smiled broadened, then bit his lip. No, now was the time to be an adult, Bram. Pushing the twenty year old back down into the depths, however, was more than enough of a challenge.

"I have to be honest with you.. It is very good to see you, but--" he paused, trying to find the right words that would express what he was feeling. That was becoming harder and harder to suppress and shoo away. The captain thought he'd forgotten, but it was amazing what could happen when the past comes back to haunt you.

"Would you like a drink?" he said suddenly and far more cheerful - just deciding to avoid the subject all together. He hopped off the desk and made his way to a shelf nearby. Bram peeled off his suit, much in the same fashion as Valon, and rolled his fleshy arm to work out the kinks," I have some wines and gin."

Valon breathed deeply and the smell of Bram’s lust hit him like a sledge hammer. His pupils contracted into slits and he had to suppress a low growl. It came out as a low huff. Bram wanted him, that’s the way it was going to be. He had been a bed slave before, it was nothing new and a better alternative to what he would face if he was sold again. And after all there was nothing keeping Bram from doing just that.

He rose from the chair seductively and sauntered over to the other man. Leaning down slightly Valon took lungfuls of the other man’s scent…oh yes Bram wanted him badly. Something in the back of his mind was screaming for him to stop, that Bram was his friend and wanted nothing more than to care for the slave.

Valon let out a low growl, “You don’t need to get me drunk Bram…After all I am yours to with what you want.” He licked a line up the cyborgs neck, getting impossibly closer to his….friend?, Master? Plucking the wine glass full of the alcoholic drink he downed it in a few gulps. He would need to be buzzed to do this.

After Nathan…He stopped himself…Valon wasn’t going to think about that. He tried to smile seductively again… “Well what do you say captain? Hm?” He’d earn his keep.

Bram's body immediately became hot from the closeness. His cheeks warm and his lungs inhaling through his teeth as the other man all but ravaged him with his hands. The cyborg let out a pleasant sigh and tilted his head to get as much contact as he could. Yes, yes this was what he wanted. He understood this very well, yet..

Without another word he growled pushed the larger man up against his shelves, the bottles and trinkets rattling with the sudden thrust. The captain leaned into him and inhaled deeply, just barely touching the other's chest to his own. Then the man bit his own lip and pulled back just enough to breath out his reply.

"As much as I would like to explore every inch of your body with my mouth, Valon, I don't think now would be appropriate and you are not. my. slave," he pulled back and huffed - taking a moment to put his curly hair back in place. And that was the first time since he was twenty that Bram said no to a romp in bed.

In fact, he felt a little hurt for some reason. Looking at the former slave, he added," And I find it insulting that you would think of me as that kind of man."

Valon held onto shelf growling low in his chest. He pushed off the shelfstalking back into Bram’s face. “THEN WHY AM I HERE?!” His nostrals were flared and his lips pulled back off his teeth.

His claws extened and dug deep rivets in the table next to him. Valon felt his temper grow worse with each passing moment…Why was this happening? Did Bram now how much it hurt to stand here before him? To stand in front of his former best friend. Valon wasn’t worthy…the things he had done.

Pulling his claws back he worked on slowing his breathing and heart rate. He wasn’t mad at Bram there was nothing that the cyborg could have done to change the past. He pulled back his face falling into the flat mask.

“Forgive me…” He felt something wet on his face. Valon put a hand to his face and it came away shiny with tears. He looked at the wet hand confused. Why did it hurt so much to be angry at Bram?

The captain took a step back, wide-eyed and shocked. He was just going to let Valon go about and destroy everything in his quarters if that would make him feel better. Bram knew how good it felt just to destroy things for the sake of doing it. He thought that, after whatever Valon had been through these past years, he deserved to break a few things.

And now the crying. Oh, Maker, what was he supposed to do with that? Bram wasn't used to handling this. He wasn't emotionally attached like that - or at least he thought. Seeing Valon like this. The once proud, young man he ran away from, completely gone.. was heartbreaking.

Hitching his breath, he said softly," It's fine.."

"I don't know why you're here. But, having you here to bring up all of the memories and feelings I tried my hardest to forget isn't exactly pleasant for me either," he finally said. So, that's what was on his mind. For years, the captain didn't understand his feelings for Valon. It was a friendship, he knew that when he was younger. Soon enough he realized that Valon was his first love. A childhood love and a deep, honest one. Losing that was like losing a part of you.

Now he was feeling teary himself. Sniffing, he shouted," Dammit Valon!" and slapped the bottle of alcohol off the table. "Do you even think of me as your old friend?! Am I just another man to you now?! Did you even think of me at all after I left?!"

Stopping himself, the cyborg made a surprised expression at himself. Where did that come from?

Valon looked up at the man anger burning in him again, fierce and powerful. “Yes.” He would leave it at that, the other man didn’t need to know how hard he had cried after the cyborg had left, how he had started more than a hundred letters asking Bram to come and get him, to let the other man join him on his quest for adventure.

How even after he had married his beloved Nathan he felt like there was a hole in his heart. A hole that was Bram shaped.

“That changed the moment I became a slave. After that I could only think of the whip, the chains and trying to survive. Of who was my enemy and who was my competition.” A growl let loose from his throat. Images of the fighting, murder and pain filled his mind. The broken and bloodied form of Nathan filled him mind’s eye making him snarl.

“Did you think of me at all after you left? Hmmm? Or were you to busy doing what ever you wanted?! Raiding ships, finding yourself?” Valon spat the words back at him viciously. He snatched the bottle from Bram’s hands throwing it against the nearest wall. “Did you think of the kid you left behind, when I was watching my crew being slaughtered like animals? When they toured and killed my husb-”

Valon snapped his mouth shut. He said to much…if there was any hope that Bram was going to keep him that was gone now.

The captain felt the anger rising up his cheeks, curling out his lip into a snarl. It felt good to yell at Valon and be yelled at in return. A strange way to tell the man you once cared about how you felt, but again he understood this a lot better than crying and soft spoken words.

When the unfinished word touched his ears, a ping of pain hit in his chest. Jealously swelled up like an angry animal and he had no clue why. Valon had, in recent years, just become a passing fancy in his mind when he looked out at the stars. Why on earth he would care if the man got married confused him. It wasn't as if Bram was any better. He'd made love across the universe and felt no shame for it what so ever.

Through his gritted teeth, Bram spat back," I thought about you everyday. When I was cold and alone and terrified. And I remembered you wouldn't even give me a second thought when I asked you to come with me.. You hurt me you bastard and you act like I'm the one with the problem! It's not my fault you were happy to throw me aside and get married, then have yourself enslaved is it?!" Deeply he took in a breath, trying to control the emotions that had burst from their cork inside him. He felt vulnerable. That wouldn't do.

"And that wine was fucking expensive..." he choked out.

Valon growled again, stepping forward and grabbing both of Bram’s arms. “Fuck you! You know what they were going to do to you when you stole that ship? They would have locked you up and thrown away the key. I took your debt for the ship you stole. I begged my father to let you go. I let you go because, it was what you wanted!”

“I had to let you go...” He let go of the other man and stepped back. “I still thought of you even after I got married…I beat myself up everyday, because I thinking about another man when I had a husband that loved me unconditionally. Every time he touched me…All I could think of was how it would feel if it was you." The half-Katrigian shook his head. "But YOU! You were gone!”

Valon sighed heavily running his hand through his loose hair…much shorter than it was as a young man. “I am sorry that I didn’t come with you, that I hurt you so badly, but I am not the young man you left behind anymore…” He sat down in the open chair and looked tiredly at his companion. “I don’t know what to do anymore…where to go anymore…The Alliance thinks I’m dead, same with my family and I can’t be that person anymore Bram…I can’t lead a ship full of men to fight for a cause I care nothing about anymore.”

He absent mindedly traced the scar on his palm with his free hand.

How much he wanted to keep yelling back and forth like this. To just beat the piss out of Valon and then hug him afterward. The cyborg just.. he just couldn't. Hearing all of this for the first time was like being hit with a brick wall. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting. Why did the half-Katrigian have to show up again and tell him all of this?

Bram took a moment to breathe before replying, a tingling sensation rolling over the scar on his hand he took little notice of.

"Well, I'm not the man I once was either. My job is to lead my men and women. So, I suppose you'll just have to be one of them till you figure out what to do with yourself, won't you? Like I said, the wine was expensive and you can pay it off on your own," his voice returned more to normal. A hint of his cheerful self returned, but his mouth and throat still felt dry and hoarse.

A click at his door caught his attention," And what the hell are you bastards doin' at my door! Get the fuck away from it and get this bastard some clothes. I'm tired of him flaunting his magnificent chest around everywhere!"

A yelp of," Aye!" replied from behind the door from multiple voices, followed by footsteps and shoving. Bram turned his head back to Valon and gave a half smile, the scar across his lip he'd had since childhood stretching some. "I'm sorry," he spoke a little quieter - secretly ashamed of what he'd allowed himself to say.

The young man listened intently as his friend spoke. It would be good to have purpose again, to be his own man and make his own way. He would never be able to go home. During his time of enslavement he had done horrible things. Things that had brought dishonor not only to himself, but also to his family. It was better if he was dead.

His head snapped to the side looking at the door where Bram’s crew was spying. Valon had to give them credit, he and Bram hadn’t noticed them until just then. He was surprised to hear Bram tell his men to get him some clothing.

Valon felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest as Bram spoke. He was going to get to stay. A smile spread across his lips. He stood and stuck is handout to the other man. “Thank you captain. It will be a pleasure serving under you.”