Julia hadn't bothered putting anything but her nightrobe on over her nightgown before storming to the medbay. Doctor Singh intercepted her halfway to the door to the care ward. "Captain, it's alright," the Sikh woman insisted.

"What happened?" Julia demanded. "Leo said something…"

Leo stepped out of the ward. He glanced toward Julia and shook his head, sighing. "That's really not necessary," he said to her.

"Is Rob okay?"

"He's still alive and his vitals are strong." Leo gestured to the door. Julia looked into the ward and saw Robert still on his bed, unmoving. "The EEG spike was peculiar. I wanted you to find out in the morning."

"I was up looking over Scotty's repair log for the day," Julia said, trying not to sound too defensive about her own reaction.

"At five in the morning?" Leo asked without bothering to hide his skepticism.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep," she answered.

"Ah." Leo nodded. He turned to Doctor Singh, who smiled back and stepped away. "Doctor Singh's going to give you a mild sleep aid," he said to her. "Then you can go back to your quarters and get some proper sleep."

Julia crossed her arms and glared at him. "You're just trying to shoo me away."

"You could say that," said Leo. "Or you could say I'm trying to preserve the Captain's dignity by not having her tromp around the ship in her nightgown."

Julia answered with a frustrated little growl. "You're enjoying this far too much," she charged.

"I am," Leo admitted.

"I need more sleep anyway, but I still want updates."

"I will make sure you get updates every morning. Around 0800."

"And what about you? You don't come on before 0700 usually."

"I'm also the Chief Medical Officer, and I'm responsible for all patients. When our coma patient has a new change to condition, I get called. That's because this is actually my job." Leo nodded to Singh, who stepped up and used a hypospray on Julia's partially-bare left arm. Julia rubbed the injection point absent-mindedly. "Now you've got maybe five minutes before that starts to kick in. Plenty of time to get back to your quarters if you catch the lift."

Julia took the hint and left.

Leo watched her leave with a small smile, one tinged with sadness. "I think she blames herself," said Doctor Singh. "That's what it feels like."

"Survivor's guilt," Leo murmured. A yawn escaped his throat. "I'm going to take my own advice and get some more sleep as well. See you in the morning, Doctor."

"Of course, Doctor," Singh answered. "Get as much rest as you need."

The ER room in the county hospital was not the kind of place Robert liked to be. He hadn't been in one since rushing Julia to the hospital for Little Robby's delivery, in fact. But now he was the patient, hooked up to all sorts of monitors and medical things.

Having Leo shining a bright light into his eye didn't help his mood.

"I'm fine," grumbled Robert.

"People who are fine don't get sudden stabbing headaches that cause them to black out," Leo pointed out.

Robert might have appealed that. But one look from Julia and he didn't. She clearly intended for him to take full advantage of the offered medical care.

"We're going to run a full battery of tests on you to make sure this won't be a recurring issue," Leo said to him, but for the benefit of Julia. "I'll go arrange that now."

After he left the room Robert laid back on the hospital bed and turned his head to Julia. She gripped his right hand with her own and smiled softly at him. "I'm sure it's nothing major," she said. "Sometimes things just happen."

"Yeah," Robert said. "Sometimes."

"So, who was that tall English guy, the one who called 911 for you?" Julia asked. "We didn't get to talk."

"He's a new doctor in the area, I didn't catch the name," Robert answered. He put his left hand to his forehead.

"Well, hopefully you'll see him again," she said. "Then I'll get to thank him."

"We both will," was Robert's answer to that.

Jarod had helped Angel pack up after she was out of the shower. After donning a set of civilian clothes - blue sports jacket, white sleeveless tank top, gray sweatpants - she checked out, much to the gratitude of the manager who had heard of her victory and was worried Talbot's friends and fans might show up, and Jarod drove them out of Hendonville for the planetary capital of Corwinville. On the open paved highway that linked the two towns there was no speed limit, and Jarod had a full-speed aircar at his disposal. The two hundred kilometer distance thus disappeared in the space of ninety minutes.

Only when the lights of Corwinville beckoned ahead did Angel finally speak. "So, how did you find me?"

"It took me a little effort," Jarod said. "You've been pretty careful about paying cash. But your identity card still gets scanned on most worlds."

"But not here. Corwin's an independent world with barely any government, they wouldn't scan anyone."

"That was guess-work," Jarod admitted. "I looked at everything close to the last Alliance system you passed through. Corwin stood out, especially when I read about the attacks." Jarod frowned slightly at that. "Do you think kicking Talbot around will keep him from forcing himself on any more young women?"

"I hope it'll give him a second thought," Angel said. "And beating his ass felt good too."

"I'm sure it did. I'm just not sure it helped much in the long term. He might take it out on more victims."

"Maybe. Or maybe the others will hear about him getting his ass handed back to him by a girl and he'll have more trouble than it's worth getting frisky." Nevertheless Angel was frowning. "Maybe if I had the means I would have done something more permanent."

"Why not turn him in? To the authorities?"

"What authorities? This planet's virtually run by a mining company," Angel guffawed. "And their managers are making money off the fighting. And on a crappy world like this, even a half-baked talent like Talbot can become king of the ring."

"Or the cage." Jarod shook his head.

"So why did you come after me anyway?" Angel asked. "I told Julia I just wanted some time to myself."

"Yeah, and she passed that onto me." Jarod didn't take his eyes from the road. The car was slowing; they were reaching the outskirts of Corwinville. "So I decided to keep an eye on you."

"I don't need a damn babysitter," Angel growled.

"Normally, no. But you know me. I've studied psychiatric medicine before."

"Jarod, you've studied everything before."

"Touche. But my point remains. I knew you were going through problems…"

"And you can stop right there," Angel insisted.

They came up to an intersection. A red light lit up overhead from a holo-emitter prompting Jarod to stop. "Angel, you can't bottle this up forever," he said.

Angel frowned at him. "One more word and I'm out."

Jarod sighed openly. "You're being…"

Before Jarod even started with "stubborn", Angel stepped out of the aircar. By the time she made it to the side of the road, the light turned green. Jarod had to turn and leave the road to pull up beside her. The anti-gravs under the aircar sent up plumes of dust and grass. "Alright, point made, you don't want to talk," he said.

Angel nodded briskly and climbed back into the passenger seat. "Do you have transportation?" she asked.

"I called Beth Rankin and got a courier shuttle from the Colony's shuttle pool," Jarod confirmed. "One of the old Darglan drive models we built back in the Facility days, so it's capable of Warp 6. If we leave tonight, we'll be back in Alliance space by tomorrow." Conscious of his own growing need, Jarod asked, "Are you hungry? There's a diner near the starport that looked good."

Angel nodded. "Sure. I'm always up for a greasy spoon after a good fight." She smiled at him. "You're paying though."

"Oh? You're the one with a wad of fight winnings in your pocket."

To that, Angel's smile turned almost malevolent. "Oh, that? I already spent it."

Jarod blinked. "On what?"

"A bribe," Angel admitted. "It turns out that whatever Talbot's paying the sheriff in Hendonville to cover up for him, it's really not a lot."

"It's got to be more than the prize money of a single fight."

"Oh, it is." Angel settled back into her seat, arms raised and hands behind her head in a pose of relaxation that pulled up her tank top enough to display the muscled abs around her navel. "Which is why I placed a bunch of bets on myself before the fight. It turns out you can make a lot of money betting against the local champ if you know he's going to lose."

Jarod couldn't help himself. He had to laugh at that. "Nice work," he said.

"Thank you. Now, let's go get some food, and get off this crappy planet."

Robert's return home was met with a meal. After enjoying his grandmother's cooking yet again, the family gathered in the den to watch the large plasma screen television that served as another reminder of how well they were doing these days. The channel was set to a pay-per-view professional fighting bout being waged in St. Louis. They cheered the sight of Angel fighting another woman, a blond Caucasian, and overpowering her in round after round.

"Why is Auntie Angel fighting?" Little Robby inquired from his place on the main couch between his parents.

"Because she likes it," Robert said to him. "It's like a sport to her."

"But Uncle Zack doesn't hit people with his bat," the boy pointed out.

"Or at least, he hasn't in awhile," Robert said, remembering an old game during their high school days. He tousled his son's blond hair. "Uncle Zack plays a different sport."

"Back in my day, girls didn't punch each other like that," Grandma Anna remarked. "Not on television, anyway."

"Did girls have muscles?" Little Robby asked.

"Only on farms," she replied.

On the screen Angel threw a punch that sent her opponent flying onto her back. The ten second count commenced and ended without the other woman getting up. The room filled with applause at the count of ten. The referee raised Angel's arm in victory and a commentator started speaking about the fight's outcome.

"Angel's only a couple victories away from a championship bout now," Julia said. "She could win it all."

"I'm sure she will," said Robert. "So, who wants some dessert?"

Naturally the first response was from his son, a jubilant "Ice cream!"

Kerri's Diner and Bar reminded Angel of a whole number of small family diners she'd seen, and eaten at, during her lifetime. The booths were modestly comfortable with their green-colored plush seating, the table a pleasant brown wood pattern even if it was obviously a composite plastic table and not actual wood. The usual condiments for a diner were present at the window end of the table. Salt, pepper, sugar packets, and small containers of various fruit jellies flanking the napkin dispenser.

The remnants of two meals were on the table. Angel used her straw to take another drink of orange juice while Jarod finished the last piece of a toasted roast beef sandwich. "I can't believe I missed this place when I landed," she said, contented.

"I think it's funny that this places looks like it could fit into the 20th Century with just a few changes." Jarod motioned to the bar counter where other customers were eating.

"Some people like the classics."

After that was noted, silence fell. The awkward moment passed when Angel asked, "How is the family?"

"They're doing well." Jarod sipped at the coffee from his mug for a moment. "Emily's making her way as a reporter. Apparently Beth considers her to be something of a pain."

Angel laughed, although it came out as something of a snort. "And your dad?"

"He's trained as a transport pilot and joined a carrier transport service."

"I'm glad they're settling in," Angel said. "After everything that happened with the Centre…"

Jarod nodded without a word at that sentiment.

"Have you ever finished sorting through that data we stole?" Angel asked.

"To be honest, I haven't touched that lately," Jarod answered. "My family's safe. I can't imagine Mister Raines is still alive, and Miss Parker…" Jarod shook his head. "She made her choice. I'm not sure where she would be, but I'm not going to risk everything to look for her."

"And your Mom?" Angel picked at a last scrap of her hashed potatoes. "I still wonder why we didn't pick her up once we got back to the ship."

"We had other concerns at the time, and my father insists that she's safe," Jarod answered. "If we had remained in orbit, the Centre might have tracked our activity. And there was the fact that we had wounded and tired people."

"Right." Angel crossed her arms. "Did you ever get that request through to get your mother out?"

Jarod nodded. "I submitted everything to Admiral Maran. But I've yet to hear back from him."

"Considering all of the permissions he has to get from the officials in the government…" Angel frowned. "Back in the day, we didn't have this. We'd have just flown a ship to pick her up."

"This isn't then."

"Yeah. Now we've got chains of command, authorities and laws…"

Given the look coming over his face, it was clear Jarod knew where this line of discussion was going. "There are tradeoffs, yes."

"It's ridiculous," fumed Angel. "I get it, they don't want to cause your home Earth to go nuts on finding out all of this insane Multiverse stuff. Fine! We sneak into orbit and get your mother out, bam, we're done. But nope, that would be against the law. Just like every other good thing we did back then was supposed to be, y'know? And… and here we are, on a world where I had to bribe the authorities to put a rapist piece of crap in jail, and we don't do crap about it."

Jarod finished taking a drink by the time she finished. "It almost sounds like you want to leave."

"I guess so, and why not?" Angel shrugged. "Cat's got her life now. She doesn't need big sis hovering around her protectively anymore. Robert and I are done, for good. That's not changing whether or not he wakes up again. He doesn't need me around to remind him of how we screwed that up."

"And you don't need him around to remind you," Jarod pointed out. When she scowled at him, he continued, "So you feel lost. You're not sure what you're doing anymore."

"Don't psycho-analyze me, dammit."

"This isn't psycho-analyzing," Jarod retorted. "This is obvious fact. You're used to being Cat's guardian and to watching Robert's back. Now they don't need that, and you're not sure of what you're doing anymore. And you're thinking of walking away."

"Okay, sure, yeah," she said. "Maybe so."

"Then why did you ask to go to the Enterprise with Julia?" asked Jarod. "If you're not sure you want to be a part of the Alliance anymore, why ask for that transfer?"

For a moment Angel didn't answer. "Because she's my friend," was what she ultimately said. "Because I wasn't thinking the same way at the time. I… I just wanted to get away, I guess."

"From Robert," Jarod remarked.

"Yeah." Angel chuckled. It was a bitter noise. "Boy did I get that wish. Now he might never wake up."

"You don't blame yourself for that, do you?"

"No. That was Robert being the White Knight again. For all the good it's done him." Angel gave him a gloomy look. "I just… I feel like a fifth wheel right now, Jarod. And I'm asking myself what I'm doing, sitting shifts at the tactical station with nothing going on, filling out reports, running exercises. I miss the old days when we didn't have to put up with that."

"I know the feeling." Jarod nodded. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it sometimes. But let's be honest. We need something like the Alliance to fight things like the Dominion, the Batarians…"

"...the Nazis," Angel finished for him.

"I figured that one was obvious. Because we both know we'd have been nothing to them but maybe a nuisance back in the old days."

Angel didn't bother replying to that.

"Are you going to leave?" Jarod asked. "I mean, resign from the Alliance?"

There was a heavy moment when she seemed unwilling to answer the question. When she did, she shrugged and said, "I don't know yet. I can't leave until the war is over anyway, so I'll think about it."

Jarod nodded at her response. After several seconds to show he was dropping the conversation subject, he said, "Well, let's go pay for the meal. I need to get that shuttle back to New Liberty before we return to the Aurora."

"Right. Remember what I said."

"Yeah, I do." He smirked before standing up. "I'm paying."

Angel responded with a slight grin.

A similar grin was on the face of a figure in the far corner of the diner. Neither noticed it, nor said figure moving to follow them after they left.

There were many sights for one to see on the planet Gersal. Jantarihal's grand spires, the majestic round structures of the Great Temple of Swenya, the rainbows thrown up by the Falls of Hentan.

Lucilla Lucero - Lucy to her friends - was ready to add the Temple of Perception to that list.

The Temple of Perception, as it was called, was more of a cave, carved into the mountain of Talmatan in the southern mountain range of Jaldiran. The continent of Jaldiran was across the Inner Sea from the main continent of Pantiram, where Jantarihal and the Great Temple were found. But it was also the continent where Swenya was born, and Talmatan was a mere twenty kilometers from Trubin. Today one of the largest cities on Jaldiran, it had been nothing but a poor village when Swenya was recorded as being born there, and its importance was such that the Order maintained a Temple there and supported the pilgrims and visitors who came to examine the preserved elements from the Grand Foundress' birth.

Talmatan had a similar importance. By her own memoirs and the traditions of the Order she had created, the mountain of Talmatan was where Reshan had trained Swenya in the art of swevyra - of life force energy connected to the universe, wielded by one attuned to it - and guided her to become the great heroine to her people she would one day be. By those same traditions, Reshan and Swenya had descended into the cave after being guided to it by their connection to the universe, and they had experienced visions there.

It was easy for Lucy to realize why even before she entered the Temple, wearing a simple brown robe and white vest and leggings. She could feel the energy inside the cavern. It was energy steeped in light and dark, a powerful focal point within the Flow of Life.

The attendees had greeted her respectfully. All could see the weapon dangling from her belt, the swenkesh, or "lightsaber" by Lucy's own words. The entire Order had become aware of her learning how to build new ones, just as they had earlier watched her repair Swenya's Blade - revealed to be the same kind of weapon - and defeat the mad Mastrash Goras with it. That she was still deigning to take the Field Trials to prove her worthiness to be a swevyra'se - a Knight of Life as the Gersallians considered it - was another mark in her favor.

Once she was fully admitted, Lucy was left alone in an interior grotto. A mat was laid out for her to kneel on and meditate. She did the kneeling part, but meditation was not something she did right away. She considered instead what she was doing here, why she had agreed to take these Trials, this particular act being the last of them. She'd gone to the extent of asking Meridina what would happen.

"I cannot tell you what it is you will experience," Meridina had warned Lucy. "All face their own challenges."

Lucy felt the power resonate around her. For a minute, then another, nothing further seemed to occur. The silence of the cavern around her was absolute.

The faint sound startled her for just that reason. Lucy felt out for what was there just to feel there was nothing apparent.

But the faint sound continued. It continued until it was clearly footsteps.

Lucy looked up at an old, wiry woman. A crown of wispy white hair surrounded a balding head. Her eyes were dark in color, her face drawn and gaunt. Dark and gray robes covered the body. "Come with me," she instructed.

Slowly Lucy rose from the mat. "Who are you?"

"An ally," the woman said. "Come."

They walked deeper into the cave. It actually seemed off, actually. Could the cave really be this deep? Around her the surroundings grew so dark she could barely see. She felt out for any signs of danger and found none.

That made the fall all the more perplexing.

One step the floor was there. On the next it wasn't. Lucy cried out in surprise and reached out to try and find purchase. But there didn't seem to be any surface around to grab.

And then, like that, she was on solid ground again. Her surroundings were just as dark as before. But this time the darkness felt unnatural, as if it had gathered for the purpose of obscuring her surroundings.

"There you are," said the old woman. "Come."

Lucy looked through the haze. Wherever this was, or at least whatever it was, she could see glinting patterns ahead of her. The old woman walked toward the haze and Lucy followed. She still couldn't make out who this was supposed to be. "Where are you taking me?" she asked. Around her more light glittered through the haze.

There was no audible reply from the woman. They continued on toward the heart of the chamber.

"What is this place?" Lucy asked. "The Gersallians didn't say anything about it."

"Can't you feel it?" the woman asked. "This place is one of power. At the heart of this machine, the power to save us all can be found."

Lucy's senses felt something from the machine. Power. But instead of the teeming energy of the Flow of Life, it felt… different. Almost wrong to her senses.

"Why do you hesitate? The stakes do not allow for it," the woman insisted. A frown crossed her face. "The Darkness are coming for us all. This is the power that can fight them."

The vision swept over Lucy. Dark, nameless things that seemed to be made of nothing but destructive hatred. She saw planets crumble, stars die out.

And then she saw herself. For a moment she looked deceptively Human, or rather as she always did. Not short but not tall, long dark hair with curls, blue eyes, a face that was just a tad too round to be considered oval-shaped. No muscle definition, just a solid body of about five feet ten inches height, with a light brown complexion hinting at her Mexican-born mother's mestizo background.

But there was something in the eyes, something in the way she looked, that wasn't right. It didn't fit who Lucy was. Instead there was a different form of power, something terrible and without the Light of the Flow of Life. Lucy watched this other her wield this enormous power against those dark things, against other things, with more planets dying, more stars going out. Dying, it seemed, at her own hand.

"Follow me, I will show you to the heart of this machine." The old woman beckoned. "None will stop you. They would not dare. Only you can claim this power and change the fate of the Multiverse with it."

"I…" Lucy looked on through the haze. Felt that terrible power. Something beyond anything she'd seen or felt before. But it felt like death, like something inhuman, and she didn't want that.

"It is not death, girl. You will be beyond death. Beyond anything and everything, free to impose your will as you see fit."

"But it's… wrong," Lucy insisted. "The Flow of Life isn't moving in here. Whatever this is… it's not part of that."

"It is superior to it. It will free you from the Flow of Life."

"But I don't want that!" Lucy shouted. She reached out for the Flow, for what flickering bits of it she felt, and tried to gather it. "I'm not using this thing. It's wrong."

"It is our future!" the woman shrieked. "Without it, we will lose everything. You will lose everything!" A twisted, angry look came over the old woman. "Can you accept that, Lucy Lucero? Losing the ones you love? Just as you lost your mother?"

That old pain surged inside of Lucy with surprising fierceness. She could remember her mother's last words on the hospital bed, pleading with Lucy to go and do great things. She could remember her own hot tears running down her cheeks as her mother slipped away. That open, raw void from the piece of her heart that was torn away.

The old woman smiled with bitter vindication. "And now imagine losing the others. The ones you call your family."

That was a prospect Lucy had already experienced. She thought of the others dying as well. Tearing new, terrible gaps into her heart, more painful than anything Patrick Duffy might have tried.

"You can save them. With this, you will never know loss again. Take the power. Accept it."

The thought went through Lucy's head. This wasn't real. She'd come to meditate, to take a trial, and this must be it. It had to be, didn't it? The alternative was that some old woman was hiding a mysterious device beneath the mountain, and somehow that seemed more ludicrous than the things she had seen since that day when Julia had rescued her from the Duffy house.

But this felt so real. More real than a dream. She was here. And this thing was. She could imagine the power it held. With it… she'd never lose another loved one. She wouldn't lose Julia or Leo or Rob or Cat or Jarod…

...she wouldn't lose Meridina.

Somehow, that thought was the most terrible one. At the same time, the thought also led her to consider how Meridina would react to this. To the idea of turning away from the Flow of Life and embracing… whatever this was. She could imagine Meridina's horror at the idea. And her disappointment at Lucy ultimately rejecting the things she'd spent so much time teaching her.

"I sense how much you care for your mentor in these arts," said the woman. "But her way is to accept death. It can only bring pain. Use the machine, Lucy Lucero, and you and those you love need never die."

The words alone did not move Lucy. But she could sense images. Images of her friends, those she considered family, dying. Robert, Julia, Tom and Scotty, Jarod, Nick, Leo… their lifeless faces cycled in a montage.

Meridina's hurt the worst. The idea that she could lose her, this wonderful and brave woman who had done so much for her, introduced Lucy to this potential that had always been inside her… that hurt and frightened Lucy.

The idea that she could do something that would ensure she never lost Meridina, she never lost anyone… that was a possibility Lucy found she couldn't just give up on. After all, hadn't she lost enough? Her mother had gone. She'd tried to do the right thing and ended up the plaything of a sadistic monster for her efforts. Only a miracle had saved her from that, and that had led to a life of desperate fights and close calls. How close had they come against the Daleks? How close to death had she been? And Meridina? The others?

Lucy approached the opening. "Yes," said the old woman. "This is your destiny. Fulfill it, raise up yourself and those you care for, and strike down the darkness that threatens us all." The hazy opening itself seemed to beckon her, for all that it felt… wrong.

It is wrong, thought Lucy. Whatever this is… it's wrong. This power isn't of the Flow of Life. It's different. It's dangerous.

I… I can't…

Tears trickled down her cheeks. Again the thought of what she'd lost, what she could lose, came to her. If this was a way to prevent that, shouldn't she take it?

But at what cost? To be cut off from the Flow of Life? What would that do to her? What would it do to the others? Would they accept this as well? Would Meridina? What if they didn't, what if this was as wrong as she felt?

But I don't want to lose them! The protest filled her mind, and she felt it ring both ways. She was afraid of losing them to death. But if they rejected her for this, if it made her something terrible… she would lose them anyway.

"Why do you hesitate?" demanded the old woman.

Lucy didn't hear her. Indeed, as far as she was concerned, this strange, hazy place was gone. She was in a hospital room. Her mother was on the bed, weak, dying. She had Lucy's hand clasped in hers. "My little one. Please, you must move on. You have a life."

To that, Lucy shook her head. Her voice choked out, "But I love you, Mama. I don't want to be without you."

"I'm always with you, my precious little one. No matter what." Hands coarsened by hard labor and time were nevertheless gentle against Lucy's cheek.

And then the hand fell, and it never moved again.

It didn't happen that way was Lucy's first thought to this. Her mother could barely speak at the end. Her last act before falling asleep for the final time had been to smile at her while her eyes, normally filled with pain, suddenly showed nothing but love. As if she had known she wouldn't wake up.

"Go!" urged the old woman.

But Lucy couldn't. That false memory of her mother's deathbed still had a power over her, as if she knew those were the words Isabela Lucero would have used had she been able to speak. And those words were true. Lucy had always kept her mother with her. Not to dwell over her loss but to remember her life, and what they had shared. And to think of how she would feel about Lucy now, about all that she had accomplished.

This power… this wasn't for her. This wasn't what Lucy was. It was something terrible and she knew it would change her if she touched it. It would do something to her and make her different, make her something her mother may not have recognized… something her friends never would. Something Meridina would feel only pain over.

"I'm not doing it," Lucy said. She turned to face her host. "Whatever this is… I don't want it. It's not for me. It's not what I am."

She could feel the anger and frustration from the old woman. And with it came another sensation, something Lucy was angry with herself for missing before. The old woman did have power, a lot of it… and it was cold and dark. Her eyes blazed in fury and turned yellow and then red. "If you will not serve my purpose willingly, you leave me no choice!" barked the old woman, as cold dark energy swirled around her. Stronger, nastier, than it had when Lucy had felt it inside Mastrash Goras.

Lucy reached for her belt. But her lightsaber wasn't present. Nor might it have been much use, as the attack didn't come physically but mentally. The old woman's rage permeated her sense of self as it slammed into Lucy's mind. I will make you my own. I will have that power!

To that Lucy gathered her own. She grimaced and dropped to a knee before her standing opponent. But she kept her head up and her face defiant. Given the power she was facing, Lucy reached out beyond her own connection and felt the warmth of the Flow of LIfe. It was strong now. Vibrant. And she could channel it in this place.

And she did so. Everything that was Lucy Lucero - her fears and her joys and her desires and her devotions - struck back at the invader of her mind. "No," rasped the old woman. "You will give in! I felt it! You are ready to accept what I offer!"

"No," Lucy insisted. "I was tempted. But you're asking me to be something I can't be."

"But the power you would wield…"

"I don't want power."

"Lies!" snarled the woman, who dropped to a knee. All of her efforts were being expended at Lucy, and none of it was working for her. "You let yourself be taught in these ways. You opened yourself to power willingly, you wanted it!"

"I accepted what I already had in order to protect others," Lucy corrected. "But I never wanted this." A small, bemused grin crossed Lucy's face. "To be honest, I sometimes think swevyra is a pain in the ass. And I'm pretty sure that whatever this is… I don't want."

The old woman went down to all fours. "You must take it!"

"No, I don't." Lucy knelt down in front of her. "Now… get the hell out of my mind!"

With a final surge of effort, Lucy pushed the old woman out.

Everything around her vanished. The old woman, the hazy glittering surroundings, the chamber. She was all alone in near-darkness.

"You are an interesting one," said another voice. A woman's voice, with the quiet lilt that Meridina often had when speaking English.

Lucy turned to face the newcomer. She was a woman, young but approaching middle-age, wearing a blue robe over a brown shirt and leggings. A very familiar weapon dangled from her belt, just as familiar as the open sandals on her feet. Her complexion was fair, her hair dark brown, and blue eyes met Lucy's own. Lucy felt her mouth hang open.

She'd seen this woman before.

"Swenya."

"So to speak," said the figure.

Lucy stared in surprise. Meridina hadn't mentioned this might happen.

"Oh, I do not appear very often," said the old heroine of the Gersallians. "Honestly, you could possibly consider me nothing more than a personification of your connection to the Flow of Life."

"Swevyra makes a lot of things possible," Lucy pointed out.

To that Swenya grinned. "You have no idea how true that is," she said. "What do you think is happening? Right now?"

Ever since the old woman and the hazy machine chamber had disappeared, Lucy had gradually recalled what was going on. "This is a test," Lucy said. "I wasn't told what was being tested…"

"I would hope not. The expectation would ruin everything." Swenya stepped toward her.

"I could never have expected that," Lucy said. "I've never been to a place like that. And I've never seen the woman."

"Of course not. The test is not fixed, it can be anything from your imagination to experiencing a potential future. What is important is what you carry away from it."

That prompted a nod. "And how did I do?"

"How do you think you did?"

"Well, I said no. Not as quickly as I would have wished I did…"

To that Swenya grinned and chuckled. "Yes. But you did it more quickly than I did. I actually entered the inner chamber before I stopped."

Lucy blinked at that admission. "Then you know what it was? What that place is for?"

"It was… a relic," said Swenya. "One of only a few remaining, held in waiting by one of the last of its creators. Or creations, one might say. Either way, you were right to step away."

"I still don't understand what it does."

"It is something you may learn with time." Swenya's expression showed how grave she thought that possibility to be. Said expression softened after a moment. "Allow the future to tend to itself, Lucy Lucero. We do not live in the future, after all, but in the present moment, and understanding that distinction is always necessary for those like us."

Lucy nodded. "The profound wisdom is nice, but I'm still wondering if you're really Swenya or just a figment of my imagination."

The answer to that was a cryptic smile. "That you will need to figure out for yourself, I think."

Lucy's eyes opened. She found she was still seated on the mat in the cave. Gentle candlelight flickered over the beige-tinted walls of the cavern. All she could hear was the beating of her own heart, accompanied by her breathing. "Was that it?" she murmured to herself. "Was that my trial?" She remained where she was for the moment. Minutes passed as she considered what she'd seen, or rather what she'd dreamed, and if that was what she was supposed to see all along.

When nothing else happened, she finally stood up and left.

The sun was low in the sky and the waning light of twilight played over the field of wheat visible outside the window of Robert's home. The old family home where his grandparents still resided was visible as well, nearly to the road. The edge of the barn was covered in shadow, facing away from the setting sun.

Looking at the vista gave Robert a sense of profound joy. Anything, everything, he might have wanted in life, and it was here. Everything was just right. So right that it actually felt unreal.

Something inside him seemed to resonate with that thought. As if this wasn't real but some great fantasy he was living in. How else could he explain it? Everything going right?

But why can't it be going right? Why did this feel wrong sometimes?

"How're you doing, Rob?"

Robert turned his head and faced his grandfather. Allen Dale was in casual T-shirt and shorts. His weathered face was creased with age and worry, as it had been growing up. Now Allen was well through his eighties, although he didn't seem too different than he'd been while Robert was growing up.

That thought went away as Robert answered, "I'm alright. Whatever it was, it's not happening now."

"Right." Allen gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I'm just a worried old man, I suppose. You can be hard on yourself, Rob. Always trying to do the right things and be the good guy. Sometimes you have to remember to take care of yourself."

"Leo said something like that."

"Good doctors always do." Allen's eyes remained fixed to his. "Are you sure you've got nothing troubling you, Rob? It looks to me like you do."

"I'm just…" Robert drew in a sigh. "Sometimes, lately, it feels like things are going too well. I have everything I might have wanted in life. And it feels like something's just… I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess. Maybe today was it. Maybe I've got something wrong with me, and that's to balance all of this out."

"Well, I can see that. But you can't go through life wondering about things like that. You'll lose your mind." Allen tilted his head towards the dining room. "Now, your Grandma has a dinner ready and will be mighty angry if you come to the table looking morose."

A smile came to Robert's face. "Yeah. And I wouldn't want to get Grandma angry." He nodded and joined his grandfather in stepping away from the window.

Tom Barnes walked into Main Engineering on the Aurora through one of the aft entrances. The lanky, red-haired engineer's head swiveled from side to side, taking in the banks of naqia reactors that were inactive but ready to be brought to life to power the Aurora. He walked around the corner to the alcove where the master systems display showed a two and a half meter long likeness of the ship. Below the display, a table with multiple consoles allowed the Chief Engineer, assistants, and watch officers to check the status of systems across the ship and relay damage control teams and repair crews to needed points as well as interact with whoever was manning the Bridge Engineering Station. It, like the display, was new, both having replaced older counterparts from before the partial rebuild of Main Engineering over the past ten weeks.

Ten weeks. And yet it sometimes felt more like ten days, or even ten hours, since the Cybermen and Daleks had made their attempts to take the ship and killed hundreds of crew in the process. Nearly half of the engineering crew was made up of new faces, and there were now missing faces that Barnes knew he would never see again.

He stepped up to the control board and made a few perfunctory checks. The repairs were mostly complete. Rebuilt systems had been upgraded in some cases, and most of the ship's weaponry had been overhauled. The phaser weapons that Captain Farmer and Scotty had installed had been removed, replaced with new plasma beam emitters found in recovered Darglan technological data, weapons based off Asgard technology according to Robert.

That thought haunted Barnes. He had always been closer to Zack, true, and there were times he thought Robert took things too far, but he also knew Robert was always looking out for them. Even when Barnes was being an idiot. Now he might be gone. Losses to the engineering crew had been bad enough, but this was a wound that went even deeper. The idea that Rob might never wake up…

"Aye, there ye are." Scotty stepped into the alcove. While Barnes was wearing the standard engineering uniform for the Stellar Navy, with the black main color and beige branch color, Scotty always preferred his white long-sleeve jacket under a black engineer's vest. "What did ye find?"

"No sign of any lingering hull breaches in the sector. I detailed Salehi and Iktana to check the local sensor clusters. We might have a bad one in the rebuild."

To that the older man sighed and shook his head. "I told th' installers they dinnae have t' rush it."

"Yeah, well, the dock teams are more worried about how fast they finish things, it makes them look like badasses or something." Barnes checked over something minor before asking, "So did Nesay go?"

"Aye. She transferred t' th' Pathfinder. She'll make Chief by th' end o' th' year, I imagine."

"Another face gone then." Tom tapped a couple of keys. "Hey, Scotty?"

"Hrm?"

"Do you ever get used to it?" Barnes asked. "Having the people you work with leave?"

"Ye do. But that dinnae mean anythin' when it comes t' feelin' upset about it." A thoughtful look crossed Scott's face. "Ye're always goin' t' miss th' men an' women ye serve with. An' ye get auld enough an' th' list of them gets longer than ye'd ever expect. It makes ye miss yer youthful days even more, I've found."

Barnes nodded in reply. It was clear the words were coming from bitter experience given Scotty's age. "It's a Goddamned cycle, I guess," Barnes said. "People are gone, new ones show up, you get used to them and make friends, then the whole damned process repeats."

"That sounds about right," Scotty confirmed. "Just a part o' life, lad. Ye cannae dae anythin' about it. Ye just live with it like anythin' else. An' since ye brought th' matter up, let's take a look at th' shift rosters. I'd like t' have everyone ready when we're launchin'."

Barnes nodded. He moved one console down and used it to bring up the current active roster. "Alright, let's get this done," he murmured as names and open shift positions popped up.

Scotty's words refused to leave his mind, however. The idea that his friends might be gone one day gave Barnes a sense of possible loneliness. What would life be like without Zack or the others?

It was a question he decided he didn't want to answer.

Meridina walked through the halls of the Order of Swenya's Great Temple with enthusiasm in her gait. It was out of place here, and certainly not what she would have done just months before. It wouldn't have been right for her, not as a swevyra'se of the Order.

But she wasn't one anymore. She was merely Meridina of the Lumantala now, or rather Lieutenant Commander Meridina of the Alliance Stellar Navy, the chief of security for the Starship Aurora. The only reason she was here, in this hall, was the invitation of Mastrash Ledosh, her teacher and mentor, otherwise the red-robed Temple Knights would have never granted her entrance to the building.

It was a strange feeling, in fact, to be walking these halls, dressed in a simple, sleeveless violet vest that showed the smooth skin of her bare arms. The sea-green skirt ended just at the knees, revealing the curved shape of her lower legs. Given the warmth of the season outside it was not out of place, but an occasional sensation of being underdressed did strike her whenever she noticed a member of the Order pass wearing the full proper robes.

She arrived at Ledosh's office to find him with Gina Inviere. Gina looked Human (and thus Gersallian), but the blond woman was partly artificial in truth, a human-form Cylon once sent to infiltrate the Colonies of Kobol. Several terrible trials and betrayals later and she was here, Ledosh's current apprentice, looking to overcome the darkness in her past. She was in blue robes with a cream white-colored tunic and leggings, blond hair pulled into a ponytail.

Ledosh had the same color of tunic and leggings while his robe was purple with a blue trim line, marking him a Mastrash and member of the Order Council. He looked up and revealed a worn face, slightly rounded, with graying hair and a similarly-graying goatee. A look of weariness was present in his light brown eyes. It didn't go away entirely when Meridina returned the look. She had the feeling there was a lot on Ledosh's mind. "The Temple of Perception's rector informed me that Lucy emerged from the Inner Sanctum. He believes she has completed her vision successfully."

"Then she has passed the Trial of Perception," Ledosh noted. "Lucy Lucero is, by custom, a swevyra'se." He smiled slightly. "Her success does credit to her teacher."

To that Meridina smiled and shook her head. "It was her accomplishment. I cannot take credit."

"Your humility remains one of your strong points," Ledosh noted. He nodded to Gina. "You may go, Gina. I will call for you if you are needed."

"Of course." Gina nodded back and then gave another respectful head bow to Meridina before departing.

As she left, Meridina noted that the weapon on her belt was not a lakesh, but a gray and gold handle of what could only be a swenkesh. One of Lucy's "lightsabers". "Gina completed hers?" Meridina asked.

"Yes. It took her some time, just as it took me." Ledosh folded his hands together on his fine wooden desk. "Now that she has completed the Trials, your decision to train her has been completely vindicated. Lucy's reputation with the Order can never be higher."

"It merely confirmed what many already sensed about her," Meridina pointed out. "And she has spent most of her time between Trials showing others how to assemble their own swenkesham."

Ledosh nodded. "Yes. The Council is already preparing new training directives to take her weapons into account. But it will be some time before the weapon is universal, I believe. A number of our people have not yet mastered the practice. Others have no desire to learn it. Mastrash Owan, for instance, has insisted he will never give up his lakesh."

"He is, as always, a traditionalist," Meridina remarked. "And I am sure Lucy will provide the requested lessons."

"Yes."

Again Meridina had the sense that Ledosh was concerned with something. He seemed weary, distracted, and that was not his usual demeanor with her. "Is anything wrong, Mastrash?"

"Nothing tangible," he answered. It indicated where his concern was coming from. He sensed something amiss. "But I have felt a vague threat forming over the last few months. And there are implications for us all."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There is a growing malaise in certain sections of the Order," Ledosh said. "I have sensed it, as have others."

"It may simply be from Mastrash Goras' fall," Meridina proposed. "Many respected him. To be reminded of the ease by which we might fall was not pleasant."

"That may be a contribution, yes." Ledosh nodded. "And it explains the reluctance to do anything more than leave Goras in confinement."

"The government has not asked for him to be tried for the Dissenter attacks?" Meridina asked, surprised at her mentor's admission.

"They have remarked upon it, but the Dissenters are still a concern. They would rather we deal with Goras as normal. But there are those on the Council who argue for patience. That given time, he may rediscover his inner light."

That was something Meridina could understand. Returning Goras to the Light would be a victory, and might calm any lingering Dissenter problems. But there was something in Ledosh's manner that made Meridina worried about the situation. "Is there anything else you would like to tell me, Mastrash?" she asked.

"For the moment, no," he said. "I am continuing some personal inquiries into various subjects. If those inquiries provide me with specific answers, I will inform you." He smiled at her and nodded. "Go on, Meridina. Meet Lucy when her shuttle lands and spend time with your family. I know you are due to return to the Aurora shortly. You needn't spend your entire time home attending to our business."

"Of course, Mastrash," Meridina said. He was right, she didn't need to spend all of her time in the Temple. She was no longer a member of the Order, after all, and lingering would only be a reminder to all about her choice in leaving. "Mi rake sa swevyra iso."

"Mi rake sa swevyra iso," he answered.

After Meridina left, Gina entered, giving Ledosh a concerned look "You did not tell her everything, " she said.

"All I could speak of are suppositions and suspicions," Ledosh answered. "I will speak with her when the time is right." He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the volume he had been holding onto for months now The fine golden calligraphy on the dark, leather bound book read The Life of Reshan.

"You've been reading that book for months," said Gina.

"Yes. The old language within is harder to decipher than I had expected," he answered.

"Mastrash Inrama is said to know much about…"

"No," Ledosh said, his voice firm though not loud. "For now, I will continue my investigations alone."

That caused a frown to form on Gina's face. "I wish you would share more of your concerns, Mastrash," she said. "With me or with Meridina."

"In time, I will," he promised. "But only when I have something tangible to share."

Jarod parked the aircar in the rental service's return lot. Scanners determined the return and logged it, securing the vehicle from further use while Jarod and Angel retrieved their things. The spaceport was small enough that it was a short walk to the private hangar where Jarod had parked the shuttle. "How did you afford this?" Angel asked as they neared the hanger Jarod had rented.

"Private hangers aren't that expensive on a world like this," Jarod answered. "And Sydney offered to help pay for anything I needed."

"How is it?" Angel asked. "Having both Sydney and your Dad back? He was your second dad, I mean."

"Honestly?" Jarod shook his head. "Sydney's the only real father I've had in my life. I don't hold it against Charles. It isn't fair to him that I got stolen from him as a child. But he and I aren't as close."

"I don't know if you could be. I mean, Sydney effectively raised you, even if he was working for those bastards in the Centre."

Jarod tapped in his entry key at the side door. It confirmed his entry and slid open. They stepped in to find the hanger darkened. "We've always had a complex relationship," Jarod admitted. "But in the end, Sydney…"

Angel noticed the stop. "What?"

Jarod's face went blank. "The lights should be coming on," he said. "Why aren't they?"

An instinctive tension came over Angel. She let her bag drop to the floor and braced herself.

The attack came a second later.