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It took a few minutes for Sol to recover from his relief at seeing Luna’s wanted poster. For fifteen years, he had thought she died that night. He lost a lot that night, losses that he still had yet to get over, but losing her had hit especially hard. Now that he knew she was alive, he felt the weight on his shoulders lessen, if only slightly…until he realized he had been looking at a bounty with her name and face on it. And for [i]sixty million beris,[/i] no less!

He carefully read through the Northern Financial, one of the newspapers Lieutenant Nelson left behind. He ignored the bits that disparaged his homeland, though it was hard to not feel upset by what was written about Luna’s father, Comet. The part about him consorting with pirates and other criminals was completely fabricated, as far as Sol knew, but what really upset him was how the paper described the Lunar Emperor as little more than a savage beast. Comet had always been kind, not only to his daughter, but to Sol, his family, and the people of the empire. When he realized how angry he was getting, Sol calmed himself, a skill he had become extremely adept at over the years.

With a sigh, he set the paper down, leaned back in his chair, and covered his eyes, now understanding the reason behind Luna’s high bounty. In truth, Sol had always known about the part Captain Arbor played in the downfall of the empire and had planned on taking care of the captain, himself. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Luna to beat him to it.

He once again looked at her picture. The only thing he truly recognized was that mischievous glint in her eyes. Though she was shy and quiet most of the time, whenever Sol was alone with her, she would get that look in her eyes and he’d knew they were about to do something that could have gotten them in trouble, whether that be stealing pastries from the kitchen or sneaking away into town. If anything, judging just from the picture, it seemed like Luna had grown into the type of person she truly was. At that, Sol couldn’t help but give a small smile.

The one thing he couldn’t figure out, though, was why? Did she just happen to come across Arbor, discover who he was, and let her feelings get the best of her? But how did she beat a Marine Captain? Did she really get so strong over the years? Was Marcus really harboring her all this time and how was he doing?

Sol shook his head and set the bounty poster down, placing the newspaper on top of it. He wanted nothing more than to go after her, if only to have those questions answered, but two things stopped him: he had no idea where she was and he couldn’t afford to risk everything just to see her. [color=#A020F0][i]I’ve come too far and I have farther to go, still,[/i][/color] he thought. [color=#A020F0][i]If I survive, I’ll find you after I’ve done what I need to do. Until then, please, stay safe, Lu.[/i][/color]

[i]Ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring, ring…[/i]

The sound of his transponder snail interrupted Sol’s thoughts. He picked up the receiver and spoke, [color=#A020F0]”Captain Maxwell Rackham speaking.”[/color]

“You have new orders, Captain Rackham,” the snail said. “We’ve received word that a group of pirates have attacked a place called Green Isle. The base we have there is a small one and it seems that the pirates involved are more trouble than they can handle, so you’ve been ordered to give them some support.”

[color=#A020F0]”Yes, sir,”[/color] Sol replied as he examined one of the charts ever-present on his desk. [color=#A020F0]”From the looks of it, we’re about a day’s sailing away from there, but we’ll do what we can to get there faster.”[/color]

With that, the call ended and Sol rose to his feet as he draped his coat over his shoulders. He glanced at his desk once more, at the spot he had placed Luna’s poster, before he made for the door. There would be time to think about her later.

He had a job to do.