The headache pounding out a rhythm behind her eyes was the first indication that something was not quite right. Sam didn't move. She had learned the hard way that waking up with a hangover could only be made worse by moving too soon. As sleep induced fog began to roll its way out of her brain, memories of the previous few days began to resurface. For three days she had been underground, under the care and protection of Nils Harynn's people. The memories they were told to expect to return came slowly, evidence of just how much effort had gone into the memory stamps. At first there were just flashes, nothing they could put name to, and neither of them willing to believe it. Last night they discussed leaving, taking their chances on the surface of the planet and avoiding the CTU without aid. But with each new flash of memory came the fear of what was slipping away from them. Last night had been a reaffirmation for Sabyl and Darius. A very passionate, unbridled, reaffirmation of what would never be taken away from them.

Carter's eyes popped open. She was laying in bed, naked, next to an equally naked Daniel. "Oh crap!" She rolled quickly away from him, and in her attempt to pull the sheet around her naked form, she tumbled right off the bed. "Ow."

Daniel had been laying very still, hoping the little drummer boy would quit...or learn a new tune. Movement next to him, followed by words, and then a solid thump caused him to slit open his eyes, realize the room was dark...they were far underground after all...and pat the bed. Memories began cascading through his mind. Images of SG-1, Jack, Sam, himself in the mines...Sabyl...Sam. Daniel shot upright and for a moment thought he was dead as the little drummer boy went nuts in his brain. Reaching across the bed to find the other side empty, he rolled to the edge trying to keep wrapped in the remains of the bed clothes, "Sam?" His hand flailed in the dark, finally smacking her in back of the head. "Oh...sorry. Light...we need light."

"Yes. Light would be good." Her voice sounded odd. It quivered slightly. She reached up, fumbling around on the table beside the bed until her hand passed over the light sensor. "Big mistake." She closed her eyes as the room was flooded with light. Sam rolled onto her back, an arm thrown over her eyes and continued to shake with what appeared to be laughter. What began as giggles at finding herself in the ridiculous position of laying naked on a cold, concrete floor in the dark, quickly became guffaws.

Eyelids slammed shut at the invasion of light and he let out an aggrieved owww. Sam's laughter became infectious and Daniel chuckled in response. Through the pounding of his head, a sense of loss passed through him. His memories as Darius and his life with Sabyl were crystal clear and rapidly integrating with his real memories...those of Daniel Jackson and all that went with that. Along with those memories was another realization, one that he should have acknowledged many years ago. Of course Darius had loved Sabyl with every fiber of his being. It was how Daniel felt for Sam. How he had felt for a good many years, but had chosen to deny it because of a belief that she would never feel the same for him, that her love was meant for someone else. Slitting his eyes back open, he glanced over the side of the bed making no effort to keep the feelings out of his expressive blue eyes, "Sam? Care to join me back up here?"

"In a minute." She forced herself to sober up by taking deep breaths and looked up at him with eyes that still glistened with mirth. "Sorry," she said. "I just realized that I have three PhDs, and I am still the dumbest woman I know. Not to mention this floor is really cold." Sam continued to gaze up at him without moving. "Then I made the mistake of imagining the look on General Hammond's face when he reads this report." Her head was still pounding so she sat up slowly and reached out a hand so he could pull her up.

Daniel's smile mirrored the one she would have become familiar with from Darius...full of warmth, love, light. There should be awkwardness between them, but Daniel could not feel that way. Having Sam in his life in this manner just seemed so right...so perfect. There would be issues with both of them remaining on SG-1, but he did not care. After this, everything else seemed such an insubstantial hurdle...except for getting Jack and Dr. Garman back. That hit him with another alarming round of pain to the head. Pulling Sam up and into bed next to him, he lay back with her stretched out along his six-foot length. Reaching up, he ran his hands through her short, tousled, so utterly feminine hair, "Before we have to go face all this, find Jack, make sure he doesn't kill us and all that... I don't want this to end. I don't want us to end. I love you, Sam...I've probably loved you longer than I should have."

"That's what I was laying on the floor thinking about," she admitted. "I can't believe how much in denial I was." She laid her head on his shoulder and her own words from the previous days returned. They could plant the memories, but they could not fake the emotions. It was all there, from the very beginning. Sabyl loved Darius with the same fierceness that Sam felt for Daniel. It was all so very clear now, she couldn't believe how muddled it was before. "Daniel." She lifted her head so she could see into the brilliant blue eyes she loved so dearly. "I love you. I'm an idiot for not realizing it sooner."

"Not any more than I was," Daniel replied, his voice warm with affection. He pulled her down for a kiss and felt his body's reaction to having her near him. Laughter filled the often chilly blue eyes, "Jack and Dr. Garman...they're in no immediate danger...right?"

Sam's eyes widened at his intention. They moved down his form, and while the corners of her mouth twitched, she wouldn't allow herself to smile just yet. "Dr. Jackson, I am shocked! Our friends are stuck on an alien planet with no memory of who they are, and you want to have your way with me?" Her blue eyes were dancing when they met his again. "Well... They'll be okay for a little while longer."

Daniel leaned back, keeping as much to the shadows as possible. It had taken a couple of hours to verify that Jerard Owynne was at CTU headquarters and deeply engaged in hunting him and Sam. After a long conference with Nils and Arzdelia, Sam and Daniel had concluded they needed to approach Dr. Garman first. If they could get her to consider the possibilities of the situation, they could make a break for the SGC and return with a larger team to apprehend Jack-Jerard. There was one other really big issue facing them over and above getting both Garman and Jack home...their GDOs. No doubt, even with them, their codes would have been changed or locked out. With the SGC believing them dead, it was only logical. On top of that, Raahe's stargate was in a very, very public place. No doubt the stargate's courtyard was crawling with CTU and other state police agents.

At long last the area was clear even of the casual passerby. Moving out of the shadows, Daniel and Sam mounted the steps to the veranda. Taking a deep breath, Daniel rapped on the door before tapping the door alert, "Dr. Owynne, we need to talk to you."

Machelle's heart stopped beating for several seconds. It took her seconds longer to convince herself that she was actually hearing Darius Jagger's voice in her home. The door was quickly opened and she stared at the pair. "Have you both lost your minds? Jerard has men looking all over Aleria for you. If you get caught... here of all places..." It wasn't only themselves that they were risking. Aside from being stubbornly driven to find them, these last few days Jerard had been more like his old self. She was even considering approaching the topic of another child with him. Machelle's eyes darted nervously behind them, checking to see if they'd been noticed. "Inside." She practically shoved them through the door.

Sam glanced at Daniel. "We're very sorry," she began. "I realize we're putting you in a very difficult position, but we wouldn't be here if it wasn't supremely important."

"If any of your husband's men show up, this is a potential hostage situation, so we need you to listen to us with a very open mind," Daniel's voice was strong and firm but in no way threatening. "As far as losing our minds...no...actually we just regained them." He led them deeper into the Owynne's house, instinctively heading toward the kitchen where they had quick access to the rear exit. Stopping by the counter, he reached into a leather carry-all slung over his shoulder to retrieve a stack of photographs which he then laid out on the counter's surface...SG-1 arriving on Raahe accompanied by one tall, attractive brunette...Dr. Madison Garman. Stepping back, he waved at the pictures, "Please look at those...look very closely."

It was impossible. Machelle touched the edge of one of the photographs. "Where... how did you get these?" Darius and Sabyl were present in the images, as well as Jerard, and two men she did not recognize. They wore the uniforms of the off-worlders. "What is this," she hissed.

"It's us," Sam said gently. "None of us were who we thought we were. Once Daniel and I were out of the city our memories returned. We weren't here for the Exalted's men to take us for stamp renewal. That's what they call it."

"No," Machelle whispered. "That's not possible. That process has never been tested. It's theoretical at best. Testing it on humans is years away."

"Obviously, it's not years away, Dr. Garman. Jerard Owynne is dead, Machelle Owynne was killed along with the Owynne's son in a school bombing perpetrated by agents of the Exalted in order to set harder feelings against the TRM and the Taino. This conspiracy goes to the top, Doc." Daniel's eyes and voice softened, "And I think I know why Jerard is melting down...it's because back home, on Earth, he really did lose his son. It's bleeding through, messing with him. We've got to get him...you...us...home before there's permanent damage...or he does something the man he really is cannot live with."

"You're lying," Machelle said quietly, "or you've been lied to." She swept the images out of her sight and turned away. "I know who I am. There are no gaps in my memory. What you're suggesting is impossible, and that I would actually believe you?" She shook her head at them as she backed away. "I remember everything about my life, and you're wrong about Jerard. He's searching for you, but... lately he's been more like himself. He's been loving and kind... not nearly as distant as he was before. I'm getting the man I married back and you want me to believe that it's all a lie? How could I possibly begin to believe you when everything is so clear and vivid. Even if the technology has been used, there's no way they could provide this level of stamp." She clasped her hands against her chest. "I know Jerard. I remember the night that I met him. He was charming and funny, and oh so cocky. He drove me insane, I couldn't stand him at first. But he was persistent and... I fell in love with this bright, wonderful man. Memories are just... pieces of the past, stamping cannot create how that felt. I know what I feel for my husband," she said emphatically, and it isn't something that's been faked." Machelle walked around the kitchen, her mind a whirl of different memories and emotions. "I can still remember the look on his face the day I told him we were going to have a child. I know what it felt like to have him hold me." She twisted around to stare at the couple who were attempting to unravel a lifetime's worth of memories. "I know how it felt to be pregnant, to carry Calyb, to give birth to him. I held my baby in my arms the first seconds of his life and I know what it felt like to hold his body the day that he died. How can someone create that?"

Sam's heart ached for the pain her friend was being caused by the memories she'd been given. Madison didn't have children, had never been married. She had spent her career moving through third world countries helping those who did not have readily available medical care. "I'm sorry," she said gently. Carter walked around the center island to take the doctor's hands. "I know how this seems. I didn't want to believe it either. I knew what it felt like to spend fifteen years married to a man I adore, but the reality is that Daniel and I are not married. That's something I've lost. I remember both lives. Sabyl is a part of me now, but I know that I am Samantha Carter. We have no reason to lie to you. It doesn't serve any purpose beyond getting all of us back to our real home." She reached for the image of SG-1 with the doctor. "This is who you are. A trauma surgeon and a member of the same organization that we belong to. We can't force you to believe us, but if you want to save Jerard then we have to get home."

Daniel gathered the other photos and stowed them back into the carry all. They could not risk leaving them to be found. "Dr. Garman, Jack O'Neill is the man you're describing...the bright, funny, and even wonderful man that you remember. And you two have taken delight in snipping at one another since planning for this mission began. But something about the stamp, about Jerard Owynne, is driving him insane with anger, resentment, loss. I'm sure the real Commander Owynne was very similar in lots of ways...I think that's how they chose the personalities to replicate in us." For now they had to let the real Jerard Owynne remain dead. Trying to explain how they came by the knowledge they had might muddy the waters too much. "If we've calculated correctly, you and Jack will be taken for a stamp update tonight. We need to make a break for the Stargate before that can happen."

"If you're wrong…" Machelle didn't have to tell them what could happen. They would be arrested, and it was very likely she would be as well. "I can't say that I believe you." She folded her arms over her chest and took a step away from the woman that was now calling herself Samantha Carter. "But something makes me want to trust you, has since the moment we met at the hospital. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt," she decided. "For now." Machelle swept a hand through her dark hair and paced around the kitchen again. "What is your plan?"

Good! The initial hurdle had been overcome. Madison was willing to listen and consider they might be telling the truth. "Ideally," Daniel said, "we need to all get to the stargate and cross through to Earth. Once there, it should only be a matter of hours before the memory stamp starts degrading. It's taken Sam and I about three days to get all our memories sorted and become functional again. I can promise you a horrific headache." He moved to stand in front of Garman, "The trick will be capturing Jack...Jerard without anymore...especially him...being harmed. I feel certain if Sam and I are spotted around the 'Gate courtyard at the Forum, he'll come himself to apprehend us...at least that's our hope."

Pausing for a moment, Daniel took a deep breath and continued, "There's another big wrinkle. The people we were contacted by, the ones that gave us sanctuary and told us what has happened, were unable to get our original gear. Likely it was incinerated with our blank clones. The Stargate on our side is protected by a shield that is opened by a code. We do not have the devices to send that code so it's a huge risk going through. We're going to have to take it on faith that the SGC will give us the benefit of the doubt and let us through. There's a better than even chance we'll be taken into custody on the other side until they can verify our identities."

"So we'll either be arrested here, or arrested there. The only thing we know for certain is that we'll be arrested." Machelle rolled her eyes at them. "I for one feel so much better," She said dryly.

Carter smirked. She was sounding more like the Doctor they knew. "Well, at least once we get there clearing it up will be a lot easier than dealing with it here. Fairly certain we'll be executed or sent to Mordros."

"You're not making me feel any better," Machelle informed them. She thought through their options for several moments. "I'll meet you at the Stargate. Jerard will not act rashly if I'm present."

"Well...there is that whole splat like a bug on the windshield thing if the SGC fails to open the iris. We've been given a radio that the guys in the military here use. Sam thinks she's gotten it set to the SGC's frequencies, but unknown if it'll reach them or if they can verbally respond to us. Leap of faith." Daniel added, "potentially short leap." Swinging back to Madison, he gave her an impulsive hug, "Don't count on Jerard acting rationally. He's being manipulated on a level that is hard to understand or imagine. The man he really is has lived through ten kinds of hell over the last many years."

"Perhaps," Machelle said. "But asking me to believe the worst of the man I'm married to – whether that is real or not is asking more than I'm prepared to do at this time. Whether my memories are mine or are, as you've said, been planted for some darker purpose, he is my husband. You may know Jack O'Neill, but I know Jerard. I want to believe that I can reach him."

"We can understand that. Just be ready to act if it goes the other way." Sam glanced at the chronometer they'd been given. "Shift change at the CTU," she told Daniel. "We should go. We'll need to slip into place during the break in the security patrols."

Commander Jerard Owynne exited the CTU headquarters and stopped to look around. It was late, far later than usual and the forum was mostly deserted. Most of a week had passed and there had been no sign of the Jaggers. He had managed to rein in his more extreme reactions when home allowing himself to only focus on work when at the CTU. It was a charade of monumental proportions as apprehending Darius Jagger occupied the majority of his waking thoughts. Most of the day was spent staring at the images of the man and the school bombing that had been sent him. So desperate was he to destroy Jagger and thus get a degree of closure for his slaughtered son, Jerard no longer cared if the man was actually arrested and had issued shoot on sight orders if the man did not immediately surrender...the woman too. His sleep had been riddled with the nightmares of reliving the bombing at the school...seeing Jagger's gloating face in the crowds.

Things had been better between him and Machelle in recent days. She had met his efforts to leave his work behind more than half way and the gleam of happiness that always lurked in her alluring blue eyes had returned. She seemed to have lost all interest in the Jaggers. So much for their attempt to turn her against him...make her betray him, Jerard thought as he made his way toward the courtyard. 'Chel's kind and compassionate nature had been drawn in by the act the couple had put on. No doubt their intention had been to cloud the air between him and Machelle, distract him from his objective...justice for Calyb. He rolled his shoulders and tried to ease the tension and stepped out from the shadows into the courtyard.

Pressed into the shadows of a tall building, Sam and Daniel waited for their moment. Once he stepped into the dim lighting which surrounded the forum, Sam laid a hand on Daniel's shoulders. It was the first time they'd laid eyes on O'Neill and actually known him. With their memories returned, they could clearly see the effect this was having on him. They would need to tread carefully. They both knew perfectly well how deadly he could be when he felt threatened by an enemy. It was simply a matter of convincing him that they weren't. If that was even possible now.

Moving quietly, Sam signaled Daniel to head in the opposite direction. They would need to approach him from two different sides. The plan was for Carter to get the drop on him, while he was distracted by Daniel, and use a taser to incapacitate him. If they could manage to knock O'Neill-Jerard out, for even a few precious minutes, it would give them the time they needed to dial the gate and contact the SGC. This all hinged on Carter's being able to get to him, and of course on Machelle Owynne not experiencing any last minute guilt-ridden change of heart. The doctor would be arriving momentarily, and Carter was keenly aware that she could make or break all of their plans.

Daniel followed Sam's unspoken orders, slipping from shadow to shadow to get into position. In the hours since meeting with Dr. Garman, they had refined their plans. Arzdelia had provided them with a couple of rather archaic tasers as well as the local version of handguns and two of the communicators. If all went to plan, Sam would work herself close enough to Jack to use the taser, they would gather up Machelle-Madison and make for the stargate. Their fall-back plan, if they could not make it to capture Jack without getting themselves hurt...or hurting him...was to take Madison and go. With luck, Jerard would follow his wife. Worst case, they would have to return with a team and do a retrieval. The only base not covered was the SGC itself. They each had a communicator that Sam had modified to the best of her ability to work on the SGC's frequencies, but would have no real way of knowing if the SGC would hear them or give them benefit of the doubt long enough to open the iris.

Reaching into the pocket of the jacket he wore, also supplied by Arzdelia and her Resistance to the Resistance as she jokingly called their group, he felt the taser. The cool metal fit comfortably in his hand, conforming to the curve of his palm. Unfortunately, the stunners were not very powerful and the user had to be almost on top of the target for it to be effective. Sam was an expert at hand-to-hand. If she could get close enough, even if the taser failed to knock Jack out, she could finish the job. The guns were truly a last resort. The one that rested at the small of Daniel's back reminded him of the potential deadliness of the situation. The guns were about the size of a standard Earth .9mm, but their power was far greater as was their range. From what Daniel comprehended from their twenty minute how it works lesson, the weapon's closest parallel on Earth were the massive rail guns mounted on the Prometheus. The Raahe rail gun fired small projectiles very similar to bullets, but due to the weapon's technology, each shot caused twice the damage of their Earth counterpart.

They had pulled off missions in the past against much higher odds, but rarely with so much at stake.

The sense of something not quite right stopped Owynne in his tracks at the edge of the great courtyard. It was late. In the distance he could hear the footsteps of the security patrol echoing throughout the corridors of the Forum. The moon was in its dark phase. The only light filtered from the decorative lighting at the edge of the courtyard and from its centrally set fountain. The fountain was massive and its cascading waters near deafening in the silence. The Forum's transit station lay just beyond the courtyard. To reach it one crossed the courtyard, past the stargate, and on to the lift tubes masked behind ornate columns on the far side. The other option was to continue past the lift tubes to stairs that led to a set of mag-lifts, escalators, and stairs. Shrugging off the uneasy feeling, Jerard stepped out into the courtyard and started for the far side.

Carter waited, heart tapping out a rapid rhythm against her chest. She slowed her breathing and narrowed her eyes. He took a step, and then another. When he was only a few meters from her location, she slowly wrapped her hand around the taser and pulled it from within her vest. Another second, the space of several heartbeats, and then a second, and a third. He grew closer, and by some trick or grace of luck, still had not seen her - or if he had, he wasn't giving any indication of it. When O'Neill-Owynne was within striking range, Sam leaped out of her hiding place. Her leg snapped out, sweeping his feet from beneath him. She put him down before he could draw his weapon and placed the taser against his neck, firing where it would have more, and faster affect.

Simultaneously with Sam's moves, Daniel darted for the DHD. Neither of them had forgotten the security patrol and they really wanted to be gone before it made its way back to the courtyard. Neither Sam nor Daniel had any real desire to harm anyone on Raahe despite what had been done to them. Quickly, Daniel dialed the SGC and stood ready counting off the brief seconds it took for the wormhole to connect. Raising the communicator so it had a clear line to the stargate, he thumbed its talk switch and spoke rapidly, "Daniel Jackson to Stargate Command. Repeat, this is Daniel Jackson of SG-1. Please open the iris as we're coming in hot." Daniel paused and then repeated his message watching the indicator on the communicator show that a message was being sent. Whether it reached its target or not, they could not know.

Stargate Command, Gate Control Room

General George Hammond stood behind Walter Harriman, watching with a frown on his face as the stargate rumbled to life. "Who's due back, Sergeant?"

Harriman shook his head, "No one..." His hands flew over the keyboard, "but we're getting a voice message, not an IDC."

"Let's hear it, son," Hammond's deep voice rumbled.

"Daniel Jackson to Stargate Command. Repeat, this is Daniel Jackson of SG-1. Please open the iris as we're coming in hot."..."Repeat, Daniel Jackson to Stargate Command, arrest us on sight if you need to, but please open the iris...bug...windshield...ewwwwww."

For a heartbeat there was complete silence in Gate Control. Hammond blinked and his hand fell on Harriman's shoulder, "We've got to take the chance. Open the iris." Leaning over, the General thumbed the intercom to the Gateroom, "Unidentified visitors coming through, possible friendlies, safeties on, but stand ready to detain."

Daniel raced to Sam's side and flashed her a smile. Catching hold of one of Jack's arms while Sam took the other, they dragged him close to the dais. Daniel glanced at Sam and muttered, "Doc's been fixing him too many good meals," he grunted before stepping aside to send another quick, desperate message to the SGC informing them they were preparing to step into the stargate. He looked around, hoping to see Machelle.

Jerard moaned softly as the taser induced paralysis faded. He had retained enough cognizance to know who his attackers were and to stay silent as mobility returned. Moving faster than a man his age had any right too, Owynne shot to his feet and pulled his sidearm with one fluid motion bringing it to bear on Sabyl Jagger. "This ends...here...now...tonight," he ground out.

Spinning at the sound of the man's voice, Daniel's face paled as he saw the weapon pointed at Sam's head. "No! Jack...Owynne...Don't. I'll surrender. Let her go..." Raising his hands, Jackson started toward O'Neill.

Blinded by rage and old grief, Owynne swung around. Reason fled as he saw his son's murderer and he pressed the firing stud, smiling grimly as the first of several shots hit his target. Walking forward as he fired, the world went black for Owynne. All that mattered was hurting...destroying the ones that had destroyed his life, his entire world...his son. Darius Jagger lay still and unmoving, Owynne brought the weapon to bear on the woman standing on the dais over the downed man's body...

"Jer!" That was the unfortunate scene that Machelle Owynne arrived in time to witness. Her husband gunning down a man preparing to surrender. "Stop this, now." She strode toward the dais, horror and shock vying for control of her emotions.

"We're no threat to you." Sam kept glancing at Daniel, silently willing him to move, to give her some indication that he was still alive, in spite of the blood that was now soaking through the front of his shirt. She felt each shot that hit him go right through her very being. "We just want to go home. We're not who you think we are. Please. Sir. Just let me help him. Let me take him home." It wasn't in her to plead, but looking at Daniel again, rapidly paling in the shadows where he'd fallen, tears quickly filled her eyes. Her gaze flew to Machelle. "Help him, please."

Owynne barely took his eyes off the Taino woman long enough to glance at his wife. Watching her stand indecisively between him, the fallen man, and the woman. "You would betray me for them? Taino murderers," Jerard spat the words out. Curling his lip in disdain, he raised the gun toward his target. "We're done here."

"Yes, we are." Sam was not prepared to allow Daniel to die without a fighting chance. While he was distracted by the appearance of his wife she brought her handgun around and fired twice in quick succession, both shots hitting the shoulder of his gun hand and effectively disabling it. She watched, dread and sickness curling in her belly as he was spun around by the shots and slowly dropped. "Doctor!" Sam took three quick steps and dropped beside Daniel.

For several long, heart wrenching seconds Machelle was frozen where she stood. Her first instinct was to go to her husband, but she heard him groan. He was alive, if in some amount of pain. The sound of the Taino woman calling for her again shook her out of her stupor and she hurried toward the more gravely injured man. "We need to get him to a medical facility, but if you're found here you'll be shot on sight. They'll execute both of you." She began pulling open open Daniel's vest and ripping at the shirt beneath. There were three distinct gunshot wounds.

"Through the gate," Sam told her. She fumbled for the radio with blood soaked hands. "Stargate Command this is Major Carter. We need a Medical Team in the gateroom. Repeat, medical team in the gateroom, we're coming in with injured." Voice shaking, she barely paused long enough to make sure the radio was transmitting before she tossed it aside and slipped an arm under one of Daniel's.

The shots had been heard by the security patrol. The sound of running footfalls grew steadily closer. They wouldn't have long before they were completely surrounded. Machelle curled an arm under his other side and together the two women began dragging him toward the gate.

Pain and shock had taken its toll on Jerard. For a few vital seconds, he totally lost consciousness, and then sounds and feeling filtered back in. He levered himself up with his left hand to see his wife and the Taino dragging Darius to the stargate. As they disappeared into the event horizon, Jerard lunged to his feet and charged the event horizon, roaring with rage as his quarry slipped from his grasp and at the betrayal by the one person he thought he could count on to death and beyond.

In the shadows, Nils Harryn...aka Jerard Owynne...spoke quietly, "Blessed be...may you find the peace I was finally granted." Turning, he glided deeper into the shadows. In a matter of moments, he was joined by that night's security patrol and Arzdelia. He gave a nod of recognition to the two men and his mother. "Time to reclaim what's ours, my friends. May death not walk with us tonight."