Jennifer's appearance at Herald Manor so soon after having just departed had Anna nervous immediately. They assured here there was no danger there, but that the time for needing the tribute was upon them. And they were running out of time. She asked Anna to call the Tribute Guardians to come get the team. Jennifer wanted to be on the bridge of the warship in the morning with the smartest Tribute Engineers and Guardians that Talis had to offer. She intended to put the ship in flight.

Which was the first time that she had spoken her plan out loud. Abatello, Meyers and Matthews looked at her with disbelief. Maybe a little awe. Trepidation. And smirk at the possibilities if they could get it working.

Anna excused herself to call the Tribute Guardians.

"You really think we can get it working?"

"And fly it?"

"And crew it?"

"If we can, we can turn the tide," she answered with hope and determination.

Anna returned with an update. "The Tribute Guardians are sending a vehicle right away. They will be here and ready to head north at first light. They are assembling the greatest minds in their fraternity. You will have everything we have to offer at your disposal."

Jennifer smiled.

"Could we trouble you for a place to rest tonight?" Jen asked.

"It's your home, Herald. It is no trouble."

As Jennifer stood to follow Anna, the headache came back. She noticed for a quick second that her hand was trembling. She balled it into a fist and relaxed it a few times to change the muscle tension.

"Are you ok, Ma'am?" Meyers asked nervously.

"Nothing some advil and some sleep won't cure," she told him with a smile.

The Tribute Guardians arrived overnight and by sunrise they were on their way through the tunnel and north to the temple. There was silence on the ride as Jennifer took in the landscapes and tried not to think about the enormity of what she was about to try to do. When they came through the tunnel she could see the sunrise over Talaria. Light bouncing off the reflective surfaces on the skyscrapers. An ocean in the distance. It was enough to calm her mind and help her regroup.

The only way that the idea behind the Journey could work is if all of the pieces were essentially plug and play. The Tribute Guardians had done all the hard work. Now Jennifer just needed to put the final pieces in the right places. At least that is what she hoped.

She could feel the excitement at the Temple when they arrived. The Herald banners were flying and there were more people than she remembered seeing just days ago. The Tribute Commander and Knox stood at attention where the trucks came to a stop, and when Matthews helped Jennifer to the ground, the two men took one knee in front of her.

She had seen it so many times on the Journey – this act of respect. She met it with an air of formality that it seemed to required, but here it felt different. These people were different. As the rest of their world moved on and abandoned the promise, they refused. They dedicated their lives to it. Maybe it was only hitting her for the first time. Jennifer had given the Promise months. They had given it millennia.

Maybe the reason she was so uncomfortable with the kneeling was that really believed it was her who should be bowing to them. Dedication. Service. Loyalty. Determination. And maybe even success.

Jennifer went down to both knees before them, to the audible gasp of the gathered crowd. The looked at her, stunned. Tears formed in the Commander's eyes. She placed a hand on each of the men before her.

"We are honored by your commitment and sacrifice."

They stood and helped her to her feet. When she reached back for her bags she found them safely in the hands of her team.

"Let's get to work."

The commander brought the most knowledgeable engineer on each system in the ship on board. Jen took a detailed tour of each area, and set to work. She pointed at pictures from the data pad that the team had taken on the first visit and asked what and where things were. About an hour into the process she had her bearings.

Or maybe that is just how long it took to get up the nerve to plug the first thing in.

The set down a tarp on the floor on the bridge and they helped Jennifer lay out all of the things she had brought with her. Some she had answers for. Some she had ideas about. Some she had no clue. Only way to know was to get started.

The engineers that had been caring for the ship knew every inch of it. When Jennifer held up the larger, green crystals someone immediately had an answer.

"There are compartments in the weapons firing mechanism that are exactly that size and shape."

And then they would discuss the item. There were four compartments, one for each weapon bank. Jennifer had only packed two of those crystals. How were they arranged on the ship? Should they try them in the two fore arsenals? The two stern? The two starboard? Port? When the group would come to a decision, the engineers would put the piece in its compartment, and they would go to the next item Jennifer brought.

The small blue crystals were inserted into cut outs in the frame of the ship. They almost looked decorative, but Jen was sure they had a purpose, even if she wasn't sure what. The small green crystals no one could identify, so they moved on. The shield and cloak data crystals were inserted into the crystal integrator. The NPMs were inserted into the Power Supply pedestal. The process took hours, but they were meticulous, and Jennifer was certain the engineers were on board before any component was attached.

They were down to the Power Control Panel with its strange display: an etching in polished metal with six circles cut out of the design. Jennifer reached into a small leather bag and pulled out the twelve disks Elisha gave her, and sorted them. There were six with a metal that matched the panel, and six that had a slightly bronzer color to it. She took the six that matched and laid them out on the panel for everyone to look at.

Each disk had twelve characters on them.

"So the right disk in the right spot, with the right character oriented the right way," an engineer observed.

Heads nodded all around the group.

"That's millions of permutations," Knox said. "Even with the etchings making a design, it is so complex that not knowing what the design looks like, we could be working just this panel for a very long time."

"What if we did know what the design looked like?" Jennifer asked.

"Then we'd have a fighting chance," Knox answered hopefully.

Jennifer looked at the data pad. The battery had died on it not long ago, and they had no easy way to recharge it here with no power active on the ship. With no other options, Jennifer took off her shirt. The surprise on the face of the men in the room was priceless. Meyers and Matthews got immediately protective, and the Guardians got uncomfortable.

Wearing a tank top with thin straps, Jennifer pulled her hair into a ponytail and moved her strap off her shoulder. She turned her back to the men in the room. The answer was on her body.

Most of the designs drawn on her by Elisha and the others had started to faded away, but on each shoulder there was a pattern that had stayed longer than the rest. The fluid, complicated styling on her shoulders matched the style and size of the design on the panel. The orientation for the characters could be seen as well. She stood with her back to the panel.

"So who likes puzzles?" She asked.