Reading the room, Jade got a great sense of distress coming from the air. There was an argument, but not a battle. The people were shot without their knowledge, but the last person, Rawhide, tried to get away. It seems they were just finishing up something, a job, or something like that, she couldn’t really tell; when they were shot by a woman.

There isn't much else she could sense. Jade turned and reported this to her husband.

As soon as Jade finished giving the report of what she knew from the room, Kane had her go back to Odyssey. He needed her to keep and eye on her patient and to prepare her equipment to test the contents of the crate they found on Aces & Eights.

Once Sanka and Wash reported they had completed the looting of Aces & Eights, Kane took one more walk through. Privately, to the body of the owner of the ship, he made a promise to find out what had happened and to make it right.

With that, he left the ship and got back aboard Odyssey.

Once onboard, he went to the bridge.

"Wash," he started," get her moving. I want you to take her about 200 miles South, then due East from there. Once you have to space port due North, turn back to the city. I want to keep our where-abouts a secret.

"Oh, and as soon as we land I want you to get on decoding the full text of that Morse code we picked up from Aces & Eights. We still have a mystery on our hands as well as a two missing crewmen from that ship and a shuttle unaccounted for."

With that, he turned to join his wife in the infirmary.

XXXXXX

Wash very carefully started maneuvering Odyssey towards the points Kane had said. He clicked the intercom.

"Cap'n, I've got us on course. It'll take us about 25 minutes to get there, so sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm going manually." Wash then addressed Sanka. "Sanka, keep the engines cool."

"Yeah, mon." Sanka replied; a short burst of music behind him.

XXXXXX

Kane stood in front of the injured Maxx. Jade continued to monitor his vital and stood by in case of any problems. The man was starting to come around, and he blinked, confused.

"My name is Kane," Kane said, "William Kane. Welcome aboard Odyssey. I am glad to see you have come around and are going to stay with the living.

"I am a little curious about the circumstances of this meeting. Can you shed a little light on things for us?"

Kane patiently waited for the man's reply. A few moments passed.

Maxx blinked. "My...ship. She crashed..." He seemed to be holding back a flood of despair. "I...was shot..." He looked to the side and noticed Jade, then looked back to Kane. His eyes grew distant.

"I have a wife and child...I call 'em everyday...'cept today. They'll be wonderin' where I'm at..." He shook his head, still a bit confused. "I call 'em everyday. I do. I can't miss the call. I never miss it." Maxx sniffed, then seemed to realize and comprehend Kane's question.

"That woman I trusted...took in to be part of my crew...she betrayed me..." He closed his eyes in painful memory. "I saw what she did to my crew." He gritted his teeth. "I'll kill her. I swear it."

Kane took in everything the man was saying. He knew if it was him, he would want to keep his promise to contact Jade.

"Maxx, we will arrange for you to make the call. However, I think it best right now we avoid sending video.

"And, as far as this woman--the one that killed your crew--she appears to be the mystery. There will be time for you to deal with her, and I promise you that opportunity. However, there are things I need to know.

"Two of your crew are missing. Joe Henderson and Ramona Cortez. Do you know what happened to them? Was Ramona the woman you are referring to?"

"Don't say that yi dwei da buen chuo roh's name!" Maxx shouted and reached up to grab onto the front of Kane's shirt. "She was responsible! That ruttin' gorram woman SHOT MY CREW!" Maxx started to sob as the events of the day started to sink into him. He slowly let go of Kane's shirt and buried his face into his hands.

"And she stole my best mechanic. She kidnapped him. And I don't know why." His muffled voice sounded amidst his crying.

Kane stepped back from the man. He understood grief and rage. Maxx was right in the middle of both.

After a moment, Kane turned and hit the intercom, "Wash, I need you to place a wave and patch it through to the infirmary."

Turning to Maxx, "Where is your family at?"

Maxx dug into his pocket and pulled out a small photograph of a woman and a small baby girl. "Coordinates on the back." He mumbled, shoving it at Kane.

Wash's voice sounded through the intercom. "Cap'n. Wave's ready to be patched. Where's it goin'?"

Kane took the picture and studied the people on the front. It always amazed him to see the things people left behind in order to roam the 'verse. It made him thankful Jade was with him.

He flipped the picture over and called out the coordinates to Wash.

"The next move is yours, Maxx. Take you time, but I only ask you to use discretion...and think about your wife and child before you tell her everything."

Kane took Jade's hand and led her out of the room. He wanted to be close enough to hear what was said, but out of sight so Maxx felt he had privacy.

A bit of static sounded, and Maxx frowned. Then, a voice came through. It was a young woman, and she sounded worried.

"Maxx? Are you okay? You're late with your call today."

Maxx smiled. "Yes, dear, I'm fine. How's little Bridget?" He asked.

"She's good. She likes playing with her dolls you got her."

"That's good. Listen, I think I'll be coming home soon. For good."

A gasp. "Oh! That's wonderful! How soon?"

"I don't know. I won't lie to you, our ship crashed. I'm okay though. A little shook up. I'm on another ship at the moment."

"Where at? What planet?"

"I don't know. They're takin' good care of me, though."

"That's good."

"Well, I have to go, dear. Tell little Bridget hello for me. She's five today, right?"

"Yes. I'll tell her you love her."

"Thanks." Maxx heard the wave cut off, and he sighed. He called out to the infirmary door.

"You guys can come back in, if you want. Thank you for letting me call them."

Kane and Jade walked back into the room.

"So," Kane began as he pulled up a stool and sat down,"care to share some details of what happened? If I am going to get you home, and get you Ramona, I need to know the whole story. We have you transmission recorded, but I am a big believer in getting it straight from the horses mouth, you might say."

Kane sat back and allowed Maxx to tell his tale.