Colonial Defense Coalition

It was in the late afternoon when Cale walked over the pedestrian bridges covering the immense depths of the Heliopolis, on his way to his apartment on the twenty-third floor. Akima was waiting for him and a quick look on his wristcom was enough to tell him that Iji would be coming home from school soon. The Valkyrie hadn't left space dock since the last meeting of the Senate and she wasn't the only ship. Space was not exactly the safest place at the moment. It never had been but the imminence of war was on everyone's mind right now. Korso had told his crew that Command had already been speaking about refitting the fleet for war again. He had hoped it wouldn't come to that but according to those who had witnessed the might of the Seraphim for themselves it was inevitable. The problem was that they now had a rebellious teenage Vusstran girl to take care of. Finding her a school had already been a disaster because she didn't want to. He and Akima had spent hours trying to convince her that it was important to continue her education until she finally gave in, with a loud flare of her nostril slits, and agreed to try it next day. Ever since then she complained when she came home from classes, about how boring it was and how stupid her classmates were.

"Don't worry. Once you have a few friends, you'll start liking it" Akima had said.

Iji however was less than convinced. She spend a lot of time in her room in private and when he or Akima knocked on the door they rarely received an answer and if she even replied she made clear that she wanted to be left alone. Akima thought that Iji was trying to come to terms with her sorrow about the loss of her father all alone.

"It's not good" she had said.

"We should talk to her about it."

But whenever they tried, she replied agitated and didn't want to talk about it. Cale knew that the girl was going through a difficult time. After all, he lost his father when he was just a little boy and the only thing he ever saw from him again was an image of him captured on holo. The great Sam Tucker died in his attempt to hide the Titan and thereby humanity's only hope for a better future and a new home. He didn't understand back then. He was too young and resented his dad for not being there for him. Now, he was proud of his father cause if it weren't for his courage and determination, humanity would still be living on the edge of extinction. Shaking the thought of his own father out of his mind, Cale continued on his way, resolving once more to try and talk to his alien sister.

During the walk home, he came past various establishments, shops and people from all kinds of different species. One of the things that attracted Cale's attention, was that the city -that never really slept because some species had an entirely different way of living- was rapidly beginning to fill up with holo billboards and other creative- and sometimes annoying- ways of advertisement. In some cases, a scanner inside the billboard retrieved his identity from his wristcom and adapted the commercials to address him formally, in an attempt to make it more personal. The result was annoying and sometimes could even be called insultive.

"There should be law against this" he thought, after the last board tried to lure him into the nearby alien restaurant.

But there was nothing illegal about advertising. It was amazing how many different alien cultures mixed here on New Earth because their respective members didn't have a place to call home. And because they were mostly free to begin an establishment or shop of their own here in this city and others, they did, resulting in a vast collection to choose from. However, the openness of New Earth to every honest person also had its drawbacks. Interplanetary law dictated that any wanted criminals who were captured here on New Earth had to be returned to their respective worlds to stand trial for their crimes, or brought to justice by an ambassador. Therefore, any newcomers had to go through inspection when they arrived to prevent New Earth from becoming the next safe haven for fugitives, pirates and criminals. It was because of that, that all of New Earth's citizens, both humans and aliens could live peaceful lives, isolated from the rest of a not so hospitable galaxy.

Placing his hand on the biometric scanner next to the door of the apartment, the door was supposed to unlock to let him in. However, as soon as the scanner passed over his head to conform his identity, the light flashed red.

"Ah, not again! Stupid thing!" Cale cursed, after trying again with the same result.

He really needed to take a look at that thing and fix it. Of course he could just call someone from Tech. It would probably be fixed in less than five minutes, or have the whole unit replaced but he just had something with broken machinery.

"I'm going to fix this thing right away" he thought.

"Akima? It's me!" he called, while knocking on the door.

A couple of seconds later, his wife opened the door, smiling. She was wearing casual clothes just like he did and didn't stop smiling when he entered.

"Hey beauty" he said lovely, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Cale, I thought you were going to have that thing fixed" she said, suppressing laugh.

"I'm going to do it right now" he whispered in her ear.

But when he entered the living room of the roomy apartment, he hadn't expected the visitor, sitting on the couch, smiling to him.

"Captain, I hadn't expected you."

Despite the Valkyrie being in space dock, Korso was still in uniform, as if he were expecting something, ready to respond instantly. It made Cale a little nervous. Korso responded to Cale's stiff greeting with a laugh, his eyes having a friendly twinkle. Crossing his one leg over the other he leaned back on the couch and greeted him the usual way.

"Cale, just call me Joe or Joseph. We're not on duty, yet."

"Then why are you in uniform? No, no, don't say anything. Command wants us to risk our necks again to gather more intel, is that it?"

Korso shook his head, still smiling. But it was Akima who replied. Sitting down on the other couch, grabbing her muck of warm fragrant tea to warm her hands she took a sip first, concluding it was still too warm to drink.

"Joe thinks that today is the day. Command has been notified to bring everything in perfect order for the arrival of the Coalition."

"They don't know what to expect" Korso jumped on her words.

"But these people have dealt with the Seraphim before and survived. They drove them back to their quantum realm and rebuilt their civilization under a single banner. The war with the Seraphim united what was left of the three remnants of humanity and made them stronger than ever."

"Well that's… great news, right?" Cale asked carefully.

Korso nodded, raising his cup of coffee to his lips.

"It is, and Command expects me to be there when they arrive. Akima told me that you didn't receive a call but if you happen to receive one after, I want you to report to me immediately. This could be important because the Coalition expects our full cooperation if we want their support in this conflict."

"Understood" Cale replied, preparing himself to change clothes because he already knew he would receive that call anyway.

But first he was going to fix that bio-scanner. That was his plan until a Vusstran girl slammed the front door shut behind her and went to her room without saying a word. They heard the bang of a second door and something that could only be a loaded backpack hitting the floor.

Cale and Akima exchanged puzzled looks until Korso finally said: "Well, I think I should leave."

He too had seen the tears on the girl's face and concluded the obvious. Something happened. Something he didn't want to be part of.

"We'll see you later Joseph" Akima said, walking with Korso to the door to let him out.

"Are you going to have a word with her or am I?" Cale asked, not exactly looking forward to a long and difficult talk with the teenage girl.

"Cale, she's your sister" Akima said, closing the front door with a soft click.

"Hey, I know you never expected to assume a father-like role so soon but if you want kids, you're gonna have to do this sooner or later."

Cale sighed. He had seen the look on Iji's face. In fact, he could hear her sob softly right about now. It was difficult for her to adjust to a life without her dad but he knew she was strong. She always knew everything better and wasn't the type of person to give up after a first try. But this time he had the feeling it was something different.

"I'll give it a try but I'm not so good at these things."

"No one is, but you are her brother. I think you can support her better than I can."

Feeling her supportive hand on his shoulder, he knew he could do this. But fixing broken equipment was a lot easier than fixing a girl's broken heart.

"If it really doesn't work, I'll help you. I'll help her. C'mon Cale, she needs you more than ever now."

"You're right" Cale said, doing the first steps toward the door of Iji's room.

When he carefully knocked on the door, he didn't get a reply instantly, like always. He could hear her cry softly and couldn't do else but feel sorry for her. It was so hard for her. Life could be unfair and you just had to deal with it but at moments like these it was hard to pull yourself together and move along. It was still too fresh.

"Iji?" Cale asked carefully, knocking on the door once more, a little harder this time.

"Iji, it's me Cale. Are you all right?"

"Go away" she sobbed.

"You don't like me either. Nobody does."

"No Iji, that's ridiculous. I am your brother."

Cale was a little shocked by her reply. He was now more determined than ever to find out what happened. It sounded serious. He didn't want to go against her wishes but he felt the urge just to rush in and hold her. Apparently the loss of her father had hit her harder than he thought and something made it worse.

"No, just go away. Leave me alone."

"Iji please" he pleaded.

Akima who was watching from a small distance also felt sorry for her. She just couldn't take it when people cried, for any reason. She had lost family too and knew what it was like. But her grandmother didn't want her to feel miserable about her death and so she respected Miwa's last wishes. It would only make her stronger in difficult times.

When Iji didn't reply he grabbed the door handle and slowly opened the door, glad that she hadn't locked him out. The room was a little dark, with the curtains almost closed, allowing only a narrow slit of sunlight in. What he found was his alien sister, crying on her bed, two big round eyes filled with tears that continued to stream down her leather-like face.

"Just go away" she repeated, burying her face in the pillow.

"Iji, please tell me what happened."

Sitting down on the bed, he touched her shoulder, feeling her shiver softly.

"Iji, you're hurting me. I don't want to see you hurt."

When she finally turned her face towards him, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, she replied a little angry. Her words made Cale think if he ever said something that might have hurt his sister.

"What do you care? I'm not even your race."

"That has absolutely nothing to do with it."

"But it does!" she sobbed.

"Nobody loves me. They all hate me."

"Who hates you? How could they? Are you talking about your classmates?"

When she nodded he began to get an idea what this was about. It didn't have something to do with the loss of her father. Teasing had always been a problem at schools. In every class, in every grade and on every world. There were always one or two people others liked to make fun of and unfortunately Iji had become the target in her class.

"Why does it have to be her?" Cale thought, flinging an arm around his sister's shoulders.

Tek had always said that Iji was insufferably cute for a member of her race and even now that she was older she still had that same laugh and a hint of that cuteness over her.

"What did those mean kids say about you?"

"Cale I'm not a baby anymore" she said, a little indignant about his childish choice of words.

"Sorry. What did they say?"

She sniffled, still trying to dry her tears, without much success.

"That boy. He laughed at me. He said I was fat. And then everyone else started laughing."

She began to cry again, with her hands covering her eyes. Cale softly stroke her head and tried to come up with something to say. It wasn't true. Iji wasn't fat for a member of her species but Vusstrans had a larger average build than most other races. The only other word that came up in his mind was 'chubby', but he figured using that word to describe her would do more harm than good.

"See? You think it's true too" she said when he didn't reply immediately.

"That's not true Iji" Cale replied.

It wasn't but something had to be done about it. The problem with kids was that if they're told something long enough, they eventually start believing it. And when that happened they would try anything to make it stop.

"What else did they say? Don't tell me you're being bullied just because of that."

"No. That boy is the worst. He said that I don't have real parents because they thought I'm ugly and that they dumped me with humans just to get rid of me."

"What a rotten thing to say" Cale said, feeling himself get angry over it.

How could they say things like that? They were only getting along with each other for a few days and they already decided that this poor girl was the next target of their bullying. It was strange that things like this were allowed by teachers. But most of the time these things happened outside the lessons, between classes and at moments the teacher wasn't paying attention.

"You know what? I'm going to talk to your tutor about this. Tomorrow, before you're going to school okay?"

That would teach the bullies a lesson. He knew almost certain that it would work. Especially since her tutor was a Mantrin and a pretty big one too.

"No, don't do that" she said, throwing herself against his chest.

"Then they'll hate me even more."

"Iji, if you don't tell anyone but me about it, it won't stop. They'll keep saying mean things to you and then you'll never want to go to school again. I don't want you to be unhappy."

"All right" she said hesitantly, wiping across her face for the tenth time.

"Hey, tell me, from what race is that boy?"

Iji gave him a sour smile.

"Can you guess?" Cale smiled back, caressing her wet cheek.

"I think I have an idea."

They just sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, brother and sister. Each from a different race but with a love for each other that could easily overcome such boundaries. He grew up with her and despite being annoying sometimes, Cale had grown quite fond of her, even loved her, like a brother loved his sister. A few moments later Akima peeked around the corner of the doorway, finding them still sitting next to each other, Cale with his arm around his sister's shoulder.

"Hey, are you all right?" she asked.

Iji nodded, managing to produce a faint smile on her beak-like snout. Sitting down on her other side, pulling a lock of purple-and-black hair out of her face, she rubbed the Vusstran girl's back.

"Do you love me?" she suddenly asked.

"Of course I do" Akima replied.

If she even took the time to about it, it was hardly noticeable. She was Cale's sister and in the few days they spend together she had already decided that she liked the stubborn alien girl. She had her mood swings sometimes but she was a sweet and caring person. She didn't want to be such a burden to her human caretakers and even though Cale and Akima told her a dozen times that she was not, she still wasn't entirely convinced.

"Thank you" Iji said, now finding comfort by Akima.

"Thank you so much for taking of me."

"That's okay. You don't have to thank us. We couldn't let you become an orphan. That's horrible."

"Besides, you're my sister" Cale added.

He just wanted to get up and fix that bio-scanner until his wristcom beeped. He could hear the chime of Akima's one, lying on the table in the living room, too. His feeling that it would have to wait again was confirmed when he held the device up before his face and the holo projected the message in front of him.

"It's a request" Cale said when he read the first line.

"To attend to the meeting of the Senate. It says we have to report to our Commanding officer as soon as possible. The ships carrying the delegates of the Coalition have arrived. The meeting will begin in one hour. They want to get this thing started as soon as possible, at the request of our guests."

He turned his head towards his wife.

"Why do they want us to attend? I'm sure there're lots of other people who can be of more help than we do."

"Don't forget Cale, most humans still see us as the Founders of New Earth."

"Yeah, and thanks to your father's research, my dad could make our world a better place again" Iji added with a smirk.

It weren't the words but her smile that made Cale feel happier. At least she smiled again, genuinely. And he had to admit, they both did have a point, sort of.

"All right, I'll go to the stupid meeting. Let's get dressed."

"Well, I'm actually kinda curious Cale. Who are these people? They are humans just like us and yet they are not. They come from an entirely different Earth."

Cale muttered something indistinct. Going to that meeting meant that they had to leave Iji alone. He didn't really want to but not following orders was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. And indeed, he had to admit he was a little curious too.

"Do you think you can be alone all by yourself for an hour or two?" he asked Iji a little teasingly.

His alien sister softly flared her nostrils slits, crossing her arms.

"Hey I'm a big girl Cale. I can take excellent care of myself."

"I'm sure you can" Cale replied, letting some intentional disbelief slip into his voice.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she reacted indignantly.

A couple of seconds later they all laughed. Iji followed Cale and Akima back to the living room where she let herself fall down on the couch and asked the computer to turn on the 'TV', trying to find something enjoyable to watch. In the mean time Cale and Akima traded in their casual clothes for the navy blue uniform of the Republican fleet. The dress uniform -which Cale hated so much because it didn't really fit his age- was pulled out of the closet for this event. About forty-five minutes later they left the apartment -after making Iji promise that she wouldn't open the door for anyone- and took the elevator down to ground level, wondering what was going to happen in the next hour.

The Senate had never been so crowded and noisy before. There weren't enough places for all the important ambassadors, advisors and high ranking military officers of more than a dozen different races. None of them wanted to miss this very important meeting so every square inch of the available space was used. The attendants spread themselves over the walkways, behind the upper rows of seats and across the sides of the stairs between the different sections, just to catch a glimpse of what happened in the circular middle and to follow what was about to be said. Cale and Akima were lucky, having two reserved seats next to Korso and Brian who were already present. That was if they could even get to their seats. They had a lot of trouble getting through, trying not to step on feet, tails or other extensions of the body. Akima and Cale both breathed a sigh of relief when they finally dropped down on the comfortable seats next to Brian. "Glad you could join us" Brian greeted them jovially.

"Commander" Cale replied with a nod.

"Akima, it's good to see you again" a female voice said from behind.

When Akima turned around to face the owner of the voice that sounded warm, friendly and familiar she looked straight into the twinkling brown eyes of Amanda Miller, former member of the New Earth council.

"Amanda, it's been some time."

"Says you. Where have you been?"

Akima let out a laugh.

"Just doing what I do best ma'am."

"Then by all means, you should."

Noticing that it quieted down a bit Akima turned her attention to the circular center of the Senate where Chancellor Laroc prepared himself to speak. The last golden rays of the Andali sun entered the building through the open wall on one side, which allowed the attendants of long and tiresome meetings to breathe fresh air. Normally meetings wouldn't take longer than an hour at most but lately the Senate gathered often, because of the situation and the growing size of the Republic. New member worlds had to be informed about what it meant to be part of such an alliance before they could join. This meeting however, was not about the expansion of the alliance but the future of its existence.

"Where are they?" Cale asked, trying if he could see something over the heads of the people on the row in front of him.

Were they going to show themselves at the last moment? Everyone was tense. He could feel it in the air. Any decision the members of the Coalition would make in the next hour could mean the difference between the continuation of the alliance or its fall and perhaps more. Scanning the rows for any human faces, there was something else that attracted his attention. Jason Pierce was not sitting on his usual spot in the Federation section. In fact, there were a lot of empty seats that should have been occupied by high-ranking Starfleet officers.

"That's odd" he said, nudging Akima to inform her.

"Yeah, I noticed too" Brian, who was sitting on his right said.

"Something happened that forced him and several other Starfleet Captains to leave immediately."

"What happened?"

"Sorry, classified. The Captain's the only one who knows."

He shrugged.

"My best shot is that it has something to do with those ficken Seraphim. I really hope those guys packed some mean guns to shoot 'em back to wherever they came from."

"May I have a moment's silence please?" Chris' voice bellowed through the domed building, amplified by the equipment.

The noise almost immediately quieted down to some whispers and soft chatter, which disappeared quicker than normal. Everyone wanted to hear what was said. Their lives and the lives of their families and perhaps their entire world depended on it. Chris noticed too and cleared his throat to speak.

"Welcome everyone and thank you all for coming."

When the first words were over his lips, the entire Senate fell silent as a whole. This was the moment they had all been waiting for. The people who could help them defend against the invaders had come. Now they had to wait for their decision.

"Since we are on a strict timetable it might be best to skip any formalities and get straight to the point. I give you Brigadier General Lance of the United Earth Federation."

A tall man, in blue uniform covered with countless decorations, indicating his status as an experienced war veteran walked towards the center of the Senate, carefully studying the place where he arrived this time. To Cale it appeared as if this was the last place Lance wanted to be at this moment. Judging by the look on his aged face, it was as if he were expecting something, his eyes flashing from left to right, without moving his head. Something in the direction of an assassination attempt perhaps. His gruff exterior concealed one of the most hardened men in the entire UEF military. A short grey mustache and steel-grey eyes with thick eyebrows added to the overall gruffness. He was walking straight, stepping forward without fear, towards Chris, who stepped aside from the small catheter to let him speak. His voice perfectly reflected his appearance, deep and powerful with strength and authority. Cale was glad he wasn't serving under this guy.

"Thank you Chancellor" Lance said, letting his eyes move over the rows upon rows of aliens who were eagerly waiting for what he had to say.

"First of all I want to make something clear. I don't know what you expect us to do about your situation. From what I understand is that you don't know what the Seraphim are up to, how many of them there are and what they're capable of."

He paused, letting his words have their effect on his audience, which all held their breath.

"Well I can tell you this: If you've ever fought in a war, you'll consider that nothing but a quarrel once you've faced the Seraphim in battle. They are relentless, merciless beings who decimate entire worlds leaving not even a single bacterium alive, just because they can. They won't stop until everything they consider a threat is utterly destroyed. After we defeated the Seraphim, we were forced to eliminate every single warrior still in our dimension or face the consequences. If this rogue group has already established a foothold in the region it is of the utmost concern that their presence be removed ASAP. Our universe is being affected by these trans-dimensional rifts as well and we cannot take risks, for we may not survive a second assault by Seraphim forces."

"Now back to the current issue" he continued, clearing his throat.

"You have asked for our help as you do not have the power to defend yourselves. We are prepared to give you that help under one condition. We expect full cooperation on all fronts. If there is something that we need to make sure the Seraphim can't get what they want, you give it to us. In return…" he said, laying some extra volume in his voice as some people began muttering.

They were supposed to help them and now they were coming with demands themselves. Some of them didn't just swallow that. If someone even wanted to protest openly, it was immediately suppressed by Lance's harsh words.

"…in return we will provide immediate aid if one of your worlds happen to fall prey to Seraphim Commanders. It is imperative that Seraphim forces are not allowed to set foot on any resource-rich worlds, as it will accelerate their progress. Is that understood?"

Some people nodded, some confirmed. It was all a bit strange. No one had really expected someone like Lance to be the speaker for the Coalition delegation. Most of them had expected an ambassador or other political leader but not a military Commander.

"As I said…" Lance continued, without waiting for silence.

"…the only thing we expect in return for now is your full cooperation. I want your absolute best of the best military assets ready for the job. Since we are also providing aid to the Federation, we have a limited number of Commanders available. They can't do this all by themselves. They need help. Help from you."

Admiral William Langley, Commander in Chief of the Republican fleet stood up from his seat. He immediately had Lance's attention and the UEF officer recognized him as an equal and addressed him according to his rank.

"Is there something you'd like to say sir?"

"As a matter of fact yes. The name is William Langley, Admiral of the Republic."

"Then by all means Admiral."

"Thank you. General Lance, you want the best of the best soldiers for your battle plan. I would like to discuss this further in more detail."

Lance smiled and produced a sound that sounded like a laugh, though not an unfriendly one.

"As you wish Admiral. But make sure that you select the right men for the job. This is not a game."

"I believe you made that clear General Lance" Langley replied.

"Is he serious?" Cale whispered in Akima's ear.

"Are they going to let us pilot one of those machines?"

"Cale…" Akima answered, moving closer to him to keep her voice down.

"I don't think he means 'us' with the best of the best. I bet there are others far better qualified for this job than we are."

Cale shrugged.

"Why don't they just use those EAF warriors? You know, with the stuff Rajah showed us when we were there, I bet everyone can learn to pilot one of those things in a few minutes." "We were not supposed to tell anyone about that remember?"

"Right" Cale murmured, forgetting about the whole thing.

It was unlikely that Lance trusted any alien with his equipment. The way he looked at all the alien delegates in the Senate, some of which he might even be forced to work with in the near future, was almost xenophobic. But then again. If the first alien race you come across wants to kill you, it was understandable that he didn't want to have anything to do with anyone who didn't come from a planet called Earth.

"Excuse me" a voice interrupted the conversation between Langley and Lance.

It wasn't really surprising that the voice belonged to an Akrennian ambassador who had risen to his feet. He didn't appear to be satisfied with the way things were going and he felt someone had to say something. Why not just him?

"Forgive me for interrupting General, but here's a question for you. Are we supposed to lay the fate of our worlds into the hands of just a group of humans again? Do you know what my government has to say about that?"

Others began to support his words but Lance remained his calm and cool self. He was not planning to let 'others' decide what happened to Coalition property and especially no aliens not. General Hall would have him court-martialled if any Coalition equipment fell into the hands of aliens, no matter how weak or strong they might be.

"If you feel about it that way…" he said coldly, "…then I suggest you leave this meeting and come back when the Seraphim are on your doorstep. Maybe that will make you reconsider. But I'm afraid it will already be too late by then."

Within a moment's notice his words silenced the alien. The Akrennian muttered something indistinct and sat down without further protest. Akrennians certainly weren't intimidated so easily but there was nothing he could say against it. The alien was powerless and he knew it. When the Akrennian ambassador sat down, the rest of those who wanted to open their mouth in protest followed, the urge to say something suddenly disappearing. A satisfied smile crept along Lance's face, barely large enough for anyone to notice. And before anyone could, he turned towards Langley again. At least humans have a sense of reason. However, if he had to be really honest to himself, he rather didn't want to lay his life into the hands of someone else either, human or alien, it didn't matter. Lucky for him, he didn't have to make that decision.

"If no one else cares to show off his or her ignorance, then there's nothing left for me to say then that I'm looking forward to our discussion Admiral Langley. But be quick about it, we don't have much time."

"Until then General Lance."

When those last words were spoken, Lance walked back the way he came, without saying a word. No one dared to say something until he completely disappeared out of sight. But when Chris took over again and tried to close to meeting no one really cared anymore. The whole Senate exploded into a clamor when everyone tried to get to the exits as soon as possible. Every alien ambassador wanted to inform his or her government as soon as possible about the current situation and most of them were not too happy about it.

"This is outrageous!" Cale heard someone shout.

"Who does this guy think he is?"

The scratching sound of his translator trying to make sense out of ancient Gauol made clear that even the wise bat-like aliens didn't agree with the way Lance forced the help of his Coalition upon them. He had made clear that he was going to do this his way.

"That went well" Cale remarked, resisting the urge to laugh.

"He could've used a little more tact" Brian added, trying not to get hit by elbows, tails and legs from other people.

"He's a veteran" Korso said.

"I bet he looked into the eyes of death a little too often."

"Now we still don't know anything about what they're going to do about this mess" Cale said a little disappointed.

He had expected a lot of intel, some explanation about who these Coalition people were exactly and he had figured he would have an idea by the end of this meeting about what they were up against and so did everyone else. But instead, Lance basically told them all the stuff they already knew.

"You know, we should go home, it's getting a little late already" Akima urged, trying to break free from the crowd.

The last rays of the Andali sun were struggling to stay above the horizon, fighting against the approaching night. Cale felt the emptiness of his stomach and strangely enough hadn't even thought about dinner until now. Apparently Akima didn't either and she came up with an idea.

"If Iji hasn't plundered the fridge already, maybe we can take her to a restaurant. I've seen a lovely new place and I'm eager to try it. Maybe Iji will cheer up a little if we do something fun with her."

That sounded like a good idea to her husband. Neither one of them was really looking forward to cooking for themselves at this hour and maybe it would help Iji take her mind off things for a moment. He began to look forward to it so much that he'd almost forgotten about Lance and the Coalition when he stepped into one of the crowded transparent turbolifts, holding the hand of his loved one.