Of Citadels And Castles, Part X: Meet The New Boss…

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By C. Mage

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Seefah rose from his bed, feeling confident and assured of victory. Since the crash, he'd faced all sorts of tests and challenges to his sovereignty, and each time, all of his obstacles had been crushed. His opponents, attempted escapes of the citizens, even attempts to assassinate him.

Not one of them had prevailed. He smiled as he donned his royal tabard. This human will be no different. But who knows? He might even be some small measure of a challenge. It's been a while before I was in the company of someone who could be worthy of exerting any real effort. And once I have rid my world of this upstart...Tali and Megani will both be mine. Pleasant company...or else.

Seefah found himself smiling at the concept of making the "or else" part come to pass.

Tali, for her part, was worried, and no manner of reassurance from Megani could make that go away completely. Even seeing Machias in fighting form did not remove doubt. How could a wizard who would not kill face someone all-too willing to take life and win?

Tali hugged her legs to her chest and thought about the consequences of Machias losing. Did Machias normally play for stakes this high? And if he did…?

She suddenly wished Machias was the kind of prisi'lai who settled for games of chance where so many lives didn't hang in the balance. Machias was gambling with his own life, too, so he must've known what he was doing. Tali didn't need to be a prisi'lai to figure out what Seefah would do if he won.

She wondered if there were any cliffs nearby...and how much it would hurt if she jumped from their edge.

Machias had already been up, rising just before dawn, as was his usual custom. He sat in the combat arena set aside for the contest, sitting cross-legged, his medicine bag at his side, his eyes closed. The magic of this world mystified him no end, and he had spent two hours communing with it, reaching out to its mana and learning more about the ebb and flow.

As he explored this world, he finally reached a new planar state. It wasn't as physical as the Nevernever, but it was unbelievably complex to navigate, like trying to walk through a world made of emotional states.

Using magic is going be interesting here. There's no denying it; there's a presence here, but it's not something I can point to...wait. Maybe that's the problem. I'm trying too hard to travel where I need to go. Maybe I'm already where I need to be. I just need to reach out and...oh.

Well...how do you do?

Seefah strode out through the crowd, his warriors one either side of his path, making sure the path was cleared for him. He strode purposefully towards the arena to find Machias was already there, in a relaxed state, sitting with his eyes closed. Seefah snorted. "Human, you should know better than to go to a field of battle and go to sleep!"

Machias' eyes opened. "Well, good morning to you, too. You know, we don't have to fight. There's still time to discuss terms for surrender."

"You're absolutely right. My terms are simple. You, and the prisi'lai you serve submit to me fully and become heera, and I might find some use for you that won't involve cleaning out waste matter."

"Uh...sorry, pardner, I was referring to the terms of YOUR surrender. If you surrender, I can promise leniency for the things you've done, and provide you with protection during your sentence."

Seefah stared at him, then began to laugh, a nasty tone in it that made many of the quarians around the arena cringe. "MY surrender? Maybe we should postpone the combat, since you seem to be running a high fever!"

"This is your last chance, Seefah. Give it up." Megani watched Machias, looking at his eyes. She began to worry when she couldn't seem to see any real life in his eyes...they looked...dead.

Seefah snarled, "Defend yourself...if you CAN!" He raised his staff and slammed it into the earth, a crack opening in the ground. One end stayed where it was, but the crack opened further, splitting open with one end of the split racing towards Machias. The ground under him yawned open and he fell in, but he didn't seem all that troubled when he fell. Seefah clapped his hands together and the ground closed over him.

Seefah smiled cruelly as he looked at the mound of dirt over where Machias used to be. Then he heard a gasp from the crowd, and, figuring that it was about what he'd done, he turned and raised his arms triumphantly.

"Well, brand me for a longhorn...I don't look too good." Seefah spun around, seeing Machias bending over the mound curiously. Machias shook his head, then looked over at Seefah. "I think using magic against people unable to defend themselves has dulled your senses. You missed me by a mile."

"YOU…!" Seefah raised a hand and held it up, his palm facing Machias. Shards of ice appeared and flew like diving birds of prey towards Machias. The sharp spears streaked past Machias, missing him by inches, their paths seeming to curve around him as they flew.

"Missed again. Want me to move closer, because I think your sights are off."

"MISERABLE…!" Seefah raised his hands to the sky, and a column of fire streaked down from a clear sky. The pillar of flame struck where Machias stood, the heat of the attack causing the quarians closest to the arena to step backwards, the force of the heat almost physical in its intensity. Tali cried out in fear with the rest of the quarians, unable to suppress her dismay. When the fire burned itself out, there was nothing left but a smoking crater ten feet wide.

Seefah stood there, breathing heavily for a moment, then he felt a tap-tap-tap on his shoulder. He turned around and Machias was standing there, nose-to-visor with him. "Better kick some dirt over that brush fire," Machias said dryly, then hit Seefah, but not with a spell. He'd pulled back his arm and drove a fist like a cannonball into his stomach at an upwards angle. The blow knocked the wind out of an already-stressed body, leaving Seefah gasping for breath as if he'd just sprinted through a marathon.

He fell to the ground as Machias said aloud, turning slowly, "I hope you're watching this...because this is what he chooses to use the gift you gave him. This is what I told you about...so what are you going to do about it?" he said aloud, but not to anyone in particular.

Seefah pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly. He initially wanted to ask Machias what he was talking about, then realized that the human was facing away from him. He readied his most vicious spell, knowing Machias would never see it coming.

And he didn't...because nothing happened.

Seefah blinked, then tried to use the spell again. He performed the gestures correctly, he knew he wasn't doing anything different from the last twenty times he'd used the spell. The spell refused to manifest in any way.

Machias was facing him by now. "Sorry, Seefah...but now you're all hat and no cattle."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?"

"Don't blame me. Blame your 'silent partner'. I showed it what you were doing and what laws you were breaking, and it realized that you'd been flimflamming it this whole time about what right and wrong truly was. And pardner, it ain't happy at being made a fool."

"What are you talking about?!" Seefah demanded...and that's when the earthquake started.

Everyone looked around wildly as the earth began to tremble, then a part of the ground began to churn like thick liquid. Before the shocked eyes of the entire population, a figure seemed to grow from the ground, taking the shape of a male quarian, suit and all, made of dirt and stone. It continued to grow in size until it was a full ten meters high, and then some, towering over the two combatants.

As the rumbling, Seefah fell backwards, landing on his rear, staring up at the figure in terror. "WHAT…?"

"Oh, seems you two haven't been properly introduced. Seefah, gentle quarians...this is Aeia. Now, I bet you're wondering what Aeia is. Well, you're standing on it. Aeia is the planet itself."

Some of the quarian elders stepped closer, cautiously. "It named itself after the planet?" One of them, Elder Jura, asked carefully.

"No. It IS the planet. Turns out that the planet is one gigantic living being. Everything on the planet is linked to it and is a part of it, one entity." He held up his hands to quiet the responses from the crowd. "I know, I know, threw me for a loop when I figured it out myself. But the last few weeks...I have to say, my definition of the word 'unbelievable' has been taking a beating." He turned to the figure. "Would you mind shrinking down to my size? You're scaring them."

The figure nodded and began to shrink as Jura said, more confidently, "So Seefah's power….came from this 'Aeia'? Then why would Aeia condone what Seefah has done to us?"

Machias turned to the now two-meter tall avatar. "Want me to tell them?"

"NO. WE SHALL SPEAK FOR OURSELVES, NOW THAT YOU HAVE TAUGHT US TO DO SO." The figure turned to Jura and the elders. "FOR UNCOUNTED PERIODS OF TIME, WE HAD NO SAPIENT BEINGS HERE. THEY WERE NOT NEEDED, SINCE ALL LIVED IN HARMONY. THE ANIMALS AND PLANTS LIVED OUT THEIR CYCLES, AND WE SAW NO NEED TO EVOLVE. WE WERE CONTENT WITH SIMPLY BEING. AND THEN, YOU CAME. WE SAW YOU. WE DID NOT KNOW OF YOUR KIND, OR ANY OTHER KIND, AND NEVER PURSUED LOOKING BEYOND US. WE REACHED OUT TO YOU, AND MADE CONTACT WITH THE SEEFAH-BEING." It bowed its head. "WE DID NOT KNOW OUR TOUCH WOULD CAUSE YOUR SHIP TO NOT-WORK. WHEN WE REALIZED WHAT WE HAD DONE, WE FELT A DEEP SADNESS AT OUR ACTIONS, AND SOUGHT TO HELP YOU BY GIVING YOU POWER. ONLY THE SEEFAH-BEING WAS ABLE TO HARNESS THIS POWER."

Aeia looked to Seefah, the great tone turning harsher. "WE SAW WHAT HE HAD DONE TO HIS PEOPLE, AND THROUGH HIS MIND, WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE THAT HIS RULE AND ACTIONS WERE JUSTIFIED. WE KNEW NOTHING OF MORALITY AND ETHICS...UNTIL WE MADE CONTACT WITH THE MACHIAS-WIZARD. THROUGH HIM, WE LEARNED, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, TRULY UNDERSTOOD. HE TOLD US OF HIS PLAN, TO PROVE THAT THE SEEFAH-BEING COULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE THE POWER TO DO WRONG. WE WATCHED AS THE MACHIAS-WIZARD SHOWED RESTRAINT, MERCY, AND CHOSE NOT TO USE OUR POWER TO DO WRONG. WE FELT YOUR FEELINGS...AND WE REGRET OUR ACTIONS."

Aeia took a step towards Seefah. "YOU HAVE LIED TO US. YOU HAVE BETRAYED LIFE ITSELF. YOU HAVE CAUSE PAIN AND MISERY AND DEATH. IF WE HAD THE CHOICE, WE WOULD BURY YOU IN STONE AND KEEP YOU ALIVE FOREVER...BUT WE HAVE ALSO LEARNED THAT JUSTICE IS NOT OURS TO TAKE. WE HAVE REVOKED THE SEEFAH-BEING'S LINK TO US. HE WILL NEVER HAVE HIS POWER AGAIN." Aeia turned to regard Machias. "WE HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH THE CONCEPT OF 'JUSTICE'. IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIND IT FOR YOURSELVES...BUT KNOW THIS: NEVER AGAIN WILL WE ALLOW SUCH CRIMES TO TAKE PLACE HERE. YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE, AND IT WOULD PLEASE US FOR YOU TO STAY, SO WE MAY LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU. I WILL CHANGE MYSELF TO PREVENT SICKNESS AMONGST YOUR KIND, BUT IT WILL BE UP TO YOU TO SURVIVE FROM THIS POINT ON...MACHIAS-WIZARD, YOU HAVE OUR ETERNAL GRATITUDE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE TAUGHT US. IF THERE IS ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU, NAME IT AND IT IS DONE."

Some of the quarians looked at other nervously, remembering the tendencies the prisi'lai were prone towards, but Machias shook his head. "As long as you and I are cordial, I'm happy. Never had a whole world as a friend before, so I'd like to talk from time to time."

The avatar nodded, as if Machias had passed some sort of test. "I LEAVE SEEFAH TO YOUR JUDGMENT." The avatar melded back with the ground again, leaving Machias and Seefah alone with Megani, Tali...and nearly a thousand angry quarians.

Megani knew she had to work fast. As she ran out to the arena, waving her hands, she called out "Hold! Before you rip Seefah apart, I ask that you give me a moment to speak! We are owed that much, considering what we've done to help you."

One of the other Elders, Elder Yoria, held up his hand. The crowd settled down instead of surging forward. "What do you propose?"

"A trial. One where Seefah's fate is decided by an informed, but uninvolved, third party. Let him be judged by his actions and sentenced fairly...unless your families want to bear the shame of lynching him."

"Go ahead! Let them try to kill me, like the animals they are!" Seefah crowed. "Let my blood be on their hands! I dare you all!" He started to move forward, then felt a hand on his neck.

He turned his head to see Tali staring him down. "Do not TEMPT me, Seefah. In fact...I agree with Dr. Y'Kasia. And Machias should be the judge. After all, he's not a quarian, and is trained to make judgments when it comes to people like Seefah. He's the only one here capable of being impartial."

The Elders turned to each other, then nodded. "Very well. How shall we proceed...forgive me," Yori said with a hint of embarrassment, "but I don't know the proper name for what you are. Aeia called you a 'Wizard'?"

"In my professional capacity, I am called a 'Marshal', so 'Marshal Castle' will be appropriate."

"Thank you. Marshal Castle, how are criminals like Seefah prosecuted by Marshals?"

"From what I know of your justice system, quarians and Marshals are similar in that they aren't burdened with legal tricks and technicalities. So we keep it simple. In fact, we can start today."

"Excellent. We shall make the necessary preparations."

As the elders left, Megani and Tali walked over. "So, Mac...going to tell us how you did it?" Megani grinned. "That is, if you don't mind revealing your tricks. How did you keep from being obliterated?"

Machias chuckled. "Because none of his attacks came close to hitting me. I used glamours on a few rocks to give Seefah targets to hit, while I used this to make sure he couldn't hit me." He held up a vial half-filled with a glittering blue liquid.

"What is that?" Tali asked, somewhat mesmerized by the shining contents.

"Potion of invisibility. Took enough to make me invisible for a few minutes. I was relieved to see it still worked, Been a few years since it was made and I had to guess at the dosage." He put it away. "Worth the risk. So...let's get this over with."

"The trial is pretty much a moot point, Mac. You know that, correct?" Megani looked at Machias with a resigned expression on her face.

"Has to be done...besides, it'll give me time to come up with his punishment."

"We already KNOW what his punishment should be," Tali said bitterly.

"Maybe...but I try not to break laws to uphold laws."

Machias rose as he looked out over the throng of quarians, every single one of them condemning Q for the pain and misery he had visited on them during his reign. What made it even worse was that Seefah didn't even seem affected by it, as if he was watching the trial happening to someone else. If anything, he seemed to find the entire proceedings amusing. Even though Machias couldn't see his face, his body language practically shouted his contempt.

Machias knew that there were not going to be very many happy faces in the crowd when he was done. "Order in the court!" he said firmly, quieting the murmurings. "Will the defendant rise for the verdict?"

Seefah rose, moving his hands behind his back.

"I have listened to a veritable parade of witnesses testifying your guilt and your culpability in more crimes than I could count without exploding in rage doing so. You have forsaken every rule of law and every code of conduct becoming that of a sane, intelligent being. In fact, it is the malevolence of your crimes which brings me to the difficulty of the decision I need to make." Machias fixed Seefah with the gaze of a hanging judge. "The enormity and the viciousness of your crimes warrant death, many times over."

The triumphant cry from the quarians was almost physical in its intensity. Megani worried, preparing herself to move in case there was a riot.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Machias bellowed. "I'M NOT FINISHED!" He waited until the tumult had died down,which didn't take long at all. Machias cleared his throat and went on. "However…"

This time the crowd ROARED. Machias called for order three times before the noise was stopped, and even then, the assembly was surrounded by a cloud of angry mutterings.

"HOWEVER...it is the judgment of this court that the sentence of death is to be commuted, for two reasons. One, killing him would be vengeance, not justice. There has been far too much blood spilled as it is without compounding the crimes by spilling more. And two...death is far too good a fate for Seefah. In times of such crimes like this, the Marshals found that exile, not death, was a far better punishment, one more suited to what happened here. I'm going to see to it that he will never bother you ever again.

The crowd was not convinced, and it showed as they turned to each other, conversing about the decision.

"Listen. I know that today, you aren't satisfied with my decision. You can say it, I won't be offended. But consider this. Seefah was a low-ranking quarian on his ship. Due to his immaturity, he wasn't given the chance to rise above it and know what it meant to have both power and responsibility. Then, one day, he received power, but without the effort and discipline to attain it or use it wisely. Can any of you honestly say that, put in his position, that you wouldn't be so tempted? Did any of you during your time here on this world not think what you'd do if you had the power to fight back? Think about that now...and ask yourselves if you would be proud to tell me what it would be."

The angry mutterings quieted considerably, slowly becoming even more reserved as the quarians were shamed by their own thoughts.

"You choose. Will you abide by my decision...or will you become that which you despise?"

No one moved for a time that felt much longer than it was...then the quarians began to leave the assembly in ones, twos, then small groups. Finally, Machias was alone in the court with Seefah, Megani and Tali.

Megani smiled. Tali was trying not to show how awed she was at how the quarians chose the high road rather than tear Seefah to shreds. Seefah, however, was not so impressed. "I suppose I should thank you for not letting that rabble kill me…"

Machias grabbed him by the shoulder. "Time to go."

"How? You have no shuttle, no vehicle, no way of taking me…!"

Both Machias and Seefeh vanished.

There was a flash in front of Seefah's eyes. By the time he finished his sentenced by saying "...anywhere!", he was certainly SOMEWHERE. He and Machias were standing on a beach overlooking an impossibly blue ocean. Seefah turned to look around, seeing a wide expanse of orange-tan sand separating the ocean from a thick jungle. "What is this place?!" Seefah demanded.

"Your very own island. A few thousand miles from the mainland in any direction. If you REALLY wanted to get back to do anything to your former fellows, I suppose you COULD swim back. Provided the currents aren't against you, the local sea creatures don't want to find out how you taste or you manage to not die of thirst or hunger...I bet you'd only be swimming for….a year. Ten months, if you're a strong swimmer."

"So you're going to strand me here?"

"Oh, it's not a bad place, as prisons go. Plenty of sunlight, no predators, Aeia saw to that. Animals and vegetables you can eat, nothing toxic. The only labor you really need to do is, well, hunting and fishing." He walked to a nearby crate and sat down. "Megani helped me with this. She's really smart. Everything you need to survive for a month on your own, rations, fresh water, shelter, the means to hunt and fish...bow and arrows, fishing tackle. No guns, sorry. Just something called a 'Swiss Army knife.' I don't think you'll need much else. Who knows? Maybe you'll find a cave, or find a source of fresh water on the island. You could have quite calm, uneventful life….until the next storm hits."

"You can't do this to me!"

"Consider yourself lucky. A person who did a FRACTION of the things you did could've ended up in your shoes, only with one day's ration of fresh water and a pistol with one shot in it. And even if you do decide to end it all, well, Aeia's going to be keeping an eye on you, make sure you don't starve or die of thirst. Try and you'll stay alive, although you won't be exactly thrilled about it."

"But I'll be alone here! You don't know what that's like, living among other quarians all the time, always around others, you don't know what that will do to me!"

Machias smiled, and Seefah felt his stomach drop into a bottomless pit. The Wizard DID know.

And with that, Machias was gone long before Seefah's scream of futility filled the empty skies above him.

Machias appeared in front of Megani and Tali. Megani smiled knowingly, but Tali was filled with questions. "You're back! Where is he? Did you hurt him at least a little?"

"He's been put somewhere so no one here will ever have to fear him ever again. I will let the Migrant Fleet know where he is, to make sure he's not picked up by mistake. And no, I didn't hurt him at all. In fact, I left him alone."

"It's more kindness than he deserves…" Tali said grudgingly "All those people…"

"Tali, maybe it's a good thing no one truly gets what they deserve. Now, any idea how long before the Migrant Fleet gets here?"

"A week or two, now that the beacon's up. They were a little hesitant, but when I told them that a prisi'lai made sure they would be safe, they seemed reassured, even eager to come here."

Megani considered, then asked, "EXACTLY how did they react?"

"They asked a great many questions, and listened to the logs, especially the video logs I took of what happened here."

"Machias, I think that you should make sure that, whatever messages you want to convey, you leave them as recordings and leave before the Migrant Fleet arrives." Megani's tone was cautionary, but she had a smug smile on her face that Machias didn't like.

"Why?" Machias asked, having a distinct feeling he should be considerably concerned.

"A culture which deifies certain individuals are likely to want to continue doing so, especially with a culture who have little to claim as their own, even a homeworld. Unless you want some added attention bordering on worship…?"

Machias went pale. "Megani, for the love of God, please tell me how to make recordings. NOW!"

The next three days were filled with activity, with Machias communing with Aeia and Megani and Tali helping to tear down the oppressive reminders of who controlled the lives of the survivors for seven long years. Machias paused in his connection with Aeia only to attend to necessary bodily functions, but that didn't stop some of the quarians from checking in on him, if only to watch him for a time.

After all, it wasn't often they saw a prisi'lai levitating a few feet above the ground, shining with a faint golden glow.

Finally, Machias came out of his trance and headed back to the colony. It was time to let the Elders know he had to go. The Elders were already assembled outside

For a few minutes, Machias was getting worried that they were going to try to keep him here, but Tali helped considerably. "Elders, Machias will be back, but he has a duty to help others. That is his purpose, his calling. He can no more abandon others than he could us, and we must not prevent him from achieving his destiny."

They grudgingly stood aside as he walked to the improvised shuttlepad with Tali and Megani. As he waved goodbye, he reached out to Aeia and said his goodbyes to it.

After all, when it came to him and the quarians, Aeia literally meant a world to them.

"SO, Mac, why the trips back and forth in the shuttle for the past few days? You certainly weren't using it yourself."

"Aeia was helping me out with a project. Follow me." He led them to the cargo bays, opening up Bay A2. As the doors opened, they revealed a massive cluster of blue crystals, ten feet wide and almost twenty feet high. It gave off a slight glow as it sat there in the middle of the bay, firmly secured.

"What...where did you get this?" Megani walked around the crystalline structure slowly. Tali didn't speak, mesmerized by the shimmering object.

"Aeia unearthed it. When Aeia and I talked about the nature of magic, the subject of my crystals came up. I let Aeia examine my crystal and asked if it had anything like it. Next thing I know, the ground was shifted and a gigantic chunk was slowly pushed out of the ground. Good thing, too. The purity of enchanted materials is often defined by how they're gathered. And believe me…" He gazed at the top of the crystal. "...having the current owner give it to you like this doesn't get any purer. Aeia compared my crystals and the ones within it...and it says they're identical. The exact same element."

"What does that mean?" Tali asked.

"No clue...but I can't wait to find out. Now come on. We'd better be on our way."

"Where to next, Machias?" Megani asked after they were back on the bridge of the Tin Star.

"Although coming here was informative and helpful, we are no closer to finding out more about the Reapers. Also...it's becoming clear that I need a base of operations, and on a planet with an environment. The more lush, the better."

"Aeia wasn't suitable?" Megani asked, curious.

"I need one without intelligent life on it, because the kind of work I want to do could have, well, side-effects. The only life I want to risk is my own."

"I can think of one place." Tali called up the astrogation console and located a single planet. "Here, a planet in the Dakka System. Pragia."

"What makes that place so ideal?"

"It's a jungle planet covered with hypergrowth. If that's not enough life for you, you may need to rethink your standards."

"What's 'hypergrowth'?" Machias took a closer look at the image of the planet on the display.

"About two hundred years ago, batarians tried to turn it into a farming world. But they cut corners with soil assessments and chemical trials." Tali pulled up a list of plant species. "The plants they brought to Pragia, instead of becoming thousands of square kilometers of farmland, mutated and became extremely aggressive. Think about botanical life that can overgrow a colony in days, not years."

"Anyone live there?"

"Not for long. These plants you see marked in red? They're carnivorous. There's not enough herbivorous life there to keep the plants at bay, so the plants will just keep growing until they wear out the soil."

"Hmmm...if nothing else, it'll work as a temporary sanctum. And the variety of plant life will help me find what I need: substitutes for ingredients I can't get anymore. Set us a course for Pragia."

"Right away, Captain! Now….course laid in...we should be there in a few days." Megani nodded. Until then, I think we could use a little rest. I'll have your 'gang' stay on alert status. Let's see how effective they truly are."

"I'm going to stay up for a while. Aeia was nice enough to help me out with the crystal issue; now I need to do some research. Don't worry," Machias said quickly, "nothing that'll explode or anything."

Megani let out the breath she was holding. "Oh, good. I really hadn't put 'Breathe Hard Vacuum' on my list of Things To Do Today and my plate's full as it is. Good night."

"Good night. What about you, Tali?"

"I have some research of my own to perform. I want to make sure I get the calibrations for the engines completed."

Machias blinked. "Uhm, wasn't that done when it was built?"

Tali smiled. "It's never that simple, Machias. There's always a number of adjustments to be made with new systems. Not every ship is made exactly the same, and often need a number of adjustments to work at full efficiency."

"Oh...well, I'm glad you're here, Tali'zorah vas Neema. I may know magic and detecting clues, but when it comes to everything that works here, I don't have the first clue...and I don't think I ever will." he added, unable to keep the sadness out of his voice completely. "I'm sorry, it's not…I just need some time. "

Tali nodded. "Of course, it's just that...that's not my name anymore."

Machias stopped. "It isn't?"

"No." Her voice had a tinge of pride. "It's 'Tali'zorah vas Tin Star', now."

Machias was silent for a few moments, then smiled at last. "Thank you, Tali. I know how much being part of a ship crew means to you, so...thanks."

"The thanks are mine, Machias. Get some rest; I'll keep an eye on things from here."

Machias nodded and left the bridge, his gait a little slower than usual. Tali watched him go, and it struck her that, for all his power and skill, he was still so alone and helpless. He couldn't touch anything technological for fear of destroying it, even on his own ship.

Tali'zorah shook her head. She'd been so dazzled by his skill and magic that she hadn't even considered what being here felt like to him. Well, then...he needs my help more than ever. And I'm not going to let him down. Never. Reassured by this new imperative, she went to the engine room to make some refined calculations...and not just to the engines…

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TO BE CONTINUED...