Dr. Kendall slumped back in his chair, his face pale, the light from the monitor making him look ghostly in the darkening room. Beyond, through the frosted window, the sun kissed the horizon. There was a faint whisper of the ventilation systems, a gentle rush of air but he felt none of its warmth, only fingers of ice reaching in to freeze his sould. And those fingers belong to a man named, B-

A scuffed shoe made him look up. A woman with a weary face stared down at him.

"Dr. Kendall." Her voice always carried a slight cynical edge.

"Levett. You're back."

After the Liberator's crew had delivered the neutrotope and brought them back to Destiny, there had been several hectic weeks. Their planet was saved; the crops were healthy again and everyone was given a well-deserved vacation. Levett was the first one to come back.

Levett sank into a stiff-backed chair. "Didn't you take a break?"

"I just came back."

She studied his face, her brows quirking. "Then you need another holiday, you look terrible."

"Have you seen this?" Kendall rotated the monitor screen so she could read it.

"What is it?" Levett leaned forward, placing her hand on the desk.

Kendall's voice was tight, as if he had to force the words out. "It's a report on the Sestera."

"And what the hell is a Sestera?" she asked as she began to read the report. "Oh, I see. A freighter from Peace." Peace was a small mining planet in the next solar system. They sent regular shipments of essential ores to Destiny. "The Sedener was reported missing."

"Keep reading." There was a strange quality to Kendall's voice that made her look at him sharply. "Is there something wrong?"

"Keep. Reading." A touch of red coloured his cheeks.

Levett hesitated a moment, still staring at his uncharacteristic manner. She scanned the rest of the report quickly. "They were commissioned to look for us, for the Ortega, when our people lost contact with us."

There was a single burst of answer. "Yes."

And now they're…" Her face paled. "…missing …oh my god…"

Dr. Kendall's right hand balled into a fist; a non-violent man having a sudden violent thought. "My brother was on that ship. He went with them."

"Why didn't his ship tell us contact us, tell us who they were?"

"Our comms were still out. Remember? They must have tried to contact us but couldn't. And their scanners were not as powerful as the Liberator's. They wouldn't have seen them until it was too late." He tried to be logical, rational. That was what he had been taught. Be objective. That was why there were all on Destiny instead of some corrupt Federation planet where violent expression was an acceptable form of justice. Justice. He thought cynically. Summary execution without trial or questions was the Federation way. And they called it justice.

Levett sat back in her chair, eyeing him with a grim expression. "What are you going to do? Blake didn't mean to murder them."

"Didn't he?" It was his turn to sound cynical, which seemed to amuse her. Levett always loved to play devil's advocate.

"What was he to think? What were the chances that a ship would run into us in space. They had to be working with Sara."

Dr. Kendall's words were slow and deliberate. "The Liberator ran into us and they didn't work for Sara."

She sighed. "They did, didn't they. Run into us by accident. So the chances weren't that small."

"If Blake had told us what he was doing, I would have stopped him!" he said angrily. "But he didn't want to give us that choice. He didn't give my brother that choice. Summary execution. That's what it was. They never had a chance. He never gave them a chance. No warning at all. It was like shooting them in the back." His fist pounded on the table, shifting his cup perilously close to the edge and making Levett blink in surprise at his uncharacteristic outburst.

"We are a just people, Levett. Our ancestors founded this society because we wanted to return to law and order. A system of justice, of checks and balances. We wanted to be different from what the Federation was turning into, a bunch of thugs and tyrants who substitute their own wills for justice. And these…rebels." He wanted to spit his contempt. "Blake. He's no different from the people he professes to fight."

"That's hardly fair. He was trying to save our lives."

Kendall's fist pounded on the table, making Levett blink again. "The Sedener was unarmed. A transport vessel for mining ores. Blake's vessel is one of the most advanced in this galaxy, bristling with weapons and shields. What danger were they in? All they had to do was contact the Sedener, ask them their intentions. Even if they were Sara's cohorts, all Blake had to do was disable their engines with one of their neutron blasters. Or give them a warning shot. The Sedener didn't make a single aggressive move. No weapons. No raising of shields. No threats to back off. Nothing! Blake murdered my brother without warning! And without any provocation!"

"They tried to board the Ortega."

He leaned forward, his lips thinning in anger. "Of course they did! That's what the Liberator crew did, isn't it? That's what you do when you see a ship that looks like it's in trouble. We were still in that loop that Sara set us on. Do you consider the Liberator's actions aggressive and threatening when they boarded us?"

"That's different, they helped us."

"Did we know that before we met them? Some of us were still suspicious even after we met Blake."

Levett started to reply but stopped. There was no defense for what Blake did.

Dr. Kendall rubbed his face in agitation. He looked ill. "My brother…"

"I'm sorry about him. Did the others have families?"

"I just finished sending the last condolence e-letters."

She let out a long drawn out sigh. "What are you going to do?"

Silence answered her, the quiet stillness of a cemetery, as Kendall considered his options, his fingers steepling as they always did when he was contemplating something serious. "I am charging Blake and his crew with ten counts of murder. All except Avon and Cally."

Levett nodded slowly. "Avon…I liked him. A bit of a cold fish, and he said he was only staying for the mystery, but he helped us and he risked his life to catch Sara. He spent most of his time trying to fix our ship while that woman with him spent her time trying to investigate the mystery. So he didn't really stay for the mystery as he said."

"Avon agreed with us that Sara needed to be brought to trial." For Kendall, that was the key point. The most important point. "He didn't demand that she be executed even though she tried to kill him." Avon was for justice in the end, and he was a decent sort, worked well with the Ortega crew. Kendall found it strange that Avon's abrasive manner disappeared after Blake left, as if Blake was the source of his ill-temper. And no wonder if Blake was as authoritarian as he was when he was with them. The Destiny colonists believed in equality and democracy. It was obvious that Blake didn't from what Kendall saw of his treatment of his crew.

Dr. Kendall believed in actions and Avon had shown what he was made of, and Blake…he also showed what he was made of . Yes, he was quick to offer his help and that was admirable of him. He noticed that Blake hadn't given his crew a choice in that either.

What if Blake had given his crew a choice before blowing the Sedener and her crew and his brother to smithereens? Would they have objected? Would they have had a moral objection?

He would like to believe Avon would have had. And for Avon, he would give the benefit of the doubt. The man proved himself when he agreed on justice for Sara. And Cally by extension. Especially since she had not been on the Liberator with Blake when they made that murderous decision. Dr. Kendall was a just and fair man. His people did not judge someone guilty and execute them before there was any proof. They did not consider themselves gods. Unlike Blake.

Kendall cleared the screen, his voice calm now that he had made his decision. Civility won in the end, not violence. "After the ship exploded, after Blake killed all those people. You were all watching the screen, but I was next to him. I could see the big smile on his face. I knew there was something wrong with him then. He's the kind of man our ancestors tried to get away from. People who think they're above the law." He began typing 'Roj Blake' in the box for the accused.

A slim smile appeared on Levett's face and her legs crossed as she settled back. "I thought it was odd."

"Odd?" Kendall asked, his fingers pausing.

"In the press release about what happened on the Ortega. Blake's name wasn't mentioned. I thought someone had made a mistake."

The Destiny planetary news had reported how Avon and his crew had helped the people of Destiny. It had applauded their sense of compassion and justice. There had been a sad side-note about Sara and a muddled account of how both ships had been destroyed.

"It was no mistake. There are few enough societies in our time that try to uphold justice. People like Blake cannot be applauded. It would be going backwards. One good act does not cover a deliberate act of mass murder. And smiling about it afterwards…" Kendall shuddered. It was a cold that reached inside and chilled his heart. "No one should be happy about killing so many people. Especially when it was not an act of self-defense. He didn't exhibit a shred of conscience, regret or sadness. Even if you think you're doing the right thing…that's…sick."

"I agree. Blake is a sick individual. Which makes his reputation all the more puzzling. They don't portray him like that."

"The Federation does."

Her lips curled in crooked sarcasm. "Funny isn't it?"

"Not to my brother." He jabbed the last letter of Blake's name with extra force.