Buck cut through the gardens at the head of her rag-tag little group, feeling like her eyes were on stalks as she tried to keep an eye out ahead of them, and an eye on Sav and Alec behind her, dealing with Ryx. Seeing the diminutive commander carrying the big man as if he weighed no more than a small child would have been amusing at any other time, but not now. Right now she was more concerned that Ryx didn’t bleed out before they got him back to their own reality and the small muscle that was currently clamped tight in the corner of Alec’s jaw.

He’d heard that ‘about that night’ comment, she was sure of it.

“Clear the way,” Tavi declared as they neared the doorway to the gardens, making the two guards there jump. “Medical emergency! Coming through!”

“Yes, My Lady… Captain,” they replied as they spotted the rank insignia Buck flashed them clipped to the inside of the wrist of her formal gloves. Gloves that were stained red with blood. That made them step back sharpish.

“Move,” Alec barked. “He’s bleeding out. Commander, keep him level.”

“Do you want to carry him?” Sav snarled, but she upped the pace anyway. “I’m doing my best here. He’s not exactly easy to carry.”

“You’re both doing great,” Buck said over her shoulder as the transporter room came into sight. Racing ahead, she caught herself on the door frame, leaving a bloody handprint. “We need an emergency transport to the Reverent, direct to sickbay!”

“Yes, ma’am. Captain!” The transporter tech nodded, eyes wide at her appearance, but before they could say anything else, the other three were crowding through the door, Tavi bringing up the rear.

Buck turned to the young woman as the others passed them. “We’re going to be leaving as soon as we get over there,” she said, worried about the younger woman. “We can drop you off somewhere if you need…”

The corner of Tavi’s lips quirked and she shook her head. The sudden hard look in her eyes gave Buck a hint of the captain she’d one day become. “No, someone has to make sure that asshole gets his just deserts. Now I’m onto him, you can be sure he’s never going to catch me off guard like that again. I’m going back there with a security team and my cousin, he’s a magistrate, and get this all sorted out.”

Buck nodded, torn between making sure the young woman would be okay and joining the others on the transporter pad.

Tavi grabbed her arm, her expression earnest. “I got this, honestly. Get back and get the duke sorted out. But… let me know if he dies because I will raise that bastard’s LIFE to the ground.”

Buck’s lips quirked, with that fiery expression on Tavi’s face, she could well believe it. “Good luck.”

“And you, Captain.” Tavi nodded and stepped back. Half a second later, Buck was on the transporter pad next to Alec.

“Transport us now,” she ordered the tech and the world disappeared in a blue haze.