<div class="floatleft">(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/wulfjaeger/___protector_of_time____by_vincentxyooj-d5lw1gq_zps59496fa9.png)</div><br/>Allia caught Kari's eye as she walked past.  Her weak smile faltered when she saw the daughter of the companies commander walking away with Damian.  She had a feeling she knew what it was about, and Damian wasn't the type to share this type of information in public, not that it would make the news any less painful.  It was hard for Allia to keep the tears from her eyes or the pain from her face.  She took a bit of sollace in the fact that the sweat and dirt on her face likely covered her emotions.<br/><br/>Moving through the ladders and corridors of the Dark Star, Allia's mind was in a fog.  The occasional lurch of the ship one way or another as they attempted to evade Falcon pursuit, the random thumps of rounds hitting the hull, did little to pull Allia from her thoughts.  If the Falcon's succeeded in destroying the Dark Star before she was able to hook up with the jumpship and run, then they would all die in the vacuum of space, or in a fiery blast and it wouldn't matter anymore.<br/><br/>She finally found herself standing in the entrance to the crew showers.  Uncertain why or how she'd ended up here, with a sigh, she walked into the showers, slowly unzipping the pink and black body suit that covered her body.  An advanced form of cooling vest she'd been given as part of Gheistwulf's upgrade a few years before as a retirement gift from Defiance industries to her family for so many years of service.  She pulled the form fitting elastic fabric from her arms and chest as the hot water filled the shower with steam.  Her naked skin tingled at the change in temperature from inside her suit to the humid shower.  Finally kicking the last of the jumpsuit from her feet, Allia stepped under the hot water.  The cleansing liquid washed away the dirt and sweat, but couldn't do anything for the images in her mind of the Falcon's tearing apart her lance.  Tears swelled in her eyes, as sobs quickly overtook her.  The first time she'd really had a chance to lose control, she crumbled under the weight of her grief, collapsing to the wet tiled floor.  Without a care for who might find her, Allia sat against the cool tile wall, letting the water pour down on her as she cried quietly to herself.