When Cally woke, she went first to check on Avon and Vila, finding them still asleep together. She smiled sadly, hoping with all her heart that she could help Avon. Once, she remembered, she'd been very attracted to Avon, before she'd discovered his preference for first Blake and then Vila. That hadn't disturbed her, though, and she'd become good friends with both Avon and Vila over time. She knew the two had a long history together, though only Vila had ever talked about it. There was just a feeling of familiarity, of comfort between them that only came after years of interaction, much more time than they'd had together on the Liberator. She'd always been curious to hear more, but not enough to intrude into their privacy.

After assembling some food for herself and Vila, she returned to the cabin to wake Vila. The smell of the food woke him before she could.

"What's that divine smell?" he asked groggily, disentangling himself from Avon. As his eyes focused and his brain went into gear, he realized where he was and the trouble they were in. He turned quickly to check on Avon. Finding no change, he sighed and reached for the kava Cally held out to him.

He cocked his head at Cally, asking, "Aren't you supposed to be dead? We…thought you were when we left Terminal. At least, Avon said you were. Where have you been so long, Cally?"

She put the tray of food down within easy reach of both of them, then leaned against the wall, sliding down it to sit cross-legged on the floor. Tilting her head, she looked up at Vila from beneath curly bangs.

"I was dead, Vila, well, almost, I think. There's a kind of trance that Auronae go into automatically when we're severely injured. You just…go away, to heal. Your metabolism is so low it doesn't register on even sensitive instruments. I…went away, Vila, until I was rescued by other Auronae. Somehow I called out, even though I believed myself to be the only one of Auron left. The others who found me were travelers like myself when Auron…died. They came, found me, and took me away from Terminal."

"But it's been so long, Cally! Why didn't you contact us, at least let us know you were alive? We all missed you, especially Avon, but he…shut us out, in grief, I think. He wouldn't even mention your name, he hurt so much. He loved you, too, Cally. I think it was part of what drove him mad, there at the end." Vila stopped, remembering that Cally hadn't asked and he hadn't offered to tell her what happened at the rebel base on Gauda Prime.

"I was very badly hurt, Vila. It took me most of the time just to recover sufficiently to even remember who I was. Then I started searching for you. Somehow I contacted ORAC, who called me to Gauda Prime. I'm sorry, Vila, sorry I didn't come in time to save your other friends, especially Dayna." She bowed her head, remembering the dark huntress with the quick laugh and quicker gun.

Coming out of her reverie, she asked, "Vila, are you ready to tell me what happened back there?"

He'd known he'd have to tell her the truth, but he'd been dreading it, just the same.

"I…don't know where to start, except maybe on Terminal. I…pulled Tarrant out of that underground base when it exploded. When Avon found Tarrant and me, he said…he said I'd saved the wrong one." He looked straight into her eyes as he asked, "We…all thought we heard you die, Cally, crying for Blake! I think that hurt Avon the most, that you would call for him and not Avon. Why, Cally, why?"

"I…did? I don't remember, Vila, I really don't. I'm sorry it hurt you and him, though. It can't have been easy for any of you to leave, believing me dead. Maybe, if I'd healed faster, I could have eased his mind enough to stave off his madness. I don't know, Vila."

"Well, we were rescued by Dorian, a real madman, who wanted to feed us to his pet monster. Brrr," he shivered in remembrance. "Anyway, that's how we met Soolin, acquired our ship, the Scorpio, and established Xenon Base." He shook his head sadly. "They're all gone now."

Shaking himself out of his memories, he continued. "We tried, or rather Avon tried, to organize the rebels, to get funds for the rebellion, to keep ahead of the Federation and Servalan. It all went wrong, somehow."

He looked sharply at her and asked, "Do you remember Anna Grant, that time we went back to Earth?"

She nodded, so he continued, "He loved her, on Earth. They were supposed to go away together with the funds he embezzled from the Federation. Back then, he believed if he could get enough money, he wouldn't have to worry about the Federation or anything or anyone again. I told him long ago that he was wrong in thinking that, but he wouldn't believe me. When he was caught, she was caught, too, and tortured to death, we thought. Anyway, when we went back to Earth that time, he discovered she'd been a double agent and betrayed him. He…killed her, in front of Servalan.

"I think the madness started then. It only got worse after Terminal. All his plans went wrong. He…even tried to kill me, over Malodaar." Vila stopped, a chill, skeletal hand clutching at him. Cally reached up and squeezed his arm. He started at her touch, looked at her and smiled, as he continued, "We made up after that. He apologized, but I think it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. We pushed the madness back a little then, you remember that night." Vila smiled at her, that night's pledge from Avon one of the treasures of his life. Cally smiled back, the memory giving her too a warm feeling. Then Vila sobered. "But, when ORAC found Blake and Xenon Base was destroyed, there was no stopping the madness. Tarrant crash landed Scorpio on Gauda Prime while the rest of us teleported down safely. He…was a brave young man, was Tarrant."

"It was a trap, of course, though I still don't know whose trap it was. Blake was there, but he'd changed." Vila paused as Cally drew in a quick breath. Sadly, he continued, "Yes, Blake died in there too, Cally, but it was Avon that killed him. I still don't know why. That was mostly Blake's blood we washed off Avon." He fell silent, remembering.

After a long silence, Cally started as she connected something Vila had said. "Vila, we brought ORAC out of Gauda Prime, but where is the activator key," she asked urgently.

Vial sat up, thought, then dove for the pile of Avon's clothes in the corner. Pawing through them, he found what he sought. "Here!" He held up the key, his eyes shining with hope for the first time.

B7B7B7B7B7

A/N: Can ORAC make any difference? Will he even want to?