“... Samara. Time to get up, Samara.”

Her eyes snapped open as Xeno shook her awake, her hand grabbing for his wrist before she realized what was happening. Kalypso pulled back in fear before she managed to correct her mistake, but by then the damage was already done. She rubbed at her eyes, swinging her legs over the side of the acceleration couch as she stood up and stretched.

“Sorry, must have dozed off,” she said. “What’s our status?”

“You tell us,” Kalypso fired back. “We’ve heard nothing since you told us to strap in.”

“Oh... right,” she sighed. “Well, we escaped, obviously. Not much more to tell.”

“And your friends?” Xeno prompted.

“Well, they certainly helped,” she said nonchalantly. No sense getting into the details of their escape just yet.

He nodded, taking that in. “Samara, there is much we need to discuss. Now that we are clear of the system, I can think of no reason why we should delay that conversation any longer.”

Samara pinched her nose. It looked like there was no getting out of it, and she didn’t guess the excuse “Because I don’t wanna”, would fly.

“All right,” she said at last, facing the inevitable. “You found a galley or something we can use?”

“Or something,” he said enigmatically. “That is another topic we need to talk about.” He turned and headed for the hatch on the far wall as she and Kalypso fell in behind him, the latter giving her a wide berth. Well, there wasn’t much she could do about that.

They arrived a couple of minutes later at a common area that resembled a galley, though there didn’t appear to be much in the way of appliances. The table and chair analogs were similar enough to the human equivalents, so she took a seat while Kalypso went to a cupboard, returning moments later with a handful of roots and branches that she set down in front of her.

“What’s this?” she asked, examining one of the fibrous tubers.

“The food supply,” Xeno said unhappily. “The Chell seem to subsist on a diet comprising cellulose-laden plants, which we can’t digest.”

“All of it is like this?” she said in surprise.

“Most,” he nodded. “There is also a selection of what appear to be grubs and insects. Help yourself.”

She buried her face in her hands. “Well, that’s a problem,” she grimaced. “What about survival rations?”

“We have not yet located any, but assuming they exist, they would still be configured for the Chell. It’s likely we could not eat them either.”

Samara made a face. “Don’t suppose there are any Chell left,” she asked, before putting up her hands. “... Joke. I swear.”

“Joke all you like, but we won’t survive long without food,” Kalypso sniffed.

“Well then, we’ll have to find some,” she agreed. “When we’re done here, we can start looking at our options. What else?”

The pair did their weird communing thing again. “Samara... we must consider what Guardian and the others have done to you,” Xeno said at last. “Are you still your own person? Or are you theirs?”

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I still feel like me, but I won’t lie, with all the modifications they’ve done…” Her voice drifted off, before she could regroup. “You know the drill. We’ve all been through this with the Clan. Guardian’s people may be weirder, but they at least seem honest. Believe it or not, I trust them.”

“Well, I don’t,” Kalypso snapped. “There is no way you should have survived that injury, Samara. Losing half your head and walking around like it's nothing? It’s not natural!”

“... said the woman with artificial hands,” Samara observed dryly.

“That’s different,” she sniffed.

“It always is,” Samara shot back.

“Ladies, enough,” Xeno interjected. “Samara, you are correct in pointing out the parallels between your current situation and what we endured with the Proteans. But you must also admit there are enough differences between the two to warrant concern, the issue regarding the new brain they created for you especially.”

“And just what do you expect me to do about it? Rip it out of my chest?” she snarled. “I can’t change what they’ve done. All I can do is figure out a way to live with it.”

“It’s not just that, Samara, and you know it,” Kalypso said, her jaw hardening. “They control you. We’ve seen it! They can make you do anything they want, and you can’t stop them. What if they decide that we’re a threat? What then? Are you just going to watch while they use you to murder us?” Her nostrils flared as she spoke in a rush, her breath coming in short pants, as Samara finally realized what was really going on.

Kalypso was terrified of her, and when she glanced over at Xeno, she saw he was too.

“Guardian and the others have done nothing but help us, every step of the way,” she said carefully. “They have given us no reason not to trust them.”

“Like we trusted Rook?” she demanded. “You saw the way he turned on us.”

“I never trusted Rook,” Samara argued, “it was a marriage of convenience, and the moment he double-crossed us Guardian stepped in and saved our asses. I’d say that makes for one hell of a difference.”

“Samara…” Xeno paused, taking a moment to focus and present a calm, reasonable façade, and suddenly Samara was getting worried. He’d spent a lifetime developing that intellectual demeanor of his, and if he were needing a moment now to find it again, he was even more scared of what she’d become than Kalypso.

What the hell was she going to do?

“Samara,” he tried again, “the difference is we can’t control them, but they can control you. We do not know who… or what... they are, where they came from, their goals, their purpose, or if they are even telling us the truth about anything. We know nothing of them, and yet you are asking us to trust them with our very lives.” He shrugged helplessly. “Surely you can understand why we are finding this... difficult.”

“And can you control me?” she said in measured tones, as a hint of menace began filling the compartment. “Do you think either of you could stop me if I decided you were a threat? Do you?” In a flash, her hand darted out and gripped Kalypso around her throat, holding her fast. “In less than a second, I could break your neck... and there is absolutely nothing you could do to stop me.” Kalypso’s eyes went wide with panic, while Samara’s bored into hers.

“Samara, let her go,” Xeno said firmly. There was steel in that voice, and she knew he’d force the issue if she pushed it that far. He’d lose... but perhaps he held a card or two in reserve.

She held her another couple of seconds to prove her point, before finally releasing her. Kalypso rubbed at her throat, drawing away from her, even though she’d put no actual pressure on the hold.

“It comes down to this,” Samara told them both, her attitude now cold as space, “Guardian’s crew and I are a package deal. You either accept that, or not. If you can’t, I’ll drop you off at the nearest planet, and you can figure out your next move without me.” She paused, letting that sink in. “However, if you choose that option, I should point out you are both a long way from home, deep within enemy territory, and surrounded by those who would like to see you dead.” Kalypso visibly swallowed as she laid it out for them. “I should also point out that while you have both been the guests of the Knights Hospitaller, I have been taking on one risky mission after another and surviving them.”

She folded her arms, eyeing them both. “So, ask yourself this: are you safer on your own... or with me?”

Samara let them figure it out for themselves. She sat and watched as they worked through all the variables and permutations, arriving just as she had at the inevitable conclusion.

“There is safety in numbers,” Xeno conceded. “Perhaps we allowed our concerns to override that fact.” She turned to Kalypso, who merely bowed her head and silently nodded.

“All right then,” she told them, “then this is the last conversation I expect to have on this topic. This is how it is. Maybe it’s not what any of us wanted... I know I didn’t... but we’re stuck with making the best of it. Agreed?”

“... agreed,” they mumbled.

“So…” she said, feeling at least a little relief they were agreeing to that much, “next order of business. Obviously, we need to deal with the food situation pronto, but after that, where do we go from here?” Samara spread her hands. “What’s our next step?”

The three looked at one another. “Maybe... we’ve done enough,” Kalypso said softly. “Maybe we should start thinking about going home.”

“Having second thoughts, are we?” Samara said sweetly. “Getting a little too rough, maybe? Ready to run back to momma?”

“Go to hell!” she shouted, as Xeno winced beside her. “How many more have to die before you’re satisfied, Samara? Huh? Weren’t Gideon and Persephone enough for you?” Samara was halfway to her feet before she realized what she was doing, but Kalypso wasn’t finished just yet. “Not that you care about what happened to them, though, right? Just a couple of Misfit Toys, and there’s plenty more where they came from.”

“I don’t recall asking any of you to join me,” she hissed, glaring at Xeno when he cleared his threat. “You I asked, but then you decided to bring along the rest of the squad without so much as a ‘By your leave’.” Samara glared at the other women. “You want to go? Then go! But I’m not walking away from this until it’s done.”

“It will never be done!” Kalypso screamed. “Never! You think the three of us are going to take down the Troika? Have you lost your mind?” She jabbed her finger into Samara’s chest, barking out a mad laugh. “Oh wait, we already covered that one, haven’t we?”

Xeno tried in vain to intervene. “Kalypso, perhaps it would be better….” he began, but she brushed right past him.

“So let me tell you something, you death-seeking bitch. Eventually, they’re going to find us, and then they will kill us. You ever think that maybe I’m not looking to die in your little Jihad. Maybe I’d like to actually live!”

Samara batted away her hand. “You are free to leave anytime you’d like,” she said through clenched teeth. “I already said I’d drop you off, and you declined. The offer still stands.” Inwardly she seethed, wanting nothing more than to rip her head off. How dare she!

Samara leaned in close, now returning the favor as she jabbed Kalypso’s chest. “But let me tell you something, I’m sticking. All the way to the bitter end. I started this fight to end the lies and manipulations and the trading in human flesh, and until that’s a thing of the past, I’ll. Keep. Fighting.”

Kalypso wanted to take a swing at her. She could see it in her eyes. But even with those magic hands of hers, she knew a fight between them would end with her on the ground, while Samara’s heel would be on her throat. Her entire body quivered with anger and frustration, and it took all Samara had to keep from whispering, “...do it”.

Just one swing, so she could beat her to a bloody pulp with a clear conscience.

But Kalypso could read the room as well, and she knew what Samara wanted... what she hungered for. She gave the other woman one last glare before spinning on her heel and storming off.

Xeno sighed. “That could have gone better.”

Samara rolled her eyes. “What did you expect? The two of you ambush me, blaming me for getting a slew of imaginary friends stuck in my head... or maybe just for not dying, I’m still a little unclear about that... so obviously I need to be burned alive at the stake or something.” She turned her glare towards him, who sadly could not fully appreciate it. “I let her off easy.”

It took him a long time to respond to that, and when he finally did, it wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Do you want to die, Samara?” he asked gently.

“What?” she screeched. “Of course not! What the hell kind of question is that?”

“A rather important one, I’m afraid.” He folded his hands and regarded her. “I’ve watched you jump from one fire to the next, again and again, and you’re even more eager now to tempt fate.” He sighed and managed a sad little smile. “But eventually your number will come up, Samara. Even with your new abilities, they won’t keep you alive forever. So, I ask again... do you want to die?”

Samara took a deep breath. “...no,” she whispered, “I don’t want to die.” Suddenly it was hard to look at him, so she turned away, even as honesty compelled her to answer... to really answer... his question.

“... but maybe I’m not sure how to live either,” she told him, before retreating to the bridge once more.